Living in Barcelona was an amazing experience that I am extremely lucky to have been able to take. Not only was I able to experience a different culture, but I was also able to easily travel to other countries (my favorites being France and Italy), converse with people in a different language, and experience what it is like to live in a major city. In my day-to-day life, I would get breakfast at a café, go to class, and explore the city. The stories I have from my time in Barcelona will follow me into my adulthood and will reflect the personal and academic growth I experienced while abroad. A goal I’ve had since high school that has always been extremely important to me is being fluent in Spanish. Nothing has brought me closer to this goal than studying in Spain. Although Spanish classes in America gave me the background knowledge and conversational skills I needed to even being talking Spanish in Spain, conversing with Spanish locals on the daily greatly improved my fluency. On my day to day, I ordered food in Spanish, talked to workers in Spanish, and had small conversations with people in restaurants or on the streets. I also took an intermediate Spanish course, taught by a Spanish native, which helped ensure that I interacted with the language for at least two hours a day (although it was often longer than that). Improving my Spanish language skills was a personal goal of mine, but it also led to professional and academic growth as this skill can lead to more opportunities academically and professionally as I continue to explore how I can integrate Spanish into my future career and life. Being abroad for the first time also forced me to break out of my comfort zone and get more comfortable talking to strangers, especially when it may be difficult. I also had to learn to adjust to different cultures as I navigated everyday tasks such as using public transit every day and getting groceries. Although some may assume that these skills will only serve me if I go back to Spain, learning to adjust in this major way will make adjusting to other cultures less difficult in the future and will help me socialize even when I may be uncomfortable. I plan to use all the skills I used abroad to help me as I continue to travel and learn more about Hispanic cultures. I will also use these skills to continue to foster my Spanish language skills so I can converse with more people throughout the globe and can even create marketing campaigns in different languages. I value my time in Spain for many reasons and will always be appreciative of the ways in which my time abroad has helped me flourish academically, professionally, and personally.

Some photos from my last week in Barcelona: