I have really enjoyed traveling during the weekends throughout the semester, and these experiences have taught me so much outside of the classroom. One meaningful trip in particular was when I traveled to Barcelona with some of my friends for a weekend. When I first decided to study abroad in London for the semester, I knew that Barcelona was one of my top destinations for a weekend trip because I wanted to go watch a soccer game and visit the Camp Nou stadium amid its ongoing renovation. I also was excited by the idea of being able to practice my Spanish, which is something I haven’t really gotten the chance to do since studying abroad in Costa Rica through the Plus3 program freshman year.
When we first landed in Barcelona, we were greeted by the sun and warmer temperatures around 60 degrees. This was in the beginning of February, when it was cold, gray, and rainy in London most days, so seeing the sun was incredible for us. Throughout the weekend, we did some sightseeing and got to see Sagrada Família and Park Güell, which were both amazing. The architecture, specifically the geometry and ruled surfaces in Sagrada Família and the mosaics in Park Güell were really fascinating to see and learn about.
One moment that stood out for me is when my friends and I went to a tapas restaurant for dinner the first night we were there. We didn’t make a reservation, so we stood in line to put our name down on the wait list. As I stood there, I listened as the group in front of us talked to the host. The host did not speak much English, and the group was trying to communicate mostly in English to her, so they were having a little bit of trouble. Finally, the group moved to the side and it was our turn, so I walked up to the host, who greeted me in Spanish.
I decided this was a good chance to practice speaking Spanish again and asked her how long the wait would be for a table for five people. She told us it was a 45 minute wait, but that she could put my name and phone number on the list. After confirming that she could take a US phone number, I gave her the information, gaining a little more confidence as I spoke but also pausing occasionally to remember certain words and phrases. My friends and I stepped aside once I was done and began to look for other options on Google Maps, but to our surprise, just a few minutes later, the host called my name and said they had a table ready for us. We were towards the back of the line, so we were not expecting to get called so quickly ahead of other groups. For me, I was thrilled to get a table so quickly because I was hungry, but it also felt rewarding that I had still remembered enough Spanish to engage in that conversation with the host. It made me excited to continue practicing my Spanish throughout the rest of the weekend, which is a skill I hope I can continue to keep up with in the future.
Ultimately, my friends and I did get a chance to see a soccer game too, which was an incredible experience. We saw FC Barcelona beat Mallorca 3-0, and the stadium atmosphere was awesome. Altogether, this trip reminded me that stepping out of my comfort zone is where the most rewarding growth happens, and it left me with a newfound feeling of confidence that I took back with me to London and my trips that followed.
