IES Barcelona

I spent about five months living and studying in Barcelona, Spain and it was the best five months of my life. I would recommended this opportunity to any one interested. Spain and the city of Barcelona are beautiful, and worth experiencing. I would say that speaking spanish is useful but not entirely necessary in Barcelona however you should be aware that Catalan an important language in Barcelona and a lot of signs are in both spanish and Catalan. Many europeans speak enough English to get their point across. Barcelona is pretty central to the rest of europe so movement between locations/countries is extremely easy and quick. Also movement in the city was really easy with the public transportation however while I was studying they were doing some construction so there were some longer travel times. But in general it was one of the easiest public transportation systems I used in Europe. Pick pocketing can occur but this did not happen to frequently to students who attempted to blend into the culture and environment, because they are looking for tourist and easy targets so my suggestion would just to be aware of your surrounding and your belongings at all times. Also be aware of the eating schedule in Spain it is quite different to the US schedule and to other european countries. From the other students I studied with this seemed to be the hardest thing to adjust too. Barcelona is also known as a partying city so be prepared to have a blast any time you want. These were some of the best memories and experiences I have had in my life