<p>I want to study abroad in Spain next semester in one of the following cities: Barcelona, Toledo, or Sevilla. I have never been out of the United States before, so I am very excited and want this to be a good experience. One thing I want to get out of the experience is to improve my Spanish speaking skills, as spanish studies is my minor in college. I also want to be able to visit other parts of Spain and Europe. By the way, I am not a drinker/partier, so I don't necessarily want to go to a city that many students choose to study abroad in for the parties/drinking. </p>
<p><em>Barcelona</em> is the city I most want to visit, but I worry that I will not have the opportunity to be completely immersed in spanish, as catalan is their main language. Also, I have heard that although it is beautiful, it is quite touristy!</p>
<p><em>Toledo</em> is the program that is run by my university (the University of Minnesota) so my credits would easily transfer and I would be with other U of M students, but I have some concerns; many people say that it is small and you can see all of Toledo in one day, and so I worry that if I stayed there for a whole semester I would get bored within the city and have to travel elsewhere for new experiences/entertainment. </p>
<p><em>Sevilla</em>, I've heard, is a wonderful city, but the accent there is hard to understand as they drop their s's and speak very quickly. </p>
<p>Which city would you recommend studying abroad in for a whole spring semester? All opinions are greatly appreciated :)</p>
<p>You’re right on all points - so it makes it kinda hard to give advice! Barcelona is pretty awesome, and if your instinct tells you to go there, then trust it! Yes, Catalan is the main langauge, but you will here plenty of Spanish. If you are taking Spanish courses, you’ll learn Spanish just as well.</p>
<p>The same can be said for Seville. You’ll be surrounded by an Anadaluz accent - but if you are in a university setting (same as Barcelona) you will also meet Spaniards from all over Spain, so you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>I have never been to Toledo, but I did study in Salamanca for a year. Salamanca is pretty small, but it was fantastic every single day I was there. At the end of the year, I was ready to leave, but two semesters were fantastic.</p>
<p>Some small cities, like Salamanca and Alicante, and incredibly energetic and have lots to do. You’ll never get bored.</p>
<p>Wish I could help you more in terms of Toledo…</p>
<p>I have been to Toledo and Barcelona. I absolutely LOVED Barcelona. The city is vibrant, full of life, some familiar stores, and lots of Spanish culture. Toledo is very cool and it feels like you’ve went back in time. However, it is very small and walking anywhere in Toledo is an uphill battle (literally I felt like we were on some sort of slope or hill always) it’s very small I explored the whole city with my group in a single day. As for the last city I have never been there but I loved Spain and my host family when I went for a short time. Best of luck! </p>