Field report - semester abroad in Barcelona - at the Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña (UPC)
In February 2022 I started my semester abroad in Barcelona. My departure was later than planned, as I had to delay my flight by one week due to a corona illness. Not an uncommon occurrence at the time, as I later learned from several others. Still, my anticipation was high. Even though I had planned to arrive earlier to get settled in a bit, I still arrived in time for the start of university and still had plenty of time. I started my trip instead with a friend who had booked the same flight to visit my twin sister in Barcelona. She had spent her semester abroad in Barcelona during the winter and had just finished her exams. Luckily for me, she was able to share some of her experiences with me. Since she was still there for a few weeks, we were also able to celebrate our birthday there together with our friends. What better way to start a semester abroad?
So I spent the first days in Barcelona exploring the city a bit with friends and making the first contacts at Erasmus parties. For this it is worthwhile to apply for the Erasmus ID card. With it, I could participate in all Erasmus events and pay for excursions directly with this card. The card must be applied for online and can then be picked up at the appropriate office at the university. As additional info, one gets for the period of the semester even 15% discount for bookings with RyanAir and free luggage for a total of 4 flights. Thus, a visit to the home country can be guaranteed at a reasonable price, if homesickness arises. However, it is important to book early enough and to activate the Erasmus card in the Ryanair account. I myself have used the offer once to visit my friends for a few days. However, I must admit that I had absolutely no homesickness and originally only wanted to visit a fair of my home university.
The introductory days of my university, on the subject of starting university, were unfortunately cancelled due to Corona and took place in an info seminar online. But at least we could connect via Whatsapp and get to know the first students of the UPC. The Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya has several faculties, which are divided into different locations. My location was unfortunately not directly in Barcelona, but in Terrassa, which is why it always took about an hour to get there from the center. Moving to Terrassa was out of the question for me, as I heard from several students who have already studied there that it is difficult to get home in the evening when you are out and about in Barcelona. In addition, Terrassa is supposed to be beautiful, but relatively small and therefore also quickly explored. Who actually wants to experience Barcelona as a big city, I can only suggest to do the same. But of course, everyone must know for themselves what you put the personal preferences.
I had decided to move to Sant Antoni because the neighborhood is very central, but still a bit quieter and cheaper than Eixample. My room was right by the Sant Antoni metro station, so I was always quick to get anywhere. The neighborhood borders El Raval, which is known to have a high crime rate and is rather discouraged as a place to live. I was told by locals that only the upper part, also called Ciutat Vella on the larger main streets is recommended. In the narrow streets you should rather not stay alone in the dark
. Streets that are well visited and very busy in the evening and on weekends, therefore rather the main streets, are not a problem. I would also highly recommend looking for an apartment near a metro station. The more central to Placa Catalunya, the better. Because the Placa Catalunya is the center of Barcelona, because at that time it was a military base and marked the geographical center. From there, the metro goes in every direction, making it a very popular area. There you can find many stores and restaurants. The stores are similar to the Kö in Düsseldorf starting from Placa Catalunya up the whole Passeig de Gracia and are thus an absolute tourist magnet. Eixample, on the other hand, is a bar and restaurant district. El Raval gives rather smaller stores and bars and Barri Gotic is one of the older quarters. If you have ever seen Barcelona from above, you will see directly that this quarter is not like the newer part rectangular and evenly built and still has very small alleys. It has a very nice old charm and is wonderful to eat ice cream, go drinking or shopping. However, you can also find here many cultural eye-catchers, because most historically significant buildings are still to be found. To live Barri Gotic is in my eyes in the summer rather unsuitable, because the bars may be open very long and are so close together that it is very noisy until late at night. In the heat it is hardly possible to sleep with a closed window and even with air conditioning it is difficult, because the older windows are not well protected against noise. Nevertheless, a very nice area. But of course everyone has to find out for himself what attracts him most to a city.
For me it was especially the possibility to go to the beach every day, to go out and do something or just to be able to retreat. It's the luxury of having a choice and a balance between university and studying. If you need a break from studying, you have everything right outside the door. On the other hand, you have to remember that it can also be difficult to separate yourself from all the opportunities for experience. But that is part of it and is certainly also an experience.
Through Erasmus and the university, you are quickly networked with others and no one has to be alone here if you don't want to be. Barcelona is considered the most touristic city in Spain and is therefore internationally represented. After Spanish, it is also a good idea to improve your English skills, as you will come into contact with international students through Erasmus and courses taught in English at the university. Barcelona is therefore a good compromise, even if not only Spanish is spoken here, to improve one's multilingual skills. However, if you want to score points with the locals, you can only do so to a limited extent. Because Barcelona is part of Catalonia, Catalan is also a common language. Catalan is like a mixture of Spanish and French and is very different. So the language is not easy to derive only with Spanish. Many locals attach great importance to mastering the language, as Catalonia is still fighting hard to be autonomous since the revocation of independence. Therefore, there are also many locals who basically refuse to learn English or any other language at all. However, in my experience, this is more the case with the older generation. Unfortunately, this basic idea is continued at the universities in the sense that Spanish courses are associated with high costs, whereas Catalan courses are offered free of charge. I decided to take a Spanish course anyway, because in my eyes there is no better way to gain language skills if you can practice them in the environment anyway.
Moving away from communication to getting around within Barcelona, I mentioned earlier that it makes sense to live near a metro station if you have a longer commute to the university during the day. For me, this was everyday life, which is why it was more than worth it to buy the T-Jove ticket for people under 25. This ticket is charged by zone. For me it was zone
three, because Terrassa is a bit outside of Barcelona. I paid about 140 euros for three months to be able to use the train as often as I wanted every day. The good thing is that this also includes trips to other zone three places, such as Sitges or Badalona. Places where a trip is definitely worthwhile. The carnival parade in Sitges in February is particularly well known, not least because of the elaborate and colorful costumes.
On the whole, I can say that Barcelona has a lot to offer and has broadened my horizon in many ways. If you're a fan of getting into adventures and love the sun and the sea as much as I do, you're in for a great experience during your semester abroad!
