Lo que en los libros no está, la vida te enseñará

Bueno, parece que algunos de ustedes quieren saber cómo es el campus de la UMA y cómo son las clases, asi que hoy hablaré de mis experiencias en las clases (it looks ike some of you would like to know what UMA´s campus looks like and what the classes are like, so today I will address some of those experience).

Well, it has been four weeks since classes started, and in the last month, a lot has happened. At GSU, I am registered for four classes--linguistics, Spanish for international business, Spanish culture and civilization, and translation. As you may well imagine, it is very difficult to match classes from two distinct universities. So the best way is by taking something as similar as possible.

The linguistics class was pretty easy to find, because UMA offers a general linguistics course and linguistics is linguistics whether it is in Spanish, French, English, Chinese, etc. Linguistics in general is a very difficult topic. No me dí cuenta de ésto hasta que empezó la clase (I did not realize this until I started class). The class is basically about languages and how languages develop and under what situations and how humans consider a language to be a language. I mean really deep and interesting theories! The professor for that class is a woman, and she started the first day of class with a story about an experience she had in London. She was basically saying that she did not understand why Spanish people did not act in the same way English speakers do, such as demand a translator when they do not know a language or refuse to learn a language before going abroad or expect everyone in the world to know English and not have to learn another language. Anyway, so she tells us that she went to London and did the same thing (even though she knew how to speak English). She was in a hotel and demanded a translator, and the hotel staff told her there was none available. So my professor said that she demanded a translator and told them that she would wait until one was available and for nothing, because in the end she ended up having to give up and speak their language. So I thought that was interesting that she refused to give up her native language to prove that the English speaker thinks that they are better than everyone else.

Spanish for international business was a little easy as well because all one needs to do is take a general business class, which would basically be Spanish for international business--I mean, how much more international can one get than being in Europe?! So, to fulfill that requirement, I am taking "Organization y administración de empresa" (Business organization and administration).

The business class is in a whole different campus than the rest of UMA. All the facultades except for the business and engineering facultades are all located in the same area, but it seems that these two are new to the campus so they are located abt 20-30 minutes away (walking distance) from the other facultades. So every morning I wake up and go for a nice little stroll. The business class is pretty much a combination of economics and organizational behavior. So, it is not that bad because it is almost like a refresher. Hopefully. lol. But it is awesome, because I am going to learn a lot of new business terms in Spanish.

I am taking Historia Contemporanea de Andalucia to fulfill my Spanish culture and civilization requirement. The professor was out the first two weeks of class because he was sick. This man is the most laid-back man I have even met, and his accent is super thick and he speaks very fast. There are a lot of international students in that class so it is very fun. We tried last class period to get the professor to post his notes onto the online classroom, and he basically told us that he did not have time because he has a wife and kids. He prefered to make copies for us. I thought that was hilarious.

Anyway...cómo ya pueden ver, ya pude arreglar la situación con mi clase de negocios (as you can see, I was able to fix my situation with my business class). However, I had another situation! GAH! My trip would not be half as exciting if I did not have all these mini little problems! Well, my translation class had been cancelled the since the beginning of the semester because the professor got sick. So the first two weeks I waited with hopes that the professor would be back the third week. The third week she was a no show so I went with a couple of ERASMUS students to the Secretaría del Departamento to find out what was going on.

The secretaría said that all she knew was that the professor was sick and did not know when she would be back. Other ERASMUS students who had been here since September told us that this was normal at UMA. The educational system here is still very much under a bureacracy. So anyway, I go to register and the people in the international office tell me that I cannot register for the class because there is a limit on the number of ERASMUS students that can enroll in the class. I was so upset. So I ask what can I do to fix the problem, and they tell me that I have to go back to the professor and ask them for permission to register in the class. BUT.......the professor is no where to be found! So they advise me to put in a complaint with the director of the department. So I go and try to find the director and he is out sick. OF COURSE HE IS!

So week four, I send an email to the professor to find out if she is on her death bed dying! I get an email back saying that she is no longer the professor of that course and that I need to go back to the Secretaría to find out who is the new professor. WOW. I go back to the Secretaría and TELL the woman what I found out from the professor. She picks up the phone and makes small talk with the person on the other end, and I am like.....please, do your job! The lady then tells me that the class is without a professor and that they are in the process of finding a professor for the class. I was like WHAT?! So I go to the advisor, and he tells me that I am pretty much at a loss for the class because the professors are not allowed to give approval with that limit in place. I started laughing/crying and tell the advisor how I feel about everything. I guess he felt really bad because then he gave me some other options and apologized abundantly for everything.

All this to say that I finally have a semi-translation class with a very nice professor! In the end, this experience has taught me that sometimes you have to buckle up and help yourself and get stuff done whether no one else is willing to help you. I am definitely learning to be more TRANQUILA and appreciate what I have at home!

Oh Málaga....how so UNBORING you are! lol.

Hasta luego!