Las Motocicletas

Cars, trains, airplanes, and boats are amoung the most common forms of transportation in America. Many people mistakenly think that these are common machines found throughout the world. In fact, in many countries people do not have enough money to utilize these luxuries that we take for granted here in one of the superpowers of the world. However, there are alternate modes of transportation that we do not find as commonly in the United States. Barcelona is a big and busy city, much like the beloved NYC. How did I get from place to place without getting stuck in the inescapable traffic? The motorbike! Yes, we see these often in America, but they are abundant in Barcelona, Spain. The first time my boyfriend handed me a helmet I was nervous. I had never ridden a motorcycle before and I wasn't sure how safe I felt. But as we were riding around town and my nerves started to calm down, I realized that it wasn't so bad and soon I was having the time of my life.
In America, I feel like the people who ride motorcycles are stigmatized. I always felt like these bikers were thought of as tough and mean, sometimes troublesome. This shows that things have different meanings in different cultures, because in Spain, so many people have motorbikes. Nobody would think twice if they saw that you owned one, while in the United States they aren't as common and many people frown upon motorbikes and those who use them. This seemingly small difference between Spanish and American culture really stood out for me because it shows big distinctions between how people define things.