Four months in Madrid!!

Hiiii!

I am writing this post from a very busy Starbucks in Madrid's city centre, attempting (and failing) to do some 'life admin'. I've already chosen my third year modules which is SUPER scary...I can't even explain how fast the past 2 years have gone! In a year I'll be applying for jobs, about to go in to *the real world* aaaaah. Let's not talk about that.

Talking about time flying though, if I thought Uni in Sheffield was going too fast, in Madrid it feels like 10x faster! I can't believe that I have almost been here for FOUR MONTHS. Whaaaat?! I feel like I've been here my whole life and I also feel like we just got here yesterday all at the same time.

I think that time goes so fast because living in a different country still feels exciting and different...but it is easy to forget that Uni here counts towards my degree, so many nights are spent trying to get last minute work finished before a deadline (not that anybody sticks to deadlines here...)

Weekends are fun though, since my last post I have visited a teeny village just outside of Madrid with my boyfriend, introduced my brother to the world of sangria and tapas, been to a colour run which wasn't a run and turned out to be more of a kids party...started a language tandem with a girl from Guatemala, visited a new rooftop bar, went to a party at my housemate's University, went to the beaaaach in Valencia for a day, discovered the city of Segovia, been visited by my Dad, Step-Mum and baby brother, been on the longest urban zip-wire in Europe.....no wonder time goes so fast. 

I also went home for a week over Easter which was amaaazing. I'd been quite homesick the week before I went, but spending time with family and friends gave me the push I needed to come back to Madrid with a positive mindset. 

Side note: the weirdest thing I noticed when I was at home was that the air smelt SO fresh compared to Madrid. I think I've gotten used to stuffy city air, and I didn't realise how refreshing it would be to be surrounded by fields and trees again. Hahaha.

Since Easter, things have been stressful at Uni with lots of deadlines all at once. The work is a lot easier than at home, but we always get bombarded with it all at once! Sometimes it is so hard to communicate with teachers because of the language barrier (although my Spanish is 10x better than before, it is still a struggle sometimes!) Luckily my housemate Rachel and I had a bit of a break when our friend from home came to visit us in sunny Spain.

So scary to think that I only have one month left here. Our exams started last week, and today I learnt that exam season in 28 degree heat is NOT fun....I have 5 exams altogether, and they finish at the end of May. It's so crazy how chilled exams are here compared to in Sheffield. We sit exams in our usual classrooms, we can keep our bags near us, sit next to other people....it's so weird how different it is. A lot less pressure which I'm not complaining about! In June I've got an internship at Spanish newspaper 'El Pais', which is super exciting. After that my friend is joining me in Madrid for a week, and then before I know it I'll be heading home....*sad face*

This week I also 'graduated' from Uni, which was a bit weird as I feel like we've hardly spent any of our time in classes...But it was such a nice 'send off' nevertheless, with free cerveza and tapas (always good) and lots of nice words from the Erasmus tutors here.

 Anyways, I best get back to some revision....being in the basement gets pretty claustrophobic so my housemates and I have (after a few failed attempts) squoze our kitchen table onto our patio to do some work (with limited productivity when it's so hot outside...)

Ps you can vote for me as Blogger of the Month here.

Pps...around a year ago I made the huge decision to go on Erasmus in Spain...if anyone is having troubles making a decision about whether to go, feel free to ask me! I promise to give unbiased advice and not mention the amazing weather too much...

Anna x

One month (and a half) in Madrid!!

Holaaaaaa, 

I am writing this from a class (which might tell you how Uni is going…) Whoops. We’ll get to that later.

One and a half months living in Spain tomorrow! Madness. Time literally FLIES here. We’ve crammed so much in to such a short period and I can’t believe how fast everything is going. On Sunday I got back from a crazy (and super fun) trip around Portugal, starting in Porto and ending in Lisbon. I had the best time ever: met people from all over the world, took my first trip in a tuk tuk, tasted Port, chilled on a rooftop bar….and somehow, survived three days on 13 hours sleep.

Sunny Lisbon!

