GUIDEBOOK TO ALICANTE

Transcription

1 GUIDEBOOK TO ALICANTE Future Alicante exchange students Updated By: Megan Riggs (Spring 2008), Lindsay Betteridge & Hernando Zambrano (Spring 2007) at the University of North Florida Original author Lauren, from Clemson University 1

2 This guide book will be as honest and accurate as we can possibly make it. We want to start off the packet of information with a few things you should do before you leave home. After finding out you have been accepted to the study abroad program you should begin to learn more about the city you are going to, but sometimes it s hard to know where to look for information. A few months before departing you will feel that time is passing very slowly, and the day you are waiting for is taking too long to arrive. It is actually better to have a few months to prepare so that you may obtain information on the city/country, costs of a flight, where you will live, transportation to school, etc. There are so many questions that seem so evident, but can actually be difficult to find the answers at times. Before going to Alicante I always thought of Alicante as a small town. In reality it is not; its population is actually over 300,000 people. I thought the University of Alicante was further from the area of town I was planning to live. It was really only 20 minutes away by bus. Things such as those described above are the ones we will try to help you get to know a little better, so when you get to Alicante you won t feel as lost. Before proceeding to the main section of this guidebook we want to take the time to wish you the best while you are in Alicante. We sincerely hope that your experience will be as enriching and exciting. Studying abroad as a college student is a once in a life time opportunity that should not be overlooked. You might think that going abroad for more than 6 months is a long time but time flies faster than you expect. You need to study and do well in your classes but you also need to take advantage of the time and travel to other cities within Spain and Europe, or even Africa. It all depends on what you are interested in. Best wishes in the most rewarding experience of your life. 2

3 Table of Content A. How much money do I need?- p.4 B. Withdrawing money, opening a bank account and credit cards- p.4-5 C. Arriving to Spain- p.5-6 D. Best areas to live- p.6 E. The International Student ID & Jove Card- p.6 F. How to Stay Connected- p.7 G. Leisure Time- p.7 H. What s the weather like, and what should I wear?- p.8 I. How much Spanish to know, and for what?- p.8 J. Life: at University of Alicante- p.8-9 K. Getting around Alicante- p.9 a. Public Transportation- p.9 b. Where to go out/eat- p.10 c. Going Grocery Shopping- p L. Expanding your study abroad experience- p

4 How much money do I need? Calculating your budget could be a nightmare especially when you need to take into account the exchange rate that is always fluctuation. Up to summer 2007 for every $1 you only get about It may not sound like much but it means that for every $1000 you loose about $300; it really adds up. The way I figured out my budget was by calculating the amount of money I spend during the previous spring semester in Jacksonville. For instance, the amount I was paying for car insurance and gasoline in Jacksonville I used for some traveling. Rent cost could be in the range between You just have to try to find an apartment that comes with all utilities included. Your expense in food will depend on how much you would eat out. I personally used to eat out about once a week. Transportation in Alicante is not too expensive. You will need to get a bus pass (see Public Transportation for details on where to get it). It wouldn t be a bad idea to get some euros at your bank before you leave, between 100 and 200. I know Bank of America and Wachovia can order them for you. It usually takes about 3 days for the currency to be sent to the bank where you order it. Having some local currency on hand when you arrive will be very helpful. You will be able to buy water/food after an 8 ½ hour flight. Also depending on where you arrive in Spain, you will be able to buy your train ticket, pay for a taxi, or both (to be discussed later in Arriving in Spain). Withdrawing money, opening a bank account and credit cards 1. Check with your bank to see if they are going to charge you for withdrawing money abroad. Ask if they have sister banks where you can withdraw free of charge. Some banks will charge you $5 to withdraw money, and the bank where you withdraw the money will take 1% of the withdraw amount. 2. It may very helpful to open a bank account. You only need to go to a bank near where you live, in my case I went to BBVA, tell them you want to open a student account, and all you need is your passport and an address in Spain. You can transfer money from a U.S. bank by providing them the following information: Name of the beneficiary Name of the bank Bank Address The Bank s Routing # or Swift code Account number 4

