By Cecilia Azar
Julie and Julia has been my favorite movie since I saw it for the first time at 9 years old. Besides it being about one of my culinary icons, Julia Child, the main reason I love it so much is because it highlights Julia’s life attending culinary school in Paris, France. I became infatuated with the idea of spending hours learning to cook in class, then leisurely stumbling into local markets and picking out fresh produce on my way home to cook even more in my apartment overlooking a city like Paris – just like Julia. For many years, I pictured myself living out this dream, but time went on, and that desire faded as others took its place.
Flash forward to the end of my sophomore year of college at the U of A. I’m majoring in Food, Nutrition, and Health with aspirations to work in the culinary industry post-graduation. I always knew I wanted to study abroad, but never knew where I wanted to go or what I wanted to study. In all honesty, I didn’t think a program pertaining to my major or culinary interests would exist, and I would have gone anywhere to study anything. I just craved so badly to spend a few months immersing myself in a different culture. I began my hunt for a study abroad experience, and to my surprise, a program pertaining to my major and interests did exist: the gastronomy program at the CETT School of Tourism, Hospitality, and Gastronomy with SAI. I applied for the next spring semester, and before I knew it, I was living out my Julia Child dream, attending culinary classes in Barcelona, Spain.
While it wasn’t exactly culinary school, I did spend 10 hours a week dressed head-to-toe in a chef uniform—black pants, a name-embroidered white coat, a white chef hat, an apron, and clogs with a matching set of towels and an impressive knife set to complete it—learning how to cook traditional elaborations from all of the world, taught by notable chefs from all over the world.
I was put through the wringer in the best way possible. Each class brought five intense hours of chopping, fileting, whipping, frying, sautéing, and tasting up to eight different recipes, followed by a brutal beatdown from the professor as he judged our food like it was an episode of Chopped (in a very nice, constructive, and inspiring way, of course). On the other days of the week, I attended lectures and cooking demonstrations, learning about the global tourism industry, food journalism, gastronomy in Catalonia and in other touristic destinations across the globe, and the nutrition, science, and history behind each dish we made in the prior cooking class. With CETT being a school solely focused on three industries—hospitality, tourism, and gastronomy—I was able to fully dive into these topics and learn with students who have similar convictions as I do.
My growing and learning experiences did anything but halt past the campus grounds. I learned how to navigate an entirely different country and culture outside of the classroom, primarily speaking a language I was unfamiliar with. At first, I was too timid and afraid to explore my new city, especially since I had not met anyone there, yet. After a couple of weeks filled with trial and error, I slowly grew comfortable practicing Spanish when ordering coffee, taking the metro without navigation, going on walks in different neighborhoods in the city, and introducing myself to new people. It wasn’t long before I realized I had fallen in love with the city of Barcelona. The Catalonian food and culture, Antoni Gaudi architecture, leisure Spanish lifestyle, nocturnal atmosphere, and paralleled urban city and warm beach scenery truly make it one of the most unique cities I’ve been lucky enough to live in—and living just feet away from the largest unfinished Roman Catholic cathedral, the Sagrada Familia, made waking up every morning feel more promising than the last.
Spending four months abroad allowed me to fully make Barcelona a home. I found a routine that worked for me, but I never let it define my schedule. I spent most mornings in class, I joined a local gym, and I put my newly-learned kitchen skills to practice by cooking many meals in my apartment; but, when I got the random offer to take a trip to Sitges, a small, beautiful beach town 40-minutes outside the city for a Mardi Gras celebration (or as the Spaniard’s call it, “Carnival”) or someone asked if I wanted to spontaneously go to Copenhagen for the weekend, I went without hesitation. Saying “yes” to as much as I was mentally, physically, and financially able to enabled me to grow immensely, learn things I never intended to learn, and see things I never imagined seeing.
I wouldn’t have met the people I now call friends, have the stories I know to tell, or created the memories I get to reminisce on for years to come without taking those leaps of faith and pushing myself outside of my comfort zone whenever an opportunity presented itself. Studying abroad in Spain without initially knowing anyone or any Spanish language turned an experience I was already excited about into one that, while exciting beyond explanation, taught me to fend for myself and continuously challenged me.
As I reflect on the last four months, I can confidently say I wouldn’t have wanted to study abroad anywhere else than in Barcelona. I was able to easily travel to other cities in Spain including Madrid and a few Andalusian cities, as well as venture to several countries throughout Europe and even Africa. I learned new skills that I am excited to bring back to my professors and classes at the University of Arkansas, I have a newfound desire to learn Spanish, and I explored my passion and career interests in the culinary industry in ways that only immersing myself in a different culture could fuel.
