High scores! Urgent! About studying in Spain!

A complete guide to studying abroad in Spain

Spain is a relatively conservative and backward European country. Compared with France, Germany, and Italy, both in terms of gross national product and per capita salary The income is slightly less. But generally speaking, an income of 500 euros a month or a scholarship is basically enough. It is best to make your own consumption plan after arriving in Madrid, otherwise it will be difficult to manage the money in your hands.

For example, one month's rent is approximately: single room, ranging from 200-300 euros per person per month; double room, ranging from 300-400 per person per month; three or more people The price of the house will be cheaper, but it is not recommended here because multiple people living in one room will have a big impact on your study and daily rest. It is best to rent a double room. As for water and electricity bills, water in Spain is relatively cheap, and electricity is okay. The most expensive thing is gas, because all gas in Spain is imported from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. So save as much as possible on gas. If 3-4 people share a house, the total monthly utility bill should be around 50 euros.

In terms of food, Spanish food prices are relatively expensive. Pork is about 8 euros/kg, tomatoes are 1.25 euros/kg, potatoes are relatively cheap, green peppers are 1.50 euros/kg, and eggplants and beans are about the same price as green peppers. ,etc. Therefore, it is best to save some money on food, but you must eat well, otherwise it will be detrimental to your health. Once you get sick, the consequences can be imagined. The average monthly per capita expenditure on food is about 200 euros.

OK, it’s best to buy a monthly pass in Madrid. After getting there, you can first consider buying a monthly pass with your passport, which is about 35 euros, because the monthly pass in Madrid can be used to take urban buses, buses, subways, and light rail trains, which is very convenient; but if you arrive in the middle or late of a month, In Madrid, you can buy a ten-time ticket (cupon de diez viajes) instead of a monthly pass, because it is more cost-effective, and the price is about 6 euros (but the ten-time ticket cannot take the light rail).

House selection

It is best for at least 2-3 people to live together, firstly for safety and secondly for convenient contact. It's good to be close to the school, but it's also more expensive, and the houses are generally small, old, and poorly decorated. The same goes for the city center, which is very unsafe as it is close to the red light district. Therefore, it is recommended to share an apartment, preferably in a local middle-class residential area. The house is good, the scenery is good, safe and quiet, and it is more suitable for living and studying.

Or find a Spanish landlord, but first, cooking is a problem, and second, due to different living habits, there may be small frictions. But in any case, the house must be located next to a subway station or light rail station with convenient transportation. It is of course better if buses and buses pass by. It is best to have a better kitchen. This is very important to us, because we can cook whatever we want. After all, Spaniards are rarely willing to rent their houses to Chinese people because we cook and cook. It is very big and does great harm to the kitchen. Secondly, it is best to have a TV, refrigerator, washing machine and telephone in the room.

Eating issues

The first is the seasoning issue. All Chinese spices can be bought in local Chinese stores, especially ginger, because in Spanish supermarkets there is no ginger, only garlic. The second issue is the tableware, which I don’t need to mention. The third is to cook. It is recommended that you bring a rice cooker (preferably a double plug) before going to the West. This will be a revolutionary help to your meals! As for local vegetables, they are basically similar to those in China, but the "quality" is poor - they taste unpalatable.

Especially cucumbers, pay attention! Some supermarkets sell Chinese cabbage, so be careful. There are two types of lettuce, so choose carefully. There are many kinds of noodles there, but for pasta, you only need to boil it in boiling water for about 5-8 minutes, and then simmer it for 5 minutes before eating it. You can make tomato sauce noodles, which is very good! If you don't want to make it, you can buy a box of instant noodles from a Chinese store and make do with it, but it's more expensive.

Wear clothing and hats

The weather in Spain will not be discovered until you arrive: it is extremely good.

The weather is good, the sun is abundant, the air is fresh, and there is basically no pollution, let alone sand and dust, because there is no dust in the urban area. The coldest in winter is minus 5 degrees Celsius, but it often rains. Based on this, it is recommended that you do not need to bring sweaters and woolen pants, but bring slightly thick long johns, and a thick cashmere sweater or woolen sweater is enough (if you are afraid of the cold, bring a sweater).

Bring more spring and autumn clothes and casual sports shoes; you can consider bringing a few rainproof silk clothes or windbreakers, which are very useful; also bring a good umbrella, because it can block rain in winter and shade in summer. Especially in winter, you use it a lot, and you almost have to bring an umbrella with you when you go out, so a good umbrella is very useful. It's also best to bring some sheets, quilts, etc.

