CEA CAPA Education Abroad in Barcelona, Spain

This experience was unique because it was the first time I had ever traveled to Europe, Barcelona was the most beautiful and perfect place I ever had the honor to live at. The beaches, the clubs, the environment and especially the weather was all amazing. One thing I would recommend future students to do is travel light, and always keep your belongings close to you. My classes with CAPA were super fun and educational, field trips were the best part of my educational experiences. Most museums were free and parks were amazing. Definitely recommend this location as well as CAPA as your program of choice!

CAPA is a unique study abroad experience that gave me some amazing opportunities for personal growth. I studied in Barcelona in spring 2019. My specific program was small which at first was scary but it came with some amazing flexibility. The small class sizes allowed professors to personalize the coursework and even take us on trips to teach us lessons in terms of their lives in the city. This means professors could give us their unique take on living in Barcelona from the city rather than a classroom. I had friends in other programs in the city as well. Although these other students enjoyed their experience I honestly feel that CAPA did an exceptional job of encouraging immersion and providing a raw look at what it means to live in a global city. The internship opportunities are also something that stands out among study abroad programs that they provide. I cannot recommend CAPA highly enough!

Overall, my summer 2019 internship experience with CAPA in Barcelona, Spain was pleasant. Jane and Madeline from the CAPA center in Barcelona were always resourceful when students faced difficulties abroad. My Internship placement was not as formal as I had hoped or expected, but I learned so much. I worked as a business development intern for "The Nanny Line", an international childcare agency based in Barcelona. We worked out of cafes, office spaces, and from home. I learned so much, and got to work with students from all over Europe. The workshop course that accompanied the internship occurred once a week. The class was beneficial because it taught students how to apply our internship experience to our future career goals. On top of professional and academic experience, I grew tremendously in my personal life while abroad. I loved meeting new people and experiencing the nuances of Spanish culture. I cannot put into words ow life-changing my study abroad experience turned out to be. I would definitely recommend CAPA!

Where to start... Coming in, I hoped to gained a broader perspective of the world from my abroad experience. Not only did this program enable that to happen, but it did more... way more than that! The CAPA Barcelona program and its professors sparked a new interest for me. One of the courses I had the pleasure of taking was Intercultural Management with Laura Cervi. She designed the class so that we learned from the city that we were in as much as we learned in the classroom. Barcelona is such an amazing place to learn about Interculturality. Other than that, the program itself was a very enjoyable one. My classmates were student abroad from the US, as well, so it was easy to make friends and have travel buddies for the weekends. Lastly, I would recommend living in a homestay. It is a much easier way to integrate into the local culture and makes your time abroad feel a little more homey.

Who would have thought I would ever study abroad? Considering that I am first generation college student and I am living on my own since the age of 18, this idea seamed like an illusion mainly so because of the cost. I used to think studying abroad was for a few selected, lucky people, however, CAPA made this dream come true at a very, very affordable cost. The program I went with was faculty-led semester abroad, meaning that professors from my campus came along with us, making us feel safer. The program made every possible effort to locate our apartments at a reasonable distance from our classes. CAPA provided transportation cards, housing, covered insurance and flights. The only thing I would care for would be food and individual trips. While abroad, the staff located in the city made sure that we also had fun connecting us to local weekend events, My Global City excursions and visits to museums to enhance our learning. The program made a great effort to provide classes that are transferable and can in some way benefit from this trip. For example, I was taking Travel Writing, which fit perfect! I got to make my own book with my experiences, emotions, and travels. Students, I would really recommend studying abroad with CAPA.

This was by far, THE best experience of my life. Barcelona truly became my home, even though I spent such a short time there. CEA really helps you, not just academically, but also provide helpful insights about Spain, as well as really fun trips/excursions to other places in Spain. The classes I took really helped me understand Spain's culture and gave me a new outlook on how similar we all are. I came into the program not knowing anyone, because I wanted to get the most out of this experience and step out of my comfort zone, and it was the best decision I've made. I met amazing, like-minded people who I shared the best experiences with, traveling throughout Europe and throughout Spain. Traveling throughout Europe, between countries is very easy, which was great, because I was able to travel to Paris, Rome, Milan, Greece, as well as other parts of Spain.
If you're given the chance, Barcelona is the place you need to go.

When I say "do it," I don't just mean go study abroad in Barcelona, that should be a given. When I say "do it," I mean fully immerse yourself and make sure you are uncomfortable as often as possible. It sucks that the majority of kids travel for the sake of Instagram, or are simply doing the things that they are already comfortable with... those are not the things that make you grow as an individual. I went as a sophomore, and as most kids go as juniors, I went not knowing anybody on my program. This was definitely the right decision as I was forced to step outside of my comfort zone to create relationships that may end up lasting a life time. I highly suggest you study abroad somewhere, I just hope you do it the way that it should be done, not the way that everyone else does it.

Everyone tells you this a thousand times over, but let me add to the list -- studying abroad is the absolute best time of your life. The only way to make the best time of your life even better is to experience it with the help and support of CEA's staff. With the help of CEA, I was influenced to travel to different cities, not just the mainstream and touristy ones, I felt safe in my own city, and was confident that if I needed assistance with anything, a staff-member would happily be there for me. Without CEA, I would have felt so lost and homesick but they helped me form a community in a foreign place and connected me with friends and weekly activities to enjoy and help me acclimate to my surroundings like cooking classes, beach yoga, and mountain hiking trips. I love CEA for their helpfulness and their kind employees, that became my friends.