A camper van in Valencia

Amidst the flurry of speeding cars darting around Valencia this weekend, an exaggerated white camper van could be seen. With a German number plate, passers by would think it held a retired couple from Bavaria, but the big white mini bus is actually the home of two engineering students from Graz......With hardly a word of Spanish between them, the Erasmus students arrived in Valencia over a week ago and although they even drafted an Excel list with 145 affordable flats, they still haven't been able to find a place to live. They ain't fussy, in fact they just really want a place to shower, but their experience shows how difficult it is for exchange students to initially find their feet. .....The university international office hardly opens, Spanish students are doing exams and not a soul could even grant the guys with a password to access the campus wifi. On top of that, pre-paid mobile phone cards cost an arm and a leg so the boys didn't even want to use their phone to call their future flats! I'm not sure whether they are more afraid of the price of the call or the Spanish voice at the end of the phone. However, they have their fridge, their cooker, their nice bed and their lovely bus and the joy of choosing a new Valencian address each night. So although it sounds a bit daunting at first, life in a camper van in Valencia seems to be working out just fine...........and you know why? Coz the guys are politely using the university facitlites to have their daily shower and shave!!!