Before I came to Barcelona or Spain, I was expecting a drastically different way of life in terms of housing, transportation, eating, and many other things. However, I have learned that only a few things here are as different as I had previously imagined. However, the things that do contrast with what I had previously thought coming into Spain are extremely surprising. The first thing is the cabs here. I didn’t really believe that cabs would be such a big thing here and that everyone really just walked or used the train. Additionally, it really is amazing how reliant everyone is on the metro system, along with how well-constructed and complex it is. Additionally, I didn’t know about there not being a tipping culture here. As explained by the locals, they get paid enough salary to not receive tips. In some countries in Europe, they actually find tipping expensive. While these things are so entirely different, I actually do love how different they are and it really opens my eyes to this new way of life. However, the one thing I really don’t like is no ice in drinks, room temperature water, and AC is a rarity. However, all the amazing things I’ve experienced while here truly do trump those things. I genuinely love the Aggie community that we have begun to build here. Before this trip, a lot of us didn’t know many more than a handful of people who were coming along; however, that number has multiplied exponentially. I feel as if I’ve bonded so closely with the others just by trying to acclimate and get used to everything together. It truly is awesome being able to experience this with others and I can’t recommend it enough to people.
Center for International Business Studies Blog