Day 2 was a good day. We slept late since with the time zone change bedtime was way past 1am for everyone. We started off going to the local mall to get photos for our residency cards, then ate a light lunch. Off to the police station we went and within an hour we were now official residents of Barcelona. From there we headed to a small carnival outside the mall were the kids played and did some rides.
The twins finally got their wish for the past few years. They got their own phones. Being in a new country is a good excuse to make sure they have an easy way to communicate with us and others.
My favorite part of the day came next. Around 7pm, I went to a large super market with my daughter. We had to use google translate to figure out what was what, as well as, broken Spanish, and hand gestures with those we spoke to.
“Donde esta la mantequilla (butter)?” Lot’s of words in response and a gesture that looked like straight then to the left. As we headed in that direction and started searching we saw it in the distance. Score! It is the small wins when you are learning a new language.
Mommy likes soy milk with her coffee. Leila, frantically search for the word “soja” in the “leche” section. She jumped with joy when she found it first.
Finally, we finished and we got in the taxi to go home. As we load into the cab, the driver looks at our family of 5 and it very clear when we hear the word “cautro.” No problem, I get out and decide to walk home the 15 minutes and meet them there.
That is when it happened. That was my first time alone. Walking through the streets of Barcelona. All of a sudden it was like I was a junior in college again living in Florence. A calm came over me and I just started smiling ear to ear. It felt right.
We got home, made dinner, sat on the back terrace opened a bottle of Rioja and celebrated day 2 in Barcelona.