Hi, I’m Krish. I’m a finance student at Santa Clara University (just graduated!), and I’ve called the Bay Area home since I was 12. For most of my life, that meant a pretty consistent script: same city, same people, same version of myself. So when the chance came to study abroad, I didn’t think twice. I wanted a change of environment and a genuinely new experience, and Barcelona gave me exactly that.
Krish with his Flatmates in their apartment
Why Barcelona?I’d traveled before, to Athens and London, but never to Spain, and never for an extended stay. Barcelona stood out because of how much it packs into one city. Beaches in the morning, hikes in the afternoon, incredible food any time of day, and a nightlife scene that’s genuinely unmatched. It’s also a launchpad: from Barcelona, the rest of Europe (and beyond) is suddenly within reach. I expected a warm, tropical beach city. I left having learned it’s so much more layered than that.
Going in, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. I’d never truly lived on my own, away from family, in a country where I didn’t know a single person. But underneath the nerves was real excitement, the kind that tells you you’re about to do something worth doing.
Krish with his Local Family
Ferran, Adrian, and UAB
SAI Programs paired me with a host dad, Ferran, and every Wednesday I’d head to his house for dinner with him and his kids. That’s where I got close with his son, Adrian. We bonded over FIFA and Fortnite, which sounds small, but it ended up being one of the most grounding parts of my week. It gave me a home base in a city that, at first, didn’t feel like home at all.
Classes at UAB weren’t a culture shock academically: small classrooms, around 20 students, engaged professors, not unlike SCU. My week ran Monday through Wednesday for class, which left every weekend open to explore. I also volunteered at a local elementary school, which turned out to be one of the most genuinely impactful things I did the entire trip.
Krish with his Local Family and his flatmates
How It Changed Me
The biggest lesson: your environment shapes your actions, your interests, your values, your entire identity, more than you realize. Stripped of the version of myself that California had built over a decade, I went through something close to an identity crisis early on. But that discomfort did something useful: it forced me to figure out who I actually wanted to be, rather than who I’d always been by default.
I came home valuing my relationships more, and more aware of how much effort real relationships actually take. I also came home with a simple reminder I still carry: work hard, but make sure you’re actually living. Enjoying people, enjoying time, enjoying the moment you’re in.
Dali Trip
Why You Should Do This
Studying abroad didn’t just give me four good months. It changed my career trajectory and how I think about people, culture, and my own routine. My honest advice: go in with a budget (it’s one of the best crash courses in spending intentionally you’ll ever get), and say yes to almost everything. It moves fast. These four months have a real shot at being the best of your life, so don’t spend them on the sidelines.
Written by: Krish, Fall 2025 Barcelona student from Santa Clara University
