Having the option to take a university class here is one of the things I looked forward to the most. It gives you the fantastic opportunity to integrate yourself further into Spanish culture and meet local Spaniards that are students your age. I knew I wanted to take a class here but was not sure on which one, I figured I would try to get my lab requirement out of the way and I got a suggestion from one of the wonderful members of the staff to take Recursos Marinos. It is a great class, the professor is super funny and the best part is that we get to go to Galicia for 5 days! Galicia is in the north of Spain and we will be doing work on the beach and in makeshift labs. I have never gone on such a school trip and am very excited and intrigued as to what that will be like here.

The class itself is very interesting, but admittedly sometimes hard to follow since it is a science course, in Spanish, with a professor who speaks fairly fast, and I feel like I miss the jokes a lot. Overall though, I feel like I’m learning a lot not just about the ocean, but also Spanish vocabulary and university culture. It’s a small glimpse, but one that I am grateful to have the opportunity to have. There are quite a few of us in the class and we have tutoring sessions in the morning with another member of the environmental science department of the university. I really enjoy those sessions he is funny, friendly and really helps break down the material.

Yesenia Olivares, student blogger

Although my class ends soon most students have their finals in May and early June, consequently my final will be moved up to late April. I’m pretty nervous for the final, but on the plus side, my last official class is this week. While I really enjoy having free time I also enjoy class time. So it’s a little odd to me that university classes end so early, but who am I to question the host culture… hehe 😉