5 *Wachovia has a $30.00 transfer fee, but it can be very convenient if you are transferring a lump sum. 3. Inform any and all credit cards that you are going to be overseas. You don t want them shutting off your card. Also make sure that none of them are due to expire while you are here. One thing I have found to be helpful is applying for a 12 month no interest credit card before I left. It came in handy while traveling as well as booking flights and hostels. They require you make the monthly payment but there will be no interest. After all, it never hurts to be overly prepared. Before I left I set up all my monthly bills to be paid online. If you don t like using the Internet to pay bills make sure you have someone trustworthy taking care of it for you at home. Arriving to Spain As a student you can get good prices for plane tickets to go to Spain at studentunivers.com. All you need to do is give them the appropriate information to certify that you are a student, and trust me they have great deals. If you arrive in Madrid, which is what most people do, you have two options to get to Alicante: Your first option: you can take the train with Renfe (the Spanish railway system can find info at renfe.com) to Alicante which will take about 4 and half hours, but to be honest it was more hassle than it was worth, mostly because of the suitcases. From Barajas Airport you need to catch a taxi that will take you to the train station (make sure you know what station you need to go to). The taxi is about 4 or 5, and it s only about a 10-minute ride. Your second option: find a way to buy a connection flight to Alicante. I went to Alicante at the end of January which is low season; therefore, I was able to make it a connection flight to Alicante from Madrid. I flew from Miami airport, and the person at the counter said that since I was flying with click air (Iberia s low budget airline) he was able to send my luggage directly to Alicante that way I didn t have to check it again. You can find good deals to fly to Alicante at skyscanner.net. It will depend on the time of the year you are going. Since it may be your first time arriving in Alicante you should consider getting a taxi to take you to your hotel, your apartment, or your host family s apartment. Make sure to have the address where you need to go. University of Alicante gives you three options for accommodation: dorms, host family, or shared flat, which meant 5

6 you will share an apartment with other students. You can also find an apartment yourself. I speak Spanish so I decided to arrive to Alicante, get a hotel room for two nights, and search for an apartment myself. The reason I did it was because pictures online can sometimes be misleading. Also, the apartment might seem well located when it really is not. Lindsay on the other hand, chose to go through the school to find a shared flat. It really depends on your preference, and you might find it easier to let the school find a place for you. She highly suggests booking a hostel or hotel for the first few nights until you get your bearings and speak to your host family or landlord depending on the accommodation you chose. There are a few hostels around town but none are listed on the major websites. I did find a budget hotel that is in a good location called Husa Leuka. You can check it out on hostelworld.com it s about 26 a night. Best Areas to Live Like any other city in the world Alicante has preferred areas to live. There are some areas that you should try to avoid, even though they are closer to campus, they are not very safe places to live. It is recommended that you should find a place to live in and around: Calle de San Vicente, for example, is the most accessible street minutes walk to the barrio and the beach, and also close to the two major bus lines that take you to school. The street is not that large, so if you can t find a place I wouldn t be surprised. The second area I would recommend would be anywhere close to the Plaza de Toros. This is where the majority of the students live. It is quite easy to find an apartment on your own. If the university sets you up with an apartment and you don t like it, you can get your initial housing deposit back at the university in the building called Torre de Control. You are not required to stay in an apartment if you are not satisfied. The International Student ID & Jove Card Don t bother getting an ISIC card in the states, I paid $22 for one in the states and came to Spain and found out I could have bought it here for 6 euros (about $8) so if you decide you want to get one, get it here. Also, a lot of places in Spain don t give ISIC card discounts. The only advantage to the ISIC card is that is does cover baggage loss and a few other things, but more than likely the health insurance you will be required to obtain before getting your Visa covers that as well. There is another card that is much more helpful called the Jove card. This card can only be obtained in Alicante. Both the ISIC card and the Jove card can be bought in the same place (See Public Transportation for more information). If possible bring a few extra passport photos specifically for the Jove card. 6

