Throughout the entire journey that was the International Media Studies Trip to Barcelona, I was doing a lot of skateboarding. May seventh was a day that I did a lot of skateboarding. I skated at Macba, one of the – if not the – most iconic skateboarding spots in the entire world. I skateboarded around that area for a bit, but ended up going to Placa Universitat, another iconic skateboarding spot. Universitat was located directly next to where we were housed, so I spent a lot of time skateboarding there and nearby.
While skating, I talked to some local skaters about the best places to skate in the city. Despite the language barrier, I was able to get a list of spots.
The thing about being a skater in Barcelona is that you are treated very, very, very differently than just as a tourist. As a tourist I was treated distinctly as a foreigner. Even in situations where they spoke English, I and everyone I was with was treated, to an extent, with little thought. I don’t want to say that there is a disdain, because that is not the case, but you definitely are not treated as an equal.
When skating, I was not only treated with respect, but I was respected. We shook hands, fist bumped, talked about our lives, exchanged stories and music recommendations, and in general just chilled and skated. I have never in my life experienced a community like that – and probably never will again outside of going back… and this was only a few days in.
That night I made an excel spreadsheet for my project, and began marking off the list of where I wanted to skate.