EXPERIENCE REPORT
Simone van den Hurk
s.m.w.vdnhurk@tilburguniversity.edu
Psychology
Spring semester
4th bachelor year
Universidad Deusto – Bilbao campus
Spain
For once, I would like to start with a conclusion. These past 5,5 months have been absolutely
amazing. It was everything I hoped for and even more and it changed me in a positive way.
Before my departure to Bilbao in Spain I felt scared and insecure and I had no idea what I
was doing, but I am happy I still did it, because now I can look back on a wonderful time that
is valuable for my further career and life.
I General information about the school
The city
I went to Universidad Deusto in Bilbao. Bilbao is a beautiful city, situated in the Basque
Country in the north of Spain. It is not too small and not too big, and has everything you need
to have fun. The city is a mixture of old and modern buildings and it surrounded by
mountains. The highlights for me are Casco Viejo (the old town), the Guggenheim Museum,
and the walk alongside the river. There are a lot of bars where you can have a drink with a
pintxo (a small bite), clubs where you can go out and nice restaurants. It is also perfect to go
shopping, because there are many shops. In summer you can easily go to the beach by
metro, it takes about 20-30 minutes. Unfortunately the weather is not always great to do this,
it rains very often. But in May and June I also experienced some hot days, so it can be both.
Before I applied for going on exchange I had never heard of this city, but it surprised me in a
very positive way. I enjoyed living in this city so much. It is not too crowded, but there is
always something going on and the people are very kind.
The university
The university is situated close to the new city centre. Overall I am very positive about this
university and the education. The university is much smaller than Tilburg University, but the
two buildings are incredibly beautiful. It reminded me of a monastery and is divided in two
cloisters. There are even palm trees in those cloisters! When the weather was nice, I liked to
sit outside on the grass between the trees and roses, looking over the river. Both buildings
have a nice cafeteria where you can have a coffee or buy a sandwich. Because it is a Jesuit
university, there are catholic paintings and statues in the main areas and a crucifix in every
classroom. This was very different than Tilburg. The four important things for this university
are faith, sports, culture and solidarity. You can join many activities in this four areas. For
example my roommate joined the theatre group and they performed at the end of the
semester.
On the other side of the river was the library. This was a very modern building with
computers, books, working rooms and many tables where you could study. There was also a
big cafeteria. I went to the library to study very often, because it is a nice place, usually quiet
too, and only accessible for Deusto students.
The classes were also smaller than at Tilburg University. The largest group I had class with
contained about seventy students, while in Tilburg I am used to classes of hundreds of
students. The classes are also different. In Tilburg I am used to listen all the time and in the
end take the exam and that is it. But in Bilbao I had to make exercises during class, hand in
many essays and take an exam in the end. I was very busy, but I also feel I learnt a lot there.
II Practical information
Information/housing before departure
Before my departure I received information from Deusto in October. It was all very clear and
contained information about what I had to fill in/hand in, when the semester would begin and
how I could arrange housing. There were three options for housing: a host family, the
residence hall or in a student flat. I chose a student flat and the university sent me a list with
apartments. I had to choose five and then they would place me in one of those. When I got a
message from the landlord about the apartment I chose, it turned out that I would have to
stay in a hotel the first week after my arrival, because the room would not be ready yet. I did
not feel comfortable with that, so I sent an email to the university with the question if they had
any apartments where I could directly move into after my arrival in Bilbao. They were very
helpful and sent me six apartments where I could move into directly and I could choose one.
In the end this turned out to be an amazing apartment where I have been living happily with
three guys the past months.
When I chose this apartment, I got in contact through email with my landlady. We made
arrangements when I would arrive. She did not speak any English, so I had to write her in
Spanish, which was hard, but good for my practice. I booked a flight with the other Tilburg
University student that was going to Bilbao. We took a taxi from the airport that brought us
directly to our flats. Unfortunately my landlady could not be there to meet me, but luckily my
roommate was home so he could let me in and give me my keys. It was weird to come home
in a new place where I would be staying for the next months, but I immediately felt welcome
and my apartment was great with an amazing view over the city and the Guggenheim
Museum.
The start
Two weeks before the semester started, the university offered an intensive Spanish
language course for exchange students. I subscribed for this, because I wanted to improve
my Spanish and also because I thought this was a good opportunity to meet other exchange
students. We had class every day from 9 in the morning till 2 in the afternoon. I learned a lot
in these two weeks and I also received 5 ECTS for this course. And above all I met new
people that became my friends for the rest of the semester.
After this course and before the semester began, we had a welcome meeting. There were
speeches about the university, the different offices and activities and we got drinks and food.
