Hola, I’m Rebecca, a third year studying mathematics with Spanish, and currently spending my year abroad studying in Málaga, Spain.
First question you may be wondering, why Málaga? Simple honest answer, I thought that if I was going to spend a whole academic year in another city and country, I wanted somewhere warm and sunny, and so far, I cannot fault my choice and the consistent sun has been a welcome addition to my university experience. In all seriousness, I was also intrigued by Andalucía in general and the challenges I’d researched concerning the Andalusian accent and the challenges associated with it.
Second question you may be wondering, does reality meet expectation (ie do I actually like it here?) and in short…yes. Málaga itself has really exceeded my expectations, the city is beautiful, the transport networks around the city are great (lots of buses, the metro from the university directly into the centre which takes very little time, trains to local towns and coaches to nearby cities), not to mention that all of these are extremely cheap compared to the UK. It is also worth mentioning that Málaga airport is very easy to get to and there are usually fairly cheap and quick flights back to the UK should it be necessary. In terms of walking around the city, it’s very walkable and there are lots of shops and restaurants, but it is VERY busy with people at nearly all hours of the day and quite touristy in places. However, an important point to make, I have never felt unsafe here whatsoever and I would happily walk around the city at night without worrying.
Another advantage, there are so many places to visit from Málaga (I could be here for a while naming them all, but to list a few: Granada, Sevilla, Marbella, Córdoba, Cadiz, Ronda). I have been lucky enough to be able to visit Granada, Sevilla and Ronda so far and I would recommend all of them, they are all beautiful in different ways and each have their own charm and history. Ronda has been my favourite, as although smaller than Granada and Sevilla, the views were breathtaking and seeing that the city is perched above a 300ft gorge definitely made it unique.
Okay, now I could spend a whole day telling you how great Málaga is, but as with any place, and more specifically as someone not native to the country or area, it does come with challenges. One challenge which is fairly inevitable is loneliness/homesickness, it can get quite lonely at times, especially in your first weeks/months, but I promise it does get better and easier. I would say that “it is what you make it” in the sense that you shouldn’t expect people to be queuing up to offer you opportunities (whether that be to socialise or do an activity, etc), you do have to do a bit of searching to find what you want, however there are lots of groups and communities for a variety of things there to find if you’re willing.
Another inevitable encounter…Spanish bureaucracy. It is challenging at times and seems like a lot of hassle and you may be pointed in different directions by different people, but once everything is sorted (visas, booking appointments in various places, TIE, empadronamiento), you can relax and enjoy the experience. Additionally, it can be worrying to speak about these things in Spanish to strangers and ask questions; I can assure that it’s better to be brave and ask questions to begin with than to spend unnecessary time at each step not having all the information to continue. Sometimes you will get “English-ed” as I like to call it, where you start in Spanish and you get spoken back to in English, it can be annoying in some moments but helpful in others, it is important to remember to not lose confidence if this happens (Spanglish will soon become your best friend). Language learning is a journey, there will be good days and bad days so don’t give up!
Finally, I should discuss the university experience comparison. I will say that things likely vary from university to university so I can only speak for Málaga and primarily the maths department also. I find that there are much less resources available compared to Southampton, for example, none of my lectures are recorded and some of my modules also don’t have lecture notes, and so if you miss a lecture, you miss the notes so making a friend or two in classes is worthwhile. My lectures are also double the length of lectures in Southampton (an hour and a half instead of 45 minutes) and therefore trying to process and note down information in Spanish for multiple hours daily can get quite tiring, which is obviously made easier when modules have lecture notes to follow and review after the lectures. However, the lecturers from my experience have been approachable and helpful so if you are struggling, it is worth reaching out to them (or your exchange coordinator) to see if there is anything that could help you.
So, that’s a little bit of insight into life as a student living in Málaga. If you are considering Málaga or another city in Spain as an option for your year abroad, then I very much hope my reflection has been useful and insightful. I have had a wonderful first semester here and I very much hope that the second semester is even better!
