Hi, my name is Becca, I study MLang Spanish and Latin American Studies at the University of Southampton. I conducted my year abroad in Granada, the south of Spain, for roughly ten months.
As Iām writing this blog post, I am on the plane back from Granada, having just left my apartment and all my new Erasmus friends. I feel myself reflecting on this incredible opportunity that I was given to learn a new way of life. Itās cliche I know, but it truly was a once in a lifetime experience.
My Two Semesters:
My year abroad was divided into two parts due to the unexpected quantity of people that left after the first semester and the influx of people for the second one.
Some experiences within my first semester include a 5 day trip to Morocco, a beach day trip to Cabo de Gato, a weekend away in Madrid and several adventures within Granada, whether that be exploring the night life or venturing to countless different tapas bars. Whilst the destinations themselves were breathtaking and incredible, the company on these trips really was the star of the show. There were about 13 people in our formed Erasmus group from different places of the world: England, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Finland, Hungary and Germany. In the early stages we created a group chat named āJust another groupā as thatās merely what we all thought it would be, just another group. But we proved ourselves wrong, it was so much more than that. During our time together, we formed a small family. It was difficult to imagine a whole other 5 months without these people who I had spent 5 months with 24/7.
With the second semester came yet another opportunity to meet new people, form new friendships and explore new places. I had the privilege of having two lovely flatmates, one from Italy and the other from Hungary. This semester brought me lots of fascinating day trips to different Spanish cities, including CƔdiz, Seville and also to the British Colony, Gibraltar. These experiences allowed me to explore distinct areas within Spain and learn more about Spanish history and way of life.
I was lucky enough to be in a position where my family were able to visit me numerous times in Spain, they too fell in love with Granada and what it has to offer. Being able to share my discoveries in this foreign city with them was, from the bottom of my heart, something I will never forget; seeing the look on my parents’ faces when they realised that I had found a second home in Spain made me ever so happy.
My Studying Experience:
Overall, my studying experience included subjects on Spanish linguistics, Federico GarcĆa Lorca (a famous Spanish poet), sociolinguistics, ethnolinguistics and āSpanish as a foreign languageā; this final module in particular was really useful in bettering my knowledge regarding the grammatical differences between Spanish and English. Having the opportunity to learn these subjects in Spanish and being surrounded by native Spanish speakers was invaluable and truly bettered my level of everyday Spanish. The majority of teachers were accommodating to the fact that Spanish is not my native language, however, there were a few who expected my level of Spanish to be near to native – this was quite overwhelming but really ensured that I was pushing myself regarding my Spanish level. Being in a classroom daily allowed me to pick up new Spanish vocabulary that I previously had not been exposed to, such as various ways for the professor to get the studentsā attention (oye, ojo), different fillers (pues, bueno, o sea) and simply general everyday terminology. Despite the fact that many Spaniards werenāt keen on befriending Erasmus students, the Erasmus students themselves were extremely friendly and I am proud to say that I made a handful of friends from my classes, including an Albanian, three Germans and a Belgian. It was so incredible to learn with these other students and make friends with those who share the same linguistic interests as me.
Although I am not physically there, Granada will always hold a very special place in my heart. To everyone about to start their year abroad, I urge you to truly make the most of this opportunity, make new memories and form new friendships; immerse yourself in the culture and way of life of your chosen country.
My Year Abroad in Granada, Spain