Ok I have been trying to share smth like this for some time, even write everything out here then left it. I think I needed time to conclude if my feelings were constant maybe, or if I start having a different perspective. But, everything is the same.
So, for context my compulsory Erasmus was in Spain, and it was also language related. I feel like that may have been the stem for my lack of enjoyment of Erasmus. Not initially, at first I was not afraid of doing this and I knew that the language level would go up and it will work out smoothly and happily. But once university started it felt daunting. Not knowing anyone, being the only Erasmus in one class, different grading, lecturers, and assessment.
Now the university itself is not the only factor, in fact it was a combination of them that ended up making my life somewhat inconvenient over there. Main one of all is the lack of clarity in terms of my accommodation, especially towards the end. The confusing contract, the agency, the flat itself, and how I ended up letting it consume me for so long in til the end.
Another factor, was in fact long distance. That was never the plan of course but it happened. And to my surprise it was a common thing. In a way it made me feel better that we are all in the same boat and made quite a few friends where going out was the least of their concerns (where initially my idea was to go feral). So, in that case, there was a lot of missing and many (too many) trips home on the weekends and that kind of ruined the flow. By the second semester I genuinely was upset going back and just wanted to stay. But I went anyway.
Now, for the positive side, as mentioned, I met a lot of fun and good proper l people who I am still in touch with today. Traveled a fine amount, and went to parties (miss the night life in fairness) according to my budget, and overall cannot complain about this aspect. But come back to my flat, as much as I tried to romanticise it, was not my favourite thing.
In relation to the flat there were positives, like the convenient location and the room was big and very nice once I made it my own. But living with people is smth I wish to never experience again. And Spanish landlords are my worst nightmare, as mentioned (its genuinely a whole separate story - still waiting on my deposit 4 months later 😑)
The university and academic side if things is also a long story for a separate post, but overall this one is for a brief overview to say how mixed my feeling are on this experience. Finance was the least of my issues, as I thought that would be, but in the end it was the inevitable stress.