Emily from England!

Name: Emily Holden

Age: 23

City and country of origin: London, UK





1.When, where and for how long did you live or have you been living in Barcelona?

I lived in Barcelona from June 2008-September 2009

I lived in 3 different apartments - the first one on Muntaner con Maria Cubi, then another place very close, Laforja con Via Augusta, and the last one down by Drassanes, the infamous Carrer Santa Monica.


2.What made you move here?

I wanted to improve my Spanish, and needed a change after University in Paris. I applied to do a Leonardo da Vinci programme for the summer 2008 and stayed on afterwards. The internship was a total joke! I found work in a variety of different places afterwards - a business club, an auction house, and finally as an English teacher. None of them made me any money!


3.What made you leave / stay?

I stayed until the point where I felt Barcelona wasn't giving me as much as I was giving her. In the beginning I tried really hard to meet people, make friends, and integrate, but I found it hard to find caring, honest people. I met a lot of "fair-weather" friends. I didn't want to keep working and making no money, and wanted to save up money for travelling in the future, so I decided to go back to London on a money-mission. So far it's going well! I also never felt like I truly was part of Barcelona, that anything was holding me there. It was a very different experience to living in Paris where I felt 100% Parisienne despite my English roots. Barcelona just wouldn't let me in!


4.What you like the most about Barcelona.

The way of life, walking down unknown streets, having a drink on a plaza, the beach, the bars, the mountains, the views, the architecture, seeing crazy people do crazy things in Barceloneta, getting home at dawn, ice cream, the walk from Colon to Barceloneta, Bicing...


5.What you dislike the most about Barcelona.

The prostitutes; the crime; the fact that I met a lot of people who were only interested in what I could give them or something I could do for them; the feeling of always being a "guiri"; not speaking Catalan; finding "presents" on my doorstep (vomit, dog shit, human shit, stink of piss); seeing people buy, sell and take drugs in the street; the shameful behaviour of my compatriots.


6.Name a special place in Barcelona.

Montjuic - for hidden corners, the runs with Cristian, the picnics, the Sunday walks, the views.


7.Name one word you would relate to Barcelona.

Temporary. Temporary jobs, temporary friends, temporary flats - it was good, but too good to last! The only thing I've kept from Barcelona is Cristian :) We'll see if that turns out to be temporary or not!