Posts tagged Study abroad
Here's to hoping you see, feel, taste, and learn all I do as if you are here with me
Space bags will be your best friend when traveling! But, don’t make the same mistake I did! Remember to leave plenty of room and weight in your suitcase for souvenirs when you come back! You’ll be tempted to buy everything you need before you leave but it helps to buy some stuff abroad because once you’re there you’ll know exactly what you actually need.
Anonymous asked:
What are the men like? Attractive? Forward? Im going in the winter and I really want to have fun, if you know what I mean, but I'm a little weary...
European men are known to be so glamorous from movies but definitely be weary. Those accents can getcha, and they know it! They are in general much more forward and some can be pretty determined so be careful. Never go anywhere at night alone because you will be in an unfamiliar environment and probably not fluent in the language. This can be common sense or I may sound like your mom but definitely always watch your drink wherever you are and don’t put yourself in a situation you can’t easily get out of (stranger’s place, car, etc.). Of course there are good and bad people anywhere so use your best judgement and never let your guard down.
Anonymous asked:
Have you been to any Barcelona nightlife? What kind of purse would you take to that so you can dance freely, and not worry about pick pocketing?
I did go out at night and pick pocketing is very common. I know so many people who lost stuff but I fortunately never got pick pocketed. I only brought an MK wristlet that zips when I went out. It’s cute, compact and discreet! I could hold it in my hand while dancing and it fit my ID money and iphone (i’ll post a photo of it in another post).
These are the tricks I used to make sure I never lost anything: If you do take your iphone/camera out to a club be careful who you ask to take your picture and when you take your own pictures. Pick pocketers love these things! Also, don’t bring too much money/credit cards whenever you go out, because if you do get pick pocketed you won’t be losing everything (it’s a huge pain to get everything replaced). Have emergency money (just enough for a taxi ride back home) stowed away somewhere safe just incase (i would put it in my sock since I wore boots in the winter). I Hope I didn’t scare you, don’t be scared!! Honestly just be aware of your surroundings, follow my easy tips and you’ll be fine. :)
Anonymous asked:
Do you think the iPhone camera is enough to take pictures? I'm not sure whether or not I should bring my actual camera (it's a slightly old digital camera, nothing special, the quality is better on my iPhone) but I don't want to be like omg I should've brought it. Is the iPhone enough?
The iphone takes great quality pictures, especially outdoor night time shots trying to capture light! I actually used it a lot more towards the end of my trip because I realized it was a lot more convenient and quicker to share and upload photos. BUT I’d definitely bring an extra camera even if it is older just as a back up! Better to have something if your battery dies or you run out of memory. Hope that helps :)
Anonymous asked:
What do you suggest a girl wears for the summer in Barcelona, that also matches with Barcelona style?Is daytime casual? Is nighttime fancy? How many pairs of heels are a must?
I hear in the summer it can get pretty hot and humid so i’d bring light clothes but still no daisy duke shorts if you want to blend in or else you’ll get lots of unwanted attention. Casual dresses /skirts and airy tops will be perfect for the upcoming season.
For night time people do dress up a bit. Usually only Americans show up super skimpy looking to nightclubs and bars. Locals look more put together usually with tights/stockings on if they are wearing a shorts or short dresses but a nice top and dark pants is totally normal. A good trick to lessen the amount of clothes you bring is using different accessories with the same main pieces to make your outfits look different. (no one knew I used the same black dress over and over!)
Comfortable heels/shoes are a must! You will be walking everywhere, my advice is take no more than 2 or 3 heels. I’d recommend bringing cute comfy flats as substitutes. Also, know your shoes are going to take a beating!
No one really warned me about how much walking you’ll be doing so here’s my warning to you hahaha. Also, Barcelona has great shopping so if anything, shop less before you leave to save you money to shop when you get there. You’ll have a much better idea if what you’ll need/want to use once you’re there.
What do people wear here?
This is something I was clueless about before coming here, Barcelona Fashion. As I was packing I was told a bunch of different things: lots of layers, boho, normal clothes. All of this was pretty vague and when I googled “barcelona fashion” I was taken to a tourist website with a girl wearing a skirt past the knee and a top. No help.
There are tons of different styles here in Barcelona so don’t feel you need to totally change your style before you come here. I took it upon myself to take some random photos of people on the street to help you out. (It’s a good thing my iPhone is discreet. Excuse the blurry ones, I usually take these as I’m walking to class haha.)
