What former students have said
Kathrin Köstl (Austria)
En el marco de un semestre Erasmus pasé seis meses en Zaragoza. Es una ciudad hermosa, llena de contrastes y sorpresas. Por un lado, Zaragoza es una ciudad histórica con muchos edificios antiguos. Por otro lado, ofrece aspectos muy modernos, como el recinto de la Expo o el Museo Pablo Serrano. A primera vista, la ciudad parece ser un poco conservadora, pero también se pueden encontrar barrios más alternativos e interculturales como La Madalena.
Pero lo mejor de Zaragoza no son sus barrios, edificios o museos sino su gente acogedora, hospitalaria y servicial. En el corto tiempo que pasé en Zaragoza hice muchos amigos y conocí a personas que han enriquecido mi vida. Mis compañeros de clase me acogieron muy bien y me ayudaron cuando tenía preguntas o problemas. En los trabajos de grupo se me consideraba como un miembro plenamente válido y así podría contribuir y trabajar como los otros. También los profesores no me trataron como estudiante Erasmus, pero me integraron como cualquier otro estudiante en las clases. Eso me dio desde el principio la sensación de pertenencia.
En mi tiempo libre fui a menudo a los Pirineos para hacer senderismo con un club de montaña. ¡El paisaje de los Pirineos es impresionante! A través del deporte conocí a gente encantadora. También pasé mucho tiempo con la comunidad de Couchsurfing y acudí a las quedadas y excursiones de este grupo amable y divertido.
Nunca olvidaré el tiempo maravilloso que pasé en Zaragoza. La despedida fue muy difícil para mi, pero sé que es sólo una despedida temporal y que volveré pronto. ¡Muchas gracias a todos mis amigos, profesores, coordinadores, que han hecho de mi estancia una experiencia única y hermosa!
Aurelija Asinaviciute (Lithuania)
Spain was my dream country. I wanted to go there to study, to feel the Spanish life from inside. So I chose to take my “Erasmus” in Zaragoza, which offered an opportunity to study Social Work.
Before coming I took a first level 45 hour Spanish course. I had studied a little bit more by myself and thought that I had learnt enough to understand or to say something. But when I came to Zaragoza I realized that I could speak or understand much. So I took intensive course to improve my language skills. After 3 weeks I made good progress with my Spanish. Later on I met more Spanish friends who always corrected my mistakes, which helped to me to improve my language skills.
I should add my personal opinion. Spain is a special country and if you do not speak Spanish it is impossible to feel the spirit. Almost no one speaks English fluently, so to communicate with others you must learn their language. Moreover, if you try to learn Spanish, native people will respect you for your efforts and will help you in every way, you just need to ask. So my great experience started when I learnt to speak Spanish.
Zaragoza became my second home in this world and I will always come back. It is not a big city like Madrid and sometimes it reminded to me the capital of my country – Vilnius. At first sight Zaragoza is quiet town. But then you get know more about Aragonese culture, about their traditions, etc. You will definitely get in touch with an extremely different lifestyle.
So, I can only tell you good things about Spain and its people and it will stay in my heart for ever. I could talk about Spain for hours but it would not be enough for you to know this country: Everyone should go there and discover it. You will always find something different and stunning.
Astrid Loidl (Austria)
Studying and living in Zaragoza for a semester was a great experience! All of the courses I chose were very interesting and the teachers friendly and helpful. At the beginning I had problems with the Spanish language but at the end of my stay I felt confident. As I don’t study “social work” but “nonprofit, social and health care management” I had to mix all different kinds of courses and even had one course at the economics faculty. That gave me a good insight in all the different careers offered in Zaragoza.
You will find a big ERASMUS and exchange student community in Zaragoza. I got to know some very interesting people from all over the world and made a lot of friends. Regularly I received newsletters from AEGEE (a student organization) which organizes lots of exciting activities for students. With AEGEE Zaragoza I travelled to the north of Spain during my Easter holidays and with AEGEE Madrid to Sevilla. Both were outstanding trips where we did a lot of strenuous sightseeing but always had great fun. In general I recommend taking the chance when you are in Spain to travel because only by doing that you can explore the beautiful and very versatile country.
