Malaga, Spain

Port of Malaga from above

Six months ago, Malaga was just a place on the map on the South coast of Spain, particularly in the region of Andalusia and the very much loved country Spain.

Today Malaga is much more than just a place on the map. Malaga is now holding a very special place in my heart. Malaga knows how to make the best “churros” and “bocadillos” in the morning. Malaga knows how to wake you up every morning with the sun in your bedroom and make you the most magical sunsets in the evenings – every day. It also knows how to make you feel happy every single day of your living there and help you create the best memories of your life. It shows you the way of living on the sunny side of the world, with the most amazing people and unforgettable moments.

Now, Malaga is a luggage full of memories that I will never unpack. In fact, it’s impossible to put this experience in words and publish them on the blog. Nevertheless, I’ll try to impress you over Malaga, by giving you a short summary, a few information and photos which I will save forever, to remind me that this experience was real.

“Why did you choose Malaga for Erasmus?”. My answer may be long, but it’s simple. Firstly, – it’s in Spain. Anything to add for? I bet it’s hard to find a person who doesn’t like Spain. Spain is known as a happy country. In fact, it’s proven that Spanish speaking people are the happiest people. It’s a country where the climate is very good through the whole year. Than we have a region of Andalusia. It’s beautiful, diverse and I can assure you, it’s very different from the Spain you have known so far. And finally, why Malaga. It’s the South coast of Spain, where I have never been before. The sun, palm trees and the sea is an every day view. If you love this, you already love Malaga. What else? The language. I wanted to improve my Spanish, which I definitely did. At last but not least, I study tourism. Malaga has strong tourism. I was thinking, if I go there I can be in touch with a city full of tourists and get a different perspective about it. Experience a life living in the city full of tourists. Even the faculty of Tourism in Malaga may have a different approaches to students of tourism. So I took a chance and chose Malaga.

 MALAGA (1. Center Pompidou, 2. Path to the port, 3. The port from above, 4. Malagueta beach)

The University of Malaga is really big. It’s not the university we’re used to. If you have ever wanted to experience the life living in the campus, Malaga is offering that option also. UMA (University of Malaga) is saperated on 2 parts. One is the campus El ejido, which is a little bit older and it’s in the center of the city. You go there by foot. Another, is the Campus Teatinos – where the Faculty of Tourism is. You go there by a bus, but it doesn’t take long. The bus (n. 11) for Teatinos goes every 10 minutes and you get there in 15-20 minutes (depend on the traffic). The Faculty of Tourism is offering many interesting subjects but none of them are in English. If you get lucky, you might have 1 subject offered also in English, but the English spoken by Spanish professors is not understandable. So my advise is, stick to Spanish subjects. Every subject contains practical and theoretical part and usually both are obligatory. Even if they’re not, go anyway. Like that, you can improve your Spanish, pass the exams easier and get to know you schoolmates who are actual inhabitants of Malaga. You might find lecturers difficult to understand, because Spanish language in Malaga in not normal Spanish. It’s called Andalus. They speak fast and do not pronounce the last letters of the words. They are nice but do not expect any privileges from them, just because you’re an Erasmus student. You’re equal to your Spanish schoolmates. Oh, and don’t worry if a professor doesn’t reply on your e-mail right away. You’re in Spain, everything is “con calma”.

The Faculty of Tourism (Teatinos Campus)

When it comes to life and people in Malaga, there are few stereotypes. Everybody is saying that life in Malaga is on the “slow motion button”. It is true. Everything is always “con calma” and “tranquilo”. People there will not stress about being late, or about not getting on the first bus, running down the streets just to get to the store as soon as possible, wake up early and run the errands as the routine is saying. They are waking up around 9-10 a.m., because shops and bars are closed till that hour anyway. Afterwards they have breakfast in some tapas bar, where they usually offer some breakfast sandwiches with natural orange juice and coffee – “bocadillo con zumo de naranja y café”. Only after it, they start their day. Another stereotype I heard about inhabitants of Malaga before I went there was about the Romani people, known as “gitanos”. You will see a lot of “gitanos” on the streets and also people from Marocco. Since Africa is really close, a lot of African people come to Malaga with tobacco and other small things to sell on the streets. What is normal in Malaga and may not be normal for us, is also the thing with toilets. We are all used to ask for the permission to use the toilet in a bar, if we’re not clients. Or we may even have to pay for it. In Malaga, you don’t have to ask for permission. It’s normal that you go in any bar just to use the toilet, even if you’re not the client. And when you’re walking the streets, don’t be surprised if people won’t wait for the green light. If there’s no cars, you can cross the street. The policeman will see you, but won’t say anything to you. I guess they have their own rules about green and red lights. And about the Police, you’ll see them everywhere. They park a car on the walking zones, streets, squares and supervise the crowd 24/7. That makes you feel really safe all the time. You can see them even at 4.30 a.m. when you’re walking home from the party. People in Malaga are very calm, open, loud and know how to live their life. They are very much familiar with siesta and fiesta. They do siesta time every day and they never skip it. You can find them in tapas bars on drinks and tapas every night, not just on the weekends.

