Personal Erasmus Report by Max Krupp
Personal information:Max Krupp
g.m.krupp@student.rug.nl
Host: University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain Programme: Humanidades
For my exchange semester, I had the opportunity to go to the University of Deusto in Bilbao where I did not only quite improve my Spanish, but also got to experience and explore a different culture and its different people. Although I technically spent my time in Spain, it was less the Spanish culture but rather the Basque culture that I got in contact with, which made my stay even more special, as the Basque people are one of a kind – very friendly, proud and kind people.
My host university was the Universidad de Deusto, a private university founded by Jesuits over hundred years ago, which is also one of the best universities of the whole of Spain, especially in Economics and Law. It does, however, also offer a broad range of different courses, and due to some issues or shortages in the application procedure between the University of Groningen and the University of Deusto, I ended up studying Humanidades at the University of Deusto, meaning studying history in Spanish. The courses I took were History of America, Social
Movements in History, Diplomacy and Businesses, Basque and Spanish, all valuing 6 ECTS and
being taught in Spanish.
Studying in Spain was quite a difference in some ways. The quality of the education is good, although it is not comparable to the education in Groningen, as both universities follow different approach as to the style of their courses. In Bilbao, the study was more practice-oriented with less of a theoretical base, and I had far more hours of class during the week, in opposition to the rather self-study oriented hours at the University of Groningen. For the first time, I would only have exams at the end of the whole semester, reducing the stress and the pace at the same time. Furthermore, studying completely in Spanish was quite a challenge sometimes, which in turn compelled me into increasing my hours of studying Spanish and reading again what we learned in class – the outcome is now that I am quite fluent in Spanish, which also was my goal before going to Bilbao. I think therefore that I mastered this challenge, also because my teachers were quite content with me, which my grades also indicate.
The university itself offered me a warm welcome through several welcome activities (welcome drinks, a city tour, the opportunity to choose my courses by simply attending and then deciding) and provided me with a good level of information throughout the process. In the first few weeks, some mechanisms and procedures were rather unclear, but there was always a friendly person happy and capable to explain me everything and eradicate my doubt. The contact with the professors was on a personal level and very friendly, three of my classes had only 6 students with one professor, giving everyone the opportunity to discuss and fully understand the material at hand. Only one course was size-wise rather unsatisfying, as we had 50-60 students in attendance in a class-style between lecture and seminar, which made it hard to follow the course constantly, as the conversation would only focus on less than ten people. The professor, however, was a talented and friendly person who invited a lot of good guest speakers, which shed light for me on the Basque politics and economy, as most of them were working as professors or officials in the Basque country. In general, I am quite content with the academic offers of the University of Deusto. Regarding housing, the University provided its exchange students with the chance to book a flat via the university, using an interactive Google Maps map. Thereby I had an accommodation already in July and did not have to worry about finding something upon arrival, a feature which I found very pleasant.
In general, living in Bilbao was a nice experience, as the living costs are lower than in Groningen and as the weather is quite better. The people are very friendly and heartwarming (I only met two unfriendly Basque people, and both were drunk), and the simple fact of having mountains around provides the chance to go on a hike whenever you like, a possibility which I took with great pleasure every once in a while. As most people only speak Spanish, there is a certain language barrier, however I did not have any issues with it. I did also learn some Basque, the local language, however it is very difficult, its usage differs from village to village and everyone speaks Spanish, so that there was not a real need for knowing it. It did, however, give some interesting insights into the Basque culture.
To summarize, I had a very pleasant and exciting stay in Bilbao, getting to know a special part of Spain with its own unique history and culture. There is a great number of museums to visit, several locations to get into the local music scene and a great offer of activities around the Basque country (surfing, hiking, Basque sports), meaning there is more than enough to do
during a semester. Also, the rest of Spain is not very far away, and with the amount of work necessary for university, you always have time to travel on the weekend to see more of Spain, something which I would strongly recommend. You can also easily combine leisure activities, travelling and studying during your stay, only keep in mind that class attendance is mandatory. All in all, Bilbao has a lot to offer for a great stay and I already miss the city, while I am happy that I had the chance to get to know it.
