IES Abroad Barcelona

I knew before I even started applying to college I wanted to study abroad. I picked IES because it came highly recommended to me and I wanted to be in Barcelona. Picking IES was the best decision I made. Your program truly defines what your experience will be like. IES made all the pre-departure paperwork easy and were helpful answering the 100's of questions I had. Once I got to Barcelona, they continued to be helpful. IES offers different actives such as bike rides, cooking classes, and tours of different neighborhoods. This gave me the opportunity to meet friends and get acquainted with my new city.
I decided to live in an apartment which was provided through IES. This was the perfect situation for me because I have already lived in an apartment independently before. I had to do all my own cooking but I loved it! I ended up getting to know the local shop owners. I would get my groceries from various markets. I even had a little fish shop where they spoke no English! It was challenging but I never felt more accomplished or proud when I placed my entire order of fish in Spanish!
The friends you make abroad are friendships that last a lifetime. One of my favorite memories that I think about often is going to get gelato between classes on Tuesday afternoon, strolling through the Gothic Quarter. It's little moments like that that I cherish so much.
Getting homesick is part of the experience, but everyone is going through the same thing, even if it's at different stages. When I lost my iPhone, the front desk woman helped me by calling the cab company since my Spanish was not strong. When I was sick, the study affairs office made sure I saw a doctor. Whatever question I had, IES was there to answer it.
I loved that my professors really brought the classroom into the city. Many of my classes went on field trips around the city. When my parents came to visit, I was able to lead them around and tell them many different fact about the city I didn't even realize I knew. It became my home. I grew to love certain neighborhoods, a favorite running path, and a favorite cafe to study (Organic's - right down the street from the IES center)
Studying abroad is something everyone should do. Of course it's a little scary but so worth it. I learned what it means to be a global citizen, I traveled to different famous European cities, ate amazing food, and I made incredible friendships. IES was organized and helpful from day one, which helped make this the best semester of my life.

Studying abroad is undoubtedly one of the best experiences I have had while in college. From the beginning, it was important to me that I find a program that would provide a solid academic foundation, while enabling me to immerse myself in the culture of my host country. IES exceeded these expectations. My classes were rigorous, yet not overbearing. My professors were intelligent but helpful, and the administration constantly had the best interests of the students at heart. The living amenities provided were of good quality, and made adjusting to being in a foreign country very easy. I immediately felt at home in my apartment provided by IES.
Being in a city like Barcelona, where so many cultural activities and events are occurring, I really tried to explore and do things that I would not have the opportunity to do in the United States. Through course excursions, as well as program trips (such as the one to Tarragona), I was able to immerse myself in Spanish culture and make memories that will last a lifetime. I highly recommend IES to students that wish to study abroad in the future.

Studying abroad was one of the best decisions I have made in my life. I took the big step to go to Barcelona, Spain for my 2016 spring semester of college. It was hard to leave my family, but once I made it and met my loving host mom and great roommates I knew I would be alright until April. I was able to not only improve my Spanish, but I got to do so in an actual Spanish speaking country. The Spanish culture was what I enjoyed the most.I learned so much about myself that I may not have known until later in life if I had not gone. I am not fine with traveling alone, spending the night in an airport, or hoping on a plane and going to another country. It was all worth it.

When I first decided to study away, I had no idea where I wanted to go (besides somewhere in Europe) or with which program. In a meeting with my advisor, I said that I was thinking about Italy. Since I was studying Spanish, she laughed and instead suggested IES Barcelona Business and Liberal Arts. She said it would be perfect; I could take my business, my general education, and my Spanish classes PLUS live in Europe. And you know what? She was right.

Spending a semester in Barcelona was more than I could have ever imagined it and there are three reasons why.

1) My host family was phenomenal. My mom was a teacher, my dad a doctor, and they had three boys ranging from 12-16. They welcomed me, and my two roommates, into their family with arms wide open. We had dinners together every single night, where they challenged us to work on our Spanish (even though they knew quite a bit of English), played video games with the younger brother, and even had a family ping-pong tournament. When I was debating whether to live in an apartment or a homestay, I was worried that I would feel trapped in a family dynamic and that it would be weird to leave to go on trips or to go hang out with friends, but that wasn’t the case. They had hosted before so they knew how life would be with study abroad students, and in fact, they encouraged us to go to cultural events and to get out of the house as much as possible. I do not think I could have asked for a better living situation if I tried, and I will definitely stay in contact with them. They’re my Spain family!

2) The history and art of Barcelona are impressive. If you had asked me about art before going to Spain, I would have said, “ehh it’s ok”. Ask me now, and I will tell you all that I know about European art, especially the work by Gaudí. I would never have called myself an art enthusiast before going abroad, but now, I love art! My turning point was learning about and seeing the Block of Discord (which consists of three houses designed by Gaudí, Puig i Cadafalch, and Domenech i Montaner) and La Sagrada Familia.

3) The friends I made are lifelong. We all shared one of the key personality traits that I need in a friend: adventurous. Each and every person I met, had plans to do and see things and to enjoy their time however that meant to them. But in all, we shared a magical experience that no one else will quite understand. We stayed up all night to see the sunrise from the Bunkers, ate patatas bravas every day for a snack, flew cheap flights at 6am, found local festivals to attend, bought more souvenirs then we could really bring home, etc. The only sad part is that since we went with a study abroad program (versus one at our home school), we are all scattered across America, which makes seeing each other a bit of a challenge.

Thinking back, the only part I would change, would be coordinating my travel plans with the friends I made. Many weekends, one set of friends would travel while the others were in Barcelona and then it would flip. It made it hard to just live in Barcelona with a normal lifestyle. That being said, studying away isn't really a normal experience and you learn that you have to put your wants/desires first to make your dreams come true.

