Part 1 - Monthly Activity Log January School starts in early January. I have spent time exploring around Pamplona and some cities next to Pamplona, like San Sebastian. I also travelled to Brussels, Belgium. I have enjoyed plenty of chocolate and waffles in this city, which I named it the chocolate kingdom. February In February, I went to Bordeaux, France, which is only around 3 hours of train from Pamplona. I have visited some wine gardens, learning the process of making fabulous wines. I have also travelled to Madrid. The Palace of Madrid is on of the three largest palaces in Europe. It was very amazing. March Catching the tail of the best season for watching aurora, I traveled to Scandinavia. I visited my dream place in my childhood, the Santa Claus Village in Finland. I saw the northern light which is the most amazing sky art in Iceland.
April Since there are 2 weeks of Easter holiday, I went to London in the UK. I have been a big fan of Harry Potter. It is very lucky that I can have the chance to visit the Harry Potter Studio in the UK. After that, I spent days in Croatia. I went to one of the most beautiful national park the Plitvice Lakes National Park. Amsterdam in the Netherland is my last stop of this trip before going back to study for final exams. I spent a great time in visting the windmills village and Keukenholf garden. May I have 3 exams in the first 2 weeks of May. After that, I went to Barcelona, visited one of the most amazing architect, Antony Gaudi s architectures, including Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, Casa Mila, etc. I also travelled to Copenhagen, Italy and Greece. I had watched the most beautiful sunset in Oia, Santorini in Greece.
Part 2 - General Exchange Information 1) Visa Procedures You have to apply for the 6-month Schengen Visa. Before going to apply your visa, go to the website of the Consulate General of Spain to make your appointment. After that, be well prepared for all the documents they required and go to the consulate at your scheduled time punctually. Without any single required document will definitely make your application unsuccessful. Bear in mind that you need to book your return flight in advance to apply for the visa. In addition, please show that your bank account has sufficient amount of money to support you to go for this exchange trip, let say, around $40-70k. 2) Orientation Activities There is a whole-day orientation program organized by the school and the international students committee on the first day of school. The program includes some ice-breaking games, welcoming lunch, campus tour, city tour as well as dinner at a traditional Spanish restaurant. 3) International Services & Activities Do not hesitate to join the Facebook Group, which is opened for international students. You will find a lot of important information as well as activities from there. Besides, there are also numbers of activities and gathering throughout the semester organized by the school or the committee both officially and unofficially, such as coffee break, food tasting tour, skiing, etc. 4) Accommodations You may choose living with host families in an apartment, living with other exchange students by applying for the off-campus apartments organized by Unicasa, a student housing agency, or living in the on-campus dormitory. Most of us either go for the first or the second choice since living in the on-campus dormitory has to follow its curfew. I went for the second choice, sharing an apartment with 3 girls in the Iturrama Street. We usually cook together at home and there was quite a lot of fun. 5) Courses Registration You will have courses add-drop period during the first 2 weeks after your school starts, so you can still change your mind of which courses to study before the end
of the add-drop period. Bear in mind that you are not allowed to sit in any class that you are not registered into it according to the school policy. Therefore, please do register for the courses that you are interested in and most importantly you are capable to handle. 6) Sports & Recreation Facilities There are numbers of sports classes that you can join but you will have to pay for the monthly tuition fee, which is not that cheap. There is a gymnasium inside school but you will also have to pay for it monthly in order to enjoy the facilities inside. 7) Expenses Expenditures Costs (in HKD) Flight tickets $8,000 Accommodation $18,000 Daily Expense (Food & necessities) $20,000 Travel Expense $60,000 Total $106,000 8) Health & Safety Pamplona is a quite safe city compare to other cities in Spain. I can even walk alone in the street at night. People in Pamplona are very nice that they will always offer a hand to you if you need any help. 9) Food I usually cook by myself at home. There is a supermarket right next to my apartment so it is very easy for me to grab food and cook. There is also a Chinese grocery store in Iturrama Street so that you can definitely buy some HK or Chinese food and ingredients there. Sometimes I will go out for dinner with friends, trying some traditional Spanish food like tapas. There are also numbers of Asian restaurants in Pamplona. Do go for those restaurants when you miss home. 10) Transportation The city is not that big, many places like the school, the old town and the shopping malls are all within walking distance from my apartment. You can also take bus to anywhere within the city. Since my apartment is quite far away from any bus stations (~15-20mins of walk), so I usually take taxi to the airport or the train station. It usually costs only around 10euro for a single journey. There is also a bus station in the city center and it takes around 15 mins by walk from my apartment, 11) Climate It is raining all the time in winter in Pamplona. You will find the weather annoying whenever you go to school or even just go out for a walk. However, the
the weather is quite comfortable and not that cold in winter compare to other European countries. 12) Communication People in Pamplona merely can speak English, so if you can, please do prepare some useful daily dialogues in Spanish with you. Or else, you may find it difficult to ask for something especially when you go for shopping or grocery shopping. For phone card, you cannot find a telephone card which can be used for the whole Europe in Pamplona. I brought 2 12gb data card which can be used for the whole Europe with me from 3 UK. It is definitely enough for me to use during the past 5 months. It is also the most convenient way that you do not have the need to change phone cards all the time when you travel to other countries.