IES Abroad Barcelona

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.

Before studying abroad, I could never have predicted that I would come to call another place home. The time I spent in Barcelona was the best three and a half months of my life, and I wouldn’t trade the experience I had there for anything.
Although I was nervous to leave my family and friends, I felt completely prepared for my travels thanks to IES’s detailed pre-departure information. Before, during, and after the program, IES was there to support students. The staff was attentive and genuinely cared about their students’ safety, health and happiness.
Another great thing about IES staff was how much effort they put into placing students in the best housing. I was assigned a homestay in Horta, a neighborhood relatively far from the city center. It didn’t bother me that Horta was far away from the IES center because my homestay was absolutely perfect. My host mom immediately made me feel at home. Our house was beautiful, spacious and clean. She not only taught me to speak Spanish, but also many countless things about culture, food, kindness, family, and life. She was the happiest, most kind hearted person I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.
The city of Barcelona is unspeakably beautiful. I was worried about living in a city, especially considering how prevalent pick-pocketing is in Barcelona. It turned out that within a few weeks I had a thorough understanding of the layout of the city, public transportation, how to protect your belongings, and, most importantly, how to keep yourself safe. The city offers limitless options for things to do, sights to see, places to eat, and stores to shop. And if you do want to escape the city for a day, Barcelona is located just south of the beautiful Costa Brava beach towns.
I would encourage anyone and everyone to do this program. Barcelona is such a diverse and exciting city – there is something there for everyone. It was also a great location for weekend travel throughout Europe, since, as a big city, there were reasonably priced flights from El Prat Airport to anywhere you could want to go. Then again, you might find yourself in this city not wanting to go anywhere at all…

Barcelona is an incredibly unique city, and has an amazing combination of culture, history, food, and nightlife. For those of you arriving this fall, there are so many things that you will have to do immediately! Between Gaudi's many works across the city, the delicious paella and tapas options, and F.C.Barcelona's upcoming season, you will undoubtably be busy. At night, make sure to experience the legendary nightlife, made easier by who I think is without a doubt the city's best promoter, Aashi. With Aashi's List, you get a VIP experience with free entry to the city's top clubs, birthday celebrations, and the ability to meet so many other study abroad students. Getting to know Aashi and going out with so many other students who wanted to have the same semester abroad experience I did made my time in Barcelona even more amazing. If you are going to Spain this year, get ready for the time of your life!

One story that best expresses my time abroad is the time I was hiking in the mountains just outside of Barcelona. It was warm out - I'd spent the earlier part of the weekend lounging on the beach - and it was quiet, a totally different experience than that of the city.
I met a woman on the mountain who was meditating. We talked for a bit, first in my broken Spanish and then in English, and she told me about all the surrounding mountains, some of which I'd already climbed.
When I left her, I ran into a wild boar nosing around in the dirt. Even though it was huge, I felt peaceful and happy to see my first wild animal of the trip.
That memory stuck with me when I returned to the city, full of metros and crowds and restaurants of every kind. It was like I could have it all - nature and city life wrapped into one!

When I began college, never in a million years did I think I would study abroad in Europe. When I decided to, I just had a good feeling that I would enjoy Spain and this city. What could be better than being on the Mediterranean? Nothing actually, it took some adjusting to but I came to love this city and my surroundings.
IES did a great job at getting students settled in and helping them adjust. Upon arrival at the airport, they gave you directions on exactly what to do. The facilitators were very helpful and told students great places to go, where to get the best food, and the unsafe places to avoid. Professors were also very understanding with schoolwork and projects, as they knew students would want to be traveling to other places in Europe. The facility was located in the heart of the city, and looked very new. It was very clean, had computer labs, study lounges, and clean classrooms. It was located at the center of everything. I went on several IES weekend trips, day trips, and after school adventures, and I had nothing but positive experiences. The chaperones were great, everything was planned out well, and you got to see the heart of where you were visiting. They provided many opportunities to go to other cities like Madrid, Granada, or the Basque Country, but also local things to do like wine tasting, cooking class, and hikes within the city. They really helped me to go out and learn the city I was living in. The potential they gave you to explore was the best part.
My living situation was a home stay in an apartment with an 84 year old woman who was the sweetest thing. My roommate and I ate dinner with her every night as we had nice dinner conversations, only in Spanish. Speaking in Spanish also helped me learn the city and the people within in. She gave us a great taste of Spanish cuisine, and was always asking questions about what we were doing.
IES turned into a very fun experience for me, where I got to meet new people in the same position as me, who also wanted to explore and learn a new lifestyle.
If you are at a high point in the city, it just makes you realize you're in one of the coolest places in the world. Barcelona is an amazing city, with so many opportunities of having fun and exploring. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to this day. IES was a great program who will help you explore the world.