Becoming a Traveler in Barcelona
Studying abroad in Barcelona for four weeks was an incredible experience. I conquered my fears, made new friends, and was able to visit a city I had been dreaming about since watching Cheetah Girls 2 years earlier. But most importantly, it was incredible because I was able to break the ideas I held going into the experience, and I was able to live like a real Spaniard -instead of just being a tourist.
I signed up to do my study abroad in October of my freshman year. I learned about it through one of my school’s study abroad fairs and I had the chance to talk with the professors who were going to be teaching on the trip. I was overjoyed when they told me freshman were allowed on the trip because most study abroad programs required a year of college first. I was so excited that I got all my paperwork finished and my deposit paid before winter break. The professors running the program even gave me a free metrocard for being one of the first students to finish registering.
Fears
Although I was extremely pumped for the trip, the uncertainties began to fill my head about two weeks before my flight. I realized I was about to fly halfway around the world for the first time in my life without my family. I didn’t know anyone on the trip and I hadn’t even met my roommate yet. I was afraid I wouldn’t like the food in Spain or that it might be hard for me to keep up with class work while having fun at the same time. I also wondered what I would do if I got lost on the metro and my phone died. I was also nervous that I wouldn’t be able to communicate fully with my host family because my Spanish, while decent, was not great. And, I was afraid of what I would do if I needed medical attention and couldn’t say what was wrong.
However, watching Barcelona travel vlogs in the days leading up to my flight and making a bucket list of everything I wanted to see helped calm me down. I had to remind myself that there were more reasons to be excited than there were to be afraid. The main coordinator of the trip created a Facebook group for all 27 people on the trip and we all got to introduce ourselves and plan flights with each other so we wouldn’t travel alone. This made me feel a lot better.
The First Day
Even though I live in Atlanta, I drove to the Charlotte airport to catch the same flight as three other girls on the trip. The flight was direct and was only about 8 hours. We left around 4 p.m. but I couldn’t sleep on the flight. It was just nearing 1 a.m. at home when we arrived in Barcelona. I knew it would be a bad idea to nap the first day because of jet lag, so I got through the first day with a lot of espresso shots!
After everyone arrived at the airport, we took a bus to the International Studies Abroad (ISA) headquarters, the office supporting us during our study abroad. It became the place where we would get our mail, use the office computers, and print documents. They were also our emergency contacts if anything happened. It was a comfort to know that all of them were fluent in both English and Spanish.
Our host families were waiting for us when we arrived. My roommate, Christine, and I met with our host mother and her daughter. I remember having my first dose of culture shock when I went to hug my host mother, but she instead took my face and planted a kiss on both of my cheeks.
Our host mother lived close to ISA so we walked to their apartment building. She gave us a tour of our large apartment. Christine and I stayed in the same room, which resembled a dorm room with two beds. We also shared closet space and a bathroom. We had a balcony which was nice for private phone calls with our families and letting the natural breeze inside. We kept the balcony door open much of the time because, unlike the U.S., they did not use air conditioning. We relaxed until we had to go back to ISA for orientation. At the ISA orientation, they talked to us about culture shock and how to be safe during our stay. Then we took a bus tour of the city.
Classes
In Barcelona, we studied at the Autonomous University of Barcelona which was only about 20 minutes by metro from our apartment. The university had gorgeous traditional Spanish architecture, the classrooms were full of murals, and the hallways had antique statues. The university also had a café where my friends and I would relax before class or during lunch.
There were several other American university groups studying there in addition to ours, so we were able to meet other students from places like the University of San Francisco, Auburn University and New York University. I took a class on interviewing strategies and on intercultural communication. We had both classes every day until Thursday, our professors gave us Fridays off to take longer weekend trips. The course load was not bad at all and our professors helped us with assignments. They didn’t want to overwhelm us with homework so we could have more enjoyable weekend trips.
Weekend Adventures
The weekend adventures were some of my favorite memories of the study abroad program. The professors running the program had a few pre-planned trips for us during the week after our classes and on the first weekend. As a group, we saw El Castillo de Montjuic, Antonio Gaudi’s best work at Parc Guell and Casa Mila, and the spectacular view at Montserrat.
During one of our free weekends, two friends and I took the short thirty-minute plane ride to Palma, Mallorca, an island off the coast of Spain. It was beautiful and had a small-town feel which was much different from the metropolitan feel of Barcelona. It was a nice escape.
We hung out on the beach for hours soaking up the sun and playing in the crystal clear waters. We also took a tour bus up to Castell de Bellver, where we accidently crashed not one, but two weddings! In Palma, I used Airbnb for the first time. We chose a nice apartment in the city, only 10 minutes from the beach, and our host was very warm and welcoming. It was a much better choice than a hotel.
For the last weekend, I took a trip with two more friends to Rome. It was amazing to see all the history in Rome. We visited the Vatican, after stopping at H&M to buy knee length skirts and cardigans, of course. We toured the Colosseum, made a wish at the Trevi Fountain, and walked through the narrow cobblestone streets. We even had some authentic Italian pasta and wine!
One Saturday, a huge group of us decided to go to one of the most popular clubs in Barcelona called Opium. The line for Opium was insanely long and it was difficult to get in without being on the “A-list”. It was fun bonding with the group while trying to figure out crazy ways to sneak inside. One of the girls in our group made friends
with some locals while we were waiting in line. Luckily, they were on the list and were able to get us in. To our surprise, they played a lot of American hit songs in the club so we were able to sing along and dance the night away. It was definitely one of the most memorable parts of the trip.
My host family
Living with a host family was the most challenging, yet rewarding part of the trip. I was a tourist for every trip I took before this one. I stayed in hotels, ate American food, or anything close to it, and I spoke English to American people the entire time. Living with a host family put me in a position where I had to eat their food and at their dinner time, which was much later than in the U.S. I was hungry a lot during the first week because most people in Spain eat dinner around 9:30 or 10 at night. That was somethingI wasn’t expecting, but by the second week, I started eating a second lunch around 5 or 6 and that worked much better for me.
One of the things I was afraid of prior to the trip was that I wouldn’t like Spanish food, but I found that it was pretty similar to American food. The first night our host mother served us spaghetti and fried chicken and you can imagine my surprise. My favorite meal became tortilla de patatas, or egg and potato omelettes, but we also ate a lot of seafood, potatoes, chicken, and fruit for dessert every night.
The only thing that was really different was breakfast. I usually eat eggs for breakfast but in Spain, eggs are usually served for dinner. Our host mother would make us muffins or toast with jam for breakfast. One morning, I asked our host mother to make eggs for me and she was very confused why I would eat eggs for breakfast. I had to explain what scrambled meant because they usually had eggs sunny side up
Communication was one of the biggest challenges of my trip. Although I’ve spoken Spanish my entire life, it was hard translating in my head and on the spot. I often forgot many of the common verbs. One night our host mother had to actually flick the lights on and off to explain what the word “Apagar” meant.
Dinner was the only meal that our host mother and her daughter had with Christine and me, so it was usually the time to practice o
My experience in Barcelona was unforgettable. I was able to travel without my family for the first time, make new friends, and go on spontaneous weekend trips. Being in Barcelona helped me realize the difference between being a tourist and a traveler. I immersed myself into the culture by using the metro instead of taking taxis. I became comfortable speaking the language, communicating with people from a culture different than my own, and learning how to prepare food the Spanish way. I plan on continuing to be a traveler for life. In this effort, I will seek to really immerse myself into the culture of the places I visit and seek to be a part of their world; I want to understand it instead of just passing through.
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