Frequently Given Answers to incoming trainees

This page is intended to avoid us (the IAESTE Catalunya LC) repeating the same answers over and over. It thus contains the answers we give more often to emails from incoming trainees, please read it carefully since the information contained herein will most likely be of use to you. Should you still have unanswered questions, feel free to contact us and we'll redirect you here again after having updated the page to include the answer to your question :)

We will more than likely find lodging for you

You have asked some questions similar to the following:

Where will I live during my stay in Barcelona? How much will it cost?

This is the Frequently Given Answer to these questions.

The IAESTE Catalunya Local Comitee is responsible for finding lodging for all IAESTE trainees that are to live in the city of Barcelona, we also have a permanent comitee working in the city of Girona. This may or may not be your case, depending on the exact location of your company. As a rule of thumb, most trainees working within 30km. of Barcelona or Girona will live in Barcelona or Girona; traineeships with a reference number like E/25xy/C take place in Girona and thus you should send a mail to iaeste@correu.udg.es to ask for details.

We look for (tipically single) rooms to rent in students' flats who go home for the summer. We require owners to allow full use of bathroom and kitchen, but that's about all. Living in Barcelona has become too cool in the last years, and that means that lodging is expensive. We try our hardest to search for rents under 300 euros a month, but is is not always possible (in the summer there's the added pressure of massive tourism).

Due to the highly unpredictable nature of incoming trainees' arrivals, rooms are assigned on the fly. This is because some times we don't get the N5's in time, or the arrival information is unreadable, or we haven't decided where to host you yet. What this essentially means is that we won't give you the address of your lodging until just before your departure; feel free to email us if you are leaving from your country within a week's time.

You will have to pay for the flat from your salary. However, keep in mind that rents in Spain are paid in advance, and tipically an extra month's rent fee is required as a guarantee. That means that you should be prepared to pay up to 600 euros up front on your arrival, so please take this into account when planning your trip.

Your flat might be located anywhere in Barcelona or it's suburbs. So it may take you up to an hour to get to work. Once we have given you the address (which probably won't happen until two or three days before your arrival), you can look it up at Barcelona's online map and print the surroundings so you can get there by yourself; TMB's web might be of help also.

We may or may not pick you up at the airport

You have asked a question similar to the following:

    Will someone pick me up at the airport?

This is the Frequently Given Answer to this question.

Well, that depends. We don't have many resources, and sometimes there's only one person to pick up 7 trainees, so you might not be the lucky one... If you arrive at Barcelona's or Girona's (not Reus) airport, please send us a mail stating:

   1. your traineeship's reference number (must be of the form E/xyzt/C)
   2. date and time of your arrival
   3. flight number and airport information
   4. your mobile phone number, should you have a GSM one

and we'll tell you if wether we'll be able to come or not. Should we not pick you up, most likely we'll tell you to take the train to the city. Take a look at the train's map, you are at Aeroport (beggining of Line 1) and will have to stop at some station between Sants and El Clot-Aragó, depending on where your lodging is.

With the rise of low cost airlines however, many trainees have started arriving on airports outside of Barcelona which makes it impossible to go pick them up at the airport. In these cases you should ask your airline on how to get to Barcelona (sometimes there's a bus leaving right after a plane arrives); you can also check the train schedule at RENFE's page.

You will have many opportunities to meet people

You will have many opportunities to meet new people and visit Catalunya
You have asked a question similar to the following:

Will I meet other trainees during my stay? Will I be able to do some tourism?

This is the Frequently Given Answer to this question.

From July to September there are about 40 trainees at any time in Barcelona, some 15 in the Girona area and some others at Lleida and Tarragona. We set up a mailing list for IAESTE trainees so you can all keep in touch and arrange meetings, week-end trips and discuss whatever might be of interest. Please tell us explicitily that you want to be subscribed to the list, and use an e-mail address to which you have access during your stay.

You will be able to do much tourism

There are many things to do in Barcelona or Girona, and many places to visit around Catalunya. While we don't organize official trips, you can count on us for any help you might need. In our experience, it is much better to let it up to you when and where to go around, since many of you will have different preferences. In the meanwhile, you can check for yourself what might interest you the most, the following web sites are full of information that you'll certainly find useful:

    * Catalunya Tourism
    * Tourism in Barcelona
    * Barcelona Turisme
    * Tourism in Spain