What am I doing in Barcelona?

Every traveller has a city or country that they dream of travelling to someday. For some, it is Paris, for others Agra, or New York City, or Bali… the list goes on. For the longest time, the city I fantasised about was Barcelona. I am not an athletic person or a sports lover at all, so don't think it was because of the F.C. Barcelona; it was for a rather nerdy reason. To explain why, I have to go back to the September of 2011-- my first semester in Madrid.
So I decided to move to Madrid to study. And when I told my mother that I got accepted to an American university in Spain, the first statement from her was “But you don't speak Spanish!” I went on for an hour, justifying why she should let me move to Spain to study.
Back to my first semester in Madrid -- in one of my classes, I read the book “The Shadow of the Wind”, originally written by a Spanish writer. It's a fiction based in Barcelona. The background is the Spanish Civil War. The book was hauntingly beautiful and the author did a magical job at describing the city. I could not help but fall in love with it.
Trust me when I say this, but I have a rather elusive connection with the city of Barcelona. I lived in Madrid for a year and a half, and never made it to Barcelona. After three semesters in Madrid, I went on my semester abroad – 'Semester at Sea'. My Semester at Sea was supposed to end in Barcelona, however, as my Spanish student-card had expired, I had to get off in Casablanca, and I could not make it to Barcelona. Two months ago, I booked my train ticket, made all the arrangements to go to Barcelona for an amazing weekend. But I missed my train… So, I told myself, the universe does not want me to go to Barcelona, yet. 
Last month, a very close friend of mine moved to Barcelona and I thought I would go and visit him. So I booked my flight this time, and made sure I got to the airport on time. It was a very short flight to Barcelona. My friend came to pick me up at the airport. Then, trust me or not, we went out for an amazing Indian dinner. Next day was about walking around and exploring. I dragged my friend and did what I do best -- got lost and ate. We walked to the port area where I had some of the best seafood of my life. I am not very sure what I ate, because my friend ordered for me and the menu was in Spanish. I had mussels and shrimp. Whatever my friend ordered, they were simply delicious.
The next day was when I made my fantasy come true. It was my nerd day! I had to see the Barcelona of “The Shadow of the Wind”. The author, Carlos Ruiz Zafon, has a website where he provides a map, which points out all the places he describes and all the places where the characters lived. I had the map in my hand and I did the entire walk. Which meant that I walked across almost half of the city. It was rather surreal, to walk around Barcelona, to see its Gothic quarters and see where all the characters lived and spent their time. To be honest, I felt like I knew the city so well. I was no stranger. Even the most isolated, narrow and dark street felt like a scar on my skin which had always been there. Something I knew so well, but never really paid attention to. 
My short visit only made me love the city of Barcelona even more. I know that I will return very soon. And I completely agree with my friend, as he said, “For real, you can create a home here.”

Shariqa Habib is a student of Political Science and Communication at Saint Louis University Madrid. When she is not studying or sleeping, she likes to travel and eat anything and everything! She can be reached at [email protected]