I moved from Los Angeles to Barcelona. Here are 11 things that surprised me most.

A few years ago, I moved out of the US and began building a new life in Barcelona.

Jordan Mautner About six years ago, I moved from Los Angeles to Barcelona and began building a life in Spain.

Barcelona is beautiful, and I've been surprised by some of the local holiday traditions.

I also wasn't expecting some eating customs, like sandwiches for breakfast and 9 p.m. dinners.

After years of visiting Europe from Los Angeles, I took the plunge and relocated to Barcelona in 2020.

I've spent the past six years really making Spain feel like home , but when I first moved, there were definitely a few experiences and cultural norms that took some getting used to.

Here's what surprised me the most when I moved from the US to Spain.

I knew Barcelona was in Spain, but the region of Catalonia has its own language and culture.

Catalonia is a region in northeastern Spain.

Jordan Mautner Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia, a northeastern region of Spain.

When I first moved, I assumed Spanish would be the go-to language, but I was quite mistaken.

When you walk into stores and restaurants, the menus and signs are usually in Catalan.

And although everyone speaks Spanish, it's still good to know a few Catalan words and phrases to be polite and respect the culture.

A few of my favorites are "adéu" ("goodbye"), "si us plau" ("please"), "molt bé" ("very well"), and "merci" ("thank you").