Spain - #BIMdannmalinSpanien

Antonia: Hello and welcome to our THWS podcast #Bimdannmalweg. In this podcast we talk about experiences of students who have been abroad for a semester and today we have Anton here. Hello Anton.

Anton: Hello Tona

Antonia: Before Anton introduces himself, I'd like to say a little bit about myself and why I'm here. As you have already noticed, I am not Lara. Lara is working on her bachelor thesis and that's why I took over the podcast. And of course I try to gather experiences from students for you like with Anton today. My name is Antonia and I am studying International Management in my sixth semester and I have already spent a semester abroad. I was in Murcia, Spain, as was Anton, who would like to introduce himself briefly.

Anton: Hi. I'm Anton, 22 years old and in my sixth semester of the International Management program. I'm now in my major and spent a semester in Murcia a year ago.

Antonia: Let's start with why you chose Murcia, Spain/this university.

Anton: I have to say I decided from the first moment to go to Spain, not specifically to Murcia. Spain is an unbelievably beautiful country, I was already able to learn the language a bit and wanted to brush up on it a bit. And Murcia caught my eye because of the English language courses offered there. My Spanish is okay, but it's not good enough for studying, so I decided to go to Murcia.

Antonia: Exactly, it was the same for me. Spain was my focus for me and also because of Corona there was only a relatively small selection. I didn't know that you were the other student who was also going there until we got together. Otherwise, I was also drawn to Spain by the sun! Sun, warmth, beach, sea!

Anton: Definitely. Even though Murcia itself doesn't have a beach, which I actually found very pleasant, because it wasn't a tourist magnet. There were a lot of international students, but it wasn't a tourist stronghold like Barcelona is now.

Antonia: There were simply no tourists there.

Anton: That's one way of putting it.

Antonia: Every time someone asks me where I went for my semester abroad and I say Murcia, they always ask "Where is that?"

Anton: Yes that's true. Alicante is the city I always mention, about 50-60km north of Murcia, which is then again very well known and helps people to classify a bit where that is. Murcia itself is located on the south-east coast, not directly on the coast but rather a few kilometers inland, but the beach is fortunately not too far away.

Antonia: Next, let's talk about the expectations you had when you came there.

Anton: We were there a year ago when Corona was a bit more of an issue. That's why we left a bit later, so we didn't go directly at the beginning of the semester in February, but flew there in March. Since we had already heard from 2020 and the months after how strict the rules were in Spain, I didn't have so many expectations, on the one hand not to disappoint myself, but also to approach the matter with a realistic view. In any case, they were exceeded. We were able to gain a lot of exciting experience, meet great people and the fact that Corona was still an issue, which has eased over time, it was very relaxed and accordingly made the semester abroad a great time.

Antonia: I was also not very aware of it. I knew from the news that there were travel restrictions within Spain, that you weren't allowed to leave your region. That it was so convenient for us was a great surprise, because there were hardly any Corona cases in Murcia and because of this travel restriction Corona did not really come to us. So there were relatively few restrictions, I think the only one was the mask that had to be worn everywhere.

Anton: And in the beginning there was still the curfew, which was at the beginning at 10 which then slowly moved back, that also relaxed quite quickly. And by mid-summer at the latest, the masks had also fallen away, so towards the end we had a relatively normal semester compared to what happened here in Germany. That's why our semester abroad is not so much under the image of Corona, which one would have expected.

Antonia: Yes, exactly, so it really exceeded our expectations, fortunately. Did you have any fears before you went there?

Anton: Of course, you always worry and maybe it's not necessarily fear, that's a strong word, but of course you worry. Is my Spanish good enough? Will I even get in, with the restrictions and Corona tests? And so on. I would say that they all subsided relatively quickly, on the one hand because the courses were offered in English, and as an international management student who studies in English anyway, you don't have too many problems, and the other concern was making connections. Through previous experience, it was very important for me to continue my hobbies in the host country and also to meet people with the same interests, which is of course quite difficult if something like this does not take place, but that has settled relatively quickly through new contacts and many great people who have taken us there.

