Bienvenidos!

Today, I have been in Barcelona just shy of one month. Among the countless empeñadas and ever-present reggaeton, I have finally begun to feel at home. I am living in a homestay, with a loving and spunky mom, Pepe (whom I adore), and her quiet yet thoughtful husband, Carlos. They have been married for 47 years and have a bunch of adorable grandchildren. We live in Eixample, one of the most central commercial neighborhoods in BCN. My program center is nearby, located next to the Plaça de Catalunya.

My program is IES ~ Liberal Arts & Business in Barcelona. There are roughly 750 students from all over the United States. As a political science major, I am taking one course relevant to my degree and a handful of other intriguing courses. Mediterranean Environment is an environmental science class that I selected solely based upon my passion for the outdoors. I’m also taking an intensive Spanish language course, to hopefully accelerate my retention of the language. My professors for these courses are phenomenal across the board.

Finally, I am taking Food & Culture. Despite its occurrence at 8:30 am, this is one of my favorite classes so far. My professor, Xavi, is the epitome of a passionate cuisine enthusiast. The significance of food in Spain is remarkable in comparison to the United States. This is not to say that the states don’t have any food culture (which is a discussion we’ve touched upon in class), but Spain’s rich history and regional diversity has led it to develop a pretty cool local menu.

One of the intriguing aspects of this course is its service-learning component. I don’t know much about the organization at this point, but we’ll be individually volunteering at a local church and assisting with their food kitchen. So far, it has been really fascinating to observe the differences in social and cultural aspects of Spain. Walking around the city, I notice less people living on the streets in central Barcelona than what I’ve seen in DC, NYC, and Portland, for example. There are also a lot extensive outreach networks, including shelters and places to get food. At the same time, Spain’s unemployment level is 17%. I am interested to begin my involvement with the service aspect of my class, and to further delve into the topic of food insecurity in the course.