Exchange)Experience) Barcelona,)Spain) ) Zhang&Yichi,&William& BSc&in&EcoF&

Transcription

1 Exchange)Experience) Barcelona,)Spain) ) Zhang&Yichi,&William& BSc&in&EcoF& &

2 August) Part%I%'%Monthly%Activity%Log% IarrivedinBarcelonaon23 rd ofaugust.butbeforemyarrival,ihadaterribletrip.itwassupposed to take around 18 hours to fly from Hong Kong to Barcelona with 1 connection in the middle. However,duetoaseriousdelayinHongKongandthenewarrangementoftheairport,Ihadto take three connected flights to get there. Fortunately, some students who studied in other universitiesinbarcelona,helpedmewithmytransportationtomyrentedplaceafterlanding.i foundtheplacetoliveonemonthbeforeiarrivedthroughthewebsitespotahome,averyuseful Spanish housing website. There was clear instruction in the airport for me to find the publictransportation.attheseconddayofmyarrival,istartedtoreachoutforotheresade exchangestudentsandproposedinthetomeetupandwalkaroundthecity.thankstothe exchangestudentfacebookgroupcreatedbyesade,iwasabletogettoknowotherexchange students ahead of timeandi,togetherwithsomeotherstudents,becametheorganizersof severalorientationevents.soon after a week, the school started and we were required to take Spanish intensive course,whereireallypickedupsomeusefulphrasesfordailylife. September) MostofmycoursesstartedofficiallyinSeptemberandendsneartheendofNovember.Ingeneral, IchoseseveralnonMbusinesscoursesinordertomergemyselfintoSpanishculture.Forexample,I tookanthropology:)in)search)of)principles)for)a)life)philosophy) )lessons)from)art,)history)and) Economics,)acoursewhichcombineshistory,art,economyandphilosophy,fromwhichittriesto comeupwithseveralprinciplesweshouldbearinmindtocopewitheverydaylife.anotheroneis Spain:) Recent) History) &) Current) Political) and) Social) Issues. This one is highly recommended because you can know many historical facts during the darkest time of SpainMthe dictatorship period.becausethatthiscoursementionedaboutthegraveyardoffranco,thedictatorduring WWII, my friends and I drove to Madrid form Barcelona to personally visit the historical site. AnotherhighlyrecommendedoneiscallNeverTooManyMovies:SpanishandCatalansociety throughcinema.thankstothiscourse,ifoundmyselfveryinterestedinslownarrativeeuropean moviesandistartedtoseetheartisticcomponentofcontemporarymovies.atthesecondweek oftheschool,11 th ofsept,thewholecataloniadistrictwascelebratingits NationalDay.Wesaw the impressive Cataloniahuman tower performance. Also during September, I organized a road triptoanortherncostalcitycalledcostabravawithotherexchangestudents.attheendofthe month,theeasadebusinessschoolorganizedafieldtriptoafamousrockyrangelocatednear Barcelona,calledMontserrat(literallymeans sawmountain incatalan).

3 CataloniaNationalDay RoadMtriptoCostaBrava Montserrattrip ) October) ThereisalongholidayinthemiddleofOctober.Exchangestudentsusuallyplanedtogoona longtripinspainoreurope.becausemostofmybestfriendsareeuropeanssowecameup withtheideaofhavinganexplorationinsidespain.wethendroveourcarallthewaytothe southfrombarcelona.wevisitedzaragoza,madrid,seville,cordoba,toledoandgranada,in total6citiesin7days.mostsoutherncitiesinspainwerestillprettyhotinoctober.wetried the local food tapas, churros and paella along the way. I love the warm and friendly neighborhoodofsevilleandthebreathmtakingviewofthesierranaturalparkingranadamost. Churrosandothertapas SierraNaturalPark November) NotmanythingshappenedinNovember,buttherewerelotsofsmallholidaysthroughoutthe yearinbarcelona,catalonia.itookadvantageofaholidayplustheweekendtovisitthetiny countrytothenorthofspain,andorra.andorraissituatedbetweenspainandfrance,witha smallpopulationandterritory.itisgoodplacetogohikingandyouwillbeamazedbythe colorfulmountaininautumn.however,peoplesuggestedmetotravelthereinwinter,when youcangoskiing.andorraisinfacttheclosetplacefromspainthatyoucangoskiing. Anotherthingtomention,AndorrahasthebiggestSpacenterinEurope.ItwasahugeSpa center,includingindoorandoutdoorpools.pleasebeawareofthefactthatthespainmobile carddatawillbechargedinaridiculouswaywhenactivated.soifyouarevisitingandorra fromspain,itissmarttobuyalocalsimcardwhenyouarrive.

4 ParcnaturaldeSorteny,Andorra December) Most courses ended and exams were carried out between the end of November and the beginningofnovember.thereisasmallbreakbeforetheexam.ihangoutwithmyfriends severalnightswithmyexchangefriendsandexperiencethenightlifecultureinspain.andi wenttoamsterdam,netherland.iwasimpressedbyhoweverythingislegalinnetherland. AroundthemiddleofDecember,thesadtimecamewheneveryonewasleaving.Wegathered forthelastfewtimetosaygoodbyeandthankyouforthebesttimeandmemoryincollege live. Amsterdam,Netherland Part%II%'%General%Exchange%Information% Visa)Procedures) AsaMainlandChinaresidentstudyinginHK,theVISAapplicationisstillfairlyeasyandfast. AllIhadtodowastowaitfortheacceptanceletterandahousingletterfromESADEandto bringthemtothespanishembassyinwanchai.besides,remembertoaskthebankforan accountstatement,andtobringsparephotos,andtopreparetwocopiesofallthedocuments. The list of visa requirements for a Spanish student visa can be found at

