Hi Raz,
I was in Barca last Summer, having gone there, like youself, to take my CELTA course. Where, exactly, are you planning to study?
You'll find that you'll very soon have new friends, from within your class, who'll be only too keen to share a night out or a very quick lunch! (CELTA meal breaks are notoriously short - try impressing that point on to the mind of a busy Catalan waiter!!
I was told by one barman that my CELTA tutors should understand the need for me to experience the authentic Catalan culture, and so should allow for the customary two hour lunch break - of course, he was absolutely right! LOL.
My own CELTA class organised regular Friday night gatherings, in which we would all set off for a previously undiscovered (by us) location, where a great time would be had by all! No-one had to teach the next day, so we had all weekend, if required, to plan the following Monday's lessons! (just kidding!).
The week-long Gracia street festival, and neighbourhood party, played havoc with our assignment deadlines! LOL
Otherwise, I spent long hours with my tutorial group, as we bashed out those very assignments and supported each together through the apparently endless lesson planning!
As one tutor said to our class - 'you're going to be 'married' to your colleagues, in this group, for the next four weeks, so do try, very hard, to be nice to one another!' As we discovered, it was great advice, especially as we learnt that we were to be assessed on our ability to do just that!
Barca's also a fantastic place to wander around, very safely, as a woman alone!
(There are only a couple of districts where that's not so advisable, but you'll be warned of those!).
The Metro's extremely safe and many families use it till very late at night. CCTV cameras monitor the platforms. People are always to be seen wandering around Barca, 'till the early hours of the next moring, and I often walked back to my accommodation, from the city centre, at around 3a.m. without any hassle - totally unlike most British cities, including my own!
Taxis are also incredible cheap and still readily available from Plaza Catalunya, even after the Metro's finally closed for the night, if you're really too 'tired' to walk home!
You've chosen a wonderful city for your course - within a week, I guarantee it'll feel like home! The local people and the visitors are all very approachable and friendly, too. (It's as though they all share a huge sense of delight in having been both wise and clever enough to choose to be in Barcelona!).
One thing we all wished we'd done, very early on, preferably before starting our course, was to have taken the full 'Tourist Bus' trip around the city! (Yes, I know that seems a very 'uncool' thing to do!)
However, that trip offers a brilliant intro. to the whole of Barca.
Additionally, you'll be given, along with your ticket, a book of vouchers, which offers reduced prices for admission to a host of galleries, museums, cable cars, architectural gems, restaurants and other similar attractions!
I suggest that you don't leave that trip to the end of your course period, as I did, or you could find that you'd spent much more cash on getting into those places than you'd needed to - and every Euro's so precious, as you'll know!
The Tourist Bus is a fantastic invention - I do wish we had one here, in my city!
You'll love Barca - Promise!
Oh, and the CELTA course will be a great experience too! LOL
Zorrasabia.
