When I entered UMass as a freshman, I knew already that I wanted to study abroad in Barcelona. I had loved the city for years and knew that it was where I wanted to be. However, during my sophomore year in Spanish 394RI, I was still unsure of how I wanted to go about planning my time abroad. I originally had a mental plan of spending a semester in Spain – that was the standard, and a year was just such a long time – but that then changed through talking to my uncle and other students that came and visited our integrative experience class. The fact of the matter is, spending a full academic year versus spending a few months abroad is an entirely different experience, and I have absolutely no regrets spending both semesters in Spain.

Once I had made up my mind that I wanted to spend my entire junior year abroad, I also had to decide on a program that I wanted. Through talking to some Spanish friends, I had already done some brief research on Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, which I was told had a great translation program. In addition to translation courses, I knew that I also wanted to have more freedom during my time abroad and that I wanted to live with Spaniards my age so that I could truly feel what it was like to live in Spain. Therefore, I set out in search of a program with these two main criteria in mind. However, I never truly found one that suited my needs, and so it gradually became a process of doing the research and work on my own, until my plan became more solidified and turned into direct enrollment.

To summarize my direct enrollment experience in one sentence, it was a lot of work, but absolutely worth the extra effort. Because it was so uncommon to study abroad through direct enrollment, I went to IPO to get more information on how the process worked – particularly in regard to financial aid, which was a necessity if I were to study abroad. The answer they gave me was that I would basically do the work myself, but that I would keep IPO informed of the process, sign a few documents and waivers, and as a result would still “go through UMass” and be eligible for financial aid. Building an entire plan for my junior year and obtaining the required documentation – in particular my student visa – was stressful, but as a result I learned a lot about the visa process, and how to live on my own in a foreign country. This helped me grow incredibly and also allowed me to get the most out of my study abroad experience.

I applied to UPF as a visiting student by following the appropriate tabs on their website and it was a much easier task than applying to UMass (a cover letter stating what I wanted to study at UPF and why, a résumé, a letter of recommendation, and a academic transcript). Within a month, I received my acceptance e-mail, which also broke down the payment and enrollment process. I found that direct enrollment was also significantly cheaper (tuition was roughly €6,000 for the entire year) than many of the programs that I had looked at.

Once I was accepted, I set off in search of an apartment. I searched on Facebook for various groups for apartment/room rentals, and then prepared a post explaining that I was an American studying abroad in search of Spanish roommates and that if anyone was looking for a roommate to please reach out to me. Within about two months, I found a room in an apartment that I shared with two students my age, both of them Catalan. As a result, we solely spoke Catalan at home, which greatly helped me to improve my language skills. I also met many of their friends that they invited over to the apartment, and I am still very close with both roommates (and many of their friends) today.

When I arrived in Spain, I knew immediately that I made the right decision to travel alone. Not only was I fully immersed at home, but I was also enrolled in classes that were almost entirely filled with natives. As a result, I was able to avoid the “bubble” of American programs and I hardly ever spoke English. However, that is not to say that it was all easy at first. The first month and a half of my stay I was not fully adjusted, not only to the routine, but I hadn’t established a firm friend group. I also had to endure the long process of applying for a Spanish ID, which after three months, I managed to obtain. However, as I settled in and met more and more people in and outside of class, I began to feel at home. For this reason, I was so content with my decision to stay a full year, rather than a few months. One of the complaints that I heard from friends who spent just the semester abroad was that they felt like they had just settled in, and then it was already time to go. Once I felt more adjusted, I was also able to make numerous Spanish friends who helped me experience the true Barcelona, whether it was with food, language, parties, or other customs. These friends took me to climb mountains, invited me to family dinners in their towns and to go out clubbing with them, brought me to concerts, showed me many Catalan traditions, and more. I can now honestly say that I met some of my best friends last year, with most of whom I still talk almost every day, and I know that whenever I return to Barcelona, I will always have a place to stay and people to see. Two of these friends even asked me to join their band. This led to me enrolling in private singing lessons (taught in Spanish of course), and we may even open for a well-known band in February in one of the largest clubs in Barcelona. In addition, some connections that I made have even led me to job offers, and I plan to move to Barcelona this summer because I had such a positive experience abroad.

Without a doubt, my stay in Barcelona was the best year of my life, and a large part of that is due to the fact that I decided to do direct enrollment. I grew and matured so much as an individual through problem-solving, both here in the U.S. during the application process, and in Spain, and my Spanish and Catalan have both improved immensely. I highly encourage anyone who feels comfortable enough to take on the challenge of direct enrollment to do so, because it is such an enriching experience, and there is nothing that I would have changed about my decision.