Out and about

Speaking of Madrid’s transportation, public transportation is particularly developed, including subways, light rails and buses, and monthly passes are universal, which is very convenient. If any of you are under 21 years old, you can also apply for a youth monthly pass (yellow cover), which will be cheaper. The subway and light rail are divided into six areas: A, B1, B2, B3, C1, and C2. It is enough for you to buy the one in area A. If your monthly pass is lost, report the loss immediately and apply again. Subway route maps and light rail route maps are available free of charge at the ticket window.

Communication

You can buy a mobile phone in Madrid. It is recommended to go to the Tetuan subway station. There is an overseas Chinese store in Calle Bravo Burillo, No. 307, where you can buy a mobile phone with Chinese language. It's even better if you have a landline at home. It is not very convenient to access the Internet there. There are Internet cafes near Sol Plaza in the city center, but the prices are relatively expensive, some cost 200 West dollars for half an hour, and some cost 200 West dollars for an hour. And before getting on the computer, be sure to ask the administrator if you can read Chinese, because some Internet cafe systems are in Spanish and cannot correctly recognize Chinese. You can send and receive emails there, but entering Chinese will be very difficult or even impossible.

As for contact with the country, the first is the telephone. International calls to Madrid are very cheap if you use certain cards. These cards include: World Card, Tiger Card, Ping An Card, etc. The first two can also be called using mobile phones. These cards can be purchased at overseas Chinese stores, or you can ask the embassy for cheaper cards. The second is to send a letter. Envelopes can be bought in supermarkets, and stamps can generally only be bought in two places: the Tabaco kiosk, or the post office. If you are sending a heavier letter, you will need to go to the post office to have it weighed. The time is about less than a month and can be received in about three weeks (under normal circumstances).

Work and rest time

The Spanish schedule is very strange in the eyes of Europeans. The three meals are probably from 8 to 9 in the morning, lunch is at 2 or 2:30 in the afternoon, and dinner is at different times, some are at 9 o'clock, some are at 10 o'clock, and some are at 11 o'clock. Try to adapt as much as possible and do as the Romans do.

I usually go to work at 9 or 10 o'clock in the morning during peak traffic; I get off work at 2 o'clock at noon, take a lunch break, then go to work at 4 o'clock or 5 o'clock in the afternoon, and get off work at 7 o'clock or 8 o'clock in the evening. The business hours of shops and supermarkets are basically the same. They open at 9 o'clock in the morning (sometimes, 10 o'clock on Saturdays). Some shops, such as El Corte Ingles, do not open until 12 noon on Sundays, and usually open at 8:30 or 9 o'clock in the evening. Some large supermarkets (such as El Corte Ingles, Fnac, etc.) are open until 10pm. However, general street shops are closed on Saturdays and Sundays. On Sundays, all shops and supermarkets are closed, except for a few (El Corte Ingles, etc.).

So, please note that if you want to buy something, you must buy it before Friday, otherwise it will be difficult to find several open stores on weekends, especially food! ! ! Food for the weekend must be bought on Friday, otherwise everyone will experience the misery of having to go hungry despite having lots of money.

Lifestyle Habits

Spaniards also have their own behavioral norms. For example, when getting on the elevator, you must pay attention. If you are not in a hurry, try to stand on the right side of the elevator, because the left side is reserved For those who are in a hurry to go up or down. In China, it is normal to hum a tune or sing loudly in the streets, but in Spain, people will treat you as a mental patient. Furthermore, you must be able to accept dirty jokes from Spanish people. They have a habit of saying no more than a joke.

Therefore, everyone must do as the locals do and adapt to their living nature.

Residence Application

Everyone must apply for a legal residence permit in Spain immediately after arriving in Spain. Otherwise, the consequences will of course be illegal and very dangerous. There is only one police station in Madrid that is qualified to manage immigration and residence applications. It is on Calle de Los Madrazo, probably No. 9, which is relatively close to Cibeles Square. You can get off at the Sevilla or Banco de Espana subway station, and then ask passers-by. The application procedures include: 4 forms of different colors obtained at the police station, but the format is the same; a valid passport; a valid visa; an enrollment certificate issued by the school (you can use the course selection form, and it must have the official seal of the school); Ambassador A scholarship certificate issued by the Embassy or AECI as proof of legal income in Spain; a rental certificate issued by the landlord (signed by the landlord himself, and sometimes the landlord’s own property certificate is required); a valid medical insurance certificate, which can be obtained in Madrid Sanitas, a medical institution that specializes in this work, handles it. It is estimated that the monthly insurance cost per person for young people aged 20-25 is about 100 euros for boys and 120 euros for girls. You can only apply for 2 or 3 months because it is just for the purpose of applying for residence.

