Written by: Jocelin Diaz | Spring 2023
IFSA Study in Barcelona Plus
My first mistake when it came to study abroad (and you will make plenty of them but that’s totally okay!!) was thinking that I would be a changed person the first day I got to Barcelona, Spain. To give a bit of background on the type of person I am: I am a super chilled, laid-back individual who is also very reserved and shy, with a hint of anxiety. Also, I have never been out of the country before. So with no major travel experience, I told myself I was going to make up for never having the opportunity to do so in my life before.
As soon as I arrived in Barcelona, I was 
very much in that honeymoon stage. I explored everyday, I went out at nights, and I met so many different people. And then after the first week I began to travel all over Europe. The first month involved trips every weekend: weekend trip to Madrid, weekend trip to Switzerland, then Sevilla. Then following these weekend trips, friends began to visit from other parts of Europe and even America for days at a time (and let me tell you, hosting can be tiring, even if it isn’t your friend visiting!). While in the midst of this all, I still had school (with exams around the corner).
Now this all sounds amazing, and it 100% was! I gained experiences like I never had in my life and will cherish forever. But the one problem with all of this is that I did not give myself the time to relax. My time in Barcelona is short, only 3 months. But I saw that short time as “There is no time to relax and take these moments for granted, so go wild!” When I look at that statement now, that is so not true! There were nights (even while I was traveling) where I would be so stressed about so many different things at the same time. Most of the time it would be things like I have homework, my internship, making flights on time, my money situation, homesickness, etc. To make things worst, I was barely getting any sleep.
Finally the day hit me that I needed to chill out and take a break. And this happened because my boyfriend had visited for a week and he left to go home. Seems typical – your boyfriend visits and he goes home. But for some reason that really hit me like a rock. My homesickness HIT. I never gave myself time to relax and register that I was not home anymore or time to miss anyone. I was always go go go. But as soon as I let those feelings in (a month and half later), it was harder to push them away. I think I stayed in my apartment (obviously went to class but did not do much other than that) for almost a week after that. My relaxation that I was supposed to be giving myself time for in the beginning was catching up to me now in a not-so-healthy way.
What I realized during that time was that it is totally okay to combine relaxation and exploring the country of Europe. It may not be easy 100% of the time, but it will definitely make it easier to give myself a good nights rest with a movie day every once in a while.
Now that my time is almost up here 
in Barcelona, I would not change a thing. After my little upset halfway through my study abroad experience, I was able to pick myself up and even spend a week in Paris, France. And since then, I have been spending my last couple weeks in the beautiful city of Barcelona. Everything that has happened, has led me to here, and again, I would not change a thing.
My advice – surround yourself with your support system of friends, TAKE TIME TO RELAX, and explore.