Malaga Center –panoramic view

By staying in Malaga, you have a great opportunity to see the whole region of Andalusia. Everything is practically really close. All the cities of Andalusia are not more than 2 hours and a half away from your new home. You can rent a car with friends, split the gasoline costs (both are really cheap), go on organized trips by ESN and MSE or take a BLA BLA CAR and see the most amazing parts of cities nearby. The must on “to see” list is definitely Balcon de Europa in Nerja, Caminito del Rey in El Chorro, Alcazar in Sevilla, Marbella and Puerto Banus, the port of Benalmadena, Alhambra in Granada, The Rock of Gibraltar and their famous monkeys, beaches like Bologna and Tarifa from where you can see the land of Africa and surf. If the finances and time will permit you, do not hesitate to visit some of the destinations like Marroco, Balearic Islands, Madrid, Valencia, Lisbon, Barcelona … The flight tickets are really cheap especially if you’re not confined to a date and the connections from Malaga are really good

1.Alhambra, Granada; 2.Plaza de España, Sevilla; 3. Marocco, 4. Caminito del Rey

The Rock of Gibraltar

If you’re a foodie, Malaga is once again a perfect choice for you. If you’re not, you’re about to be. Malaguenos really love to spend their time with friends and family by the table. There is always food around them. The seafood there is just amazing. And tapas, you’ll be full of tapas when you get back from the Erasmus. Don’t forget to try as many tapas as possible. Trust me, all of them are good. For example Boquerones en vinaigrette, Chorizo, Croquetas, Ensaladilla, Gabmas al pil pil, Patatas ali-oli, Patatas bravas, Torilla, etc.

1. Gambas al pil pil, 2.Ensaladilla, 3. Croquetas de pollo, 4. Bocadillos

About the normal warm meals you will take, depends on you and your habits. You can cook for yourself, cook with your flatmates or friends or just simply eat outside. If you will decide to eat outside, you can find some really cheap places to eat, but don’t expect some healthy meal or grandma’s style lunch you get served back at home.

Erasmus students mostly live in shared flats with other Erasmus students. The price is mostly around 300€ per month including costs such as electricity, water, internet, etc. You can find your flat and flatmates on different groups on Facebook, where people are posting available apartments, looking for flatmates etc., or you can take a look on the website of Erasmusu.com. A lot of students also come to Malaga without accomodation, stay in the hostel for a few nights and take a look for the flats on their own. It’s your decision. As for the location, I would recommend apartments close to Plaza de la Merced or Calle Victoria. By living there, you will stay in touch with other Erasmus students because most of them are always living there. And also all the night events are organized on Plaza de la Merced.

Plaza de la Merced

The nightlife in Malaga is always ON. As I mentioned before, people from Malaga are very happy, and open. They don’t go out just for the weekends. They go out almost every night. The social life is really important to them. And so is for all the Erasmus students. Mostly all the parties are organized by Erasmusic and the crew itself is awesome. They will make sure you’ll feel welcome and get to know the first friends already on your first night. The prices of the entry and drinks are not an obstacle. During the week the entry price is 3€ or even for free. For the weekends, depends on which club you’re going. The entry on parties with Erasmusic will never cost you more than 5€. If you decide to go out on your own with your own company, it can be around 10€. But never too much. Make sure you always have the ID in your pocket and get ready to have fun!

1. Malaga Panorama, 2. Botellon, 3. Plaza de la Merced, 4. Calle Larios (Christmas time)

Public transport in Malaga is very well organized. There is a connection by buses to all parts of Malaga, and you will never wait for the bus for more than 20 minutes. The university also offers students to get the monthly bus card for 27€. If not, you pay your ride 1.30€ for wherever you go. You can also use a train called Cercanias that takes you all the way to Fuengirola, which is the last stop. The only time I used a taxi was when I needed a ride to the airport. That will cost you around 20€.

The cost of living in Malaga will surely be higher than in Slovenia. Not just that the rent is a little bit higher, but you also see how much you spend on food. When you go to Portorož, you still have your family pretty much close to you. Before you go on the seaside, they fill your car with food, so you don’t even spend so much during the week in Portorož. In Malaga, you’re on your own. Every ingredient you will need, you will have to buy. In my opinion, the cost of living in Portorož and in Malaga can not be compared. Malaga is such a big city (even bigger than Ljubljana) and you always have some things to do there. And with all the activities, there comes the price. The scholarship is definitely not enough for all your costs from the beggining till the end of your Erasmus. But it can cover your accomodation rent which makes everything easier. Some students also find a student job while they’re on Erasmus and as I heard, it’s not hard to find it.

My very last day, when I was driving to the airport, I was thinking what are the pros and cons of my whole Erasmus experience. Honestly, the only negative part is the fact that Erasmus came to an end. You will fall in love with the city, the life on your own, the people you spend your everyday with. That’s why the goodbye is so hard. You see friends leaving, going back home, thousands and thousands of kilometres away. Some of them you will see in the future and some never again. You can return back to visit the city, but it can never be the same.

Erasmus is to learn different languages. Not just the language spoken by the country you have chosen. But also other languages from people you hang out with. Erasmus is to get to know yourself. Either you want it or not, you spend most of the time with yourself, by yourself. You get there on your own, you have to do everything on your own. Everything is up to you. You want to make some new friends? You’ll have to approach them. You don’t understand something in the class? You’ll have to ask. You get lost on your first day in the city? You’ll have to find your way home. You step out of the comfort zone and start to live on your own. Erasmus is people. The people you get to know during your mobility and spend your days with. You will never forget them. Those are the people you make your best memories with. The moments you never forget. They form the best year in your life that can never be repeated. And most of all, Erasmus is an experience. Your life experience. An experience full of good things and very little bad things that you can’t even remember after the mobility. No doubt, Erasmus is something I would recommend to every student. If you have the oportunity, take it. The one who’s not taking it, can only regret it.

And so it is. The end of my ERASMUS. I want to thank all those who have been a part of the best year of my life and make it possible.

HASTA LUEGO MI MALAGA

Maša Brulc