Barcelona Study Abroad Experience (SAE)

As cliché as it may sound, keep an open mind--the entire time.

Going to Barcelona, I had heard this before and knew I would do it, but there are times when you will be tested. When something doesn't go quite as planned, or you can't communicate with your family because they don't understand you, or a handful of other circumstances come across, it's all about your perspective. Think about your goals and what you want to get out of your experience--keep this in mind the entire time--and consciously make decisions in alignment with your goals so that by the time you pack up your bags to go home, you can feel good about what you put into your study abroad experience.

The great thing about study abroad is that no day is ever exactly the same. But for some people, this lack of familiarity can be hard--I know it was for me at times.

Every day after class I would explore a new café with a new friend. Or go to the Tibidabo amusement park and get a view of the entire city. Weekends were always long and a great opportunity to travel or get to know the city like a local.

Probably my biggest fear going into study abroad was the fact that I went all by myself.

It was my first time going overseas, so I would have no one to rely on but myself (so I thought). Although this was true, I made so many new friends and developed such a strong bond with my host mom and others that I met while there. Had I gone with people I knew, I wouldn't have pushed myself to be so outgoing, brave, and independent.

Study abroad really taught me the value of being open to new experiences and new people.

The great thing about study abroad is that, because it was so immersive, it really changed my perspective and sense of confidence in myself and my abilities. This is something I will always carry with me, no matter where I go.

I also do my best to keep in contact with the people I met there. I have all my friends on Snapchat and Whatsapp, and we try to keep our group chats going with updates on ourselves and everyday lives. I also keep in touch with my host mom--we send pictures to each other back and forth. Google Translate has also been my friend, haha.

I try to keep pictures of my study abroad experience around my apartment and on my phone. They are constant reminders to me of my friends across the world and summer that I'll never forget.

I have learned how to work more closely with procedures and protocols to improve processes behind the scenes for students. I have also gotten to work closely with advisors to improve our pre-departure assistance that will prepare the student more for when they are onsite. Even though I am working on processes it has been rewarding to continue to work face to face with students.

I met a student while working in Argentina and after he finished a year-long program went for a working experience in Qatar and then he decided to come back to Argentina where he met a local and fell in love with her and the international education industry. Now he works with some of my former colleagues and we are still in touch.

I would pick a customized internship because I have enjoyed working in Barcelona. With this program, you are learning and also practicing what you learn right away. It prepares you for working in a multicultural workplace which is important for me and all placements are customized to your interests which allows us to work with very cool and diverse companies.

Barcelona SAE is unique because we are growing, but we still have the student experience as a top priority. We encourage the students to do local things while they are here and teach them about cultural traditions. They don't just visit tourists spots but also learn about things like traditional dances and customs.

The key to success is to ensure a clear structure and the procedures that are explicit and easy to follow. This helps us to give the students the best experience because we can provide smooth transitions and accessible resources. This does not guarantee everything will go as expected but we can be prepared for the unexpected things.