caitlin bellah: Barcelona...

So....I got married!

....and it's awesome!

Which is why I am in Spain. My husband is from Barcelona and after some immigration issues we have found out we are probably staying for the next year or so before moving back to Los Angeles. Which is definitely not something to complain about. Barcelona is absolutely amazing!

people having drinks in the square

old folks playing petanca in the park by our place

Okay...maybe I didn't feel that way instantly when I found out we had to stay. Sure, I really like Barcelona. I liked the idea that we would come back a few times a year. I liked the idea that our kids would call this place their second home. But living here indefinitely seemed like a scary concept. What about my people back home? Work? Language? I had already been living in Europe for 5 months (Paris, London, and Barcelona) and I missed home. Also the cultural differences were hard to deal with at first. Americans wake up early, we live our lives completely around work and base a lot of our self worth on our jobs. We eat earlier (and more often), go to work earlier, and rarely take a vacation. When I first began living here 6 months ago it drove me nuts because I was still in that same frame of mind. The months I spent in Paris and London came with cultural differences, but they still lived pretty similarly to Americans. Everything was fast paced and revolved around work. But really, I've come to admire the way Mediterranean people live their lives. They take their time. They enjoy life and base their worth on who they are...not their jobs. The enjoy time with their friends and eat outside. They DO work hard, very hard, but never forget to make time for whats really important. I've met the most amazing people on shoots, and off, and am so grateful to have been given this opportunity to experience the world. I hope to move back to Los Angeles with two new languages ( Spanish & Catalan) and a whole new outlook on everything.