5 26othercountriesthatareapartoftheSchengenspaceforupto3monthsinany6Mmonth period. Orientation)Activities) OrientationbeganduringthefirstweekoftheintensiveSpanishcourse,includingseveraltalks abouttheprogramandsecurity,andcoupletoursaroundthecitywhereyoucanchoosefrom. Itisagoodwaytogettoknowthemostpopulartouristsitesinthecityandgetfamiliarwith exchangestudents. Accommodations) I searched for the room before I arrived in Barcelona. However, there were a significant number of people searching the room after they hit Barcelona. There are pros and cons betweenthesetwoways.searchingaheadoftimecansecurearoomwithnicelocationand decentprice,whilelookingforroomsafterarrivalmighthelpyoufindyouridealroommates amongexchangestudentswhoarealsohuntingaccommodations.ipineddownaniceroom throughthewebsitespotahome,arentingwebsitespecializedinspanishpropertymarket. Although it charges a 100Meuro commission fee, the website staff arevery responsive and helpful.thelocationofmyplaceisthreemetrostationawayfromthetrainstation,wherethe train(fcg)cantakeyoutothecampusinsancugat.thepriceis345eurospermonth,which isslightlycheaperthanaverage.don tconsidertheresidencehallsoncampusifyouwantto explorerthecityormeetyourfriendsatnightinbarcelona.plus,residencehallsare2times moreexpensivethanaveragecostinthecity. Course)Registration) Therewereseveral stellingmehowtoregisterforthecourses.Theschoolwebsiteis straightforward.remember,ifthereisanyspecialrequestorquestions, theexchange programofficeinesade.theywillbasicallyapprovemostofyourreasonablerequests.don t worryaboutthecoursesatall Finance)&)Banking) Ididn topenanyaccountinspain.ifyouareachineseresistant,youcanopenanaccountat HuaxiaBankinChina.TheordinarycardofthebankprovidesafreemoneywithdrawinSpain everydayduringmystay.however,thepolicychangedatthebeginningofthisyearbycutting thefrequencyoffreewithdrawtoonceamonth.therefore,iwillrecommendyoutobring onecardfromhuaxiaaswellasopeningoneinspainthroughthepopularlocalbanks,suchas LaCaixa,Santander,BBVAandBankia. Teaching)and)Assignment) ESADEadaptsEuropeancreditsystem,where1creditinHKUSTisequalto2ECTS.1ECTS equalsto25hoursofworkload.onecourseis3hourslongintimeandthereisalways10m15 minutesbreakinthemiddleforcoffeeandsnacks.mostofthecoursesitookdidn thavemidm term exams but only finals and papers in the end. There are two onemweek breaks and countlesssinglemdayspanishholidaysinthemiddle.fortravelers,youwillfindspanishacute

6 country. Sports)and)Recreational)Facilities) ESADEhasonemediumMsizegymoncampusandchargesaround26eurospermonths.Itis cheaperthanmostofthegymsinthecity.ipaidmymembershipatagymcalledduetfitnear myplaceinthecity,whereicouldenjoyexchangestudentdiscountbyregisteringoncitylife& BarcelonaonFacebook.Itisagreatdealifyouwanttoworkoutinthecity.However,youcan alsoenjoythefreegymonthebeachnearciudatellavilaolimpica.nearrocafort,thereisa footballpitch(notfree)andnearmacba,thereisaskateboardsquareaswellasafreebasket ballcourt. Costs)and)Expenses) BarcelonaisrelativelycheapcomparedtootherbigcitiesinEurope.Akebabcosts3.5M4euros. A cheap meal in McDonald cost 2.99 euros. Housing costs around 400 euros per month. However,transportcostsarerelativelyhighalthoughBarcelonaisasmallcity. Transports) ThetransportsfromairporttothecitycenterincludemetroandAerobus(airportbus).The maintransportswithinthecityaremetroandbus.metroclosesafter12:30whilenightbuses connect most of the city corners all night. So don t worry if you are out late in night. The transportfromcitycenter,suchasplazadecatalunya,tosancugatcampusisthefcgtrain system.sincetherearetwozonesinbetweencityandcampus,themonthlypasstmjoveofthe trainisprettyexpensive,whichisaround150euros. Health)&)Safety) PeopleinBarcelonaaregenerallywarmandoutgoing.TheonethingIwouldsayis tolookout forpickpockets.ifyouwatchyourbelongingsatalltimesandstayonguard,youwillbefine. Just be alert and aware When you travel to other cities in Europe, keep your personal documents(passport&hkidcard)inasafeplaceandfollowthesameinstructionsforsafety inbarcelona noharminbeingalertandawareiwouldrecommendbuyingaslimfannypack to wear under your clothes, in which you can keep your personal documents and money duringyourexchange. Food) I firstly had my meal in the cafés or restaurants near my place. Later, I found a huge supermarketnearbyandstartedtocookathome.foodinbarcelonaisnotexpensiveaslong as you buy materials in big markets, such as Mercadona or Carrafour. The typical lunch in BarcelonaisBocadillo,theSpanishsandwich.Idon tlikeitmuchbecauseitistoohardand dry,butcheap. Climate) IwentonexchangeinfallsemesterandtheweatherwasgreatinAugustandSeptember.They arethebestseasontogotothebeachandchill.temperaturebeginstodropneartheendof October.LocalpeopleusegasheaterduringNovemberandDecember.Clothingindustryis stronginbarcelona,spainbecauseyoucanfindcountlesszarashops.(zaraoriginatesfrom

7 Spain.) Part%III% %Checklist% Passport&HKIDCard Sunglasses Mobilephone&charger(carryasparephoneifyouthinkyouwillneedit) Laptop&charger Camera/Gopro Clothes Money(euros)