a postcard from GTL Spain by Veronica P. '27

Roses, Girona

9/8/2025

Dear blog,

Last night, I arrived to Figueres by train around 9:30. With two suitcases in tow— taking full advantage of of United Airline’s weight limit— it was the perfect day for all of the escalators in Catalonia to be down. Certainly— I decided as I rode from one crowded platform to the next— the amount of times I had dropped my luggage in the past hour was enough embarrassment for all of 2025.

Not 30 minutes later, I found myself stuck (yes, stuck.) in the bathroom. Despite all my best efforts, I couldn’t get the lock to turn. My host family was sweetly setting the table for a proper Spanish meal when they received the Whatsapp message- “Sorry to bother, but I think I may be trapped in the upstairs restroom.”

Suddenly, I heard a storm of footsteps up the stairs and a flurry of multilingual exclamations: pon tu pie aquí – did you turn the lock the right away? – tienes que empujar muy duro – Are you okay?

After we came to the mutual realization that there was absolutely no way I was unjamming the door on my own, my host brother climbed up through the shower window and came to the rescue. Freedom at last!

So you could definitely say that my first dinner in Spain began with great icebreaker material.

Although school 01 I'm in Spain for MIT's Global Teaching Labs, which sends students abroad to teach in foreign schools started today— much to the dismay of my younger host sister— I had the day off to adjust to the jet lag. The brother, my age and still a few days shy from returning to his college in the US, was also free and thus tasked with giving me a tour of Figueres and the surrounding towns.

Between winding mountain roads, walks along the beach, a stop for lunch, and lots of practice in Spanish conversation, I soon gathered the common theme of the area. My corner of Catalonia thrived off of summer tourism from France, and I had found myself in the off season. Each destination I was shown was quickly qualified by the fact that, had I arrived in the summer, the place would look complete different: shop doors wide open, traffic stretching for miles, and tourists in every corner.

I don’t think I really mind it though. As much as I had lamented not being among most of my program members in Barcelona, I find myself in need of my own off season as well. For much of the last semester, my brain has felt stuffed and crowded and foggy, using all its efforts to maintain the same academic routine. Each time my friends and I discuss my first true brush with small town living, the recurring bit I’ve landed on is that, at the very least, I’ll find inner peace.

While this may be an exaggeration, taking myself out of my comfort zone often gifts me with a clearer vision of who I am at the present day. Away from home, the people I meet have no recollection of the version of me that was mortifyingly shy for most of my childhood— ”that’s odd, you don’t strike me as the very quiet type.” Here, when they offer me tomato salad at dinner, they have no idea that I’ve picked tomatoes off of everything I’ve eaten since I was little. Surrounded by people completely unaware of my predispositions, I learned that I actually enjoy them now. What a lovely idea— that each time I introduce myself to someone new, I get the opportunity to meet myself again.

I know this is a lot of big talk for someone who has barely spent 24 hours here, but I saw the same thing happen to me when I traveled alone to Boston for CPW,⁠02 Campus Preview Weekend , and when I spent my IAP⁠03 Independent Activities Period, which occurs in January in Sao Paolo 04 Yes, I got equally, insufferably Eat Pray Love about my IAP travel last year last year. It’s why I’ll always be a big advocate for programs like MISTI,⁠05 MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives or just independent travel in general.

Anyways, it’s getting late and I have to teach tomorrow (after I watch just one more episode of Money Heist). Perhaps I’ll write you again after I’ve gotten the chance to do some work with the school, or maybe even after my weekend trip to Barcelona. Whether that happens or not, thanks for reading, and I hope you’re doing well.

Sincerely,

Veronica