What’s it like to study in Spain?
Following on from our blog post about studying in France, we now turn to some testimonials from students who have spent time in Spain. There are currently undergraduate School Abroad opportunities at the Universities of Alcala, Granada, Valladolid, Santiago de Compostela as well as the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. More details on all such opportunities can be found here: https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/csa-app/search.htm.
Megan Pollick
Megan studies Spanish and History and spent her second semester last year at the University of Alcalá:
I spent my study abroad at the University of Alcalá just outside Madrid. While I was only able to complete 9 weeks due to COVID, it was such an amazing experience. From meeting new people, to getting involved in Erasmus events, trying new food and just starting a new life in a different country, studying abroad is an amazing experience that I would 100% recommend. Worth being away from St Andrews for the semester, and that’s saying a lot!
Natasha Lewis
Natasha graduated in 2019 with a degree in International Relations and Spanish and subsequently taught English at a school in San Sebastián as a recent graduate trainee:
My time in San Sebastián so far has been an amazing learning experience and the extra money from my Erasmus+ grant has given me the opportunity to explore my surroundings in a way that I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to do. Of course, there have been some ups and downs (it’s easy to get lonely when you move to a new country by yourself), but with so much to experience and explore it’s easy to keep yourself occupied here. Whether it’s working out a way to get home after you accidentally misinterpret the bus schedule; figuring out how to get a 4 year old in your class to stop crying; or learning how to talk to the locals (you realise pretty quickly that it’s best to steer clear of politics in this particular part of Spain), a year abroad will undoubtedly take you out of your comfort zone and teach you things that you never expected to learn. My ultimate goal when I arrived was obviously to improve my Spanish, but in the process I have learnt so much more about myself, as well as the incredibly rich culture and history of this place and it’s people, than I ever thought I would.
Sarah Emery
Sarah studies French, Italian and Spanish. She spent her second semester last year at the University of Santiago de Compostela:
I spent the second semester of my year abroad studying in Santiago de Compostela, in the northern region of Spain, Galicia. It was an unforgettable experience, having the opportunity to study in a Spanish university with people from all over the world. It was great practice for my language skills, with classes being taught in both castellano and gallego. The host Erasmus group organised trips for us across Spain, including to la Playa de las Catedrales and Lugo, and even to Portugal for the weekend.
