Study abroad: Andy's story
Published on 28 October 14
Ahead of next week's Study Abroad Fair, we spoke to students who have been there and done it. Meet Andy, who spent a year at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in Spain. Here is his story:
I first decided that I wanted to study abroad in the year preceding my entry to university. I spent a pre-university year in industry placement with Procter & Gamble working on a research and development site. The site was in Newcastle but the workers were of all different nationalities, most being able to speak at least two languages. I had only studied Spanish to AS-level but working with all these polyglots invigorated me to take it back up, I called the University and switched from my ordinary Physics course to one that included a year abroad.
I organised my flat about six months before leaving via a website called Erasmate, which specifically helps Erasmus students find apartments. I organised it with a course-mate and ended up with two other Erasmus students in a large 6th floor flat with a spacious balcony overlooking a local park and outdoor swimming pool. There was no greater feeling than returning from university and eating on the balcony, enjoying the beautiful colours of the Madrilenian sunset. It ate up quite a large chunk of my Erasmus grant in the end but I can quite honestly say that I will never live somewhere so amazing again for quite a while.
When the time came round to leave for Spain in my third year, I had studied one module of Spanish each year bringing me up to about the B1 level (A1 being beginner, then A2, B1, B2, and C1 and C2 being basically fluent), which I was quite worried about as all of my classes would be in Spanish! I took a two-week intensive Spanish course in Barcelona before moving to Madrid which really improved my confidence and let me really settle into Spanish life.
I arrived in Madrid on my 22nd birthday and celebrated with my flatmates who I'd just met that day by having a nice meal in the centre. University wouldn't start for another two weeks so I really had time to settle in and learn the ways of the city: getting a metro pass, opening a bank account, buying a Spanish SIM etc. By the time Uni came around I was all ready for it.
I found that, in Autonoma at least, student societies weren't really a thing. They had sports facilities, but if you wanted to play a game you had to organise the guys together yourself, and there was no real difference between fresher's week and the rest of the weeks. This would have scuppered my plans for making friends had the one student society that existed not stepped in.
The Erasmus Student Network (ESN) is a society in universities all over Europe usually ran by students returning from their year abroad. This society was basically my social life for the entire year. They put on information sessions, social events, trips to different cities and festivals, organised language exchanges and more. Through them I met people from all over the world and it gave me a great opportunity to interact with Spanish natives who had also been abroad and so were more understanding of communication difficulties. Now I have lots of friends from all over Europe and even as far as Australia and South America whom I keep in contact with and I've already met up with some of them in England.
On the academic side, I initially found it very difficult; the Spanish speak so fast! And trying to concentrate in a second language for consecutive hour-long lectures is really hard. The courses were also more intensive than in Manchester with almost double the contact hours, regular assessment throughout the term via partial exams and less support available. In the end I failed two exams in the first semester but found that this was quite common and you actually get three attempts in total throughout the year.
For the second semester I hit the books harder and managed to pass all of my exams including resits (except for one, which actually turned out to be pretty much a pass after the grade conversion) achieving a grade only 5% lower than my Manchester average which I was really chuffed about. It made me really glad that I had stuck in with all of the work as it had been easily the hardest academic year of my degree. It's made me feel more confident in my abilities and of what I can achieve even in high stress environments.
Overall, I feel that my year in Madrid has had an effect on me akin to a chemical reaction; I feel that I am a drastically different person to who I was beforehand. More focused, more motivated, more confident and more aware of what fulfils me.
When undergoing the course I was aware that there were a large proportion of Erasmus students from other universities and countries for whom there were no real academic consequences for doing badly in their modules, and at the time I found this very unfair. But looking back now I realise it has helped me to challenge myself to the limits and in the end I achieved a year of balance between hard work and profligate play.
I ran through the tomato-covered streets of La Tomatina, watched as a grown man dressed as the devil jumped over a mattress of new-born babies at El Colacho, spent a night in the snow-covered mountains near Madrid, walked amongst the KKK look-a-likes of the Seville Easter celebrations as they casually wander the city and stood on The Rock of Gibraltar and seen Africa from a whole continent away. I wouldn't have changed a thing about my year abroad and Ill never forget it."
The Study Abroad Fair is taking place on Tuesday 4th November, 12pm-4pm in Academy 2 in the Students’ Union and gives you the opportunity to explore the options for spending a period abroad at an overseas university as part of your Manchester degree.