Surprisingly smiley for 3 hours sleep...

thoughts on Port...

To those of you abroad or going abroad, I would 100% recommend going on a trip like this one- the 20 hours of travelling by bus may put you off, but don’t let it. We went with a group called City Life Madrid and they organised everything so well, from a trip photographer to a pub crawl (complete with a woman with a big red umbrella who shouted at us when it was time to move to the next bar.)

A few weeks ago I also took a train to Valencia with my boyfriend for a night, which is one of my favourite cities to date. I am already dying to go back! I’ve been to Toledo too- a beautiful little city just outside of Madrid, easily accessible (for most) by bus. I say for most as it took my travel buddy Rach and I three hours to get there instead of one! We are still getting to grips with the Metro…

Slightly stormy Valencia!

Oceanographic Museum in Valencia (aka the most futuristic place EVER)

Forgetting what I’m actually here for is VERY easy. That little thing called Uni. With 8/9am classes every day, and most of my classes being pretty useless in terms of a career in Journalism…missing lectures is extremely tempting. My fave module is photography, where we are developing our own film in dark rooms, manually taking photographs and learning about the history of photography. TV is also cool, where we’ve been taking industry cameras outside and filming news reports in groups.

Everything is just so chilled here compared to home, sometimes in a good way, for example handing in things late doesn’t seem to matter…but in other ways it is so frustrating, like when we had to queue up for 4 hours just to register for modules…It makes me appreciate Uni back at home and how well organised it is!

Speaking Spanish every day (and mostly getting in to awkward situations and ending up flustered and confused…) is definitely improving my language skills. When I have a successful conversation in Spanish it feels so rewarding! Also, one of my housemates is Spanish so I am enjoying practicing with her, as well as our cleaner who visits once a week.

I have also had visits from some friendly faces too- my boyfriend, my Step Mum's brother Jamie and his girlfriend Laura, my Mum and little sister and my friend Harika. It’s been so fun showing them all around this beautiful city. Seeing them has definitely made me feel more settled here and a lot less homesick. When it dawned on me just how soon I would be returning home it helped a lot....and realising that I'm only here for a few months, and soon I'll be back to life in Sheff for my last year.... all these things help to ease the pain of missing home, friends and family. FOMO back at Uni is a definite factor too, but video calling my housemates whilst they are having pre-drinks definitely helps....

Fun visit from my Mum and sis

Amigas...You can tell who is Spanish from the amount of layers!

I also had a slight disaster which I feel like every (clumsy) Erasmus student suffers from at some point...I broke my phone on a night out and had to pay €200 euros for the screen to be repaired. So my bank account suffered a big dent and working all summer is definitely on the cards...

Around a year ago I decided to study abroad after visiting Madrid for the first time….and I’m so thankful that I did! (especially when I’m lay in the park in 26 degree heat).

Thanks for reading!

Anna x

The first week in Spaaaaaaain

Hiiii,

After months of planning, crying, stressing and anticipating, I am writing this from Madrid! We have been here for almost a week now and it has gone so fast already.

Family/friends back home have asked me how I would sum up the experience so far in a few words...but that is literally impossible. I swear I have never felt as many different emotions as I have in this week; from absolute elation to homesickness a thousand times over, the past few days have been a total rollercoaster of emotion and excitement.

Saying goodbye to my family and friends was horrible, as well as leaving my boyfriend at the airport. I could barely stomach a Mcdonald's porridge because I felt so sick on the way to the airport! But once my friend Eilish and I had waved Callum and her Dad off (who are now bezzie mates), we trundled off through security full of tears and excitement (until the security guard said 'Oh my god, you're 20? You look about 15!!!' Then it was just tears.)

Adding to the stress was the fact that dearest Rachel's luggage was 10.7kg over the weight limit (!!!) but it still gives us something to laugh about now. And off we went, Eilish, Victoria, Rachel and I on a journey to the unknown.....

Hostel ft Victoria

When we arrived in Madrid we got a taxi to our hostel, situated opposite what looked like a prison...

