Never heard of it? Don’t worry I hadn’t either. Even some of the Spanish people I’ve spoken to have had no idea where it is. 

Location

Huelva is a small, industrial city in the southern comunidad autónoma of Andalucía. It’s about 40 minutes away from the border of Portugal and is a short drive from the beach. As the city is so small, it doesn’t have an airport, so you have to fly to either Sevilla or Faro. Thankfully there are plenty of transport links to travel from these cities to Huelva. Andalucía is known for its beautiful weather, and this was one of my favourite things about Huelva. Winter lasted for about 2 months and the rest of the time it was so warm! 

History

Although many people have never heard of Huelva, it has played an important role in many parts of history. Huelva has a huge port, but its industry is mainly based around agriculture and mining. The Rio Tinto mines, owned by the Anglo-Australian Rio Tinto group (the world’s second largest metals and mining corporations), have been used for over a thousand years and are said to have been one of the main sources of copper and other resources during the Roman Empire. Tourists are now able to take a train around the mines to see the bright red waters (the red colour coming from the high levels of iron and other heavy metals in its chemical makeup).  

During World War 2, Britain successfully deceived the Nazis through ‘Operation Mincemeat’. British intelligence officers used the corpse of Glyndwr Michael, a welsh tramp, to provide the Germans with a fabricated plan of action. They gave him a fake identity (William Martin), a believable backstory and attached a case filled with fake documents. Why am I talking about this? Though Spain were neutral during the war, much of the military was pro-German and Britain were well aware of this. The Royal Navy dropped the body off the Spanish coast and guess where it was found? That’s right, Huelva. Who would’ve thought? Long story short, the Nazis gained access to the case attached to ‘William Martin’ and moved their troops around, meaning they were not prepared when 160,000 allied soldiers invaded Sicily in 1943. The success of this operation saved thousands of lives, helped with the downfall of Mussolini and played a part in an Allied victory. I found this really interesting. It may seem like an insignificant fact, but who knows how things would’ve played out if Glyndwr Michael was found on a different city’s coastline. That’s all the history knowledge I’ve got. 

Language 

The best way I can describe the feeling I had when I first listened to the Spanish in Huelva is through this story. I have a friend from Switzerland who speaks a very high level of English, like C2 level. One time, we listened to a preach by a Scottish man. I tried discussing the preach with her, because she looked a bit confused, only to find out she hadn’t understood a single word that had come out of his mouth. Now imagine not having a super high level of Spanish and moving to the Glasgow of Spain. Yep. 

Andalucía in general has a noticeable accent (they drop all of their S’s), which is hard enough. But the accent in Huelva takes this further. They speak EXTREMELY fast which means there is little time to enunciate anything. So, no S’s and no clear pronunciation. Not the best place to improve your Spanish, but I’ve been told ‘if you can understand the Spanish here, you can understand any Spanish anywhere’, so I guess that is a plus. I apologise in advance to my lecturers for the terrible accent I will have when I’m back at university. So overall, the accent took some getting used to, but it was okay in the end. 

Food and drinks 

There’s a saying ‘era más de Huelva que un choco’  (there is more to Huelva than cuttlefish) and its true. There’s also gambas (prawns) and calamares (squid). The first thing I heard when I arrived in Huelva was ‘you have to try the choco here’ – I can understand why people from Huelva are referred to as Choqueros. There is a huge variety of seafood available at almost every tapas bar/restaurant as well as plenty of meat (mainly beef and pork) options. Not being the biggest fan of Spanish food meant I was VERY thankful for the few Italian restaurants and the fast food chains. When I really missed home, I’d go to Sevilla to get a Five Guys (it was so good). 

When I first moved to Huleva I didn’t understand how people could work all day and then spend all evening/night in the plaza, drinking and socialising. I soon learnt that these people were running on coffee. A lot of it. I’m not the biggest fan of coffee, unless it’s really sweet, but I often went for coffee with my colleagues during recreo. The coffees were tiny but so strong. A lot of the teachers claimed to have up to 5 coffees a day. Crazy. When we weren’t drinking coffee, we were drinking alcohol. In Huelva, drinks are really cheap and really strong. I think that speaks for itself.

My favourite places

I think my favourite thing about Huelva is Plaza de las Monjas, the main square. It was always full of people, and during the evenings there would be children playing everywhere. There was a huge sense of community, everyone knew each other, the bars and restaurants were overflowing with people and this created an atmosphere you don’t get to experience in a big, tourist city.

I had the privilege of working in a school that was right on the beach. I spent so many afternoons sunbathing after work, it was great. As soon as it started to get warmer, me and my friends would spend whole days in Punta Umbría relaxing on the beach.

