The First Week

Hello everyone,

I have been here for a week now, but it has been very eventful to say the least!

We haven't really been at the university much this week - we have been for a few hours a day to try out the classes. We have had to change our options so many times because classes didn't fit in the timetable, or we decided we didn't like them, so we have had a bit of a nightmare working it all out! In the end we have decided to take two languages with the Language Centre which means we have to pay, but it will be better for us to do those in the long run.

We have been trying to get used to the differences between living in England and living in Spain - for example, the 'oven' is literally a tiny looking microwave! And the washing line is a piece of rope hanging outside the window which you pull along and hang items as you go! We have mainly been eating salad as its probably the only dinner that we can make, haha! We have also been out for dinner a couple of times and explored the restaurants and bars!

I have also been writing letters home to my family - I posted them on Wednesday night and they arrived by Saturday so its quite quick! 

This weekend has been really busy. My mum and dad went home today, so we went on a long bike ride yesterday. We got a bit lost and ended up at a shopping centre (yesss!), so we went for something to eat there and cycled back. The cycle system is really good here - you buy a card for 5 euros which gives you 5 hours of cycling (you don't have to do it all in one go), and then you can top it up so you can keep using it whenever you like. There are loads of different points where you pick up and drop off the bikes so you don't have to pick up and return them in the same place. We cycled through the park, down the river and around different cycle routes so it was a fun way to see more of the city. Another good thing is that there are specific cycle routes on the public footpath so you don't have to cycle on the road.

Today me, Niamh and Callum, who is also an Erasmus student from Warwick, went to Salamanca. It took an hour on the train, and we met up with Gianluca, who is staying there for his study placement. It is a really nice city and there are lots of pretty buildings. We went to a really nice tapas bar and then visited the Cathedral and looked at the university building there. It was a really nice day.

This week has literally been a rollercoaster of emotions. One minute I'm really enjoying it and the next I just want to go home, but I have only been here for a week so I'm sure I will settle into it once we have a timetable of classes and I get into a routine. Its really difficult at first because its all new surroundings but I do really like the city and the weather is still lovely here too!

Thank you for reading!

Grace

Day One

Hello everyone,

Thank you for taking the time to read my new blog! It is the first day of my study abroad placement, as I flew to Madrid yesterday to begin my Spanish adventure! For the next three months I will be studying Modern Languages at the University of Valladolid, which is a city in Spain, an hour’s train ride from Madrid. I am really fortunate because I don’t have to do it all alone -  I am living with my friend Niamh, also from Warwick University, and we are sharing a flat with a girl called Miriam. Here is us outside the flat we will are living in – we flew out a couple of weeks ago to find accommodation, and we liked this one as it feels really cosy, clean and safe, so was a great option for us.

Niamh and I visited Valladolid for three days in July so we could see what the area was like – we were both glad that we did as it made us both feel better, as we knew what it was like and got to know where places were (although we got lost so many times!). It is a small city, but there are always people wandering around, and there are lots of lovely shops and restaurants to visit.

I also came with my mum and dad, and we met up with Niamh's mum and nan. We came for a week and found our accomodation, visited the international office and got some things sorted out.

Today we have been to the university to try and work out which classes we want to do etc. - we ended up in a linguistics class which we weren't too keen on, and then we went to an introduction class that we realised we didn't actually need to go to, but we think we have worked out the subjects that we are going to take. We met some Irish people who are also Erasmus students and they seem really nice, so we are going to meet them at a bar tonight.

I am feeling really apprehensive and nervous, but hopefully once I get settled and used to the new surroundings I will feel a lot better. It is a really exciting opportunity, so I am going to write all about it on this blog! 

My mum and dad have travelled with me, and they are staying in a hotel nearby for the week – this was me and my mum at the airport yesterday morning!

I will write a new post soon!

Grace xx