I can’t believe I have been living in Spain for over a week now! I arrived in Barcelona on a Thursday, and I spent the weekend sightseeing, settling in, and getting to know my roommates. Over the weekend, my study abroad program, CEA CAPA, hosted a scavenger hunt around Barcelona. The scavenger hunt took us to iconic locations, including the Cathedral of Barcelona, the Palau de la Música Catalana (Palace of Catalan Music), and the Plaça de Catalunya. My group was the first to find all locations and complete each task, so we won a celebratory tapas dinner! That weekend, I also traveled to Sitges, a coastal town south of Barcelona, for a beach day with my roommates.
The following Monday, I began my classes. My program lasts for 4 weeks, and I go to class Monday through Thursday. I am taking International Business and Advertising & Society. My classes are each two and a half hours, which has been an adjustment for me because I am not used to taking classes longer than 90 minutes. However, both my courses are highly interactive and fast-paced, which makes the time go by fast. After my first day of class, I went on a boat ride with my roommates on the Port de Barcelona and got to swim in the Balearic Sea. It was the best way to celebrate the first day of class!
After my first week of class, my roommates and I traveled to the beautiful island of Mallorca. Mallorca is very scenic, with gorgeous beaches and mountains. The eight of us stayed together in a hostel in the town of Sóller. I was originally nervous about staying in a hostel for the first time, but we had a great experience and made sure to research one that was safe. Sóller is a smaller town, and I enjoyed experiencing it after having spent the week in the huge city of Barcelona. There wasn’t a shortage of tourists, but the smaller town felt more personal, and I enjoyed getting to experience it. We visited the beaches of Cala s’Almunia and several others along the port of Sóller. We spent our last day in the capital of Mallorca, Palma, where we got to sightsee and see their amazing cathedral, the Catedral-Basílica de Santa María de Mallorca. It was ultimately a very relaxing weekend!
As I go into my second week of classes, I will be preparing for midterms. I also plan to make time to visit some locations in Barcelona I haven’t seen yet, like the Sagrada Familia. I have loved exploring the city and have especially enjoyed the food and its stunning architecture. I know there is so much more to see and experience, and I can’t wait to see what else Barcelona has in store for me!
