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Personal Erasmus Report

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Personal Erasmus Report

Host University:

University of Deusto – Bilbao / Spain

Name: UNIVERSIDAD DE LA IGLESIA DE DEUSTO ENTIDAD RELIGIOSA Country Spain

City: BILBAO

Program: International Relations and International Organization Exchange Period: 20.08.2018 – 16.01.2019

Helena Gutleb

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One semester in Bilbao:

Before giving a more detailed report of my Erasmus exchange semester in Spain, the courses I took, the host university, my accommodation and much more, I want to start by stating that this period abroad was one of the best times of my life so far. Not only did I get the opportunity to gain knowledge of topics that are not being offered at my sending university and thus I was able to diversify my field of study, but also did I get the chance to learn from a very international and multi-cultural atmosphere. Especially making the most of a relatively short time frame was extraordinary for me. Because all the international students know that their stay will be over soon, everybody tries to live life to the fullest and experience the city, the culture and the surroundings in its diversity. I will never forget the personal lessons I have learned in Bilbao, the friends I have made there and the overall experience living in the Basque country.

First, it might be of interest to future exchange students wanting to study at the Deusto University in Bilbao what courses I took, who my teacher’s were and how the quality of the classes is. The system of teaching is somewhat different than what I was used to in Groningen. The host university does not split the semester into sub-parts, meaning that all the courses you choose will start in September and end shortly before Christmas. Since a full-time study period entails 30 ECTS, I took 5 courses, which each accounted for 6 ECTS. Additionally I also took part in the Intensive Spanish language course prior to the start of the semester, which also accounts for 3 ECTS. I would strongly advice to take this Intensive course, because it does not only enable you to learn or refresh your knowledge of Spanish, but also gives you the opportunity to meet international students from different faculties. In my case this meant that I already knew some people before the semester started, and many of these people became very good friends. Moreover, you get to enjoy the summer in the Basque country some more, with trips to the beach and you get the opportunity to experience the Semana Grande, which is one of the biggest festivals in Bilbao. For one week the city is full of live music, Basque dancers, and people enjoying summer in the streets. I definitely would not have wanted to miss this! After the Intensive course the normal classes started in the first week of September. For the first two weeks you are allowed to go to all the classes that you are interested in before making a final decision about which courses to take. Depending on the schedule, you might have to be flexible. I had

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to change my preliminary list of courses, because many of them took place at the same time. Generally, all my classes took place in the mornings. I started at 9 o’clock and finished at the latest at 2 o’clock. Some of my fellow students were also able to have one or two days a week off in order to travel. Classes at Deusto consist of one or two consecutive hours of which one class takes 50 minutes. I followed a Regular Spanish course, which took place one hour everyday from Monday until Thursday. The course felt slower than the language classes in Groningen and I only went from B1.1 to B1.2. However, the teachers are vey competent and I felt that I was really learning to understand the nuances of the Spanish language. During the Intensive course Penelope was my teacher and during the Regular Spanish course Susana taught the classes. Both teachers were very enthusiastic and competent.

Beside these language courses I chose three courses from the Bachelor International Relations and one course from the Faculty of Business.

• Protection and Promotion of Human Rights taught by Dolores Morondo was an insightful course, which was critically trying to understand the obstacles for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights. This course consisted of lectures and student presentations. The lectures were very interesting in my opinion, but the student presentations took up too much of the time.

• Civic and Professional Ethics by Xabier Riezu was a course that sometimes was a bit repetitive, because the teacher tried to make the content as clear as possible. Nevertheless, towards the end of the course we were asked to apply the ethical concepts we discussed in class on a real life case study in the field of our future career. I enjoyed this course a lot and learned how to make a convincing argument in favor or against actions taken by the international community in conflict areas.

• Sergio Caballero taught Latin America in the World. This course was very interesting because it was a region I only knew little about. However, the teacher very often referred to content that local students had covered in previous courses, which meant that home study and individual research was necessary to make up for these gaps.

