My first memory of learning the Spanish language was when I had a handful of taster lessons in year 8 in my secondary school. At that time, I never thought that I would be living in Spain and studying the language for my degree in the future! Unfortunately, it wasn't possible to further study the language in school, but on the other hand, French was being offered as a GCSE subject and for A Level. As a result, I took the opportunity to study French. After leaving school, I decided to go to Aberystwyth to study Welsh to begin, but I decided that the best thing would be to expand my horizons and learn another language so that I could keep my options open. The chance of studying Spanish and being able to go on a year abroad as part of my degree was very appealing!

As I started to learn Spanish from scratch, I decided to study Spanish further at the University of Alicante, rather than learning English as a second language, as some were doing. I wanted a location by the beach in the south, so I went to Alicante. I had never traveled abroad on my own before and this was an experience in itself!

I managed to arrive at the flat without trouble. I couldn't believe my luck when I walked into the living room and saw a balcony with a view of the sea and the beach! I thought that the whole thing was a dream! The 'landlady' was there to welcome everyone without speaking a word of English! Good practice! Fortunately, this reflected the people of Alicante. I was afraid that everyone would speak English as it wasn't far from Benidorm but those passengers passed through! I understood from the 'landlady' that two other girls from Sweden were going to live in the flat with me and that they would arrive the following day. It was a strange feeling staying there on my own on the first night!

The following morning, I went to the University and noticed bilingual signs such as 'Universitat d'Alacant - Universidad de Alicante' and I realised that I was in a bilingual area! After a while, I realized that the Valenciano language was used a lot there and was used often.

The University location was very attractive, and plenty of green to remind me of Wales and modern buildings. We were introduced to the University and walked a bit around the college. After a couple of hours, we were free to leave and a group of us went to the beach for the afternoon. This was my pattern for the day from now on! Studying from around 11 to 3 and then relax on the beach. Of course, there was homework to do nearly every night but that was done after the sun had set! I had the opportunity to travel to nearby villages and go to a festival in Valencia. Nights were arranged by the University such as going for 'tapas' to practice speaking informally, visiting the 'Castillo de Santa Barbara' which overlooked Alicante. Through the University, I also had the opportunity to have an 'intercambio' where I would help a student with her English and she would help me with my Spanish. There were plenty of things to do there if you grabbed every opportunity. My Spanish improved greatly by attending lecturers and also by socializing in the language. By the end of my time there I even thought in the language!

I spent a very happy period in Alicante and I have returned there three times since leaving to spend holidays there and to see friends who are still there. It was a great experience and I would tell anyone to take advantage of the opportunity to go abroad to study a language in order to gain confidence, experience the every day life of the country, and have a taste of the traditions which are an integral part of learning a language.