Overall, I was very impressed with my study abroad experience and now as my next semester is approaching, my only question is: can I go back?!

My name is Maddie and I studied in Barcelona, Spain with IES's Liberal Arts & Business program for the Spring 2016 semester. I found Barcelona rather intimidating when I first arrived in El Prat airport on January 7, 2016. When I met the IES administrators, however, everything changed. The staff at IES answered all my burning questions, directed me to my new home and best of all, spoke English very well.

The staff at IES were staples in my day to day life in Barcelona. Be that my lovely Spanish teacher, the staff who guided IES through different cities in Spain, my Barcelona Cultural Companion or the staff making me emergency doctor appointments. Through IES guidance, I found myself on free Bus tours of the city, visiting Granada, and eating typical a typical Catalan feast! I was able to complete everything on my "Barcelona Must See List" and more. Including an amazing castel festival, a flamenco show and a cooking class!

Additionally, my experience at a local university only enhanced my abroad experience. I met amazing professors, of whom I still am in touch with; as well as friends to last a life time!

I studied in Barcelona, Spain with IES Abroad during the Spring 2016 semester. I chose to intern and study abroad throughout my time in Barcelona, which is a decision I highly recommend. My internship was at a children's teaching hospital, which was an extremely rewarding experience, despite being pretty emotional. If you're interested in having an internship while abroad, you should plan on having much less of a social life than other students who are also studying in Barcelona. Barcelona is known for its nightlife (amongst many other things), and students in IES seemed to go out 3-5 times a week. I was lucky if I went out twice in a week, because internships take up about 8-10 hours of your time every week (on top of being a student) and at IES you DO actually need to study. The academics were a little more difficult than I anticipated, but the teachers and advisors were helpful and approachable whenever I had issues or questions. If exploring new cultures and getting out of your comfort zone excites you, you should definitely study with IES Abroad in Barcelona.

Studying in Barcelona was a fantastic experience made all the more better by the community of friends and IES staff that surrounded me. IES provided me the opportunity to see (and build) my first castelle, visit ancient Roman ruins, explore antique cathedrals, volunteer in a children's hospital, and run my very first 15k...in SPAIN! I enjoyed cultural excursions to ancient cities and took in the sights and wonders of local Barcelona city life.

Housing - Let me start by saying I can only speak to my own situation as each student in each program/city/living style has a different one. I will admit that I had a rough homestay experience due to lack of cleanliness in the apartment, but the staff at IES were very willing to help me in whatever way I needed. They respectfully listened to each of my complaints and began immediately to fix the situation. One week I became severely sick, and one of the IES staff made the 30 minute commute over to my homestay on a Saturday to check in on me. This kind of dedication to students is unmatched and I cannot speak highly enough of the amazing character of the IES staff.

Academically, IES prides itself in being rigorous. This rigor comes from a set of requirements that each course has to adhere to, but does not always do so in the most efficient way. For example, having to write 7-12 page essays in most of your classes is not ideal when you wait last minute and have to study for finals. This was a problem many of my study abroad peers fell into.
Most of the professors I had clearly laid out the guidelines for the course they taught. If they didn't, then that professor turned out to not be very organized and the course ended up being exceptionally easy (this happened with one course I took).

Socially, the amount of cultural excursions and day trips in fantastic! Many of my study abroad peers did not take advantage of these opportunities and severely missed out. I would highly recommend signing up for as many as you are interested in (and can afford). Most are well-organized and best to sign up for via IES. Keep in mind, though, that sometimes it could be just as easy (and fun) to get a group of friends and visit a place on your own time and dime.

In all, IES Barcelona is a very well-established program with exceptional staff. There may be a few organizational hiccups within the program (such as outdated course syllabi and excursion info), but these pale in comparison to the wonderful experience you are going to have by taking the effort to make your study abroad experience your own.

The day that I left my comfortable Ann Arbor bubble for Barcelona was predictably filled with mixed emotions. I hugged my parents goodbye, and armed with a 2015 picture-filled guide to Spain and a jumbo-sized bag of pretzel m & m’s I felt relatively ready.
Arrival in Barcelona was a frenzy of color and smiles- all of my peers were riding out a delusional joy-filled exhaustive state, and Cèsar himself was there to greet us. Then came our first chance to actually use the Spanish that we had been practicing in our classrooms for quite some time: the taxi ride to what would be our home for the next four months. I’d be lying if I said it went particularly smoothly, but luckily enough, my co-passenger and I safely made it to our destination on Gran Vía, directly across from the very classy Bingo Billiards.
The integration into the culture and vibrancy of Barcelona was swift and wonderful- and I can say that IES facilitated all of this with their helpful introductory meetings and fun, free activities, from a cycling tour of the city to a gorgeous Mediterranean lunch overlooking the sea. From all of these engaging, informative, trips, I met many of my peers, and began to forge relationships that would only grow throughout my time there.
Academically, I was able to take fascinating classes and learn from wonderful teachers. From Sports & Society in Spain to Banditry & the Mafias in the Mediterranean- I was able to delve into topics in an environment that was open to questioning and dialogue.
What truly made my experience so magical, however, wasn’t necessarily the incredible museums and beaches and restaurants and castles and nights out. No, it wasn’t the mouth-watering food or breath-taking views (though those certainly did help). No, it was the people that I met. My professors, my peers, my friends. I came into study abroad not knowing what to expect but eager to find out- and what I was met with was more intelligence, kindness, and hilarity then I could have ever hoped for. I realized how you can click with those who you thought you would never click with, how integral just being able to try is, and how each and every person and each and every part of the world has so many wonderful things to offer. IES made this all possible- and I can’t recommend it enough.