Submitted by Rebecca Bojarski on the 2017 winter session program in Barcelona, Spain sponsored by the Horn Program in Entrepreneurship…
After being stuck in the airport for 10 hours, we finally arrived in Barcelona on Sunday afternoon. The next morning, everyone got together as a group for a tour around Barcelona’s largest shopping strip followed by plates and plates of tapas. When our tour guide explained to us that we would be having an early lunch at 1:0 pm, I was confused, since I’m used to inhaling my meal as soon as the clock strikes noon. The biggest meal here is lunch followed by a snack later in the day and then dinner anywhere from 9:00-11:00 p.m. The next day was our first day of class, followed by a meeting with our supervisor for the internship. Upon meeting Sylvia, I realized a communication problem, since I barely spoke any Spanish and she did not speak much English either. Google translate came to the rescue during our time together and my partners and I found a way to gather and exchange some information for the company. Every time we meet we use simple gestures or words to communicate and get a little better at understanding each other (Google translate is always close-by).
Stopping at a different café on the way to class each morning became a routine for my roommates and I this week. Being a caffeine addict at home, I couldn’t wait to try the coffee here, it did not disappoint. I tell myself it’s okay to have 3-4 cups a day because the espresso here is unlike anything I’ve ever tasted at home. The food we have been trying is also incredible and we try to go to a new restaurant every time we eat. The menu del dia is a fixed menu for about 8-10 euros depending on the restaurant; you can choose from a few appetizers, entrees, deserts and a drink. The seafood by the beach is insanely fresh and I also learned that carpachio means really really thinly sliced strips. Oh, the olive oil here is wild, it’s so good, I want to drink it. By the middle of the week, my one roommate and I still could not figure out the not-so complicated air conditioning system in our room so we all decided to move all the mattresses into the living room, which only slightly deterred the cleaning staff from entering our room for four days.
Our next tour was the Sagrada Familia, we walked into the church at twilight right when the rays of sun leaked through the stained glass windows on all of the walls, creating rainbows on the stone walls. A few days later, we visited the Parc Güell, where Gaudi (oohh my Gauid!) created his famous mosaics and gingerbread house-like buildings. We were there around sunset and seeing the mosaics along with the pink skies and puffy white clouds looked like a painting.
Today, we all went to a brunch place and watched the waiter move two people from their table so that our group could push the two tables together and sit with each other. The restaurants here are calm and eating is an experience. You talk to your friends and spend about 2 hours there without the waiters constantly coming up to you or bringing your check right over. My experience so far has exceeded any expectations I had for this program and I am eager to see what the next few weeks will bring!