The biggest difference in transportation between Fayetteville and Málaga, the Spanish city where I studied abroad, was that walking and taking the bus were far more common than riding in cars. There was still an abundance of people with cars, but there was also no shortage of people without them or who only used them on special occasions. My host parents were one such example. They had a car, but there was only one between the two of them and they rarely used it.
Because of the dearth of car travel, the two biggest ways I
– and most locals -- got around were by walking and taking the bus, both of
which were much more feasible than they sound.
This is in part due to how the city is structured, namely in that it is
denser. The buildings are closer
together and they tend to maximize available real estate by expanding upwards,
not outwards. Hence, the ground floor of
a building might have a shop while the upper floors had apartments, offices, or
some other establishment where the general public would not go under normal
circumstances.
Thus, because more businesses, attractions, and friends’
apartments were packed into a smaller area, walking was an easy means of
getting around. Most places I wanted to
go were within fifteen minutes’ walk.
The infrastructure for walkers was also excellent, with well-maintained
sidewalks on practically every street.
On main thoroughfares, sidewalks were wide enough for lone pedestrians,
bicyclists, and groups of tourists to pass each other without issue.
When something was out of walking distance, such as my
university, the bus came in; many people in Málaga, myself included, depended
on the buses to get around. Although the
buses were notorious for being late, they were still great because they were
always running and they connected all parts of the city. At any time of the day or night, I could get
from one part of Málaga to another without issue. Whenever I wanted to see a museum or concert
in another neighborhood, I took the bus.
Bus stops were also good meeting points because friends coming from
various parts of town could meet at an easy-to-find place and their arrival
times were predictable. That made the
public transit system great in more ways than one. While it did take some time to adjust to the
new ways of navigating a city, I grew accustomed to them and came to get around
with ease.
- Andrew, study abroad peer advisor and #HogsAbroad alum in Spain
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Don't get left behind! Find your own study abroad program to sharpen your navigational skills at: http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search
Don't get left behind! Find your own study abroad program to sharpen your navigational skills at: http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search
