Montserrat, the Mountains and a Monastary

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After a ten hours of traveling and three days battling jet lag throughout our first number of activities, I was fully immersed in my experience in Barcelona. On Tuesday morning we loaded up the bus to head to Montserrat. The Spanish highways overlook miles and miles of cityscape - tall buildings painted in bright, colorful shades.

Along the sides of the roads, we sometimes passed small clusters of shacks. These shacks were reminiscent of buildings I’d seen back home in the Caribbean, where families lived and joined together in their own smaller communities. I would come to learn, after some more research, that there is a history of Shanty towns in Barcelona and that there is a great number of people who occupy these types of buildings. Because of my own perceptions of Spain before arriving, this was something that came as a great surprise to me. It was not something I would expect and seeing them exposed my own preconceived notions about the traditions and experiences of Barcelona’s diverse population.

As we continued up the mountains, along long winding roads that looked down over the valley of houses and a river, we came to the cable car facilities to take us up to the monastery. While I was excited to try something new, I was fearful to be so far off the ground. When we finally arrived at the monastery, I was in awe of the architecture and sense of warmth from the different people we came across.


The buildings perfectly implemented elements of both old and new and the correlation to history and religion was something I greatly appreciated. Throughout the day we climbed the mountain further on a hike, explored the expansive facilities and connected with merchants encouraging us to sample their cheeses and spices. There was a genuine desire for exchange and we were met with warmth and positive interactions.

When we finally left the mountain and attended a meal at a local restaurant- the warmth from the owner and his staff was clearly felt. There were many positive interactions between my classmates and the staff and I felt proud and excited when I engaged with the kind older gentleman at the restaurant helping to serve our group. My Spanish is not very advanced, but to be able to interact through small words, nonverbals and facial expressions made my day because of how small but impactful those exchanges were. While David Livermore states that “It’s especially difficult to understand gestures if you don’t understand the language. And gestures are one of the most highly individualized forms of communication” gestures have been very helpful
In cases where I am uncertain about what is being said to me. I do agree that “although there are some cultural norms, CQ Strategy is needed to discern whether a gesture is a reflection of a culture or of an individual (Livermore, page 170).” The opportunity to experience authentic food the way locals would eat and interact with them throughout the day made for a positive, enlightening experience.

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