7 Stay Connected If you don t have a laptop, by all means buy one, it will be well worth the investment. It has been the most useful piece of luggage I brought. Also don t forget your IPOD or camera. Electronics here are much more expensive than in the states. Set up lines of communication with your friends and family. A lot of the other international students here use facebook (facebook.com), my space (myspace.com), msn messenger, and if you don t have skype, I would highly recommend it (skype.com). You can send messages to your friends who have it just like msn, but you can also call the U.S. for $0.02 a minute. You will need a headset (earphone and a microphone) if you decide to use skype, so again you may want to buy it in the states, because it will be cheaper. Leisure Time If you enjoy movies by all means bring as many as you can fit in a CD/DVD case; the DVDs here use a different region than from the US. So you can buy movies here you just can t watch them on your laptop. Some people that were here with me have European DVD players in their apartments, but not all. Although sometimes you can change the region on your laptop, not all laptops have the capability. Don t listen to anyone who says feminine products are hard to come by in Spain. They have everything we have in the states, just fewer choices (only 2 kinds instead of 20). However, recently, a guy friend of mine said the men s deodorant here is not up to par with that of the US so guys, if you re worried about this, please bring a good supply of your deodorant. Aside from that don t worry too much about toiletries. Speaking of fewer choices, I know this will sound American, but if you like ranch dressing, stock up on some Hidden Valley packets of ranch because it doesn t exist here. I have heard rumors that people found some, but only in Barcelona. The Spanish only use oil and vinegar for their salads. Some grocery stores have Blue Cheese and 1,000 Island but definitely no Ranch. And Peanut butter is about $6 a jar so if you like it, bring some, just make sure it s not open. 7

8 What s the weather like, and what should I wear? The weather is very similar to Florida. There have been a few chilly days when I needed to buy scarves and a hat, but no colder than Florida. It is important to pack warmly a few jackets and sweatshirts, maybe a scarf or two and some gloves. And, a lot of the Spanish people don t wear flip flops except for in the summer. The women here are very, very fashionable, so for the most part no jeans-and-a-t-shirt style clothing while in Spain. So, if you want to look Spanish, make sure to bring some of your better clothing. How much Spanish do I need to know? The most important thing I can say to you is to practice your Spanish as much as possible before you come. Honestly, the first few weeks were very difficult, I found myself expecting more people to speak English, but they don t. Not being able to express yourself verbally is extremely frustrating. Please save yourself the heartache and practice, practice, practice. Also, don t forget any of your Spanish books: dictionaries, grammar books, verb books, and travel books. I recommend Frommer s and Lonely Planet as good choices for travel books. I would also recommend a book about the Costa Blanca. This is the area you will be living in; it s also the area you can travel around conveniently and for least cost. Life: at school I am not sure if it will be the same for you, but we were offered the opportunity to take an intensive Spanish language course before our actual semester began. Although it is a bit expensive, I took it and found it extremely helpful. Also, it was nice to be here before the semester, it gave me a chance to adapt without jumping into a full schedule. Also, if you have the ability to advance your level of Spanish; you can continue the language program during the semester as well. This costs money as well, and I only did the first month, but I wish I had continued. I think it would have been well worth the money. You will be attending orientation a week before you begin classes. At that meeting they will provide you with a map of the campus. After you figure out where Torre de Control is located you should stop and find out what they do in that office. One of the main services they have at Torre de Control is announcements for trips and activities. I was able to go to Granada which was one of my favorite trips within Spain, and I also took the cooking course. The trip was excellent because I met people from the University of Alicante, who I became friends with. The Tapas (Spanish food) 8

