Universidad de León (UL)

It was a great experience. First, because I learned a second language and despite of this aspect, I learned to live in other environment, to be flexible and adaptable. Moreover, more than an universatary experiences, I learned to live with other people, other culture and thanks to that,now I am more open minded and it was also a good experience to know me more, to see how I react in a new environment,to know what I really wanted to do in my future. It was real personal enrichment.

Be careful on the Metro from Madrid! Travel with Alsa buses. Go on the Junta trips. Eat loads of tapas and drink loads of wine. Go to the beach in Gijon Shop at Carrefour Eat drink and be merry!

Try to travel as much as you can. Leon is quite central to most cities like Madrid (4 1/2 hours), Oviedo, (Gijon and Santander for the beach). Medical services are painfully slow, so if you are likely to be ill, make sure you have private insurance.

ok.. there's about a million. Signatura was a favourite of mine for a wee bit of dancing, though not very big, if your into proper clubs head out on the bus that looks like something out of the BRady Bunch to Baroke.. out of town on the way to Austurias.. its pretty impressive but they get a but carried away with the lazer lights and the raving! Back to El Humedo again.. the best tapas can be found at Bar Latino, a green doored place! Head to Chupitos for a menu of shots you could only imagine! La Competencia however, is a must! THe best pizza outside El Cano! Finally, dont leave without going to the Cidra bar, which serves tasty cider as well as spicy garlic potatos as tapas! oh.. and finish they night off at Bocato Guay.. the take away place near the catherdral.. pop into El Torro on your way there for some serious cheeze,stagger home with your bocato and you will be as happy as larry!

Every region (autonomia) in Spain is wonderful, if you have just little money to visit Madrid, Sevilla, Gijon, Barcelona, Oviedo, Cordoba (for the few cities I have visited), do not hesitate to do so, you definetly won't regret

The accomodation is just across the road from the university. Pretty close to shops. About 15 min walk from the city centre. The reason why I stayed at the residence was first because it was close to Uni (I'm a lazy bugger) and for the atmosphere in the residence. There is always someone around you, you're never alone, you just have to open our door. But you still have your own space. The mix of european students is such that you end up learning a different language than you are supposed to. I was sharing a flat with a spaniard and a dane, spent most of my time with italians and english speaking people from all over the world. To make the best of your stay, I advise to ask to share a flat with one or more spaniards. It just forces you to think in spanish and you'll learn an awfull lot more about everyday expressions, improve your confidence of speech, well trust me.. On the other hand, as mentionned before, the cost of staying at the residence is the double of what you would pay for shared accomodation in a private flat. So my other advice is to stay at the halls for a month, if you like it stay, otherwise look for a flat. The student union (junta de estudiantes) have got a department that will help you looking for flats (they usually have a list of flats and students that are looking for flatmates (both spaniards and foreign students))