Hello everybody! Today is Wednesday and it's my first day back to school after two days off. Spain has a lot of random holidays that we get school off for, and this time it was for a world fair or something. I don't really know. I was sick all weekend (still have a bad cough and a bit of a headache) so I didn't get to go, which is a bummer but I guess that happens.
A couple days ago my mom told me over Skype (something that's become more and more recent in the last few weeks) that the wonderful crew over at Domestic Square Peg would like me to write a series of 5 articles for their teen section about my experience adjusting to a different culture. I'm really excited- I always love an opportunity to get my work published! However, I do need some ideas on what to write them about. I feel like I've gone through so much that, if it were up to me, I'd write an entire (very opinionated) autobiography on this year. That would certainly exceed my 200-500 word limit, so if you have any ideas, please share them!
I passed the 7 month mark yesterday and, while I'm pretty much ready to go home, the idea that I only have two more months here scares me. Especially living in a new town, I feel like I have so much more that I'm supposed to do with this experience. I'm constantly comparing my exchange year with those of other exchange students that I know, and I feel like I'm supposed to be doing more than I have. This is silly because I'm obviously going to have a different experience than other people. This is scary because I don't want to look back and regret not doing enough this year.
My iPod broke on Friday (something about bad software, according to Yahoo Answers and the Apple forums). This happened to me once back home, and it was completely devastating. It occupied me for weeks, and I do believe I may have cried once or twice. Here, it was just another thing that happened. Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I mentally made a list of solutions, and decided not to worry about it until there was something I could do. While this may not be a story relevant to my actual experience here, I do believe it shows a lot about what I've learned during these last couple months. Apparently whatever it is I'm learning here is applicable in "real life" situations.
Other than that, nothing's really going on in my life. I've been watching Disney movies and eating bizcocho and walking to and from school and trying to pay attention in Filosofia and speaking Spanish. Life isn't super exciting, but it's not bad either. I'd even go so far as to say I might just be content with it.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Spanish School System
One of the most common questions I get asked here is if I'm going to have to repeat the academic year when I return. For some unknown reason the Spaniards are very concerned by my study habits, probably because it makes up quite a large part of their schooling. They see me doodling during Greek and get worried that I'm ruining my future or something. Their eyebrows go up and wrinkle and they ask in worried voices why I'm not studying. I explain to them that there is quite a difference between Spanish schools and American ones. Most of the time they don't understand, and I go back to drawing aliens between my scattered notes.
I frequently get a similar question from back home. They ask me what my schedule's like, if I'm taking any electives, if I've been put in the easy classes, if I have a lot of classes with anyone in specific. Again, I have to explain that there is quite a difference between Spanish and American schools.
So, I'm here to explain to you whatever knowledge I have about the Spanish school system. Most of what I know is fairly hazy and based on whatever I've seen in my own school, so it may not be entirely accurate.
There are three basic levels of schooling, like elementary/middle/high school in America. They are primary, secondary, and bachillerato. Primary is like elementary school, and children are taught up to when they turn twelve. The secondary is four years of mandatory schooling. Bachillerato is two years of optional education that most students opt into taking.
The age cut-off to get into a certain grade is also different. Instead of being at the beginning of the school year, each grade is defined by the year in which everyone is born. Because I'm born in '94 and in the class of '95, which is the equivalent of the junior year, a lot of people think I've been held back. That's another thing- being held back, especially in the final years of secondary school and bachillerato, is exceptionally common. In my school in Malaga I had classmates as old as 22, who still needed to finish two more years to graduate!
One of the things about their school system that Spain is proudest of is the curriculum. Unlike in America, where curriculum varies from state to state and even from school to school, the curriculum is universal. The same subject is taught to the same grade all across the country. What I'm learning about in Philosophy is the same as what my friends in the north of Spain are learning about at any given time of the year. Another part of this set curriculum is that the credit system doesn't exist. Instead, each year has a designated list of classes that each student must take. It's not just one math class this year, one literary class this year, etc. There are no class choices. You don't get to decide what you're going to study. In bachillerato and, to some degree, in secondary, however, you get to choose to take one of three courses: science, social sciences, and humanities. Science, for my year at least, is biology OR technical drawing, math, and chemistry/physics. Social sciences is economics, history, and math. Humanities is history, Latin, and Greek. You choose one of those three choices and that's what you study. That is all the choice you get. All your other classes are mandatory and standard level for your grade, except in languages in certain schools or, if the school offers bilingual, in certain classes like Integrated Projects and Science of the Contemporary World.
