Best Decision of My College Career

As a freshman I knew that I wanted to study abroad, but I didn't know where. After spending some time thinking about where would be the most fun, where would have the best atmosphere and where would I enjoy myself the most, i settled on Barcelona, Spain.

To this day it still is a highlight of my college career. Now here's the thing, when you're getting ready for everything it can be a little bit of a hassle getting all of your paperwork to go through, but the thought of being in Spain, walking on the beach, meeting new people and trying new foods is enough to propel you through that whole process.

I lived with a host family (best choice if you want a real experience) and another student. It was great because they provided breakfast and dinner for us. This helped keep some of the other costs down that you might see in other abroad programs. Also, included with our trip was a few excursions (we went to Paris, and Madrid with the API program, as well as a few regional trips, including a cooking class) but the thing that made our trip great was the living in the city. There was always something going on, and we were just a metro (subway) ride away from whatever we wanted to do.

But truly the best thing about the trip is the relationships you make. API made it a point to hook people up with groups of students that are from Spain. It was great because they knew things and places around the city that a foreigner would not know. I learned a lot from them.

The place is filled with little bread shops and small grocery stores, so you never have to go far to get what you need.

On a regular basis we would take the metro to school in the morning, go to class (classes are about an hour and a half, grab some lunch, do some homework, and then enjoy whatever is going on in the evening. The academics aren't too hard, but I did feel like I learned a lot in my classes. It was great to have those experiences in my life. Especially my business classes. Once again, you can find reasonably priced food everywhere.

We also made a point while we were in Spain to travel around. My roommate and I along with other students, took a great trip to Rome, Italy (paying 18 euro for the flight) and had a great time.

I loved my whole trip to Barcelona, and I could literally write a book about our experiences. It's ridiculous that students would pass this once in a life time opportunity up. so yes, I highly recommend doing this, you will not regret it.