During my time abroad I was able to attend a local comic book convention called Comic Barcelona. This three day event brought together artists from all over Spain and Europe to discuss comics and art. While I had been to many comic book conventions in the United States, I had never been to one in another country and I was excited to discover how a comic book convention was held in Spain.

The first thing I discovered about Comic Barcelona was that there was a lot of diversity in the languages there. Comic book vendors sold books in Catalan, Spanish and English. It was really fun to see my favorite comic books in other languages. In addition to the comics, there were many artist booths in “Artist’s Alley” where local artisans sold their art prints, t-shirts and other merchandise. I was able to speak to them in Spanish about their careers and how they got started in art, it was a great cultural connection experience.

Comic Barcelona stands out to me as one of my favorite experiences of studying abroad. I was able to connect to local Spanish speakers through our shared passion for comic books and learn more about my host culture. I hope that I am able to return to Comic Barcelona one day!

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Learn more about this blogger’s study abroad program: IES Abroad: Political Science and International Relations in Barcelona