Visca Barcelona or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Catalan Capital Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

1. Course load was relatively light with oral presentations being the means of testing, rather than written assignments 2. The grading system was pretty generous when problems were discussed with faculty 3. Lectures were almost always done by notes, without use of any electronic aids 4. I found some students in larger lectures to be very disruptive and rude to the professor but most other experiences with native students were extremely positive 5. Don't buy the textbooks! More than likely, all the material will be covered in your notes so there is no need to buy books as long as you attend class 6. Lectures are almost never posted online, so take plenty of notes and make friends with the native students if you don't understand something covered in class.

On-site administration of your program

Strengths: Genuine empathy for visiting students, vast wealth of knowledge about surrounding city and its hidden cultural gems, reasonably small program size means little to no waiting lines to see counselors Weaknesses: Relatively short office hours, some delay in sending or receiving emails, miscommunication with host university about courses and faculty

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Ugh the housing situation for spring semester students is terrible. After sitting a minimum of 14 hours in poorly upholstered chair, breathing recycled air, students arrive to a completely foreign land where they receive an hour of orientation information before being introduced to host mothers and led to their respective pisos. Once they wake up the next day, the hunt for an apartment begins. There is a two week deadline to find a different place to live after arriving and it will make your first two weeks agonizing. If you are like me and many other students, you will most likely acquire some terrible cold because of the body's inability to fight new, spanish germs and the mounting stress of imminent homelessness at the same time. All of these factors combine for a terrible conflagration of health and sanity that may lead you to asking questions about why you came here in the first place. At least, that's how my first two weeks went. The program administrators will guide you to helpful places to look for new housing on the internet like www.loquo.es, www.happycasa.es or www.idealista.com, but the internet itself is surprisingly difficult to come by at most host homes, so expect to spend some hours surfing the web at the school library. I found a place online in northern eixample, near the sagrada familia, and it was quiet and spacious for an acceptable 400 euros a month.

You must prepare yourself. You are going to eat a lot of ham. Let me repeat, you are going to eat a lot of ham. You are going to eat more ham than you have ever eaten in your life, and probably ever cared to eat. Other than ham, there is cheese. So much cheese. Don't worry though, your stomach will adjust and you will be fine. Well, you will be fine if you like ham and cheese.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Best moment of Barcelona: waking up one day after school had ended and realizing I was the happiest I ever remembered being.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Crime is present in areas of the city that are traveled by tourists or foreign looking people so watch out. You can prevent every crime if you are aware of your surroundings and careful of the people around you. Also, I don't want to be sexist but girls are more commonly targeted as victims so ladies need to be on extra alert walking at night. I was never pick-pocketed or mugged but almost every one of my female friends in Barcelona had something stolen from them at some point. Violent crimes are extremely rare but small crimes are commonplace and should be taken into account when deciding where to go out at night or how to wear a backpack or purse in a busy street. The healthcare system is fantastically cheap and readily available for all students. I was sick three times during my stay and every visit to the hospital was satisfactory. For some reason, any sort of illness requires an x-ray which I don't understand but it's a nice souvenir to bring home. The program will recommend several clinics and you can choose from there.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Students could practice catalan or castellano with native spanish students in the university, learn from roommates if living in an apartment with native speakers, or use an intercambio program where you meet a peer who teaches you spanish in exchange for lessons in english. Honestly, catalan and castellano were necessities to not only better enjoy and absorb the catalan culture, but to survive. English is prevalent in the major touristic areas and eateries but be prepared to have people not understand you once off the beaten path.

Select all that apply

• Host Family
• Apartment

Select all that apply

• Americans
• International Students
• Host Family

Select all that apply

• Local Students