One month in San Sebastian

Clara Jones
4 weeks Spanish course
San Sebastian

I liked having different teachers, so we could learn different accents, mannerisms etc. I already had A level Spanish, though I’d not used it for a couple of years, so I really needed to refresh my skills as much as improving them.  I found the tutors were really good at explaining concepts and made sure we understood everything.  Studying at the Spanish language school in San Sebastian meant that elements that hadn’t quite clicked with my Spanish before suddenly fell into place.  It was good to get the grammar sorted, it really helped by confidence and improved my verbal skills.

I loved San Sebastian.  Who couldn’t?  The city is smart, beautiful, easy to walk around and has the most wonderful bay (La Concha) with golden sand and spectacular sea views to enjoy each afternoon, when classes were over.  The local Basque culture is obviously important to the people.  I’ve found that the Spanish are really proud of their regional identities in the same was as the Scots and Welsh back home.  We had a Saturday trip to Biarritz, the heart of French Basque culture – and it was great being able to pop over the border to France (it only took 30 minutes to get there) for the day.

The cafe life is great making the most of warm nights and the Spanish habit of being outdoors late in to the night (or late at night to us Northern Europeans, anyway) was completely addictive.  We normally started each evening in ‘La Parte Vieja’ (the old town) and I was a wimp and rarely stayed out past 2am, but others who were into clubbing kept going until 6am.

I stayed in a shared apartment with other students.  I liked the idea of staying with local hosts, and realise this is best from the point of view of learning Spanish, but just didn’t fancy it.  Loved the apartment.  Shared it with a German boy and two Danish girls – really lovely people.

I had a terrific month, learnt a lot of Spanish and met some amazing people (school staff, local people and other students).  What a great experience.