Maleia Sheldon
Portland Community College
The one
thing that I knew before I came to Barcelona was that its public transportation
was better than in Portland, so I expected a lot out of it in Barcelona because
I wanted to be able to see everything the city has to offer. The day that I arrived we were greeted at the
airport by the program director and staff. They were there to take us to our
new homes for the next ten weeks and to give us a very short tour of our neighborhood
including where the closest Metro (Subway) stop was so we could find our way to
our new school the following day.
As I opened the folder that I
received I saw a Barcelona Metro map, which was going to become my new best
friend. As I familiarized myself with it
I could only think there are so many different lines -- green, yellow, red,
purple, blue, and so on; it was going to be a learning experience.
Now that I have ridden the Metro numerous
times it doesn’t seem so intense, and the more I walked around the more I
realized how much I only needed the Metro for convenience. For example one of my favorite spots in
Barcelona is the Gracia neighborhood. I realized if I walked about a mile or
less to the right of my neighborhood I would be there.
From this experience I learned that
our public transit system in Portland is lacking in so many ways; for one thing
it seems to be much more expensive. Here in Barcelona if you are under 25 years
of age you can get a 90-day pass for 105 Euro ($136) and it is unlimited, while
in Portland a Tri-Met pass for only one month is around $110.00.
Being in Barcelona I am very happy
with how I have been able to get around the city. There are always a few things
that are annoying when riding the Metro such as pushy patrons or people who are
in a huge hurry who force you out of their way but those are all things that
can be overlooked when you get off the Metro and start exploring the beautiful
city you are in.
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