HUELVA & SPAIN are so different 

I have chosen this University, probably from the same reasons that everyone else before me did – nice weather, location close to the beach and the ocean and to improve my knowledge of Spanish. As a student on a Master program, I also didn’t have lot of options, if I am honest. So Huelva was the only logical selection for me (as Master students, you can go to following Universities: University of Split, University of Tartu, Universidade De Lisboa, University of Huelva in Alma Mater Studiorum - Universita di Bologna.) Furthermore, because I already did my first Erasmus in the first cycle in Lisbon (in the year 2013) I know what to expect before the mobility – a lot of paper work, writing emails, communicating, etc. But everything is more than worth it! Also, I have been to South of Spain one year before – me and my family had a road trip from Malaga to Sevilla, so I knew, that life there ... is different. 

And … it was! Spanish … is not Spanish in fact, but Andalus! No one speaks English, nor understands English (the professors at the faculties as well, in general). There is no free Wi-Fi in public places. And did I mention no one understands English? I was lucky, I found my flat before arriving there (you can hire a flat on Huelva Housing, but then you will live just with Erasmus students, so I preferred living with Spanish ones, so I would be forced to practice Spanish and actually learn their culture). I contacted one Spanish girl via the Facebook page (Erasmus Huelva 2015/2016), where lots of people are sharing things ... so, the first month was quite hard. And I didn’t expect that! Because when I did my Erasmus in Lisbon, I felt like home after the first day. And Huelva I must admit felt like home ... after more than one month! But now – I don’t want to leave it! Why? First, definitely because of the language. At the faculty, you can choose English classes ... but in fact, English ... is Spanish English. But everyone is SO nice ... and willing to help. Also, it really depends on the professors, what they demand from you – some classes are obligatory, others are not, normally there were presentations and at the end written exams. But this really depends on the class, you are taking. And the favorite statement of all Andalusian people is: “¡No pasa nada!” So once you will learn this, your life will be easier there! ;)

Another pro is for sure FOOD – tapas, cerveza, vino tinto and tinto de verano. The best ham in the world – jamón Iberico! One of the “must do” things in that area for sure! Usually, we didn’t cook at all, because eating outside is really affordable. And good! A normal meal costed 2-3 EUR (1 tapa and a drink), and when you decide to be more fancy – around 10 EUR, if you go with a friend, and you can try a bunch of tapas and get a good bottle of wine as well. In fact, the living costs are the same or even cheaper than in Slovenia! Eating and drinking outside is definitely cheaper, also more or less all the food in the shops! Rooms are cheap – from 120 EUR up to 200 EUR per month (for a room in a 3-5 bedroom flat). So, with the Erasmus scholarship you can nicely cover your living expenses. To continue with another pro - TRAVELING! From the Seville airport, you can get cheap flights to everywhere - from Morocco, Canarias to Portugal. There are lots of low cost flights from Faro Airport as well! South of Portugal became our second home at the weekends. As well south of Spain. You can easily get to any other bigger city in Spain as well (Madrid, Barcelona), and if you like to surf – Huelva gets another +! 

The only con are public transports. There is a train station and lots of buses, running to and off Huelva. But they are kind of expensive. But you have a lot of other options, like BlablaCar or Amovens. Also some cheap bus companies (like Sociobus), that actually costs less than sharing a car. The easiest was of course having your own car (or have a friend with it). There is a lot of Erasmus students, that drive to Huelva with a car, so if you are sociable and ready for action, you won’t have problems with transportation! Because the city is small, all Erasmus know each other (more or less) so it’s really easy to make new friends and/or travelling companions!

To sum up – I would really recommend Huelva for a place to do your Erasmus. But only, if you like a Spanish way of life (read: “No pasa nada” and slow life) and if you are able to do things alone. And not wait for everything to fall from the tree! At the international office, they are REALLY helpful! But, usually you have to wait like an hour, to get your turn. But that’s how life is in the south of Spain! Don’t go for a coffee, if you only have 20 min. Or in the shop. Or the post office. Everything that you want or need to do takes time! But I found it out really nice, especially when you are comparing the life in Slovenia, where everyone is under stress and in a rush. Spaniards really know how to enjoy life and little things. And how to live every day to the fullest.