Well I didn’t expect to be writing a blog post like this. I’ve been back in the UK for 7 and a half weeks now after the coronavirus hit Spain.

The week of the 9^th March was when I started feeling really anxious. We were hearing a lot about what was happening in Italy, and places like Madrid and Barcelona had a high number of cases. I really wanted to come home because it was all very stressful, but I was still working so I couldn’t just pack up and leave. Schools closed on 12^th March and to start with me and my friends were like ‘wow this will be great, tonnes of free time, we can go to the gym, spend time at the beach and all move in together!’. The next day I was still sure we were all staying and then I received a message saying, ‘I’ve booked a flight.’. Within minutes I had booked a flight and started packing. My flight was at 6pm the next day so all I could do was sit and wait for my bus to Faro airport. 

The morning of my flight I got a phone call from one of my colleagues asking if I was home yet. When I told him I was still in Spain, heading to Portugal in the next few hours, he was really concerned. He said that the government were going to close the borders soon so I might be stuck in Huelva. You don’t even understand the relief I felt when we crossed the Portuguese border. I’m so thankful that I was able to go to the airport with my friends, we got there so early because we were scared they were going to close the borders (which they actually announced as we went through security). We spent 4 hours in the airport before we could check in, and when we finally could we were told out flights were delayed by at least 2 hours. I honestly thought the flights would end up cancelled. I don’t think I’ve ever been so stressed in my life! We were all flying with Jet2 and earlier that day a Jet2 plane turned back on its way to Alicante, so it’s safe to say we were worried. After 9 hours in Faro airport I felt like I was going mad. The fear wasn’t gone until the plane landed in Stansted. I won’t lie the whole 48 hours was traumatic. It took a good week or so to feel settled.

A very strange end to my year abroad to say the least. I had so many places I still wanted to see and I was looking forward to making the most of the beach. I’ll have to return at some point to collect the rest of my stuff, sort out my bank account and give the school back their keys, but who knows when this will be. 

But for now, here I am, nearly 8 weeks later, trying to make the most of lockdown. 

Now this was my favourite trip. We spontaneously booked flights while they were cheap and found an Airbnb hostel that was even cheaper. We decided to spend as little as possible on accommodation because we were all aware of how expensive Barcelona would be in comparison to Huelva. We landed in Barcelona quite late on the Friday night so we went straight to sleep ready for a full day of being tourists. 

My friends knew some great brunch places, so we had our first meal in Brunch & Cake. This place is an instagrammer’s dream, the food was not only delicious but absolutely stunning. From here we wandered towards La Rambla, the main street, to have a look around the shops and restaurants. A quick stop at Sephora and then we headed for the food market. The market was packed full of people so it hard to see all the different food stalls but what we could see was amazing. There was such a diverse range of food and so many vibrant colours. 

After this, we explored the older part of Barcelona before heading to Park Güell, the home of some of Gaudi’s work as well as a panoramic view of the city. 

While I could talk about how beautiful this spot was for ages, I need to highlight something that happened after. We had been using the metro since we had arrived, and we were all completely aware that Barcelona is the pickpocket capital of the world, so we were being extra careful with our belongings. We all held our bags to our chests and looked out for each other. However, these pickpockets are real professionals. I recall a moment, while travelling to Park Güell, when a woman was attempting to get onto the metro as the doors were closing and a friend trying to help her. We all looked at them thinking ‘what on earth are they doing?’ but really thought nothing of it. Little did we know this was a distraction technique and while this was going on someone took my purse from my bag. Brilliant. We had gone around the whole of the park and it wasn’t until we returned to the metro station that I realised it was gone. I was gutted, but it was more annoying than anything because I had all sorts of cards in there (drivers license, NTU ID, hostel key card, debit cards) but absolutely no cash. So, I spent the next few hours cancelling cards and ordering new ones. I tried to enjoy the rest of the evening (we had the nicest dinner in Pasta Market, a small restaurant where you make your own pasta dish, choosing the pasta, sauce and toppings) and prepared myself to go on a night out, taking my passport as ID (not ideal). 

However, when we returned to the hostel, on the glass door there was a note for us to go straight to the desk. We honestly thought we’d done something wrong and were prepared for a telling off. But you’ll never guess what. Someone had found my purse, with all its contents, and handed it in to lost property. ‘How did they know I was at the hostel?’ I thought. The hostel key card was in my purse! I was relieved. I spoke to someone in lost property on the phone and they said it was found on a metro platform (one I had never stopped at) and that it’s normal for pickpockets to throw purses and wallets as soon as they’re done with them to get rid of the evidence of their theft. LESSON – be extra EXTRA careful with your bag/phone when you’re in Barcelona and try not to carry cash. I had my Spanish debit card as well as a Revolut card and a Monzo card, which you can use freely in many different countries (I recommend getting one of them). It’s basically unheard of to get your stuff back in Barcelona so I’m very very lucky. 

