Me, Trey, Eli, and Sam in the medieval sword store in Prague
Author: Colin Voegtle | Major: Finance | Semester: Spring 2025
This month has been amazing. Ive had the opportunity to travel to two of my favorite cities ive every been to and get to know Barcelona a lot better. My month started by staying in Barcelona and visiting two landmarks that weekend. The first being Temple of the Sacred Heart, which is a beautiful church overlooking the city and I witness the most breathtaking sunset I have ever seen. The next day me and two of my friends did a day trip to Montserrat – a monastery about an hour outside of Barcelona. It was a difficult two hour hike to the top and we made it just in time to explore a bit and see the sunset over the mountains. That was a fun trip, and we even met new friends on the way up.
The following weekend me and my group of guy friends traveled to Prague which was amazing to walk around and see the architecture. I felt like I was stuck in a medieval period. I wasn’t a big fan of the food but everything we did during the days was fun such as seeing the castle, visiting beer gardens, and going in a sword store which was easily the coolest store I’ve ever been in. My parents came to visit me in Barcelona, and it was great to be able to see them, show them around, and of course get spoiled for meals. We went inside Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia. My dad mentioned that even when he visited 30 years ago, the inside hadn’t even begun construction. Now it is a beautiful church with stained glass that colorfully lights up the massive center. They took me and my friends out for some beer towers at our favorite spot and got to meet everyone I’ve become close with since I’ve been here.
I spent some time with my native Spanish friends I have made here. I recommend that any student who studies abroad try to make friends with locals as they will take you places you would otherwise never go, and you get to experience the city in their shoes. It gives you a much deeper understanding of where you are living compared to going to places that are overrun with study abroad kids.
We had midterms for my classes last week and they all went very well. Not too difficult but required some preparation before. The class I look forward to going to most is my Ethics in Artificial Intelligence class. We discuss relevant topics every week and debate real issues that we will likely face in the future as AI becomes adopted in our society. For example, if you are a self-driving car manufacturer what do you program your car to do when face with a crash incident? Whose lives to prioritize, the owners or pedestrians? And then my international Finance class is interesting and my teacher makes the class engaging and easy to learn concepts.
To finish the month, I took a trip to Florence Italy with a group of 10. I arrived much earlier in the day than everyone else so I was able to explore the city on my own and do whatever it was I wanted to do. I haggled at the leather market and got a nice belt and a wallet for me to take home. We had a nice big Airbnb and spent a lot of time getting to know each other before going to dinner and exploring the nightlife. The food in Italy is amazing and I already miss it. Every meal I had there was incredible. Every day I had pizza and a pasta. I am continuing to love my semester abroad and always looking for new experiences and making the most of my time. I have 3 other trips booked and am excited to travel and spend all the time I can with my new friends.