Typical Tarragona Day

A typical weekday in Tarragona began with waking up at 7am, usually slightly sleep deprived due to the lack of air conditioning. I’d take a nice cold shower, get ready for the day, grab my backpack, and head down to breakfast in the dining hall around 8:00. We had free breakfast everyday, which consisted of toast, cereal, yogurt, fruit, pastries, and juice. After breakfast we’d catch the bus around 8:30 to head to our classroom on the academic campus. Thermodynamics class was from 9:00-11:30, then an hour break for lunch. For lunch I usually brought a peanut butter sandwich and an apple, the ingredients for which I purchased at the supermarket near our dorm (definitely easier on my budget than going out for lunch). Process safety began at 12:30, and usually got out around 2:30 or 3:00. After that, we often stayed in the air conditioned classroom to work on homework, or took the bus back to brave the heat and work in our dorm rooms. Mostly the afternoon and early evening consisted of struggling through our thermodynamics homework (it was challenging!). Usually we’d grab a cheap salad or sandwich from the supermarket for dinner, or sometimes head out to a nearby restaurant around 8 or 8:30. After dinner, we’d finish up our homework or maybe walk around a bit to enjoy the cool night air before retiring for the night.

Our weekends were definitely more exciting, I promise! We didn’t have classes on Fridays, but instead we visited a different chemical plant each week. On Saturdays we did some sort of cultural activity, and Sundays were our free day (which unfortunately meant homework day). We also got to enjoy some of the great nightlife that Spain has to offer on the weekends. Overall I enjoyed every day in Tarragona, and it definitely started to feel like home right when we were getting ready to leave! But now it’s time to explore new cities – Barcelona and Madrid, here I come!