My reflections on discovering Spain, specifically Barcelona, have been exciting and insightful. I had some preconceived notions and expectations coming into this study abroad experience, with some living up to expectations and some not so much. One of the many things I heard about Barcelona before my study abroad was how amazing the food was, and after being here for a week, I can confidently say that everyone was right. However, I was not expecting the tipping culture here compared to America. Some people in Spain find tipping offensive, and it is not very common to tip at restaurants or for cabs like it is back home. Another aspect of Barcelona that I did not expect was the amount of walking and the frequent use of the metro. I assumed that walking was going to be a part of my everyday life here in Spain, but I was definitely not prepared for the extent of walking that I was going to endure. However, I have learned a lot from using the metro, and I now feel more confident going to different areas of the world that use this form of transportation often, even though I had never used it before. One aspect of Barcelona that has not lived up to its reputation is pickpocketing. I have been grateful to have only seen one incident throughout this entire week regarding pickpocketing because I thought it would have been a lot worse. I think the Aggie community that has started to build is amazing, and I am so grateful to have been a part of such an amazing group of people for this entire month. It is awesome to be able to experience such a once-in-a-lifetime trip with friends I have grown so close to in only a week. We all look out for each other, travel together, study together, and have so much fun together. As much as I don’t want this trip to end, I am excited to go back to college with a lot more friends. I have definitely built better networks for the business world as well as learned more about a diverse group of people in a place with so much culture on its own.
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