Emerson College is known for having its very own castle in the Netherlands, but a new option recently became available to students interested in studying abroad. In the fall of 2013, Berklee College of Music began to allow Emerson students to study at their campus in Valencia, Spain. In the spring of 2014, I spent my semester in Valencia.
This program is based in the third largest city in Spain. It’s claimed that the Holy Grail is in the Cathedral, there is the famous Las Fallas festival in the spring, and La Cuidad de las Artes y Ciencias is your campus. Did I mention George Clooney filmed scenes of Tomorrowland there?
A main part of this program is being immersed in the Valencian culture. You live in a dorm called Colegio Mayor Galileo Galilei at the Universtat Politecnica de Valencia and are surrounded by students from Spain and all over the world. The actual classes you take are within La Ciudad de las Artes y Ciencias. You will walk by that spaceship-looking building, El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia (an opera house), every single day! You even get a discount to the performances inside. Everything is also less than ten minutes from the beach.
Maddie Rojas Lynch, one of the Emerson students that studied in Valencia in spring 2014, talks about how the program differentiates itself from the Kasteel Well program.
“It’s definitely a different feel from the castle, because while they are traveling every weekend, we would be hanging out on the beach, or taking a day trip to a castle, or taking part in a festival, or going to a bar and meeting other spanish students that live in Valencia. We got to really immerse ourselves in the city, the culture, and the country. I didn’t feel like I was a tourist, Valencia felt like home.”
It took traveling to Spain to meet Berklee students and they only live a few blocks down Boylston. As an Emerson student, we’re already used to a different style of learning, but I got to see what it was like to learn with music involved. You can take classes that fulfill General Education requirements, as well as some marketing electives or just general electives. The professors, workers, and fellow students become family to you. If you can, take a class with David Nordlund, or as we like to call him – Dr. No.
You’ll go on two class trips to different cities in Spain. My class went to Granada and Madrid, with a day in Toledo. You’ll truly be immersed in the history and culture of the cities and be treated to the best meals of your life. During the trip to Granada, we toured La Alhambra, took a flamenco lesson, and even saw a flamenco show. In Madrid we toured Palacio Real and Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia that featured Guernica, the famous painting by Picasso.
You’ll also eat the best food of your life in Spain. From churros and bocadillos to patatas bravas and tortillas, you definitely won’t go hungry. Churros and horchata (a Valencian drink of tigernuts, water, and sugar) are more common starting at the beginning of Las Fallas, but bocadillos (sandwiches), tortilla española (an omlette with potatoes), and patatas bravas (french fries with hot sauce and aoli) are available year-round. Don’t forget to have sangria with your meals, since it’s cheaper than water.
Get used to the language by taking Spanish while you’re there. It’s so helpful because when you first arrive, you might not even know how to order food. Trust me. There’s a lot of slang within the city like “vale” or “tranquila” which mean okay and calm down. So when you’re trying to figure out the checkout line at El Corte Ingles, the cashier might tell you to calm down because it’s not that hard.
Want to take a day trip to a castle? No problem, there’s Xativa, Peniscola, and more. Beach day? Definitely go to Cullera. There’s so much to do in and around the city that you won’t need to travel far away for the four months you’ll be there, even though you definitely can.
If you are there during the spring semester, Valencia spends the first nineteen days of March preparing for and celebrating Las Fallas. It’s a festival in the city that welcomes spring and celebrates the end of winter. The last five days are a continuous party in the streets with fireworks and firecrackers going off everywhere.
Spending the semester in Valencia was one of the best choices of my college career and life so far. Definitely take this program into consideration if you love music, Spain, or want to be immersed in a culture. Hasta luego.