Recap & Reflection: Barcelona, Spain

The summer after I returned from year long hiatus from Howard University I was approached

with the unique opportunity to travel to Spain for a month and study abroad. After being cleared

medically and securing the right finances I was set to have unforgettable summer.

My experience in Barcelona, Spain was nothing short of amazing! I was able to learn in a new

country, learn about a new culture, and meet different types of people from around the world. I

was plunged into a completely different world.

I stayed with a wonderful Spanish family who was incredibly nice and helpful throughout the

entire trip. We stayed on the fourth floor in a deceptively spacious home and got a lot of

exercise climbing up and down the stairs every day. From showing me how to get around and

what places to go, to helping me with my homework and cooking fantastic dinners, the host

family was nothing less than perfect. There was one other Howard University student who would

stay there the entire duration of my trip and two University of Texas students who would leave a

week after I arrived. There were also four other Howard students enrolled in the program but

they stayed in different locations around the city.

I enrolled in a Spanish course at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and had class

from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. The teaching style was much different than in

the states because it was a very small class size with an incredibly high level of interaction. I

won't say I loved doing homework, but I did it and improved my Spanish reading, writing,

speech and comprehension as a result. The school is also where I met many new people from

around the world studying Spanish and it was nice to see the differences in each culture but

even more astonishing and heartening to see the similarities. I made friends who were from

Egypt, China, Russia, France, and India just to name a few.

I had a tremendous amount of fun during the trip as well. Through the scheduled excursions I

was able to visit Monjuich, Barceloneta, Sitges, el Picasso Museo, Sagrada la Familia and more

significant staples around Barcelona. Nights on the beach and social outings in Barcelona with

some new friends proved to be some of the highlights of my trip.

All in all, I had the time of my life in Barcelona, Spain. I passed my courses and received

Howard University credit for Spanish III and Spanish IV. I will never forget the friends I made

and experiences I had in Spain and am very grateful for the chance to have gone. I took

hundreds of pictures and even filmed some experiences to share with family and friends. This

trip has inspired me to travel more, learn about different cultures, and help find ways to provide

the same priceless experience to other students.