If you ever get the opportunity to go study abroad, you should definitely do it. If you’re going to study abroad in Salamanca, I have some good news for you. It’s the perfect city for Erasmus students. Why, you ask me? Here’s why.
Latest update: 23 June 2019
Studying abroad a life-changing opportunity. You get a chance to learn a new language. You make dozens of new international friends.
There will be a lot of stories you can tell your grandchildren when you’re old and you’re chilling in your rocking chair.
You become more independent. You get a thorough insight into a foreign culture.
Going on Erasmus is an adventure if there ever was one.
Are those enough reasons?
If yes, good. Continue reading.
If no, you might as well close this page right now.
Salamanca is a true Erasmus city. Obviously, in order for a city to be qualified as an Erasmus city, it must be a university city first. Out of its 230,000 inhabitants, 30,000 are students, making them one of the primary sources of income for the city.
Out of these 30,000 students, you’ll find that around 9,000 students are on Erasmus in Salamanca.
That means that one in every four students is studying abroad there.
Let that sink in for a minute.
This, in turn, means that there are tons of things to do for these people. In other words: as an Erasmus student in Salamanca, you’ll never be bored.
There are two main Erasmus-oriented organisations in Salamanca: ESN and Nuve Erasmus. Both offer a great variety of things to do and trips.
On top of that, there’s this event called “Nochevieja universitaria”, which translates to “Academic New Year’s Eve”.
The concept of this event is that a lot – and I mean A LOT – of students, from all over Spain, gather in Salamanca to celebrate New Year’s, at the beginning of December.
If you have other friends who are studying elsewhere in Spain, this event is a fun way to see them again after a few months apart.
It’s surprisingly easy to be an Erasmus student in Spain. You’ll meet new people, make awesome friends and have the time of your life.
Like I said before, Salamanca has about 230,000 inhabitants. Now, for some people, that might be a lot, but compared to other major cities in Spain (or in Europe, for that matter), Salamanca is relatively small.
This can be both a positive and a negative aspect of life in Salamanca. On the one hand, you’ll get to come across people you know in the streets, you’ll basically know everyone and you’ll get more personal assistance in classes.
On the other hand, however, you might feel like you don’t have any privacy and you’ll want some time for yourself.
In the end, it all comes down to what kind of city you prefer.
In Spain, it’s a well-known fact that the inhabitants of Castilla y León are generally considered to speak the standard variety of Spanish. In other words, they don’t have a specific location-based accent.
Do you see where I’m going with this?
If you’re going on Erasmus, you’re probably looking to learn a new language (or at least enhance your knowledge of a language you already know).
In that case, I highly recommend going to a city located in Castilla y León. And, what do you know, that’s exactly where you can find Salamanca.
Another plus is that it’s relatively easy for a foreigner to understand what someone from Salamanca is saying, because they don’t really have any specific vocabulary or pronunciations.
As for me, improving my Spanish knowledge was more or less the only objective of my studying in Spain. And look how that turned out. 😉
Basically the entirety of Salamanca is made of the same kind of stone.
Most, if not all, of the buildings in the city centre consist of the same blond sandstone. There’s a reason why people call Salamanca the “Golden City” (La Dorada).
Despite – or maybe even because of – the recent oxidation and deterioration of the stone, Salamanca is still more than worth visiting. Or living in, for that matter.
In 1988, the Old City was proclaimed UNESCO World Heritage for “retaining its key attributes of authenticity in terms of form, design, materials, and substance”.
(Tip: Check out the Roman bridge at the south of the city, stretching over the river Tormes!)
Coming from a city where the authorities don’t really go out of their way to keep the city clean, it’s safe to say I was impressed at how clean Salamanca really is.
Every night, city workers set out with the mission to clean the streets – and they do a terrific job every single day.
It’s kind of funny to see these cleaning cars do their thing while you’re still going out at 3 am.
When I – and the other people who were on Erasmus in Salamanca – got my orientation at the beginning of the semester, we were told over and over again that Salamanca was a clean city.
I thought they were exaggerating, but as it turns out, they were more than justified to do so.
In those same orientation sessions, the chief of the police corps was also there to tell us all about how Salamanca worked.
In his five-minute speech, he must have said “Salamanca is a very safe city” at least ten times. It was a bit much, but he did get his message across.
During my four-month stay, I didn’t find out about any big crime once. That might be a coincidence, but I do believe Salamanca is generally a very safe and secure city.
My female friends told me they didn’t feel nearly as oppressed and viewed when they were walking home alone at night as they did at home.
If you’re a healthy mom looking into Erasmus destinations for your dear child, you might want to look away now. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Everyone who has spent some time in Salamanca knows about Varillas. It’s a restaurant that is pretty much only opened at night, where you can get French fries, kebab and hamburgers.
