Its March. What? Excuse me? No. Time needs to stop because I can't imagine life not here in Spain. I'm at this weird point in my time here where I feel oddly connected to my life in Spain. I have a routine, things that I'm used to and people I love. But that's not to say I don't miss home. I'm not sure if there is a word for this sensation but its like I have this desire to live not one or two but three places at once. I am amazed by the capacity that the heart has to grow. When you go to a new place, meet new people, and have new experiences, you don't stop loving the old places, people, and experiences. In a way you love and appreciate them more, while also making room for the new. I don't know its strange to think about and its also 4 am(I only made it halfway through the post when I decided I should probably go back to sleep). Why I am writing? I woke up and felt inspired haha!
The real point of this blog is to talk a bit more about my classes. Now that I have been in them for a few weeks, I feel like I have enough to say. When I reflect on my educational journey here at UPNA, I honestly feel like the best analogy is the experience of a roller coaster ride at an amusement park.
Those of you who know me well, know that I am to say the least, organized, a bit of a control freak, and SUPER type A about certain things; school has always been one of those things for me. I have had a lot of adjusting to do here in Spain; not only in the educational system, which has many differences and similarities that I will list below, but also in my place in the classroom and my role as a student.
On my Spanish roller coaster ride, there are all of the components of a regular ride. First, you wait in line. This is admittedly the worst part of the whole experience, but only if you make it so.
My lines are the days when I struggle with the language barrier. On these days, for some reason, I don't understand my professors, or classmates, or what is going on, time passes slowly and all of the crowd can make me feel a bit claustrophobic.
I am not the best student in a classroom always and that's okay, but before this experience, I have never spent a day in a classroom and just not understood a good part of the lecture. This is frustrating for me, but I am learning to accept that I am not going to know everything, I am not going to have all of the answers in class, and if I do, I might not know how to express them in a scholarly and well worded manner. THIS IS OKAY.
AND there are times when I'm in "line" and I spend the time, instead of worrying about the wait and the crowd, I pass the time talking with other students, the help that they often offer, makes passing this tough part of the day just a little bit better.
I don't want to leave the impression that I am just really confused and not enjoying my classes though because some days I have a great time! It's quite interesting being a native English speaker in courses taught in Spanish. In one of my courses, I am the only international student, I should also mention that this is a class taught in Spanish about the language and culture of the other official language of Navarra (the province I live in), Euskera or la langua vasca or in English, Basque. This class is probably my most challenging, but also my favorite. For me, its like the twists, turns and loops. Everyday in class I am on edge. It's thrilling and exciting and I always want more but I also can't help but to feel the butterflies in my stomach when I have to speak or answer a question (which the professor loves to ask me because I'm a native English speaker and we talk a lot about language). I love this class though because I feel like I am on a level playing field with the other students, they have a similar level of knowledge of the language as I do and so often we can laugh together at our lack of comprehension.
At the end of each school day, I am pretty tired. Its kind of funny because in the US I am accustomed to living on 6-7 hours of sleep, work, classes, clubs, and having a social life. Here in Pamplona, I get much more sleep, have very little responsibilities, and yet some days I am SO exhausted. I think this might be because of 2 reasons. One is the hours of university. One day my courses are spread out between 8 am and 6:30 pm. That's a long day of classes. I am also constantly thinking in double as I have to translate things in my head all day long, and often on a scholarly level. It is difficult, but is why I am here.
Here are a few thoughts about courses and school that I have had in general:
-Students shhh each other during lecture if people are talking
-Sometimes only a small portion of the class shows up to lecture
-A lot of courses are set up with one class period a week of lecture and the other of practice which is really interesting and quite helpful in courses because it gives me an opportunity to speak to and work with other students
-The students are very passionate and active in their studies, 2 degrados had a strike and a demonstration last week to protest changes that the uni is considering. It was really interesting to see them rally and to compare the way that students here interact with their education system as opposed to the US.
-I haven't really had a lot of homework and most of the grades are based on one or two assignments
-Thesis is a very popular concept in Europe and other parts of the world which I found interesting.