Antonia: I agree with you there. Most of the fears were really connected with the pandemic. Does the entry work, does the exit work, how does it work there, how much are we limited by the measures or what kind of possibilities do we have to meet new people there? I had the chance to learn some Spanish before, but it is still a problem when you know in advance that the people in Spain can't really speak much English. When you already know that you can't always fall back on English and have to assume that you have to rely on your own knowledge of Spanish, it's a bit uncomfortable at the beginning. On the other hand, this was hardly a problem for us, since we only got to know internationals and had contact with locals, I would say, only in the supermarket.

Anton: Yes that was actually somewhat limited. But even then, the Spaniards are to a large extent very very friendly and are also happy about communication even if you do not speak perfect Spanish, also simply if you try, even if you have to ask several times. So you can get by relatively well even without a huge knowledge of Spanish.

Antonia: Would you like to tell us how your time there was in general? Just give us a rough overview?

Anton: I think you can only give this answer as a rough overview. Of course, it was a very long and very intensive time, so it can't really be summarized in one sentence. But as a conclusion I would say that it was a very enriching time in which I was able to get to know a lot of great people and in which I took a lot with me and still notice today in my everyday life that I am still influenced by it.

Antonia: Cool. Then maybe first of all about the university and the lectures. Was that very different from here?

Anton: Yes, it was indeed very different, but that was mainly due to the university. UCAM, the Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia, is a private university and therefore not that big. There are different campuses in the country, but the main campus, where we were, was in Murcia. But it is not very big either. In any case, it can't be compared to Hubland. The lecture rooms actually remind me more of classrooms, which was the first big difference I noticed, and the lecture greetings are also very different. You actually have to dare to sit in these lectures, simply because of the size. Here in BIM you usually sit together with 60-70 people in the lecture, that was completely different in Spain. My biggest course was my language and culture course, where we were always 12 people on average and in most lectures we sometimes saw 4 or 5 in the lecture. I think that was the most important moment for me, but it was also fun because the professors are also very nice people who are always very sociable and usually make the lectures very relaxed. You still get a lot out of it because you have to contribute a lot yourself, but the greatest nutritional value you can take from it is that you actually talk to the professor rather than sitting in a lecture.

Antonia: Yes, I can add that it is of course strange when there are only five of you in the lecture, when you can't just play on your cell phone or chat with your neighbor. On the other hand, you also get a lot of individual support. Especially when you have a question, the professor has the opportunity and time to answer it. That was very cool, but also partly course-dependent. About the campus, I can add that the classrooms were small, there were many small buildings spread across the campus, but there was also a former monastery on the grounds. A totally beautiful building with many palm trees around it and sun terraces. The atmosphere of this campus alone was incredibly beautiful. As for the lectures, it was of course an exciting mixture of English and Spanish, which worked relatively well. And everything was on a first name basis, so the professor-student relationship is also quite different than in Germany. Miguel, Carlos, the professors, it was actually almost more on a friendship level. I think you even got a ride home once when there was no bus.

Anton: Exactly. That was in the evening, there was no bus. You have to say that the campus is a little bit outside the city, so we took the bus for about half an hour. But the buses also run very regularly. But it was a lecture that took place in the evening, which in Spain can go until 9 o'clock. We had the classic siesta at noon , but at this time then was hardly any public transport, it was raining, and then my prof offered to drive me home, even if it was only half on his way. Very kind and we talked for a long time, especially about what he teaches, you just can not imagine this in Germany. With the room and course sizes, it is of course a much closer relationship that you build up with your professors.

Antonia: After you finally arrived home, I had of course already cooked and you could get ready right away.

Anton: Yes, that was very practical. We found that to be a very good division of tasks. It has to be said that because of Corona we had the chance to participate in the lectures both on-site and online, which UCAM organized very well. There was a camera in every lecture room that filmed the professor as well as the slide decks. This was then streamed on the university's own platform and with a microphone, which some professors had clipped on, others not, you could usually understand everything very well. So even if you couldn't come to a lecture or couldn't be there, you could use that very well. Especially in times of Corona, it was a great alternative to stay at home if you didn't feel well and to protect others.

