La Universidad de Murcia requires that we take 50% of our classes in the same exact department and title (as in, not just the College of Business for example, but also the Bachelor of Arts of Business Administration with a focus on Marketing). This makes it very complicated for me because I will be taking 4 classes here (which is considered a full amount for both the United States and Murcia), 2 of which have to be in the same exact department and title. WSU’s International Business curriculum requires that I have 3 study abroad classes outside of my business curriculum. Therefore, my two classes in the same department and title cannot be business. I also only need one more Spanish class to fulfill my minor (so I can’t take two classes in Spanish language). The only other classes I need outside of those departments are an intercultural class, a political science class, and science classes (which I definitely will not be taking the science classes here, I can’t imagine trying to learn science taught in another language). Clearly, selecting classes is a complicated process.
Some quick info on university curriculum here in Spain: Students in Spain select their “major” as soon as they enter the university. They then are required to take a very specific list of courses only in that department. All of their classes are already planned out for them from start to finish. All their classes are generally in the same building, and very often in the same room. New teachers will come in for every class, but many students stay in their seats in the same room throughout the day. For us International Students, this is difficult because we are actually taking classes in various departments, various classrooms, and almost always have to enter a room of students who study everything together, and we’re just the international students there for that one class. At La Universidad de Murcia, there are two campuses, a small campus with the administrative buildings and some classes literally 30 seconds outside of my apartment (La Merced), and the huge main campus 40 minutes away on a bus we have to pay for (Espinardo Campus). When planning classes, getting between campuses makes it nearly impossible. Here’s what I experienced on my first day of school:
First day of school:
I was nervous like I was before my first day of middle school and on my first day of high school, except times 10. Back then, I already knew most of the kids in my grade and knew who was going to be in my classes, and I knew that my teachers were going to be speaking English to me, and I somewhat knew where my classes were, and I knew how to ask where they were if I did get lost. This was a whole new level of craziness. Thank goodness that the class I had first thing on Monday was with one of my new friends here in Murcia, Erin. I ventured to the bus stop to meet Erin so we could head to Espinardo campus, but not before getting splashed by a mud puddle as a car drove by me. It was pouring rain and cold and I was now dirty and muddy. We spent most of the bus ride inspecting the campus map and double checking the bus line, to make sure we were actually going to our campus. I also spent a good amount of time trying to clean the mud off of me.
(Me and Erin with our umbrellas on our first day of school)
We finally got to Espinardo campus and were able to find the building for our Psychology of Personality class. There was no classroom listed online, so we had to ask for help from someone, of course. Once class started, I think me and Erin were both shocked to realize how much of the Spanish language we really don’t know. I would describe it as if someone was speaking Chinese to you…. and every once in a while a word you recognized would pop up….
“literature” more chinese language “psychology” chinese “personality is…” chinese “helpful to realize” chinese “sometimes”.We could always get the actual subject of what is being taught, but there’s a lot of specific information we can’t quite catch, and it’s the same for every class. I think the Murcian accent makes it much more difficult. Spanish words and phrases that I’ve always known sound way different here because they’re cut short, said without “s” and “z” noises, and said way faster generally.
After making it out alive of my first class and having a few notes written down on the subject, I was feeling confident that things would be ok. We got back on the bus to venture to La Merced campus in town to check out our next class. Turns out class was canceled on the first day because the teacher had left the university and they didn’t have a replacement yet. After a two hour break I had to get back on the bus and go back to Espinardo campus to check out my International Marketing class. Only 5 students were there, including me and Brayan, my roommate. The class also only lasted 10 minutes. We waited around for the next class to start: Commercial Distribution and Sales. This class was filled up. The teacher immediately made us all make name tags to put on our desks so he could call on us, and call on us he did. He hardly even mentioned going over the syllabus before he dove into teaching about formulas, distribution charts and schedules, shipping times, and stuff that would have been difficult enough to learn for the first time in English, let alone Spanish. I was trying very hard to understand but I didn’t know all of the business vocabulary he was using. He called on me to answer a question and I froze. The answer he was looking for was only a number, so I said what I was hoping was correct, “diez???”. He nodded. YES. So I got it right, but I already knew, this class wasn’t for me. I spent most of the class red faced and shaky because I didn’t want to make a fool of myself in front of everyone.
