My first few days of Erasmus in Alicante!

My first day

Hola! (Hey! ) First of all, let me present myself.

My name is Nadia and I am a French Erasmus student in Alicante. I am studying Applied Foreign Languages and I am going to try and tell you about all my Erasmus related adventures throughout my stay. I hope that my article will help all you future Erasmus students, or even just those of you passing through the area, to learn a little bit more.

The first day that I arrived in Alicante, or more precisely at San Vicente del Raspeig (which is the town in which the university is located if you didn't already know), there was almost nobody around as it wasn't 'back-to-school' time yet. In fact, my first day back was the 11th of September.

A quick tip, if you are going by plane, when you arrive at the airport you have to take bus C6 and then bus 24 in order to get to Sant Vicente del Raspeig or rather Alicante.

I came with absolutely no knowledge of the town of San Vicente. A girl who had participated in Erasmus before me, had explained to me how it worked a little bit, but nothing more. So I learned everything when I arrived.

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Information

I arrived at the end of August as I had to go to the "Oficina de Movilidad" on the 1st of September to say: "I am here, you can check me off your list of foreign students". Anyway, we got given a guide of the university and a free pouch at the same time.

Then the 4th of September, there was a sort of meeting where I learnt how my life as an Erasmus student would be. We were provided with some information about the different types of organisations that existed for us and also about the paperwork that was required for foreigners. (And yeah, there is a lot of paperwork! )

To finish, we had a little campus tour, it is enormous!

I am not going to list everything, but the three most well known organisations are:

• ESN : An organisation aimed at organizing activities and day trips to other towns. I was able to meet lots of other people thanks to them. The ESN card costs 8 euros, and with it, you can receive discounts on the trips that they organize and also promotions like a 15% discount on Ryan Air flights for example.

• AEGEE: So, this organization arrange low-cost nights out pretty much all over the place, however, it wasn't very appealing to me. They are known for partying everyday this lot! So, if you love partying, this organization was made for you! They have created the buddy program, a program which puts you in touch with a Spaniard in order to ensure you have someone to help you with whatever you like, if needed. It looks awesome, but the organization of it is... I'll stop there.

  And then finally - tandems! It's a fantastic idea! Every week at CS3, a cafeteria located on campus, some foreigners mingle with Spaniards in order to practice speaking English, French, Spanish... basically every language imaginable, all while playing games designed to help get to know new people. I really like the concept because it allows you to practice whichever language you would like.

• CSI : Centro de Idiomas (language center), It is here that I take Spanish classes, but they also arrange a fair amount of trips and interesting activities for foreigners.

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Accommodation:

I didn't have any problems looking for a place to stay, seen as I had already reserved a room in a student residence near to the university. There are several residences to choose from within the area, for example Rector 3, Europa House which is mine, and lots of others.

However, you could also easily find a house-share within only a few days as there are so many advertisements on the university website for example.

Here is the link: aplicacionesua.

It is quite easy to find accommodation in Spain and loads of my friends have done it.

Where am I exactly?

If you were to choose to live in Alicante, you would have to take the tram or the bus to go to University as it is quite far from the town center, approximately 25 minutes by tram.

The campus resembles an American university campus just like you would see in US TV series. I got lost several times at first when I was going to class, but in the end it becomes pretty simple to navigate.

Well almost...

I did some sight-seeing in Alicante and I can tell you that it is very picturesque. When you arrive by tram to Station Luceros, there is a big avenue. You go straight for about 5 to 10 minutes and you then you will find the port and the promenade.

The port of Alicante is magnificent, and a little bit further along, you can find Postiquet Beach, which is perfect for those of you who love the sea!

During the first few days with CSI, I was able to participate in a free tour of the city with a guide, and I was also able to visit Santa Barbara castle where I was greeted with an excellent view of the whole city. For this reason, the castle is definitely a place to visit and discover if you go to Alicante. I recommend it!

And there you have it, my first article!

I'll leave you with some of the pictures I took:

Here's a little pathway on campus.

You can look at the blue signs to find your way.

The statue of a hand that is on campus.

You can see Santa Barbara Castle in the background with Postiguet Beach.

And that's all for now! I hope that you have enjoyed reading!

Hasta Luego! (see you later! )

Nadia Debbal

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Photo gallery