-The library's main room is a quite area which is SO WEIRD to me. I am like "Where are the comfy couches, big tables, and WHY is no one talking?" It makes me appreciate the MC library just a bit more
-The paper here is really long compared to paper in the US
-I have to pay to print things :(
I think that is all for now! I will post a blog about my trip to las cuevas soon!
P.S. The weather is getting SO much better and I can't wait for all of the fun in the sun that I think is coming soon!
P.P.S. I still don't have my package
And... I'm still clumsy and also now look like Harry Potter because I scratched my face (Its and embarrassing tale so I won't go into details).
The real point of this blog is to talk a bit more about my classes. Now that I have been in them for a few weeks, I feel like I have enough to say. When I reflect on my educational journey here at UPNA, I honestly feel like the best analogy is the experience of a roller coaster ride at an amusement park.
Those of you who know me well, know that I am to say the least, organized, a bit of a control freak, and SUPER type A about certain things; school has always been one of those things for me. I have had a lot of adjusting to do here in Spain; not only in the educational system, which has many differences and similarities that I will list below, but also in my place in the classroom and my role as a student.
On my Spanish roller coaster ride, there are all of the components of a regular ride. First, you wait in line. This is admittedly the worst part of the whole experience, but only if you make it so.
My lines are the days when I struggle with the language barrier. On these days, for some reason, I don't understand my professors, or classmates, or what is going on, time passes slowly and all of the crowd can make me feel a bit claustrophobic.
I am not the best student in a classroom always and that's okay, but before this experience, I have never spent a day in a classroom and just not understood a good part of the lecture. This is frustrating for me, but I am learning to accept that I am not going to know everything, I am not going to have all of the answers in class, and if I do, I might not know how to express them in a scholarly and well worded manner. THIS IS OKAY.
AND there are times when I'm in "line" and I spend the time, instead of worrying about the wait and the crowd, I pass the time talking with other students, the help that they often offer, makes passing this tough part of the day just a little bit better.
I don't want to leave the impression that I am just really confused and not enjoying my classes though because some days I have a great time! It's quite interesting being a native English speaker in courses taught in Spanish. In one of my courses, I am the only international student, I should also mention that this is a class taught in Spanish about the language and culture of the other official language of Navarra (the province I live in), Euskera or la langua vasca or in English, Basque. This class is probably my most challenging, but also my favorite. For me, its like the twists, turns and loops. Everyday in class I am on edge. It's thrilling and exciting and I always want more but I also can't help but to feel the butterflies in my stomach when I have to speak or answer a question (which the professor loves to ask me because I'm a native English speaker and we talk a lot about language). I love this class though because I feel like I am on a level playing field with the other students, they have a similar level of knowledge of the language as I do and so often we can laugh together at our lack of comprehension.
At the end of each school day, I am pretty tired. Its kind of funny because in the US I am accustomed to living on 6-7 hours of sleep, work, classes, clubs, and having a social life. Here in Pamplona, I get much more sleep, have very little responsibilities, and yet some days I am SO exhausted. I think this might be because of 2 reasons. One is the hours of university. One day my courses are spread out between 8 am and 6:30 pm. That's a long day of classes. I am also constantly thinking in double as I have to translate things in my head all day long, and often on a scholarly level. It is difficult, but is why I am here.
Here are a few thoughts about courses and school that I have had in general:
-Students shhh each other during lecture if people are talking
-Sometimes only a small portion of the class shows up to lecture
-A lot of courses are set up with one class period a week of lecture and the other of practice which is really interesting and quite helpful in courses because it gives me an opportunity to speak to and work with other students
 |
| Flyer for the demonstration |
-I haven't really had a lot of homework and most of the grades are based on one or two assignments
-Thesis is a very popular concept in Europe and other parts of the world which I found interesting.
 |
| Parque Yamaguchi on the first really nice day we had. |
-The paper here is really long compared to paper in the US
-I have to pay to print things :(
I think that is all for now! I will post a blog about my trip to las cuevas soon!
P.S. The weather is getting SO much better and I can't wait for all of the fun in the sun that I think is coming soon!
P.P.S. I still don't have my package
And... I'm still clumsy and also now look like Harry Potter because I scratched my face (Its and embarrassing tale so I won't go into details).