Bilbao

Hola!!

Today was our trip to Bilbao, a city in Spain about 2 hours away from Burgos.  We had such a good time and the weather was the best weather we've had in Spain so far.  There was so much to see in the city.  We got a guided tour as well as a trip to the Guggenheim Museum.  Usually I'm not a fan of museums, but the Guggenheim was absolutely incredible.  There wasn't much to see, but the exhibits were really interesting and it's definitely somewhere I would visit again.  Unfortunately, we weren't permitted to take pictures inside of the museum, but the view outside was just as stunning.  Hope you enjoy the pictures... next stop Barcelona!! :)

Hey everyone!!

Sorry it's been a while since my last post, but I've been extremely busy and overwhelmed.  Classes started last Monday and it's been crazy.  There are so many differences between classes here and classes at home, but I am adjusting well, I think and hope, and I'm even starting to like it.  Just for fun, here are some differences between college here and Millersville.

1.  Schedules:  Here, instead of being able to chose your classes, depending on your major and year in school, you're given a schedule that you follow.  I do always complain about having to find a schedule at Millersville to have to follow, and there are so many decisions, so I don't think I would really mind having a schedule given to me.  Since everyone has a set schedule already, it was a little difficult to find classes that I wanted to take and that would fit into my schedule without conflicting with other classes.

2.  Add/drop:  At home, there's an add drop period of one week meaning you can change your classes or get rid of classes only the first week of school.  Here, you don't have to officially register until March 7th.  That being said, you can go to whatever class you want whenever you want before that date until you find ones that you like, which was very beneficial for me.

3.  Time: All of the classes, mostly, are two hours long twice a week.  They're usually back to back, which sounds awful, but you get lots of breaks.  There's usually a 10 minutes break every hour and before class, the professors or students are not exactly on time.  Everyone is a lot more laid back about the time whereas at home, if you are to show up really late to a class, you might as well not even go.  Here, students are sometimes late, and it's okay which I like.

The classes that I chose are Hispanic american literature, Spanish literature and film, cultural anthropology, and pragmatics.  They seem interesting so far.

The first two weeks of school were kind of rough.  I felt okay talking to students in Spanish before classes started but when I got to class and everyone was taking pages of notes, I was overwhelmed because I felt like I didn't even know what the professors were saying and I got really upset.  I felt really stupid in my classes because I know that I'm a good student and I would normally understand the material, but all the Spanish all at one time was really overwhelming.  After talking to some of my classmates, I feel so much better.  It is only the second week of school, and I just need to realize that it takes time.  Like a great teacher once told me, leave the perfection at the door and by messing up and maybe being embarrassed sometimes will only make for a good story as well as a learning experience. :)

Update on the piso as well... we now have WiFi in our home as of Wednesday, which is so exciting for us to actually have contact with the outside world outside of the school.  I got to skype with my parents which made me really happy and also talk to all my friends more which of course is really great too.  I really enjoy hearing from everyone, and I love that you all enjoy my blog.  I'm so glad to share the experience with everyone as best as I can!

I haven't been outside of Burgos since my last post, but my friends and I went exploring in the city last Sunday so I have some pictures of that.  This Saturday we will be traveling to Bilbao for a museum and some site seeing.  Also, I've been busy planning trips to other countries and I believe the first stop will be Portugal in a few weeks.  Along with planning our day trips and overnights trips, I've been also planning a trip for when my mom comes to visit and I'm so excited for that as well.

Adios and hugs and kisses to all :)

this view never gets old

Hello!!!

So far so good here in Spain!  Saturday was our first organized tour to three different small cities all within the province of Burgos.  We went on a trip with the rest of the international students at the university along with the AEGEE Burgos club, which consists of the people who organize most of our trips.

The trip lasted the entire day and we did a lot of walking, but it was so much fun and we got to see a lot of neat things.  The first pueblo that we visited was Frias.  The view was amazing on top of the hill where the castle used to be.  We got to go into the castle and climb the giant walls.  It was breathtaking and the pictures don’t really do it any justice.

The next city we visited was Ona which did not have as much to see as Frias, but it reminded me of a small village which was really neat.  There were lots of small cobblestone roads and quiet places along the trail to sit and just watch over the city.

The last city we visited was Deposita de la Sal which used to be used as a huge salt deposit for the water in the city.  We climbed a huge hill to the very very top and got to go into another castle, which was again breathtaking.  I wish you all could see the sights that Spain has to offer, but for now the pictures will have to do.

Classes start today and I think I have a list of classes that I would like to look at and see if I like them.  The system is much different from home, but it’s much more efficient.  Instead of only having one week of add/drop where you have to finalize your schedule in 5 days of classes, you instead don’t register at all until after about 2 weeks which allows you time to go to any class you want to meet the professor, talk to other students, get the syllabus and decide if it’s a class you would like to take or not.  There’s no penalty for going to a class, hating it, and taking a different one.  You can really go to all the classes you want without having to finalize your schedule until the end of February. 

As far as my Spanish speaking goes, I can still feel myself improving, but I’m also very impatient.  It takes me a few times listening to someone speak before I can really truly understand everything they are saying and I really hope that I can get better.  It can be frustrating at times when I’m trying to think of the right word or the right expression to tell someone exactly what I’m trying to say and I can’t communicate with them.  I know it’ll take time to learn everything and to really start understanding, but meanwhile my impatience makes me very frustrated with myself sometimes because I just want to know it all now, although I know that’s not possible at all. 

On the other hand, I still am amazed at how much fun it is to have one huge part of life in common with all of these other people from countries all over the world.  I can’t get over how 80 different students from 80 different areas can all come together in one country and have Spanish in common to be able to express themselves to each other and for me to actually be apart of this.  I’ve met so many interesting people and I just think it’s so much fun to compare and contrast the differences in countries and schools.  For example, last night at the boys’ piso there were two students over for dinner from Brazil and we got into conversations about the differences in our school systems and the way things are operated in the different countries.  We also talked about common problems that exist across the two countries such as bullying in high schools, violence revolving around gay rights, and just the way that the political system works in general and the existence of corruption.  I thought it was very interesting that both countries have very similar problems and talking about different issues in different countries can really unite students from all over because even though all the countries have different language, culture, and people, there still are problems that happen all over.  It’s one thing to read about it in textbooks and on the Internet, but it’s a whole new thing to actually have real conversations with peers from that country about the issues.  Again.. my nerd is coming out now but talking about these issues with other students and seeing that they feel as strongly about the issues as we do gives me hope for the future because if students can all come together to do something about these issues across the entire world, a lot can be said for our generation and what is to come.  Anyway, enough serious talk for now… until next time J