• Leadership and Team Building was the course I followed at the Faculty of Business and was taught by Leire Gartzia. Although interesting content wise, this course was a bit frustrating for me, because the book only arrived two

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months after the start of the semester, which meant that a lot of the reading had to be done last minute.

Overall the courses at Deusto are interesting and the actual studying to pass the exam is doable. The main thing to know beforehand is that all the courses have mandatory presence and that a lot of work is being expected during the semester. Contrary to Groningen where the main workload consists of reading, in Deusto most time is spent on group presentations and papers. The host university was very lenient towards exchange students and in every course an extraordinary exam was offered so that foreign students would not necessarily have to come back after Christmas. I did not choose this option, because I did not want to write 4 exams within 4 days. I returned after New Year to finalize two more exams. I returned to Groningen with very good grades within the Spanish grading system. However the conversion table for The Netherlands is not beneficial, so be aware that your grades will be lowered when returning to Groningen.

The host university was very helpful and started the semester with several introductory meetings that introduced the IT system and the process of enrollment for courses. At the end of the semester the international office also provided a meeting where they told us how to get the needed signatures before we leave and some other practical information. The only thing that was difficult, especially the first weeks, was finding the right rooms for the classes. What was a bit of a struggle for many international students including me, was that the Spanish culture is different than what we were used to. It happened several times that my questions and concerns were answered with “tranquila,” meaning that I should not worry and that everything will become clear. This of course was not always the most helpful response.

The university offers different forms of accommodation. I chose to apply for a shared flat through the university. This works as follows: I had to choose a top five of apartments (based on pictures, location, the number and sex of roommates and of course the price). The university than appoints one of the top five to you. In my case I even was asked if I would be willing to live with non-students, which I declined. I ended up in a really nice apartment with a Spanish and German girl, only ten minutes from the university. My landlady was really nice and fixed problems really fast, even without an official rent agreement. There are other possibilities like host families as well, but this information is really clear at the website of the university.

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From my home university I acquired all the necessary information and the contact via e-mail worked really well. Especially, when I had to change my Learning Agreement due to scheduling problems my home university was helpful to reply fast and resolve my doubts swiftly.

The expenses in Bilbao very much depend on your life style. My rent was slightly higher than my rent in Groningen and changed every month, because they calculate the expenses differently. On average my rent was €415,- each month and I had to pay one months rent (€395,-) as a deposit when I arrived. Most days I cooked dinner at home, which lowered my expenses, because groceries are slightly cheaper than in The Netherlands. I took a public transport card (Barik), which I mainly used to go to the beach. Public transport in general was not that expensive. I suppose that you would need an average of €800,- a month to live a comfortable life without too much luxury. As a student entrance fees for example museums are cheap and you could even consider a student membership for the Guggenheim for €5,- a year, which gives you discount at some other museums and for the Art After Dark parties at the Guggenheim. So my conclusion is that life is affordable in Bilbao.

One minor problem that I encountered was that my landlady only spoke Spanish, which was not a very big problem for me, but my roommate had never taken Spanish classes and frequently asked for my assistance to communicate with the landlady. Overall, the population in Bilbao is very friendly and helpful, but not everybody speaks English, so be prepared to use a dictionary or Google Translate. Another minor obstacle that I encountered was the difficulty to get in touch with locals. The Spanish students stayed together and although very friendly to exchange students did not seek much interaction with us. This complicated finding possibilities to practice Spanish.

Some personal recommendations:

• If you have the possibility, try to be in Bilbao during the Semana Grande, because this is a great way to experience and explore the city and all its secrets.

• Make sure to go to the Happy Erasmus and European Student Network offices to learn about all the offers they have. I went on several trips with them throughout the North of Spain, which really enriched my stay. Furthermore, these organizations offer Language Tandems, parties, dance workshops, etc…

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• I would recommend you to go on day and weekend trips. The bus is quite cheap or you can rent a car.

• Some places that I would definitely recommend you to visit:

San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, Zumaia, Lake Covadonga, Bardenas Reales,… To conclude, I can only stress again what a great time I had in Bilbao and that I wish anyone that goes there as much fun as I had. Feel free to send me any question you might have left.

Kind Regards, Helena

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