CAPA Barcelona: Study & Intern Abroad

This experience was unique because it was the first time I had ever traveled to Europe, Barcelona was the most beautiful and perfect place I ever had the honor to live at. The beaches, the clubs, the environment and especially the weather was all amazing. One thing I would recommend future students to do is travel light, and always keep your belongings close to you. My classes with CAPA were super fun and educational, field trips were the best part of my educational experiences. Most museums were free and parks were amazing. Definitely recommend this location as well as CAPA as your program of choice!

CAPA is a unique study abroad experience that gave me some amazing opportunities for personal growth. I studied in Barcelona in spring 2019. My specific program was small which at first was scary but it came with some amazing flexibility. The small class sizes allowed professors to personalize the coursework and even take us on trips to teach us lessons in terms of their lives in the city. This means professors could give us their unique take on living in Barcelona from the city rather than a classroom. I had friends in other programs in the city as well. Although these other students enjoyed their experience I honestly feel that CAPA did an exceptional job of encouraging immersion and providing a raw look at what it means to live in a global city. The internship opportunities are also something that stands out among study abroad programs that they provide. I cannot recommend CAPA highly enough!

Overall, my summer 2019 internship experience with CAPA in Barcelona, Spain was pleasant. Jane and Madeline from the CAPA center in Barcelona were always resourceful when students faced difficulties abroad. My Internship placement was not as formal as I had hoped or expected, but I learned so much. I worked as a business development intern for "The Nanny Line", an international childcare agency based in Barcelona. We worked out of cafes, office spaces, and from home. I learned so much, and got to work with students from all over Europe. The workshop course that accompanied the internship occurred once a week. The class was beneficial because it taught students how to apply our internship experience to our future career goals. On top of professional and academic experience, I grew tremendously in my personal life while abroad. I loved meeting new people and experiencing the nuances of Spanish culture. I cannot put into words ow life-changing my study abroad experience turned out to be. I would definitely recommend CAPA!

Where to start... Coming in, I hoped to gained a broader perspective of the world from my abroad experience. Not only did this program enable that to happen, but it did more... way more than that! The CAPA Barcelona program and its professors sparked a new interest for me. One of the courses I had the pleasure of taking was Intercultural Management with Laura Cervi. She designed the class so that we learned from the city that we were in as much as we learned in the classroom. Barcelona is such an amazing place to learn about Interculturality. Other than that, the program itself was a very enjoyable one. My classmates were student abroad from the US, as well, so it was easy to make friends and have travel buddies for the weekends. Lastly, I would recommend living in a homestay. It is a much easier way to integrate into the local culture and makes your time abroad feel a little more homey.

Who would have thought I would ever study abroad? Considering that I am first generation college student and I am living on my own since the age of 18, this idea seamed like an illusion mainly so because of the cost. I used to think studying abroad was for a few selected, lucky people, however, CAPA made this dream come true at a very, very affordable cost. The program I went with was faculty-led semester abroad, meaning that professors from my campus came along with us, making us feel safer. The program made every possible effort to locate our apartments at a reasonable distance from our classes. CAPA provided transportation cards, housing, covered insurance and flights. The only thing I would care for would be food and individual trips. While abroad, the staff located in the city made sure that we also had fun connecting us to local weekend events, My Global City excursions and visits to museums to enhance our learning. The program made a great effort to provide classes that are transferable and can in some way benefit from this trip. For example, I was taking Travel Writing, which fit perfect! I got to make my own book with my experiences, emotions, and travels. Students, I would really recommend studying abroad with CAPA.

My experiences in Barcelona are second to none. CAPA provided me with an excellent internship, rewarding classes, and fantastic guides to the city. I spent six weeks in Barcelona working, taking classes, and exploring all the city had to offer. Six weeks really was not enough time to see everything I wanted to see, so I'll definitely have to go back.

The CAPA staff were so nice and helpful that I never felt alone, even though I was thousands of miles away from home. They treated us like adults, helping us when we needed it and leaving us alone when we didn't. I've been abroad with other programs and it's nice to feel like you aren't being hounded. Additionally, the other students I roomed with in the city kept the days lively. This aspect of the trip gave me the most pre-departure jitters, but after a few days of interacting, when became great friends.

I would recommend this program to anyone. Go explore what they have to offer. You're probably going to like the options.

Not to sound clichéd, but my summer abroad in Barcelona was a life-changing experience. And it is all thanks to CAPA!

I loved my courses! Learning about Barcelona from local professors really enhanced my overall experience. The CAPA directors in Barcelona were an amazing help and were always there if I needed anything. My host family was incredible! The food in Barcelona is amazing, and my host mom always made new local dishes for me to have for dinner each day. My favorites were all of the fresh seafood and definitely paella!

Interning at a local nonprofit and staying with a host family were really immersive experiences. Not knowing Catalan made it apparent that I was a foreigner, but everyone in Barcelona speaks Castilian Spanish, so I was able to communicate pretty well with everyone. I spoke Spanish in my internship and homestay, but I took my courses in English, so most of the time I was speaking with locals in Castilian Spanish. I was taking the metro and living pretty much like a local for the whole summer!

My advice if you are traveling to Barcelona: The city is extremely safe, with the only real danger being pickpockets. Make sure you guard your phone, wallet, purse, backpack, etc. at nighttime and on the metro. Never put things in your back pocket or out on the table! Also, don't eat or shop in the touristy spots if you can avoid it! You shouldn't be paying more than 1.50 euros for a café con leche, for instance, but touristy areas will charge you 2 or 3 euros! You can find a sandwich and a drink for around 4 euros if you know where to go. Barcelona can be an expensive city if you stick to just the tourist areas, but if you ask around you can find the places where locals hang out. That is where the reasonable prices are!

Everything about my experience, from the language immersion, to my internship, to my engaging courses, to my local friends, to the individualized tailoring that CAPA offers, was outstanding. 11/10 would recommend, and I would 100% do this again in a heartbeat!