Hello everyone! Sadly, this is my last week of classes at the University of Pompeu Fabra, and next week, I will be flying back home. I still can’t believe my time abroad is coming to an end–it went by so fast! These last three months felt like just three weeks. However, I can confidently say that I made the most of my time here in Barcelona by traveling other cities in Europe, learning more about the Catalan culture, develop hard skills, and, most importantly, learning more about myself. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that I’m more capable of doing things on my own than I used to think.
Throughout this program, I have developed so many soft skills that I could spend the whole article talking about them–I never thought that I would learn so much while abroad. One of the main soft skills that I have growed is independence, problem solving, cultural sensitivity and emotional intelligence, and resilience. I would also say adaptability, which is a skill that every study abroad student develops, but I already have flourished this skill since I moved out from Puerto Rico to Pittsburgh.
This is the first time that I actually go somewhere to live by myself–no hometown or college friends around. When I arrived to Pitt as a freshman, I had fellow Puerto Ricans that I have already met coming with me to the university. Because of this, it was easy to adapt and didn’t had much the opportunity to foster independence. But now, every day I have to do decisions and things on my own. I usually go to my nearest café place, look a way to get to my destination, take flights, shopping, study, and socialize on my own.
At first, it was very difficult to do all these things, especially taking flights to another country and socialize on my own. But now, I can do it without breaking a sweat. I still remember going to a social event by myself in January and feeling extremely nervous–a fear I had never felt in my life. I’m accostumed to have another friend by my side and socialize together, but this was not the case this time. However, when I got there, I met so many people who are now my friends here in Barcelona. Additionally, I still remember the fear I had on my first flight outside of Barcelona, which was to Prague. I was going with my friends who are studying at Florence, and I landed in Prague five hours earlier than them. Obviously, the best thing to do would have been to go to the hotel and check in while they were traveling. However, I didn’t want to leave the airport until my friends arrived, so I waited there for five hours for them to land. Now, I am so used to traveling alone that I’m no longer afraid to go somewhere by myself.
Talking about traveling to Prague and other cities outside of Barcelona, during this time I learned to evolve my problem solving, cultural sensitivity, and emotional intelligence. Problem solving because there were so many places I went where I didn’t understand their language and had to find a way to communicate with locals. Additionally, sometimes it was challenging to go to my desired destination with the public transportation, so usually I had to use Google Maps and the public transportation’s signs to get to my train or bus. I can say that there were a lot of times where I got lost and took the wrong train! However, I learned a lot from these mistakes and find a way to solve the problem. I also developed cultural sensitivity and emotional intelligence because I got to understand and relate to others from diverese backgrounds. For example, I learned that in Spain, it’s not common to have dinner before 9pm, so I had to get used to eat dinner later than I’m used to just to respect their culture and traditions. Additionally, their desire of being independent of Spain is a big political issue here, so I spent a good amount of time understanding on why they want independence and agree with their reasonings.
Not only soft skills was developed while traveling to other cities, but I also developed hard skills. The main hard skill I mastered is financial management. Before committing to study abroad program, I completed a summer internship and worked as a Operations Attendant at Pitt’s Campus Recreation. Since I knew I was going abroad, I saved 70% of the capital earned while working. This has been enough to plan several trips with my friends. Additionally, I created an Excel spreadsheet to manage my travel budget, which has helped me use my money wisely. Thanks to this, I have been able to make the most of my time abroad.
Another hard skill I developed is global awareness and market understanding. While studying in Barcelona, I have learned about the economy here in the city and Spain in general. An individual’s income in Spain is way lower than in the U.S., but they tend to have a better quality of life. However, because their annual income is so low, people have struggled to afford rent in Barcelona and are forced to move far away from the central city. This has been a significant issue here in Barcelona and Spain as a whole, and people have been protesting to the government to look for ways to lower rent prices. One of the main causes of these high prices is the high number of short-term rental apartments in the city, which makes long-term rentals a rarity. Additionally, I’m taking a class of Spain’s politcs, where I have learned more about Spain’s political history, system, parties, figures, and issues.
As my time abroad comes to a close, I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities and experiences that have shaped me over these past few months. Having a connection with locals, international students, friends, and program participants has impacted my own identity in many ways. Not only they have expanded my academic and cultural knowledge, but has also helped me grow as an individual. The soft and hard skills I have developed have prepared me for future challenges and opportunities. Reflecting on my time here, I realize that this experiences has made me more confident, independent, and globally aware. I leave Barcelona with not only a deeper understanding of its culture but also a greater sense of who I am and what I am capable of achieving.