School here is also just that- school. For the most part it's purely academic, so sports and most certainly student clubs and activities don't exist through the school. School spirit doesn't really exist, either, as there are no games or matches that students can go to and cheer their classmates on in.
So yeah, that's about it I think. It's astoundingly different from American schools, especially Summit, which is full of school spirit and different levels of classes, but there you have it. Just another thing here that's a change from back home!
I frequently get a similar question from back home. They ask me what my schedule's like, if I'm taking any electives, if I've been put in the easy classes, if I have a lot of classes with anyone in specific. Again, I have to explain that there is quite a difference between Spanish and American schools.
So, I'm here to explain to you whatever knowledge I have about the Spanish school system. Most of what I know is fairly hazy and based on whatever I've seen in my own school, so it may not be entirely accurate.
There are three basic levels of schooling, like elementary/middle/high school in America. They are primary, secondary, and bachillerato. Primary is like elementary school, and children are taught up to when they turn twelve. The secondary is four years of mandatory schooling. Bachillerato is two years of optional education that most students opt into taking.
The age cut-off to get into a certain grade is also different. Instead of being at the beginning of the school year, each grade is defined by the year in which everyone is born. Because I'm born in '94 and in the class of '95, which is the equivalent of the junior year, a lot of people think I've been held back. That's another thing- being held back, especially in the final years of secondary school and bachillerato, is exceptionally common. In my school in Malaga I had classmates as old as 22, who still needed to finish two more years to graduate!
One of the things about their school system that Spain is proudest of is the curriculum. Unlike in America, where curriculum varies from state to state and even from school to school, the curriculum is universal. The same subject is taught to the same grade all across the country. What I'm learning about in Philosophy is the same as what my friends in the north of Spain are learning about at any given time of the year. Another part of this set curriculum is that the credit system doesn't exist. Instead, each year has a designated list of classes that each student must take. It's not just one math class this year, one literary class this year, etc. There are no class choices. You don't get to decide what you're going to study. In bachillerato and, to some degree, in secondary, however, you get to choose to take one of three courses: science, social sciences, and humanities. Science, for my year at least, is biology OR technical drawing, math, and chemistry/physics. Social sciences is economics, history, and math. Humanities is history, Latin, and Greek. You choose one of those three choices and that's what you study. That is all the choice you get. All your other classes are mandatory and standard level for your grade, except in languages in certain schools or, if the school offers bilingual, in certain classes like Integrated Projects and Science of the Contemporary World.
School here is also just that- school. For the most part it's purely academic, so sports and most certainly student clubs and activities don't exist through the school. School spirit doesn't really exist, either, as there are no games or matches that students can go to and cheer their classmates on in.
So yeah, that's about it I think. It's astoundingly different from American schools, especially Summit, which is full of school spirit and different levels of classes, but there you have it. Just another thing here that's a change from back home!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
A New Measurement of Time (the story of how I learned a basic life skill in my year abroad)
With Easter having been this past Sunday, we students of the Catholic country of Spain were given a week off to wear really big hats and celebrate Jesus with our families. Needless to say, I was extremely excited and prepared for the week ahead. There would be excursions, time with friends, exercise, etc. Of course, that's how I feel about every break I've ever had from school, and by the time it's over I look at the date on my computer and wonder how in the world I could have spent nine days making music playlists and writing lists of rhyming words. But I was determined to have a productive vacation this time. This wasn't just any week, after all- the next book in my current favorite book series was being released April 3rd, and I was determined to reread the four books before it in preparation. The first two weeks I had this goal went very poorly. I kept getting distracted by my favorite tea shop and the excitement over the book on Tumblr, and only ended up reading one look in fourteen days. Finally, the day before the book was released, I realized I had 3 books and 20 hours to read them. If I kept reading at the pace I had been, I wouldn't get to read the book until months after its release! So, I told myself I wasjust going to do it. I sat down, turned off the internet and TV, and read.
