Oh yea...School

School is school. Nothing really new and honestly when I reflect on my abroad experience, going to class isn't the thing I'm going to remember the most. With that being said there are things that I find interesting about going to a Spanish university (Universidad Pontificia Comillas is the name of the university) and since no one ever talks about school while they're abroad (for obvious reasons) I figured I would share my thoughts.

I've only been here for a little over 2 weeks and I have already made so many observations. As you may or may not know I'm a Finance and International Business double major, so this means that while I'm in Madrid I have to take mostly business classes. One thing I think is so interesting is how influential US companies are in Spain. In all of my classes the case studies and examples that professors mention are all about Google, IBM, Apple, etc. It's very interesting the lack of major European companies that are discussed in my classes. The one European country that is mentioned a lot though and is seen as being the most elite is Germany (obviously). Also, they LOVE The Economist over here. Every professor I have has mentioned The Economist and sees it as the most reputable source for business news. 

So since I'm taking classes for my major I decided to take those classes in English (taking all my classes in Spanish would have been a set up). I love my Spanish class though and I really think it's going to help me a lot with my Spanish grammar and my overall dream of being fluent. But the attitude about school here is very different from DC. They really don't worry about things here. I'm the type of student who likes to have a syllabus so I know when the exams are and how the course will run; I like having a plan (I would appreciate them even more now since I'm trying to plan my trips around Europe). Bur.they aren't worried about it...the schedule, when the exams are, or even the grading (no pasa nada is TOO real). I haven't gotten a single syllabus yet and no one seems to be worried about it. There's a very go with the flow it'll be fine kind of attitude. Meanwhile, I'm just sitting here trying to get good grades while simultaneously traveling the world...

This is definitely going to take some getting used to. I'll keep you posted.

xo