We all come to a part in our life where we feel we have to make a drastic turn in order to feel that we are getting somewhere. For some of us it is changing our surname, getting married, for others it’s the small things, like deciding what to study or where to go. At this specific moment I can say that I have reached this point. What will I do now? Three years is now about to brutally end as a student in Barcelona.

I have changed flats more than once
I have been in a local fight with a Catalan
I have tasted the sangria way to many times
Sagrada Familia is just another church that I pass now and then

Now I feel that it is time for a change.

Barcelona is a city to special for me to be “just another city I went to”. When I am in the process about what to do next, what city to go to, what job to apply for, I see myself appreciating Barcelona much more than what I have done the earlier years. Maybe it is because I know that I only have three months left, or maybe it is when you don’t have much time to experience surroundings, that’s when you open your eyes much more.

The other day I decided to experience the outside of Barcelona. As many of us know, it is a ocean out there with beautiful villages and small communities where we can find “real” Spanish culture. But it is always a struggle to get to the point where you say “I will go”.
Well this day we did.

With me in the backpack I dragged along my good friend Allison, from Guatemala. Sants Station was the next stop, and from there on we had no idea where the train would lead us. The funny thing about impulsive trips is that there are NO rules. Arriving Sants Station, we marched over to the big blackboard where destination and time is announced. We pointed out Alicante with blinded eyes, but it was to far. Next try – Sitges, too close. Last try – Mataro – where on earth is that? Impulsiveness ended up being very complicated on a early Saturday, so out of pure frustration we left the train station.

On our way crossing the road outside the station, I almost got hit by a tourist bus, and that’s when we understood that THIS was a sign. We stopped the tourist bus and jumped on. What the heck; the backpack was filled with snacks and music, it was nothing else to do, but to enjoy the sunny day in Barcelona. We ended up crossing the city twice, and even though I have lived here for three years and “seen it all”, this was another great and exciting day in Barcelona city.

Two years has passed and it feels like it was yesterday that I moved to Barcelona. One week ago, I arrived Barcelona airport again, after a two-month holiday visit in Norway. I had my family there, my friends, my summer job, but still it wasn’t one day that passed where I didn’t think of my life in Barcelona.

The other day I bumped in to some tourists from Norway, who was telling me that they couldn’t believe how I could have the courage to live so far away from home. I had to laugh and ask them to look around. It just ”feels right" to live here. The small bars on all the corners, the narrow streets, and the old Spanish ladies give me horrible eyes everytime they pass me, and see my blonde hair. I always smile and see the charm in it. Different country = Different culture.

It is amazing how attached you get to a place once you have your belongings and friends there. The environment and little community we have established in our school, is something that has changed me a lot and made me become more independent. Out of one reason only – we know that we always have each other.

But off course after two years we all carry episodes and experiences, that has been tough, but that has also made us grow a lot. We have all heard about the robberies and violence this city carries. Unfortunately I was a victim of a pretty bad one.(..)

Never in my life have I felt lonelier and far away from home as I did then, but I have to say that the support I had around me was incredible. Not only from my wonderful classmates from all over the world, but also from the board of the school, the police and the public health system. It was hard to make myself understood with the broken Spanish I speak, but all of them did everything in their power to make me feel better and safe. After a couple of weeks I was back on my feet and fit for fight to go to school and be social again.

What I know now is that you learn from every experience you have in life. Barcelona is a beautiful city but it is important to think twice before you enter a narrow street in the evenings, and if you do, at least enter it with someone you know.


Mia Jacobsen, september 2007
Fashion Marketing & Communication

Around Barcelona - # 1 (www.aroundbarcelona.com)

Ever since i was 14 years old, one of my biggest dreams was to study Marketing in Barcelona. As I have been blessed to travel alot through out my life, I had already by the age of twelve been in Barcelona two times. And you might ask your self, how can a 14 year old know what she wants to study with at that young age? Well I have asked my self the same thing several times, and my question was about to be brutally answered when I grew up, and moved to Barcelona by the age of 19.


September 19th 2005 - Arrival Barcelona airport.
The Spanish smell was singing sweet tones in the air, and at once I felt that "this is the place to be". "Hola, Kiere Taxi?" a chubby little sombrero-man said. The only word I understood was taxi, and excited as I was I jumped in the car to join the ride to the centre. The closer we got to the city, the more thrilled and excited I got. "Plaza Catalonia?" the taxi driver said. I knotted eager and pictured the jewsy cheeseburger I had at Hard Rock cafe in Barcelona 5 years ago.
After one month of sightseeing in this amazing city, my first schoolday finally arrived. Fashion marketing and communication for three years. Wow! It sounded so glamorous! I couldnt wait to study and get friends from all over the world. It turned out that 70 % of the class was Scandinavians, so in the begining it felt like taking two steps backward, but what I didnt know.. was that this experience would be one of the biggest and funniest challenges I had ever experienced in my life.
There is something about the culture and atmosphere that differeciate Barcelona from other citys, and I guess this was something that really attracted me already at a young age. Park Guell, Passeig De Gracia, Villa Oplympica, Salvador Dali, you name it. Barcelona carries a great luggage of well known architects and painters, which makes it very much different from other big cities in the world.
I have been lucky to experience Barcelona in a multicultural environment. In our class we have 11 different cultures, so there is always something different on the agenda! Macba museum and fancy bars with my scandinavian friends. Dragqueen and gay nightlife with our two amazing boys Ole and Raymond, and ofcourse a trip through the exotic restaurants of Asia, with my dear and beloved friends, Sarah from India, Kim originally from Vietnam, and my kurdish/turkish/swedish friend Nadja. Barcelona has it all.
Ofcourse there is always this thoughts running through my head. Do I belong here? Am I on the right path? And last but not least, When will I get to eat my mums homemade meatballs again? It isnt always easy being far away from home. But there is something I have learned after two years of studying abroad. With good friends and a open mind you will always find a sence of beloning nomatter where you are in the world. The path is long, and there is always a bump or two in the road making youre everyday more complicated, but the further you keep on pushing the mud, the more happy you get for actually getting further in life. And when things get to rough, I always take a bus to Ikea, to finally eat my "mums homemade meatballs". Life dosent have to be complicated if you see the small and good things in the big picture!

Mia Jacobsen
Fashion Marketing and Communication, Istituto Europeo De Design