I read those 3 550 page books just in time- I got to read the new book in the day before I left for Malaga, where I wouldn't have access to the book. This may not sound like that big of an accomplishment (though you try reading three books about children with machine guns throwing up their guts in a very short span of time and maybe you'll rethink your opinion), but I'm still very proud of myself. In shutting off distractions and putting aside time to do something important, I was able to get it done. Being able to focus on the task at hand is something I've always struggled with, but now that I've done it once I have a feeling I'm getting closer to finally making it a habit.
I guess this whole enlightenment thing didn't exactly relate to any Spanish adventures I've had, but not everything I've learned over here has been derived from being in Spain. The alone time that not really knowing anyone gives me has taught me just as much as all the new experiences.
I read those 3 550 page books just in time- I got to read the new book in the day before I left for Malaga, where I wouldn't have access to the book. This may not sound like that big of an accomplishment (though you try reading three books about children with machine guns throwing up their guts in a very short span of time and maybe you'll rethink your opinion), but I'm still very proud of myself. In shutting off distractions and putting aside time to do something important, I was able to get it done. Being able to focus on the task at hand is something I've always struggled with, but now that I've done it once I have a feeling I'm getting closer to finally making it a habit.
I guess this whole enlightenment thing didn't exactly relate to any Spanish adventures I've had, but not everything I've learned over here has been derived from being in Spain. The alone time that not really knowing anyone gives me has taught me just as much as all the new experiences.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
For the Benefit of the Present Day
My entire life people have described me as ambitious, and I believed them because all my life I'd done just a little bit more than what had been expected of me. I got all A's, I read challenging books outside of school, I did non-mandatory community service, I took the Honors and AP classes. I made myself look impressive on paper because, to be honest, I was writing a paper on the impressive things I'd done that would one day do me good. I planned on presenting it to my college of choice or something and saying something like "Here, this is why I am good enough for you to accept and educate me, read it carefully."
I've written many journal entries about the word "ambition" and what it means to me. My outlook on it changed drastically about half-way through my freshman year, for reasons that are irrelevant to the point I'm making today, halfway through my junior year. In the last 5 months since arriving in Spain, the word "ambitious" has morphed into more than just a list of accomplishments and what I plan on doing them. As with many things in my life, ambition has become violently more real to me as I experienced things outside my comfort zone. Suddenly I began to realize that my paper of impressive accomplishments to save for the future was fine and all, but what did I have to prove for the day I'd just had? Isn't the future just a word used by scientists and prophets? Isn't the future really just now?
So, I again began writing journal entries on what the word "ambition" means to me. I began writing letters to my past self, to the stressed-out overbooked 15 and 16 year-old Hannah. "Dear Little Hannah," I wrote, "Do yourself a favor and drop that AP Biology class. Do you want to be a biologist? No. Do you even like biology in the least bit? No. Is it serving any purpose other than a shiny gold star for your college applications? No, and it may not even be that when you get your final grade and find you've gotten your first ever C in a class. Oh, and dance more. We like dancing."
The journal entries were a little less sceptically humorous. "On the subject of ambition," began one, "I do believe that the key is to not look to the 'future' but instead focus on being as dedicated as possible to what it is that you are doing here and now. Today is the future, and if you save everything for a vague, far-off day you will not have enough of yourself as a developed person to offer up to accept the applause for all those unnecessary things you did instead of making yourself happy and truly becoming yourself."
I still am proud to define myself as ambitious. However, I've lowered my standards and started to do things that affect me positively today as opposed to someday. I know that I will always need to do things I don't want to, things that I am obligated to. But I also have a surprising control over my life and what it is that I choose to do. I needn't feel enslaved to a chain of unruly expectations. I can do what I truly must, and put the rest of my energy to being satisfied with what it is I've done that day.
I cannot remember the last time I've been this content with life, nor the last time I was this inspired to dance and to write and to do things that I know I love to do. By ridding my mind of unnecessary daily obligations, I made room for creativity and passion. It makes me me, and as myself I can enjoy what I've allowed myself to do that day. No longer do I base everything I do off of some future me's happiness. I am me, and I deserve to be happy right now.