Antonia: I find it very nice that you said when one "cannot be present". Anton is actually very exemplary almost always onsite, whereas I have not left the apartment at all in bad weather and then simply remained online and therefore also had the opportunity to cook at the same time. As you have now probably already figured out, Anton and I have also lived together. At the beginning there was also a third in the bunch, Leon. We met him in the first online lecture, at the beginning of February. Then we started talking about the online lecture, that Anton and I are living together, but he was still looking for a room. So we offered him our third room. All three of us arrived and everything was fine and dandy. But Leon decided to go back to Germany after 3 weeks and Anton and I were on our own.

Anton: I would say we managed that very well. It actually turned out very well. Leon is from Stuttgart and we got along really well really quickly, so we were pretty sad when he left. Not only because of the rent, which then increased for us, but also because of the friendship we had built up. But also the time after that, I felt very relaxed. It really worked out well to live together. The only thing I would have changed is the place where we lived. We booked that in advance to have some security, and we lived in an AirBnB. Because of that, our rent was also a little higher. The whole thing could have been a little cheaper. We have asked friends who have lived a little closer in the center, there a room also cost a maximum of 300€, I would claim. We have counted a little more and were also in a slightly different region, still in the city and close enough.

Antonia: You could almost say in the ghetto.

Anton: Well, we had a police station around the corner. So that's worth quite a bit. But cost-wise, Murcia is definitely a city that was very affordable a year ago. I haven't looked since then to see if the prices there have changed that much. But it was definitely a good market situation. And they also know that many students come from outside. If one does good research on facebook or such platforms, one finds a place that is not too expensive and either one lives together with friends, as we did, or one moves into a shared apartment or lives alone, there are enough alternatives in any case.

Antonia: Especially in the center, where most of our Italian friends lived, apartment directly in the center, with roof terrace from which you had about a one percent view of the Katedrahle.

Anton: More than we did in any case. So if you do it sensibly and inform yourself a bit in advance and ideally also have contacts that you could get now for example with us, then it is definitely possible to live very centrally at affordable prices.

Antonia: Yes, but where we lived, relatively south in the city, we needed about 15 minutes to walk to the center of the city. That was totally pleasant and you could move around a bit. But when it was truly summer, at almost 40 degrees, walking into the city was suddenly no longer quite so pleasant. How did we get around then?

Anton: By bus. Actually, always by bus. But that was usually not so bad. We had the bus stop almost in front of our door and with our student cards that you could load there, you could get around really cheaply, for I think 70 cents, relatively easily, especially directly to the university. You could spend a lot of time in the mostly air-conditioned buses.

Antonia: Fantastic.

Anton: You can get around well with it and otherwise there is also public transportation towards the center and especially in the north of the city towards the university. We personally have not used it so much, but if you live in the parts of the city where it is connected, it is very practical.

Antonia: Above all, you could use the same card to pay for the trips, I think it was also 70 cents. So totally awesome actually. The only problem was the reliability of the buses. We spent the one or other hour at the bus stop when simply nothing came, for example, on Sundays and holidays doesnt come what is on the schedule, but simply nothing.

Anton: Yes, that really seems very random, you just have to adapt a bit to the Spanish culture and have to walk a little bit or look at the greengrocer around the corner to pass the time. This is of course not the most advantageous, but the bottom line is that as a Deutsche Bahn user, you are not really used to anything else here. If you took that with a bit of serenity, it was also quite bearable in Spain.

Antonia: What I also found funny was the 44D bus that we always took to the university. It ran about 13 times between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. and not at all between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.. So it was a bit arbitrary here, too.

Anton: I couldn't remember that, especially the number.

Antonia: Sure, I remember everything in detail.

Anton: Strong. Yes, it was sometimes a bit unpleasant to get there, but it got better in the afternoon. I usually helped myself at the cafeteria or at the mercadona at noon and stayed there. But if you don't have a lecture at noon, it's a bit inconvenient. But as I said, in a pinch you can take the metro to the center and walk all the way home from there, often in very good weather.

