Health Care

If you pay social security, healthcare in Spain is free or low cost, (families and retirees are also included). Like many countries however, the health service in Spain has a waiting lists to see specialists and for non-urgent operations.

The E111 form for non residents will cover you for emergency treatment in Spain. It is really for tourists, but will make sure that you do not end up having to pay for treatment during your first few weeks or months in Spain. It will not cover you for any non-urgent treatment such as treatment for ongoing conditions, maternity care or vaccinations. The E-121 form is for permanent residents in Spain.

You do not need any forms to buy medicines in a pharmacy, though and you may be surprised at what you can buy. Many drugs that are prescription only in the UK are available to over the counter in a Spanish pharmacy, including Asthma inhalers and antibiotics. Obviously some drugs are expensive though and it would be cheaper to get them on prescription if you are entitled to health care in Spain. If you want to be able to get medicines on prescription in Spain, you should bring a UK prescription with you, and be prepared to get it officially translated into Spanish.

When you are living in Spain you should not rely on form E111 in the long term. See the Permits and Taxes in Spain, or read the booklet that comes with the E111 for various other options if you are working in Spain planning to retire to Spain, if you are a student, or if you are self-employed and planning to work there for less than two years. Otherwise you should either get private health insurance or join the Spanish Social Security system.

Private health insurance is widely available and on the coasts at least there are many schemes specifically aimed at British ex-pats. Do read your policy carefully though as you may find some things you will need are excluded. Some policies only cover you for emergency treatment in the home and/or an ambulance to the local hospital for example and you may find that you have to pay for the hospital treatment after you have received it. Follow the link for more information on obtaining a residence permit in Spain.

If you do not have private healthe insurance you should join the Social Security system. Once you take any job in Spain your employer is obliged to process all the paperwork for you, pay part of your contributions and deduct the other part from your salary. You should be a little careful though: some small businesses pay all their staff cash in hand and those staff will not be eligible for Social Security benefits, including health care. Other employers may register you, but claim you are working less than you are, thus saving themselves some money in contributions. In this situation you will still be eligible for health care, but if you become unemployed or have to take sick leave, your benefits will be lower. Obviously you may not have much of a choice as to who you work for, but we would strongly recommend that you do not work cash-in-hand.

If you are self-employed you will have to go to the local Social Security office and fill in all the paper-work yourself. Unless your Spanish is very good, then it is probably advisable to get a gestor (official agent - a bit like a lawyer for menial bureaucracy) to do this for you. Beware of using a British accountant who doesn?t speak Spanish fluently - you may find that you have not been registered correctly.

Once you are registered, you will find that the Spanish health-care system is very good. There are small differences in policy between the British and Spanish systems, but overall they are very similar. The only potential problems are the fact that many medical staff do not speak English (even in resort areas) and that nursing care is not as good as in the UK. If you do not speak Spanish, then it is advisable to find out about interpretation services and/or take someone who does speak Spanish with you to all appointments.

Dental treatment is Spain is also very good but it is not free. It is however cheaper than private dental treatment in the UK.

Once you get to Spain it is also advisable to look up the local emergency phone number(s). The national equivalent of a 999 call is 112, the police can contact the other emergency services for you. In Andalucia, the number to call for medical emergencies is 061.

My Budget

Educational Expenses: $8000

• Tuition & Fees: Back to Back Summer: $8000
• Room & Board: included in tuition 

Travel Expenses: $1500

• Local Transportation: $150 (I walk everywhere) 
• Airfare: $1200
• Travel to/from Airport: $150
• Passport & Photos: n/a: already have
• Travel Insurance: n/a: already have 
• Visa & Photos: n/a: need for more than 90 days

Personal Expenses: $1250

• Communication: $250
•   Internet: n/a: free with board
•   Postage: $20
•   Cell phone: $230
• Excursions and Sight-Seeing: $800
• Entertainment: $200
• Laundry: n/a: free with board

Miscellaneous/ Optional Expenses: $1500

• Clothing: $500
• Souvenirs: $500
• Eating out & Drinks: $500

Loans/ Scholarships: -$6000 loan


TOTAL: $13,750
With Loan: $7750


Note: To try to stay under budget, I try to budget about fifty euros a week. That would be like $75.00 a week. Then when I would like to spend more money on the weekend, I will be able to use money from other expenses. I have found that writing down everything I spend helps me keep track more efficiently than I would by not writing down information. 

