Author Archives: nmanceau

Erasmus student life in Madrid

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In this post, I would like to give you an idea of what Erasmus life in Madrid is, concerning housing, lessons and living.

  • Housing

When I arrived in Madrid, I had only an accommodation for some days in order to find a share flat. I thought it will be easy to find one in the center but I quickly realized that as in all capitals, housing is more than complicated. Vicalvaro campus is far from downtown (about 45 min by subway), but i decided to search in town center. 90% of Erasmus students make that choice because they want to get the best out of the city: visits, shopping, parties… and want to test share flat lifestyle.

So, after a week of hard searchs and disappointment, I moved in a share flat with another Spanish man of 46 years old. Fortunately, I found a better flat with two others Erasmus students two weeks after. Housing prices are higher than in the rest of Spain, they are a bit more expensive than in Nantes for example. It is usual to find small bedrooms without any windows like in Paris. But don’t be afraid, you can also find wonderful apartments!

  • Courses
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Academic Library of Rey Juan Carlos

Concerning lessons, classes at Vicalvaro start at 8 AM and end at 9 PM. Student have an average of 20 hours per week. In my case, I just have courses in the morning! Campus of Rey Juan Carlos is one of the few universities offering English courses. Many foreign people make the choice of studying in English in Spain because they can easily follow courses and at the same time discover another language and culture.

Courses are done in classrooms of 50 students maximum with fifty-fifty of Erasmus and Spanish people. In Spain, the bachelor degree counts 4 years and the master degree is achieved in 1 year. For Erasmus students it is common to choose subjects of different grades.

 

 

  • Student life
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Activities schedule of City Life Madrid for September and October

In Madrid there’s no time to get bored! There are a lot of organizations which help young international people to settle and enjoy their stay in Spain. City Life Madrid, Madlife Madrid, Smart Insiders and so on… they provide advices and help to find flat, Spanish SIM card, public transportation card and much more. They organize many trips in all Spain (Barcelona, Valencia, Ibiza, Sevilla…) but also abroad like in Morocco or in Portugal!

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Example of a Pubcrawl on Facebook

 

During the week many social and cultural activities are proposed: flamenco shows, wine tasting, cooking class, karaoke nights,… and of course numerous parties.

In general, parties and trips are cheap because they want to be affordable for all. For example, in Madrid you can go out with 10 euros and have free entrances and free drinks in several clubs the same night. This is called a “Pubcrawl”.

The most known organization is Erasmus Student Network (ESN). It is used by over 120 000 people per year in 37 countries. It provides thousands of events and discounts (for example, for sport, food, aircraft tickets).

In Spain, everything is done to make your stay the better experience of your life. I’m already in Spain for 1 month and feel like at home.

See you soon!

¡Bienvenidos en España!

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Spain is the country of Flamenco, Paella and Bullfighting. Generally, most people go to Spain to enjoy sun and beach. In fact, the country is the second destination for tourism in the world. The climate is good all the year and there are many beautiful villages and landscapes.

But Spain, also has a sizeable culture made from Roman heritage, making Spain one of the major Latin countries of Europe. Spanish life is marked by strong historic ties to Catholicism. Spanish art, architecture, cuisine, and music have been shaped by successive waves of foreign invaders.

In term of geography, the Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands and two autonomous cities in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla. Spain is divided into 19 autonomous communities. Even if most of Spaniards speak Spanish it exists other official languages: Basque, Galician and Catalan. Spain has about 44 million inhabitants.

The political system is a Constitutional Monarchy. It’s a democracy which means spanish people vote for their politicians but they have a King (Juan Carlos) and a Queen (Sofia). Today, Spain has to face political and social tensions. It reaches a high level of unemployment (20%) and the deficit remains really important. Since the general elections of December 2015, Spain has no government. In fact, political parties are unable to agree on a new government wanted from Spaniards.

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Madrid’s Puerta del Sol

Madrid, the capital of Spain, is the third largest city of the European Union after London and Berlin. It counts 3.2 millions of inhabitants. Madrid is divided into 21 zones and each zone is split into different neighborhoods. The starting point is Puerta del Sol. There, you can find the famous point zero mark, the point where all streets in Spain part. It is also an important meeting point for the people of Madrid. The most popular neighborhoods in Madrid are located around Puerta del Sol: Sol, Huertas, La Latina, Chueca, Malasaña,…

There are many universities, mine is localised in Vicálvaro at 45min away by subway link from my flat. I live in the center (Sol neighborhood) and as the majority of Erasmus people in Spain, i have found a shared flat with three other roommates.

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Rey Juan Carlos University en Vicálvaro

Madrid is filled with parks; the tree population of Madrid is over 500 000, second only to Tokyo. The most popular park is Parque del Retiro which was one part of a place built for Felipe IV. The Atocha railway station has a 4000 sq meter indoor garden filled with tropical plants and the shops and cafes inside the station are always busy.

Madrid has seen an economic growth in 1980s and 1990s. It elevated the city position as an important industrial, cultural, economic and technological center for the entire European continent.

The city has some exquisite art museums. In fact, there are over 73 museums that contain exhibits that cover a wide range of human achievements and discoveries. The Prado Museum is the most famous, but the Reina Sofia Museum is the home of Picasso’s Guernica.

See you next week!