Universitat de Barcelona (UB)

The official language of the Universitat of Barcelona is Catalan, but the Knox College Program in Barcelona is focused on the students' study of Castillian (Spanish), and so all courses were taught in Spanish. Although there are several opportunities to study Catalan for free within the UB through use of the language laboratory or arrangement of language exchange with Catalan-speaking students, I feel that Knox College Program should take some resposibility for teaching the students basic skills of the language. It is impossible to spend any amount of time in Barcelona and not encounter Catalan. In several cases, some host families spoke Catalan at home or watched Catalan TV (although the Knox College Program contract asked them not to do so in the presence of their students), which made the students who stayed with them feel excluded and upset. While the Catalan people certainly may speak Catalan whenever they please, I feel that the Knox College program should have taken some responsibility to prepare its participants for such situations by giving some instruction in the basics of the language.

After the Knox College program fees, most of my money was spent on travel. I got a membership with Hostelling International to help bring down the cost of accomodations and was able to stay at their hostels in most of the places I visited, but only if I called to make reservations at least five days in advance. I also got a Spain Flexipass before I left the US, which saved me money on train trips, especially between Barcelona and Madrid.

Make the effort to step outside of your comfort zone while in Barcelona. If your focus is to improve your Spanish or Catalan skills, take any opportunity to practice these languages. Talk to your classmates. Sign up for a language exchange. Take advantage of your time in Barcelona, you won't regret any of it!

Barcelona is full of cafes, bars, restaurants, and clubs with various themes, atmospheres, flavors, and price ranges. The city has a great social scene. Students go out late (since supper isn't served until after 9) and then stay out until morning. Popular spots to go out are Maremagnum on the waterfront, a complex of shops, restaurants, and clubs, the restaurants along Passeig Gracia, and the bars around Placa del Sol. Les Bosq des Fades off La Rambla, Cafe d l'Opera on La Rambla, and Euskal Etxea in La Ribera are some places to check out.

All participants in the Knox College Program in Barcelona are placed to stay with local families during their studies at the Universitat de Barcelona. The families are recruited by the on-site administrators of the program. When students arrive in Barcelona, they are given information about the families, which includes addresses, the number and ages of family members, the occupations and interests of family members, and comments made about the families by past participants of the program who have stayed at their homes. The students pick the families they feel they would be most comfortable staying with, but if more than one student picks the same family, the ultimate placement decision is made by the program administrators. In my opinion, the placement program, although not perfect, is effective in matching the students to host families and the fact that the students are given the opportunity to find out about a little about the families and make a choice for themselves plays a large part in that. My family consisted of a senora and her college-aged daughter. I was given a small room with a bed, desk, and dresser and I shared a bathroom with an exchange student from Rotterdam. The apartment was kept clean and neat, my sheets and clothes were washed often, and the meals were great! My senora loved to talk to me about whatever travel plans I would make in Spain and was always nice and cheerful. She was an artist, she had a great sense of humor, and she was full of stories. I feel that she genuinely cared about me. I have many wonderful memories of that family and I feel glad that that was my family for the ten weeks I lived in Barcelona.