I am very happy that I got the opportunity to experience the very wonderful, unique Spanish mentality and improve my Spanish. This semester was the best I had so far! Te echo de menos Zaragoza!
Katrin Dillinger (Germany)
Viví y estudié cinco meses y medio en Zaragoza. Fue una experiencia bonita y única que nunca voy a olvidar. La ciudad y su gente me recibieron muy amablemente. Son todos afectuosos y abiertos y me integraron rápidamente en su ciudad. En la universidad encontré estudiantes y profesoras que me ayudaron en muchas ocasiones. Cuando tenía preguntas, dudas, problemas, etc., siempre pude encontrar alguien para ayudarme.
Además realicé mis prácticas de trabajo social en un Centro de Tiempo Libre para niños. Allí viví experiencias personales maravillosas y adquirí muchas experiencias profesionales útiles que refuerzan mi aprendizaje y contribuyen a mi formación en el trabajo social. En el Centro de mis prácticas encontré a un equipo que me integró rápidamente, que me ayudó, en el que me sentí bien y me hice cada día alegría a trabajar. En las otras instituciones que visité también me recibieron de manera amable. Pude adquirir un amplio conocimiento sobre el trabajo social en Zaragoza, que considero como muy efectivo y profesional.
La manera de vivir, el ambiente de la ciudad con sus bares y cafés, las plazas, las avenidas y calles estrechas, la cultura mezcla de modernidad y de antigüedad, los comercios, las fiestas, los exposiciones, conciertos y museos, los parques, el cine y muchas cosas más a ver y a hacer, etc. En pocas palabras, toda la viveza y diversidad en la ciudad me impresionaron desde el primer día de mi llegada.
Los cinco meses en Zaragoza fueron un tiempo en que pude profundizar mis conocimientos profesionales para mi propia formación y que al mismo tiempo estuvo lleno de experiencias bonitas a nivel personal y cultural y útil para mi propio crecimiento como persona. Para terminar quiero decir que estoy muy agradecida porque tuve la oportunidad de vivir estas experiencias inolvidables.
Julia Graffer (Austria)
Having the opportunity to live and study one semester in Zaragoza was an outstanding experience. The inhabitants of Zaragoza are very nice people, they are open-minded and always ready to help, e.g. if I had problems or doubts at university everybody I asked, students as well as teachers, helped me as much as they could and often that was more than I expected. Moreover, in Aragón people speak very clear Spanish; so, when you already speak some Spanish it won't be too difficult to understand them.
Although you cannot compare Zaragoza with Barcelona or Madrid it is a beautiful city with an impressive centre, big parks, lovely squares, nice shops and a nightlife that comes up to students’ expectations . There are many Erasmus students, so you will get to know a lot of people from other European countries and the "Fiestas Erasmus" are excellent.
My recommendations for future Erasmus students in Zaragoza are the following:
-you should already have a good basis in Spanish to be able to follow the lectures and a Spanish course before the beginning of the semester is very helpful to get used to the language.
-It is very recommendable to live with Spanish speaking people as the more you are "forced" to speak Spanish the more you improve.
-Don't be afraid to speak with the teachers if you have problems at university. Most of them are very helpful and show comprehension for the situation of foreign students. This does not mean that you can be lazy the whole semester and nevertheless will pass the exam; you DO have to work and study to pass the subjects, but if teachers notice that you are hard-working, they will help you.
-Make the first move to come into contact with Spanish students. They are often not sure how to handle foreign students (e.g. because they don't know how well they speak their language) but if you talk to them first, they are very, very friendly and you will have some new friends soon.
-Make excursions: Zaragoza is very well located, in a few hours you are in Barcelona (and therefore at the sea), Madrid, Bilbao, etc. and an excursion to the impressive landscape of the Pyrenees is definitely a "must".
I would come back to Zaragoza at any time again. The time here passed far too fast and I came back home with many new friends and experiences I will never forget.
