Beyond the Bubble: Barcelona LSA
Ah, studying abroad. A classic Dartmouth experience, the College has been consistently ranked in the top 10 for the number of students we send around the world each year. And junior fall seems to be a very popular time to do it. Having never taken a real term away from Dartmouth (aside from freshman summer which doesn’t count), I was excited to escape from the on-campus post-sophomore-summer slump and spend this fall on the LSA in Barcelona, Spain.
Having been lucky enough to travel a fair amount in my life, I figured this wouldn’t be particularly different. Spend some time in a new city, explore the country, taking classes might be strange but probably not too challenging. Incorrect.
Living in a completely foreign city where English is definitely not the norm sure takes some getting used to. Cue me getting of the plane and completely blanking on how to ask how much a bus ticket is. I could blame it on the jetlag, but in all honesty I simply could not remember. But fear not, because within two weeks, I’ve certainly found my footing (or at least my way around).
Food was probably the biggest initial struggle. The first afternoon, my host mom sat down with me and asked what I like to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Let me tell you, it’s really not easy to sum up your 20 years of food preferences, adapt it to somewhat local tendencies and write it down in a list. Especially when you can’t translate half the words to the language. Don’t be shy to speak up if you don’t like something – in the wise words of my host mom, “you’re staying with me for 10 weeks, not one week, so don’t let me cook you things you don’t like.”
Coffee I think deserves it’s own little stanza. If you like coffee, be afraid of it in Europe. Be prepared to have to order a “Café Americano” and even with your best Spanish accent, be laughed at every time. Here, people solely believe in shots. Shots and shots of espresso. The Americano gives you not only normal coffee (with water) but you can also ask for milk and not be judged.
If you have a host family, hang out with them! Yes, the language pledge means you will be speaking the language to everyone on your trip but it’s definitely much more of a challenge to converse with people who legitimately don’t speak English. At meals with my host mom, we’ve discussed (well, she’s talked and I’ve mostly listened and contributed minimally) about all kinds of topics.
The most important thing is to not be afraid to do things on your own. This isn’t Dartmouth, and every single person you know isn’t just a blitz away. Your group most likely will consist of less than 20 people – a definite change of pace, and you will probably get a bit lonely at times. After spending the first couple of days wondering what to do with my free time, I decided to step outside and wander around my neighborhood – yes, on my own. Again, since this isn’t Dartmouth, you can actually find new things to do and see just by walking around!
So while I won’t be able to go apple picking at Poverty Lane and dig in to Lou’s apple cider donuts this fall, there’s always the next. Spending a term of absolutely immersion in a foreign country? Definitely an experience I wouldn’t trade, not even to heckle the ’17s at Homecoming.