These are examples of typical barcelona women. Not over the top, but put together. As you can see lots of layers, scarves, and boots or flats. Pack comfortable shoes that can take a beating! I’ve walked more here than I ever have in my life! Spanish women hardly ever show their bare legs. Many of them wear dresses, skirts, shorts but all with different colored/patterned tights or leggings underneath. Leather, Jean, and Canvas jackets are also pretty big here.
You hardly ever see spanish women in yoga pants and a sweatshirt on the street so if your plan is to look like a local, you’ll probably only need a pair to go to the gym, if any.
If you like nothing that they’re wearing, know purses with zipper closures are a must here! Beware of pick-pocketers!
Finally in the same country for longer than a week
I’m finally done with my back to back to back to back weekends of trips
- Budapest- Hungary
- Rabat & Chefchaouen- Morocco
- Venice, Verona, Florence, & Rome- Italy
- Paris- France
This past month was the best month ever!
I can’t wait to tell you guys all about each of them (once I have time)! After all of these trips and as my program is almost coming to an end, I’ve realized and can honestly say the best way to learn is to travel. I think i’m at my “Aha! moment” haha. The people I’ve meet, the history I’ve learned and seen, experiences I’ve gone through, beats sitting in a classroom.
Castellers Practice (human tower)
This night was the most culture enriching night in Barcelona! A friend heard about the Castellers practice from class so we decided to stop by. Little did we know what we were getting ourselves into! We entered and sat in what looked like a restaurant with a view of the practice down below. All of a sudden a woman comes up to me, speaking in spanish and asked “do you guys want to join the practice?”. I respond with a nervous and scared “No, gracias solo quiero mirar”. Then she explained oh it’s so easy and she did it since she was a young girl. She was a feisty one with a hilarious sense of humor (we found out later she was known as big mama). She was adamant about us going down so she took the liberty to go down to ask if we can join the practice herself. She then motioned to us to go down so we had no choice but to hesitantly walked down the steps. Meanwhile, we were all thinking we were doomed and going to crack our heads open. She laughed at how scared we were and said don’t worry it’s easy, you will be in the piña (the support at the bottom of the tower).
We finally gave in and it was the most amazing experience. The view from being in the piña and amongst the Castellers was absolutely insane!! I was so moved with the pride they had. That’s not all folks! They kept insisting I try climbing up to the shoulders (probably because I was the smallest one) of one of the castellers. I finally gave in and after a little instruction on the technique I was climbing my way up! With some assistance from them and support from the ladder, I was standing on his shoulders. It felt pretty awesome doing something I was scared and intimidated to do. So glad I did it! They were all so welcoming and made us feel like apart of their family.
Hey @uncertainkriscee! I’m so excited for you! Getting your parents to say yes is the first and most important step! Studying abroad is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made so I highly recommend you go abroad.
The study abroad program I decided to go with was BarcelonaSAE.
The steps I took to studying abroad with BarcelonaSAE were:
- I recommend you do some research to where and what you would like to study before you look into the actual programs.
- I was certain I wanted to study abroad in Europe and my top 2 choices were Germany and Spain. Not only did I know these were popular locations for studying abroad, but I knew Germany would be great for expanding my business knowledge since I am a marketing major, and Spain would be great for improving my spanish (a great quality to have in the business world).
- Then I decided on Spain and more specifically Barcelona because I love the culture, improve my spanish, wanted to be in temperate climate, and be in more of a city life.
- Now for choosing programs. GoAbroad has a database of almost all the study abroad programs out there. This can be an overwhelming process with so many programs that go to Barcelona, and it definitely was for me. With such a long list of items each program offers and each costing thousands of dollars, I was so lost.
- What drew me to BarcelonaSAE was the fact that it specialized in Barcelona. I knew I wanted to be immersed into the culture and knowing that this was their only location I assumed they would be more accessible and knowledgeable in Barcelona specifically.
- I was absolutely correct! The staff is extremely accessible and speaking to students that came with other programs I go to school with, they don’t get to know the city with their program at all.
- I contacted all the programs directly and told them I was debating between their program and a few others. This helped a lot because I was able to really see which programs actually cared.
- BarcelonaSAE was most helpful in highlighting what set them apart and it didn’t hurt that they were cheaper and offered scholarships!
This is super extensive, whoops, I got a little carried away! (haha) If Barcelona is one of your options, I highly recommend BarcelonaSAE. I love this program so much. Feel free to reach out at any stage of your study abroad process!
My sister made me a checklist before I left. I figured I’d show my progression as the days go by :)