9 course was great because I not only learned how to cook some Spanish food, but I was also able to enjoy the food at the end of the class. Getting Around Alicante At first you may feel really weird walking around in a city that has all the streets with names no numbers. I was personally really confused at first because I am used to following addresses and directions by numbers. You will have to get used to it because Spain and most European country s streets are names not numbers. The first place where you can find free maps of Alicante is in front of the train station RENFE. What I did to make it easier to look at it and not be seen as a tourist 24/7 was to fold it and make it practical to look at it. I marked the major streets, located the supermarkets, and bus stops. Once you begin to get familiar with some streets you won t even need the map for the most part. Public Transportation Remember the Jove Card? Well, now you will need it in order to get a discount on your bus pass. You need the green Bono Jove card. This is what it looks like: The original cost is but with the Jove Card is for 30 rides. For the most part you only use the bus to go to school. You can definitely get around by foot in Alicante. There is only one place where you can get it. The office s name is TAM and it s located in the north-east corner of Avenida Alfonso X el Sabio and Rambla. The hours of operation are Spanish style so you will need to go before class or late afternoon. It is open Monday through Friday 8:30 to14:00 and 17:00 to 19:00, and Saturday 9:30 to13:00. There are two ways to get to school one by bus using your green bus pass and taking the train. I only took the bus because it seemed easier although it took a little longer. The train ride is shorter but after you get to the university you have to take a shuttle to take you to campus. It might be worth trying both and see which one is more convenient to you. Generally you will take bus #24, but you can also take #34 if you live near or west of Mercado Central. If you decide to take the train you must catch it at the central station (click on the link for the time table). Taxi is a good option when you go out unless you are walking back with other people, for safety reasons. From Rambla, which is the area where you will spend most of the time when you go out, to your apartment it would cost between 3 and 5. 9

10 Where to go out/eat One of the most difficult yet exciting things to get used to about Alicante is that people don t usually go out to eat until about 9 or 10pm. Just be careful with your belongings when you go out late at night because there have been several incidents where people have had cameras, jackets and cell phones stolen. I m not sure if the evening event schedule will change by the time you get to Alicante but during my semester: On Tuesday nights: Austin s has free guacamole and chips. The foods that I have come to consider as Spanish are paella, tapas and jamón (ham). Side note: The Spanish eat their main meal of the day at 2pm. And yes, they really do siesta, most stores except Corte de Ingles (big department store) and the grocery stores, close everyday from 2pm 5pm. And on Sunday pretty much everything is closed all day. In my opinion the best paella is at the port. During the day the port serves as the marina of Alicante and is lined with bars and restaurants. During the night it serves as a huge after-hours spot. So if you like paella already or want to try it for the first time I would suggest the port. There are two exceptionally good tapas restaurants in town. One is a chain and has two locations in Alicante called Lizzaran. The other is located in the barrio on the same block as the club Desden; it s called La Mason de Labradores. Both are relatively inexpensive and serve real Spanish food. I recommend that you try something new besides Burger King and McDonald s. If you re dying for an American hamburger, there is a place in the barrio called Tribeca, its one block to the left of La Rambla (if you re facing towards the water) and one block up from la Explanada (a tiled walk way lined with restaurants that runs parallel to the ocean). Going Grocery Shopping Going grocery shopping the first few times is quite an adventure. It takes time to get used to buying food there after you are used to buying in places such as Publix, WinnDixie, or Wal-Mart. Imports were expensive so I tried to find products that seem appealing to me. The most frequented store by foreign student is MERCADONA; there are a lot of those in Alicante. There are two more but there are harder to find: DIALPRIX and DIA. You can also go to EL CORTE INGLES which is a chain that is all over Spain. However, in Alicante there are only two. One is just a department store, while the one located next to the train station has a supermarket. Although I must say that prices are much higher than at the other supermarkets. 10