Spanish Guitar

The Spanish Guitar Emerges:

With the coming of the Renaissance, inspired in part by Moslem learning brought home by returning Crusaders, the lute become the favorite instrument of Western Europe.

In Spain however, the lute was already overshadowed by a new instrument, the guitar. Two types of guitar were played by the Pyrenees: the vihuela, in the court and among fashionable society, and the guitarra latina, by ordinary folk. The former had eleven strings, five double and one single, and was plucked. The latter had four double strings and was strummed. The vogue of the vihuela reached a peak in the first half of the sixteenth century when many composers wrote works for it. At about the same time a fifth string was added to the guitarra latina, which thereupon gained so rapidly in public favour that by the end of the century it had displaced its rival throughout most of the lberian Peninsula.

During the seventeenth century, as lute-playing declined in popularity, guitars began to find their way abroad to France, Germany and Italy, where the instruments were referred to as "Spanish Guitars". The instrument was played at the sumptuous court of France's Louis XIV and the Sun King himself took lessons on it. By the middle of the 18th century the guitar was firmly established in fashionable circles throughout Contintinental Europe. Thereafter, its voice was increasingly drowned out by those louder and more 'sophisticated' stringed instruments - the harpsichord, piano and violin.

But the guitar was soon to make a comeback. Towards the end of the century a sixth string, the low E string was added - most likely in the instance by a certain music-master from Dresden named Naumann. Before long, the sixth-string guitar was standard throughout Europe. At about this time, moreover,there came to the fore in Spain guitarists unprecedented virtuosity and flair, among whom the most noteworthy was Fredinand Sor (1778 -1839). Sor, not only a gifted performer and showman, but also a diligent composer and transcriber of works for the guitar, toured the continent and finally England where his impact on the musical community was tremendous. Thanks to the missionary work of Sor and other talented Spanish guitarists, the guitar regained its popularity and world-famous composers, accepting it for the first time as a usable instrument, began to write music expressly for it. Rossini did so in his score for "The Barber of Seville" and "Verdi in Otello", while Schubert, Haydn and to an ever greater extent Paganini and Berlioz, all composed guitar music.

Enter The Concert (or Classical) Guitar:

Until about 150 years ago guitars were normally played solo, with or without accompanying voices to relatively small audiences.

Once it became a concert instrument, guitarists were called upon to perform in larger halls, often together with musicians playing other instruments. it soon became obvious that the six stringed instrument needed much more volume if it was to make itself heard in these altered conditions. this led to increases in size and hence, in volume - which eventually resulted in the concert guitar we know today.

Not surprisingly, the two men most responsible for the concert guitar were both Spaniards - Torres (1817-1899) and Tarrega (1852 -1909), Torres, working in collaboration with the guitarist Juilian Arcos, increased the size of the instrument, particularly by making the two bouts of the soundbox wider in relation to its overall length. he also increased the scale length (the distance between the bridge saddle and the nut, where the sting vibrate freely), which ultimately came to be standardized at 26 inches. Torres improved the fingerboard by flattening it and reducing its width to about two inches, thereby making fingering an easier matter than it had been before. Perhaps mast importantly of all, he redesigned the entire internal structure of the soundbox giving it seven fan braces instead of three - placing extra braces at the tail around the sound hole, and on the ribs. this not only strengthened the instrument, but also improved its tone and raised its volume by distributing vibrations evenly to every part of the body below the sound hole. Subsequently, other guitar-makers further refined the instrument, but Torres' contributions remain the most fundamental of any.

