Dear Huskers,
I am Jenny Castor, born and raised here in Nebraska. One of my biggest dreams apart from becoming a teacher is to visit many countries in the world. Well, this past spring with the help of UNL Global Experiences I was able to achieve one of those dreams. I studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain from January 15th till April 27th. During those months I got to visit 10 countries. I KNOW crazy!! The program I chose to go abroad was with IAU (Institute for American Universities). I looked at what they had to offer, and I saw myself studying with them. I am so grateful for them because they made this process so easy and welcoming. I made some lifetime friendships through them.
A typical day abroad was usually waking up at 9 and leaving my apartment at 9:35 to get on the metro for about 25 min. Then to go grab a croissant and orange juice from one of my favorite places called Novella right by my school! I would head to my first class of the day at 10:30 Am which was Spanish civilization and culture (history class). This class would get out at 12 and after if it were a Monday, I would go grocery shopping or grab lunch with friends! I did not have class till 3:30 so I had a long gap to explore Barcelona most of the time. Then at 3:30, I would have my sports in Catalonia class that ended at 5:15. I would run to a store right by school to grab a Zumo de Naranja (orange juice) and a granola bar before my last class Human Development from 5:30 to 7 pm. This class was one of my favorites. We always started by saying any cultural shocks we had and so on. After this class, I was usually ready to eat so I would text my friends if they wanted Da Nanni’s pizza which was by the cathedral and that is what we would go grab and eat. Sometimes we ate the pizza there and other times we took it back to the Mi Campus cinema and ate while watching a movie. If it were still early, we would also do our homework, and other times it was when we would book our weekend trip activities. One of the most interesting things I saw in Spain was all the things it has to offer. In Barcelona, which was my home base, there was always something to do during the morning, evening, and night. The city had a lot of activities to offer. I loved seeing all the Antonio Gaudi buildings, parks, and more. My favorite Antonio Gaudi masterpieces I saw were the Sagrada family and Parc Gueli. They were made with lots of little mini details that make these buildings so memorable.
My feelings here were happy and grateful most of the time. The first week in Barcelona my feelings were sad, scared, and excited. I was sad because I felt like I was alone without my family, scared because I knew no one there. I was also excited because even though I was scared to do things by myself it genuinely excited me to do so. It felt so liberating to do everything I wanted to do without hesitation. This has been one of the most memorable adventures I have ever had, and it is only the beginning of them. If you have any questions or hesitations about going abroad shoot me an email at Jcastor3@huskers.unl.edu or text me through my Instagram at Jenny.castor23. I would love to lead you to make one of the greatest decisions of not only my life but maybe yours too.
Best wishes,
Jenny
CEHS Global Experiences
