I just got home from my six months living in Barcelona and already miss it so much. Going on a semester exchange abroad is definitely the most impactful thing I have ever done for myself. Academically, the classes we took at UPF were very interesting. The class structure is very different from A&M as well as the culture that surrounds the topics. We worked on a lot of group projects and got to learn about the different markets/business cultures from all over the globe. It felt more valuable and hands-on to learn about global marketing from the other side of the world.
Before this semester, I was never able to call myself a traveler, nor had I ever been to Europe even though it had always interested me. Now I can say I have traveled 32,000+ miles in Europe alone in a six-month time span. Living in Barcelona made it so easy to see as much of the world as I was able to in such a short amount of time. I was able to visit 12 countries as well as multiple different cities across Spain. One of my favorite things about these excursions was how unique each country was from one another. My roommate/best friend/travel partner, Grace (another Aggie), and I always made a point to learn as much as we could on each of our trips whether it meant signing up for free walking tours, visiting lots of museums, or reading up on the incredible historical sites before traveling. The history that surrounds these places is absolutely amazing and are experience I will never forget.
Barcelona was also the perfect place to call home. Even after a perfect weekend spent exploring another European city, we were always so happy to come home to Barcelona and see what the city had in store for us that week. The city is so exciting and diverse as it has aspects of a large urban city along with close access to beautiful beaches and mountains. It seemed as though every week there were festivals and celebrations of Catalan culture happening in the streets. One of my favorite memories in Barcelona was Sant Jordi?s feast day which is dedicated to the patron saint of Catalonia and a celebration of love and culture sometimes known as ?Catalonia?s Valentine?s Day?. The tradition on that day is you exchange a book for a red rose with the people you love so the streets are filled with books and roses to buy. I found that there was always something to do or a new area of the city to explore, so much so that I can?t wait to go back and try all of the experiences I wasn’t able to get to in my time there! These six months flew by and I am so grateful for my time spent abroad and so happy I was able to call Barcelona home for a short period of my life.
