Author: Cecilia Azar | Major: Food, Nutrition, and Health

Hola! Mi llamó es Cecilia Azar, y soy una estudiante en la Facultad de Ceiencias de la  Agrícola, Alimento, y la Vida Dale Bumpers aquí en la Universidad de Arkansas.

Translation: Hi! My name is Cecilia Azar, and I am a student at the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food, and Life Sciences here at the University of Arkansas. 

Four months ago, I would not have known how to begin writing, speaking, or reading that sentence in the slightest. One year ago, I would have been in disbelief if I knew I would be returning to the United States with a newfound desire to learn Spanish after spending a semester attending culinary school in Barcelona, Spain. 

With both my personal interests and professional ambitions lying in the food industry, I  knew I wanted my study abroad program to help me fulfill my degree requirements and prepare me for my future career, while also allowing me to further explore my passion for the culinary arts. I highly considered attending culinary school during my senior year of high school, but ultimately decided on the Food, Nutrition, and Health program at the University of Arkansas.  Once I was introduced to the CETT Tourism, Hospitality, and Gastronomy program with SAI, I  saw it as my chance to simultaneously satisfy both my desires of attending culinary school and studying abroad. I chose this program because gastronomy has always been a fascination of mine. What better way to learn about the relationship between culture, people, and food than to be completely immersed in a foreign culture while developing my culinary skills in hands-on practice. My experiences offered me a different perspective on not only cuisine, but also food journalism, technique, the ins and outs of world tourism, and the cultural differences in food language and terminology, which will undoubtedly benefit me going into both my final year at the University of Arkansas and my desired career in the culinary industry.

Barcelona being a larger, metropolitan city with a high English-speaking population comfortably lessened the overall impact culture shock had on me. One of the largest culture shocks I experienced was in the school itself. Universities in Spain follow a very different grading scale and the overall atmosphere is very relaxed compared to the United States. Teachers take their time with grading and students never seem stressed about assignments, yet the education is still rigorous. Overall, the content and teaching style is very similar to that of the  US. My cooking classes, while incredibly fun, were quite intensive. I spent ten hours a week in full chef uniform—black pants, a white monogrammed chef coat, a chef hat, clogs, an apron, and matching kitchen towels—cooking five to eight recipes before I presented them to be judged by our professor like on an episode of Chopped. My station had to be constantly clean, my uniform had to be pressed, and my knife skills had to be perfected. It was intense, but it was amazing in every aspect. The instructor of both of my practical cooking classes was one of my hardest goodbyes. Alvaro continuously supported and challenged me both in the kitchen and in the classroom and was one of the main reasons my experience at CETT was so great.  

While education is the main reason for studying abroad, experiencing what your country and nearing countries have to offer is just as important. Outside of the classroom, I was constantly surrounded by Catalonian history, culture, and gastronomy. Living just steps away from the Sagrada Familia, in the heart of a city filled with Gaudi architecture, and in one of the best Spanish cities for cuisine, I was able to soak up all that Barcelona has to offer every single time I walked outside of my apartment. I challenged myself daily to immerse myself as much as  possible: meet new people, learn and speak the language, try new foods, and adopt the leisurely 

Spanish lifestyle. I made friends—some locals, some other study abroad students—whom I  traveled with to several European and African countries, I saw and experienced places I never imagined I would see, and I’m coming home with several lifelong friendships, hundreds of memories, and thousands of photographs (literally). 

CETT is a university specializing only in gastronomy, tourism, and hospitality. I fully recommend this program to anyone who is seeking a degree in any of those areas. Studying in such a niche environment fostered more creativity, interaction, and relationships than I could have hoped for during study abroad. One thing I wish I had known before, however, is simply more knowledge on Barcelona’s culture and etiquette. While it was fun to explore it through trial  and error, I arrived blindly, making my adjustment much more nerve-racking. Though the past four months have been incredibly exciting and enlightening, I’m looking forward to my reunion with the city and school that gave me this opportunity in the first place. Upon my return to  Fayetteville, my first stop will be Doomsday Coffee for breakfast tacos and an obnoxiously large coffee (although I appreciated the small, strong coffee in Europe, I’m shamelessly craving a very large, American one).  

In retrospect, I took quite the risk—and it paid off well. I moved to a foreign country in which I knew no one nor the language. In turn, I dined in the oldest restaurant in the world, I  stood before the tomb of Christopher Columbus, I visited the Acropolis and saw the Parthenon, I  watched the sunset in the Agafay desert, I cooked reindeer with a famous Norwegian chef, I  learned to live life a little slower—and I managed to pick up some Spanish language along the  way. Now, I’m returning with a strong motivation to keep learning a language I never intended 

to study, as well as a profound love for a city I can now call a home, 5,000 miles away from the home the University of Arkansas has helped me create in Fayetteville.