Type of housing:
Apartment/House

Arranged by:
Independently - I had no other choice

If returning, I would choose:
Apartment/House
Why? We are living with four people of different backgrounds in one house, it is really interesting what you can learn from the people with who you are living with. But it also nice that it isn´t to crowded, you have some privacy in the appartment.

Describe host city:
Students equally interact with the local and student community

Travel, Activities, Nightlife take/s place both within and outside of the university/student environment

Course recommendations:
Some courses are in Catalan and as a foreign student it is hard enough to understand something of the Spanish classes, so that´s why I really boicot the Catalan classes. Also some inscriptions etc. are in the Catalan language (all the information of the sportcentre of the university for example), it is really strange in my opinion that they don´t have it in Spanish)

The language of instruction was:
Spanish

My proficiency in the language of instruction:
before: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
after: At ease in most situations

Learning the language of instruction was a factor in choosing my host country

Main source of funding:
Personal savings

Other sources of funding:
An ERASMUS grant

Work opportunities
I didn't explore any work options.

Personal spending habits:
In Spain it is more usual to eat in a restaurant. In the Netherlands most of the time we were having dinner with friends at home. The telephone was more expensive because of the calls abroad. The accomodation which I found was really less expensive. The nightlife in this big city is really expensive in for example the discotheque. Off course you travel more than you normally do in you own country, so the expenses are higher. Overall the expenses are higher than in at home.

I wish I had known ...
No

In my opinion:
Most people loved it.