Oh! And keep in mind – during the siestas everything is CLOSED. Like everything. Even Chinese shops! So discovering supermarkets, that are open all day long is one of the important things as well, especially if you can’t stand to be hungry!

Urška Planinšek

Huelva – un destello de luz

¡Hola! My name is Nik and I was an Erasmus student in the beautiful city of Huelva. I would like to share my experience with all of you, because I know that is really important to get some information about the destination and experience from someone who has gone through this!

When I was thinking about where to go for my Erasmus mobility … for me there was only one option: SPAIN! Fiesta, siesta, sol, playas … But now when I am thinking about why I have decided exactly for Huelva … I cannot find the answer. I have to admit that before my Erasmus experience I didn’t know that Huelva actually exists … The first time I have heard the name Huelva from a friend of mine, who also did his Erasmus there … and this strange name stayed in my head all the way to the choice of my destination for the mobility. And today I can say that I am really proud of my head that it kept this name inside for so long. :)

University of Huelva (UHU)

The University of Huelva is the only public university in the city. They offer you some courses in English that are intended especially for Erasmus students. The offer of these courses is really limited and most of them are from the area of economics. One thing that I really did not like was that they were changing courses all the time … When you finally find something that can be ok for you … they delete this course or move it to the other semester. But if you speak Spanish, the offer of courses in Spanish is really diverse (for all fields of study). They also offer a really helpful free Spanish course from A1-B2.

Stereotypes, first impression and reality?

I went to Huelva totally open-minded … I had heard some stereotypes about Spanish people, but I am not a big supporter of stereotypes … because first of all I want to get to know this nation and then make my own stereotype/opinion about them. I can say that Spanish people from Huelva are really kind, helpful and generous. They live a really relaxed life, without any hurry or stress. They are really living a “no pasa nada” kind of life. :) But there was one thing that I was a little bit disappointed. I think that every student who goes to the mobility, checks the photos about the destination on the internet before the departure. And when you put Huelva in Google … you get many amazing photos of the beaches. But the reality is different! The photos of the beaches are from Punta Umbria, Mazagon, El Portil … (about 25 minutes by bus from Huelva City), which are small cities close to Huelva City. And many of us were disappointed because, we expected something similar to Portorož … walking to the beach and enjoy after the lectures.

Local culture and habits

“No hablo Inglés, solo español!” is the phrase that you will hear all the time. The level of English is really low, so it’s good if you find someone who speaks Spanish to help you to survive the first days and arrange all the important things. The whole Spain, but especially Andalusia, is a really religious country … almost every month there are some religious celebrations on the streets of the city. In Huelva the two most important ones are “Semana Santa” - holly week, when there are processions during all week (many streets are closed and you need like 1 hour to move for 300 metres) and El Rocio, which is pilgrimage to one small village close to Huelva.

Places and activities

Huelva is the ideal city for travelling … Many famous and beautiful cities are located really close to Huelva. One big advantage is also that the flight tickets from Seville (approx. 1 hour from Huelva) are really cheap. During my mobility I visited Seville, Malaga, Granada, Cordoba, Azores, Morocco, Lisbon and Porto. I would definitely recommend you to visit the Azores in Porto. Ryanair has a new line from Porto to Azores, which is really cheap (approx. 65€ for the return ticket). And the Azores are really a paradise in the middle of the Atlantic. One thing that I will never forget is Colour Run by Desigual and ESN meeting of all Erasmus students from Spain in Seville. It was a really amazing experience, when you feel very proud that you are part of this big Erasmus family. Something that you should not miss is also the Doñana national park, where you can see around 300 different types of birds and endangered Iberian lynx.

