Before I even knew which college I wanted to attend, I had already made up my mind about one important aspect of my collegiate career: I wanted to study abroad. I had been blessed with many international trips prior to my summer in Barcelona, but there is truly a difference between visiting a city and living in a city, intensively experiencing a new culture, stepping way out of your comfort zone, and all the while growing more confident as a global citizen. That is why I wanted to study, work, and live abroad for an entire summer, and the efforts of Lea and the Connect-123 team made that dream possible and unforgettable. Barcelona has become another home city to me. The twelve incredible weeks I spent there were irreplaceable with regards to the people I met, the lived, and the memories I made. I was matched up perfectly by Connect-123 with not only an NGO that truly sparked my interest in social investing in Latin America as a career path, but also a supervisor that quickly became a mentor and life-long friend. The city itself is absolutely amazing… Barcelona has something for everyone: some of the best food in the world, relaxing beaches, mountains for hiking, classic Spanish plazas filled with street life, world class art, architectural gems, medieval and gothic-era quarters, some of the best nightlife in Europe, and some of the friendliest people I have ever met. In spite of what I just wrote, that is only the very surface of that remarkable city… Every day in Barcelona is an adventure with regards to your career aspirations, language abilities, and life experiences while submerging into a foreign culture. As mentioned before, Barcelona is now another home for me, even after only 3 months of living there. I fell in love with my work, the people I encountered, and the incredible city that never ceased to amaze me. I always look back on my time in Barcelona with Connect-123 as a major milestone in my life, and I strongly encourage anyone else interested in the program to do the same and experience the amazing city of Barcelona!
