Universidad de Granada (UGR)

Talk to the people - they will give you advice on everything from the best travel agent to the best mobile phone to the best books for courses....they talk so much that they are your main resourse for most information. Some people will have difficulty leaving home for the first time, forming strong friendships and an active social life will soften the blow.

Brits can get a tax saving abroad but make sure that you get a form which means that you can arrange money transfers by fax. Then when you get here you can open an account and transfer by swift. Highly recommend visiting your UK bank before departure and consider opening a separate account with low charges on Pound/Euro exchange. Spanish banks will make you wait a couple of months before you have to re-apply for a cash card. Banks here offer much reduced services. Recommend you bank with a Caja with good national coverage, many are local eg: CAJA GRANADA has a branch on every st in Granada are very few in other cities. High charges for using other card group facilities. Nice you can charge mobile from cash-point. Mobiles here are v.expensive to run. Kids give each other tokes (missed calls) to get each others attention. Skiing is surprisingly expensive but there are cheap days "promocion". Wait for the snow or brake a bone (I did). Obviously be very careful with your wallet and mobile because they'll get stolen in two seconds, even though Andalusian are generally very decent and not prone to violence at all. Careful of gypsies and shabby looking women trying to read your palms. Some Spanish guys can give foreign girls stick (they often think you are guarra), but make Spanish guy friends and u have no problem. Meet some rich locals to really live it up.

Andalusian people have crazy ass accents and eat lots of letters, use strange phrases like "al carajo", "illo", and "pisha". Canarian people too, but they are very warm and easy going. Again nothing like staying in a private residence with lots of people to really learn good Spanish. I didn't mix with other ERASMUS students to concentrate and in hindsight a good balance may have been healthier because I arrived home really out of touch and missing Spain too much.

The best place for a botellon is always changing now. Nice places for tapas around Plaza de Toros and Calle Elvira. Best bars along Paseo de los Tristes (gay bars there too). Best clubs got to be Planta Baja and Sala Principe. Don't expect hip music, though! Find out about the ferrias and get to all of them - Cadiz, Xerez (la ciudad sin ley), Cordoba, Granada. Don't go home for easter - I took a trip to Cadiz coast and shot to Seville for a few processions and loved it. Gaditanos are the friendliest people in Spain. Trips to Alicante, Valencia, Barca, Madrid are all worth the crazy bus journeys. Guys join a "TUNA" its mad.

No university accomodation. Arrange in May/June time for a private residence. Otherwise arrive a couple of weeks early and really beautiful places can be found around Plaza Nueva. Trees are always covered in ads for flat-shares during the first term.