Culinary and students meal

Huelva (actually the whole Spain) is known for “tapas”, which are a wide variety of appetizers or snacks. You can order hot or cold “tapas”. I will present you some of them that I really like and I recommend them for trying:

Patatas Bravas (fried or boiled potatoes with a spicy sauce) 

Montaditos (small sandwiches with many different ingredients, the most famous bar for montaditos is called 100 montaditos, where you can order 100 different montaditos – with meat, tuna, goat cheese, kebab chicken … and also the sweet ones with chocolate)

Tortilla de Patatas (potatoes and eggs, but there are also some of them with onion, chorizo, prawns... In Huelva there is a bar called San Jose, where they served officially the best tortilla de Patatas in Spain).

Because of the vicinity of the ocean Huelva is known especially for sea food. The most famous is cuttlefish which is very typical in Huelva, and that is why people from Huelva are also known as Choqueros (Choco is cuttlefish in Spanish).

In Huelva, they don’t have students coupons :) But in the Campus El Carmen they have a big canteen, where you can get a menu for 4,35 € - 2 main dishes/1 main dish and one salad + bread, drink and dessert.

Accommodation
In Huelva, there is one dormitory, but it is more expensive than renting a flat. In my case no one of the Erasmus students lived in the dormitory. All of us were living in flats. I suggest you not to look for the flat before the arrival. There is one company called Housing Huelva that helps you find one. Every day they organize a “room hunting” tour, where they show you free flats, and on this tour you can also meet your future flatmates (like I did). The best way is to book a hostel for 2-3 nights and then go to these tours, and I am 100% sure that you will find flat and flatmates. The price for renting is around is around 180€. 

Night life

The main days to go out are like in Slovenia – Friday and Saturday. But in Huelva there is also the Erasmus party Wednesday, when the ESN team prepares theme parties (on the boat, nerd party, Halloween party …). Usually you go out around 1 a.m. (but before that you are doing/drinking “botellon” in one Erasmus flat). First you go to some pubs and bars (all of them on the same street), where you enjoy the drinks and atmosphere (Mombasa, Lancelot …) and after this you go to one of the two discotheques in Huelva (Ego or Theatre). The prices for chupitos (shots) in pubs are 1 euro and in discotheques are 2 euros. Long drinks are between 3-6 euros. And Spanish people love to drink rum!

Transport

The best way to get around the city is by bike or on foot. Huelva is a small city and everything is pretty much close (except beaches). You can rent a bike for 40€/semester in the Campus El Carmen. If you are lazy, you can use public bus (1 ticket = 1,10 €), but if you buy a ticket for 10 rides, you pay only 0,65€ per ride). To go to the beach you have to take a bus (1,55 € – one way), but you can also go by bike (1 hour) through the beautiful natural park, where you can observe one of the symbols of the city – flamingos!

Costs

Costs are more or less the same as in Portorož. But you have to know that you are there only for a short period of time … So you want to try and experience everything! I won’t lie, but I spent around 800 € per month. Only the scholarship is definitely not enough to cover everything. You should go to Huelva also with your own savings or savings of your family. Mummy? Daddy?


PROS & CONS


J good location for travelling

J low prices/costs

J beautiful beaches

L limited offer of courses in English

L post-erasmus depression

I would like to say that I am really happy that I went to Erasmus in Huelva. This experience is totally unreal, and when you come back home you are thinking all the time about everything that you have seen, experienced … I definitely do not regret that I went to this mobility, because you really grow up like a person … you meet so many amazing people, new cultures, different ways of life. I would like to conclude with one sentence that we were using all the time during the mobility: Erasmus is not a year in your life...is a life in a year!

If you need some advice, some more photos, movies, information about Huelva and Erasmus, please feel free to contact me anytime on my email address (nik.jerovsek@gmail.com) or on my FB profile.

¡Hasta luego, amigos!

Nik Jerovšek