Later we also had a meeting about the computers and library and another meeting about
what we had to arrange before the courses begun. Also at the end of the semester they
organized a farewell gathering to inform us about everything we had to arrange before we
would go back to our own countries. Everything was very well arranged. Also whenever I had
a question I could go to the International Office or sent an email, they were very helpful. The
first day we went to university for the Intensive Course we went to the International Office
and we received some useful information about the city and the university. I am very satisfied
about the International Office, I could send an email or just go there whenever I had a
problem and they were always there to help me. It is good to know that there will always be
someone to help you when you are in a city in a country where you don’t know anyone.
After the welcome meeting we were invited at the city hall. The mayor welcomed us and told
us he was so happy to have us here. There was also a traditional Basque dancer. I felt
welcome and appreciated at that moment.
Also the university offered a Buddy-system. You could send a form with information about
yourself and then the university would match you with a local student. Then it was up to you
how this would develop. I got in contact with a girl who lived in Bilbao and also studied
psychology. We talked through internet and even met up a couple times. It was fun to talk to
a local student and if I ever had questions she could help me, so I was happy to have her.
Living costs
Life in Bilbao has been very expensive for me. I received an Erasmus grant, which was
approximately 210 euros per month. I also received a student grant from the government and
extra money because I was not able to travel by train in the Netherlands those months. This
together was about 400 euros. Besides that I also have a loan, which is 500 euros per
month. So I received a lot of money and I also saved money for this period. My rent was 400
euros per month. Groceries cost me about 150-200 euros per month. And of course I spent a
lot of money on traveling and doing fun stuff, much more than I would have done in Tilburg. I
did not have to buy many books for my courses, but I probably spent 130 euros on school
stuff, which is a lot less than I am used to in Tilburg. Public transport is really cheap in Bilbao
and you don’t even need it, because you can easily walk everywhere. So I spent much more
than in Tilburg, but I did everything I wanted, because I wanted to enjoy this experience as
much as possible. Of course you can make it as expensive as you want to.
Academic calendar
The semester officially started the 4th of February, but I was there before, because the
Intensive Spanish course started at the 26th of January. The first day of classes was the 11th
of February and the last day of classes was 29th of May. The next week the exams started,
from the 1th till the 11th of June. From the 22th of June till the 2nd of July was the resit period.
I decided to stay till after the resits, because I did not know it I had to take one. Luckily I did
not, so I had time to visit other city and enjoy my time in Bilbao. We also had Easter holiday
for a week and a half. And during the semester we had some days of because of holidays. I
thought the semester would be so long, but before I knew it, it was already over.
Social activities
Wednesday night, pintxopote. This was the most famous activity for exchange students in
Bilbao, organized by ESN Bilbao. This organization offers social activities and excursions for
exchange (and local) students. Every Wednesday night they would meet up in a bar where
they offered cheap drinks and pintxos. Every Thursday night there was an Erasmus party in
a club. ESN also organized excursions to other cities and surf trips. I went to pintxopote
many times, because it was great to meet other students and just talk. I also went to Madrid
with ESN, which I enjoyed very much. They organized city tours for us and two excursions to
other cities: Toledo and Segovia. It was very well organized and I had a lot of fun. I would
definitely recommend to join their trips! The university also organized a few excursions to
different cities close to Bilbao. I joined the excursion to San Sebastian. We had to arrange
our own transport, but we got a guided tour in the city. It was fun, but I had more fun at the
trip ESN Bilbao organized.
I met many other exchange students, at university and at the pintxopote, but mainly because
of other people I already met. When you are all by yourself in a new country, you make
friends easily and before you know it you have a new family. I also met a few local students,
mainly in my classes. I even met a girl who is coming to Tilburg the upcoming semester as
an exchange student! I was scared to talk to the local students, because my Spanish was not
perfect and I was afraid I would not understand them, but at the end of the semester I did not
have any problems with that anymore and I even enjoyed talking to Spanish people (in
Spanish of course).
I also travelled through Spain with my friends. The busses are cheap and sometimes you
can even find cheap flights. I went to Madrid, Toledo, Segovia, Sevilla and Córdoba in my
Easter holiday. Another weekend I went to Barcelona. I visited a few cities close to Bilbao
and after my exams I went a few days to Rome to visit a friend. I enjoyed discovering new
places and seeing beautiful things. I was surprised how even cities in the same country can
be so different. For example Bilbao is so different than Sevilla and Madrid is so different than
Barcelona. I don’t have a favourite city, I just loved seeing and experiencing new things.
Culture and language
I did not experience culture shock, but I experienced many differences between Spain and
the Netherlands. The main thing was obviously the language. When I arrived in Bilbao I
already knew a bit Spanish, but not enough to understand everything and to be able to speak
to people. So the first two weeks I was afraid of talking to people and I felt very insecure. But
when you are in another country you can learn the language more easily because you can
practice all day and you automatically learn to listen and read. Especially when I finished the
Intensive Course I already improved a lot and I became better at Spanish every day. I also
took a regular Spanish course during the semester to help me improve. That was an hour
four days a week. I learned a lot there. I also took other courses in Spanish. The first half of
the semester I was really struggling with this. It was so hard for me to understand and to
react to the teacher and other students. I felt insecure in class and I was having a hard time.
