Q&A

Wow!

I've gotten some incredible feedback and responses to my first couple posts. Thanks everyone so much for taking the time to read. Hopefully this will stay interesting for the next 4 1/2 months. I have received a lot of the same questions from different people so I thought I'd answer them all here.

Q: How's the weather?
A: Actually, it has not been exactly what I anticipated. The first couple of days were very cold (mid 30s-low 40s) and it rained quite a bit. Today and yesterday have been much nicer, however; mid 50s and sunny. Its supposed to stay this way until mid March, when it allegedly heats up. I hear I have nothing to complain about however, considering the blizzards throughout the U.S.

Q: What is the city like?
A: This is actually quite difficult to answer. As previously stated, Barcelona deserves its title of party capital of Europe/ the world. Walking around the other night at 2:00 AM felt like 9:00 PM in most places I have been. Compared to places I have been, I would describe the physical city as a cross between London and Rome with a hint of Lima thrown in. (Not sure how many people have seen those three cities, but they are nothing alike one another; I'm not sure if that description helps at all.) Sure, there are hints of American influence like everyone has heard about: every so often I see a McDonald's, Pizza Hut, and of course Starbucks. However, these do not really impose on the Spanish culture that I feel when walking around. The city is an incredible mix of old architecture and alleys with new buildings, main streets, and plazas. Throughout the next couple of days I plan to be a bit of a tourist. I will hopefully take some pictures and post them, which should give you a better feel for the city.

Q: How is your program?
A: I was actually laying in bed for quite some time last night thinking about this question. As a result, you get another complex answer to a seemingly easy question. IES Barcelona has not been exactly what I thought it would be when I registered. First, the program is very Americanized; I think everyone is from the U.S. (and probably half of them are from Penn State, though I don't know why). I have bumped into so many people that I either know or have a connection to from different walks of life: University of Illinois, New Trier, friends of friends, my summer in D.C., etc. This has many pros and cons. I find that I am not speaking Spanish as much as I would like to be. Additionally, when going out I sometimes feel as though I am in a mini-America setting, that I'm not getting the true cultural immersion for which I had hoped. At the same time, Barcelona is definitely a Spanish city; a familiar face or English speaker once in a while can be a huge help and a huge comfort. I have not been dependent on any person or group and have actually only seen my good friends from school once or twice. Because I am not leaning on this highly Americanized group, I don't feel as though I am wasting an opportunity. I think I will enjoy the program overall. As the semester continues forward I see myself immersing more in Spanish culture with the Americans who are looking for that type of experience while simultaneously separating myself from those who just came to party everynight for a semester.

Q: How are the roommates? How is the apartment?
A: So far my roommates seem very friendly; we have all gotten along well. The apartment is very nice. We are actually the only ones from the program in our building; the rest of it is filled with locals. After riding up a small, stereotypical European elevator you would be surprised at the size of our place. I share my room with one other guy, and then there is another double and a single. The single was randomly selected by IES so I'm not sure how he lucked into that. We also have a kitchen and a fairly large living/dining room. Most importantly- great water pressure and heat on the shower (though the shower head is just below my shoulders). Unlike students in homestays, we are responsible for all of our own meals. I really need to go grocery shopping. A combination of that, expensive food out, and a lot of walking have helped me already lose a few pounds. (This is probably a good thing considering the weight I put on doing nothing with my broken arm for the last six weeks.) While I see great advantages to a home stay, I think I made the correct decision in choosing to live in an apartment.

Q: How are classes?
A: This answer you will have to wait on as regular classes start next week. I actually don't even have my schedule fully worked out yet. I had my first Spanish class this morning, though. For about an hour the teacher went over dozens of ways people try to pickpocket you in Barcelona and dozens of ways to avoid this. We had a very similar lecture on Friday. Sure this is important information, but if I hear any more on the subject I could probably become a master pickpocketer myself.

Q: How has the language barrier been?
A: Complex yet simple. Thus far, I have not had an encounter in which I was unable to communicate with someone. My Spanish is by no means perfect, but definitely good enough to communicate. That said, there have been several occasions on which the person with whom I am speaking switches to English as soon as I start talking. However, this has only happened a couple of times. On that level, the language barrier and immersion processes is what I expected. Catalan makes the process slightly more confusing. Everyone here speaks Spanish, but many locals converse with one another in Catalan. Additionally, all of the signs throughout the city are in Catalan. Sometimes I will hear Catalan or someone will speak to me in Catalan and I will be extremely confused. The language is a cross between Spanish and French so sometimes I don't even realize that it is Catalan at first.

While I haven't spooken Spanish all of the time, I have had many encounters in which Spanish is required. Additionally, none of my roommates speak Spanish very well. Yet again, this is both good and bad. It is bad because I can't speak to them in Spanish. However, whenever we go out to a restaurant or get in a cab I am the person responsible for communicating. I have had many good opportunites to put my knowledge to good use and look forward to drastically improving throughout the coming months.


I love hearing your feedback and fielding your questions so please continue to ask via email, facebook, or by posting here. Additionally, I posted pictures of Vic and Besalu on facebook, so check those out. I plan to post them somewhere else with a link on this page as well.

Hope this answers some of your questions. Enjoy the snow!