Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM)

Buy a abonno for the public transport in a tobacco-shop, it saves you a lot of money A lot of groceries are cheapest inj the dia, and vegetables/fruits you can buy cheap in the mercados

just expect the unexpected

It was really hard to understand everything people said to me at the beginning because of different dialect. But I got used to it in a few months and was able to communicate well. If you want to learn the language, make friends with the locals. Even if you do not understand them at the beginning, you will be able to communicate well at the end. Use a dictionary to define words that you do not know, especially those words that you hear often. Do not rely on the definitions of the locals. Make sure you brush up grammar rules in order to start recognizing good and bad grammar structures. University provides reference books in many of its libraries. If you use dictionary, read grammar books and interact the locals, you should increase your chances to learn the language of the locals.

This Erasmus exchange has been the greatest academic year in my life. I've made very good friends, experienced a lot of wonderful stuff, grown up too...Try to travel, Spain is beautiful and a lot of cheap bus travel all the country.