The second half of the semester it was a lot better. I had improved so much and I finally felt
more secure when I was talking in class. I even had to do a presentation in Spanish for about
seventy Spanish students. Scariest thing of the semester, but I did it and it went well! I felt so
proud afterwards. In the end I passed my courses and I am happy I improved so much in
Spanish, because that was one of my reasons to go to Bilbao. But it was not easy and you
have to do it yourself. For example, I had an Italian friend whose English was not great.
Because of this and because I wanted to learn Spanish we decided to just speak in Spanish,
and ever since that moment I improved a lot. You just have to do it.
Another thing that was different was the opening hours of the shops. In the Netherlands I am
used to be able to shop all day till 6 o’clock. But in Spain the shops are open from 10-1 in the
morning and then from 5-8 in the afternoon. Especially in the beginning I forgot this and
ended up staring at the closed door of the shop. Now I have to get used to the opening hours
in the Netherlands again, because I am used to be able to shop till 8 PM!
Other things that were different: dinnertime, I am used to have dinner around 6/7, but there
they eat at 10 in the evening, which is really weird for me. Also the life on the streets.
Everyone is out, all the time. Children playing in the street with the parents chatting on the
sidewalk. I really enjoyed this, it felt like I was never alone. I already knew a lot about the
Spanish culture, but I did not know anything about the Basque culture. I learned a lot about
that in Bilbao, because the Basque people are very proud of their culture and you can see it
everywhere. I enjoyed learning about this so much.
I also learned about my own culture. I learned that we are always in a hurry here and time is
money. But it is not a big deal to have to wait a few minutes. I feel the life here is more
stressful than in Spain and I felt more relaxed living there. I hope to keep this feeling living in
the Netherlands. I also learned Dutch people are very direct in giving their opinion about
something. In other cultures it might be rude to express yourself so clearly, so we have to be
careful with this.
Personal development
The semester before I went to Bilbao I was a mentor for exchange students at I*ESN Tilburg.
There I already experienced being around people from different countries. I enjoyed learning
so much about different cultures and countries. Being in Bilbao I learnt even more, because I
met people from countries and cultures I had not met in Tilburg and being in another country
also makes you learn more. I think it is very useful for yourself and your further career to
experience this. For me it was very interesting to talk to people from different countries about
cultural differences and politics. They can have a totally different opinion which makes you
think about your own and the main thoughts in your country. I think now I am more open
minded and see some things in a different way than before. I also think I know myself very
well now. This will be a good thing for my further career, because in my profession as a
psychologist I will have to know my limits and now I think I know better what I can and can’t
do. I learned that I am very lucky to live in the Netherlands, because I receive money to study
abroad. Also I realized how lucky I am to have a European citizenship and be able to travel
to other European countries so easily. I made some Turkish and Russian friends and they
always need a visa, which costs money and never is easy to arrange. But, to be honest, I
also learned that Dutch people tend to be stressful and think negatively and complain, which
is something they should not do, because we should be happy to live here.
I would not do anything differently if I had to do it all over again. I am happy how I did this
and I also feel so proud of myself that I did this and with what I made of it, because it has
been amazing. I do not regret anything.
My best experience… I honestly don’t know. I enjoyed the trip I made during the Easter
holiday, seeing a real flamenco show in Sevilla. Also waking up every day with the most
beautiful view from my window and the feeling of doing this all by myself. And of course the
new friendships I made, that hopefully will last for a very long time. Also I celebrated my
birthday in Bilbao and it was one of the best days of that period. That day I found out that I
made some real friends who care about me. I will never forget that they were singing for me
in English, Dutch, Spanish, Basque, Turkish, Italian, Russian, Slovak and French.
The worst experience was when my laptop broke down in the week I had to hand in two
important essays and exams where coming. I don’t know if I ever experienced this much
stress. In the end I made it, but it was a horrible week.
The most important lesson I learned about myself is that I can ask for help. I always think I
have to do everything by myself and that everything has to be perfect. I was struggling with
one course, which I dropped in the end because it was too much, but if I would have asked
the teacher for help, I probably would have passed the course. This was a huge lesson for
me and I will try to ask for help sooner from now on.
There are so many good memories from this experience, it is hard to choose one. I will just
never forget this and how it changed me in a positive way.
III Academic information
Academic level
The courses at Universidad Deusto are offered in English, Spanish (Castilian) and Basque.
