Welcome!
Hi! My name is Kaitlin and I study BA Hons International Tourism and Hospitality Management at Bournemouth University. For my placement year, I decided to divide it into 3 areas. For my first placement, I worked for AskBU at the university. Then, I worked at a school in Spain and the final part of my placement will be an Erasmus Exchange in Finland!
I chose to study at BU as I was really interested in taking the Spanish Language unit offered on my course. I studied this unit for 2 years and loved every minute of it. However, I wanted to develop my language skills further during my placement year and decided the best way to do this is to visit the country myself.
Language Assistant
I worked at the Escuela Oficial de Idiomas (EOI) Valladolid. They are a school that offer classes for a whole range of languages: Chinese, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and English. They had a language assistant for each language, except Spanish and German.
The students range from 16 – 75 years old. Most of my classes were in the evening, so during the day I would study Spanish, explore the local area, or teach private classes to earn some money.
The people I worked with at the school were amazing, everyone was so kind and helpful. They helped me to improve my Spanish and offered me free Spanish classes, so I was constantly learning and developing my language skills.
The process
I found that this placement was quite a difficult process for a few reasons. As I am due to study abroad in the second semester of my placement year, I found it difficult to find a short-term placement as many employers in my industry were searching for students who were available for an entire year, not just a few months.
Then I had some trouble understanding the entry requirements, due to covid and Brexit. It was unclear whether I would need a visa to work in Spain for less than 90 days, and it took me months (from July – September) to get a clear answer on whether I actually needed one. I think it was difficult to get these clear answers, as people from BU and the embassies were not very familiar with the new entry requirements for non-EU citizens. In addition, with covid restrictions changing in each country, it meant that less people had the opportunity to travel, and thus less people were familiar with the new travel requirements.
I travelled in September 2021 from London Gatwick Airport to Adolfo Suárez Madrid Barajas Airport. Here, I encountered some minor issues as there were train strikes and I was not prepared with an alternative route. Eventually I arrived at my accommodation, but I found it quite difficult to travel from Madrid to Valladolid speaking only English and using Google Translate.
My accommodation
My accommodation was quite different to the accommodation in Bournemouth. Here I lived in University Residence (Alfonso VIII), and the rooms were much bigger than in Bournemouth. However, there was no kitchen, only a microwave, and the cafeteria was closed due to COVID. Therefore, I had to be quite creative with microwave meals and I would often go out to restaurants. The services and facilities in the building are also different. Here, they offer cleaning services, as well as providing towels and toilet rolls. The laundry services are free, and the rent is much cheaper. Here, my room cost just 350 euros (Approx. £300 per month), whereas in Bournemouth my rent was almost £600 a month, plus laundry expenses.
Cultural Differences
There are many cultural differences between the UK and Spain, and I think one of the biggest differences is the behaviour of people. In the UK, we are known for being more polite than other countries. However, before coming to Spain, I was not aware of this and thought that it was just a joke in films and TV shows. After living in Spain for 3 months I realised that British and Spanish people behave very differently, and it took me a long time to get used to this. In the UK, we typically apologise a lot and often the apology is unnecessary, such as walking into a table. In Spain, the people rarely apologise unless it is for something genuine and sincere. For example, in the UK when I take the bus, if myself or my bag accidentally knock into a person I would immediately apologise. However, in Spain, quite often people bump into each other, or their bags hit other people by accident, and they rarely apologise.
Another difference is the time that Spanish people eat. Typically, lunchtime in Spain is from 2-4pm, and dinner from 8-10pm. In England, I would eat lunch at 12-2, and dinner from 5-7. This was really difficult to get used to, as I would go to sleep with a full stomach and still feel full in the morning.
Friends
I made many friends from all over the world during my placement in Spain. I met them through my job, Spanish classes, Erasmus trips and even joining Facebook groups for Language Assistants in the area. It was really great to meet people from so many countries and learn about their culture, and I learnt a lot through them!
I became very close with the other language assistants from my school, and we frequently met up for dinner, drinks or even to practice each other’s languages!
Recommendations for the future
If I returned, I would stay for longer, as I found it really hard to say goodbye to everyone! It was also quite difficult searching for accommodation for just 3 months. If I was in Spain for longer, I would have been able to find a more suitable room in a more convenient location. This would also help with any visa uncertainty, as it is very clear that you need a visa if you will be in Spain for more than 90 days.
For other students interested in working in Spain, I would recommend that you apply for visas (if necessary) as soon as you have all the required information. The Embassy in London can only be contacted via email, and they can take a long time to reply. I also think that is very important that you have at least a basic understanding of Spanish, because it was very difficult to survive just on English and Google translate. For example, you need to be able to order food in Spanish, as well as ask for directions and answer common questions in Spanish. If you are in Madrid, many people speak English, but in other areas it can be difficult to find English speakers.
Conclusion
Overall, I had an amazing time! During my experience, I learnt to become much more independent. I became more comfortable being on my own (for example, travelling through airports or other locations in Spain) and dealing with problems on my own (such as language barriers, or when I had minor issues in the airports). I was also able to massively improve my language skills, as I went from a Spanish level of A2 to B1 in just 2 months.
My time in Spain has definitely helped me to define my future career and personal goals. I was introduced to a range of experiences, and I discovered that I have a deep love for learning languages. Now, I'm learning Finnish for my time in Finland, and I am certain I wish to have a career either teaching languages, or living abroad (or both!). I would definitely return to work as a language assistant again and I would recommend this experience to anyone looking to learn a language and discover a new culture!