Tyler Carson
Study Abroad in Barcelona, Spain
On January 27th 2015, I began my journey to Spain. Why did I choose Barcelona? I chose Barcelona for three main reasons. First, was for practicality, the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) offered courses that fulfilled my degree. The second reason was from my discussions with other travelers, the majority of them had said that Barcelona was one of their favorite spots in Europe. Lastly, the architecture, Barcelona is home to unique and modern designs of Gaudi, to the older buildings in Barrio Gothic. This would be the first time travelling entirely on my own to a new country. I remember the weeks prior to my departure being full on anxiety and doubts,
"What if I don't meet anyone, and don't make any friends?"
" What if I get lost on my first day?"
"What if my classes are entirely different and I can't pass?"
This was a big step outside of my comfort zone, but it is one that I have never regretted. It encouraged me to go out and to meet new people, discover new places, and try new things- such as tackling new challenges. Over the course of the semester my anxieties and homesickness went away as I explored and travelled. I made an amazing group of friends, including students from Italy, Korea, the United States, Moldova, Finland, the Netherlands, Germany, Scotland, Canada, and Spain. We traveled together, held lunches were we would cook food from our native countries for one another, and shared our stories of past experiences and about home. From these interactions we learned more about each other and bonded to the point where we considered each other our "international family." I still keep in touch and hope to go back in visit them in the future.
My university also offered a variety of extracurricular activities to get involved with. We took tours of downtown Barcelona, visited Sitges during Carnival, visited the Roman ruins in Tarragona, climbed Montserrat to see the Monastery, and attended the Holi festival held on campus. All of which were exciting and enjoyable experiences. I also had the chance to do volunteer work, I participated in cleaning up the Ripoll river of weeds which were an invasive species damaging to the ecosystem. For more information:
I was also nervous about taking classes in a new country. However, it turns out that the Spanish and Canadian education systems are
quite similar and I encountered little to no problems with academics. The two economics course I studied were Macroeconomics and Economic integration/International economics. These courses were useful as it gave me some insight into the European Union's economic policies and structure. It was also valuable in gaining an in-depth understanding into the economic crisis involving debt in Spain and other European countries. I witnessed two student protests against austerity while at UAB. I feel that both classroom material and witnessing these events unfold gave me a quality analysis into the political issues of Spain that I couldn't learn while in Canada. I also took an introductory Spanish class while attending UAB, which helped with my understanding of the Spanish language. Most of the practice took place outside of the classroom and improved over the course of the semester. Spanish is also not the main language in Barcelona, as it is located in the Catalonia region, which seeks its independence from the rest of Spain. However, most of my learning experiences took place outside of the university.
Travel
While completing my studies in Spain, I had the opportunity to visit other countries as well besides Spain. Travelling taught me to be more outgoing, how to travel on a budget, time management, and how to research where I am going and what I want to do. It was in part a journey of self-discovery in deciding how I want to live my life, or what I want to do. My travels included visiting Paris for one week with my friends from Canada. Paris is definitely one of the most beautiful cities in Europe as I had always wanted to visit the Palace of Versailles. I never found the French to be as arrogant as people had led me to believe, illustrating how we should never judge off of stereotypes. In April, I travelled to Morocco with a group of international students. Morocco was very unique and one of the most exotic places I had ever been to. The climate was entirely different, and it was my first time visiting a country dominated by Islamic norms, which took time to adapt too. Morocco was still a rewarding experience, we travelled by camel back to sleep overnight in the desert, visited ancient historical sites, and toured the market in Marrakesh. A week after Morocco, my group of friends and I travelled to Portugal to the cities of Porto and Lisbon. Porto is a beautiful city, the Portugese are extremly friendly, and welcoming. We also toured a Port winery and got to taste amazing wines. Lisbon was also a beautiful, my group of friends and I bonded over touring the cities nightlife and monuments. Portugal has to be one of my favorite spots in Europe, because of how kind the people were.
Following exams, I travelled around Spain to the cities of Madrid, Sevilla, Granada, and Valencia. Each city is different and vibrant in their own way. By travelling independently I was encouraged to meet new people in the hostels I had stayed with, and made more friends over the course of my travels. By travelling through through bus and train I was able to see the landscape and scenery in Spain, reminding of what I beautiful country I was in. With little time to spare, I said my goodbyes to Barcelona and was off to Italy to meet my Dad. We travelled to Venica, Orvieto, Luca, Siena, Cinque Terre, Florence, and Rome. Italy is a beautiful country with a ton of history which I enjoyed. We were able to stay with an Italian family and try authentic Italian cuisine, which was amazing. After the two weeks spent in Italy, I ventured to Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam was truly different as Dutch society is highly progressive. Amsterdam's main mode of transportation is through biking, as the city is trying to achieve environmental sustainability. Prostitution is also legalized and drug use is decriminalized. The country seeks to address social issues in a different manner, which is having positive outcomes in terms of social welfare and environmentalism. My last stop before home was in London, the United Kingdom. London was a huge metropolis! This city was almost cosmopolitan in its diversity. It was a blend of historical sites and modern architecture. I enjoyed aimlessly wandering the streets and exploring new sites.
Overall, this experience affected me in a number of ways. My adventure has made me more independent, confident, outgoing, flexible, adaptable, aware, and enhanced my ability to overcome personal barriers. This has fostered a desire in me to travel more and to new places. Barcelona will always hold a special place in my heart, because of both the memories I have and how studying abroad has changed who I am today.