If Torres pioneered the design of the concert guitar, Tarrega pioneered the playing techniques used by concert guitarists. His innovations, collectively known as the 'Tarrega method', cover such matters as proper positioning of the guitar on the player's left knee, the correct placing of his/her hands, procedures for plucking the strings and mast particularly, the effect use of the right hand.

Since Tarrega, a number of outstanding concert guitarists have entranced audiences throughout the world, including two of the master's pupils, Llobet and Pujol. Today there are many great concert artists who give regular guitar recitals in major cities around the world, each one is to some degree, a product of the line of development set in motion by Andres Segovia - the first concert guitarist to confront and conquer the mass media. Via the medium of radio and records, plus his concert performances and teaching, Segovia established the playing patterns, repertoire and attitudes that have prevailed throughout the Western world for more than 50 years. Several great guitarists - Julian Bream, John Williams and Leo Brouer, to name but three, have contributed to the expansion of the Segovian repertoire, but despite their efforts, the run-of-the-mill classical guitarist still draws from the well that Segovia dug.

This is a YouTube performance by Andres Segovia: 

Flamenco

Flamenco is the traditional song and dance of the Gypsies (flamencos) of Andalusia in southern Spain.

The art form developed over several centuries from Gypsy, Moorish, Andalusian, and other roots. Flamenco music and dance became popular in the early 19th century as café entertainment. Canto (“song”) is the core of flamenco, and like baile(“dance”), it has three forms: grande or hondo(“grand” or “deep”), intense, profound songs, tragic in tone, and imbued withduende, the transformation of the musician by the depth of the emotion;intermedio (“intermediate”), moderately serious, the music sometimes Oriental-sounding; and pequeño (“small”), light songs of exuberance, love, and nature.

Individual genres include the light bulerías; the more serious soleares and its lighter descendant, the alegrías; the fandangos grandes, a serious adaptation of a lighter non-Gypsy genre; the malagueñas, an offshoot of the fandangos; andcantos grandes such as the siguiriyas gitanas and saetas.

Both text and melody of these songs, like the flamenco dance, are improvised within traditional structures such as characteristic rhythms and chords. Zapateado, intricate toe- and heel-clicking steps, characterizes the men's dance; the traditional women's dance is based more on grace of body and hand movement.

The baile grande, especially, is believed to retain elements of the dance of India, where the Gypsies originated. Castanets, found in Andalusian dance, are not traditional to flamenco. Song and dance may be accompanied by jaleo, rhythmic finger snapping, hand clapping, and shouting.

In the 19th century, guitar accompaniment became common for many genres, and guitar solos also developed. In the 20th century, commercial pressure distorted much traditional flamenco dance. 

Salamanca

This sunny sandstone city boasts Spain's grandest plaza, its oldest university, and a fascinating history all swaddled in a strolling college-town ambience.

Northwest of Madrid (2.5 hours one-way by car, bus, or train), Salamanca is youthful and untouristy, displaying its mighty monuments and clusters of cloisters with quiet pride. Take an evening paseo (stroll) with the local crowd down main street — Rua Mayor — and through the main square, Plaza Mayor. The many students help keep prices down. The young people congregate until late in the night, chanting and cheering, talking and singing. When I asked a local woman why young men all alone on the Plaza Mayor suddenly break into song, she said, "Doesn't it happen where you live?"

Plaza Mayor, built from 1729 to 1755, is the ultimate Spanish plaza and a fine place to nurse a cup of coffee (try the venerable Art Nouveau–style Café Novelty) and watch the world go by. The town hall, with the clock, grandly overlooks the square, and the Arco del Toro (bull) leads to the covered market. Imagine the excitement of the days (until 1893) when bullfights were held in the square.

Salamanca's university, the oldest in Spain (est. 1230), was one of Europe's leading centers of learning for 400 years. Columbus came here for travel tips. Today, while no longer so prestigious, it's laden with history and popular with Americans, who enjoy its excellent summer program. The old lecture halls around the cloister, where many of Spain's Golden Age heroes studied, are open to the public (for a fee). Some of the rooms are still used by the university for prestigious academic ceremonies.