Our spanish skills were tested from the first minute as the man at reception had no idea what we were asking about. Eventually another man turned up to let us in to our room, which was amaaaaazing. We've got a beautiful balcony overlooking Chamberi, a big bedroom and sofa bed and a nice kitchen. 

On the first day we wandered around the main sights like the Temple de Debod and Gran Via, taking the atmosphere and surrealness in all at once. We saw two girls twerking outside the Royal Palace which was...different...and accidentally ended up in a Catholic Church mass with the biggest organ you've ever seen. We did a bit of house hunting to no avail, 4 bed flats are so hard to find, as we have figured out. On the second day we spent the day searching again, registered at Uni and took a trip to Taco Bell (really soaking up the culture...)

We also had a much needed night out, and ended up in 2 dodgy bars as everywhere you walk in Madrid at night someone will offer you free drinks with plenty of persuasion. And to our absolute surprise the free drinks were not a myth! I also experienced a Spanish speaking issue as I told some chicos that Rachel was 'pregnant' instead of 'drunk'....oopsie.

Lovin the Spanish life

Yesterday we tried relentlessly to find a house once more, with no luck and a lot of stressssss. I was told before coming to Spain that small things about the country will really get on your nerves, and I think I have found my two things (already oops). 1, SLEEPING IN THE DAY!!!!!!! Picture the scene, you've just trekked across Madrid to visit a certain office/person, you get there and they are closed for the afternoon for a siesta. So. Frustrating. And 2, The lack of signposting and directions is unreal, I'd say that so far we've spend at least 10 million hours searching for buildings which don't have signs/numbers.

But, there are also things I'm loving- Everyone here is so friendly and always willing to help you out if you're lost (which we normally are), there are SO MANY DOGS in Madrid which is an obvious plus, and I love their chilled out lifestyle...at 10pm the shops and streets are bustling with people going about their business. The buildings are beautiful, I love practicing Spanish all the time (except when I'm trying to explain what phone sim I wanted...that wasn't fun), and the sun has been shining for us. Overall I feel so lucky to have this amazing opportunity.

Our Uni building!

Last night the 4 bed search ended as we realised how impossible it was, so now we have split up and signed our own 2's. We are all moving in on Saturday yay. I feel so relievedddddd after months of relentless searching and feeling like we were gonna end up on the streets!!

Also...it was super excited to hear from home that my story in the Derby Telegraph about the kids at Findern School wearing slippers was in all the national newspapers the next day! Crazy to think that it all came from my little sis coming home with a letter!

Tonight we are going to a 'meet and speak' session run by CityLife Madrid, who organise activities and trips for international students. Exciting!

I hope you have enjoyed this post- and I also hope that by the end of my time here I might have persuaded at least someone to study abroad!

Anna x

Six Ways to Survive your (second) First Semester

Hiiiiii.

Around this time last year I wrote a post on 'Six ways to survive your First Semester', so, here we go again...Round 2.

1) Make sure your house is perfect (or close enough)

This was such a big one for my housemates and I. When we viewed our house we thought that it was totally perfect and the dreaaaam place. But when you move in you'll realise that everything isn't so fab if you haven't checked it properly; broken tumble dryers, the cold and the most annoying thing for me; DAMP. When I go to Madrid next semester my housemates have asked me to leave behind a piece of my damp clothing to remember me by. This is not the reputation you want to have..trust me. So check your house before you move in! And if things aren't right, complain and stand your ground.

Calm before the stress

2) Get organised

Yeah yeah, second year counts, blah blah blah. But before all the craziness kicks in, first semester of second year is the time to get all those *Life Admin* jobs that you always need to do (but never actually do...) out of the way. Book that dentist appointment you've been needing to book for the past year, apply for work experience at that place where you've always dreamed of working, finally find time to ring your Nan back....you get the gist.

3) Remember what year you're in

If you didn't get this from the number 2) SECOND YEAR COUNTS. I have only just remembered this and now I am not confident about exams hahahaha oh dear.

