One of my favorite things to do while studying abroad in Barcelona, Spain was people-watching. I enjoyed seeing people interact or move through life. I found that no matter what country I was in, some things remained true. Parts of the human experience are undeniable among cultures, languages, regions, races, nationalities, etc.
On the first Sunday in Barcelona, we had a jam-packed day that started by watching the sunrise from our apartment balcony. A group of UD students and I decided that we wanted to be among the 500 people allowed into Sagrada Família for Sunday service. Attending Mass at the Sagrada Família was a meaningful way to begin the trip. Being Catholic is so special to me because of the universality of the Church. Despite language or cultural differences, the structure of the Mass felt familiar to me. Whether someone in Dayton, Ohio, or Barcelona, Spain, or thinking about my family in Minnesota, people all over the world are listening to the same Gospel each Sunday.
This feeling of connection became even more powerful when we had the opportunity a few weeks later to see the Pope process through Barcelona. Just blocks away from where we were living, we watched as he passed by and even smiled and waved toward our group of Americans yelling “Pope Leo! Chicago!” The experience reminded me that certain moments can bring together people from very different backgrounds.
Later that first Sunday, I had the chance to attend a FC Barcelona game. In the Global Sport class with our professor, Haozhou Pu, PhD, we talked about Catalonia's history and identity, which helped me understand the importance of the club to local community. At the Barça match, this connection between sport and culture became much more visible. The team is “more than a club”, but represents a sense of community, history, and belonging.
One reason why I love sports so much is, again, this idea of collective effervescence. This term is the best way to express in words what the feeling of live events truly is like. “The sociological term coined by Émile Durkheim describes the feeling of energy, harmony, and connection that occurs when a group of people comes together to engage in a shared purpose.” This idea was expressed clearly because, while I didn’t understand what was being said or keep up with soccer well, I still knew what was exciting, frustrating, and sentimental. We felt all the emotions together, whether I was a lifelong Barça fan or an American visitor. I knew that a European football match was going to be an unreal environment with exciting fan culture and deep national ties, but my favorite part of the game and possibly one of the best moments of the whole trip was watching the father/son duo that sat in front of us be at the match. I am not sure if it was his son’s first time being at a game or if they were season ticket holders, but the excitement and shared love for the game were clear. You could feel the pride that emulated off the father to have made it to there at the match with his young son.
As part of our class, we were able to take site visits to local sports establishments that continue to prove this theory of collective experience. We watched a youth soccer clinic at the Club Esportiu Europa, and we became nostalgic for the excitement and joy of the kids there. We learned that sport truly unites us. We asked our tour guide how to cheer them on in Catalan. We also visited a Castells team, which is a cultural festivity in Catalonia where they build human towers. It is completely centered around unity and passion for community. What they accomplished was unbelievable!
I think embracing moments that make us human sums up my study abroad experience. Everything I did was a collective experience and one I will never forget. Joy, fear, frustration, exhaustion – all the emotions we felt, we felt together in one way or another. Whether it was seeing the Pope, watching kids interact with their moms at the park, listening to the taxi driver complain about the traffic, or walking home from the class with friends, I kept noticing how many parts of people’s everyday lives are, in ways, universal experiences despite being in a different country and culture. I was worried initially about not adjusting to life abroad or not feeling accepted in an unfamiliar environment. But watching people helped me recognize how much we share at the core; we all have something we love, and we all want to be loved. I will continue to take that mentality back home with me, carry it with me throughout my life. This trip has helped me to look at intimidating, hard, or lonely experiences right in the face with a good attitude and the ability to find joy in the little things that connect us. Like the lady at the corner store, also having the name Mari, or knowing my classmates and me will return to Dayton forever connected because we lived in Barcelona, Spain, for a month together when we were 20.