Blog: I am blogging to you all from Barcelona, Spain, one of the— if not the greatest—cities in Europe. As I share my experience abroad with all of you HerCampus readers back in the states, I’d like to focus on, and give some tips for, how to get familiar with your new city in the first few weeks of your abroad experience, what taking classes are like in a foreign country, and of course, I will be filling you in on all of the facets of the many weekend getaways I will be enduring this semester.
Barcelona week one:
Depart from Newark airport, arrive in Portugal for a dreadful three hour layover, hop on the plane after a bottle of red wine for breakfast, and withstand the final two hour flight to my new home: Barcelona, Spain. I got lucky, as on my endeavors to Barcelona, I traveled with my two friends (Pitt students) from point A to point B and finally to point C; suffering together, hauling heavy luggage together, and embracing our arrival as a trio. First things first, if you’re going to pay for an extra bag of luggage, bring as much as you can. The 100-dollar fee for a second suitcase applies to bags as small as your gym bag to something as big as a duffel. As long as it’s under the 50-pound limit, your bag is just another pebble in the pile of stones. Secondly, take advantage of the free carts in the airport; you won’t be able to drag your luggage onto the bus without it (and its free). And finally, in order to conquer the jet lag and embrace the six-hour time difference, only take a short nap after you arrive at your new home, if you choose to sleep at all. This way you will need only one day to get used to the new time zone. It should feel something like pulling an all-nighter for finals and then finally sleeping a solid 8 hours the next night (which I know most of us are familiar with).
Now the first two days (or maybe more depending on your self) you may, as I did, experience culture shock complemented with a pang of homesickness that is likely to settle in your stomach. One thing I realized when I got here was that despite what people tell you about the majority of people speaking English; it’s not entirely true. People are helpful and can reiterate most of what you are asking them, however it’s more of a give and take conversation than an effortless approach to speak with the locals. Speak a little Spanglish and you are more likely to get comprehensible advice from the natives. Another tip I found to be helpful in trying to familiarize with my city is to try and avoid the metro as much as possible in the beginning weeks of your arrival. Try to walk around and use maps as your guide. This way, rather than spending a majority of your travel time underground, you will start to recognize street names and landmarks as you venture around the streets of Barcelona; not to mention you miss out on a lot of the beauty and great weather that Barcelona offers if you’re constantly on the metro.
This city is beautiful and my semester here has just begun. The beach is just about a mile away from my apartment and though the weather is not bikini ready, people are always outside eating in cafes, sitting on the beaches, running on the boardwalk, or enjoying happy hour in the square. The adventure has just begun.