I just entered my fourth week in Barcelona, Spain and it has been one heck of a rollercoaster since the start… in the best way possible. If I’m being honest, when I first arrived in the city, I had no idea what to expect. I think that the weeks of mental preparation, and the days of physically packing my belongings to go really distracted me from what would be my new reality. Early on into my study abroad application process, I set my laptop screensaver to an aerial view of Barcelona, however I never actually internalized that the grid like landscape displayed on my computer, would be the streets that I would walk on.
The Tuesday morning that we arrived, me, Mandy and Adriana (who are also from Ithaca) dropped our bags at our student residency and were en route to go get sim cards so our phones would work in this new country. As one does in a new city, we got distracted along the way and stopped for some tapas and drinks at a small restaurant right next to the Arc de Triomf. I was in absolute awe when we turned a street corner just five minutes from our place and saw this monument that I had been following on Barcelona Instagram accounts for plenty of time. After our delicious lunch of bread and ham, a staple here in Barcelona (seriously there is just bread and ham everywhere) we continued our mission to find the prepaid sim cards. Unfortunately, after looking at three different stores and getting turned down from one because they were closing for the siesta portion of the day, which typically can last from anywhere between 2 and 5 p.m. or 3 to 8 p.m., we gave up.
So, the sim card saga was a bit of a hassle. Navigating a new city and doing so by screenshotting from Google Maps in case you lost your Wi-Fi connection was quite overwhelming to start off the trip. Not to mention, at night when I would go to call my family, because of the spotty Wi-Fi in our residency I would lose connection from my parents, and it was pretty hard at first.
That was one part of studying abroad that I had never really heard about from other students, the settling period and the mental hardships that come with that. The other girls in the Spanish Studies Abroad group that I was traveling with expressed that they were feeling the same way. I’m sure you don’t hear about that as much because when programs wrap up, students aren’t thinking about the first week where they shed a few tears and questioned if they made the right choice moving to a new country. They’re thinking about the weeks that followed, where they were exploring, and going out, and making new friends. And I can attest to that because now four weeks in, first week Parker seems to be so far gone. There are still days where I miss home occasionally, but adjusting has become easier and easier, each and every day.
So now onto the good stuff! Barcelona is a DREAM. I’ve never lived in a city before and Barcelona is veryyyy city. I love it. The public transportation is incredible and so simple to use. The streets seem meticulously clean, which is ironic because I’ve heard that Barcelona is considered a dirty city in Spain. The food, literally every single thing I’ve had here has tasted like the best food I’ve ever had. The night life is incredible, even considering the restrictions put in place because of COVID-19.
Some of my favorite things I’ve seen however, have not been the monuments (while they are still incredible) but instead, just the way people live here. Quality time seems so important to people here. It is extremely rare that you walk past a restaurant or outdoor seating where there is anyone on their phone. People are always talking, laughing and eating these small plates or drinking their drinks and spending time together.
One day in particular, that stands out in my mind is a Saturday that we spent exploring Parc de la Ciutadella. My friend Sandy, who I met through my program, brought Mandy and I to this park near her school. We entered this stunning park with a huge fountain and there were older couples dancing straight ahead, younger people dancing to our right, little kids chasing bubbles, dogs running around freely and row boats in a small body of water to our left. It was straight out of a European dream. To say I was obsessed is an understatement.
And I’ve realized that this is a normal Saturday in Barcelona. I am really looking forward to spending more time here, and further immersing myself in the beautiful things that this city has to offer.
Without a doubt, over the course of my time spent here, there’s been a lot of adjustment, plenty of trial and error and learning as you go is a must. I think it’s very exciting that this is only the beginning, and I can’t even begin to imagine what else we will see, learn and get to experience throughout the course of studying abroad.
