UCLA Study Abroad | International Education Office | Spain

BY PAULINA HERNANDEZ

If you’re new to my little corner of the internet, hey there and thanks for visiting! I’m Paulina and am blessed to be able to study abroad THIS SUMMER to my dream destination: Barcelona, Spain. I am participating in the University of California (UC) Summer Travel Study program “Barcelona: The Story of a City, Its Art and Cultures” all of July. I will be completing two upper division Spanish courses going towards my Spanish minor, though any major or minor is welcomed to the program. This program is particularly exciting because part of my classroom will be the beautiful city of Barcelona!

A little bit about myself: I am a proud Latina and UCLA Bruin majoring in Statistics and double minoring in Spanish and Chicano Studies. I am SoCal born and raised (and yes, I freeze below 70 degrees). I love to dance all kinds, experience new cultures, am obsessed with Disney and mini marshmallows, love Jesus and my family dearly, and am probably the only Mexican-American girl who listens to country while eating spicy chips. If you decide to stick around, you’ll quickly realize how much of a dork I really am. I’m excited to document and share my travels in Barcelona with y’all + keep an online journal for reminiscing and inspiration, or just for fun!

It all started when…

I was a baby freshman who knew two things: I wanted to major in STEM and study abroad in Spain. I cannot tell you how many times I came to Murphy Hall to schedule an appointment with a study abroad counselor since my first quarter. I came into UCLA with all of my general education classes and foreign language requirements completed, so it was not as easy to find a study abroad program in Spain that would count towards my major. For Bachelor of Science majors, it can sometimes seem impossible to find a program that: 1) won’t be a waste of time or money or 2) won’t take up 100% of your time abroad because the experience is just as valuable as the education. It was not until the beginning of my junior year when a specific counselor, Sergio, helped me realize I could pick up a Spanish minor so the classes I would be paying for would transfer for some credit. It was honestly the best thing I could have done; I do not know why I didn’t think of that before! So if you’re in the same boat as I was (south campus major that didn’t want to take math/science classes abroad), I highly recommend adding a language minor.

Truthfully, the sole reason I wanted to travel to Spain was inspired by The Cheetah Girls 2 movie (and if you have not watched it, you are either below the age of 12 or have not checked Netflix yet). But in reality, this city and its country are full of immense history, culture and beautiful people that I CANNOT wait to witness and experience with my own two eyes and feet!