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This experience report can also be found on the ISO website.

I decided to go to Castellón about three months before I set off. I had contact with the university through one of my lecturers. Fortunately, a student from Castellón was visiting Oldenburg at the time. So I was able to have a chat with her straight away; she gave me some tips and answered my questions. Above all, she told me I should learn as much Spanish as possible before setting off. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time for that, so I travelled to Spain relying solely on my good command of English.

My flight took me from Hanover to Valencia, the nearest airport. And so there I was in Valencia. Unfortunately, it was already so late by the time I arrived that I had to find a hotel nearby. So I took a taxi to the airport hotel, where I spent my first night in Spain.

The next step was to get from the airport hotel – which wasn’t actually right next to the airport – to the main railway station. Fortunately, there was a suburban railway station right behind the building. So I rang my friend in Castellón, who had already offered to let me stay with her family for the first few days. With the help of a friendly Spaniard, I managed to find my way to the main station and eventually boarded the right train to Castellón. The train journey took me through the Levantine countryside around Valencia and Castellón. A beautiful, mountainous landscape with seemingly endless orange groves and many small towns along the way. Admittedly, the houses in such small towns always look a bit odd and unfinished at first, but over time you get used to this southern, laid-back style.

Once I arrived in Castellón, I met up with my friend, who picked me up by car at the station. First of all, we drove around the city for a little while.

The city of Castellón has a population of around 250,000, though it covers an area that’s probably smaller than Oldenburg. This means it has a bit of a big-city feel here, and the buildings are built upwards, which looks rather odd, as there are occasionally lower buildings mixed in amongst them. But I quickly got used to it. The city has an old cathedral on the square in front of the ‘Mercado Central’. The city centre feels very cramped, but that naturally gives it a quaint and charming atmosphere, with lots of shops and neon signs lined up close together.

My home for the first few days, however, wasn’t in the city itself but in a suburb – the city’s harbour, El Grao. This is very typical of this region: the towns are situated about 5 km from the water and have their own small harbour suburb right by the sea.

I was given a very warm welcome, and the hospitality in Spain is truly remarkable. It was here that I also got to know some of the Spaniards’ customs for the first time. Particularly when it comes to food, as you really need to set aside plenty of time for meals here. A proper lunch, usually around 2.00 pm, or dinner, around 9.00 pm, can easily last up to two hours.

During the first few days, we set about looking for a flat for me. A university housing organisation, known as PIAC, provided a list of private flats. Student halls of residence were, in fact, hardly affordable (well over €300 a month). So we went round looking at many, many flats before we finally succeeded on the fourth day of our search. At that time (early November), incidentally, it was still a pleasant 25–30° with wonderful sunshine (though this was to change).

My own flat was right in the city centre. My landlord was a Spanish businessman; there were also two workers from Argentina living with me in the flat. Although my landlord also spoke English and German, from the very beginning he and my flatmates spoke almost exclusively Spanish to me, so I learnt Spanish faster than I could ever have dreamed; to help me, I’d bought a self-study Spanish course. The flat was relatively expensive by comparison (€200); some flats were available from as little as €70. However, this one did have a fully equipped kitchen, a washing machine, internet, two bathrooms and even a cleaner. Unfortunately, Spanish flats rarely have heating, and this one was no exception, which turned out to be a drawback as winter set in.

Once I’d more or less settled into my flat, I headed off to university for the first time. I was in Castellón to undertake a chemistry lab placement in a research group led by a professor who was a friend of my professor back in Germany.

So I didn’t have any lectures to attend, but was more or less there to ‘work’. Nor did I attend a language course, as I arrived in the middle of the current semester. As it turned out, however, the fact that everyone in the lab spoke English well meant I learnt Spanish more quickly, as I picked up new words every day. In any case, the atmosphere in my research group was very good. It was a diverse group of PhD students and chemists (e.g. from India and Morocco, as well as from many regions of Spain).

Incidentally, you shouldn’t expect everyone in Spain to speak English – in fact, it’s actually the exception – which is why it makes perfect sense to know a few basics beforehand.

So, once I’d settled into city life and everyday university life, I set about having my first experiences with ERASMUS students. There are organised activities for this, run by the ‘AEGEE’ office. These include, for example, meet-ups with other students or trips. For example, I went to Madrid with this organisation.

Generally speaking, you should take the time to travel now and then (unfortunately, I didn’t get to do that very much). You absolutely must visit Madrid and Barcelona – both are lovely cities.

Once you’ve established contact with a few students, there’s plenty to do and plenty of opportunities to go out in the evenings. Castellón has lots of small bars (some of them very tucked away), as well as a few nightclubs (mainly in ‘Lagasca’).

My daily routine was mostly taken up with working in the lab, and in the evenings I very often met up with friends and ERASMUS students.

The university had a few places to shop (e.g. chemists, a newsagent, etc.). The canteen was actually quite good across the board, and there were often some traditional dishes on offer.

As for food in general, it’s worth noting that the supermarkets are excellent for shopping; the range of fresh meat and vegetables is truly vast. Above all, however, this region of Spain is a great place to buy fish. Every supermarket, no matter how small, has a fish counter. There are also greengrocers, as well as a large market in the city. The cost of living is actually hardly any different from that in Germany. Flats, however, are generally a bit cheaper.

If you’re applying for BAföG for study abroad (as I did), you really should take a language course beforehand, as otherwise you won’t receive any money until then. This meant that I only received the money at the end of my stay, or rather once I was back in Germany. This was because my professor provided me with a certificate confirming my Spanish language skills towards the end of my stay.

I learnt Spanish really quickly; an audio language course, along with simply listening and having conversations, helps you make enormous progress, especially if, like me, you’ve had hardly any opportunity to take a course. It really isn’t a problem. Looking back, I’m not at all sorry I didn’t take a course, as I probably learnt just as much during my time in the lab.

As a final tip, it’s worth mentioning that it’s best to shake off the German hustle and bustle as quickly as possible. In Spain, everything moves at a more relaxed pace. People don’t mind if you’re late now and then. And it’s perfectly fine to start work a bit later sometimes, too. However, that doesn’t mean Spaniards are lazy. If they start work late, they also finish late.

As for the nightlife, it’s worth noting that here, too, it’s best to take your time. Most parties don’t really get going until 2.00 am, and nightclubs sometimes don’t open until 1.00 am and close at 9.00 am.

Shop opening hours in Spain are also a bit different: usually from 9.30 am to 2.00 pm and from 5.00 pm to 9.00 pm. Large supermarkets, however, are open all day.

It might also be worth taking an old mobile phone with you from Germany, so that you only need to buy a new SIM card in Spain – the local mobile phone tariffs are actually quite good.

In conclusion, I can only recommend spending some time abroad. I particularly enjoyed my time in Spain.