I have discovered a second country to call home
Marco
from
Netherlands
went on exchange in
Spain
with
Erasmus+ studies within programme countries
I got the opportunity to study abroad in Zaragoza, Spain! I had the best time ever while making new friends, discovering a new country and developing my personal skills. It was truly an amazing experience: I discovered how wine is made in La Rioja, I saw the Roman soldiers march during Semana Santa in Valencia, I tasted fuet (a type of Spanish meat) that was homemade by a Spanish farm owner, I saw the bulls run through the streets during San Fermin in Pamplona, I visited beautiful medieval villages and much more! I have discovered a second country to call home, and I will definitely go back! Leaving Spain will be hard, but I look back at a time in which I not only got to enjoy life in a beautiful, sunny country but also at a time in which I got to develop myself on a personal and professional level.
For me, finding housing was the hardest part of arranging my semester abroad. However, there are usually a lot of ways to find suitable housing for affordable prices. The hosting institution can help you with finding an apartment, you can ask students from your own university who studied in your host city previously, you can search for mediators online or you can look for groups on social media. One important thing to keep in mind is that in some social media groups, people raise the prices of housing because they know that for international students it is less easy to find an apartment. So, when looking for an apartment, keep in mind that advertisements specifically aimed at international students could show a higher price than advertisements aimed at local students.