Universitat de Barcelona (UB)

The official language of the Universitat of Barcelona is Catalan, but the Knox College Program in Barcelona is focused on the students' study of Castillian (Spanish), and so all courses were taught in Spanish. Although there are several opportunities to study Catalan for free within the UB through use of the language laboratory or arrangement of language exchange with Catalan-speaking students, I feel that Knox College Program should take some resposibility for teaching the students basic skills of the language. It is impossible to spend any amount of time in Barcelona and not encounter Catalan. In several cases, some host families spoke Catalan at home or watched Catalan TV (although the Knox College Program contract asked them not to do so in the presence of their students), which made the students who stayed with them feel excluded and upset. While the Catalan people certainly may speak Catalan whenever they please, I feel that the Knox College program should have taken some responsibility to prepare its participants for such situations by giving some instruction in the basics of the language.

Take out a student overdraft facility before you go (jusy in case) and also sort out on-line banking too, before you go, as it saves alot of hassle. Do not carry all of your bank cards at the same time as muggings are common. Leave a travellers cheque under the bed, just in case. Photocopy everything, twice. One copy in your room, the other in england. Buy phone cards from the stalls on the ramblas to make local and international calls; very cheap. Some of the tourist spots, such as the "MareMagnum" are outrageously expensive for drinks in bars & clubs. (10 euros). Wine and other alcoholic drinks are dirt cheap from local supermarkets, only 90 cents for a decent tasting wine. Take advantage of it!