One semester on UFV

I was thinking about where to go for my Erasmus + exchange and after some time thinking, I chose to spend 5 monhs on UFV: Universidad Francisco de Vitoria on a pharmacy programme. Like all universities, this one also has its benefits and shortcomings. During my stay there I liked this uni but the thing that really made my Erasmus what it was was Madrid. First I would like to present you a few facts of the university.

University logo.

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It is a private catholic school which means that people regularly studying there have to pay a lot in order to do that. I could feel that a bit when I was there as being a student coming from University of Ljubljana, I do not need to pay for my education. There were other Erasmus + students that were atheists or of other religion during my stay and it did not make them feel uncomfortable since religiously connected activities were mostly held during extracurricular time.

There are three main buildings where lectures take place: Edificio E, H and central. The whole campus is new since they built it 20 years ago and many sport and other kinds of activities take place around it. There is a dining room where you can get lunch, buy a sandwich or (like I did many times because it seemed a bit expensive to give 6€ for lunch) you can bring food with you and heat it in the microwave. There is also a student dorm which would cost you a lot and personally, I do not believe it would be your best option because it is quite far from the center, there is nothing but UFV around and I felt like there was nothing going on as far as I could see.

The location of the university is in Pozuelo de Alarcón, which is a wealthy part of the city with many small houses built in a similar style. It is southwest from the city center. There are private buses going there from Moncloa and Plaza de Castilla which will take you there in around 20 minutes. The best location is up in the front seat which offers you a nice view outside. But private buses have their own schedule and it is possible that it will not suit you so there is another option to get there: taking a public bus number 657 from Moncloa but that one will take you around all the district an it takes around 45 minutes to reach the uni.

Campus.

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Being Erasmus

Before our classes started, all exchange students had orientation week. It was not exactly a week but two days. First we got a ride to university, got a guided tour around campus and we got free lunch - paella. We also got some school material, like pens and notebooks. The next day we took public bus to get there and then we had to write out schedules. We got the timetables of all the years and programmes and we looked for the subject we chose. Most of us had larger time holes among the classes but it was understandable considering we were not always in the same class.

At the end of the first semester, we had an ending ceremony when we all got the diplomas of attendance. We also got a smaller feast and took a photo together. I believe that students coming as Erasmus + only had an option to stay for one semester. Later I found out that a large group of Germans had their own english classes. They already knew each other before coming there and they had to pay for the studies. And so did students coming from places outside of Europe, like Mexico and Venezuela. Erasmus + students did not have to pay for our studies there.

The university also had a Buddy programme so everybody that wanted got their own buddy (student from UFV you could turn to for any kind of questions). We got our buddies a bit late as we were already starting our studies so it would be more helpful if they assigned us our buddies before we came there. But still, it was a nice gestion and I got a great buddy. I went to Aranjuez - a city nearby with her and her friend one Saturday and we had a good time. Besides that, there was a whatsapp group and occasional meetings we could attend. Once there was a trip to the mountains and another time we had a dinner - burgers in australian restaurant. Those meeting were a nice opportunity to speak to other exchange students and make some new friendships.

We could also choose to attend classes Spanish as a foreign language for free on uni. The classes took place twice a week. Before they began, we took a test where we could assess our current knowlege of spanish: A1, A2, B1 or B2-C1. The test was only indicator for us so we could still choose the classes we wanted. I got level B1 on the test but took classes of B2-C1 since I had other classes so late that it was the only class I was able to attend. We bought a script with exercises. Others' spanish level was better than mine so I was a bit scared at first that I will not be able to pass the ending test. Also, I could only took class once a week.

The spanish teacher was friendly towards all of us. The grade consisted of four parts: writing about spanish culture (anything we wanted: could be bullfights, flamenco... ), writing about a book (you could choose which one), ordinary test (exercises, tenses) and oral describing of the picture (we had to describe a picture: what we see, what we think did/will happen etc. ). The preparations on it took me more time that I expected but it was a good idea to take it since that was I read spanish version of Tom Sawyer and learned more of spanish.

We were dealing with all the papers and documents needed in International student office where the employees were all very friendly and helpful. It was open a few hours from Monday to Thursday and they were also speaking english. Also before and after the exchange, the communication was good - they replied soon and provided us with all the neccesary information we needed.

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Pharmacy programme

The pharmacy program there is a new one. It began only a few years ago and they only have billateral agreements signed with our uni: University of Ljubljana and two others in Italy. My lectures took place in E building, which is the first one you see from the parking lot. While I was studying there I was the only exchange student on this program and on the building so everything was quite confusing at first. Classes for one year all took place in the same classroom.

I assembled my Learning Agreement in a way that I had two classes with the 2nd year and one with the 4th year. Because of that I had some classes till 2pm and one after 4pm. Sometimes I had to wait for 3 hours on uni as it took too long to go back to my room or even to the center of the city. The class attendance is obligatory in at least 80%. I was a bit scared of the exams but I took them seriously and started studying early enough to pass them all. I had all the same obligations like other students, including writing exams in spanish.

At first, my classmates were curious about me but also kind of shy so nobody approached me. Later they became more friendly and they were asking me questions about my stay there. They were friendly with me and they offered me help when I needed it but they already had their standard groups formed and the events connecting them so I did not really fit into any of their group. They were coming from a different place than I was and I knew how to make basic communication in spanish but I could not follow the conversations they had in a fast pace.

And that is what I was missing: at least one other Erasmus student I could connect with better than with them. I had 25 classmates in the 2nd year and 8 in the 4th. They were asking professors a lot of questions during classes which was unusual to me coming from a class with 150 pharmacy students not really eager to ask too much.

All the laboratory practice we had were obligatory. They were held in the ground floor labs. There was a lot of them and at first it was a bit hard to adjust reading and listening all in spanish, but i assimilated quite fast. They gave us notebooks for practice already printed and weleft our belongings and put on a robe in the locker room. I liked the experiments we were doing in the labs as they were diverse and well explained.

Lab equipment.

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