Leona (left) made friends while studying in the South of Spain.
Leona Berengo of Germany took her fifth semester in Malaga as an exchange student. It was a challenging and exciting experience with nice co-students and introductions to speed-talking Spanish people and ‘Ultimate Frisbee’.
Read more about her experience here:
Arrival 27th of August
First impressions
The cheapest way for getting from the airport into the city is by train (€1,80). Even though I arrived in the morning it was hot and humid. It was a good decision to come at the end of August because otherwise it would have been way too hot!!
The city centre is quite busy and the historical parts are beautiful but sometimes when you turn around a corner there is a strong smell coming from trash bins and dog poop.
I found a place to stay for the first few days through a Facebook group called ‘Alojamiento para Erasmus en Malaga’. It is located close to the ‘Plaza de la Merced’ where most of the Erasmus students spend their evenings and is perfect for exploring the city.
First days in Malaga
It has been easy for me to adapt to the siesta so far as it becomes so hot between 12pm and 4pm that you rarely want to leave the house during this time. Nevertheless, it is sometimes strange that the closest supermarket is closed between 2pm and 5.30pm. There are plenty of minimarkets though which are open almost all the time every day. The beaches right next to the harbour are alright but for swimming I prefer the ones a bit outside the city.
I decided to get a bike to explore the outskirts and also for getting to the Spanish course which takes place in El Palo (around 4-5 km from the centre).
Spanish Course
The Spanish Course is organized for Erasmus students and lasts three weeks. The quality of the classes depends on the teacher. For me the classes are not too interesting but they are good for getting to know the other Erasmus students and the teachers are organizing several social and cultural events for the students.
Matriculation
The matriculation was a bit of a hassle, as my coordinator turned out to be my tutor not coordinator and other small complications but in the end, it all turned out just fine. So, I recommend to start the process as soon as possible in order to have time enough to make changes in courses, etc.
Lectures September/ October
My first lectures were quite difficult and most of the time I was the only exchange student. The lecturers were talking about a lot of organizational stuff and I had to ask every one of them personally to get access to their class in UMA’s “studynet”.
I found out later that at least in the engineering faculty there are always two classes of the same subject at the same time with different lecturers. In two cases, the lecturer of the other class is a lot better at explaining so it is worth it to talk to someone that knows the lecturers or to try both before settling for one. I was quite surprised when we started forming groups in every single course of the communications faculty because I had been told that there is rather little group work happening in Spanish universities.
I managed to get into groups with Spanish people in all of them but it was difficult, as I didn’t know any of them and even though I understood a lot of what was being said, it was hard to take part in the conversation.
They didn’t only speak very fast, but also interrupted each other constantly, which made it basically impossible for me to contribute something. In the engineering faculty, I got to know some of my classmates and started spending time with them. They are super kind and love to help whenever I don’t understand something. Furthermore, the professors offer meeting times to ask questions regarding the theory discussed in class.
Sports and other Activities
In the very beginning Pablo, a friend that I got to know in Horsens, introduced me to a sport called Ultimate Frisbee, which is Frisbee played in teams. I started taking part in the trainings they have at the beach and it has been a wonderful experience so far.
Not only is it good to do some physical activity after sitting in lectures all day but it is a beautiful way for getting to know some of the local people and to practice Spanish. Next weekend we will go to a tournament in Seville and I am already excited. This weekend the school offers a free trip to Ronda so I will go there with some friends.
November/ December
The tournament was great. I met Pablo again and despite the rain we enjoyed the matches. Me and three guys from my team decided to spend the night in Seville where we went out with a bunch of Frisbee players. Due to a lucky coincidence, I got a spot at a beach tournament that took place at the beginning of December. Sadly, that was exactly that weekend with so much wind and rain that many cities were flooded but we made the best of it. There were a lot of Spaniards but also Germans, Brits, French, Italians and others.
After these first months, I still sometimes don’t understand everything but I feel comfortable and am constantly getting to know new people. My Frisbee team feels like a family and at university I started meeting with classmates to prepare for the exams.
Towards the end of December, the weather got beautiful again. The sun is shining almost all the time and we have about 18 degrees. The long hours of daylight are a beautiful contrast to the cold, dark winters in Horsens. My sister, dad and a friend from Horsens came to visit during the last weeks. It was wonderful exploring Malaga a bit more and now I am grateful for a few days by myself because in January my exams start and at the end of February I will move to Italy to start my second Erasmus. I am so excited. I already found a Frisbee club there. Let’s see how things go.
January/ February
The time just flew by! Now I am already on the plane back to Germany and reflecting on all the beautiful experiences. January was quite stressful because all the travelling left little space for studying and other activities. Nevertheless, I enjoyed meeting all those new people and spending time with Helle, who is organising the fairs.
The exams took place in February and were difficult to prepare for me because I was not used to learning large amounts of information by heart anymore. I decided to drop one of the courses in the middle of the semester because I’d rather prepare well for 4 exams than poorly for 5. I already passed 3 exams and am waiting for the results of the last one.
In the last week of exams we had a women’s tournament of frisbee in Alicante which was exiting. Before I had always played in mixed teams and the dynamics can be quite different. About one thing I’m sure: I still need to practice a lot.