Anyway, after that drama, we went on a night out. It was so funny to be surrounded by stag dos, hen parties and groups of people from around the world. I had really high expectations for this night out because in Huelva they only ever played reggaetón and I needed some music in English. We waited an hour to get in and paid €20 entry (the most I’ve ever paid to get into a club) but it included a drink. We actually had a really good night and we went crazy when some classic British songs were played. 

The next day we collected my purse from lost property and then made our way to another brunch place. Our aim for this day was to see the Arc de Triomf, the Sagrada Familia and go to a viewpoint called Los Bunkers. We had a really relaxed final day and were able to see everything we wanted to. We ended the day with a meal at a Mexican restaurant in the city centre and prepared for our flight in the morning. 

One of the nicest things about this trip was being able to act like a tourist, taking lots of pictures, eating out for every meal and being able to speak English. From a language student point of view, I was fascinated by seeing and hearing the regional language of Catalan. It looked like a mixture between French and Spanish, which made it very easy for me to translate. But trying to interpret it was much harder. It sounds a lot different to Spanish. Regardless, it was really interesting to experience another dialect. 

I would recommend Barcelona to anyone and everyone who wants to eat some good food, see some cool tourist attractions and be right on the beach. Is it the best place to practice your Spanish? Not at all. But did I have a great time? Absolutely. 

Coming back to Spain after Christmas, I was desperate to go on another trip. Me and my friends decided that Granada would be perfect. We travelled by coach from Sevilla and arrived in Granada in time to have dinner. We were planning on doing a night out (two of my friends still went) but it was absolutely freezing compared to Huelva so some of us decided to have an early night.

We wanted to take full advantage of our only full day in Granada so we went for breakfast at ‘I Need Coffee’, a very modern and cool coffee shop. As bad as it is, whenever I go to a bigger city, I always try and find somewhere for breakfast/brunch that resembles a British café because I’m not the biggest fan of Spanish food (sorry Spain). Anyway, we explored the city centre, had a look in a few shops, bought some souvenirs and then headed towards the Catedral de Granada. Top tip: always bring your student card with you, it makes it so much easier to get student tickets. Thankfully the people at the desk were lovely and accepted me logging into my university account.

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The cathedral was stunning! We spent about an hour walking around and listening to the audio information. I was never really interested in history when I was in school, but now I love learning as much as possible about the culture of wherever I visit. This was also a good opportunity to practice reading in Spanish as there were labels in front of all the artefacts and each chapel.

After this we returned to our Airbnb for a quick break before beginning a long, uphill walk to a viewpoint. From here we had a great view of the Alhambra, the mountains and the whole city. It was super busy when we go there so it took us a while to get a good spot to take photos.

The next day we had to get up early and leave our Airbnb to get to the Alhambra. Because you’re not allowed to take big bags around the Alhambra with you, we left out bags in lockers at ‘City Lockers’. We got 3 large lockers between the 6 of us which wasn’t too expensive and it meant we could enjoy our last few hours without carrying everything with us.

We bought our tickets for the Alhambra way in advance just because it sells out so quickly! And after visiting it, I can see why. Granada is extremely pedestrianised so it’s easy to walk from place to place. However, no one prepared me for how steep some of these walks would be. And just when I thought we had reached the Alhambra’s entrance, there was another, even steeper walk to do. Now, Granada is very cold so I was prepared with layers of clothing, but I definitely didn’t need them after that workout of a walk.

Eventually we made it to the actual entrance and started walking through the palace. The whole place was just incredible. The details of the arches in the courts, the patterns on the tiles and the images on the ceilings, it’s hard to find something that didn’t love. Because we went so early we didn’t have the problem of crowds making it hard for us to see everything. We had plenty of space to take everything in and take some good photos! After exploring the gardens, it was time for us to grab a quick lunch and head to the bus station, ready to go home.

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Our time in Granada flew by but I feel like we really made the most of every second and saw so much of the city. There are many things I still want to experience in Granada so I will 100% be returning in the future.

Andalucía is full of so much history and culture, I’m so lucky that I always have a three-day weekend so I have plenty of free time to travel and make the most of this year. In late November, me and my friends decided to visit Córdoba. It took 3 and a half hours to get there (a bus from Huelva to Seville and then a Bus from Seville to Córdoba), travelling by bus everywhere is so cheap and you can literally go anywhere. We got to the city quite late in the evening so we got some food and then had an early night.