Located in Calle Varillas, right in the centre of the Salamanca nightlife, its main clientele is made up of drunk students who want to eat something greasy before they head home and wake up with a hangover.
I must admit, every single time I found myself in this restaurant, I was in that situation exactly. And I have no shame or regrets. Getting number 24 (fries, meat and sauce) here was often the best part of a night out.
Sitting at a table, engaged in drunk conversations with my friends while munching on some greasy food? Those are the things I’ll remember.
Looking into a place to study abroad in Spain, where people know each other, you can have a LOT of fun and your Spanish will increase drastically?
Go to Salamanca.
If I haven’t managed to convince you in this blog post, I’m afraid nothing will.
If you do go on Erasmus to Salamanca, feel free to send me a message or leave a comment for specific tips and tricks.
And as always, thanks for reading!
-S
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If you’re reading this post, it’s either because you 1. have plans of going on Erasmus in Spain; 2. want to go on Erasmus in Spain; 3. are an avid reader of Ars Currendi blog posts (yeah, right). Either way, here’s everything you need to know about studying abroad in Spain.
I’ll be arranging this post in the form of short, to the point tips that should help you survive your stay in Spain. I can’t give you any specific information about housing, weather or nightlife, because I only experienced those things in Salamanca. What I can do, however, is give you loads of information about those things specifically in Salamanca.
To start off, here are some images to give you an idea of what it was like.
Seriously. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to make any friends and have to spend 5 months crying myself to sleep because I felt so alone. Well, with the end of my Erasmus stay in Salamanca comes the realization that I had never made friends as easily as I did here.
As an exchange student, it’s incredibly easy to find other people who are right there with you. Most of you will arrive in the city at around the same time, which means that there is a truckload of people who are right there with you – alone and confused in a foreign city.
Obviously, student organizations know this. It happens every year. So they organize countless events to give all those students a chance to get to know some people and find friends.
I actually met most of my friends through these events, so I can tell you this. If you think you’re too awkward to go to these things, you’re not. I’m just about as awkward as they come around new people and I managed to make it work.
As Jan Levinson so eloquently put it in my all-time favourite episode of The Office, people in Spain often don’t even start eating until midnight.
Of course, that’s a bit of an overstatement, but it is true that the daily rhythm in Spain is very different from what I’m used to in Belgium. For example, Spanish people usually only have lunch around 2-3 pm. And then they take a nap.
The thing is, basically everything happens two hours later than it does in Belgium. In Spain, you get up later, you eat lunch later, you have dinner later and you go to sleep later. And that’s actually surprisingly easy to get used to.
This paragraph will have a number of very cheesy, or even cringe-worthy, statements. You have been warned.
If someone asks you to do something while you’re on Erasmus in Spain, do it! Whether it be a party, a picnic or just hanging out at someone’s apartment, I can guarantee that it’s going to end up being a lot of fun. Even if you don’t really feel like it.
After all, we only regret the chances we didn’t take. I’m just saying, I’ve never heard anyone say they regret spending time with friends.
This is your one chance to do some crazy things without anyone back home finding out. It’s your time to say YOLO and really mean it.
Having spent four months abroad, I am now certified to tell anyone and everyone that it goes by a lot quicker than you’d expect. It feels as if I just arrived here last week, but here I am back in Belgium. I’ve said goodbye to some amazing people and it breaks my heart to know that I probably won’t see some of them again.
Before I went to Spain, I thought that four months might be a bit much for a first-timer like me. But now, I realize it wasn’t even close to enough to do all the things I wanted to do.
So believe me when I say you should take advantage of the opportunities you get. You will most definitely regret it if you don’t.
I know, I know. Saying this makes me look like the biggest jerk you’ve ever met. But hear me out. School in Spain is relatively easy, especially if you’re coming from a country like Belgium, The Netherlands, the UK or Ireland. (There are obviously other countries that qualify as having “tougher education than Spain”).
That being said, you should not feel ashamed or bad about yourself if you skip on some schoolwork to go to a party or hang out with your friends.
This wouldn’t be a travel blog if I didn’t talk about travelling at all. So, here it is. If you’re studying in Spain, you have tons of opportunities to go travel and see lots of beautiful places.
On that note, go take a look at some of my videos (Salamanca, Bilbao/Gaztelugatxe, Segovia/Ávila, Barrio del Oeste, Morocco) to get some inspiration!
This is an important point because it’s often overlooked. Contacting the people responsible for your Erasmus stay in Spain is essential. For example, you should email your professor before the term begins to see if they even like exchange students. You need to find out what the assignment is if you didn’t hear it in class and you don’t have anyone who can tell you. You need to know when classes start and end. (I think you get the idea)
I said that making friends as an Erasmus students is very easy – and I stand by that. I’m just saying, you shouldn’t expect most, if any, of these friends to be Spanish people.