The ornately decorated grand entrance of the university is a great example of Spain's plateresque style (Spain's version of Flamboyant Gothic), masonry so intricate it looks like silverwork (plata means "silver"). The people studying the facade aren't art fans. They're trying to find a tiny frog on a skull that students looked to for good luck.

In the Hall of Fray Luís de León, the narrow wooden beam tables and benches — whittled down by centuries of studious doodling — are originals. Professors spoke from the Church-threatening cátedra, or pulpit. It was here that free-thinking brother Luís de León returned, after the Inquisition jailed and tortured him for five years for challenging the Church's control of the word of God by translating part of the Bible into Castilian. He started his first post-imprisonment lecture with, "As we were saying..." Such courageous men of truth believed the forces of the Inquisition were not even worth acknowledging.

Near the university you'll find the old and new cathedrals. These cool-on-a-hot-day cathedrals are share buttresses, and are both richly ornamented. The "new" cathedral, begun in 1513 and finished in 1733, is notable for its ornate plateresque facade and sumptuous wood carving. In the old cathedral (12th-century Romanesque), sit in a front pew to study the 53 altarpiece scenes from Mary's life and the dramatic Last Judgment fresco — notice Jesus directing condemned souls into the literal jaws of hell.

If you're crazy about cloisters, stop by the Church of San Esteban, dedicated to St. Stephen (Esteban) the martyr. The church contains a recently restored cloister, tombs, and a museum with illustrated 16th-century choir books (may be closed in 2008). Before you enter the church, notice the plateresque facade and its bas-relief of the stoning of St. Stephen. The nave is overwhelmed by a 100-foot, 4,000-piece wood altarpiece by José Benito Churriguera (1665–1725) that replaced the original Gothic one in 1693. Quietly ponder this dusty, gold-plated cottage cheese, as tourists shake their heads and say "too much" in their mother tongue. Next door, the much simpler Convento de las Dueñas is a joy. It consists of a double-decker cloister with a small museum of religious art. Check out the stone meanies exuberantly decorating the capitals on the cloister's upper deck. The nuns sell sweets daily except Sunday.

For a fun meal, do the tapas tango. Bars offer a great selection of tapas, or appetizers, featuring all kinds of foods — seafood, salads, meat-filled pastries, deep-fried tasties, and on and on. Wash down your tapas with iced gazpacho (spicy tomato soup), a cool treat on a hot day. The covered mercado on Plaza Mercado is ideal for picnic gatherers. And if you always wanted seconds at Communion, buy a bag of giant Communion wafers, a local specialty called obleas.

Salamanca, with its low-cost accommodations, inexpensive food, and monumental sights, offers up small-town Spain on a Plateresque platter.

Soccer (Futbol)

Spain's Major Soccer Teams

If you can get to see a game including any of these teams, you're in for an exceptional night of soccer.
Barcelona League champions these last two seasons (04/05 & 05/06) they also added the European championship to their trophy cabinet in 2006. Playing in the heart of Barcelona in Europe's largest football stadium, the 120,000 capacity Nou Camp, they feature soccer stars such as the Brazilian Ronaldinho & Spain's sometimes captain Puyol among their roster.

The following bolded words are the main teams and the history behind their success:

• Barcelona League champions these last two seasons (04/05 & 05/06) they also added the European championship to their trophy cabinet in 2006. Playing in the heart of Barcelona in Europe's largest football stadium, the 120,000 capacity Nou Camp, they feature soccer stars such as the Brazilian Ronaldinho & Spain's sometimes captain Puyol among their roster.

• Real Madrid FIFA, soccer's world governing body, recently named Real Madrid as the most successful soccer club of the 20th century, having won more European championships than any other team from the continent (nine). Real Madrid are both loved and hated for the "galactico" (stars) system by which they buy the best (or most lucrative) players in the world each year.