Antonia: Yes, the weather was one thing that I underestimated. I thought the weather would be great during my semester abroad in Spain, so I packed all my summer clothes and shorts, sun hat and sunglasses, but then I really froze for the first month. I think we even bought extra slippers and the hot water bottle I fortunately had anyway. And at the beginning it rained a lot, and unfortunately we weren't equipped for that.

Anton: Yes, that was a bit impractical, especially since the houses and apartments in Spain are not really designed for such weather. We had very thin windows, you also could not close airtight so we always had a bit of cold air that came in. This is of course not very nice but in the summer it was of course more pleasant if you always had a breeze. You just have to plan for it and also in the south of Spain in february it was just not yet 25 degrees but rather 12 and there the cold always feels a little worse, because of course you expected a little more. I also felt it as a little more humid cold.

Antonia: yes, we also had really a lot of rain, I mean a lot of rain. And then we had about two to three weeks of really pleasant spring weather and then the heat came.

Anton: Yes, and the heat in the south of Spain is really intense. You have to be very careful to stay balanced, especially when it comes to water. For me, who is very susceptible to sunburns, it was also important to take enough precautionary steps in the form of sunscreen and so on. This happens very quickly. The weather also encourages us in the evening to sit in the marketplace, eat something and drink a Tinto de Verano. We fortunately had a very well air-conditioned apartment, which made it very bearable.

Antonia: Oh yes, that was really important, because during the time we were there we also had our job interviews for the internship, nice and warm at 40 degrees. I remember it well, I put on a shirt that was already sticking to me everywhere, the air conditioning on full blast and the ventilator still pointed at me, that was very exciting. I can well imagine that it looked very attractive how my hair blew in the wind.

Anton: Like in the shampoo commercials.

Antonia: I got the job back then, you have to say that.

Anton: Yes, then it can't have looked that bad. Yes, but that's true, you have to think carefully about whether you want to pack an extra sweater.

Antonia: Yes, you really have to pack a whole closet, winter clothes, transitional clothes and summer clothes.

Anton: Or you do it like we did in some cases, you shop locally.

Antonia: At the UCAM Fanstore. So Anton here next to me is wearing his UCAM tshirt. I also have the Tshirt.

Anton: We got the T-shirts as a gift.

Anotnia: Yes, that's exactly what the university gave us, along with a UCAM mask, notebook and stickers.

Anotn: Exactly the classic fan articles in basically. Pens, a sports bag, so very nice as a welcome gift for incoming students. But you can really stock up on everything in this store. With basketball jerseys, soccer jerseys, there were also branded highlighters. You could also buy a watch.

Antonia: You could buy a chair.

Anton: Yes, exactly like a gaming chair.

Antonia: Because the UCAM has its own e-sports team and therefore there was also something like that in the fan store.

Anton: The e-sports players actually played in the basement under the monastery. I think it's a great picture how the guys are sitting at their computers at 11 o'clock in the evening and the service takes place upstairs. But I think the things from the store all look very cool. The Tshirt I also really like to wear.

Antonia: I think you also have a sweater. And I still have a jacket. But Leon actually stocked up from top to bottom, trianing suit, tshirts for each family member, basketball jersey, and a pair of short training pants.

Anton: I can imagine that he took some basketball stuff with him, because he also played basketball regularly, that's how we met Jace for example. Jace became one of our friends, who studies in Spain but actually comes from Texas and who basically pulled us into this circle of friends. It was a very colorful group with Italians, people from Poland, us two potatoes, Chinese, Moroccan, Tunisian, Algerian, Finnish, so very colorful and that made it totally exciting. Super nice people, everything, even if you come from totally different circles, it was always totally fun. And you never insisted on your own things but you were happy when you got to know the things and cultures of the others. That was very great for me during this semester abroad.

Antonia: The Finnish vodka.