Bente Sørlie (Norway)
During autumn 2007 I was an Erasmus exchange student at UNIZAR, studying social work. All the courses were in Spanish so I really got to the opportunity to improve my language skill. I was happy that I had lived in Spain before because it was a challenge. In addition, I was able to tailor a really interesting combination of courses together with my Norwegian and Spanish mentor. The faculty of Estudios Sociales is a very modern building. It has a great cafeteria where they serve a small breakfast and also nice dinners at a good price. My experience is that the people working at the faculty are really nice and helpful.
I lived at Residencia Pignatelli, which is student home for several schools in Zaragoza and home for some of the Erasmus students. Breakfast (cofee and donuts), lunch and dinner are included in the price and we did not have the opportunity to cook ourselves. The cleaning was super. The Residencia is located in the outskirts of the city. A lot of my fellow students lived in the city centre and were really satisfied with that.
In the autumn, Zaragoza has a major festival, Fiestas Del Pilar, which lasts for a week. The festival comprises concerts and traditional events and the whole city participates. I really recommend it :)
Carolyn (Germany)
You might think that you know the town after two days. Don’t underestimate the treasures hidden in the alleys of the city…
You may find the meals weird. But wait until the shops of sweets and the huge assortment of tapas attract your attention…
After all you do not need to be afraid of “the brave new world” because the Spanish people are very hospitable and open-hearted. Not only in the University you will get to know friends (whether students or teachers). You will see that the warm weather makes a big difference in the habits.
If you chose to pass your studies in Zaragoza, you will also meet all kind of different nationalities. So besides of living in a totally different culture with all its elements there are lots of other countries and mentalities to discover.
Finally you will see that the farewell is just as sad as the homecoming longed for.
So perhaps soon you may miss the streets and bars you got to know so well. You should better not say goodbye forever…
Bertha (Nicaragua)
Soy estudiante de 4º año de la licenciatura de Trabajo Social de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua (UNAN-León). Por el convenio existente entre la Escuela Universitaria de Estudios Sociales de la Universidad de Zaragoza y la facultad de Humanidades de la UNAN-León realicé mis prácticas profesionales en instituciones de Zaragoza con duración de tres meses.
Han sido tres meses intensos llenos de constante aprendizaje no solo a nivel profesional sino también personal, sobre la cultura, costumbres y el hecho de adaptarme a una vida y lugar diferente significa un crecimiento muy grande. Los profesores, estudiantes y profesionales en donde realicé las prácticas han sido muy cálidos y hospitalarios, logré relacionarme mucho con ellos, por los que tengo mucho cariño y agradecimiento.
En las instituciones que estuve pude conocer los modelos de intervención, técnicas y procedimientos por lo que refuerzan mi aprendizaje y enriquecen mis conocimientos.
En pocas palabras puedo decir que ha sido una experiencia única y maravillosa difícil de describir, lo que agradezco a los docentes de la Escuela, profesionales de las instituciones y estudiantes.
¡Muchas gracias!
Alina Wong (Cuba)
Zaragoza me recibió en una noche de otoño. Ciudad que se sabe en desarrollo, pronto comenzó a mostrarme la multiplicidad de su dinámica interior. Calles, parques, transeúntes, comercios... Zaragoza toda ha girado, para mí, en torno a la vida de su universidad.
En esta, la Escuela Universitaria de Estudios Sociales ha sido cálida anfitriona de mis intereses de aprendizaje. Sus directivos y claustro me acogieron con esa mezcla, inusual, de profesionalidad y fibra humanista, que recuerda la afinidad posible entre instrucción superior y educación para la vida.
Lecturas, intercambios con estudiantes, sabias tutorías, se me iban encadenando al despertar íntimo hacia la lo autóctono aragonés. Y ahora que estoy a punto de partir, en el límite de mi experiencia que siendo percepción pronto será memoria, Zaragoza se vuelve Unizar, Pilar Vicente y la Catedral del Pilar, Enrique Gastón y Diego, Murallas Romanas, Vicky, Puerta del Carmen, Navidad, Ebro, otoño para siempre.