Hablo Espanyol?
People say you will appreciate something more after you lost it. A version of that sentiment was clearly felt during my stay in Barca. The land, a heady mix of architectural style, the sound and smell are very different to the UK, or Lboro at least. They made me feel Lboro as a home. Second. Or third. A home none the less.
At times, I felt 'respected' because I speak English, no matter that I don't the least bit look Caucasion. Perhaps this is how the European tourist feel as the roam the roads of KL, people addressing them as 'Sir'. For me, though, the respect mostly comes from business man and women keen to have my custom. They really tried to speak the customers' language, literally and figuratively.
While browsing for fridge magnets at a souvenir shop, not unlike those found along Oxford St, London, the shop attendent enquired if I was from the Phillippines. Upon hearing that I'm from Malaysia, he chirped, "Murah, murah. I give you a good price my friend." Or something like that. But he indeed said 'murah' more than once.
* * * * * *
Acquainting myself with the idiosyncracies of Barca, I found myself pining for the 'comfort' of living in the UK. Take grocery shopping for one. At Lboro, grocery shopping is a straight forward task. Vegetarian logo are easily found on food packaging. May be I didn't look around enough, but I did not see a single 'suitable for vegetarian' label on food at grocery shop like Consum, Lidl, and Cortes de Ingles. To make it worse, most food information does not have English version. I had to think hard whether 'cebolla' is a type of meat or not. It was later, when I watched a programme on tv at the hostel, that I learned cebolla is onion.
Street intersections are also unlike any that I've seen in the UK. The street does not intersect squarely, forming a sharp cross. Instead of having squares where two streets intersect, Barca has octagons. So, you'd have to walk a few extra meters to cross a street.
However, having said that, I have a feeling that Barca is very pedesterian-friendly. Most of the time, I did not have to wait for the light to turn green to cross the street. It is as if the traffic system was designed to give priority to pedestarians than to motorists. I wonder what the motorists think about the traffic light behaviour.
I'm also very much impressed with the Metro. Some of the coaches look very much like PUTRA coaches. It was not the physical condition that impressed me, it was their regularity. Again, I did not have to wait long to catch a train. Usually, within 2 or 3 minutes, a train will arrive at the station. I think, the longest that I had to wait was for 5 minutes, and it was quite late at night.
So, those are some of the merits and demerits of Barca based on my short trip. I'm sure there are many more things to explore. The arts (I didn't get o go to Picasso's Museum), the live culture (I'm not referring to yogurt content here), night lights, and so many other things beckon me to visit Barca again. I would love to take you on a trip to Barca, mi hijo.
At times, I felt 'respected' because I speak English, no matter that I don't the least bit look Caucasion. Perhaps this is how the European tourist feel as the roam the roads of KL, people addressing them as 'Sir'. For me, though, the respect mostly comes from business man and women keen to have my custom. They really tried to speak the customers' language, literally and figuratively.
While browsing for fridge magnets at a souvenir shop, not unlike those found along Oxford St, London, the shop attendent enquired if I was from the Phillippines. Upon hearing that I'm from Malaysia, he chirped, "Murah, murah. I give you a good price my friend." Or something like that. But he indeed said 'murah' more than once.
* * * * * *
Acquainting myself with the idiosyncracies of Barca, I found myself pining for the 'comfort' of living in the UK. Take grocery shopping for one. At Lboro, grocery shopping is a straight forward task. Vegetarian logo are easily found on food packaging. May be I didn't look around enough, but I did not see a single 'suitable for vegetarian' label on food at grocery shop like Consum, Lidl, and Cortes de Ingles. To make it worse, most food information does not have English version. I had to think hard whether 'cebolla' is a type of meat or not. It was later, when I watched a programme on tv at the hostel, that I learned cebolla is onion.
Street intersections are also unlike any that I've seen in the UK. The street does not intersect squarely, forming a sharp cross. Instead of having squares where two streets intersect, Barca has octagons. So, you'd have to walk a few extra meters to cross a street.
However, having said that, I have a feeling that Barca is very pedesterian-friendly. Most of the time, I did not have to wait for the light to turn green to cross the street. It is as if the traffic system was designed to give priority to pedestarians than to motorists. I wonder what the motorists think about the traffic light behaviour.
I'm also very much impressed with the Metro. Some of the coaches look very much like PUTRA coaches. It was not the physical condition that impressed me, it was their regularity. Again, I did not have to wait long to catch a train. Usually, within 2 or 3 minutes, a train will arrive at the station. I think, the longest that I had to wait was for 5 minutes, and it was quite late at night.
So, those are some of the merits and demerits of Barca based on my short trip. I'm sure there are many more things to explore. The arts (I didn't get o go to Picasso's Museum), the live culture (I'm not referring to yogurt content here), night lights, and so many other things beckon me to visit Barca again. I would love to take you on a trip to Barca, mi hijo.
Comments
cebolla = onion :)