Articles · Five Things I Learned in Barcelona · Lesson 2 of 5
Filipino culture has always been centred on community. And as a friendly neighbourhood Cody, I knew people in my barangay (the local community), and I can walk 20 minutes and be at my childhood friends’ houses.
Those 20 minutes turned into 26 hours of flight across the globe, not to mention that a one-way ticket costs at least 500 EUR.
They always show moving abroad as something fun, brave, and adventurous. And it’s true. Living abroad has so many new experiences to offer. But what they don’t often show is how lonely it could be, too.
Barcelona: A classic case of international cities
Barcelona is a great, multicultural place. It’s filled with cuisines from around the world and people from all corners of the Earth.
What they failed to mention is that it is also a transitory city. People come and go all the time.
Which leads me to my next challenge: finding friends.
You won’t run out of people in the cities. There will be so many acquaintances. So many people with similar interests, whether fitness, reading, or even philosophical discussions. I joined book clubs, language exchanges, and attended Meetup events.
Meeting new people is very easy.
But people you trust enough to ask for help from? Now that is a different discussion. When you are alone in a foreign country, you need safe people you can depend on.
Finding my people
I’m so glad that Filipino people flock together wherever we are.
My first friends in Barcelona are Filipinos. I attended events at the Philippine Consulate of Barcelona, and there, I would meet new people. I’ve also attended independently organised networking events (shoutout to the hardworking Kaipitana of Barcelona).
I have also met good people from the Meetups I have been to. People whom I bake banana bread for, discuss my personal decisions with, and rant to when life gets heavy.
It took some time, but now I can honestly say that I know people whom I can call at 3 am.
These people who would text, “Cody, I’m cooking some delicious omelette with rice. Do you want to come?” on that one night, I was crying my eyes out, and the only thing I wanted to do was take the next flight back.
I celebrated the holidays with them last December. One hosted in their flat, and gave us books as gifts and cocoa bars to make hot chocolate with. People who are also not afraid to call me out and talk some sense into me.
It took some time, but now I can honestly say that I know people whom I can call at 3 am.
The people back home
Here’s another truth: Just because I moved does not mean that I lose my connection with people back home.
It does take more effort. It’s harder to schedule calls when the time difference is 6 to 7 hours, but there is something so meaningful about people intentionally overcoming time zones.
One of my closest friends in the Philippines sent me a cake on my birthday last year. She is the same person who asks me if she could send food on my bad days, too as her way of helping me feel better.
I remember talking with friends who made plans to visit Barcelona (and some actually did!), or even meeting me halfway across the globe.
Some friends call for 15 minutes just to check in with me. Some do video calls for two hours and catch me up on their lives, too. I’m so, so grateful.
I don’t think I’m generally “lucky” about a lot of things, but when it comes to friends, I do think I’m probably the luckiest.