The first time I came to Spain, I packed one suitcase for one month. The second time, I packed one suitcase for life.
I didn’t know it then, but the suitcase I carried to Seville as a high school exchange student would hold one of the most formative chapters of my life. It was my first journey beyond the United States, and I arrived in Spain carrying a mixture of anticipation, uncertainty, and wonder. I lived with a host family, attended cultural classes, practiced Spanish every day, and slowly learned how to navigate a world that operated differently from the one I knew.
Everything felt unfamiliar yet inviting: the language flowing around me, the traditions woven into daily life, the streets that seemed to tell their own stories, and the way people gathered together. I remember sitting at the dinner table with my host family, listening to conversations unfold in Spanish and realizing connection didn’t require perfect understanding. I remember walking through Seville and realizing that a place thousands of miles from home could begin to feel familiar. Although that month eventually ended, Spain stayed with me. For years, I wondered when I would have the opportunity to return.
Then, as a biomedical engineering student at The University of Texas at Austin, I found myself preparing another suitcase for another journey to Spain. This time, I wasn’t returning as a high school student discovering another country for the first time—I was returning as an engineer.
I spent the summer in Barcelona through the Cockrell School of Engineering’s Engineering Dynamics and Industry program. I lived downtown, attended engineering classes, completed an internship, and began creating a daily routine in a city I had once only encountered as a visitor.
The experience felt both familiar and completely new. I recognized the language, the culture, and the excitement of being surrounded by a place I had loved years before, but I was experiencing Barcelona through a different lens. I was older, more independent, and more aware of the opportunity in front of me.
My mornings began with my internship, my afternoons were spent in Engineering Dynamics class with Professor Thomas Connolly, and my evenings became a time to immerse myself in the city, share meals with friends, and experience everything Barcelona had to offer. The program let me see engineering beyond the classroom through visits to Sabadell Airport, Meleghy Automotive, the SEAT factory, the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, and Hospital Sant Pau.
When I think back on Barcelona, I don’t just remember the places I visited. I remember the moments that transformed the city from somewhere I was staying into somewhere I belonged: walking through Barcelona after class with nowhere specific to be, the gradual shift from checking directions constantly to instinctively knowing where I was going, discovering restaurants, and routines that became comforting, and a city thousands of miles away that began to feel surprisingly close.
The greatest gift of studying abroad was the people who gave that city meaning. The friends I met in Barcelona began as strangers navigating a new country together, but they quickly became the people I traveled, explored, and shared some of my favorite memories with. Together, we discovered different parts of Spain, experienced local traditions, and learned that some of the best adventures are the ones you never plan. We found ourselves immersed in festivals where entire neighborhoods came to life, where music filled the streets, and strangers gathered together in celebration. We shared conversations that lasted long after we planned to leave and watched the city transform from afternoon to evening and evening to morning. Those were the moments when Barcelona stopped feeling like a place I was visiting. It became a place where I had a life.
Creating a life abroad wasn’t without challenges; I had to adjust to unfamiliar situations, solve problems independently, and balance the responsibilities of being both a student and an intern in another country. Those moments pushed me to grow and reminded me that belonging somewhere new happens gradually. It happens when a once-unfamiliar street begins to feel recognizable. When ordering food no longer requires careful thought. When the people around you are no longer strangers, but friends who are waiting for you.
The biggest surprise of returning to Spain wasn’t realizing how much I loved it—I already knew that—but realizing that Barcelona had become a place where I could envision a future.
Before this summer, I admired living abroad after graduation from a distance. After experiencing Barcelona, it became something I could truly picture. I could imagine building a career there, continuing to learn there, and returning not with a suitcase packed for eight weeks, but with the intention of creating something more permanent.
My first experience in Spain sparked my love for another culture. My second experience made me wonder if it could become part of my future. As I packed my suitcase one final time, I realized that it carried much more than what I had brought with me. It carried friendships, lessons, memories, and a place that changed how I imagine my future.
Maybe I will return to Barcelona after graduation. Maybe this city will become another chapter in my story. But for now, I know this: The first time I came to Spain, I packed a suitcase hoping to discover a new world. The second time, I packed a suitcase and discovered a place where I could see myself belonging.
This blog was contributed by Michael McKenny, Global Ambassador for Summer 2026. Michael is a Cockrell School of Engineering Junior participating in the faculty-led program “Engineering Dynamics and Industry” in Barcelona, Spain.
