I’ve noticed in my time here, that CEA Barcelona excursions offer cultural activities that inspire and integrate students into the local art, culture, and environment. So I always highly recommend taking advantage of this included opportunity. After coming back from another successful excursion to Valencia, I wanted to remind students that the world is in their hands and CEA study abroad is here to nurture their passion for travel.
Me on the Valencia City Tour
CEA Barcelona offers a variety of immersive cultural activities such as guided tours to the ever-evolving Sagrada Familia, Tapas workshops, and my favorite - weekend excursions to neighboring cities with their own charming quality. The CEA Barcelona staff take their time to research and survey students on their impressions of AICAP (Academic-Integrated Cultural Activities Program), so they can provide meaningful ways for students to participate in the cultural environment. As a bonus, often these activities will be part of class time. For example, the Tapas workshops count towards credit if you’re in the Spanish language classes.
Discovering the hidden Roman city of Valencia
Furthermore, occasionally students will book their arrival flights too late and end up missing their program’s orientation. Therefore, they may not receive the information regarding health and safety, city tours (a great way to get to know the city), and learning about the provided weekend excursions. Pro tip: Don’t be that student!
It is imperative to keep in mind that all of these awesome CEA excursions and cultural activities are included in your program fee. A good amount of students book so many weekend trips to other countries that they end up losing out on all that Barcelona has to offer, and what the CEA staff have planned. It’s a good idea to wait until you arrive to book your own personal trips on weekends where there aren’t excursions planned already.
La Ciudad de Artes y Las Ciencias, Valencia
The weekend trips vary depending on semester. Typically, in the Fall, a student can go to the mountain range called The Pyrenees and Madrid. Madrid and Valencia are offered in the Spring and Summer as well. The excursions are great because everything is pre-planned and amazing. For example, in Madrid you get to visit the famous museums of El Prado, Reina Sofia, and get to see renowned works of art from artists like Picasso and Dalí. These tours and excursions are designed to make you more immersed in the culture and understand the relevance of that time in history. You leave a little more knowledgeable and understanding of a culture that is different from your own. Traveling does truly open the mind to new experiences and perspectives; I know it has for me, so I encourage you to use the available (and free) resources to grow as a well-rounded individual.
Karime Diaz is a CEA alum and was the Onsite Ambassador in Barcelona for Summer 2018, and graduated from Kean University.