If in doubt...eat churros

Same but different The Language It's pretty obvious that there's still going to be a language barrier between us and the locals, but what we didn't prepare for was the accent! In southern Spain, the pronunciation of "s" is not there 99.9% of the time. Any of our fellow Spanish speakers will understand how difficult that can make things for as "s" is on verb endings, therefore sometimes we don't have a clue what person they're talking it.  Meal Times Eat, eat, eat. That's all we do! It's quite common for Spaniards to completely disregard breakfast and have a coffee instead. How horrifying. So we tend to have a slice of toast (the bread is tiny), a piece of fruit and a good ol' cuppa tea - we can't run on empty tummies. However, we have the snacking down to a T. We tend to snack at 1pm and 6pm, having a big lunch at 2.30/3pm so that we fit in. Lunch is the biggest and most important meal of the day in Spain. Now, ...

Being a veggie in Spain As only my most devoted fans will know (Hi, mum), I follow a vegetarian diet which involves removing meat, fish, and products such as gelatin and rennet. The Mediterranean is well known for its love of these food groups, so when I learnt that I would be moving to Granada for 6 months, renowned for its fresh swordfish, prawns and Spanish sausage, I was filled with fear. What would I eat? Would I be able to find Quorn or soya substitutions?   How would I survive?! Only being one week in to my semester abroad in Granada, I don’t have much experience, but I am here to tell you what I have learnt so far. Firstly, when in restaurants ordering a salad or dish which appears vegetarian, always be sure to ask for “sin carne o pescado”. I can’t tell you how many waiters tell me that a dish is “definitely vegetarian”, yet the tentacles and eyes staring back at me, would beg to differ!  A side note relating to this is that it is certainly possible to a...

The first week of many firsts...   Could we even make it through Manchester airport without drama? No would be the answer. Security decided that ram raiding Rebeka's little case would be really fun. Have you ever seen a small child's face when you take a teddy from them? That was Rebeka when they took her marmite.  After around 4 hours of travelling, we arrived at our humble abode for the next 6 months. It was boiling in the flat but we're super lucky as we've got two air con units. Once it cooled down we participated in our first ever siesta. We then spent a couple of hours unpacking and making the flat homely, before we went out to do an essentials shop. On to the next task, getting a N.I.E (Spanish ID card). Super important if you're going to be in Spain for more than 3 months. After fretting over this for a few days, we decided to use a company to fill in all the paperwork and provide us with the relevant forms; without all the correct documents and ...

The list goes on and on (Honestly it never really ends, we'll do our best to keep you up-to-date) Using your mobile abroad - Most UK mobile phone companies only allow you to use your phone abroad for 4 months before you start incurring charges. Getting a N.I.E (Spain) - A very long process that's downplayed by most and even considered "easy" by some. That is a lie. You have to get a tax form signed at the bank to get a N.I.E, however most banks won't let you pay the tax until you have your N.I.E. Makes sense, right? Spanish Sim cards - You can get a monthly contract without it being fixed term. This is super useful if you're here for less than a year. Finding a kettle - Finding a kettle is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Rare, but it can happen. We had a metal kettle for the first few days that we had to heat up on the hob. We're not in the 1920s anymore, why is this still a problem? University canteens - They might sound su...

There's just no escaping one another Here's the story about where it all began and how we got to where we are now . A-level results day. A day of tears, tears and guess what? More tears. Little did I know that I'd become best friends with a fellow Modern Languages, Translation and Interpreting "rejectee". Look who's laughing now Newcastle.  After finally coming to terms with the fact that I'd be going to Swansea, I realised I should probably try to get to know some people. I searched through so many Facebook pages and saw that someone had posted from Leeds, so it felt familiar and the mission to make a friend began. And lets face it, us northerners have got to stick together. On the first day of uni I found my new best friend, but at this point she didn't even know we were friends. I pretty much hunted her down and said "you're the girl from Leeds, right?" Next thing you know we're in Wilkos, she's forgotten her car...