• Madrid and Barcelona are the protagonists in Spanish soccer's most famous rivalry, known as 'el Clasico'. On one side there is Real ('royal') Madrid, associated with the regime of the dictator Generalissimo Franco and the conservatism of modern centralist Spain. On the other side is Futbol Club Barcelona, symbol of an oppressed Catalan nationhood.This political subplot has given an added edge to the competition between Spain's two most garlanded football clubs. Such tumultuous contests have resulted out of this heartfelt rivalry between the two teams that the tie has established itself as the classic game in Europe, nicknamed 'El Clasico.

• Barça Players in El Clasico
• Barcelona players to have graced derbies of yesterday include 'Lobsterman' Pepe Samitier, who terrorized Madrid's defence in the 1920s, Ladislao Kubala, the Hungarian target-man of the 50's who was particularly fond of Barcelona 's bars and Johan Cruyff, the Dutchman who brought 'Total football' and an inferno of cigarette smoke (he smoked 40 a day) to the Nou Camp in the 1970s.
• Michael Laudrup, Hristo Stoichkov and Romario formed the so-called 'Dream Team' of the 1990s which was involved in some memorable tussles. More recently, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi have all inflicted irreperable damage to Madrid's title hopes in derby games.

• Real Madrid Players in El Clasico
• An Argentine called Alfredo Di Stefano inspired five title triumphs in five years during the '50s and '60s. He was a great scourge of Barcelona, partly because they were deflected in their attempts to buy him.
• Ferenc Puskas, 'the magical Magyar', gave defences of the '60s a torrid time. Emilio Butragueno was known as 'the vulture.' He terrorised Barça in the '80s, as did the acrobatic Hugo Sanchez, in the late '80s - early '90s. In the past couple of decades Raùl, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo formed a fearsome trio to take on Barça.

• Politics in El Clasico
• From 1936 to 1975 there was of course, Franco, who as well as subjugating the Catalan region and outlawing the Catalan language, developed a deep suspicion for the Barcelona club, which was viewed as the epitome of anti-Spanish sentiment.
• During Franco's reign Barça's followers developed a sense that referees and league officials were against the club, which partly continues until today. What were viewed as farcical decisions and exaggerated bans and fines against Barca were common. Real Madrid's players meanwhile had to unfairly carry the burden of being political representatives of the regime which favoured it.
• Political and cultural differences caused mayhem at matches. Barcelona fans became so incensed by the referee's performance at one game in 1970 they threw 25,000 seats onto the field. In another a Fascist soldier attempted to arrest the Barcelona groundsman on for being a suspected communist. And more recently a pig's head was tossed onto the field at the feet of Real Madrid player Luis Figo, who had betrayed Barca to sign for Real. Figo politely declined, having already eaten his dinner.

• Luis Figo And El Clasico
• If one player were to encapsulate the rivalry between Real Madrid and Barça than it would be Luis Figo. Figo spent five successful years at Barça in the late nineties, winning several league titles. He was the idol of the Nou Camp. Then in 2000 he decided to sign for Real Madrid.
• Overnight he became the most despised man in Barcelona and a Madrid icon.
• Though he went on to win several league titles with Madrid he also received perhaps the most hostile reception of any player in La Liga history when he returned to play in Barcelona. Among the indignities endured by the winger were the pig's head incident and sea of banknotes in his name, meant to symbolize his greed as a pesetero - a moneygrabbing turncoat.

• Athletic de Bilbao - The purists of Spanish soccer. Many Spaniards have a soft spot for this club due to its policy of only ever including Spanish players on its roster. In the 60's & 70's a real force in Spanish soccer but the last few seasons have seen the club battling to keep up with other clubs employing stars from around the world.

• Sevilla The south of Spain is famed for its passion and latino love for life. This extends to the football club of Andalusia's capital which although not as successful as the big two (Real Madrid & Barcelona) still sees a 55,000 people party and partisan atmosphere for every game. The 2006 UEFA cup winners (Europe's second most important competition), Sevilla, are challenging the big two in 2007.