Anton: A lakriz vodka. I personally like lakriz but it was also excitingly tasting at 20 degrees, it wasn't really cold, so that might have been a problem.

Anotnia: The problem was that our mini freezer was filled with this water ice that day.

Anton: With the selfprepared water popsticales.

Antonia: So it works. I'm sure you've all thought about whether you cut open water popsicles, add alcohol and close the whole thing again, and it works - it just doesn't get completely solid.

Anton: Or you have to leave it more than one night in the freezer, that could also have been the problem. But as a cold slushy it was quite funny.

Antonia: Maybe our electricity went out that night, that happened quite often, as well as other exciting experiences we had in the apartment. For example, we lost the handle of our stove when we had food in the oven.

Anton: Oh yes, that's right, it didn't work out so well, but we also had the handle from the washing machine in our hands on the second day, that wasn't so practical either. But well, it all worked out in the end and our host was really nice and helped us a lot and in the end I think we left the apartment the way it was at the beginning.

Antonia: Yes, we definitely didn't break anything else. We even figured out how to avoid power outages, for example. Never use two hotplates, the microwave and the kettle at the same time. Never use the washing machine at the same time as anything else, and never just use three hotplates at once.

Anton: We missed the stability of the German power grid a bit, but we got through very well. You just had to agree beforehand what who would do when, but at least when there are two of us, it's very easy.

Antonia: One funny experience still comes to mind from the apartment. I was alone and the balcony door fell into the lock behind me, but that wasn't a problem at all because Anton's window couldn't be closed, so I could just get back into the apartment through the window. That's why it wasn't so bad.

Anton: Yes, that was always such a thing, it was good that the balcony was covered, otherwise it would probably have rained in. But we were on the fourth floor, so it wasn't so bad, but normally I like to close my window, especially when we're not there. But it helped you quite well.

Antonia: For me it was very beneficial. Do you have any insider tips that you can pass on here for people who want to make Murcia appealing? You mentioned one earlier and that was Tinto de Verano in the Imperial in front of the cathedral. We were actually there more than regularly.

Anton: You could say more often than not. At some point it got to the point where you Tona became quite good friends with the waiter.

Antonia: Adam from Algeria. He also did a semester abroad in Murcia and liked it so much that he stayed.

Anton: And you can understand that, especially when you're sitting in the Imperial. On the one hand you can watch a lot of people, on the other hand you have a very beautiful view of the cathedral, which looks really great and reflects the image of the old city center of Murcia. Totally beautiful picture, totally beautiful building and on such a warm summer evening in Murcia, you can sit down there great and order a Tinto de Verano or as you did it, just mix it yourself.

Antonia: Adam kindly showed me how to do it. And there are really quite different ingredients in it than I expected, but I will not reveal now, because I think that is possibly a secret recipe. In addition, the whole thing looked really great, down red above money and it has cost only 3€, so totally affordable.

Anton: You've really got a lot stuck in your head. I actually got sent pictures from Snapchat today as a reminder and we actually sat in the Imperial a year ago today and drank Tinto de Verano, two more actually even though you had an exam the next day. We kept a low profile but we also made the most of the time and then headed back home with a beautiful sunset. Just walking along the promenade on the river or through the old town there are really very very beautiful corners. It was a really great evening.

Antonia: I also remember some evenings when we went out for pizza. A friend of ours worked there, so I would actually call that an insider tip.

Anton: I think it was called "La Mano" and there was really delicious pizza. Very nice restaurant but in the neighborhood there are also some other cool places where you can definitely go. If you like pizza, you should definitely check it out.

Antonia: What are 3 words you would use to describe your stay there?

Anton: 3 words I would summarize under internationality, as I just said that were really different cultures that we met there, not only the Spanish but also the Finnish, Polish, Italian we had I think truly every continent there.

Antonia: Yes, that's right, we actually had every continent there.

Anton: And that was a lot of fun and super interesting. And even if you don't write to everyone every day, it's still okay to knock on their door when you're there.

Antonia: And postcards are also exchanged.

