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| Sagrada Familia, 2018 |
I went to Barcelona for a womENcourage conference back in 2017. It was my first flight, my first time trekking around on my own outside my small hometown. My parents came with me (also my mother's first time abroad) and we stayed in this hotel in Calella. Calella, while a lovely place, was not ideal as it was 2+ hours away from the University I was attending for the conference.
The first night was one of my best memories: it was torrential raining and we all got soaked in seconds. The whole night was lightning flash after lightning flash, and the three of us found ourselves hiding out in a soon-to-shut Burger King.
In the end though, we ended up having to brave the storm, ducking under shutters that were almost 3-quarters shut. I felt like we were in a movie, making it out at the last minute! haha
That whole night, my room lit up again and again with the flashes of lightning, and the rattling of thunder. I don't know what I love so much about stormy weather, but that made the trip immediately.
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Making my way to the University the next morning was so complicated. 1) I didn't know the language, 2) I had a terrible iPhone 4S that was on it's way out battery-wise + Google Maps was not really an option, and 3) I had already slept in by 3 hours!
In my best Spanish, I tried to tell a taxi driver that I was heading to a Polytechnical University... so in their best efforts, they brought me to a University area in the center of Barcelona. Only when we stopped and I was getting bumped out of the fair, the driver kindly advised me the Polytechical University was moved outside the city, almost AN HOUR away.
I found myself on Las Ramblas, walking down a street that only two weeks prior was the center of an attack. Dreading every step, phone dead as a doornail, I walked a little bit down the street and found a local. I asked them to point me to public transport, which they (reluctantly) did, and voila, Joanne discovers the metro for the first time. (lol)
Sometimes I'm a large idiot, but at least I get a good story out of it.
Anyway, I made my grand appearance at the University 4 hours late, and met a woman from Letterkenny, who provided me with a name badge. Then off I went to be a woman in tech, meeting other woman in tech for a few days.
I met a great group of girls while I was there, two from Azerbaijan and one from Turkey. We hung out everyday, and it was crazy but I felt like moving there. I just loved the feeling of being in a place where I could meet like-minded people, and figure everything out. Plus, the transport system was class.
Things like that don't make me think negatively about Ireland, which is odd I suppose, but instead I see it like it's different and unknown and I just want to experience it. Like gasping for air and enjoying every bit of it. Visiting Barcelona opened the door to my travelling journey. I went back to Barcelona in 2018, and later the same year I would visit Fuengirola for the New Year.
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The conference itself was a fantastic experience. I got to meet some incredible women, either already accomplished or compelled to become excellent. I originally felt a bit intimidated, just at the thought, but it instilled a sense of womanhood, excellence and power in me. I was inspired to move on with my studies and start a career. I wasn't sure where I was headed, but I was heading there with rainbow-sparkled thrusters.
Some tidbits:
* No, I didn't eat the whole 4 days I was there besides some potato cubes at the conference, during a meet and greet event, and McDonalds at 4am of the day we were leaving, when Dad wanted me to eat something.
* The girls I met while I was there: one of them founded and runs the Internation College in Baku now, another is still working on her studies and the third girl moved to America.
Now - you may have some questions.
? Why on Earth did I go to a country without knowing 1) the language and 2) not knowing where I was going.
? You may also be wondering why we were staying in Calella, so far away from where I needed to be
When I was studying my Bachelors degree, the head of department suggested I apply for the womEncourage scholarship in 2017. At that point in my life, it was completely unheard of to say I was off to Spain and so when I was granted the scholarship to the conference, I remember sitting in the local pub with my older sister and parents, and I casually brought up the opportunity. My sister was delighted, and my parents' reaction was completely unexpected: they looked at each other and said "I've never been to Spain".
That began the journey.
Dad left me to make arrangements, trusting I would pull together the plan for the trip and he and Mum would follow along. Reason being was that I had somewhere I needed to be, while they were just going to be lounging and enjoying themselves.
That brought me to the master plan. Having absolutely no sense of distance, no sense of planning and absolutely no clue what I was doing, I booked us a lovely hotel in Calella and some flights on Vueling. (Who knows why).
What happened then was hilarious. The flight was amazing, the area was different from home, but still welcoming. Mum and Dad absolutely LOVED the place and then it was only when I got on the train the very first morning did I realise how far away we were from where I needed to go for the next 3 days.
To this day, Mum and Dad go back to the same place each year. It's amazing how origin stories happen 💓
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Okay, but the most incredible parts of that trip was meeting those girls. They were so inspiring, and it really felt like the world was my oyster. I believe it was when I first felt a good, solid sense of independence, becoming the person I am today. For that, I'm very grateful x
The funniest part of the trip was that, despite the whole train journey from Calella to the city being along the coast, I didn't once see the sea. It has been a running laugh since the trip! See what I mean?
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| Coastline from Calella to Barcelona |
The scariest part of the trip was probably one of the biggest lessons I will bring with me. Excluding the first morning, where my head was going 10x an hour, making my way to the university was relatively simple. I would need to be leave the hotel between 6:20-6:30am and walk 800m to the nearest Rodalies train station. Travelling in the dark, the train would eventually go underground and I would make a transfer to a Metro. From there, I would end up another 800m walk from the university. Easy peasy.
When you're me, nothing is easy peasy though.
On the first night, I was travelling back from the university. I left a meet and greet at 9pm, knowing fine well I should have gone sooner, and started my journey home. I took out the paper map I had picked up during my Metro-discovery that morning and made my way down to the Metro on foot. Everything was going great on my journey, I was making good time, it was close to 11pm, and I had already made the transfer between trains when the fear started to creep in.
Not only had my phone long died, but the darkness outside, combined with the lack of signage at train stations at each stop, made it difficult to know where I was going. The screens on the train were all off, to add to it. I kept wondering if Mum and Dad were sitting somewhere in Calella wondering if I was alive.
Everyone around me looked to be locals, going about their lives. Everyone was quiet and isolated, so it didn't feel like I could ask someone to help me. Additionally, everyone who was speaking or had spoken during the whole journey spoke Spanish.
That was until two men arrived beside me, holding white plastic bags that appeared to hold the basics: tooth brush, comb etc.
They stood beside each other in a standing area, next to where I sat, and chatted to each other while holding onto the handrails. I don't know if it's that they believed no one around could understand them, but they spoke English and exchanged the stories as to why they were both holding plastic bags with their basics: they had both, separately, just been released from prison. Dread.
I made eye-contact with a girl who appeared to be a few years older than me, and seemed to sense I was uneasy. It might have been because I was - and because I was squinting out the window trying to see each train station, checking for signage. I made a mental note not to take out my map in case it drew attention to me in some way. The girl mouthed at me "Callela?" and I nodded.
She made a gesture with her hands, 2 stops. I mouthed "Thank you" and she gave me the quickest, slightest, most gentle smile. Look up 'Girl's Girl' in the dictionary, I bet you'll see her beautiful face in there, right beside it.
Obviously I made it home in one piece. To my surprise, when I arrived home closer to 1am, my parents were sitting at the bar, jolly as could be, enjoying their trip. Pints in hand.
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As I mentioned, I have been back to Barcelona since that initial trip, and it is a must-see. I would definitely recommend you see it, the Sagrada Familia is one of the most breath-taking masterpieces I have ever had the honour of seeing. I cannot wait to go back and see it all over again x
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