My Study Portion of Study Abroad

I just passed the halfway mark of my time here in Spain, so I thought it would good to share about what the study part of study abroad looks like for me in Zaragoza. I am studying at the University of Zaragoza in their Spanish as a Foreign Language course (Curso de Español como Lengua Extranjera). This program consists of a Monday through Friday 4 hour class with multiple groups of about 25 students in each group. These groups are formed according to the students’ level of Spanish.

When I first arrived here, I took a three week course in this program that had the purpose of helping students brush up on their Spanish before the regular university classes began. While I am not really a part of the “regular university”, I decided to take the three week class as a way of meeting more people, jump-starting my Spanish classes here, and lengthening my time in Spain. The majority of the students in this three week class are a part of the Erasmus Program. The Erasmus Program, which I was totally unaware of until I arrived here, is a European Union student exchange program. After these first three weeks, the Erasmus students started taking normal classes at the University and many of them will stay for the whole school year (until June) or for one semester (until February). I am very glad I took the three week class because I made a lot of friends through that class.

Once the three week class ended, I started taking the three month class. It is the same structure as the class before, but because it is for a longer time period, we have more a bit more in depth topics and homework including various projects and presentations. Like the three week class, the class is 5 days a week from 9 AM to 1:30 PM with a half hour break in the middle. Usually in the first half of the class is spent going over grammar together and in our textbook or learning different slang we most likely did not know before. The second half is a little less grammar oriented as we often play games, practice role plays, or even watch a Spanish movie. Some days, like today, we might even get some dancing in! One classmate really wanted to dance in class but no one else wanted to dance. Our professor told us that we had to use a certain grammatical structure and if we used it correctly, we did not have to dance. Whoever did not use it correctly had to dance. (Note: I took the photo and was not dancing.)

Through the day, we have plenty of chances to speak the language and listen. I am reinforcing my grammar knowledge, learning Spanish phrases I did not know before, and learning plenty of cultural aspects about Spain as well. There are many different countries represented in my class which gives opportunities to learn things from around the world. I have classmates from Ghana, Japan, Korea, Russia, Australia, India, and China. Most of my classmates will continue this class with the four month class next semester (January-May).

The university is very close to my homestay; it is only about a ten minute walk. The actual building my class is in is pictured at the beginning of this post. As I mentioned earlier, the class is scheduled to start at 9 AM every day. However, this is Spain and almost nothing starts on time. My professor usually does not come to unlock the door of the classroom until 9:15 and then class usually starts 5 minutes later. My classmates have really gotten used to this and many come even later than that. Usually there are a few that finally make it to class around 9:40. Class starting late is definitely not normal in the US, but I have gotten used to it as I usually bring a book with me when I wait for class to start.

The program also offers various excursions and field trips throughout the semester which is a great way to learn outside of the classroom. During the first week of the three month course, we went on a bus tour of Zaragoza and a walking tour of Zaragoza as a way of learning about the city we would be staying in.

Earlier in October, we visited two very charming pueblos, Albarracín and Daroca, and went on tours of both small towns. Albarracín is considered one of the most beautiful pueblos of Spain. After spending time visiting the Cathedral, walking the cobblestone streets, and climbing up to the ancient city walls, I most definitely agree. Daroca was also quite gorgeous. I love these field trips because it gives us the opportunity to go somewhere we probably would not have visited on our own. I look forward to the next class excursion!

I am going to class, doing homework, and working on projects while here. It isn’t called STUDY abroad for nothing!