Living Abroad, Learning Marketing: What Barcelona Is Teaching Me

Before coming to Barcelona, I thought I knew what I was going to get out of studying abroad. I expected the travel, the pictures, the stories I’d tell when I got home. What I didn’t expect was how much it would quietly change the way I move through my day. Europe has an entirely different way of living, one that feels less focused on productivity and more centered on actually enjoying the life you’re in. Being here made me realize how much of my routine back home was built around rushing and checking boxes rather than just being present.

One of the biggest things I’m taking back with me is a different relationship with time. At home, everything feels rushed. Even when nothing is actually happening, I still feel behind. Here, that feeling slowly faded. People take their time throughout the day. Coffee is not something you grab and go. Lunch is not something you eat at your desk. The days feel slower in the best way. People spend time doing things they genuinely enjoy, whether that’s sitting outside for hours, meeting friends late at night, or lingering over meals. There’s less visible stress, less urgency, and more balance. After leaving Barcelona, I want to hold onto that feeling when I go back.

I also started noticing things I never paid attention to before. Waiting for the metro became something I actually enjoyed. I would look around instead of at my phone. The ads on the walls stood out to me, not because they were flashy, but because they weren’t. They felt calm. Confident. Like they trusted you to look when you were ready. That made me think about how different places communicate without words. Barcelona does not shout. It invites. That mindset changed the way I look at everything around me.

Some of my favorite lessons came from the simplest moments. A bakery near my apartment put up a handwritten sign in the window about a new pastry. Nothing about it was perfect. The marker was fading and the paper was slightly crooked. Still, people stopped. People went inside. It worked. That moment stuck with me more than any billboard ever could. It reminded me that real things connect more deeply than perfect ones. I want to remember that when I go back.

Living here also made me feel more comfortable being alone. That surprised me. Walking by myself, sitting by myself, figuring things out without asking for help every two seconds. It gave me confidence I didn’t know I was missing. Being in a new country forces you to trust yourself. You learn that you can get lost and still be okay. You learn that discomfort passes. I know I’m carrying that version of myself home with me.

What Barcelona really taught me is how much beauty exists in ordinary moments when you actually notice them. A long walk home. A slow meal. A random street you didn’t plan on taking.Sitting on the water in Parc de la Ciutadella, watching the city move slowly around me, felt like a small reminder of how much life opens up when you stop trying to get somewhere else.

Back in the States, I don’t want to fall back into autopilot or rush through days just to get to the weekend. Living here made me pause long enough to realize how often I was moving without really paying attention. I know life at home will feel faster again, but I want to carry this awareness with me, choosing to slow down when I can and stay present even when everything else speeds up. Barcelona didn’t change everything about me. It just showed me, quietly and honestly, another way to move through the world and that feeling is coming home with me.