People say moving away from home and to a foreign country is one of the most joyful and rewarding experiences, but what they fail to tell you is how difficult it can be and how much you will miss everything about home. Moving away from your comfort zone is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in my life!

My experience in Bilbao, Spain has not been the easiest! It all started from the minute I arrived at the airport with far too much luggage, which I could only just about manage. Somehow I reached my new flat with my five lots of luggage, tired and stressed.

Then my next challenge was trying to open a bank account and trying to register before the first week of being here had passed. I was unable to register since I did not have an original copy of my flat contract and therefore I had to ask my landlady who lives in Italy to send me an original signed copy. Nightmare!

On top of that, I never thought the hardest challenge to date would be trying to get the Spanish to talk to me in Spanish! When I asked a person for directions or I made a phone call, the person on the other end always replied with, 'it is better in English, no?', which made me annoyed. I was determined to do my best to continue speaking Spanish when people spoke English to me. I even chose to take part in tandem classes with teachers at my school, so that I could speak Spanish! After all, this English girl wanted to speak Spanish and therefore would not be defeated!

1. Some people don't state that living abroad can be hard.
True
False
Not stated
2. The author's life in Bilbao wasn't complicated.
True
False
Not stated
3. The owner of the flat lived in the same city with the author.
True
False
Not stated
4. The author shared the flat with her friend.
True
False
Not stated
5. When people spoke English with the author, she also switched to English.
True
False
Not stated