CEA CAPA Education Abroad in Barcelona, Spain

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!

I was greeted by CEA staff from the moment I arrived at the airport to pick up my bags. All throughout the semester, the staff showed unconditional support in academics, housing, and even travel tips. Professors are very knowledgeable in their subjects and courses offer field studies which allow for learning to take place outside four walls.
CEA also offers Experiential Learning Activities which involve activities within the city in addition to trips to Sitges, Valencia, and even Madrid! No matter where you end up going, you learn so much about the culture, language, and the people.
There's always something to do and somewhere new to go eat. Barcelona itself has SO much to offer that there's no going wrong in choosing Barcelona as your study abroad destination. I don't regret my choice and would recommend it to anyone wishing to study abroad!

I had the most amazing semester in Barcelona thanks to CEA. The program staff was always available and helpful and the professors were knowledgeable and approachable. I was placed in a lovely apartment close to the program center, as well as many restaurants and shops, and CEA was able to accommodate all of my roommate requests. CEA offered a great range of courses and the professors are knowledgeable and truly care about their students. Overall I highly recommend this program to anyone looking to explore Barcelona!

I am studying abroad for the Spring 2018 semester. I only have about one month left in Barcelona and it feels like the time flew by! I have had a great experience studying abroad with CEA. The support of the staff and professors is very helpful. Communication is great and if I ever have questions or concerns there is always someone at CEA who can help.

My favorite parts about CEA are all of the included activities we can participate in. The other day a group of us went on a hike to Montjuic, which is a big mountain in Barcelona. It was great to have a CEA staff member as our guide. Activities like this make my study abroad experience exceptional. Not all study abroad programs are as involved and supportive of their students. CEA does a great job with this.

I would highly recommend studying abroad through CEA to anyone!

In the months prior to studying for four months in Barcelona, through CEA, the process was so easy. Between my parents and I, the forms were easy and the class options were exciting and interesting. CEA staff were extremely helpful with moving in to our apartment once we arrived in Barcelona, and all of my professors were kind, interesting, and caring. I loved practicing my Spanish with them, and taking the class trips all over the city. CEA planned weekend and day trips to cities like Madrid, Besalu, and Girona, all of which were well-planned, educational, and still lax and fun. Studying abroad in Barcelona was the best four months of my entire life and I would do it over again if i could. My advice would be to seize every opportunity: visit Camp Nou, see as many museums as you can, use your Spanish (or learn Catalan) as often as possible, try every restaurant, and wander around by foot any time you can!

If you have the opportunity to study abroad with CEA, take it! Studying abroad is one of the most influential and rewarding experiences and CEA provides all of the tools needed to have the best experience possible. The location of the school is right in the heart of the city, the staff is absolutely amazing, and the apartments have great locations. The school has a great support system if you ever need anything, and also provides numerous outside of the class activities if you are looking to meet new people or get out of your comfort zone. They also provide you with weekend trips, and one of my favorite trips with CEA was a weekend trip to Madrid. It was so well organized and was the perfect opportunity to get out of Barcelona for the weekend for almost no money at all. Nothing but great things to say about CEA!

CEA has been wonderful every step of the way during my study abroad experience. I've been in Barcelona for almost 3 months now and I'm very happy with all CEA has done to make my stay here amazing. The staff are very friendly and helpful. I especially love the activities and trips that are planned for students, whether it is a weekend trip to the Pyrenees mountains or a tapas cooking workshop. CEA really wants to help immerse you into the culture of your host city and I think they do a great job with it. I love what I am learning in class and especially love when the education extends beyond the classroom during field studies. Overall, I've had a fantastic time studying abroad so far!

Choosing to go abroad was such an exciting and life-changing decision, and CEA made the transition and duration of my stay SO amazing. From the second you sign up for the program, you have an incredible and constant support system that is available to answer any questions and offer advice. They even have friendly staffers that pick you up from the airport upon arrival and personally take you to your apartment. But it doesn't stop there. The teachers are an incredible resource of knowledge and experience, and I genuinely enjoyed going to class every day to learn from them. Barcelona itself is one of the most exciting and beautiful places on Earth, but can feel overwhelming sometimes and the staff does a fantastic job of making it feel a little more accessible. I enjoyed every second of my study abroad experience, and it wouldn't have been possible without CEA.