An American Living in Barcelona
Culture Shock from a Former New Yorker
I moved permanently to Barcelona in September 2020 after 55 years of living in the States. I grew up in Trenton, NJ, but I’ve lived in more places than I can remember since becoming an adult. From Center City, Philadelphia to NYC’s East Village, I’ve hung my hat all over the North East.
My thing is the music and culture of a little-known place called Tuva. If you’ve never heard of it, don’t worry, most people haven’t. Independent until 1944, the Republic of Tuva is a part of the Russian Federation. However, they are not Russians. The Tuvans are indigenous people of Siberia numbering around 300,000.
I visited this crazy, far-away place three times. My first trip was in 2016. I returned in 2017 and then again in 2018. It was on that last trip to the Center of Asia that brought me to Spain. I met a beautiful Spanish tourist in Kyzyl, Tuva’s capital, and two years later, I gave up my homeland to spend the rest of my life with her. You can read about my trips to Siberia and how I met the woman of my dreams in My Adventures in Tuva.
Sneaking Into Spain
After a few trips to Barcelona, we knew that we wanted to be together. I was close to being ready to give up my American life and decided that I’d fly to see her again in mid-March 2020 to discuss our…
