De dónde eres?

After returning from Morocco, having realized the benefits of meeting people online who are interested in language and cultural exchange, I was inspired continue the task of making local friends. That, combined with the departure of about 3,000 Americans on semester programs and a long weekend where most of the kids on my tiny program are away, led me to post an ad on loquo, the Barcelona craigslist, for a language exchange.

I got a few interesting replies, including Francis, a 20-year old from Brazil, and David, a 20-year local. Francis also gave me his screen name, so we chatted a little bit, and we had this interesting exhange:

[05:34] francis: TU TIENES NOVIA EN ESTADOS UNIDOS?
[05:34] Dan: no
[05:34] Dan: y tu?
[05:34] francis: SI AQUI
[05:34] francis: PERO UN DETALLE
[05:34] Dan: como se llama
[05:35] francis: NO ES CHICA ES UN CHICO

As those of you that understand a little bit about Spanish can see, I stumbled upon a gay guy who responded to my highly platonic language exchange post. After chatting we made plans to meet in Placa Catalunya (like the most public, busiest part of town), and David and I set out to meet him around 5 this afternoon. He came with his boyfriend, who is German, and we set off walking around for a little while in search of a cafe. Francis speaks four languages: Portuguese, Spanish, Catalan, and English, whereas Ralf, his boyfriend (who appeared considerably older) speaks 8: the aforementioned in addition to German, French, Dutch, and a dash of Arabic. They both have been living here for a few years, and have been dating for the last year.

We ended up having a very multi-lingual conversation. Since David speaks barely any Spanish, Francis spent most of the time coaxing the little that David knew out of him. I spoke mostly to Ralf in a mixture of Spanish and English. And when Francis spoke to me, he would do it in Portuguese and tell me to respond in Spanish. I was surprised how much I could understand (he was also gesticulating profusely), and he got a kick out of my sometimes not realizing which language he was speaking.

I have to say I was surprised how well we got along, and our conversation helped me to realize how international a city Barcelona is. The city is full of ex-pats from all over the world, and their friends include the French and German more than the Spanish or Catalan (which are different, take care). It was really fun having a conversation that flowed naturally between languages, and we made plans to hang out again.

So even if I didn't make a Catalan or Barcelonés friend, I'm glad to have made some international friends. I'm still working on the locals.