Student Bloggers
My First Week in Barcelona
Date
January 9, 2015
This week has been packed with a heavy schedule. We had orientation for three days and also learned about how to be aware of our surroundings because of the major pickpockets going around in Spain. In addition, I received my class schedule. I will be taking History, Spanish, Introduction to Catalan Studies and Sports, and Culture and Society in Europe. We get to take academic field studies (field trips) to get a hands-on experience which is pretty cool. There are no classes on Fridays. We have school Monday through Thursday and classes go from 9am - 6pm. Classes are about an hour and a half long.
I also moved into my home with my first ever host family! It was very exciting. I only live with a Señora, which is like a host mother. Her name is Teresa, and she is so sweet and caring. She had everything ready for me, including towels, blankets and food, when I got to the apartment. We had our first dinner together at 20:30. That is 8:30pm EST. Dinners are typically around 9 - 10pm but can be at 8:00 as well. She prepared fish nuggets, bread and a light salad. Dinners are usually light because lunch is when you should eat the most.
She also helped me take the Metro for the first time. The Metro is a mode of transportation that people use here which consists of many train lines. I took the Metro to get from one location to another in a fast and accessible way at a reasonable price. The Señora lives about 30-45 minutes via walking from the university that I attend. She told me the easiest way is to take the Metro. We walked across the street from her apartment and walked about five minutes, and BOOM! We were at the metro station. It can be confusing the first few times, but once you ride it, you get into the habit and become less of a tourist. The train comes every two minutes so it is very convenient. After four stops, I got to the university stop and walked about a mile to get to my destination. Overall, it took about 20-25 minutes and cost less than a euro per trip.
The Arcadia Staff also showed us a tour of Las Ramblas, the Metro, the local stores and the ATM machines. They helped us so much and made Barcelona easy to explore. Next week is the first official week of school so I am excited about meeting the professors. I shall let you know how it goes!