Maddie
BA Modern Languages (Spanish and German)
Universitat Jaume I, Spain
Albert Ludwigs Universitat in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
My name is Maddie and I studied at 2 different universities on my year abroad, firstly at the Universitat Jaume I in Castellon de la Plana, which is located on the coast of Spain, and secondly at the Albert Ludwigs Universitat in Freiburg im Breisgau, located in the south of Germany, in the Black Forest area. My study exchanges were such incredible life experiences, as well as important aspects of my academic career, and I would strongly recommend that Surrey students take advantage of this opportunity.
My main goals for my year abroad were to practise my Spanish and German language skills, as I study Spanish and German which I definitely did, but I also got so much more from the experience than that. I made life-long friends from countries all over the world, of course including Spain and Germany but also New Zealand, Italy, Mexico and Canada. I made friends with local students from my classes and the people I lived with.
I received Turing grants, which helped with my living costs, as well as a Santander bursary*. This gave me extra financial security and allowed me to travel whilst I was abroad, which further enhanced my personal development.
Whilst I was in Spain I travelled along the coast to Alicante and Murcia, as well as visiting Madrid and Bilbao for weekend trips. In Germany I went to Munich, Hamburg, Mainz, as well as crossing the border to visit Strasbourg. I also took the opportunity to go to Switzerland, where I went hiking for a few days which was incredible and something I have always wanted to do. These are all places I had never been before so I was extremely grateful for the chance to explore them with my new friends.
In Spain I bought a train pass that allowed me to travel between Castellon and Valencia as many times as I wanted for only 10 euro, and the best part of this deal was that the money was refunded if you travelled more than 20 times, which I did! In Germany, I bought a travel pass that allowed me to use any regional train and local transport i.e. trams and buses in the whole country for 49 euro a month, which I also definitely made the most of! These passes made travelling around the countries a lot cheaper which was important for me as visa restrictions meant I couldn’t get a part-time job whilst I was abroad meaning I needed to be mindful of my budgets.
*Please note that Santander grants are no longer available to students going abroad but there are other scholarships and bursaries that students can apply for. See the Funding page for more information.