Anyone who has been an exchange student will agree with me when I say that natives don’t really care about them. I’m not judging them, because the exact same thing happens at my home university.
People won’t hate you, but they’ll mostly be indifferent about you. And that’s definitely okay, because you’ll have a very fun group of international friends to share your adventures with.
It’s terrifying and amazing at the same time. You’re independent but you share everything you experience with your friends. At times you’ll feel demotivated and lonely, but that only makes the other moments so much more worth it. After all, without the lows, you would never reach the highs.
I think it’s easier to explain what my stay in Spain was like with a video. So, without any further ado, here it is. The culmination of four months in Salamanca. Enjoy!
And as always, thanks for reading!
-S
If you don’t live in Salamanca or know anyone who lives there, chances of you having heard of the Barrio del Oeste are pretty slim. But hey, isn’t that what I’m here for? In this post, I’ll be showing you the beauty that is this neighbourhood, with its funky graffiti and cute coffee shops.
After some careful planning, my friends and I got together for an afternoon of wandering around the Barrio del Oeste.
The great thing about this neighbourhood is, obviously, the graffiti. There’s at least one piece of graffiti on every single street (or, at least, so it seemed). That’s the main reason why it was so much fun to just wander around. You don’t even need to have any idea as to where you’re going.
The fact that all of this graffiti was made by young artists – with permission of the city – just makes it even better. The project even got its own website, on which you can see every piece of graffiti that makes a part of the project. (It’s in Spanish, but that shouldn’t stop you!)
For anyone who’s too lazy to check out the website, who’s not coming to Salamanca any time soon or who just can’t be bothered to do anything other than scroll, here’s some pictures we took while we were there.
As if all of that wasn’t enough yet, there are quite some works where you can interact with the art. If you need any really cool pictures for Instagram, look no further. (Be creative: find new ways to interact with the graffiti and send them to me on Twitter or Instagram!)
All in all, we had a fantastic day at Barrio del Oeste. I’d say it’s definitely worth coming to Salamanca for this. As if you needed any more reasons. I’ll be sure to show this neighbourhood to my parents and my sister when they visit in December.
While I hadn’t even heard of this place until a couple of weeks ago and it was definitely not on my Spanish bucket list, I’m very happy I visited Barrio del Oeste (it’s free!).
There’s also a video!
I know this was a short post, but there really wasn’t much more to write about when you’ve seen the pictures. (I did promise a lot of pictures in my last post, didn’t I?)
As always, thanks for reading!
-S
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Everyone always says that a semester abroad is a life-changing event. After living in Spain for close to two months now, I’m starting to understand why. And I want to share it with you. Here’s a list of things I had never done before living in Spain.
I always thought that the cultural differences between Belgium and Spain were relatively small – and I was right. Nevertheless, living on your own in a foreign country can make you experience things you never thought you’d experience.
I know this list of events might seem trivial or unworthy of receiving any kind of attention, but to me, they’re special things. So, without any further ado, here are the things I did for the first time during my semester in Spain.
I still live at home with my parents, so laundry isn’t really something I usually do. I have to admit, the first time I did laundry here, I Skyped my mom to be sure that I was doing everything correctly. (Mom, if you’re reading this: thank you!)
Extending on the previous item on the list, a couple of weeks ago marked the first time I hung out my clean laundry after a night in the city. You might be thinking “Why would anyone do that instead of just going to bed?”, but I had my reasons.
You see, in that batch of laundry was one of my shirts that I needed the next day. When I came home, I suddenly realized that I would need the shirt, so I started hanging out my laundry, in the hopes that it would be dry by the time I woke up. And it was.
The climate where I’m staying is kind of special. It’s really hot in the summer (all the way through to the beginning of October), but then it gets really cold after that. So, my first month or so here, I experienced the best weather I’d ever experienced. It actually didn’t rain for a whole month. In Belgium, we’re lucky if we get a week without any rain.
In Belgium, I go everywhere by bike or by public transport. Here, things are a little different. Before I arrived in Spain, I was planning on renting a bike for the semester so I could get everywhere faster. Upon my arrival, I quickly realized that there were barely any bicycles going around here, so I decided to hold off on the whole renting a bike thing.
Now, I’m walking literally everywhere. I can get anywhere I need to be within 15 minutes, so I really see no reason for any other mode of transport.
I mean, yes, I have friends in Belgium and I love them with all my heart. It’s just that, here in Spain, everything is different. I don’t go home in the weekend, I have to be 100% independent. I think that’s part of the reason why I meet up with my new friends here more often.
