This week Postcards from Abroad heads back to Barcelona, Spain, to visit Zach Cimring of the Muhlenberg men's soccer team. He is a double major in media and communications and film studies.
What made you want to study abroad?
Study abroad culture runs in my family. My mom studied abroad and so did my older brother. When I was in high school, I did an exchange program to Barcelona and fell in love. My best friend still lives here so it's nice to see his family once a week. I really just wanted to come back to Barcelona and experience it for myself again.
What classes are you taking? Which class is your favorite?
I am taking Barcelona: The City as a Place to Live, Spanish, Business of Sport in Europe (which is all about soccer so I'm loving that class), Catalan Culture, which I also enjoy a lot, and Film and the City. I think my favorite class so far is Catalan Culture. The professor is awesome and I'm learning all of the issues surrounding the current political situation in Cataluña, the history of Cataluña, and why people want independence. It's very important to learn about these issues if I'm living in Barcelona.
Have you been able to travel at all yet?
Yes, I have been traveling a lot. The first couple of weekends I went to Valencia and Tarragona with my brother Jordan. Then we went to Switzerland and Geneva, Interlaken and Zürich. After that, we traveled to France and went to Paris and Versailles. Then, we spent two weekends in Barca before going to Copenhagen and Sweden. In the future, we plan to travel to Amsterdam, Portugal and London. So far Interlaken was my favorite. It was just so beautiful and although it was cold, we did a lot of outdoor activities like paragliding, hiking and kayaking.
What is your favorite part about being overseas?
My favorite part about being abroad is definitely the culture and living on my own. It's actually nice to take the metro to class and to just live in the city. It's definitely helping me grow as a person and see the world in a different light. I also really enjoy traveling, but particularly going on runs in the new places. I believe running is the best way to explore a city and Jordan and I have both been following that theory.
How have you been training for soccer while abroad?
Jordan and I have been training with a professional team called CE Europa. They are a founding member of La Liga with FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Espanyol so they have a long history. We went to around eight training sessions with the team. It was very professional and intense. We trained at their local stadium, which is gorgeous but old. It was very hard to understand, though, since the whole team and coach spoke Catalan.
We also raced in the Barcelona half marathon on February 10 and we have the Malaga half marathon coming up next month. This was my first half marathon and it was amazing and better than I expected. Out of 19,000 runners from almost every country, I finished 1984 with a time of 1:29:56. I look forward to racing again in Malaga and I'm hoping for a new PR.
What do you miss most about Muhlenberg?
I miss having a routine. It's so hard to have one here since there's so much going on. I also miss the facilities. They are so much nicer at Muhlenberg. This goes without saying, but I miss all the guys on the team. They're always there for me so when I need someone here to hang with I'm somewhat limited.
Previous "Postcards"
Madison Forrest, Volleyball (Switzerland)
Jordan Cimring, Men's Soccer (Barcelona, Spain)
Pete Luther, Men's Soccer (Quito, Ecuador)
Karolyn Kawa, Women's Soccer (Vienna, Austria)
