Hi, my name is Maddie and I’m a third-year French and Spanish about to finish my year abroad at the University of Malaga. Coming into this experience, my main goals were to improve my Spanish, experience a new culture, and push myself out of my comfort zone, but I had no idea how challenging yet rewarding this year would be. As I have less than a week left, I thought now would be the perfect time to talk about my experience.
Overall, choosing Malaga was one of the best decisions I’ve made throughout my university experience. Malaga is the perfect study abroad destination with its historic centre, beaches, warm weather, and great connections to other places. Since being here, I’ve had the opportunity to visit lots of other Spanish cities and towns such as Granada, Seville, Madrid, Nerja, Benalmádena and do the Caminito del Rey. One of the things I love most about Malaga is the lifestyle. The city has such a relaxed pace compared to the UK and there’s always something to do from enjoying tapas with friends to the nightlife in and around the city centre.
One of the biggest challenges was adjusting to the university life. At first, the organisation and systems in place at the University of Malaga seemed very different to Southampton and definitely took a lot of getting used to. University life here is much more independent, students are expected to create their own timetables and take on more responsibility, and the classes are longer than in Southampton. While this was overwhelming at first, it meant that I had much more free time outside of classes to catch up on work, explore the city, and immerse myself in the culture. Being able to go to the beach before and after classes was definitely a highlight. A lot of the classes in Malaga are assessed through group work such as presentations and translations which, although daunting, was a great way to meet local students and improve my Spanish. Lecturers and students are usually very friendly and willing to help. A lot of the classes have a mix of Spanish and international students which meant that cultural exchange was a big focus in lectures and enabled me to learn so much more about Spanish culture.
Outside of academics, this year has been so rewarding and helped me to develop amazing friendships. Before coming to Malaga, I originally wanted to live with Spanish speakers to give me more opportunities to practice the language, however, living with three other Southampton students was the best decision I made. Despite not knowing two of them before coming here, we bonded so quickly and they offered great support when navigating the new university life and culture at the start of the year, I’m so incredibly grateful for their friendships that I know will last beyond the year. They also really helped with dealing with homesickness as well as regularly calling friends and family from home and visiting them whenever possible. Although homesickness felt like more of a struggle this year, living even further from home has definitely made me become more independent and gain so much more confidence in myself.
Living in Malaga has definitely improved my Spanish skills and made me more aware of cultural differences. Malaga has a distinct yet diverse culture that can be seen in the city centre and through different festivals and celebrations such as Semana Santa. Experiencing and immersing myself in this culture has been a highlight of my year and will be one of the things I reflect on most once I leave. Regarding language, the Andalusian accent was difficult to understand at first but after hearing it everyday it got so much easier to understand. Being surrounded by Spanish all the time was overwhelming at first, but I gradually became more confident with speaking throughout the year.
Overall, I’d definitely recommend Malaga as the perfect year abroad location. My biggest pieces of advice would be to apply for your visa asap if you need one, start looking for accommodation as soon as you can (and find one with air con- our flat has been unbearably hot for the past month) and to make the most of everything, you’re only here once and the year goes by so fast.
Thank you for reading, here are some of my favourite photos from the year