11 If you are in need of only fruit, vegetables, meat or fish the best deal is to go to MERCADO CENTRAL (central market). You will always see it from the bus on your way to school. At Mercado Central you can really make your money s worth plus it is a great experience. Just make sure you have something to carry the stuff with because you need to take the bus or walk back home, and too many bags can be a hassle. Remember! In Spain the weight goes by KILOS not Pounds. There is also a Wal-Mart like store where people can buy food, cleaning products, house wares, clothing etc. all in one place. It s called El Campo. The #2 bus will take you to Plaza del Mar II, which is a mall just far enough down the highway to need a bus to get there. It is possible to walk from some areas, but better to take a bus. This mall also has a movie theater and a descent variety of stores. The movies here are mostly American movies, but they are dubbed in Spanish and don t have subtitles. There is also a large everything store called Carrefour. There are three in town, a very small one in the Centro-San Vicente next to the University, one towards the airport, and another past the main hospital. You can take the #1 bus to one of them and the #4 bus to another. El Campo and Carrefour are both French companies, although they are not related they have very similar prices. Expanding your study abroad experience When going abroad it is important to take school seriously because your classes probably will count towards your overall GPA. However, studying abroad is the perfect opportunity to expand your cultural knowledge. This is the time to use or improve time management skills where you can keep school work under control and also travel throughout Europe. Before you leave you should brainstorm the countries or cities you would like to visit. Trying to make all your trips work could be time consuming, but Europe has the advantage of traveling by bus, train, and plane. The very first place I wanted to go was Rome. It was the one place I felt I needed to go because of its rich cultural history and astonishing roman architecture. I began doing my research online, and found that it was cheaper to go to Rome during winter. Therefore, I made arrangements to fly one week before school started, that way I had enough time to find a place to live (I didn t get an apartment through the university), and I had time to go to Rome for at least 3 days. My favorite website for traveling by plain was In this link you pick a date and choose the country of departure and it will tell you, starting with the cheapest fare, all the countries where you can fly within Europe. Then, you pick the country that interests you, and it will give you a list of the cities and the airlines where you can fly ranking the prices from lowest to highest. Another option available in the website is a list of the prices for the entire month for your particular destination. This is great for when you have different dates available to 11

12 travel but you want to pick the best deal. To do this you need to select under the date option whole month. For the most part the best deals are in the morning around 6AM. It definitely will require you to sleep at the airport or arrive at the airport at 4 in the morning. I did both, and if you are traveling with a group of friends is not that bad, plus it is part of the experience. The good thing is that you will be arriving early to your destination, and you will get to sight see, or you can just go to your hostel and take a nap and recharge your energy. ** Just a bit of info about Ryan air, it s ridiculously cheap most of the time, but be advised the flights are literally no fuss. The seats don t recline, the drinks are expensive and the flights can be scary at times. I m not trying to keep you from flying with them, I am just forewarning you, be prepared for a bumpy flight. Also, the way that they are able to offer such cheap flights is that they fly into airports with are in the same region as the major cities, however once you land; you have to take a bus or a train that takes 1 to 2 hours to arrive at depending of your destination. So be sure, if and when you book a flight with them you know where you are actually flying and how to get to where you really want to go. For example, they fly to Frankfurt/Hann airport in Germany. They actually fly into just Haan, which is in same region as Frankfurt, but Haan is a two-hour bus ride away from Frankfurt. And sometimes the buses can cost 20. Be sure to take the extra transportation cost into account, because sometimes it s actually cheaper just to fly with another airline. Quick tips: If you feel like your not learning enough Spanish, or you need some extra help, there is a school on the Explanda called Enforex. I only knew one person who went there, but she said it was reasonably priced and very helpful. If you do travel, be sure to get your maps from the local tourist information center. At the tourist center, the maps will be free. If you enjoy college-ruled paper for taking school notes, by all means, bring your own notebooks from home. In Spain, you will find notebooks filled with blank paper or graph paper, it is quite rare to find ruled paper. Be advised that with UNF, your school grades will transfer to your over-all GPA, they will not affect your UNF GPA. The classes taken abroad are just that, classes taken at a different university, so they are treated as such. If you want to go overseas just to party and travel and don t really want to go to school that much, try to do an exchange program with a different institution where the grades are pass/fail. We hope you enjoy Alicante and have wonderful adventures! 12