Laura (Sem 2, 2023)

My Exchange at Universidad de Granada

I learned about the 360 International exchange programmes on the first Auckland University open day and knew I wanted to make them part of my degree. I chose Granada University in southern Spain mainly because it seemed like a nice place to live! When I first arrived in Granada, it was sunny and warm, which describes the weather for most of my time there.

I chose to stay in private student accommodation (RESA) as it was the easiest to organise / least likely to scam me when I was organising from the other side of the world. I chose to go private as most of the university accommodation seemed to be Catholic and also required an interview to get into, which seemed too scary for a non-native Spanish speaker. My accommodation was only a 5-minute walk from the campus, which was ideal! I had a bedroom and bathroom to myself and then a kitchen that I shared with one other person. There was also a games room, study spaces, a gym, and laundry facilities. The only downside was that the kitchen had no equipment (only a stove, fridge, and microwave), so I had to buy all the whiteware pots, and pans. Similarly, for the bedroom, it only came with a pillow, so I had to get sheets/duvet/towels, which was annoying for only six months. I also had to leave it all in Granada because my suitcase had no space!

The university is organised into different campuses for different faculties, which makes it harder to take cross-faculty courses than at UoA because two courses could be a 30-minute bus ride from each other! So it is better to take classes in one faculty and if you can, under one major. Spanish students get a set class schedule for their degree, so there is less flexibility for them. As an international student you can take any classes you want but are not allowed to have clashes. I took two second-year geography courses, one third-year geography course, and a class I thought was a geography one, but turned out to be under a history of arts degree. There was a lot more in-class time for each course than at UoA (four hours a week for each class). However, I was lucky that all geography students had Friday free to provide time for field trips! The classes were a lot smaller than UoA (15-30 people), I think mostly because not as many people take geography. The style of teaching was more similar to high school in NZ; we had time in class to complete assignments, and they were more interactive rather than the split lecture / tutorial times of UoA. All my classes were in Spanish, and three out of the four classes had in-person exams at the end which were worth 60% of my grade.

Granada had three student organisations – ESN (run through the university), Emycet, and Best Life Experience. They all had 4 or 5 events each week throughout the semester, so there was never a shortage of things to do! The week before classes start is orientation week. There was an international student introduction morning, and then an individual faculty introduction as well. At the specific faculty introduction, we were then split into degrees, and this is when I met other international students who were going to be in my classes. We also went around the faculty together to find all of our classes which was very helpful! I met all of my other international student friends at events organised by BestLife in the first week, which included city tours, tapas quiz nights, and themed parties. Throughout the semester, I went on weekend trips to different beaches, and other cities in Southern Spain, Lisbon, and Morocco, all organised through the organisation. Anyone can go on the trips, but if you buy the membership card (maybe 10 euros), you get discounts on the trips, and preferential/free entry to certain clubs. My favourite trip I went on with them was the 5-day trip to Morocco, where we stayed at a fantastic hotel in the Sahara, rode camels, and went to different cities in Northern Morroco.

Granada was a relatively small city, which I liked. It made it easy to get around and get to know the city well – I truly felt like a local at the end of the six months. It was only 40 minutes to the coast, right next to the Sierra Nevada mountain ranges. Public transportation was 10x better than in New Zealand, and you could take a bus to some really cool walking trails. The cost of living was cheaper, except for perhaps eating out. While I stayed in private student accommodation, most people lived in flats, paying NZD$400-$600 a month. Fresh produce and food were a lot cheaper, although there was not as much variation in types of food; I struggled to find chilli flakes, and Asian supermarkets were my flatmates and my best friend!

Overall, I really enjoyed my time in Granada. To any future students, I would recommend going to as many orientation events as possible, as that is where I found my friends, and they also had some really cool activities and trips. I would definitely make sure that wherever you choose to live is near a good bus or walking route to your university campus, and make sure that all the classes you choose are at the same campus!

Q&A

What were some of the highlights of the academic experience at your host university?

The highlights of my academic experience in Granada were the field trips. We had a day trip for one class to some small villages in the Alpujarras, a mountainous area close to Granada. We visited small co-ops and tried different olive oils and chocolate. We then went to the town known for producing the most jamon iberico in Spain. Along the way, our teacher would stop the bus randomly to point out different geographical features. My favorite trip was to Gibraltar, a colony of the UK which is a peninsula off the southern coast of Spain. It was a three-day trip; on the first and last day we were exploring the area in Spain around Gibraltar. On the second day we visited Gibraltar. We walked to the top of the ‘rock’ where there was a monkey colony, had a fish and chip lunch, and then spoke with the Gibraltar government!

Would you recommend any particular activity/activities unique to your host country or university?

Granada is known for being home to the Alhambra – the most visited building in Spain. It is a historical Arabic palace on top of a hill overlooking the Granada city centre and is definitely a must-see. The tapas culture is also unique in Granada in that you get a free tapa with every drink you purchase, so I recommend trying out a few places! Finally, I would recommend taking advantage of Granada’s position and visiting as many places in the area as possible. Nearby cities include Malaga, Sevilla, Cordoba, Valencia, and Madrid. Morocco is also relatively close by, and I would definitely recommend a trip there! Granada’s proximity to the beaches in summer is ideal, and during the winter the Sierra Nevada mountains are only an hour away!

What are your top 3 tips for future students attending your host university or going on exchange to your host country?

• Sign up with a student organisation.
• Introduce yourself to the teachers so they know you’re an exchange student.
• Practise your Spanish beforehand, but don’t get overwhelmed at the beginning if you can’t understand anything; the Andalusian accent is notoriously hard to understand (even for Spanish speakers!), and you’ll get the hang of it soon enough!

How much did you budget for your exchange? Was this enough? Were there any lessons learned that would help future students budget for their own exchange?

I budgeted about 10k for my trip, including 3 weeks of travel around Europe beforehand. I was also receiving a student loan that covered my accommodation while I was away. I came home with some money to spare, so I would say it was enough, although I did have some moments when I didn’t think it would last! My tip would be to keep an eye on how much weekend experiences are adding up. At the beginning of my exchange, I was just keen to do as much as possible, and then in November, I realised how much I had spent on visiting new places! I think you have to figure out what you value more, and for me, that was new experiences rather than having nice dinners out (I did have a fair few meals of beans and rice!!).

What are your most significant takeaways from your experience abroad?

After returning home, there are a few things that I would like to take from my exchange life and apply to my life here in Auckland. The first is that doing a lot on the weekend is possible! While away, I planned fun activities almost every weekend that helped me explore new places and things and create some awesome memories with my friends. I realised that since moving to Auckland, I haven’t seen much of the city or even a lot of the north island, and I would love to remedy that. I also think I took many of the fantastic nature and walks we have in NZ for granted; Granada was beautiful architecturally and culturally but wasn’t very green. Being back in NZ, I want to explore more of these beautiful places.

Do you want to share anything about travels you did outside your host city/country?

I would definitely recommend making the most of being in Europe while you’re over there, and if it’s possible, plan to visit some different countries. I visited Italy, Croatia, Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic, England, Portugal, and Morrocco, and I loved them all.

Final Comments

It’s a small piece of advice, but I would recommend printing some photos of your favourite people/places before you leave to take on your exchange so that when you arrive, you have something to decorate your room with and make it feel like your own space. It definitely helped me to feel settled in!