First month in Almeria
Door: Natascha
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Natascha
19 Oktober 2014 | Spanje, Almería
Good afternoon!
It has been a month since my last update, so now it's time for a new one. There was a lot going on in the first month. We had our first weeks of classes, the language course started last week and we did a lot of fun things in the meantime.
Let's start from the beginning. Our first week was like a introduction week. Erasmus organized a lot of activities for al the erasmus students. It was a fun week and we made some new friends! The second week was the start of a new school year. We were immediately confronted with the fact that spanish people are not punctually at all! Even the teachers are 30 minutes late of do not even show up at all. The same thing with the classes, you never know it it will take place or not and you don't even have to be there, you don't have to participate in class to write the exam for the subject. Even if you have never been to class you can write the exam. Such things like this would be totally unaccepted in the Netherlands, but that is the cultural difference. The spanish way of living and the culture does appeal to me, but some aspects don't. Like the fact I described above, It's totally fine for me if you don't have to show up in class and only write the exam, that is your own responsibility and I think that kind of freedom is great! This is something we have to have more in the Netherlands. But the fact that you can't trust the teachers whether they show up or not is very annoying sometimes and it is not always good for your own motivation. But the relaxed way of living is nice, they take it slow and do not worry about a lot of things. The dutch people (or mostly all the north european people) are always in a rush and barely have time for themselves, friends or family. Even if they bump in to each other they say:Nice to see you again, I would love to talk to you, but sorry i'm in a hurry, I will call you later. Such things will never happen in Spain, like that one time I went to the supermarket and on my way back someone grabbed me by my arm. At first I was startled because of the unexpected arm grab but then I saw it was Carlos waiting for his Pizza. He took the time to talk to me about everything, like talking about amsterdam and almeria, spanish and dutch food and so on. I think we talked for at least 1 hour and then finally his pizza was ready. I walked with him to the building where we all live and then he invited me over to his place to give me a short tapas tour on paper, just to show all the best tapas places here in Almeria and the restaurants he likes the most, each of them with the typical almerian dish they cook en we definitely have to try. He first took the time to write down all the recommended restaurants with which dish we have to try and where they all are. He didn't even start eating his pizza because he first wanted to help me out. I think such a thing you will almost never experience in the Netherlands because we are always in a hurry like I said before, and from that point of view I think it's good to have some more from the Spanish kindness.
Back to the classes again. Last week the language course started. I singed up for the B1 course and that course takes place every Tuesday and Thursday from 08:00 till 09:30. It's very early but it's ok. During the first class on Tuesday, we had to make a quick test about your level so they can tell you afterwards if you are in the right class or if its to easy or to difficult for you. I'm glad that I can stay in the B1 course, because I really want to improve my Spanish. The teacher is very nice as well so I hope I will improve my Spanish quickly.
The weather is still nice, it's getting a little bit colder, but at the moment it is still 30 degrees outside and there is barely wind so that's good. There are a lot of things you can see and visit here in Almeria. Last weekend I went to cabo de gata. It's a national park 40KM away so you can easily reach it by bus or by rental car.
I'm very curious about what next week will bring, but i'm sure it will be nice! For now I say goodbye and I'll keep you posted!
Untill next time!
It has been a month since my last update, so now it's time for a new one. There was a lot going on in the first month. We had our first weeks of classes, the language course started last week and we did a lot of fun things in the meantime.
Let's start from the beginning. Our first week was like a introduction week. Erasmus organized a lot of activities for al the erasmus students. It was a fun week and we made some new friends! The second week was the start of a new school year. We were immediately confronted with the fact that spanish people are not punctually at all! Even the teachers are 30 minutes late of do not even show up at all. The same thing with the classes, you never know it it will take place or not and you don't even have to be there, you don't have to participate in class to write the exam for the subject. Even if you have never been to class you can write the exam. Such things like this would be totally unaccepted in the Netherlands, but that is the cultural difference. The spanish way of living and the culture does appeal to me, but some aspects don't. Like the fact I described above, It's totally fine for me if you don't have to show up in class and only write the exam, that is your own responsibility and I think that kind of freedom is great! This is something we have to have more in the Netherlands. But the fact that you can't trust the teachers whether they show up or not is very annoying sometimes and it is not always good for your own motivation. But the relaxed way of living is nice, they take it slow and do not worry about a lot of things. The dutch people (or mostly all the north european people) are always in a rush and barely have time for themselves, friends or family. Even if they bump in to each other they say:Nice to see you again, I would love to talk to you, but sorry i'm in a hurry, I will call you later. Such things will never happen in Spain, like that one time I went to the supermarket and on my way back someone grabbed me by my arm. At first I was startled because of the unexpected arm grab but then I saw it was Carlos waiting for his Pizza. He took the time to talk to me about everything, like talking about amsterdam and almeria, spanish and dutch food and so on. I think we talked for at least 1 hour and then finally his pizza was ready. I walked with him to the building where we all live and then he invited me over to his place to give me a short tapas tour on paper, just to show all the best tapas places here in Almeria and the restaurants he likes the most, each of them with the typical almerian dish they cook en we definitely have to try. He first took the time to write down all the recommended restaurants with which dish we have to try and where they all are. He didn't even start eating his pizza because he first wanted to help me out. I think such a thing you will almost never experience in the Netherlands because we are always in a hurry like I said before, and from that point of view I think it's good to have some more from the Spanish kindness.
Back to the classes again. Last week the language course started. I singed up for the B1 course and that course takes place every Tuesday and Thursday from 08:00 till 09:30. It's very early but it's ok. During the first class on Tuesday, we had to make a quick test about your level so they can tell you afterwards if you are in the right class or if its to easy or to difficult for you. I'm glad that I can stay in the B1 course, because I really want to improve my Spanish. The teacher is very nice as well so I hope I will improve my Spanish quickly.
The weather is still nice, it's getting a little bit colder, but at the moment it is still 30 degrees outside and there is barely wind so that's good. There are a lot of things you can see and visit here in Almeria. Last weekend I went to cabo de gata. It's a national park 40KM away so you can easily reach it by bus or by rental car.
I'm very curious about what next week will bring, but i'm sure it will be nice! For now I say goodbye and I'll keep you posted!
Untill next time!
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Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
