#smc study away

[theakasha]

What was your most valuable/unforgettable learning experience while studying away?

I would say that my most valuable learning experiences were about myself. Even if you don't go for the classes or the actually internship experience, go for you. To cultivate you and contribute to your own personal growth. You think you know yourself, but the beauty about finding out that you don't, is that there is so much more you're capable of, there are more incredible levels and layers to who you thought you were and traveling shows you that about yourself. Traveling abroad opens your eyes and mind to so many possibilities that were unfathomable before you got there, it's wonderful. You find a new sense of independence. You find new sources of inspiration. You pick up new habits, hobbies, and passions. You find a new part of you; by the time your program is over, you're bursting at the seams with excitement to come back and share the new parts of yourself with everyone that you love.

I've never been on a plane or out of the country before so this entire experience was brand new for me and the one thing it taught me was to be fearless and be free. Mean World Syndrome is real and especially as Americans, we get so wrapped up in that mind state that many people are afraid to leave the block they live on and see how beautiful life is. From my first ever flight and having a panic attack in the airport minutes before my flight to backpacking through Italy and couchsurfing through Spain alone, I've learned so much about how to be a good and SAFE traveler, as well as how much opportunity there is waiting for you at the turn of every corner. I met people I would never have met in a million years and although we are oceans away from one another, I still saw pieces of myself in them and we found ways to connect with, share, and enjoy each other. Anxiety and fear of the negative and unknown can be crippling but it's sooo worth the journey of overcoming it all and feeling liberated because you did it.

[theakasha]

Class Issues.

I tried to think about this consciously since I got here and to be honest, class is not much of an issue here. At least not to an outsider like me looking in. I’ve noticed that many of the “beggars” and homeless people here are actually disabled, sometimes too disabled to perform a talent for money in the subway stations. But here, the economy isn’t in as good a shape as the economy back home so I really do see more of a middle class here than at home.

I heard most people are unemployed if they’re under age 28. And as crazy as that may sound, I feel like that’s why people are happier. As I said in a previous post, there’s no rush to work until you die here. Most companies are start-ups that people are passionate about getting off the ground, so there isn’t too much of a visible upper class here like there is in places like New York for example.

The guys who catch my eye the most when it comes to class here are the Indian and Middle Eastern “Cerveza Men” who sell single beers from six packs in plastic bags all over the city and the African guys that illegally sell knock of handbags in the subway stations. I always wonder what kind of life they live outside of selling cheap cans of beer and fake bags. Your first inclination would be to think that they’re poor. Lower or lower middle class, of course. But thinking about the tourist traffic here in Barcelona as well as the nightlife scene, they probably actually make a killing and who knows how much untaxed money they could be making. Dirty tank tops and cut off shorts don’t mean a person is poor. To me, it only means they’re unfashionable. As aside from that, Barcelona isn’t anywhere close to being a fashion capital of the world, so the things like jewelry and clothes that usually scream “upper class” in America, aren’t the standard here.

Many people here are traveling or in love with life and learning how to live it. Class differences aren’t very strict in this city. All the rich people live in villas in the mountains, or in other countries and are here on vacation. It’s nice.