CIEE is The Whole Package

It's really challenging to narrow down all the great experiences into this one review. Everything about Barcelona is absolutely incredible, so incredible in fact, that I moved back after I graduated from Indiana University. If you're looking for a life-changing experience that you'll never forget, on top of actually expanding your knowledge of Spanish and a fraction of its culture, you need to study abroad and you need to do it through CIEE.

Each facet of the experience had its own special qualities. Obviously, Barcelona is an amazing city, filled with rich culture and tons of history. Even if you think you aren't an art buff, or a history buff, or a foodie, I challenge you to let Barcelona change that because it 100% will. My favorite, and possibly underrated thing about Barcelona is how disjointed it is but in the best way possible. The combination of different eras and influences that Barcelona has experienced over the year really gives it all its beauty and charm. How can you not enjoy a place as fascinating and beautiful as Barcelona?! Not to mention the amount of things there are to do in Barcelona and your soon-to-be obsession with Spanish food. I still make paella at home for my friends and buy jamon serrano whenever I find it in the grocery store. It's such an easy and exciting culture to adapt to and is so inviting.

One of the reasons I picked Barcelona, and CIEE specifically, is because of the many opportunities the city presented. It's a huge tourist hub which makes travelling really easy, but our program already offered excursions as a part of our experience anyways. This was so awesome because we got to explore some parts of Spain that may have been overshadowed by the rest of Europe had all the travel plans been put in my own hands. I got to not only learn about Barcelona and Catalunya, but other cities and regions in Spain as well which really helped to broaden my horizons. While CIEE is a rigorous program, if you're studying Spanish at a high level already, you'll be perfectly fine. I would suggest the CIEE-ALA program specifically if you really feel you can adapt and immerse yourself fully into the language.

My biggest piece of advice that some people may not agree with: STAY WITH A HOST FAMILY. When the excitement of being abroad fades (okay, maybe not fades but lapses for a minute) it's nice to have a home base that you feel connected to and nurtured by. I am still in communication with my first host mother, and the whole reason I was able to move back was due to her brother and sister-in-law taking me in my second time around. So I'm fortunate to say that I have not one, and not even two, but multiple connections that will remain through the years. It's also really nice to know that if/when I return to Barcelona yet again, I will already know so many people from those familial connections I made.

If you couldn't tell, I'm a little obsessed with Barcelona.