Settling in at the Universidad de Sevilla

Hey! My name is Lauren. I study Politics and Spanish at UOM and I’ll be sharing my journey of my year abroad in Sevilla, Spain. To help those who will be doing study or work placements abroad in the future, I will be sharing the trials and tribulations of moving abroad from the perspective of a student, a foreigner in Spain and as a vegan (in a country where this is admittedly challenging at times).

So far, it’s been exciting and stressful to say the least. Seville is a beautiful city and everyday I’m seeing why so many people have told me that it has a special feel for them. After eight years of studying Spanish in school and at Manchester, this is what I’ve been preparing for all along – immersion through living here. There are administration difficulties such as enrolling in classes at the University of Seville, bureaucracy challenges like booking the ‘Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjeros’ appointment, which is mandatory, and attempting to open a Spanish bank account which, as I was told, is much more difficult following Brexit. 

My flatmate and I, both vegan, have also been searching every shop we’ve walked past to work out where we can get the best staple ingredients. This is more difficult than in the UK because the mediterranean diet is so heavy in dairy, meat and seafood. Needless to say, shops like Mercadona and El Jamón have been very hit and miss – luckily the quality of fruit and veg here is amazing which really helps! The most difficult thing about being vegan in Spain is the lack of convenience food in shops while there is always a massive selection for everyone else: empanadas, ham and cheese baguettes, Spanish tortilla, and more. Eating out can also be difficult, with few restaurants displaying allergens or being accommodating to vegans and staff sometimes uncertain on the difference between vegan and vegetarian requirements. My flatmate and I have realised the advantage of saving money by cooking our food at home. We’ve found it much easier to get the odd coffee or drink with friends instead of eating meals, there will usually be one or two things on the menu that we can have though if we feel like it.

I think the main attributes anyone who does a year abroad will acquire are resilience and patience. Six weeks in, many things haven’t gone right the first time around, particularly regarding enrolment at university and getting wifi in our flat. It is easy to feel down when an interaction in your second language hasn’t gone as smoothly as you wanted and sometimes you don’t understand what someone says (particularly with the strong Andalusian accent) but the most important thing is that we try. With time, we will improve and grow in confidence. Mistakes are natural and are never really going to be a big deal. So far, so good!