Muchos saludos desde Barcelona

As Kaja has shared already some first expressions of Barcelona with you, it is now time for me to do so.

The first time I came to my new university (of time) I was overwhelmed: It is all so big, so many students and buildings. At first it was difficult to find your way around. As Kaja already mentioned there are three bus lines on our campus to get around. About the classes, it took us almost two weeks to sort out our final schedule, as a lot of courses are not running this semester and the others are overlapping. Now my Spanish intensive course is over and I can now attend the regular courses and have some more time.

The classes are different here. Compared to Denmark, there is much less to read but more mandatory classes and homework to do. Furthermore the classes are louder and the test are more multiple choice.
There are so many Erasmus students in our university. Alone in the tourism faculty are between 30-40 students. Because of us some courses are taught in English and Spanish. However, the majority of local students did not like having classes in Spanish, they prefer Catalan and still use it whenever they ask questions during the classes.
Talking about Catalan people, they are really proud of their language and you need to get warm with them first. Then they are saying hello to you by giving two kisses (like it is in France) and like working in a group project with foreigners. However, still some language barriers exist. What I like about the Catalans is that they are very laid back and relaxed.
However, the local student seem not so interested in foreign Erasmus students, so we do a lot with the other Erasmus students and there are so many, especially from Austria, Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium. I even met another girl studying in Denmark.


And Barcelona is a great city with a lot of places and sights still to explore after living there for two month. But it is not only the city, also the smaller cities around, like Sitges and Castelldelfels are worth to discover. I especially like my schedule, with having off every Friday. This leads to experience the practical way of tourism by travelling through Spain.

However the climate in Barcelona is awesome. It is now the end of October and it is still quite warm. Two weeks ago I have been swimming in the ocean and lying on the beach with Kaja in Sitges. But it is not only Barcelona, last weekend I have been visiting Inga in San Sebastian and it was so sunny that we went to the beach, okay, swimming was quiet cold but lying on the beach not.

Besos y abrozos
Anna

First weeks in Barcelona

Hola a todos,

since I cannot avoid to sit down anymore and actually write something about my experiences in Barcelona I decided to stop running away from it and just spill it out. We girls cannot give the guys (Frederik and Christian) the lead!

I arrived in Barcelona on the 15^th of August together with Vincent. We decided to take the cheap alternative and booked tickets with Ryan Air and yes I would like to say “Never again” but unfortunately the price is so tempting and I am sure I would do it again.
After a big fight with the staff at the Bremen airport about our hand luggage at 6 o’clock in the morning we arrived in Barcelona (Girona) tired and exhausted. After taking the bus to the city center and several different metros we arrived at the Universidad Autónoma in the north of Barcelona. The campus is huge, bigger than anything I have seen so far. There is even a separate bus system for the campus but since the buses did not work yet in August we had to walk up the hill with our luggage in the heat of midday. When we finally got our room in the hostel we were dead tired and took a long break.
In the next days we looked at rooms but also did some sightseeing and beach visits to enjoy our time in Barcelona. After around four days I found a nice apartment in central Barcelona with three Spanish roommates.
Vincent had to leave soon after to return to Nykøbing which was a very sad but unavoidable good bye.
In the first few weeks I got to know my roommate better and saw some more things in Barcelona. I also had to do the administrative things like registering here at the police station which took me around three hours to do, since there are always a lot of people in the waiting room. In the beginning of September I had my first meeting at the university, registering, getting my student ID and signing up for the classes. This was not as easy and it took me until this week to get all my courses the way I wanted and not all on the same day at the same time. Some courses are in Spanish others taught in English and I also got a Spanish class to practice my Spanish a little. Unfortunately in the university the Spanish students are not very interested in Erasmus students so I am mostly talking to other Erasmus students from Germany, Austria, Netherlands and Poland.
Besides the people in school I also met some nice people through my roommates and it is great to see the city through the eyes of Spanish speaking people that have lived here in Barcelona for some time. I have gone out and tried great restaurant and great clubs. Barcelona has everything to offer from high class discos to small alternative bars and clubs. I am mostly staying away from the typical Erasmus activities because I would like to see the real Barcelona as much as possible instead of the touristy endless Erasmus parties that are available every day.
It is difficult to meet Catalan citizens, because they mostly keep to themselves and do not let many outside persons in. They are very proud of their language, Catalan, and it is seen everywhere. Catalan is a mixture of French and Spanish with small Italian and Portuguese influences. All the signs in the city are in Catalan, some are translated into Spanish as well. Most homepages are in Catalan and not all are translated to Spanish or even English. The teachers usually teach in Catalan and only make exceptions for Erasmus students.
All in all Barcelona is a great choice for an Erasmus semester and I am very happy to have made this decision.

Reading over what I have written so far I am surprised how easy it was to write so much in such a short time after overcoming my inhibitions. Maybe this will not be so difficult to bring myself to do this more often from now on.
Until then HASTA LUEGO from Barcelona and MUCHOS BESOS Y GRAN ABRAZOS!