Ready to Learn, to Get Some Knowledge

Almost 6 weeks into my adventures in Madrid (!), I have finally settled down into a routine. The first 2 weeks I spent taking an Intensive Spanish course that covered grammar, conversation, and culture.  We had class 4 and half days each week with homework and cultural activities to complement our curriculum.  But as soon as I was getting comfortable, they uprooted me and a few other students to start our real academic program for the rest of the semester.  This entailed a long journey via metro and bus rides to the other campus along the countryside of Madrid.  Another day of overwhelming information and orientation activities and signing up for classes practically at random left me wondering once again, “What did I get myself into?”  The first week of classes should’ve been called “the first week that you find out the classes you signed up for don’t exist.”  It seems to me that the university likes to offer hundreds of classes and then decides to actually have only about 60 of those classes. 

Thus, the first week I spent more time in the international office than the classrooms trying to sort out my schedule.  Of my original schedule, I kept only one of my classes: 2 didn’t exist, and the other was (surprise to me) in English. Two other classes I ended up in didn’t start until last week, so as of Thursday, I finally completed my first real week of classes.  All of them are in Spanish, and so far, I really enjoy all of them!

I am taking 2 classes at the Berzosa campus, which reminds me a lot of Colorado. It is a quaint, yet beautiful campus nestled in the evergreen foothills just outside of the city.  It looks like a little mountain village to me, with pine needles on the dirt pathways and the fresh smell of mountain air.  

First Day of School! First Day of School!

This is where I take my classes- so pretty :)

Here I have 2 economics courses: Microeconomic Theory and International Economics.  The first is with a very friendly and smart professor and usually 2-3 Spanish students (despite the fact that 8 are signed up for the class).  Apparently it’s not unusual for Spaniards to only go to class for the tests, which happen twice in a semester.  Anyways, I enjoy it because the class is so small and intimate that the professor really gets to know us, and he always makes sure that I’m following everything he’s saying because the class is taught in Spanish.  I was extremely nervous the first few days, but it’s not as difficult as I’d expected.  It also helps that a lot of the class concerns graphs and numbers that don’t require much language to understand. 

The International Economics is coincidentally with international students: 2 from Germany, 1 from Colombia, and 1 from the U.S.  My professor’s Spanish is especially easy to understand, so that is really helpful.  I think that it is really interesting to be learning about International Economics from a European, and specifically Spanish, point of view.  And I love how small the classes are!  Neither of these classes have too much work outside of class, but I have already learned a lot from each just in the first 2 weeks!

My other 2 classes are mostly with other Americans and a few international students because they are Hispanic Studies classes.  I think my favorite class is Spanish Cinema.  The first day, my professor (who is amazing!), said that we should think of the room as a movie theater, and not so much a classroom, because the majority of our time will be spent watching movies.  Granted, we will also be talking about the history and the reflection of Spanish values, beliefs, traditions, etc. in the films.  We’ll be watch 12 in class, plus 6 more outside of class, so I will be well-versed in Spanish film!  I think it will really improve my Spanish listening skills, too. 

Also, I have a Spanish culture class that focuses on the specific characteristics (food, attitudes, folklore, traditions, etc.) of each of the 17 autonomous communities of the country.  I think it will be an excellent complement to my personal exploration of the country, so by the time December rolls around, I should officially be an expert on Spanish culture, or at least I can hope…