Autor: Fanlai Huang

And just like that, we’ve reached the end of our Erasmus+ adventure. This is the final blog entry from my time in Valencia. We didn’t plan anything big for the last few days, just focused on packing and giving the apartment one last clean before our flight tomorrow.

These two months have been an experience I’ll carry with me for life. It wasn’t all sunshine and lollipops, of course. Living with eight people in one apartment came with its own set of challenges, especially when you have the smallest room, right next to the kitchen. And yes, that’s also where the “raccoons” live (aka our night-owl roommates), who love to cook and make noise at 4 a.m. Closing the door meant no air, opening it meant getting blinded by light and kept awake by noise. I could probably fill pages with all the things that didn’t work in that flat… but instead, I’d rather focus on the good parts.

One thing I truly appreciated — especially as a woman — was how confidently the girls and women here dress. There’s such a strong sense of freedom in how they express themselves, without fear of being judged or stared at. In Germany, I often feel like many hide behind their clothes or get unwanted attention when dressing more openly. Here, it just felt normal.

Another thing I loved: the metro. It’s clean, secure, and only accessible with a valid ticket. There are security staff everywhere, which makes such a big difference. And honestly, people here are just… warm. I was amazed by how easily strangers strike up conversations, like they’ve known each other for years. Every time I sat on the metro, I saw someone chatting casually with someone they just met. That openness is something I’ll definitely miss.

I’ll also miss the beauty of the old town and the peaceful sunrises we got to experience. But despite all the good memories, I’m really looking forward to going back home, to my bed, my friends, and of course, my cat. And finally getting some proper sleep again!

Goodbye, Valencia. It’s been real.

This is my second-to-last entry before heading back to Berlin. On Tuesday, my boyfriend and I took a trip to Madrid and spent the entire day walking around — nine hours straight. We were already completely exhausted after just three, but kept pushing through.

Madrid was a beautiful city with a strong sense of history. Almost every restaurant or shop had a sign proudly showing something like “since 1940” or even older, which added a lot of charm to the city’s atmosphere.

The heat, though, made things tough. It was 31°C with clear skies the whole day, and the sun drained all our energy. We had to take breaks every 20 minutes just to sit down and cool off. Despite that, we made it through and wrapped up the day with some classic tapas and a refreshing glass of summer wine.

The following day was all about recovery!

Friday was my last day at work, and… let’s just say the farewell was a bit anti-climactic.
When I had to leave, Rafa was stuck in a meeting, so we didn’t even get to say goodbye in person.
Tobi and I had gotten a little farewell gift, but we only managed to give it to Christina and one of the other interns directly. I did write Rafa a goodbye message though. I hope he got it and knows how much I appreciated the experience!

On Sunday, we finally did something as a whole group again. We went bowling!
The place looked like a tiny American theme park. I may have broken a nail, but hey, at least I knocked down a bunch of pins, so I’ll call it a win.

It’s starting to feel real now… Our Erasmus adventure is slowly coming to an end, and while I’ll definitely miss parts of it, I also can’t wait to sleep peacefully again – goodbye, Oropax, it’s been real.

Not much happened from Monday to Wednesday, except Christina’s birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY 🎉), of course!

On Wednesday, we finally got a new task from Rafa.
This time it’s about building a database of all companies in Valencia – including the CEO names and contact info. The goal is to use this database for one of Rafa’s upcoming projects.

Naturally, our first step was to check if this is even okay from a data protection standpoint (because, you know… GDPR and all that).
Once we confirmed that it’s legally doable under certain conditions, we started researching how to actually get our hands on this kind of data.

Turns out:
These kinds of business databases already exist and they’re super detailed.
The catch? Most of them come with a price tag. Of course

This week got a little more active again. Our schedule was actually packed for once!

Remember how I managed to get Tobias a spot as an intern? Well, we were supposed to start a new AI project together. The idea is to build a system that evaluates whether other algorithms are ethically sound and then „certifies“ them.
The only problem: we still haven’t received the proper documentation, even after asking several times. Hopefully next week will be more productive.

Friday was finally paintball and go-kart day! I was the mastermind behind the whole thing, so I decided to just spectate and take photos (I felt like a mum).
The paintball field looked straight out of a Counter-Strike map, and everyone was geared up in full-on paintball suits. It was hilarious.
Afterward, we headed straight to go-karting – also a hit! I’m honestly proud it all worked out.

On Saturday we visited the Hemisfèric here in Valencia to watch Secrets of the Universe. The whole venue felt super sci-fi – like, it messes with your sense of gravity. You’re sitting upright, but your brain is fully convinced you’re lying down.
As for the film… let’s say it wasn’t quite what we expected. We thought it would be full-on space facts and cool cosmic visuals. Instead, we got a history lesson.

Sunday ended on a high note, though!
We woke up early (again) to watch the sunrise, and this time we even managed to convince two other people to join us!

Not much happened during the week, but I did finally take the lead and organize something fun for the whole group: go-karting and paintball for Friday!

Let me just say… trying to juggle everyone’s wishes and schedules is exhausting. I swear I always say never again, and yet here we are.
People had been talking about doing this kind of thing, but no one actually planned it, so I figured I’d just take charge. Shoutout to all group planners out there, I feel you.

