Exchange Report – Bilbao, Spain

Gianina Acevedo Consumer & Business Marketing 2015.01.31 Bilbao HT 2014 Exchange Report – Bilbao, Spain
Background
Prior to this exchange semester abroad, I had been longing for it for a really long time, back since
the period in high school. I have always been conscious about the great experience it would be to
live in another city or country, more than just visiting it as a tourist in a short period of time. On a
personal level I knew this would implicate to open up my senses, learn to see things from other
perspectives and to see a different construction of society. Also, the factor of adding this kind of
experience on my CV was also evaluated. Since I didn’t go abroad during my Bachelor period, I
decided to definitely take the last chance now during my third semester of the Master
programme.
Bilbao, Spain was not my first thought when thinking of exchange studies, however my overall
goal was to develop my academical Spanish. Since there were no other choices of universities in
Spain in the partnership list arranged by the faculty of business at Stockholm University during
the fall semester of 2014 I applied for Deusto Business School. This is something I won’t regret!
Bilbao
The absolutely best thing with Bilbao was that because of it being a quite small city, there is
walking distance to all places. Additionally it was a very clean city. The river in the middle of the
city locally called ‘La Ría’ adds a beautiful aspect to the city it was cosy to walk along it on my
way to the university each day. During the evenings it is full of runners running along the river.
The subway system is smooth and useful, especially if you are going to the beach during the
sunny days, it will take you only 15-20 minutes. Further, the bar culture is notorious, there are
small bars along every street and they are crowded during the evenings. Another local habit that
you have to make your own during your stay, is to drink wine/beer and eat pintxos (almost like
tapas from South of Spain) as a social thing.
Guggenheim Museum & the river locally called ‘la ría’ Pintxos & Red Wine
The level of costs is quite high, one of the most expensive areas to live in within Spain. However
the alcohol and food at restaurants was still cheaper than in Sweden. My expenditure during my
semester was quite high, mostly because we ate out quite often and since I made several trips
during my stay. Therefore I also spent some of my savings there. However I travelled to San
Sebastian, Santander, Logroño and France (Biarritz & Saint Jean de Luz).
Gianina Acevedo Consumer & Business Marketing 2015.01.31 Bilbao HT 2014 Deusto Business School
The University of Deusto and more specifically Deusto Business School is a private university
and has a really good reputation in Spain and the students which are admitted have good grades
and pays quite a lot for their education. In the master programme I took part from we were 15
students. Out of these students, it was only me and another French girl studying only one
exchange semester. The contact with the host university was good, and it was really accessible.
The courses I took were part from the one year Masterprogramme in Advanced Marketing
(Sustainability & Responsible innovation in an interconnected world, Relational Marketing, B2B
& channel management, Integrated communication) and also one intensive Spanish course. The
level of the intensive Spanish course was quite low, however most people continue taking part of
these classes in order to obtain the credits or because it was a great way of getting to know other
students in the initial part of the semester.
Since I studied Spanish until I was 14 years old as my mother tongue, I decided to choose the
Mastercourses in order to challenge myself and obtain a high level of Spanish. These courses as a
part of a on year master program implied a high level, but also a different way of working in
comparison to Stockholm Business School. Almost every day we had some kind of group
presentation and since we only were 15 students within the program it regarded more interaction
– a radical change from the classes at SU. The negative side was the fact of the classes being
compulsory and consequently gave you less time to prepare for the presentations and
submissions, which sometime affected the quality of the work. At the same time I think I
developed skills and ability to work in another totally different approach and also learnt to work
under time pressure. Personally, I am satisfied with this distinction, since it makes my overall
studies more complementary. However, I had really much less time to travel than the other
Erasmus students that were studying courses on a Bachelor level.
Deusto Business School
Housing
Regarding the housing I was not happy with it at all. I took part of the application arranged by
UD. The positive part was it was a third part involved, which felt more secure if there would be
any trouble with the landlord and that everything was arranged before my arrival. However, as
soon as we got there I realized me and my flatmates were paying more than the ones that
Gianina Acevedo Consumer & Business Marketing 2015.01.31 Bilbao HT 2014 arranged living by their own. The apartment was in good conditions and was located quite
centrally with short distance both to university, the city center and the old town area. I shared the
flat with four other students, two Belarusian girls, one French girl and one Spaniard. We paid
395€ each month, we had the minimal household utensils possible, a too small refrigerator for 4
persons and some problems with the landlord.
The housing agreement made it complicated to change housing without loosing the deposit.
Therefore, I would recommend to find housing by yourself if possible (there are groups on
Facebook where they post flats continuously). It will be both less expensive and easier to change
if not satisfied.
Personal implications
Personally, this exchange semester turned out to be a great experience, especially since I didn’t
know anyone before going there. Even though I had been on a similar trip the year before in
China, it was only for one month and this kind of experience takes out the best of yourself, so I
totally recommend it if you are doubting! I learned a lot about myself through the many, many
group works we had to do and through the endless presentations we had to do. The purpose of
developing my academical Spanish, was definitely achieved. Since there was mostly Spaniards I
hanged out with, I got to know the culture more deeply and got more involved with contemporary
issues, in comparison than the people that only shared with other exchange students.
Recommendations:
§ Try to hang out with students from Spain or the Basque country (Even though they might
not be from the area, you get valuable tips and experience the culture in another way)
§ Involve in extra scholar activities apart from classes (the University offers a range of
extra activities, everything from painting, to voluntary work to photography.
§ Visit the nearby areas and take part of the excursions that are arranged (it is worth going
to these places even by yourself with other company), Hiking to Gaztelugatxe and to
enjoy the nature at El bosque pintado.
§ Don’t forget about the Siesta hours (14-16/17) and that almost everything is closed on
Sundays, even supermarkets!
§ Go to the street called Pozas to have a beer and pintxos when the local team Athletic
Bilbao is playing, it is an experience!!
§ Visit a wineyard, there are a lot in La Rioja (only 1 hour from Bilbao
wineyard in Logroño
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask me by just emailing me on
gia.acevedoc@gmail.co