Written by Maya Krolikowski
Hometown: Wilmette, IL
Hometown: Wilmette, IL
Our first week here has flown by! Although we didn't have classes, it was a hectic week filled with activities nonetheless!
After flying in to the El Prat Barcelona airport, our program director Alex L. picked all of us up and we headed to our new home for the next 9 months: Unihabit! We got the keys to our rooms and had some time to settle in.
After flying in to the El Prat Barcelona airport, our program director Alex L. picked all of us up and we headed to our new home for the next 9 months: Unihabit! We got the keys to our rooms and had some time to settle in.
*For more photos please refer to the Photo Gallery
After settling in, we were greeted by the Director of ETSAV as well as some other faculty of the school. After receiving their warm welcome and a few announcements, we had the opportunity to go to downtown Sant Cugat.
Just to explain our location, please refer to the maps below. Although we are traveling and studying much of the city centre of Barcelona, we do not reside there. We live about a 20-25 minute train ride away in one of the first suburbs outside of Barcelona called Sant Cugat del Valles. This upscale suburb is home to many families, so it's very quiet and peaceful here. Additionally, our school (ETSAV) and our dorm is a 5-10 minute walk from the city center.
Just to explain our location, please refer to the maps below. Although we are traveling and studying much of the city centre of Barcelona, we do not reside there. We live about a 20-25 minute train ride away in one of the first suburbs outside of Barcelona called Sant Cugat del Valles. This upscale suburb is home to many families, so it's very quiet and peaceful here. Additionally, our school (ETSAV) and our dorm is a 5-10 minute walk from the city center.
We started off our trip with becoming a little more acquainted with Sant Cugat del Valles. The Monestary of Sant Cugat is a treasure! It was founded in the 9th century and was one of the main monastic centres in Catalonia during medieval times. The town of Sant Cugat originated as a small rural medieval village and still contains many historical beauties on its winding streets. Anyone could definitely spend a few days looking through all of the historical homes, farmhouses, aqueducts, and churches!
After much anticipation, and a coffee break, we hit the city of Barcelona! Together, we exited the train at the heart of Barcelona: Placa de Catalunya. From this location, you can walk down Las Ramblas, or a number of main streets. We began our day walking down the Portal de l'Angel - a big pedestrian street with lots of shopping, to reach Placa Nova. Here, you will find the Cathedral de Barcelona, truly a breathtaking view. We made our way through Barri Gotic, the oldest neighborhood in the city, and continued town to the refreshing sea side. At the end of our tour we ended up walking up Las Ramblas to where we started our day, Placa Catalunya. After a day of walking, our feet were exhausted and we were ready to head back home, but it was great day nonetheless!
After resting up Sunday, we had an orientation week at the UPC Monday-Wednesday (followed by a holiday weekend Thursday-Sunday due to Catalonia day on September 11th). During our week of orientation we were introduced and welcomed to the university through an official orientation with other exchange students through the Erasmus program. Here, we were handed a packet of information seen below. This included maps of Barcelona, welcome guides, an English-Catalan dictionary. We also took part in a workshop that introduced us to Catalan language and culture, which we found very helpful!
Once the holiday weekend hit, students had various plans. Some traveled to Morocco, others to Ibiza, and the rest of the group stayed in Barcelona and did some sightseeing. Regardless of our plans, we had time to enjoy ourselves before classes started Monday.
Stay tuned for our next post about our first week of classes! Hasta Luego!
Stay tuned for our next post about our first week of classes! Hasta Luego!