Anton: Yes, I got one from Finland and sent one back. It's really cool to not only have contact via Whatsapp, but to actually have something in my hand that comes from the other countries. Word two and three can be summarized quite quickly: Sun, you can associate with Spain very well, and fun, I had a lot of fun there, not only the free time but also the studying itself. I found it really pleasant in these small courses, the professors were very nice, the fellow students were all super nice, we were very quickly accepted, for example, by Adnane, who asked us before we even arrived when we would arrive and when we could go for a drink together. That was really super nice and all in all it was a lot of fun.

Antonia: But I have to comment on the word "sun". As beautiful as the sun was, we suffered from it. Especially you, but I also had a sunburn after my entire skin peeled off. Therefore, we had this gigantic bottle after-sun. I have never seen such a huge bottle of After-Sun. We were addicted to it.

Anton: You could say that. When  the weather was really nice at the beginning of these 3 weeks I got this really juicy sunburn and afterwards we bought this bottle of After-Sun. After that I got better, you had more sunburns than me, because I was always very thickly creamed. Anton: You could say that. When at the beginning of these 3 weeks the weather was really nice and I got .After that I got better, you had more sunburns than me, because I was really always very thickly creamed. So it's really very nice, but you also have to take good care.

Antonia: Absolutely. You could add as a word or as an experience our brunch. We thought for weeks that it would be cool to have a brunch with all our friends. So we organized it in our AirBnB and it looked gigantic. We had everything: cakes, croisants, rolls, various fresh fruits.

Anton: Delicious drinks and a good time too.

Antonia: This brunch went on for about 14 hours until our neighbors pointed out to us that there are blue lights in the street next door, whereupon we slowly ended the whole thing around 2 o'clock in the morning. And in our small living room plus balcony we were actually 20 people.

Anton: That was proper what has come together there but it was fun, because altogether it was a very very good mood. Of course, everyone was eager to do something because there wasn't much else we could do. Clubs, for example, were closed until shortly before we left, but I think our brunch and other evenings we spent with friends made up for that very well.

Antonia: I thought the brunch was important because we were always at Adnane and Melia's house, for example, and it was nice to invite them over and show them our hospitality.

Anton: Yes, I thought that was really great that we had the chance to do that again. Especially for our two somewhat separate circles of friends, i.e. our fellow students and the group we got to know through playing basketball, that we were able to bring them together again. That was really nice, that we could bring the people to us and not always had to go to others.

Antonia: Absolutely. Now that we're talking about experiences, I also remember that we spent one or two afternoons at the UCAM stadium. UCAM has its own soccer team that plays in the second league. They have their own stadium and I think that as students we got the ticket a little bit cheaper.

Anton: We even got it for free, because Adnane was involved as a student representative and arranged it with the administratio, who then actually invited us. I think we were there 2 or 3 times. It's not a huge club but the atmosphere was good and as far as I remember we won every game. Especially for a university it is cool to have your own stadium in the city. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to the basketball game, where I think they even play in the first Spanish league. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to go, but it's definitely very exciting, because big teams like Real Madrid come by and it's definitely a very cool experience to watch.

Antonia: The UCAM actually had some sports teams. I think swimming and rowing was very much their thing. They even won something at the Olympics. Of course, not the UCAM itself, but a representative who competed for Spain, who came from the UCAM. UCAM actually produced very successful graduates. That was a poster in the city, that's how I know that.

Anton: Sports is definitely a big focus of UCAM, which is also evident in the fact that you can go to the university's own gym, which is right next to the main campus. There, I think we paid 20€ and it was a fully equipped gym that was also air-conditioned, which was quite nice in high summer. You could also use that quite well to pass time between lectures. The gym was definitely a great bonus, especially if you were looking for something abroad anyway, UCAM has a great offer.

Antonia: To come back to experiences. We have also made other trips, not in Murcia the city itself but Murcia the region. We rented a car with friends and drove to the beach, or rather not to the beach but to the sea on a fairly high cliff.

Anton: Yes, that was a totally beautiful day, even if the weather was not that great.

