My Study Abroad in Barcelona

This winter, I finally got to fulfill my college goal of studying abroad. It was something I had always dreamed of doing, a once in a lifetime opportunity. And I have to say, it truly exceeded my expectations. I can proudly say that is 12 weeks I will never forget my time in Barcelona, Spain.

Parc Guell is a must visit if you come to Barcelona!

Barcelona

I really wanted to study abroad in Barcelona in an effort to expand my Spanish ability beyond textbook fluency. This is also why I chose not to travel through Carleton College. No shade to any of the Carleton programs, they are absolutely incredible, but I needed a program specifically catered to my language immersion. I wanted to branch out and meet new people, while already pushing myself through tough academics. Attending Barcelona Study Abroad Experience, as a non-Carleton program, meant that I was not taking classes with other Carleton students or from Carleton professors. In fact, I wasn’t taking classes with anyone I knew. Not to mention, they were all in Spanish! However, because I was out of my comfort zone, I got to do so many things I never would have done before!

Chance to Meet New People

One of my favorite parts of traveling to Barcelona was the fact that I went into the experience knowing no-one. Not a single soul. Was that difficult at times? Absolutely. But ultimately, I left with better friends than I thought I could have ever made. I also had an excuse to travel around to go see them. I managed to even make friends with some locals, especially the lovely staff at our favorite Sunday night restaurant. I met tons of people from Spain, and even more kids who were studying abroad from all over the world! My family even got to come visit and they were able to see where I was living, meet my roommates and friends, and even experience a little bit of the Barcelona culture and lifestyle.

Opportunity to Travel

One of my favorite parts of studying abroad was the fact that I got to travel almost every weekend to places I have always wanted to explore, and even to places I had never considered exploring. In those 12 weeks, I managed to visit 6 countries, 10 major cities, and a few smaller locations (which I wouldn’t have even known about). While I loved every single place I got to visit, the fight for top spot is definitely a close call between Morocco and Lisbon, Portugal. Both amazing places, and yet both strikingly different. In Morocco, we were bouncing from city to town and doing homestays, truly getting a culturally immersive experience. In Portugal we got to do many more “touristy” things, but also experience the gorgeous city of Lisbon and all it has to offer. I’ve attached the collages I made of each trip, I’ll leave you to discern which is which.

Stella (she/her/hers) is a rising senior originally from St Paul, MN. She is a Political Science major with minors in Spanish, Neuroscience, and Public Policy. Stella does a lot of things on campus, many of which involve the admissions office! She serves as a tour guide, works as an athletics fellow, and runs the Carleton College TikTok (drop a follow). She plays on Carleton’s varsity volleyball team and is a chair of the Carleton Pickleball Association, in addition to being employed at The Ole Store & Tanzenwald Brewing in town.