hi Aditya
what a nice name you have! what does it mean?
sorry to ask you a stupid question but is it a boy or a girl's name?
I don't know if your Indian MSc is recognised in Spain; but I think it does not matter now that you have already secured funding! CONGRATULATIONS!
I suppose your phd is English-based? Nevertheless it would be a good idea to learn some Spanish. Because if you get sick in Spain, say you are away from the big cities, if you go to the hospital, even the nurses and doctors do not speak English. I know this very well. Even in Madrid, if you occur a bag loss (there are professional thieves there I have already lost one back pack) , you go to the police station, policemen also don't speak English. If you go to the movies, you watch Jackie Chan, he will be speaking Spanish on the screen.
So, please do learn spanish. If you have time, learn some on the internet now before you go.
Yes indian students can live comfortably. A number of my Indian friends lived comfortably in Spain; they were always efficient, they packed their own curry powders and spices, they were always resilient to tough situations and almost ALL the indian students I know or have come to know are very nice and very bright people. Only thing is, they do tend to keep to themselves.
most importantly, learn basic spanish like directions, and hello-how are you phrases. YOu also need to learn especially colours and numbers because even at the airport, you might find people trying to short-change you. My first trip in Madrid the canteen lady didn't give me back any change for something that cost 4euro, and I had given her 10euro, and she pretended not to know. I couldn't communicate with her, so I gave up and let her keep the money.
it is very nice in Spain (maybe except the food almost everything has either beef or pork in it) and you'll find limited vegetarian foodshops, not like in UK, they are easy to find. But you will meet other indian students, make friends and you will do well there!
good luck! Viva espana!!!
satchi
