Welcome to my blog!
With just over a week before I set off on my year abroad in Málaga, I thought it was about time I made a blog to record how it's going and what I'm up to. For those of you who don't know, I'll be spending a year studying Maths at Málaga University as part of my BSc Mathematics with Spanish degree.
Out of the three choices of cities that Southampton offered me, Málaga seemed the one that was best suited to me. Being in the heart of Andalucía, probably the most stereotypically "Spanish" autonomous community of Spain, Málaga looks like it will be a great place to be.
Once I had decided on my destination, one of the first things I had to consider was accommodation. Although the university does provide Halls of Residence accommodation, it is quite expensive compared to private rented, so I decided to rent a flat near to the university. My search started with easypiso.com, which I would recommend as there were plenty to choose from. After drawing together a shortlist of places to look at and contacting the landlords, my Dad and I visited Málaga for a couple of days at the end of June. After viewing a few different places I settled on a flat within a 10 minute walk of the University campus in Teatinos, Málaga. I'll be sharing with 3 Spanish students, which should be a lot of fun and great for my practising Spanish!
During the year I hope to (obviously) improve my Spanish and experience a completely different way of life. I also have the small matter of a 6,000 word research project to complete in Spanish, alongside the 8 maths modules I'll be studying at uni, which should be fun.... However, outside of academia, I plan on finding a flamenco guitar teacher to teach me authentic flamenco guitar, and potentially form my own metal/hard rock band in Málaga. I am also planning on visiting some of the cities around Málaga, like Sevilla and Granada, which could possibly include skiing in the Sierra Nevada mountains during the winter months!
So far I have sorted out pretty much everything that I need to before I go, including booking my place on the 4 week language course provided by the university. Oh, and I've booked a ticket to see a Steve Vai concert in a bull ring in Málaga! Now it's just a case of waiting until 1st September for my flight from Gatwick before I can embark on my Spanish adventure!
¡Hasta pronto!