I've written many journal entries about the word "ambition" and what it means to me. My outlook on it changed drastically about half-way through my freshman year, for reasons that are irrelevant to the point I'm making today, halfway through my junior year. In the last 5 months since arriving in Spain, the word "ambitious" has morphed into more than just a list of accomplishments and what I plan on doing them. As with many things in my life, ambition has become violently more real to me as I experienced things outside my comfort zone. Suddenly I began to realize that my paper of impressive accomplishments to save for the future was fine and all, but what did I have to prove for the day I'd just had? Isn't the future just a word used by scientists and prophets? Isn't the future really just now?
So, I again began writing journal entries on what the word "ambition" means to me. I began writing letters to my past self, to the stressed-out overbooked 15 and 16 year-old Hannah. "Dear Little Hannah," I wrote, "Do yourself a favor and drop that AP Biology class. Do you want to be a biologist? No. Do you even like biology in the least bit? No. Is it serving any purpose other than a shiny gold star for your college applications? No, and it may not even be that when you get your final grade and find you've gotten your first ever C in a class. Oh, and dance more. We like dancing."
The journal entries were a little less sceptically humorous. "On the subject of ambition," began one, "I do believe that the key is to not look to the 'future' but instead focus on being as dedicated as possible to what it is that you are doing here and now. Today is the future, and if you save everything for a vague, far-off day you will not have enough of yourself as a developed person to offer up to accept the applause for all those unnecessary things you did instead of making yourself happy and truly becoming yourself."
I still am proud to define myself as ambitious. However, I've lowered my standards and started to do things that affect me positively today as opposed to someday. I know that I will always need to do things I don't want to, things that I am obligated to. But I also have a surprising control over my life and what it is that I choose to do. I needn't feel enslaved to a chain of unruly expectations. I can do what I truly must, and put the rest of my energy to being satisfied with what it is I've done that day.
I cannot remember the last time I've been this content with life, nor the last time I was this inspired to dance and to write and to do things that I know I love to do. By ridding my mind of unnecessary daily obligations, I made room for creativity and passion. It makes me me, and as myself I can enjoy what I've allowed myself to do that day. No longer do I base everything I do off of some future me's happiness. I am me, and I deserve to be happy right now.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Thursday, March 1, 2012
And the adventure continues...
One of the biggest things that was drilled into our heads in RYE training weekends last year was the idea of being flexible. In fact, tell any past or present Rotary exchange student to be flexible and they'll either cringe or chuckle a little bit. During the last 5 months I've taken this mantra to heart and tried my hardest to go along with whatever my surroundings offered up to me. It proved to be a bit challenging when I found that I wasn't exactly fitting in with said surroundings. I felt more like I was being shaped and molded specifically instead of guided through my exchange. But I accepted it as part of the challenge and worked my hardest to try and have a good time, or at least a good experience.
This week, though, something cracked. It wasn't me. It wasn't my host family. It wasn't school. It wasn't Rotary. It was just my entire exchange. To be honest, everything moved so quickly I couldn't even begin to explain what exactly what happened. Four days ago it was just another day. I had no idea that today I'd be packing up my entire life to relocate and restart my exchange on an 18 hour notice.
My tutor decided it would be a good idea for me to move, and I agree. This means going to a different city. This means a new beginning completely. I'll be at a new school. I'll be in a new house. I'm going to have to find new friends and a new ballet class. Some would take this as a shock, an obstacle, a reason to give up. And while I am freaking out a little bit, I'm staying calm by reminding myself to just be flexible. This is not a problem. This is a continuation of the adventure. I'm so excited to try my hand at an exchange in a different city in a different situation.
This week, though, something cracked. It wasn't me. It wasn't my host family. It wasn't school. It wasn't Rotary. It was just my entire exchange. To be honest, everything moved so quickly I couldn't even begin to explain what exactly what happened. Four days ago it was just another day. I had no idea that today I'd be packing up my entire life to relocate and restart my exchange on an 18 hour notice.
My tutor decided it would be a good idea for me to move, and I agree. This means going to a different city. This means a new beginning completely. I'll be at a new school. I'll be in a new house. I'm going to have to find new friends and a new ballet class. Some would take this as a shock, an obstacle, a reason to give up. And while I am freaking out a little bit, I'm staying calm by reminding myself to just be flexible. This is not a problem. This is a continuation of the adventure. I'm so excited to try my hand at an exchange in a different city in a different situation.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
R.E.S.P.E.C.T
I've recently become very passionate about teaching respect and feel like the world deserves a 15 minute video of me talking about it.
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