From the Netherlands to London and now from London to Barcelona. I am writing this blog post sat in the cutest café just opposite the beautiful ‘Catedral de Barcelona’ in the very heart of Barcelona.
How is this possible you may ask? The simple answer is spontaneity, a smidge of confidence and of course, the amazing Erasmus.
Let’s start from the beginning.
Generally, if you are going to do an exchange in second year, you would start planning it in first year. This wasn’t exactly the situation in my case, it was a very last minute and spontaneous decision.
One day my friends and I were sat in spoons (a pub chain in the United Kingdom) when we received an email saying that a few spots were left to do exchange in Spain or Czech Republic. My Friend, Jada, and I looked at each other and thought “let’s do it” and just like that we emailed back saying that we would love to do an exchange in Spain. We did have a quick browse at both the Czech university and the Spanish university before making the decision, but it was an obvious choice for us as the Spanish courses seemed much better.
Although I say it was a very spontaneous, I do have to mention that an exchange had always been in the back of my mind, being someone who really wants to see as many countries as possible before I die, I knew it would be a great opportunity. I had originally tried to apply to study in Chicago in the United States however no spots were left and the fees were a bit pricy anyway. After this I had begun talking myself out of it, thinking that I had only been studying in London for a few months so why would I already want to move away from the incredible city. But if I wanted to see the world, I couldn’t think like this… if an incredible opportunity is thrown at me, I figured I should take it.
The Process of Applying
The process between deciding we would like to do it and being accepted to the university is the boring yet very important part … paperwork. We had a bunch of documents that we had to fill out. Just in case you are interested in doing Erasmus (which I highly recommend) I will explain a few of the most important documents.
The Application – this was one of the more fun ones as I had to pick out the courses that I would like to take in Barcelona, this mainly consisted of looking through all the courses they offered in English and choosing the ones you like most. Also included in this document is information about you… the basics.
The Grant Agreement – IMPORTANT! Once of the best things about Erasmus, which I didn’t realise was a thing until applying, is that they give you a grant that you don’t need to pay back. This form is all about this.
The Learning Agreement – This document also regards the courses that you will be taking at the new university, you would fill it out just like in the Application however this form allows for you to later change the subjects if any issues arise (you found out they aren’t in English or are from the wrong semester etc..)
There are a couple other important documents such as travel insurance, sending off passport scans and transcript of records (which your university should send to you). Although it does take a bit of time and is a bit boring… I mean who likes paperwork?… it’s really not that bad. You just need to sit down and get it done rather than putting it off.
During this time, it was a lot of back and forth between both our university and the university in Barcelona, making sure we were sending everything off and that we had filled everything out correctly.
Another struggle for myself personally was that I was living in a two bed-flat with one of my friends and we had signed a year contract. So, during this process I also had to figure this situation out. Finding someone new to live in my room and change over all of my electric/gas bills, finding out where to put all my stuff etc… this was the most stressful part for me. But it just required a bit of time and effort.
When Jada and I finally got our official email that we had been accepted into ‘Universitat Internacional de Catalunya’ we couldn’t have been happier. This meant that we could look for a place to live and actually start packing up all our stuff and, in my case, finally accept someone to take my room in London. My amazing Friend Kika decided to take my room and I honestly couldn’t have gone if it wasn’t for her so I am very lucky to have her in my life.
Finding a place to live
When it comes to the process of finding a flat, I can’t be of much help because I was very lucky.
We started off as everyone else would, looking at millions of different websites to try and we weren’t having much luck as everything was very expensive. A little tip that I can give you is to check on your new universities website as they probably have accommodation themselves or will suggests trustworthy website to use.
We eventually managed to find two different, two-bed flats which we were quite happy with, however they were still above our budget. This is when a miracle happened…
I had remembered that one of my friends, Daniella, who studies in the Netherlands had done an internship in Barcelona and so I messaged her and she sent me the number of her landlord to ask him for advice. However, I didn’t have to ask him for advice, because he happened to have two bedrooms free in the flat that Daniella had stayed in. The landlord generally rents out places for students doing Erasmus exchange or internships, meaning that the flat is in an amazing area and the price is extremely ideal for students.