The next day we visited La Mezquita-Catedral de Cordoba. This Mosque-Cathedral is by far one of the most beautiful monuments I’ve ever seen.

I had been teaching my students about the Islamic conquest of Spain and La Mezquita-Catedral was an excellent physical representation of this history. ‘According to a traditional account, a small Visigoth church, the Catholic Basilica of Saint Vincent of Lérins, originally stood on the site. In 784 Abd al-Rahman I ordered construction of the Great Mosque, which was considerably expanded by later Muslim rulers. Córdoba returned to Christian rule in 1236 during the Reconquista, and the building was converted to a Roman Catholic church.’ (Wikipedia explains this better than I could – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosque%E2%80%93Cathedral_of_C%C3%B3rdoba)

It was so interesting to see the combination of Islamic and Catholic features all around the structure. For example, hidden amongst the many chapels you could find the Mihrab which indicates the Qibla wall (the wall Muslims face to pray, as it faces Mecca). Throughout the building there are horseshoe arches, a clear element of Islamic architecture, which were just amazing to look at. The minaret had been changed into the cathedral’s bell tower. One of my favourite parts was the patio filled with orange trees, I’ve seen quite a few of these outside of Cathedral buildings in Spain which shows us how far the Islamic conquest reached.

It was really interesting to see how the catholic church had taken the mosque and made it into a cathedral, however, after learning about the structure of a mosque, in my opinion, there is an overwhelming presence of Islamic architecture, which I was much more intrigued by than the catholic redesign.

After this, we wandered around the streets. All the buildings were white with bursts of colour (perfect for Instagram photos). But, I think my favourite part of the whole trip was spending time at the Christmas market. Not only because they had the most delicious crepes, but because we were able to learn so much about Spanish Christmas traditions just by looking at all the different stalls and the products they had to offer.  A very popular tradition in Spain is to build a nativity scene, every year people will buy a new piece to add to it. But the tiniest pieces are so expensive because they are all handmade. They had a huge nativity set up that you could look at, it was so incredibly detailed.

That night we went out out. We happened to find ourselves in a club that played rock n’ roll music along with some cheesy classics. After hearing only reggaetón for many nights out, I was absolutely over the moon to do the WMCA.  And like any Spanish night out, we got home when the sun was rising. In the morning, those of us who were able to function, explored the other side of the city and spent a few hours playing UNO in a café.  

Honestly, I loved this city and I hope I can visit it again before the end of my year abroad!

Hi, I’m Jess, I study French and Spanish at NTU and I’m currently working as an Auxiliar de conversación in Huelva, Andalucía.  Right, the last six weeks have been crazy. Now that I’ve settled in properly, I thought I’d use my first blog post to summarise the most important things that have happened so far.

1. Packed my bags and moved to the south of Spain – After sorting out my accommodation, filling out loads of forms and attempting to keep my suitcase under 20kg (didn’t happen), I left for España. Huelva doesn’t have an airport so I flew to Sevilla and then took a bus from there. I spent the next few days unpacking and making my room cosy while getting to know my flatmates.
2.  Started my job as an English language assistant – I was ridiculously nervous to visit my school and meet all the teachers for the first time, but my coordinator put me at ease straight away. From the get go I could tell some of the students would be challenging, not only in terms of behaviour but also in terms of their level of English. Despite this, I love my job and over the last six weeks I have learnt so much about teaching already.
3. Became friends with other language assistants – I was a bit worried about finding friends in Huelva just because it’s a very small city but I’ve been lucky enough to find some lovely people who have made living away from home SO much easier.
4. Got my NIE – I’ll go into more detail about this process in my next post but getting my NIE sorted was quite stressful and I’m very thankful its now sorted.
5. Opened a Spanish bank account – In order for the school to be able to pay me, I had to open a bank account. I definitely couldn’t have done this without one of the teachers coming with me, don’t get me wrong my Spanish is improving and understand a lot but, the accent in this area is VERY difficult to understand.
6. Started going to Spanish language classes – We were offered free Spanish lessons from the official language school which are already so beneficial. We spend half the class having conversations with native speakers and the other class is a language/grammar session. Having only studied Spanish for two years, this is an absolute blessing.
7. Began to plan my own lessons – Now that I’m settled in my school I have started to plan and teach my own lessons. Although the students need a lot of the work translated, I feel like they’re learning a lot from me.

That’s it for now, I think I’ll use the next few posts to talk about the trips I go on but also the British council programme, how to find accommodation and how to sort out your NIE (basically all the stressful stuff).