Sunday, November 13, 2011

A Spanish University

When I first came to Spain one of the things I was most worried about was the idea of taking classes in a foreign country.  There were so many things that would be different: the language, what type of homework and projects I would be doing, how the professors act and how the other Spanish and international students interact.  So I was definitely nervous.  Luckily, the more time I spend in this institution I realize that it's nothing to sweat too much. It might just be that the University of Granada isn't particularly difficult but it seems generally pretty relaxed. The Spanish students don't really seem to take it as seriously as students in America do. Now this is obviously a huge generalization but I don't intend it to mean that the Spaniards care less about their education, just that there is less intensity and urgency associated with college here.  It's also strange to adjust to the homework. In the US I've always had a lot of consistent homework throughout the week with the occasional project or essay or exam whereas here there seems to be a much larger emphasis on those occasional projects or essays and not so much emphasis on the reading and sidework. It makes it interesting as you go from weeks with hardly any work to do to another week with two huge projects due.  I'm not really sure which system is better. I feel like I definitely learn more in the US but that's hardly fair considering I'm learning it in my native language whereas in Spain the majority of my focus is simply on understanding. But I do enjoy the change and its fun to see how other countries view and approach the idea of education.

1 comment:

  1. I mentioned the Spanish approach to my yoga class and a girl said that was her experience there too. She said she knew of Spanish students who were taking courses in the U.S. and in Spain at the same time. They weren't worried because they planned to go back to Spain for finals.

    ReplyDelete