Summer travel blog: Georgia State tours Barcelona and prepares for the challenges ahead

This summer, Mid-Major Madness is teaming up with schools across the country as they travel overseas to compete against elite competition and soak up the culture. Student-athletes will blog their experiences for us via written posts, photos, video, and just about anything else they want.

Here’s more from Georgia State senior forward Jordan Tyson, live from Barcelona...

BARCELONA — There are a lot of things in life that we can’t run away from. We have to fully embrace the challenges and obstacles in front of us. We lost our first game in Madrid yesterday. It was a close game throughout, but we weren’t able to pull through. We know what we did wrong however and have moved on and focused on what we need to do better for the next game. One thing I love about the teams that I’ve been a part of at Georgia State the past three years is that we never let a loss linger. We just take it for what it is and move on. Only up from here!

Now we’re in Barcelona. We landed this morning and had a couple hours of down time to get settled in the hotel before going on a bike tour around the town. Another thing I love about our program here at Georgia State is that it’s more than just basketball. I believe our coach makes it a mission for us to enjoy our time in school and as a college athlete as much as possible. Whenever we travel, no matter what it is, there’s always something eventful planned for us to do. This was no different, which is one of the reasons I was so excited about coming to Spain.

The bike tour was our first real introduction to Barcelona since we just landed a few hours prior. The person leading the tour took us to different places that had historical significance (most of us just wanted to ride the bikes. Lol). For example, one of the places we stopped at was the exact location where Christopher Columbus had the meeting that gave him the grant to go on an expedition that would lead him to what is now America. I thought that was awesome! To be standing on the exact same grounds as Christopher Columbus. It doesn’t get much cooler than that.

We ended off the bike tour at Barceloneta Beach. Man!! What a beautiful site! The weather was perfect. Tons of people were there having a great time getting in the water. It was beautiful. I can’t remember the last time I’ve been on a beach, but it was definitely rejuvenating. After the stop at the beach, it took us about 20 minutes to bike back to our starting point. We parted ways with our tour guide at that point, but not without thanking him for a great time. What I took from today’s experience is that every country/nation has a rich history and America isn’t the only place in the world that takes pride in where they come from. Our tour guide helped me see this.

Game day is tomorrow!!! I think I’ll be able to sleep easier this time now having one game under my belt. Our coach told us that the team we play tomorrow will be slightly better than the last team we played, so I’m looking forward to that challenge (apparently we’re supposed to be playing against a 7’3” guy). No matter who we play, we are excited and prepared for a new game and a fresh start. I truly appreciate the support of the people who have read, liked, and retweeted the links to these blogs. Also, a shout out to Mid-Major Madness for the opportunity to capitalize on a passion I have in writing and sharing my story. I will be sure to keep you guys updated as we’re approaching the day we return to Atlanta. Go Panthers!!!