Spain – Manmeet
Student: Manmeet
Course: Bachelor of Psychological Science
Program: Spanish language intensive at University of Alicante, T3 2025
Describe the city you were living in: the landscape, the culture, the weather etc.
Alicante is a coastal city, known for its Castillo (castle), beaches and vibrant nightlife. When you walk about the city, you could see the colourful and detailed buildings, alleyways filled with cafes and restaurants, and steps leading to Castle of Santa Barbara overlooking the city, the beach and the Alicante pier. I was immersed in Alicante’s history and culture through visiting archaeological sites, many museums, and attending flamenco and music performances. During my time in Alicante, I had experienced strong cold winds, but I got a taste of Alicante’s warm and lively weather just before I left for home.
Describe a normal day in your life overseas: your university, your work placement or your study tour?
A normal day in my life overseas would start with waking up, having some breakfast and taking a tram to Alicante university. My Spanish language classes were from 9am-12pm, after I would have lunch on campus with friends or head back towards the city. Then, I would catch tram, bus or walk down to a museum, archaeological site or one of the beaches. During my tram rides on sunny days, I would capture pictures of the coastal views or views of the mountains. Then I would head home in the evening to have dinner with my host family.
Was there some aspect of your trip that was different to your expectations?
An aspect of my time abroad that was different from my expectation was ordering food. I believe ordering from a menu is something that is easily overlooked, as when I looked at the menu there was nothing I could easily recognise, almost like reading a map in a place you haven’t been before. Luckily most food places in the city had a translated menu, and had someone who could explain what good items are to order in English. Eventually, I became more familiar with common phrases used when ordering food and was able to navigate cafes and restaurants better.
What's your one piece of advice for a student who is preparing to study abroad? How should they prepare?
One piece of advice I would give is to have good plan suited to the time you have available to travel. I had a list of places to visit, but when I got to the host country, the places that I wished to visit were not open due to it being winter in Alicante. In addition, I suggest using the weekends you have abroad, to consider taking a flight to neighbouring countries, or to visit other cities and places. I had little time in my host country, however with a better plan, I would’ve done more travel.