Internship in Barcelona Spring 2017 Introduction During my last semester in my Bachelor i went to Barcelona to write my thesis. I was hosted by the comparative Bioinformatics Group in the CRG ( centre for genomic regulation). I ve always been very attracted by the spanish culture/language and as I got the occasion to combine the experience in spain and writing my thesis in a leading bioinformatics institute i obviously went for it. I was very lucky in different aspects and my experience was extremely positive, definitely above my expectations. Before arriving I did not have the need to do much before arriving in Barcelona. Just make sure to contact your hosting institute to know exactly if you need any special document but as long as you are coming from a place in the EU there should be no particular issue. If they can provide you an appointment for the NIE (in case you need it ) it would be very helpful. While looking for a flat i stayed at a hostel ( http://www.barcelonabedandbike.com/ ) which i can highly recommend, especially for the fact that you get a free bike in low season and is very convenient to go and look for flats with a bike. First steps Documents If you receive money you will need the NIE and the social security number. The NIE can be very annoying to get. If your hosting institute can provide you with an appointment this would be great for you, since it would save you a lot of time. If not, make sure to be early, but very very early ( before 6am ). This was due ( spring 2017) to some disorders, depending when you are going maybe they are already solved. The social security number is on the other hand very easy and fast to get, once you have your NIE. You just need to go to the office without any appointment and in one hour you ll be done.
Bank Account i personally did not open a spanish bank account. There are different options. I have heard good things about la caixa. SIM There are different convenient options. I personally picked a vodafone sim with a couple of GB internet per month and 1 hour free calls to my home country (ca 15 euro monthly). House Flats in Barcelona are getting more and expensive due to the high request. I looked for a flat completely online. Different website helped me ( for example uniplaces ). I then used a lot facebook groups, in which house offers are posted. I lived in Sant. Antoni and i absolutely can recommend it. Very beautiful and ca. 15 min with the bike from the beach. Nearby there is the Poble Sec, very nice as well. I think that the cheapest places more or less in the center of the city are to find in the Raval. A little bit more poor than other districts but has its appeal in my opinion. Bike The fastest way to move in Barcelona is definitely by bike. You can buy the bicing annual ticket for the red bikes you see around ( ca 50 euros per year ). There are a lot of stations around.
If you wanna buy one there are a lot of second hand places ( like recycling.com, where they were really nice and competent). If you buy one be very aware of the fact that bikes ( and their seats! ) are getting stolen a lot so be careful and lock it properly. The CRG The Centre for Genomic Regulation is an incredible institute and I highly recommend it. I was very inspired and i loved my time there. The environment is friendly and the crg community is very social. A lot of social activities are organized weekly, like happy hours on the terrace, or free courses, like spanish, catalan or tango ones, or even beach volley tournament. They are very open to students coming to the centre for internships. For example every year they organize summer internships in some of the lab. Moreover they have a lot of students writing their thesis there. View from the CRG! Barcelona The city has a lot to offer : from culture to night life. There are a lot of very complete guides of the city online, which are surely more detailed than what i could write here ( timeout is a good one ). A couple of my tips are :
- If you are there in the right time, go for a calcotada! I would go for a hike before and then eat and drink on top of the hills. We went to can borrel and i can recommend it. A little bit expensive ( we spent 35 euros each ) but we ate well and drank a lot. - Go out of the city. The city is wonderful but the beaches outside have just no comparison with the one in the city. You can take the R1 and with couple of euros and half an hour and you are on the beach in Ocata ( one among the wonderful beaches). - Dont t forget museums are free on sudays! - If you like tapas there is a very nice place ( Calle Blai in Poble Sec ) where there a lot of tapas Bars where you can eat very nice and cheap pinchos. Pinchos :)! Conclusion Barcelona is a wonderful city to experience and i fell in love with it. Quality of life is high, people nice and the culture fascinating. The crg is a top research institute where you can find inspiration and a lovely working environment I can suggest both the city and the city strongly.
Ocata ( near BCN) Calcots!