Short Interview - James Nellaney

I am now back in Scotland after a wonderful year in Murcia, Spain. The same has happened to me with this blog as I'm sure has happened to most of us with one thing or another, that I started well and with the best of intentions on posting regularly but the frequency of my posts grew increasingly further apart. So I plan on writing a few more posts to share my experience for all those who are interested. I will eventually upload the interview I conducted in Catalonia and then share some more travel experiences and my general thoughts on Erasmus and how it can benefit a student and not only enhance your employability, but also turn you into a more open and well rounded person. 

For now here is a short questionnaire I sent to my Scottish friend James who also spent this last year abroad with me in Murcia: 

1) Where did you go for your Erasmus year?

- Murcia.


2) Why did you pick Spain over France?

- Spanish way of life appealed more to me than French. I also felt that at the time, my Spanish was weaker than my French and so it made more sense to go to Spain.


3) Why did you pick Murcia over the other cities? 

- I'm not going to lie - I picked Murcia because it had the best weather of all the cities available. It was also a bit smaller than some of the other choices and I felt this would help me adapt a bit better.


4) Was the place what you expected of it?

- To be honest, I didn't really know what to expect before I came out, but Murcia was genuinely the best place of all the cities I visited in Spain - it's like a second home.


5) How has your level of Spanish improved?

- Immeasurably. It could still improve though.


6) Did you find it difficult to adjust to life in Spain? How was it different to your life in Glasgow?

- At first, it was really difficult to adapt, but this was more down to homesickness than anything else. After Christmas, I feel I was more settled and I definitely made the most of my time.


7) What did the locals think about you being Scottish? Did they know much about Scotland?

- The majority of the people I met said the same two things about Scotland: 1) Scotland has bad weather, but is a lovely country. 2) Scottish people are very difficult to understand.


8) If you could do the whole thing all over again what would you do differently?

- I'd try and become more involved in Erasmus activities from the start, I was a bit too focussed on improving Spanish and only talking to Spanish people at the start. The Spanish will come if you go to university etc., but the Erasmus people are the ones you end up spending the majority of your time with.

9) Now that you're back home, are you finding it difficult to settle back into the life you left in Glasgow?

- At this moment, its strange because I still haven't fully realised I won't be back in Spain for a while. The worst thing for me will be adapting to the Scottish weather again - it never rained at all in Murcia! It will also be strange working again - I enjoyed the sense of freedom Erasmus gave me.

10) Sum up your experience in one sentence.

- The best year of my life. 

Do you have any similar experiences to share? Contact me and I'll post your thoughts here on the blog.