Sure, it's easy to go to a beach or mountain town where the sands and cliffs take your breath away, the shops offer mementos that are cheap and pretty, and the bars serve up drinks that are strong and sweet. But how do you know if it's the real thing? Is this how the locals dress and what they drink when they go home at night after a hard day's work entertaining visitors?
And does it matter? If you find a place that is nice, what you find there is at least to some extent unique to that place. So maybe that place is not representative of the entire country, but you're still getting to know some other corner of the world.
Consider Khao San road in Bangkok, Thailand. A very wise ecology professor once explained that it is a positive feedback loop of "things tourists like." For example, elephant symbols on clothing and room decor, whole traditionally a Cambodian element, have seeped into the everyday objects here because for many visitors, the elephant is a symbol of something authentically Asian. So even if you're technically in the wrong country, all things elephant still sell well, so they continue to propagate.
In this way, Khao San road morphs into its own self-sustaining entity where elephant-stamped items are privy to every corner, and in a way, that is real.
But for me, that's not enough. Here in Cambrils, expats from India, Pakistan, and Thailand sell purses and clothing local to their home countries. I'm sorry, but that is in no way a Catalonian souvenir! So what do you do?
Here in Cambrils, I was lucky enough to connect with a cousin of a good friend who is originally from the area. We went to a barracks party - kind of like a more chilled-out version of Outside Lands where people don't push each other, drinks are 2 euros instead of 9 bucks (and admission is FREE), and you don't have to hold on to your spot by the stage for dear life so you don't lose all your friends when you go to the bathroom. After I decided that I will forever dislike music festivals, this one was actually a supremely pleasant experience! I loved the sense of community, self-awareness, and a feeling of being at home and fitting in that permeated throughout the crowd. One of the girls explained that she would run into high school friends in the bathroom line and catch up on all the events that happened since they hadn't seen each other in 3 years.
The first step to enjoying an experience with a language barrier is to have a good attitude and smile about everything. There is a lack of verbal cues about whether you are having fun, so you have to fill in with body language. And everybody wants to mutually make a good impression, so your body and mind really rally to the cause. I had an awesome experience because I wanted to have an awesome experience, and it really works like that! We stayed out until 4:30 am, and because I told my body not to be tired, I wasn't tired! I didn't even have a headache after alternating tequila, champagne, and beer all night.
The second step is to think critically and ask lots of questions. I used every opportunity to find out about the culture, dating life, what the young people did, how quickly they grew up, etc. It was a chance for me to learn history and anthropology and a chance for my new friends to practice their English. Win-win!
The third step is to get off the beaten path. I was one of maybe 5 foreigners at this huge party, and there is no way I could have tracked it down on my own. No tacky elephant symbols anywhere in sight!
I also did this when I rented a road bike that was 3 times nicer than any bike I have ever touched and did a 50 km loop around the surrounding foothills. I've forgotten how quaint Europe is! The tiny compact streets look like they are cut out of a picture book and the farmland is vast and welcoming. The villages were dead quiet because I was out during the siesta, but all the surroundings are markedly non threatening. No stray dogs chasing me, and the few people I saw were either friendly or indifferent, immune to the hoards of road bikers who pass their homes each day to get their fix of exercise and sightseeing. Doing different activities is a great way to see a place - I was much closer to my surroundings than if I saw them by car or bus (and would have slept through most of the experience in that case 😛)
The final step is to keep putting yourself out there and trying to communicate! There are few things I love more than taking my hodgepodge of languages and trying to have a conversation with someone who grew up speaking something entirely different. Trying to speak the language can also earn you major bonus points, and trying to put yourself out there in other ways can have other rewards. When I wanted to get a bike, I bugged and bugged the shop owner about helmets until he agreed to loan me one for free. They typically don't rent helmets (only for children), and buying one for 20 euros for a 1-day outing seemed a little steep. I finally got a free kids' helmet to use for the day - an element that was vital to my ride.
It turned out that one of the employees of the local dive shop grew up in the same town and spoke English AND French, so the drive over to the marina was a great way to pick his brain and tell him a little about America.
My impression of Catalonia so far: the people are spunky and self-aware yet mellow, friendly, and welcoming, and the countryside is beautiful, picturesque, and quaint in a typically European way. Adding it to the list of places where I hope to return :)
