// Archives

No room to be shy when learning a new language

Post written by Anandeep Sandhu. As I said in my previous blog, something that really caught my attention when I arrived here in the southern Spanish city of Granada was the Andalusian accent. During my first few weeks it was quite challenging at times to understand what was being said when speaking to locals (even …

Noticing the confidence and fluidity of my spanish

Post written by Hannah Sheehan. Language acquisition could never be gained from simply holidays abroad and lessons in class. It requires dedication, a love of the language and to be truly immersed in the country and its culture. I know now that my year abroad will enable this to be possible. From the time I …

It doesn’t help that the Spanish talk at 1000mph anyway

Having been learning Spanish a rather long time, all the way through school and up until now, where it is half of my degree, many people ask whether I am fluent yet. I am still unsure with what to respond as I can definitely get by and hold a proper conversation, however complete fluency is …

Getting used to the accent in Barbate

Listening I was aware prior to arriving in Spain that the accent would be strong in Barbate because it is in Andalusia. When I arrived it was obvious from the start that the accent is extremely different from what we learn at University and therefore would take some getting used to. For example, they miss …

The other day I asked for a human breast instead of a chicken breast…

Post written by Madeleine Pitkin. I’ve now been living in Spain for almost three months, which is the minimum amount of time the university expects its language students to spend living in a country which speaks their chosen language, so I’d hope that my language skills would have improved by now. I was visited last …

Seville – everywhere you look there is something beautiful

When Karl Pilkington travels to India during ‘An Idiot Abroad’ he complains of neck ache because he is constantly turning around to look at all the different things going on around him. After the first couple of days in Seville I could definitely see where he was coming from. Everywhere you look there is something …

I was pleasantly surprised to see rows of palm trees and other exotic plants decorating the city

Post written by Jack Revell. I arrived in Melilla, a Spanish enclave in North Africa, from Madrid on a scorching hot Saturday afternoon. The first things I noticed when stepping off the plane were the thickness of the air due to the humidity and the menacing looking fences encircling the city, which separate the autonomous …

I will never regret my decision to study here

Post written by Ben West. Zaragoza, Spain After sharing the weight of my suitcase with a friend because of RyanAir’s forever-strict baggage restrictions, I arrived safe and sound in Zaragoza on September 9th, 2013. The first thing I have to give credit to is the Erasmus Student Network here at the University and their Erasmus …

Breathless in Peru

9th August was when I first touched down in Lima, Peru. I have been in Peru now for over 2 months and I am still loving it. Groggy after nearly 2 days of travelling to get there, when I first arrived in Lima I was not very impressed to say the least. The city is …

Laid back in Cadiz

Post by Georgia Brooks I have been in Cádiz, Spain for over a month now for the first half of my Year Abroad, and I finally feel like I belong, in this tiny and laid back little city. I flew over with two friends from university at the beginning of September and spent the first …