Type of housing: Apartment/House

Arranged by: Independently - My choice

If returning, I would choose: Apartment/House

Why? When you share an apartment with another person or more people, you have a unique opportunity to get know people, learn and practice different languages, learn to understand and appreciate differences in culture and customs.

Personal comments:
In my opinion, you will be far better off if you try to find accomodation yourself perhaps in the company of another person. It seemed to me that the univerisity could not meet the demand for accomodation on campus and besides it proved relatively easy to find good accomodation for a reasonable price in a centric location.

Describe host city: Student life dominates the city

Travel: Takes place mostly outside the university/student environment

Activities, Nightlife: Takes place both within and outside of the university/student environment

Personal comments:
A place not to be missed, is the area around the foot of the Alabaizin. Here you will find discos, local tapas bars, an Irish pub and even 'teterias' which are teahouses that virtually take you on a trip back to the ages when the Moros ruled the city.

Course recommendations:
Take the courses that you feel will be of interest and use to you. There is no point taking up courses that will not be worth your time for one reason or another. I based my overall evaluation on the following criterias: - likelihood of accreditation by home university - of particular academic interest - of particular personal interst - lecturer (teaching method and clarity of language) - fellow students

Personal comments:
I had a very good academic experience because I took up courses in which I felt a good reason to invest time and energy, however I felt that the system itself had several flaws. Firstly, the exams where very short and intense. They did not give you the chance to think things through and express your ideas throroughly. Secondly, good grades could be obtained simply by copying exactly what the lecturer had said in class. Another difficulty was the lack of support from the International Office at the university which was virtually absent. I did feel that I had a rewarding year at the univerisity, but there are certain improvements that could have resulted in an even better experience.

Language of instruction: Spanish

Main source of funding:
An ERASMUS grant

Other sources of funding:
Personal savings
Government assistance

Work opportunities:
I didn't explore any work options

Personal spending habits:
As food, telephone and accomodation is considerably cheaper in Spain than in Norway. However, Granada's nightlife was not to be missed so I ended up going out a lot more than I was used to do in Norway. The fact that I was in a new country with lots to see, I was also encouraged to travel around in Spain.

Travel, Nightlife, Overall: was more expensive than at home.

Food, Telephone, Housing: was less expensive than at home.

I wish I had known...
How cold it can be during winter! Bring proper clothing!

In my opinion:
Most people loved it.