The landlord was incredibly kind and helpful, sending us many videos and pictures of the place and since one of my friends had lived there, we knew that he was reliable. The flat wasn’t absolutely beautiful or anything special but it was exactly what we needed.
This was a big weight off our shoulders because it meant we would have a stable place to move straight into once we arrived in Barcelona.
Booking flights
Next up was booking the flights, before doing this we had to make sure we had the correct dates when we needed to be at UIC (our university in Barcelona). We received an email from UIC with the dates of the Welcome weeks for Erasmus students, we had to arrive by the 16th of January. The welcome week would consist of a few days. An introductory day where we would meet other Erasmus students, our tutors and get a tour of the university. A day where we would have two workshops, Catalan for Dummies and cultural activities. Finally, the last day where we would have a tour of Barcelona.
Once Jada and I knew the dates we could plan out exactly when we wanted to arrive, we wanted to be there a few days before so that we could explore a bit and make our flat feel cosy. We decided to arrive on the 13th, we would have liked to go earlier however it didn’t work because of work and other reasons.
When booking out flights, the main thing we payed attention to was how many bags we were allowed, we wanted to be able to have two hand luggage items (handbag and small suitcase) and one checked in suitcase. We also wanted to make it wasn’t too expensive. We did a lot of research, comparing different flights with each other, Jada was very good at this and made a list of airlines with their prices and how much luggage we could have. We ended up choosing a company called ‘Vueling’ as it allowed us to have just what we needed. We chose an early flight as it meant we could have the entire day of the 13th to spend in Barcelona.
When booking the flights, we only booked a one-way as we don’t exactly know when we will return. We were told about Erasmus internships, which meant that after we finish at the university, we can stay on in the summer to do an internship and Erasmus would supply us with another grant. All we would have to do is find the internship and make sure it was related to our course. This is something I would love to do and so I will most probably definitely end up doing this if I can find something. We also didn’t book a return as we didn’t exactly know when our exams would be, however this isn’t something to stress about because the universities are very supportive in these situations.
Packing up all your stuff
Packing… packing…. packing… the most stressful part overall. If you are anything like me and have a lot and I mean a lot of stuff, this is a big struggle. Moving to a country for 6 months and only being able to pack a few bags is incredibly difficult. When I moved from the Netherlands to London, I drove over with my parents, meaning I had a car full of stuff, how could I possibly get a car full of stuff (plus all the new things I bought in London) in a few suitcases? I couldn’t… that’s how.
I had a lot of stuff that had to go into storage anyway, such as my TV, PS3, table, my mannequin, clothing rack and a bunch of other decorations in the flat so this meant my clothes would have to go with them. I had to be very brutal when packing, however I still ended up having to book an extra checked in suitcase, not even thinking about how I would manage to travel with them.
Anyway, I am not going to talk too much about the painful process of packing, I am just going to give you a few tips.
- Bring any important documents that you think you might need in any scenario, for example a scan of your passport.
- Make sure you have all your medication sorted as it might be slightly different where you are going. In my case I had to get 6 months’ worth of the pill to cover me while abroad.
- Buy a bag weighing thingy, I made sure to weigh all my bags to ensure that I wouldn’t have to pay any extra costs when checking in the bags.
- If you have the space, bring one or two personal items, I brought a canvas of my dog and a frame of my uncle. Some people may think this unnecessary however you have to remember you are going somewhere for a long period of time so you want to feel comfortable while you are there.
- When it comes to clothes you need to be brutal, think about the weather where you are going and only bring the clothes that you are definitely 100% going to wear, not that one top you love so much but never wear or that skirt that will fit you perfectly once you lose a few pounds. Bring what you know you like. If you have a pair of trousers and a top that only good together, ditch it, bring stuff you can mix and match.
