Barcelona Experience

My Barcelona experience really has been a once in a lifetime opportunity, which I will forever be grateful for. It started out a bit rough, if I am being honest, as I had difficulty adjusting to a new environment, let alone a new country! I thought it would be easy for me, since I already attend a University in the U.S. 10 hours from home, but I underestimated my fears. My airline also lost my luggage for the first week I was here, and my class schedule got messed up, so I was in a "full-on panic mode" when I got here. What didn't help was that I came here with high expectations, hearing about how great other peoples experiences were abroad. It didn't help that my roommates all knew each other prior and already had an established group, so I felt lonely and defeated. However, I knew I only got to live in another country for a limited time, so I didn't let that impact my experience. Although it was rough at first, I managed to make some new friends, some of which I even travelled with. In fact, I just went to Morocco with them this weekend! My overall advice to students who want to study abroad is that it is OK if your experience does not start out as planned, and I promise that it WILL get better. Barcelona is a beautiful city with tons to do, and I am so excited to show my family around when they come to visit next week!

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