Antonia: It was actually just very windy.

Anton: That's right. You definitely have to do that when you're there, take a look at the surrounding area, especially because the beach is really not that far away, where we also spent one or two days. But also a bit of hiking and exploring the landscape, which may not have anything to do with white sandy beaches. Since Spain and Murcia has a lot to offer and therefore also an activity that you should do. There we also slept in a very nice hostel, which was located very in the pampas, but had its own pool, ping pong table, jacuzzi, etc.. Because it was so far outside, you just weren't disturbed, which was really nice. It was really a great trip.

Antonia: Yes, it was great. And I just remembered something about white sand that I had almost forgotten: "La Manga" and "El Mar Menor". You definitely have to take a trip there. La Manga is a strip of sand and divides a small piece of the Mediterranean Sea, namely the Mar Menor, where you should rather not go swimming, as Senja described it.

Anton: Yes, that didn't look quite so great when we walked past it, but when you get to the real Mediterranean Sea, it's an incredible destination, which you should definitely go see. The nice thing was that you can also get there relatively well by bus. If I remember correctly, we just got on the bus in Murcia at the bus station and drove an hour to the beach. That didn't require a lot of planning and it was a really great day and worked out great. We should have done that more often.

Antonia: That's right, unfortunately we didn't do it that often, but that was probably because we had so many exams. We actually had all the same courses, except for the Spanish course, because we took different levels. Then we had a total of six courses, each of which had a mid-term exam, so it was in the middle of the semester, and of course another normal final exam at the end of the semester. And to make sure we didn't miss anything, we also took the courses online at the THWS.

Anton: Yes, we took one module, which was also very time-consuming. That's also one thing you know better the next time, in terms of what you would do differently the next time, and in my case that was the course selection. We still took the course in order not to fall too far behind in our normal studies. In the end, we were able to get credit for 3 courses, an AWPF, a FWPF and International Trade. Unfortunately, we had to leave out other modules in Germany, one of which we are currently catching up on, and another we took online, which took up a lot of time in the end. Of course, this also limited our free time there and we had to run from lecture to lecture and then we also had to study for the midterms. What I thought was good about the midterms was that they also counted towards the grade at the end, but if you passed them, you already had half of the course material behind you, so you only had to study for half of the final exam at the end of the semester. However, studying for the midterms, some of which took place relatively right after we got there, it took up quite a bit of time that could have been put to good use elsewhere. So what I would do differently than before, would be to pay more attention to spending more time in the country and the culture.

Antonia: What else I would do differently is pack. I would definitely take a more sophisticated selection of winter and summer clothes, because I actually suffered a lot. What I think we also came up a little short, I just remembered, we were not so often eating traditional Spanish food. What we did was to consume Spanish drinks, but real Spanish food, for example tapas we have eaten I think, only two or three times, we could have taken more of it with us. But we cooked a lot of our own food, because we had the same study schedule, the same friends and therefore the same daily routine, so we always had the chance to cook and eat together.

Anton: Definitely. And sometimes it didn't make sense to go out to eat anyway because of the timetable, if you actually had a lecture until 9 o'clock and then had to drive home for another half hour and then had to walk into town for another quarter of an hour, you wouldn't get to eat before 10 o'clock.

Antonia: But this time of day is pretty normal for Spaniards.

Anton: For a German, I also eat dinner relatively late, but 10 o'clock would have been a little too late for me, and by the time you've eaten, it's already half past 11 or 11 o'clock. But the times we were eating tapas were very good. I discovered Marinera for me, which I don't think was really your favorite.

Antonia: Mine was tortilla de patata, in bulk.

Anton: Marienra, for those who don't know it, is two sticks of bread with what's called a Russian salad on it, which is mayo with different vegetables, tuna and so on, and a sardine on top. The whole thing was eaten as a small snack for relatively little money.

Antonia: I think it was always one euro.

