Studying at the University of Rochester is pretty cool, but what’s even cooler? Studying abroad of course! This past spring semester I had the opportunity to study abroad in Barcelona, Spain. I get a lot of questions about the study abroad process, how class credits transfer and if it is possible to graduate on time with a study abroad semester? So, today I will answer all of these questions and discuss everything study abroad, Barcelona, and some fun stories from my travels!
Studying in Spain has been a dream of mine since my first day of Spanish Language in sixth grade. Language courses were always my favorite classes, so I always told myself that one day I would travel the world and put my language skills to the test. With that being said, this is exactly what I spent my last semester doing. For me, it was not a matter of if or where I was studying abroad, it was when. Ultimately, I landed upon junior spring – I figured it would be good to take time abroad before the storm that is senior year.
My semester abroad began January 7 – a great way to start the new year! My journey overseas was nothing short of an adventure to say the least. I had checked two big suitcases and was carrying on a travel backpack as well as my school backpack. Of course I had my crossbody fanny pack as well. Packing for abroad is certainly an experience, as not only are you living over seas for 4 months but you’re also taking classes and doing school work so anything from clothes to school supplies are needed. I am a chronic over-packer so I felt flustered. The travel day turned out to be fine up until my landing. To get to Spain I took a flight to London Heathrow and from there took a connecting flight to Barcelona El Prat Airport. After going through customs in Spain it was time to get my bags, one big bag came rolling around but the blue one was no where in sight. My stomach was doing flips, my ears were ringing from being airborne for so long and my heart was beating from stress about my missing bag. When the conveyor belt shut off and it was still no where to be found, I turned to see a girl next to me who was also missing a bag and long story short we became very good friends after bonding over this experience! Fast forward 4 days later, my bag finally made it to my apartment building (thanks to my dad who found it stuck in the Boston Airport).
Despite the rough start, my semester started blossoming into an incredible one. Barcelona has so much to see and offer, such as the Sagrada Familia, Parc Güell, or Barceloneta beach. For every city I visited, I made a master list of all the tourist attractions and local cuisine to check out, my list for Barcelona was never-ending. Tapas, coffee, gelato, churros y chocolate are some traditional foods in Spain. The cafes in Spain are much smaller but it gives people the chance to grab something quick and wander the streets.
Barcelona is a big European city that is fairly spread out. Every corner I turned was different. Las Ramblas is a famous street, always crowded with people walking about shopping, eating or just wandering. As you wander past Las Ramblas, the city feels more modern with giant shops – let’s take a moment for the three floor Zara store. Further, as you walk a few blocks
down from there you all the sudden find yourself in the Gothic Quarter, surrounded with old stone buildings, the Spanish Cathedral, and tiny narrow streets. This was my favorite place to explore, as there are so many hidden historical gems.
This leads me onto my next benefit of study abroad: independence. Living in a city of a whole new country gives you so much time to explore who you are as an individual and also explore a whole new culture. I became quite familiar with utilizing Google Maps to navigate the city and the metro system if I had to. Each morning I would wake up, walk to the metro station, hop on the metro for twenty minutes and walk to class. I loved this experience of taking the metro. Shockingly, the metros in Spain are much more organized and cleaner than in the U.S.
A common concern about studying abroad is the language barrier. However, for me, I chose a city where I knew the language, as I am minoring in Spanish. For the program I was studying with – IES Barcelona – each student is required to take a Spanish course. For me, I was in an advanced level course that met each day and also gave us the opportunity to interact with locals and go on excursions of the city. After a few weeks of being in the city, I felt comfortable interacting with locals, ordering my coffee in Spanish etc. When studying abroad, do not be afraid to try the language, the local cuisine and interact with locals. Additionally, if you have the opportunity to take a class at a local university, do it. I took one class at the University of Barcelona and it was a life changing experience for me. These actions are what will separate you from being a tourist to being a temporary local. The idea is to immerse yourself, and that is exactly what I was able to do.
Now, I’ll save the best topic for last: traveling around Europe! Each weekend my friends and I traveled to a new city/country as we would have no classes on Fridays. We travelled to locations within Spain such as Madrid, Bilbao, San Sebastian, Valencia, Montserrat, Costa Brava, Mallorca, and Taragoña. We also went out of the country to, Paris, Berlin, Morocco, Budapest, Brussels, and various cities throughout Italy. Traveling was made easy with airlines such as RyanAir and Vueling, and trains throughout Spain. As I say, many cities, a couple of friends, one backpack. Traveling also allowed me to experience all different kinds of cultures and immerse myself in each of them even if it was just for a short period of time.
Studying abroad is truly an experience of a lifetime. At the University of Rochester, just about 25% of undergraduate students study abroad, whether it is for a semester or a few weeks in the summer. Each department has their own recommendations of study abroad destinations and programs. IES Abroad is a great partner program with the university and covers many different countries of interest. Additionally, with this program, credits get automatically sent over to the university, and tuition is paid to the university as normal (financial aid and scholarships still applying!). Course load depends, based on the student. For me I took a total of 19 credits, 16 through IES and 3 via the University of Barcelona. While the courses do not go towards GPA they do count towards graduation credits, which is why partner programs are an excellent option to consider.
If there is one thing I could change about my study abroad experience, it would be to extend my time to travel more! I truly would not change my time abroad for the world. The memories will stick with me forever – literally because in every city I collected post cards and framed them, so they are the first thing I look at in the morning!
It was not an adios to Barcelona but a ¡Hasta Luego! Because I know I can always go back and live through the memories.
If you are interested in learning more about study abroad, check out the Center for Education Abroad for more information. It is never too early or too late to begin thinking about your future abroad!
To quote one of my favorite films, “The world is wide, I want to make some memories!”