4) Get a cleaning rota going

So you probably got away with being a lil bit messy in First Year, but when you get to Second Year and you've got your 'own' house, things are a bit different. So get out all those cleaning products that Auntie Jean bought you to go to Uni with, because you'll need them. Ps- if you want to avoid awkward group chat convos ('who left all the pasta in the sink???'), start a cleaning rota and you'll all be besties in no time.

5) Get enough sleep

Okay coming from someone who spent the past few months working till 12, making it home for 1 and finally sleeping by 2 after a catch up with my nocturnal housemates, this sounds slightly hypocritical. But constant late nights (and early mornings) will literally kill you off eventually. So learn from my bad mistakes and get at least a few early nights a week. (drink plenty of water, do some exercise...you've heard it all before.)

6) Don't miss out

I was so busy this semester that I feel like I massively missed out on a lot of stuff. I was desperately trying to save for Madrid so working 25 ish hours a week, on top of trying to navigate my way through my Media Law module, being Lifestyle Editor of the Uni newspaper, keeping up a social life and make regular trips home to see my newborn brother....all at the same time. It gets tricky. Prioritising is a skill which I have yet to master, but hopefully after experiencing the total hectic-ness of the past few months, I am a more organised and well rounded person. Maybe.

Happy days at the end of Semester!

I hope everyone has had a lovely, relaxing Christmas and a happy new year!

Anna x

P.s If you fancy it you can vote for me as Blogger of the Month here xxx

Festivities, Forge and fantastic decisions

Hiiiii.

So a very busy start to Second Year means that I have zero time :( 

So I got up extra early this morning (10am.....) and decided to write a lil blog post. I start work at 11 so this could be a bit rushed but we will give it a go.

So what's been going on....apart from the classic extreme lack of sleep which has made another appearance after First Year, I have been working a lot of hours (more than I am doing Uni work which is a questionable decision on my part but heyho.)

I am currently saving for Madrid next February, which is getting veeery close now! After weeks of scrolling through renting websites I have finally found someone to take my room in Sheffield whilst I'm abroad which is a great relief, so all I need to do now is find somewhere to live when I get there....Luckily I am looking with 3 other gals from my course so I'm not totally in the dark. 

Also I recently became Lifestyle Editor of the Uni newspaper Forge Press, which is super exciting! It's a lot of work but really rewarding too when you finally see everything in print around the Uni. 

Surprisingly, this year hasn't been as demanding as I thought so far- I have had one deadline which wasn't too stressful at all. We had to do a location voicer for radio, which is where you go out to an event and record yourself describing what it's like etc. I went to a guide dog fundraising event with my friend Rachel- picked purely on the basis that we would get to see some puppies- a FANTASTIC decision. They were v cute. I also did a vox pop about what the people of Sheffield thought about Donald Trump...safe to say he will never be a popular guy over here, thank god. I couldn't make it through the election night without dying of sleep deprivation, but I'm kinda glad because those of my friends who did watch it said it was terribly depressing. 

I went home a few weekends ago to see Catfish and the Bottlemen with my little bro and spend some time with my family which was super nice.  Also I would definitely recommend a Christmassy day out in Leeds, I visited my friend there this week and it was the perfect way to embrace all those festive feelings.

My boyfriend visited yesterday too and we achieved our biggest relationship success to date....sparkler pictures!!

I hope you have enjoyed this post! 

If you want to vote for me as Blogger of the Month, click here. Thank you!

Anna x

Second Year, Spain and stressssss

Hiya!

Second year has officially started! (and I am already sleep deprived, poor and stresssed hahaha).

Freshers Week was fab, on the first day I ended up returning home because my little baby brother Frank was born..He is such a little beauty and I can't stop talking about him!!

The first week of Uni was fun (mainly because I only have 10 hours of teaching so I spent a lot of time sleeping and catching up with my gal pals). I have three modules this year, Online News Production, Broadcast Journalism and Media Law. It's so good to finally be able to 'do' some journalism instead of being sat in lectures doing theory work! Last week my friend Rach and I went out to do vox-pops (where you ask different members of the public the same question). We asked 'What do you think about Jeremy Corbyn?', and had a range of answers from I BLOODY LOVE HIM to one guy ranting about how Britain is turning in to Venezuela for 15 minutes.

