Erasmus Experience in Norwich, the United Kingdom

Why did you choose to go to Norwich, the United Kingdom?

England was my first choice destination and I could do a half year of Erasmus in Norwich, which was what I wanted to do.

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How long is the scholarship? How much money do you receive to help you with living costs?

The Erasmus scholarship itself lasts as long at your stay there, in principle, and on my course (2007/2008) I got €275 a month, of which they give you 80% when you arrive and the rest when you get back. You should always try to find out if your region, council, university or any other organisation will offer you any additional funding, because, for me, I got a monthly grant from the Regional Government of Castile-La Mancha and €400 from the Caja de Ahorros de Castilla La Mancha (my regional bank), but I don't know if that is still available to Erasmus students.

What is the student lifestyle like in Norwich?

It's very multicultural, there are a lot of groups of Asian students who keep to themselves a bit. There's a Latin community and when I was there it was mostly Mexicans. However, the people there aren't very open and you might not make many friends in class, but they are friendly and if you are open and you make the effort, you'll be able to strike up conversation. There are also parties organised in the university itself on Thursdays and Fridays. There's a huge square where people meet up when they want to sit and chat, only when the weather allows it though, obviously.

Would you recommend the city and the University of Norwich to other students?

Yes, definitely. It's a good university, it has a huge library, there aren't that many hours of class. But the subjects, at least in the literature department, are taught in lecture classes and seminars in smaller groups. If you are only going to the classes, you won't pass the course, because you have to really work for it yourself, and they might not realise that you're an Erasmus student, since there are a lot of foreign students who do their whole university course in Western Europe.

The city is great for Erasmus, too. Because it's not huge like London is, you can get around by bus, there's lots to see, lots to do and a lot of shops and two main shopping centres, besides, it's very chilled out there, you have nothing to worry about with regards to safety.

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What is the food like there?

Well, English food isn't bad, it isn't very wide ranging but the breakfasts are incredible and there's a lot of variety in the food. Besides, Norwich has all different kinds of restaurants for fast food, Asian food, etc. There are at least 2 or 3 places you can go for Spanish food, or at least something resembling it: La Tasco, Bar Torero and Tapas, I think as well.

How did you find your accommodation?

I looked on different accommodation websites and emailed a few landlords, but I ended up getting my room thanks to a Spanish guy who was already living there (through the Leonardo scholarship) and he put me in contact with a friend of his from the lab he worked in who was leaving the city on the same day I was arriving.

How much did the accommodation cost? What are the prices like there in general?

The prices vary depending on the exchange rate between the euro and the pound; three years ago, the rooms cost about £240-260, or up to £280-300 a month with the electricity, water and internet bills included. Meaning, it's not cheap, but the exchange rate for that amount can vary from €400 to €360...

Food/breakfast at the university is really good, there's variety and a meal is cheap. The supermarket prices are normal, if a bit more expensive than a small city in Spain, and the shops in the shopping centre have a whole range of different prices.

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Is the language easy to get to grips with? Are there language courses available at the University?

The English they speak in Norwich is slightly accented, but you'll be able to understand it in no time. Almost all of the professors at the university speak very clearly, so if you have an intermediate level of English, you'll be fine.

Besides, the university, at least the one I was at, puts on many different kinds of English classes: speaking, listening, writing, etc., which are really good, as well as being free and at lots of different times in the week. The best thing they had was a program where they try to match someone who was learning a language (Spanish, in this case) up with people arriving from other countries and who wanted to improve their English, especially for conversation, but without any intermediary from the university or anything like that, it was just 2 or 3 people chatting over a drink.

What's the easiest way to travel to Norwich from your city?

Get a flight from Madrid or Valencia to Stansted if you can, because it's the closest airport to the city, from there you can take the bus directly into Norwich, which takes a little over 2 hours, although it's not that cheap, nor is it super expensive. There's also a train station underneath the airport.

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Where would you recommend to go on a night out in Norwich?

Well if you live near the university, there's something going on every week, in either the Hive or the Pub, they put on themed and costume parties, and festive events from other countries, like Thanksgiving, with food and music from the original place.

Then you have Prince of Wales Street or Riverside in the city centre, there are a lot of pubs and clubs there, and they're right next to each other, too. As for going out to a club, some places will charge you to get in from 11 or 12 pm, but not all of them do and you can have a more chilled out time or get on the dance floor at those places. Again, some good places to go are La Tasca and Tapas, because as well as serving food, they also have parties. You can go to the Keir Hardie Hall to learn and then to dance salsa, The Stores is a great place to go for a drink and for its Latin/Spanish nights.

And to eat in Norwich? What are some of your favourite places to go?

I always ate at home apart from a few times at the university. The dining room there, Zest, isn't very expensive. I also like Nando's for their roast chicken and things like that, I can't tell you much about the cuisine, it's not really my thing.

What good cultural sites are there to visit?

There are lots of things to visit in Norwich, you have to go to both cathedrals (the Catholic one and the Anglican one), which are even free to get into. There's the castle, which has various exhibitions and a preserved historical area inside. Even walking through the city centre counts as a cultural visit, because it's all still like from olden times, there are a lot of churches, some of which have cemeteries (don't let this surprise you, you'll pass some of them regularly, like when you go to the main shopping centre, for example). There are events like the Beer Festival in Saint Andrew's Hall, the Cinema City, which, I think, was built inside of an old church. Keep your ear to the ground, there's always some event going on that you can go to, like a small concert or show or some small fair in the market in the centre.

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Is there any other advice that you could give to students going to Norwich in the future?

Have a good time there, make the most of it all, of the university's high level, as well as of the historical and artistic things offered by the city. Appreciate the mixture of cultures you'll find, especially amongst the university's 3, 000 foreign students. You should, of course, enjoy the party lifestyle, which is plentiful, they even say there that in Norwich you have "a church for every Sunday of the year and a pub for every night of the year".