ESADE Business School

Be patient, as you will find a lot of the systems (e.g. businesses, administratives systems) to be slow and frustrating. It really is a change of life style.

Barcelona is a city where you would like to live. The sun, the beach, the parties, the low cost of the food and drinks, the international people actually living there, the free concerts and other cultural events, the beauty of the city and the youth of its people and so on....

Check out the universities (also others) to find a room, especially if you want to live together with Spanish students. Most still live at home, but they put up a lot of announcements in the universities/intranet.

Schedule your cources to Mon-Tues-Wed, & you'll have 4-day weekends to spend travelling. Lots to see in Catalunia (don't miss Mont Serrat & Sitges), aslo Madrid & Valencia is not too far away.

I recommend everybody that they inform themselves before going abroad. I saw a lot of people that came to Barcelona completely unprepared (e.g. not knowing anything about the difference Catalonia-Spain) and had a very hard time in the beginning. The ESADE intranet offers perfect service for academic matters, several webpages can help you in finding accomodation, and there are many travel guides that offer you some cultural information. All in all, it's a great place to be - I'm sad my exchange is over now!

The most important thing is to come with an open mind and the readiness to learn and experience a new culture and a way of life. Don't travel too much and leave time to actually see Barcelona because it is an amazing city. Have fun, but don't get carried away with partying ;)