- A similar tip for shoes, shoes are all the hype at the moment but you don’t need 20 pairs, again think about the weather and which pair can go with everything and choose them like that.
- Regarding your wash bag, don’t make it massive as it really can take up a lot of space. A lot of countries will have very similar shampoos and conditioners or moisturisers. If you have left over products, don’t bring the whole bottle, use travel-size bottles, this saves so much space. Bring your essential makeup, not all the little bits you sometimes use on nights out.
- Electronics, if you are someone like me who had cameras, gimbals, microphones and all these types of things that you definitely would like to bring with you, it’s all about packing them carefully. I had three or four cases for each item, which takes up a lot of space. Instead I bought a handy bag and managed to wrap the different items in newspaper and get them all into this one bag. I was nervous they would break, but as long as you wrap them and are careful with placement it will be fine. This saved me so much space.
Good luck with packing and I hope you don’t have to struggle as much as I did when travelling, I would say stick to a hand bag, a small suitcase and a big suitcase and don’t book in an extra bag like I did… because wow was that a struggle!
Moving Day
The 13th of January came around extremely quick, with the days leading up to it being full of packing, planning and saying goodbye to my amazing friends.
I woke up around 5 in the morning, giving myself enough time to get ready for the travels ahead and pack the last little things that needed to go into my handbag. I got ready a lot quicker than I thought I would, which was definitely due to my excitement. At this point, I wasn’t nervous what’s so ever, I was only filled with excitement and I couldn’t wait to be in Spain. I do think this had a lot to do with the fact that I have already experience a very similar change.
The main struggle of this morning was getting from my flat to my uber, my flat consists of a bunch of steps and no elevator, thus carrying all my heavy bags took me quite a while.
The next thing I know, I am in the arms of Jada at the train station, us both filled with excitement and ready to get to the airport. Although it was extremely early in the morning, the entire train journey we were chatting away about everything.
Once arriving at the airport everything went pretty smoothly, there was no queue for our airline which meant we immediately checked in our bags and could move onto security, where once again, there was no queue.
I’ve honestly never been so lucky at the airport; however, this did mean that we had quite a while to wait. We made the most of our time by heading to spoons (can you see the obsession?) and getting a delicious breakfast. Jada and I both got pancakes with maple syrup and a load of fruit.
Next thing you know, BAM, we were on the plane, looking down at Barcelona from the clear bright blue sky. The flight flew by…. badumtssss… and we landed in no time. We collected our bags and took a taxi from the airport to our new flat, which only took about 30 minutes and was extremely cheap. Don’t be afraid to get a taxi in Spain, they’re nothing like the black cabs in England.
Our landlord, Miki, was waiting for us at the flat. He helped us bring our bags upstairs, which I couldn’t have been more grateful for because I was really struggling at this point! Once we got inside he gave us a tour of the place and then we sat down for an hour or so and he told us everything we needed to know. Giving us tips on travel and the best places to visit, the closet supermarkets etc. Preparing us for the months to come.
After a while he left, leaving Jada and I to start making this place feel like home. We needed a bunch of things for the flat (such as towels and pillows) and we also wanted to go exploring, so we thought why not go shopping.
After eating a delicious burrito, waiting in line at Primark for an hour and spending 3 long hours in the very big, and very confusing Spanish supermarket, we finally made our way home.
Being very similar people and now having all the extra bits we needed, Jada and I wanted to unpack and get our rooms feeling all cosy. So, we blasted some music and spent the rest of the evening unpacking all our stuff and making our bedrooms feel like home.
The first day seemed to be a success, we got to explore our area a little bit, discovering all the cute shops around us and the beach which is about a 10-minute walk from us. We also got a chance to see how public transport in Spain works and we discovered our go to supermarket. After just a couple of hours, it was already feeling like home.
……and now the adventure officially begins!
Check out my podcast episode ‘Come Fly With Me’ to Barcelona where you can come along the journey of me moving from London to Barcelona. Enjoy listening!
TRAVEL WITH ME 