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The Set-Up, Part 1

Barcelona, Spain


Okay, so there needs to be a little backstory... something to put this all into perspective and in some sort of order. This is my version of house-keeping.

The Program: I am participating in the Knox College Progam at the University of Barcelona. The director is Tim Foster, a professor at Knox College, and the assistant is Susanna "Suzie" Stone, a graduate of Knox and a former participant in this program. They are very cool people, and fortunately so because I see them on a daily basis as they help me with everything from classes to visas, residency cards to advice on what bars are worth visiting.

The School: The University of Barcelona was founded in 1450. I go to school in a castle. Pictures are forthcoming. It is located, more or less, in the heart of Barcelona. It is a very short walk from Plaza Catalunya, which is the ground zero of activity for many businesses, including tourism, and all public transportation originates, ends, or passes through this area. The department I am enrolled in is the Philology department, which is roughly equivalent to Knox´s Modern Languages department. It is mostly a commuter school, there is no 24-hour computer lab (like Founder´s lab at Knox -- which I never thought I would miss!), but there are a few courtyards and gardens, and I have yet to find any of the libraries but once I do I´m sure I´ll have a lot to say about them.

The Classes: The year is divided into trimesters, and each student takes three or four classes (one on audit), with only one required class, Syntax and Composition. I am taking four classes this trimester. And no, it´s not very difficult. They are: History of Spain, Contemporary Spain, Art History 1, and Syntax and Composition 1 (audit). The classes are all 1.5 hours long, and all of them are lecture-oriented. (The S&C class obviously has more of a participatory element, but that´s because it´s a grammar course.) All the classes are taught in Spanish.

The Professors: All are faculty of the University of Barcelona.
-Professor Bertrán is the only man I´ve ever met who´s eyes sparkle when he talks about Roman history (Barcelona is a Roman city, after all). His excitement is contagious and it makes his classes terrifically interesting (yes, an interesting history class, I know. It really exists).
-Professor Reyes is my professor for Contemporary Spain. For those of you familiar with the Knox community, he is a smaller, Spanish version of Xavier Romano, sans the bow tie and with more hair. For those of you who feel left out at that statement, he is a round, well-dressed man with a bubbly personality, a penchant for talking with his eyes closed and for making small gestures of emphasis with his hands. Their voices even sound similar.
-Professor Moreno is my professor for S&C. I know by now that she speaks English, even though we only speak Spanish with her. She has a very warm, comfortable presence in the classroom, which is good because it makes you feel less awkward as you verbally stumble around phrases in Spanish. She is even gracious enough to resist cringing at the most American of accents. (For the record, I cringe at my own accent.)
-Professor Losada is the Art History professor and is thus the most entertaining personality. His favorite tangential monologues center on the themes of love, old age versus youth (and his preference for the former), and how being old means knowing the difference between lust and love. His classes are the most philosophical in nature, and usually leave me reeling with all kinds of ideas and perspectives to think about. That is probably just because I tend to overanalyze things though. I have the feeling that other kids in the class are not so profoundly affected.
In any case, I love my professors. I even think I´ll adore them in 7 weeks, when final exams will be looming threateningly.

Part 2 will be coming next... since this was all academic, the next bit will be about "la vida cotidiana" (daily life).


permalink written by  achavero on October 10, 2007 from Barcelona, Spain
from the travel blog: Amanda in Barcelona
tagged School, Professors and Program

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Planning Stages

Stevensville, United States


Here we are still, at home in Montana. I wish the sky outside looked like the one in this photo, but alas, the skies of western Montana in August are typically grey-brown with smoke from wildfires in the mountains. This year is no different. I post the picture to remind myself that it really is pretty here.

In a little over two months, we will be hitting the road with The Woodworking Shows. The first show is in Dallas, so there will be plenty of open road before us on the first leg.

I'm planning out our school year now, hoping to start things up in another couple of weeks, to get prepared for our journey. Things will look a little different for school this year, as they should with an adventure of this magnitude before us. Have no fear, the kids will be learning plenty--probably more than they can even handle.

We're so excited, we can hardly sit still, but sit we must...for two more months. I'll record as much of the preparation process as I can. Read along as you wish, but the real action starts up in October.

permalink written by  RoadScholars on August 5, 2009 from Stevensville, United States
from the travel blog: Western United States
tagged Home, School, Fire and TWWS

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Our School

New York, United States


Schools in Manhattan are exactly the same as in Porzuna where parents come into the classroom wherever they want interrupting and bothering teachers. There is just a tiny difference: here in Manhattan there are three policewomen at the door that ask for identification to everyone trying to Enter the school.
The school bus is also really similar.
Lo mismo que en Pozuna que los padres entran en mitad de la clase molestando, aquí en Manhattan tienen tres policias como armarios que piden los dni y apuntan tus datos en una hoja. El autobus lo mismo, parecen gemelos.



permalink written by  sara lacruz and chema robles on October 20, 2010 from New York, United States
from the travel blog: New York
tagged School

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Our school

New York, United States


Welcome to my second grade class
Bienvenidos a la clase de 2º.

Come in. Dont by shy!.
Entrar, entrar, ¡no seais tímidos!.






Isn´t it beautiful?
Es una clase muy bonita.


permalink written by  sara lacruz and chema robles on November 10, 2010 from New York, United States
from the travel blog: New York
tagged School

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Did she just call me a Gringo?

Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala


So, week one is almost over and i have had an absolutely fabulous time. I have been speaking in Spanish and interacting with locals and living the Antigua life!

Our days, this past week consist of...

8:00 - 12:00 - Spanish lessons at The Sevilla School. So wonderful to wok on my Spanish that diligently but so difficult!

12:00 - 1:00 - Lunch at the Hostal El Montanes. We picked up some food at the super mercado.

1:00 - 5:00 - Walkin around the city Enjoying all of the beautiful sites!

The best part of all is that I am speaking in Spanish, and people understand what I'm saying! How crazy is that? I was walking Down the street and I was able to here two girls call me a gringo! Putting my skills to use!

Tomorrow we leave for Santa Cruz and then the real work begins. Stay tuned, I'll update more throughout the week!

Hasta Luego!

permalink written by  gracegoestosantacruz on July 23, 2012 from Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala
from the travel blog: Waves of Friendship helps Guatemala
tagged Antigua, School, Spanish and Gringo

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