There’s always something to do. An Erasmus organization planning trips to neighbouring cities. A group of friends getting together for dinner. Some promotion at the local movie theatre. I don’t want to miss out on all of this, so it feels like my social life here is way more lively than it was in Belgium.
The stores here are mostly the same as in Belgium, with one big, obvious difference: everything is in Spanish. Asking an employee where I can find red beans, communicating at the checkout, … My Spanish is pretty good, but I don’t feel confident enough to live my entire life speaking it.
Also, there is literally not a single store here that sells sour cream. I need sour cream, people.
This may seem like a stab at the people I know back in Belgium, but I promise, it’s not. I’m intensely happy here. I’m not saying my friends and family in Belgium aren’t good enough to make me happy, but hear me out.
Virtually everyone who has ever gone on a semester abroad says it was the time of their life. I feel like I’ve been in Spain long enough to understand what they’re talking about.
As an exchange students, it’s ridiculously easy to make new friends. After all, you pretty much only hang out with other exchange students, which means that everyone knows how you’re feeling and everyone is in the same boat.
The fact that you’re sharing unforgettable experiences with people you’ve only known for a couple of weeks is honestly mind-blowing to me. It feels as if you’ve been friends for ages, for some reason. It’s difficult to explain.
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I know it’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything on here, and I’m very sorry for that. It’s been incredibly busy here, and I haven’t really had a lot of time to update the blog.
I hope this post can answer some of your questions and maybe even entertain you a little bit. I had a lot of fun writing it, so I’d be a tad disappointed if you didn’t enjoy reading it just a little bit.
There are no pictures in this post for obvious reasons, but the next post will have images again, I promise.
In case you haven’t seen it yet, check out my new video of our trip to Segovia and Ávila!
As always, thanks for reading!
-S
I’m living in Spain now. I’m not going home until Christmas and in this post, I’m going to tell you how I feel about spending the next couple of months in Salamanca.
Disclaimer: I still don’t have a decent camera for pictures and I probably won’t for some time. I’m sorry about the crappy quality pictures, I’m working on it. Also, if anyone knows of any good cameras, feel free to let me know.
I’m just going to jump right into it. I love it here. Salamanca is the city I never knew I’d always dreamed of. On the one hand, the city centre is small enough for it to feel like a tightly-bound city of young, vibrant people. It’s also small enough for me not to need a bicycle, a car or anything else. After 10 minutes of walking, I can be just about anywhere I need to be.
On the other hand, Salamanca is big enough for it to feel like an important city in the landscape of Spain. On that note, there are tonnes of students here. I’ve been told that of its 140.000 inhabitants, 30.000 are students at the University of Salamanca (which was founded 800 years ago, by the way!). That group includes about 7.000 exchange students, so it’s easy to feel at home and make new friends here.
I’ve been here just short of a week, but I can already tell that the urban life in Salamanca is exactly what I’m looking for. To me, it feels like a low-key version of New York City – the city that never sleeps.
No idea if this is only for these first weeks or if it’s always like this, but it seems like there is always something going on. Food trucks, salsa classes, bull fights or pick-nicks in the park. I might not even get to do the things on my Spanish bucket list. Oh well.
To give you some kind of idea of the kind of things that happen here: this is what we came across on our second day in Salamanca.
These people were casually parading through the city centre, playing what I assume to be Spanish music. It was fun.
Oh. My. God. The food. The food is so good. Everything you’ve heard about the Spanish cuisine is true. Unless you’ve heard that it’s bad.
When my parents were still here, we went out to a tapas bar (yes, just tapas for dinner). In case I still haven’t made it clear yet, let me spell it out for you. D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S.
Here are some pictures of our tapas night out.
The city centre of Salamanca is not only lively and vibrant, but it’s also beautiful. Most buildings are made of some sandstone-ish stone, giving the city a very uniform but soft look.
Sights like this plaza are quite common throughout Salamanca.
Moreover, Salamanca seems to be very much based on its heritage, while it’s also a pretty modern-looking city. By ‘based on its heritage’, I’m referring to the old cathedral, university buildings and monastery (see picture below).
As far as nature goes, I have yet to see anything VERY impressive. I went to a park at about 10 minutes from my new home, there’s a river, and there are quite a lot of small green spots in the actual centre, but other than that, nothing really jumps to mind.
View of the river Tormes from the Puente Romano (Roman bridge)
Salamanca is the city of dreams. I’m incredibly excited to spend the next months here, because a semester abroad is basically like a very long solo trip (but you have to go to school as well).
I think I’ve made you all jealous enough for one blog post, so I’ll just call it a day here. I don’t know when I’ll upload my next blog post, but I’ll be sure to announce it on my Facebook page, so keep an eye on that.
P.S. Check out the travel video I made of my first few days here!
Thanks for reading!
-S
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