What shocked us the most is the sheer amount of young people who said 'Who?' or 'I'm not interested in politics sorry'. I literally cannot understand how a student -or anyone for that matter- can say that they are not interested in who runs the country we live in.

Professional as always

Things are becoming pretty real with my semester in Spain next February- at the moment I'm filling out loads of paperwork and last night I put my room for rent on the internet (so I don't have to pay two rents, one here and one abroad). Exciting!!!

In other news everyone has settled in to our house....apart from 50 million problems including no hot water and leaking walls, all is well! I'm really enjoying the house life- it is a lot different to First Year, in that everything is a lot tidier and my room is a lot bigger! Also I literally love having a washing machine just downstairs (is this what my life has become?? Getting excited over a washing machine?).

However things are the same in that I still eat pasta 6/7 nights of the week and get no sleep.

Lovin house life

I hope that everyone has settled in to Uni!

Anna x

A big list of absolutely everything you need to take to University

Hiya!

In light of writing blog posts in random places recently, this is my first ever post written....on a plane! I am currently on the way back from Greece with my family (boooo). We've had an amazing time and I am definitely not ready to return to dreary England!

As promised, here is my post on what you should take to Uni. When I was packing I found that I was just shoving random bits in to bags instead of properly thinking about what I wanted to take. As a lover of lists, I desperately wanted a big list of everything I needed to take. So, hopefully this will help some of you out who were in the same position as I was.....

Bedroom- We were given a bin, a desk chair and a mattress

1. Duvet, duvet cover, sheets, mattress protector (take a few of each)

2. Pillows, pillow case

2. A cute rug to spruce up your room a bit

3. Cushions

4. Decorations to make you feel more at home- Things that hang on door handles, photo frames, candles, fairy lights etc (If you're allowed them...)

5. Photos and blu-tac

6. Scissors and Sellotape (Something we were constantly searching for in my flat...)

7. Laptop, phone, chargers, camera

8. Door-stops (good for being sociable!)

9. Books, films, speakers

10. Purse, cards, ID, passport, important documents etc

11. Bags (including the essential clutch/bumbag for nights out!)

12. Posters to brighten up your bedroom

13. Clothes (and coat hangers)- suitable for winter and summer! 

14. Sunglasses (an essential to cover up those massive Freshers eye-bags)

15. A Tv
16. Clothes horse (or another variation of the word depending on where you are from!)
17. Stationery and books
18. Clothes basket
19. Ear plugs. Prepare for a few sleepless nights...
20. Medicine (paracetamol is a Fresher's must)

Bathroom

1. Shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, shavers etc

2. Toothbrush (something else I forgot...)

3. Toothpaste and holder

4. Soap

5. Toilet cleaner, bleach, toilet brush

6. Towels (and hand towels)
7. Toilet rolls

Kitchen- My halls provided a toaster and a kettle, but make sure you check what you get before you go!

1. Mugs

2. Pans (take quite a few of these too)

3. Chopping boards

4. Cutlery (A key item which I left at home), sharp knives

5. Plates, bowls, side plates etc

6. Bin bags, sandwich bags, foil, cling film, tea towels

7. Wooden spoons, pizza cutters, fish slice
8. Baking trays
9. Tuppaware
10. Tea bags (an ESSENTIAL)

I would also recommend doing a food shop before you go to save stressing when you get there. Buy things like bread, milk, tins of beans, butter, pasta and sauce, etc, meals that you can prepare easily when you're wrapped up in Fresher's excitement. Luckily there was a shop directly opposite my halls in Endcliffe, but you might not be so lucky...

Hopefully I have covered most things but I can guarantee that I have missed something! Don't worry too much about packing for Uni, at the end of the day you can't be as bad as me and forget plates and cutlery.

Here's my room when I had settled in....

Ps you can vote for me as Blogger of the Month here :)

Anna x