Greatest Opportunity You Will EVER Have!

Not even sure where to begin...I studied abroad in Barcelona in the spring and it blew me away.

Firstly, API is so helpful and respond to your email quickly with great deal. I had to go to the dentist & doctor a few times (which is a very confusing system in Spain) and they guided me through everything & made sure my doctors spoke english...VERY necessary! Any question or concern you have- they'll help you out.

The included excursions are AWESOME. When studying abroad, you visit lots of different countries & get use to booking flights...hostels..dinning...and then when you go on an API excursion and all of that is already paid for & things are planned...it feels amazing! But you still get lots of free time to do whatever you want/go out, so you don't feel 'parented' or anything.

The living situation was extremely ideal. I lived in Gracia, super close to one of the campuses (15 min walk), down the street from Sagrada Familia and nearby many markets. The neighborhood is awesome & you get the feeling of an old charming neighborhood with lots of residents, great shops and culture.

Honestly, if you go, you and all your friends will probably get pickpocketed. My friend from home & I read reviews on BCN months before I left and we saw all the 'pickpocketing warnings' and joked about them. She visited me in Barcelona and we both got pickpocketed at the club we were at our first night. No joke! It was hilarious though. Yesss I got pickpocketed 3 times actually my whole trip, but they were all very minor and I never felt unsafe. Las Ramblas is where they are sneaky & make sure you have your purse on your lap at restaurants!

Going out....that's a big topic! Barcelona's nightlight is epic and if you have any 'fun' bone in your body, then you'll love BCN. The whole city (and Spain's) schedule is different but you get use to quick. Lunch is from 1-2....siesta is from 2-4 (literally, all the stores close during this time)...dinner is from 9-10...and then the fun begins. So if you to a club, you don't start pregaming until midnight and you get to the club at 2am. If you arrive to the club at midnight, NOONE will be there..trust me! Spainards are beautiful and everyone dresses really nice while out. You won't get home until 6am. This is normal. I went out to clubs 5-6 nights a week....and wouldn't have changed a thing!

Class....classes were in 2 different buildings. One was a close walk and the other was about 45 minutes by metro. Something I didn't really think about while researching studying abroad was the actual building. Many study abroad kids go to 'study abroad progam buildings' where americans teach the courses and all your classmates are from your program. However, Autonoma is a school where tons of Spanish kids go as well as international. So your attending a normal Spanish university....something I appreciated looking back! The professors are awesome & hilarious. However, the one drawback is the computer lab. It is always PACKED with students and the printer never worked or was out of paper. It was always a hassle!

But yeah.....I whole heartedly recommend this program to ANYONE considering studying abroad. It was perfect across so many levels. At first, I wasn't going to study in Barcelona but then I read student reviews and every single on just raved about their experience. And hopefully that's what you can take away from this as well! You will have the best time of your life in Barcelona, it is the greatest city to study abroad. I want to go back soooooooo bad! Have fun : )