Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU

when i arrived, the university arranged a room in a students house, but there i had to follow a lot of rules. i chose to look for a room myself which is really easy in valencia because everybody uses posters to look for extra roommates. the prices are reasenable for what you get. i was really pleased with the flat and even more with my roommates...

in valencia there are lots of places where you can go to. in the city there is an area called Barrio Carmen. this is really the place to be. The street is filled with bars, pubs and clubs. Different kinds of music...all ages are mixed together here. Outside the city there are a couple of big clubs like The Face. At night there are special trains or buses that go there, but i've never been there because it's not my cup of tea. Every wednesday there is an erasmusparty in Warhol, a little club on Blasco Ibañez (a big avenue where most students live). When you register in with the local erasmus-organization you get a personal card an you will be informed of everithing the organization organises (fiestas, trips,...). In summer the beach-clubs open there doors. The amazing thing is that you dance outside, under the stars, right next to the beach, it's a magical feeling when you see the sun rise while dancing! There are a lot of nice little bars in valencia, when you walk around for a few days, you discover them yourself.

I thing going abroad as an erasmusstudent is one of the best things I have ever done. Oke, helpful advice: before comming here I think the best thing is to learn at least a bit of spanish or follow a local course (because it is really frustrating when you can not express yourself). Do not pay too much for renting an apartement. e.g. for 60.000 pesetas you can have a flat with 4 bedrooms, kitchen (fridge, micro-wave, washingmachine,...), living-room... when you find 3 others students to live with, this is really a good price (each 15.000 pesetas a month). sometimes you can even find cheaper. I can tell from experience that you will have too many luggage when you go back home. There are a few ways to get extra kilos at home: by post or by bus. There are a lot of buses that go to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam... you can send luggage with it, without going yourself and at a good price (just make sure that there is somebody to pick up that luggage).

Cost-saving tips: at first when my roommates and I went shopping for food, we took the brands that we knew. But after a while we just took the cheapest ones, they taste the same. When you're looking for extra furniture you can look in the streets, that's what I did (I turned into a bum). In spain there are big containers in the streets where people get rid of their garbige. A lot of people also put old furniture in the streets, you can easily take them away (this way we got a salon-table, a desk, little wardrobe,...).

When I arrived in spain, I only had three month of spanish lessons before. I thought I would be able to (at least) understand the people...but I didn't. The first few weeks I had a lot of difficulties in expressing myself. I was a tourist during the courses. But in spain it is easy to follow a spanish course, so I did. After that and also by talking to local students, my spanish improved.