Not every course is taught in every language. I took two Spanish courses to learn the
Spanish language, they were in Spanish of course. I would recommend this, because they
are taught at the level that fits you and you probably need to improve your Spanish to be able
to pass the other courses. The Basque course was taught in Spanish/Basque. This was a fun
course, where you learn about the Basque culture and a bit of the language. I enjoyed
learning about the place I spent the semester. I took two psychology courses in Spanish, one
second-year and one fourth-year. The second-year course was about educational
psychology. It was not a hard course, but I still had to do my homework and study a lot. I
learned many new things and the teacher was very nice. The fourth-year course was about
mediation. We had to do some group works and an individual work at the end. The course
was not too hard, but I dropped this course because my Spanish level was not sufficient for
the individual work. The English psychology course I took was about two types of
psychological treatment: cognitive therapy and psychoanalysis. I also learned new things in
this course. It was not hard, but the level of English of the teacher was really bad. I
sometimes did not understand what she was saying, because she could not express herself
well enough in English.
I started the semester with another fourth-year psychology course in Spanish about
evaluation and intervention in families, but I felt not comfortable in that group with that
teacher and I did not understand so well, so I changed this course for the second-year
psychology course. Later I heard from my classmate, a native Spanish speaking girl, who
was still taking this course that she had to do so much for this course and that the teacher
was really mean. So I would not recommend you to take this course. But in general the
teachers were nice and the relationship between the students and the teaching staff was
very informal and friendly. You could always give your opinion about anything or ask
questions.
The teaching at Universidad Deusto is more practical than in Tilburg. It is a mix between
seminars and lectures. I liked this, because you immediately have to do something with the
theory you learned. But this also means it is important you attend all classes, because often
you have to hand in something during class that will be graded.
In general, I am very satisfied with my academic achievements. I feel I really learned new
things and I feel so proud that I passed my courses in Spanish.
Exams
Spanish course: four writing exercises; a midterm exam and a final exam that contained
listening, reading, writing, grammar and vocabulary; and speaking exercises during class.
Basque course: a small exam at the end of the course that contained a reading and writing
exercise.
Educational psychology: group works in class; a presentation; two essays; and a final exam
that contained forty multiple choice questions and a practical and creative part .
Mediation course: three group works and a final individual work that was a lot of work.
Treatment and Intervention: exercises in class; a group presentation; and a final exam that
contained two parts of twenty multiple choice questions and one part with open ended
questions.
I have been studying a lot this semester, but in the end I feel satisfied with what I achieved.
Other
At the university where a few computer rooms and in the library also. You could easily get
access to the computers and the working rooms. I never reserved a computer or a room,
because other people from our group did that, but I think it is easy to do.
Description of courses
Course
Prerequisites
10704 Spanish
Placement test
Intensive
to determine
Course (BA)
your current
level
Exam
Written,
speaking in
class.
ECTS
5
10721 Spanish
Regular Course
(BA)
Placement test
to determine
your current
level
Written,
speaking in
class.
6
Introduction to
Basque
Language and
Culture (BA)
41016
Psicología de la
Educación (BA)
41088
Mediación y
Relaciones
Interpersonales
(BA)
None
Written
6
None
Written
6
None
Only
assignments
6
41029
Psychological
Intervention and
Treatment (BA)
Knowledge
Written
about
psychopathology
6
Comments
Midterm, four
extra writing
exercises,
homework
assignments
Midterm, four
extra writing
exercises,
homework
assignments.
Homework
assignments
Presentation,
essays, group
works
Three group
works and one
individual work.
A high Spanish
level
recommended.
Presentation,
exercises in
class.
Tips for further students
Would you recommend an exchange period? YES! But only if you are ready for it. By that, I
don’t mean that you can’t think it is scary and feel insecure about it. The day I left to Bilbao
was horrible. I had no idea what I was doing and I did not want to leave my safe home. But I
did it and you can read what it brought me. My motivation for this was that I was sure I would
regret it if I would not go. I made a deal with my parents that I would stay for six weeks and if
I did not like it by then, I could go home. But after six weeks I did not want to go home. You
have to give yourself time to get used to your new life, but after six weeks you know what you
are dealing with and then you can make a decision. But you should always give it a try. I
would recommend Bilbao and my host university. It is a good (and beautiful) university with
kind and helpful people and I enjoyed studying there.
To prepare for going on exchange to Bilbao, check this website:
http://www.bilbaoturismo.net/BilbaoTurismo/es/turistas. There is information about the city
and many pictures. I got excited to go to Bilbao because of this website. Also, expect rain
and bring an umbrella.
If you are going on exchange to Bilbao, I feel jealous, I would love to do it all over again. It
might seem so scary and you might feel insecure, like me, but after a while it will feel like
your second home. And of course there will be good moments and bad moments, but that is
part of life. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am so happy I took it. This will stay
with me for the rest of my life. Like they would say in Basque: Bilbo, beti nirekin!