Anton: Especially if you ordered a beer, there was usually a free tapa. And then you sat there very relaxed way and could eat your way through the night for 3 euros per beer. It was really fun to try out different appetizers here and there. That's also what I miss a bit here, maybe not the baby squids, but tapas itself. It's definitely something you have to try, even if you're not necessarily in Murcia. Mostly there are regional tapas everywhere in Spain, so that's not an insider tip, but you still shouldn't miss it.

Antonia: Now I've thought of something else. We've been talking for a very long time, but I have to mention this now. In any case, a very important To Do is Cartagena. A very beautiful harbor city. We also went to the beach there. At that time we thought, the weather will surely not be so good, let's best not pack bathing suits. Well, the weather was very good and we just bathed in our clothes.

Anton: I also got my very first sunburn there. We spent a few hours in the cloudy but still slightly sunny area which didn't turn out so well for me. I was very very red at the end, but Cartagena was a very beautiful city. Also a nice city is Alicante, if you head a bit north. A bit more touristy but also with a nice city center and harbor. You can walk up to the fortress, or not if you want to walk a little less. And also surrounding it, there are many beautiful destinations.

Antonia: Exactly, I made it to Valencia, which is a bit further north of Alicante. There I rescued two baby cats from the street, which was a very motherly experience. I couldn't leave them alone, so my boyfriend who was visiting at the time had to go buy cat food and I took care of the kittens during that time. That was definitely an exciting experience for me in Spain. And in Valencia there is the biggest aquarium in Europe. I was a bit skeptical at the beginning, because the animals should not be caged, but then I was positively surprised, because there really all the animals had very large enclosures and aquariums. There is also a huge outdoor area, so turtles etc. really have a lot of freedom. I can definitely recommend that as a destination! In the other directions, we unfortunately did not make it due to the travel restriction.

Anton: Unfortunately it took a while until the region borders were opened again. So of course we were quite restricted but this also gave us the chance to get to know even more of Murcia.

Antonia: So, due to the length of the podcast, one last question. Would you recommend it, yes, no?

Anton: Definitely. UCAM is a very cool university. Of course, as it is with universities, sometimes a bit wildly organized, but the professors and the commilittons were all really nice and cool people, from whom you could take a lot and from whom you could partly also learn a lot. The city itself is exciting. It is not a tourist hotspot and the Erasmus life is not quite so gigantic, but if you manage to meet a few people it is definitely a place where you can experience a lot and where you have many opportunities, it is also a big city from which the beach is not too far away. Spain itself is also a super nice country with very nice people, it was really fun and therefore I can highly recommend it. So if you want to get to know a bit about Spain and or Spanish, Murcia is not a bad place to go.

Antonia: I totally agree with you. I can add that I really liked the choice of courses. Although it is a very similar or almost the same program as International Management at THWS, there were a few courses that are not offered at THWS, for example, we had consumer behavior, which I thought was really cool.

Anton: I found Operations Management quite interesting, but maybe that was a bit too numerical for you.

Antonia: Yes, that wasn't really my thing. And of course, Murcia is also very nice in terms of finances. The rent was a bit higher, especially after Leon moved out, but otherwise, food, eating out, going out for a drink, is definitely cheaper than in Germany.

Anton: And of course you get Erasmus. That actually covered a lot of our costs and accordingly, definitely not too expensive.

Antonia: So price-wise everything was very reasonable. Apart from that, I agree with everything Anton said. The surroundings, Spain, Spanish, so if you like Spanish you definitely have to go to Spain, maybe to Murcia, because as I said that's also almost right by the sea, more or less.

Anton: More or less. Not quite but it is a few steps from the sea. I don't think you have to go to the sea every weekend, but every now and then it's really nice to get away from the stress of university. And it's not expensive and not far, so it's definitely something you can do now and then.

Antonia: Well then, Anton thank you very much! We have to call it a day now, after one hour.

Anton: Ui that was fast.

 

Antonia: Great that you were there and told us about your experience and we hope that whoever is listening and thinking about going to Murcia will find our report helpful. If you have any questions, I'll write about how to reach us in the show notes and then hopefully we'll hear from you in the next podcast. Take care.