About the Program

As much as I wish that my study abroad program would be no work and all play, I actually do have to attend class.  I will be attending Universidad Internacional Menendez Pelayo, a Spanish university located in Santander.  The program requires that we take a minimum of nine credits/three classes.  I will be taking a "Hispanic Culture," "Spain and its Literature," and "Spanish Art History."

I am definitely most excited about taking the culture class and the art history class.  How awesome is it that I can take a class about Spanish culture in Spain?!?  I'm sure it will be so beneficial to learn about the culture while living in the country.  Hopefully I will learn how to behave like a typical Spaniard so I don't embarrass myself.  The art history class will be amazing, too.  Ever since we had an art unit in high school Spanish, I have genuinely developed a love for Spanish art.  It will be great to study such impressive artwork in depth.  Maybe I might even have time to travel to Madrid to see the Prado Museum, an art museum that houses my favorite painting, Diego Velazquez's "Las Meninas."

Even though I really enjoy reading short stories and poems in Spanish, I am a bit more nervous about this class.  Since the program is only eight weeks, the professors will be cramming in a typical semester (15 weeks) into such a short period of time.  That is a concern of mine, but people have told me that as long as I stay on top of the class, I'll be fine.

Another thing I am nervous about is the fact that we will be taught by actual Spanish professors from the University.  I will not have the luxury of having the professor speak clearly and enunciating each word.  Instead, the native-speaking professor will speak very fast, slur the words, and probably use vocabulary and grammar structures that we are not familiar with.

I'm sure the experience attending the Spanish university will not be comfortable and easy for me.  The only thing that I can do is enter the classroom with an open mind and a positive attitude.  In my TE (teacher education) class, we discussed that the most learning occurs when a person is pushing the boundaries of his comfort zone.  If that is truly the case, then I'm coming back to the United States as an expert on Spanish culture, literature, and art.  :)