Second Week in Sevilla
The good part of going to a new place is that the first two weeks always seem like a nonstop party. Every new turn you take in the city or every new activity you embark on feels like a constant adventure and keeps you engaged for a long time. Sevilla is a small city yet I continue to find new paths to take on my bike and I continue my best to get to the know the city.
Another thing that is unique is the schooling system; at first resembles in many ways the American university system, classes twice a week, lectures that try to involve the class and sometimes discussions. But then you look at the syllabus and realize that in most of the classes the final exam is worth 70% of the final grade! This is extremely intimidating and most of all keeps you on your toes because you realize that anything the professor talks about throughout the course could be on the final. In addition, the grading scale here is different, to pass the class you must receive a 5 out of 10, which doesn’t seem that difficult until I heard from a professor that in the Macroeconomics course of last semester, only 47% of the class passed, it becomes even more alarming. Though, I’m not sure if that is just a reflection of the poor studying on the part of the students or if the exam was actually impossible. I’m hoping for the former. Also fortunately, I won’t be taking any Economics courses but rather taking law and international relations classes though I still may have trouble understanding the professor. In three of my classes the lectures are in Spanish, fortunately two of my profesors have allowed me to take the final in English (who knows if that will make it easier) while my fourth class is all in English. So far in all my classes there has been a lot of lecture which is boring but I have to keep reminding myself about the final and I have forced myself to continue to review the notes.
As my second week in Sevilla comes to a close, I continue to find the most mundane of bike rides a constant thrill. Also as I ride by the historic center I often stop and stare in admiration at the gorgeous architecture, especially in Plaza de España and next to the Cathedral of Sevilla. Places that will soon fall into the background of the city, still leave a deep impression on me.