Barcelona Beauty

Maggie Kolb

Barcelona Fall 2010

What made you decide to go abroad?

That was the number one thing I wanted to do when I went to college, I had never been overseas and I think it’s an opportunity you shouldn’t pass up. It’s such a privilege to be able to study abroad and I wasn’t going to let the opportunity pass me by!

What is the first thing you did after you decided you wanted to study abroad?

I went to my advisor freshman year and after that I went directly to the abroad office but they pretty much told me I had time before I really had to worry about anything.

What helped you pick your program? How did you decide?

I worked the closest with Jerre Thornton.

Do you feel that you were prepared when you left?

I recognized I was as prepared as I could have been for a destination that wasn’t one of the most popular and that Marist Abroad wasn’t as familiar with.

How could the abroad office have made your preparations easier?

I think that when a student comes to you and blatantly asks what courses you should take abroad, “saving a couple of core courses” is not really sufficient enough. It would be really helpful if the coordinators could help individual students with some of the research in finding a program that fits their needs instead of leaving it to the help of Google.

Is there anything you wish they could have told you?

I wish there could have been a student that had the same experience I was going to have to give me first hand advice on what they found out the hard way, like I did.

Once you get there…

What did you think of the classes there? Was there an orientation or anything that helped ease your nerves before your first class?

I thought the classes were actually really difficult! I really did spend a lot of time studying and worked really hard for my grades. I worked just as hard, if not harder as I would at Marist but unfortunately, I felt I didn’t get back what I put in. I’m not sure if this was because of the language barrier or Spanish grading system, but the teachers were generally unforgiving with grades. I took an online class from Marist and I came back with decent grades from the Spanish classes, but just be prepared that it’s not going to be a joke of a semester and you’ll have to spend at least a little bit of time studying!

There was an orientation but they basically told us to stay away from the places of the city that everyone wanted to go to. We went anyway, but we were careful and didn’t go until we knew our way around the city. I’d say about 70% of the orientation was useful, the other 30% was “don’t tip the cab drivers…” which was information that I don’t think was crucial to my survival.

How different were your expectations from the real thing? If very different, did that stress you out? And how did you relieve that stress?

There was less culture shock than I was anticipating. Even living with a Senora it wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but I think that might have been because of my personality. I knew someone who was homesick the entire time, but I think it helped that I tried to stay open minded about as much as I could.

Your favorite place to eat?

A restaurant around the corner from my Senora’s apartment called Ria del Barbanza Bar. We called it Enrique’s because we got to know the owner after going there so often. They used to give us free stuff all the time because we were such loyal customers!

Food or drink you MUST try?

Patatas Bravas, which is like potato wedges with a mayonnaise-ketchup-spicy sauce and Kava, which is a drink that tastes like champagne.

Favorite place to go out with friends?

George Paynes, which was ironically an Irish bar that played American karaoke on Sunday nights. Also, the clubs on the beach are the most beautiful I’ve ever seen- they look like they are on the Miami strip. Be prepared for expensive drinks, though!

Place students MUST visit?

Parc Guell is the coolest place. It’s like a park designed by Gaudi and it’s insanely gorgeous. And, of course, you have to go to the beach, but there are so many cool things to do in the city. I was there so many weekends and I was never bored, there was always something to do.

Place with the best deals?

Things at El Corte Ingles are generally more expensive, they have a lot of American brands but I would say the Corte Ingles locations outside of the city center are a better choice, pretty much anything outside the city center would be cheaper than anything inside of it.

Best place to get souvenirs?

The markets. They’re scattered all around the Port Velle, and they have some pretty good souvenirs to take home with you. You just need to come across the right ones!

What is the best piece of advice you can give others going abroad?

Be really friendly and open with the people in your program. Also, if you’re going to have a home stay, you have to understand that they probably won’t speak English and you’re going to have to adjust to their way of life. Don’t forget to be courteous, and respectful.