Classes since Day 1:
Things have been just as hectic since that first day. On day 2, me and Erin took the bus to Espinardo campus to go to “History of Music and Folklore”. We found the room empty, lights off, not a student or teacher in sight, and no note on the door. We waited 20 minutes before going to ask the administration who told us we were for sure in the correct place, and they had no idea what was going on. So we headed back into town after wasting $3 worth of bus tickets and not even going to class. Many other students had similar stories: classes canceled without even a note on the door, teachers not showing up, hardly any students in class, 10 minute classes, etc. I was starting to think that the Spanish casual lifestyle might be a little too casual for my liking. I’m used to structure and schedules and specific meeting places and times in the United States.
I thought all of the classes would be casual like this… that is until I went to “Great Hispanic American Figures in Literature”. I found it odd when the teacher immediately started complaining that students were sitting in all three sections of seats because it hurt his neck to have to look all over the room like that. He wanted all the students to sit in only two of the sections. He also complained that the Chinese students were all sitting together, and the other International students were all sitting together, and that it would make him look racist to be talking towards one group and not the other. It really wasn't planned. When we walked in we just took open seats, but it made him angry. Because the class fit perfectly into my schedule, I figured I could put up with him for the 5 months I am here. Although, yesterday, when returning to his class, I realized I cannot put myself through that. My class right before his ended 3 minutes late, so a group of us hurried to get to his class in time. We scooted in just before him. He’s about 60 years old and came in wearing aviator sunglasses (which he wore for the first 10 minutes of his lecture). He closed the door behind him when he came in and began talking. Several students tried to enter the room merely minutes after, and he immediately yelled the equivalents in Spanish to “No! No!… Out!” and pointed back at the door to them. He continued doing this to about 4 groups of students who tried to enter. He rubbed his forehead and neck during a large chunk of class, as if showing what a pain and hassle it was to be there teaching us. Technically the class is a year-long class, but international students are allowed to take it for a semesr. The syllabus had 19 books listed as required reading for the entire year-long course. Several of us went to his office after class to ask him how many of those books and which ones we needed to read for only this semester. His response, “You should probably ask an International student who took this class last semester and see which ones they already read”. Very helpful. Regardless, I’m not taking that class.
Summary:
The Spanish education system has already bestowed some unique experiences on me. After frustrations of trying to pick classes that work between the two campuses, fit all the requirements, and are classes I can actually understand and put up with, I have finally picked a final schedule. Here in Murcia, I’m a law student now! My two classes in the same department and title are technically in the law school, which makes me a law major while I’m here. I’m taking Political Systems of Latin America, Political and Social History: Individualism, Nationalism, and Neoclassism, Narratives of the Hispanic American World, and an online business class: Financial Management of International Businesses. All of these are taught completely in Spanish. The good news is that they are all at the campus right next to my apartment and I only have classes Monday through Wednesday, which leaves long weekend for travling!
It’s going to be a tough semester, but after only one week of classes, I’m beginning to understand Spanish better and can catch more words and phrases which I recognize. Yes, I’ve had a very fair share of awkward experiences in these classes already. Some of them include: accidentally leaning against the light switch on the wall and turning off the lights of the conference room where political science guest speakers were not only presenting to tons of people, but also were being filmed; I’ve had my fair share of being called on and totally giving the blank look because I have no clue what I was asked; getting pointed at and displayed to my entire political science class every time “American” or “United States” is used; and of course, showing up muddy on my first day of class was great too. In the end, I’m learning a lot and having fun, even though this has been a stressful two weeks. I’m eager to share more of my awkward and interestng class experiences as they come along. Our campuses are beautiful so I will also take pictures of them soon and post them!
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