Mobility specification

Country:Spain

Institution:Santiago de Compostela University

City:Santiago de Compostela

Program:Erasmus+ for study

Activity type:Study

Academic year:2024/2025

MU faculty/department:Faculty of Arts / Department of Romance Languages and Literatures - Spanish

Study level abroad:Bachelor

🎓Hit the books! How do you rate the university experience?

Can you enroll in a course where you can learn the local language?yes

Does the university offer enough courses in English?none

Are your credits converted?yes

Can you give an example?For example, I took a course at USC called "Enseñanza del español como lengua extranjera" for 6 ECTS credits, but at MUNI I got credit for this course in "Applied Linguistics II - Introduction to ELE Didactics" for 5 credits (instead of 6 credits, the 5 credits counted towards my semester at MUNI) - this is the case of an "A" course.
I also took a "D" type course, which was the USC course "Sémiotica de las lenguas y de la comunicación" for 6 ECTS credits, this course or any similar course is not offered at MUNI, so the credits did not transfer and I had 6 credits added to my total number of credits at MUNI.

Was there anything in the teaching methods that surprised you?The main thing that surprised me was the length of the classes, at MUNI, specifically FF, I am used to a lecture lasting 1 hour and 40 min once a week, this does not work at USC, each course has about 3 hours a week, which can be divided into 3 days of an hour or 2 days of an hour and a half or two and one hour. I often had one class 3 times a week, which surprised me, since I'm used to "checking off" that one class once a week at MUNI and not taking it the other days afterwards. But it was great that when the class was really only 1 hour long, I was able to concentrate for the whole class.
I would also mention that most of the classes end with an exam, but with it having a weight of about 60/70%, the other 30/40% includes midterms or assignments, which aren't much but you have to prepare for them. At least in my experience, it doesn't really work that way in my field at MUNI, it's usually 100% exam, or we have the option to get some auxiliary points for the exam, but we don't write midterms on the subject matter.

Does the university offer international students' programs and activities outside of lectures and seminars to help them integrate more quickly?Yes, at the beginning of the semester, USC held a meeting for international students only, which was good, because almost every Erasmus student came there. There weren't as many programs during the semester, mostly for the whole university regarding various academic matters (extra lectures, etc.) that I didn't attend, but the programs and activities for international students are well planned by other organizations like ESN or SharingGalicia.

In which areas does the university offer support for students with special needs and strive to be inclusive?Psychological counseling
Barrier-free access to classrooms and dormitories
I haven’t noticed
Other

Special needs - Other:Erasmus Office for International Student Affairs

💸Did you have to rob the bank?

Try to take a guess at what your monthly expenditures were:12000 CZK/month

Did you stay in dorms?yes

What about unexpected expenses? Did anything surprise you?I bought a mini fridge, as there was no mini fridge in the dorm rooms, and the common kitchen where the fridge was was locked and the keys were often missing, so to save my nerves I bought my own.

Do you have any tips on how to save money?You don't have to go on trips, go to bars, eat with other Erasmus students or miss out on activities through ESN, but that would be a shame, don't skimp on that. Everything in the shops worked out about the same price for me. Anyway, the Spanish lidl is not cheaper than their other stores (I thought it was).

🗺 Learn the ropes in a new city

How well did you manage to communicate in English?not at all

How does public transport work in the city?terrible

And what about transport outside the city?mostly fine

Where to find connections? How to buy a ticket?The Moovit app is great, full of ads, but it's survivable. It is possible to buy a subscription ticket with loaded rides, but for me it's useless, it's true that one trip with this card will cost you 0,5 euro and without it it's 1 euro, but I personally didn't use public transport in Santiago almost at all, I took the bus 5 times max during the whole time and that includes trips to the airport. Everything in Santiago is about 20/30 min walk and the bus tends to take the same amount of time, if not more. The buses don't really work there, they run late, they don't run on time, there are a lot of one-ways, so it even takes a while to get somewhere because even though you're a short distance away you have to go around the block to get there. Otherwise, you buy the bus ticket directly from the driver, but you can only pay in CASH!!

Did you deal with any health issues during your stay?no

🤠Help create the perfect bucket list

What is a must-see in the city?The cathedral, but you'll run into it even if you don't want to.

What are the must-visit trip destinations?Corrubedo, Fisterra, A Coruña, Porto, Vigo (for Christmas markets), Lugo + from Santiago there are cheap flights to Tenerife, Fuenteventura, Lanzarote etc.

Share your best experience:surfing on the Atlantic!!

💅A nugget of wisdom to make the life easier

Did you need to handle a visa?no

How did you get to the place?Plane

Is there anything to watch out for before the trip?Plenty of time to transfer between flights, it doesn't usually fly direct to Santiago and I happened to miss my connection for the second flight which was really annoying, so even though it's a hassle, be at the airport sooner rather than later, it will make it longer.

Can you pay by card?in most places

What not to forget when packing?For Santiago, I bought a waterproof jacket on the spot, but it was definitely needed.

🥳Summary

Whew, what a ride! 😮‍💨 Thanks so much for taking the time to complete our survey and for sharing your unique experience. Just one last thing. 🙏 How would you summarize your trip in one or two sentences?An experience that cannot be described, you have to experience it;)