During my time in Barcelona, I discovered many things, but one of the most important realizations was understanding how I bond with others. I made a ton of new friends at the apartments we were staying at, and I bonded with them through physical activity. I was able to make friends while working out in the gym, playing soccer, and playing basketball. I think the biggest reason why sports are so important in my bonding process is that it is something I can relate to with others. I was homeschooled and went to a small private school during my teen years, so I didn’t get to have a lot of the experiences other people my age have had, and therefore, it is hard for me to find common interests. Meeting people through physical activity and sports is an easy way for me to enter into a relationship-building conversation with others.
About three days after we settled into the apartments, I went to the gym and made my first set of friends. I asked if I could work in with them since there weren’t a lot of machines, and it turned into a long conversation about the gyms we had back home and the gyms near the apartments. I met the same group of people later that night playing soccer, and I asked if I could play with them. We played 2v2 for about three hours and then hung out by the pool for the next four hours. Even if we started talking about things I couldn’t relate to, it was easier and more enjoyable to talk about them since I was already more comfortable having conversations with them.
A few days later, I was playing soccer with the same group of friends when a few Italians came up to us and asked if they could join us. We quickly became friends with them and talked about sports for the next several hours. As time went on, I kept meeting people from their study abroad groups one by one, either through the gym or through soccer and basketball. By the end of the second week, I could say that I had 12 new friends. We would work out, play basketball, or play soccer almost every day while also talking about sports and other topics that we found a common interest in. Overall, I realized that making new friends could be simple: all I had to do was visit the campus recreation center, and the connections would come naturally.
If I could tell other Aggies anything about study abroad programs, I would definitely emphasize spending as much time out of your apartment as possible. It is not an everyday experience where you can just walk through a foreign city and see its important and famous history. I would tell them to study before the program, if possible, and study effectively during the course so they have as much free time as possible. I have only been home for a few days, and I already miss the city. I was lucky enough to see many historical sites, run by the beach in the mornings, and try new foods. I would tell them to be very excited, and I would also tell them that if they got bad grades in the classes, to not let that influence their mood for the rest of their stay.