Of course, if some people want to be on the safe side, it is not impossible to apply for more. Everyone must consider and discuss before making a decision. Finally, there are 4 one-inch bareheaded photos. Note that the background of the photo must be white! ! Otherwise it is invalid! It is recommended that you take the photos in China and take them to Spain, because there are no negatives for taking photos of the headshots, and only a few photos are given! You can take some extra one-inch and two-inch shots as backup. If needed, it will be too late to take photos now. In Madrid, there are little Cajas in the subway station that take photos that can be quickly developed. If it doesn't work, you can go there, but the quality is not guaranteed.

After dinner

You can listen to the news. There are two TV stations in Spain that recommend listening to news, one is TVE1 and the other is Telecinco. Both have advantages over each other. You can watch movies. Movie tickets in Spain are generally 800 Spanish dollars, but if you show your student ID or on Wednesdays, the ticket price will be discounted, about 600. Large cinemas are mainly concentrated in the city, especially in Callao Square and Gran Via Street.

You can also watch it on TV, but good movies are usually only shown on Friday or Saturday nights. The movies on Antena 3 TV station are very good and recommended. Can read newspapers and magazines. Newspapers in Spain are more expensive. Generally, newspapers such as El Pais, Mundo, ABC, etc. are about 1 to 1.5 euros per copy. Every Sunday, some will add a magazine, such as El Pais, which costs about 2.5 euros. . The newspaper is relatively thick and contains comprehensive news, including political commentary, economics, culture and art, literature, finance, real estate, tourism and sports, weather forecast, and finally TV program listings. It is recommended that everyone buy a newspaper together and read it, it will be of great benefit.

It is recommended to buy all literary books and dictionaries in Building A or B of Complutense University, because there, you can get a 10% discount if you pay in cash.

Bank Account

You should apply for a bank account as soon as you arrive in Madrid. The major banks in Spain include Caja Madrid, Caixa, BBVA (Banco de BilbaoVizcaya), etc. It is recommended to choose Caja Madrid bank, because the bank has branches all over Spain, and its ATMs can be seen everywhere on the streets of Madrid. The conditions for applying for an account are quite stringent. I'm afraid you won't be able to open an account with just your passport, because general branches will need to show your legal residence card in Spain before you can open an account. However, it is impossible to have a residence card when you first arrive in Madrid. I recommend a few banks with relatively loose conditions. Open a branch account, for example, in a hospital near Moncloa (it seems to be called San Juan Carlos), there is a Caja Madrid branch next to it, where you can open an account with your passport, visa, and scholarship certificate.

If you don’t understand anything, or you really can’t find the bank where you opened your account, you can ask the embassy for help.

Regarding the U.S. dollars you carry with you, be careful not to keep them in the bank, because every time you take them out, you will be charged a 5% handling fee, which is very worthless. It is recommended to place it in a secret place at home, so it is best to share a house with everyone. It is safer for this reason. Regarding withdrawals and card purchases. Note that when you use a credit card (a debit card there can be used as a credit card, but cannot be overdrafted) in Spain, you do not need to enter any password when checking out in a supermarket, store or restaurant! ! But sometimes, the other party will need you to show your residence card or passport, but you can just use a general university student ID card or some other card with a photo. You can also apply for a card with your own photo, which is more convenient. In terms of withdrawals, you can usually withdraw money from the bank's teller machine, but you can also try it at other teller machines. There is no handling fee. However, the bank will deduct 10 euros from your account every year as the annual fee for using the card. There is also a kind of teller machine that can be seen everywhere in Spain, with the word Telebanco on it. Almost all cards can be used to withdraw money on it, but, for example, Caja Madrid's card will charge you a 3% handling fee if you withdraw money on it.

Student Card

Throughout the EU, there is a card specifically for students and young people called the International Student ID Card. This card can be used as an ID card and is used throughout Europe. Its cardholders enjoy a variety of discounts, such as discounts on books, various tickets and admission tickets, especially museums. But not all points, but many designated places. To apply for this card, you need: a valid passport, visa, or residence card; a valid account in a bank; and you must be younger than 26 years old. The condition is that you need to pay an annual fee of 10 euros per year. The application place is Gran Via 10, Madrid.