I have been living in Barcelona for almost four weeks now. It feels like I’ve been navigating the red line of the metro and eating dinner at 10 PM my entire life, but it has also flown by even faster than I expected. This program has been amazing: we have seen all the classic tourist spots (La Sagrada Familia, Las Ramblas, the magic fountains in Montjuic, etc.) and even gone out of the city a few times to Tarragona and Girona. It has certainly been a busy 28 days between classes, tours around Barcelona, conversation exchange with local students, and going out to explore the city. This last part has proven to be the most challenging.
When I first arrived in Spain, it felt weird to be sitting in my room doing homework or spending half the day in classes. Although I knew there would be school work involved, there was still a part of me that thought (hoped?) that this program would be like a 5-week vacation. Although I accepted the academic part of things pretty quickly, I have never travelled for any kind of serious reason before. Every time I have been in a new place has been for a vacation, so that was my outlook as I departed the plane. Despite the general goal of vacations being to relax and unwind, my family has always had very active vacations, trying to fit in everything we can during the week and a half or so that we are there. This familial mentality has carried over to trips I have taken without my family, including this program in Spain. So here I was, juggling three classes worth of homework, projects, and essays as well as the general schedule of excursions with the program, feeling like I needed to go out and do something whenever I had a chance to catch a breath.
This did not work well. While this has not turned out to be a 5-week vacation, it is still 5 weeks long. It is physically impossible to be in continuous motion for that long, as I quickly learned. No matter how exciting it is to be in a foreign city, or how much pressure you feel to use your time wisely, you have to rest at some point. Everyone needs time to recharge. And that’s not a bad thing! With trips around Barcelona every Tuesday, I really feel like I have gotten to know this city, and visits to other cities every Thursday have been an extra bonus. We have been basic tourists but also seen the less-known, local part of Barcelona. And there has still been plenty of time to explore on my own! Just today I took a trip to an art museum, La Fundació Joan Miró, after class with a friend and had a lovely time. But I also spent a solid half of this past Sunday just relaxing in my bedroom. The point is that you can’t expect to be on the move for the entirety of study abroad, and there is no shame in taking some time off; you are not the only one whose feet hurt after a five-hour walking tour. With the last week of the program quickly approaching there are definitely things I still want to do, but I know I can enjoy my time here without feeling pressured to do everything. Catch me at the beach tomorrow after a good night’s sleep!
