All posts by Jasmine Ben-Whyte

A Reflection on A Study Abroad: Barcelona

I have a fuzzy recollection of how I felt the first time I stepped out in Barcelona. First, non-jam-packed seeing as I had just come from the highly dense country of Hong Kong and was still reeling from the effects. Second, keen because I’d done little research about the city but I’d heard good stories ...

Barcelona Visit Recommendations

1. Tapas: Known for its variety of options and the social benefits it brings when consumers gather to eat it, tapas is a quintessential part of Spanish culture, so of course a tourist destination like Barcelona is going to have some great tapas locations. Three of the best I either tried, researched or both are ...

Tips For Making Friends Abroad

Having gone abroad and not with a friend group I knew well, it was definitely tough finding my footing when it came to friends. There’s the whole thing about independence and being comfortable doing things solo, and I endorse that completely, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s nice to have company ...

Cultural Celebrations in Spain: My Recount of Las Fallas

I’d heard of this Las Fallas celebration prior to arriving in Spain, seeing as all my Spanish friends deemed it a must, and it came highly recommended. Some research to understand its significance and aid my planning gave me some useful information as follows: Las Fallas is an annual festival that takes place in Valencia, ...

A Day in the Life Studying in Barcelona

A typical day anywhere isn’t super eventful; waking up and going to school is the baseline of most days, but an exciting ‘typical’ day… an exciting typical day has events and exploration and windings, and I’m going to take you through an exciting typical day studying in Barcelona. I wake up at about 8:30, I ...

5 Things to Leave-Take On A Study Abroad

When the logistics part of my Study Abroad plans had been sorted(application, courses selection, finances…), it was time to leave, and while I thought packing would be a walk in the park, throw a couple of pants, some cute tops, one or two pairs of sneakers… or should I go with one pair of sneakers ...

Is Europe Racist…hmmmm?

I’m a black woman, so that’s two major identifiers that I have to research when I travel, I Google questions like ‘Is it safe for women to travel in {insert country name}’ or search TikTok for hashtags such as  ‘Black in {insert country name}’.  It’s necessary housekeeping that I’ve learnt to do because every once in a ...

Progress Update On My Spanish Learning Journey

Growing up, I learnt French for some 8 years, but as if I didn’t know it already, a recent trip to France proved to me that my years had been close to in vain. Going abroad and needing to learn Spanish got me scared, I’ve never been a linguist or capable of speaking anything but ...

5 of My Favorite Things I Saw/Visited in Barcelona

1. Cafes This had to come first because the cafes in Barcelona are a stone’s throw away from one another, and they may not all be premium quality but I can assure each and every one of them is well above satisfactory, and they all have ‘cafe con leche’s, cortados and croissants, and these are ...

How My Study Abroad Changed My View of My Academic Path

Before I got to study abroad, I was the most persnickety student I knew. The CCI building was my morning, afternoon, and evening; the library during finals week was my haven, and devotion like that came with good grades, but at the expense of my social life and basically any frivolities that a college student deserves. Very ...