They say that soccer (futbol to the Spanish) is like a religion in Spain. It would be perhaps more accurate to say that religion is like soccer in Spain, such is the devotion expressed by the Spanish to their beloved sport. While once upon a time the essential Sunday activity was going to church in the morning, now it is watching the Sunday night fixtures.

Spain has a great history of soccer, arguably only beaten by England and Italy in terms of footballing heritage. Real Madrid are the most successful soccer team in Europe, though their statistics are bumped up by being sponsored by General Franco during the 1950s.

Soccer in Spain is inexpensive with tickets available at times for less than 20€ from the clubs themselves. Realistically you should be looking to pay about 35€ to see a game unless you purchase tickets from a tout in the street. Of course for the bigger games, buying from a tout may be the only option!

Getting to Know Spanish Soccer (Futbol)Spanish football is played in four professional leagues with promotion and relegation taking place at the end of each season. The season itself running between mid September and mid May. During this time each Saturday and Sunday sees over 100 professional games taking place across the country.

Sitting atop the pyramid of leagues is the 20 teams in Liga A (known simply as "La Liga" in other European countries). Each team will play each other once at home and once away within a season.

Weekly ScheduleYou'll find Spanish soccer teams in action up to four times a week during the soccer season, which runs from late August until May.

Saturday One La Liga game per week (the most important one available on free-to-air TV) is played on a Saturday.

Sunday The rest of the domestic games are played on a Sunday.

Tuesday 50% of all Champions League games (Europe's biggest cup competition) are played on a Tuesday. If a Spanish team is involved, it will be advertised in bars.

Wednesday The other half of Champions League games.

Thursday UEFA cup games. The UEFA cup is the secondary European cup, after the Champions League. Again, if Spanish teams are involved, it will be advertised.

The Do's and Taboo's

Meals:
In Spain, lunch is the biggest meal of the day and can last two or three hours. Work nevertheless is expected to continue afterward. Because Spanish are used to this regimen-and wisely eat a very light breakfast and late-late supper-it does not mean the rest of us can take on a seven-course lunch, con vino, and survive a 4:30 meeting. If food is served family style from communal dishes, take just a little of everything. When ordering from the menu, ask for appetizer portions instead of entree size, especially of the heavier pasta dishes.

Timing: 
In Spain, the only time you must take punctuality seriously is when attending a bullfight. Most offices and shops close for siesta all the way from 1:30 to 4:30 P.M., and restaurants do not usually reopen until after 9 or get into full swing until 11.

Gestures:
The cheek stroke: In, Greece, Italy, and Spain, means "attractive."

Beckon: To use finger(s) to call someone is insulting to most Middle and Far Easterners. It is proper in most of these countries, and in Portugal, Spain and Latin America, to beckon someone with palm down, fingers or whole hand waving.

Fingers cross: In Europe, crossed fingers have several meanings, most commonly "protection" or "good luck."

A Little More:

Names/Greetings: 
Men who are close friends often give each other an abrazo (hug). Women friends greet and part with a slight embrace and a kiss on each cheek.

Appointments/Punctuality:
A break-the siesta-in the middle of the day allows families to be together for the main meal of the day. Most offices and stores are closed between 1:30 and 4:30 P.M.

The only time punctuality is taken seriously is when attending a bullfight.

Hospitality/Gift Giving: 
An oddity in Spain is the lateness at which people eat dinner. Restaurants do not generally open until after nine and do not get into full swing until about eleven.

You many take flowers when you are invited to dinner (avoid dahlias and chrysanthemums, as they are associated with death). Other gifts could include pastries, cakes and chocolates.

Guests are sometimes presented with a gift, which should be opened immediately.

Conversation: 
Good topics of conversations include politics (but it is best to avoid political comparisons between Spain and U.S.), sports, and travel.

Avoid discussions of religion, family, and job. Do not make negative remarks about bullfighting, which is considered more art than a sport.