Wednesday was cleaning day again! We’ve got a schedule (WHICH I ALSO ORGANIZED) where every „pair“ in the house has to do a deep clean every two weeks, which is honestly the bare minimum when eight people live under one roof. I still find it wild how some people barely lift a finger to keep things clean, but hey… to each their own, right?

On a brighter note – I managed to help another fellow trainee out! Tobias finally landed a placement in my company and starts his internship on Thursday. Super proud of him and also a little relieved!

The highlight of the week? Our little weekend escape to Altea on Saturday!

It only took about two hours to get there, super affordable too and totally worth it. The town is gorgeous, with a beach that easily ranks among the prettiest I’ve seen so far. But it quickly became clear that Altea is definitely a tourist hotspot (especially for german retirees). Everything was a bit on the pricey side, and the town had this very polished, picture-perfect vibe.

I also found it super interesting how the town is built. All these winding, uneven stone streets that are admittedly a bit hard to walk on, but still incredibly aesthetic. There’s something about those narrow alleys and whitewashed walls that gives the whole place a peaceful, almost timeless charm.

We noticed a lot of empty Airbnbs though, which was a bit sad. You can really feel how much of the local life has shifted toward short-term tourism. Still, we strolled along the beach for a while and then made our way up the hill to the famous church. And let me tell you – so many stairs. Add the heat on top of that, and it turned into a bit of a workout. But once we made it to the top, the view made it all worth it. It was such a refreshing change from Valencia. Quieter, slower, and full of charm!

After a pretty eventful few weeks, this one felt much slower and honestly, I didn’t mind. From Monday to Wednesday, I mainly kept working on my little AI side project. It’s been fun experimenting with emotion detection and seeing how far I can get with it on my own.

On Wednesday, I actually even got the chance to tag along with Rafa, our CEO, for some off-site meetings. He gave two presentations – one at Caixa Popular and another one at a university. I was really impressed. The way he speaks, the confidence, the way he takes risks without hesitation… it’s something I really admire. You can tell he’s been through a lot and built something out of pure drive.

Every afternoon, I met up with my boyfriend, and we kept working through our restaurant bucket list. The funny thing is: it never gets shorter. For every place we try, we seem to add three more.

Thursday was another public holiday. Seriously, how many holidays are there in April?! (Not that I’m complaining!) I still haven’t worked a full week since I got here, because every week seems to have at least one day off. I used the break to wander around the city, grab a few gifts for friends back home, and FINALLY try tapas in Valencia.

I had heard good things about Pimientos de Padrón, so I ordered those, paired with a little glass of Ladrón de Verano. It was fruity, refreshing, and honestly… I think I like it even more than Agua de Valencia.

One little sidequest my boyfriend and I gave ourselves is to become regulars at a local bar and we’re making decent progress! The bartender is already warming up to us, and since the place is literally right outside our front door, we can stop by often. (I know it sounds like we’re becoming alcoholics, but I promise we’re keeping it classy and moderate!)

The rest of the week was pretty chill. We checked out a new café, went for all you can eat sushi (Spanish sushi >>> Berlin sushi), and started planning our next weekend trip to Altea with the rest of the group.

On Monday, we checked out of our beloved hotel and decided to treat ourselves to brunch before returning to our charming home… We found the cutest little café with an Alice in Wonderland theme, and everything looked super promising… until the power suddenly went out. At first, we thought it’d be a quick flicker, but then we noticed the shops nearby also had no electricity or phone signal. Not a good sign.

Realizing our food dreams weren’t going to come true, we luckily didn’t wait around. Turns out the power and network didn’t come back until late in the evening. We figured we’d just head back to our apartment, but surprise: the metro wasn’t running either. So began our quest to find a functioning bus. It was total chaos. Buses randomly changing stops, traffic lights down, and a street festival happening in the same area (why not, right?). After what felt like a side quest in a video game, we squeezed into a packed bus and somehow made it home.

Everyone at the apartment was also low-key panicking but in that “this is so bad it’s funny” way. At first, we had spotty signal, but by the afternoon, it was completely gone. It was honestly a little spooky not knowing what was going on and not being able to reach anyone. Still, we were lucky. I heard some people got stuck in gondolas, elevators, or were even evacuated from long-distance trains.

Fun fact (or not): that was also the day we were supposed to meet our instructors. Coincidence that the entire city/country shuts down just as they landed? Hmm…

Anyway, the meeting got moved to Tuesday. First, they visited Jacky and Ruben’s company, and later they came by our lovely shared apartment for the full Valencia housing experience. After a short catch-up, we headed to a beachside restaurant I’d found on TikTok for some classic paella. We went big and ordered the lobster paella and wow, it was chef’s kiss. At least for Herr Bavar and me. The others either thought it was just okay or didn’t like it at all. Not everyone has the tastebuds of a connoisseur, I guess!

It was also super cold and windy at the restaurant, so fingers crossed no one catches a cold. After a few rounds of beer, Agua de Valencia, and incredibly sophisticated conversations about RAID 5, sausage lollipops, and “Lutschter” (our new term for a lobster you lick??), we called it a night. It was really nice seeing familiar faces again!

On Wednesday, it was back to work for me. I continued tinkering with my little AI project. Google Colab has some seriously cool tools and it’s a great place to start if you want to dip your toes into AI stuff. Oh, and I tried Popeyes for the first time. Let’s just say… it ranks second to last on my fast food chicken wing list.