Clodagh Connolly - CEU San Pablo Universidad, Madrid, Spain

Erasmus Study 2021/22

"It was the experience of a lifetime and I'm very glad I got the chance to go! I would do it all again tomorrow if I could!"

Memorable moments

My most memorable moments are due to friends I made while I was studying abroad. From sunbathing by the pool in May/ June, going to the Christmas markets in December and eating in nearly every restaurant in Madrid, it was the friends who made every day so fun and special! There was never a dull moment.

Experiencing different culture and new campus

While I was abroad, I noticed the Spanish have a laid-back approach to life, quite similar to the Irish some may say. The midday siesta, the 8am-7pm class times and the 9pm dinner time are huge cultural differences I noticed.

The campus was not as modern as the UU campus and much smaller. The rooms were more like classrooms than lecture halls as the classes were smaller in numbers!

Challenges

The main challenge living abroad was the language barrier. I only had GCSE level Spanish, so my knowledge was very basic but when you know/learn enough to get by on the daily and you know your set routines etc. it is not as big of an issue as you would expect. Google translate helps and there are loads of night classes available for beginners to learn!

New people, new places

Making friends while studying abroad is really easy, a lot of people are on the same boat in terms of being away from home and being alone. I made a few friends through Facebook/ WhatsApp groups as well as just in my classes and on nights out at the weekends. You'd be surprised how many Irish are near you at all times!

The top things I did while I was away were travelling to other areas of Spain (such as Valencia and Alicante as well as smaller Spanish towns/ cities like Toledo and Aranjuez), embracing the culture of Madrid during their festivals/ holidays and definitely trying all the new food options that were available. The city is huge so you can find something new to do every day which I really enjoyed!

Advice

My advice is to just go for it. The thought of moving away from family, friends and home comforts may be daunting but you grow a lot as a person, meet so many new friends and find new comforts in a new city so it is definitely worth it!