The year abroad - best year yet?

So everybody says the year abroad is meant to be an incredible experience, the best year yet and a whole lot of fun.. I want to analyse this and write my pros and cons about my experience in Spain so far.

The year abroad is amazing because:
1. You can enjoy the culture of another country and get stuck in.
2. It is the best way to improve your language.
3. You can travel the country very cheaply.
4. You deal with everyday situations in the target language. You cannot avoid it, it is everywhere - t.v, in the street, music, at uni, at home etc. Perfect for improving your language.
5. The prices. Food is sooo cheap, so is alcohol, thus a night out is a bargain.
6. I want to write weather here but given that it is chucking it down here and has been raining cats and dogs on and off for a few weeks now, I don't think this point is valid!


Cons of the year abroad:
1. Everybody says "erasmus don't have to do much work".. This is the biggest pile of poo I have ever heard. I get plenty of work from the university here and yes I have to do it because I need to pass the year. Some universities don't require their students to pass but Southampton does. If I have any chance of passing the year I need to do the work set!
2. Year abroad project. Aka dissertation. Yep you all thought I was out here living it up but actually I have to write a serious research project which counts for my mark of this year. It is super important and not easy. Reading, interviewing and writing this bad boy in Spanish is no fun.
3. Being away from home. For me this is the worst part. I hate not being able to jump on a train and go home to see my family. I arrived here in September and won't be going home until December. Doesn't sound long but for a girl who hasn't been away from her family for longer than 3weeks - it is pretty tough.
4. Dealing with the over-relaxed way of life. I mean siestas are great but other than that things happen way too slowly here! For example, our student cards took about 3weeks to arrive and it turns out they are only laminated pieces of card.. We actually thought we would get proper cards like the students do here.. No such luck and it still took ages!
5. Bureaucracy. What a joke! If you have read my post titled "Spanish bureaucracy" you will understand what I mean.
6. Disorganisation. The uni is a joke. Full stop.


Therefore, I think the year abroad is an amazing experience and will be great for my Spanish but it is like any other year work wise apart from I am in a different country and can't see my family.

Adiós!