My experience is better than I expected. When applying to the Central University of Catalonia in Spain I thought that the city of Vic would be a bit too small for me. However, the size of the city allowed me to experience my exchange in the best way possible! I could meet my groupmates in minutes and sometimes I would live so close to my friends, that we went to have dinner to each other’s places few times a week.
My studies were sometimes challenging but I learned to work in design applications and went out of my comfort zone with the courses I chose. The availability of the courses was perfect for my career plan, plus I was able to learn Spanish and Catalan with other international students. My Catalan classmates were a bit shy to speak in English, but no major problems occurred because of that. My timetable was occupied only 4 days a week and Friday was free so I could travel by train to many cities nearby and to explore Catalonia and Spain and its’ cultural diversity.
Very often on weekends or during holidays we would go by car to trips across Spain. During 5 months I was able to see Sevilla, Valencia, Madrid, Girona, Costa Brava, Barcelona (1,5 hours by train), Manresa and even went to ski in Pyrenees. Traveling from the city of Vic was so easy, especially if you have friends with a car. 😉 But sometimes flights from Barcelona were very cheap as well, so we could just plan a few day trip with some friends and enjoy the cultural heritage of these cities as well as amazing parties in Spain!
To compare my studies in Finland and Spain, I would say about a few differences in advance. People do not speak English when you go out of university campus. So, please, take a course of Spanish in advance. Some teachers in some courses had problems to find words in English and they would separate the explanations of the assignment: in English for International students and in Catalan/Spanish for Catalan and Spanish students. In addition, prepare that grading system is from 0 to 10 and that on Sundays there will be no one on the streets and all the shops and cafes will be closed!
In conclusion, experience in UVic university and city of Vic was life-changing in a good sense. I had enough support from university and teachers and they were really kind to international students. I made so many friends and visited so many different cities in Spain, which I did not expect to be so easy. And, of course, I improved my Spanish to B1 level and learned a bit of Catalan!
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