Moving to a foreign country to study abroad is both exciting and scary. Initially, as a student you may be timid, discovering the city like peeling an onion, uncovering various facets of Barcelona living one layer at a time. Fortunately, at GBSB Global Business School, our student body is one of the most diverse in Barcelona, and with that in mind, we support our students upon their arrival, helping them build new relationships with their peers by hosting team building sessions and ice breakers during orientation week. We don’t stop there. We like to go one step further and provide resources for our students to find their niche. Sometimes this includes getting involved in sports or social meetups.
One aspect of studying abroad we have learned is that it is truly beneficial to know where one can find their tribe. Even though, as a student, you moved away to get experience living in a foreign country, immersing yourself in a completely different culture and meeting the locals. We understand this, but it is always comforting to know what resources are available, if ever they are needed, to get in touch with your own countrymen and women.
This article is the beginning of a series of articles meant to aid our students in their pursuit to adapt to living in Barcelona. Studying abroad offers students an amazing opportunity to learn and grow. We applaud our students for making this decision and hope to be a viable resource for them as they discover their new city, Barcelona.
According to latest data provided by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) in 2015 as reported in La Vanguardia, there are 13,139 German residents living in Barcelona and a total 130,505 German residents living in the whole of Spain. Germans are ranked ninth in regard to foreigners residing in Spain. Behind Germany are Bolivia, France, Portugal, Ukraine, and Pakistan. In total, as reported in 2015, there are 4,718,864 foreigners living in Spain, according to data from the INE Permanent Register.i
If you are a German resident living in Barcelona, finding yourself among the 13,139 German residents living in Barcelona, it will be helpful to have these resources at your fingertips.
Resources for German Residents in Barcelona Studying Abroad at GBSB Global
Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany,
Click here:
http://www.spanien.diplo.de/Vertretung/spanien/de/02-barcelona/_C3_BCber_20uns/0___C3_9Cber-uns-Seite.html
Torre Mapfre
Calle de la Marina, 16-18, 30a.
08005 Barcelona
You can reach the Consul General by public transport:
Metro: Line 4 - Ciutadela / Vil-la Olímpica
Bus: line 36,41,45,59,71,92, D20, H16, V21, V27
Tram - Line 4
DHVB- German Relief Society Barcelona, Click here: https://www.deutscher-hilfsverein-barcelona.org/
The German Auxiliary Association Barcelona is a non-profit, non-denominational association under German law, whose mission is to help German-speaking people in Barcelona in health, legal, or social distress.
Churches
German-speaking Evangelical Church, Martin Luther Church Barcelona, https://www.deg-barcelona.es/
German-speaking Catholic Community of St. Albertus Magnus Barcelona, https://www.kg-barcelona.de/
English-speaking International Church of Barcelona, http://icbspain.com/
Social Groups of International Expats
InterNations, https://www.internations.org/
MeetUp, https://www.meetup.com/
At GBSB Global Business School, internationalism is core to our school’s culture. Our students come from Europe, North and South America, Africa, and Asia. This highly cosmopolitan, multilingual, multicultural student group creates a dynamic environment for the design and delivery of our academic curriculum. At GBSB Global Business School we are dedicated to the embracing our students and the diversity they represent in the academic content of our degree programs and capitalizing on the richness and variety of the linguistic, cultural, professional, and educational backgrounds our students possess. Being one of the most international business schools in Barcelona that teach in English in Spain, GBSB Global Business School is a bridge connecting people from different countries to the international business arena with the support and encouragement they need to succeed in their academic and professional pursuits.
[i] Nafria, Ismael. 10 March 2015. Where do the 130,505 Germans living in Spain live?. La Vanguardia. Retrieved from www.lavanguardia.com/vangdata/20151003/54437840616/donde-viven-los-130-505-alemanes-residentes-en-espana.html
