So we come to the first two weeks of term (24^th September to the 7^th of October), our taster course, our trying out of lectures. On the Monday we had a meeting/presentation for courses within the faculty of Business and Economics. There are, on each day, meetings by each of the faculties for the purposes of explaining to the Erasmus students what they are all about. Ours was a bum-numbing hour and a half about stuff we really already knew; how the credits system works, how to register, how to use the website etc. On the other hand our meeting/presentation on the following day, by the languages faculty, was hosted by a witty young lecturer who kept us entertained for the hour duration and helped us avoid numbage of the glutei. 

The first lecture of each subject of each course is a presentation lecture. Basically whether it lasts ten minutes or an hour, there is no teaching, just presenting to the avid audience what the individual course is going to consist of. I tasted lectures for prehistory, ancient world history, Russian and publicity. After the two weeks I am settled on my meal of prehistory, Russian and publicity, along with the obligatory Erasmus Spanish course. For the Spanish Erasmus course (you will have done an entry test for it in the summer holidays, along with an accommodation application) you are assigned a preliminary level, for example I was designated Avanzado 4, and then attend a lecture. At your first lecture you will have an easy creative writing assignment (for Avanzado 4 it was ‘write a letter of complaint to the town hall because your flat is crap’ – not exact words) and a little individual ‘oral exam’ about general things about your current collegial life, with whichever lecturer you have. Then, a few days later when all the students have carried out their tests, the classes may be reshuffled. For example, if I talked complete drivel in my oral or wrote Polish in my writing exam, I may have been moved down a level (levels: Inicial-1, 2, 3, 4; Intermedio-1, 2, 3; Avanzado-1, 2, 3, 4, 5; Superior-1, 2), but I didn’t and I wasn’t…so there.

One thing, just to gallop away at full steam from any point I may or may not have been making for a few minutes, that annoys me intensely and to the point of imminent mass slaughter on my part, is Spaniards and queuing. I shan’t pound my point home for too long as there exists a well documented, sub-conscious, cultural history that the English are the only, the only nation that can queue properly. We’re just so God damn good at standing in single file waiting our turn, denying any common sense that says you could easily get served quicker and have your business sorted out faster by pushing, punching, biting or flailing your way to the front of a queue…like the Russians. The Spaniards know this, and their abnegation of the art of queuing is pulled off with a laid back, Latin American, nonchalant and frankly flagrant demeanour! So I stand there AT the bus stop, CLEARLY waiting for the bus at the OBVIOUS front of a POTENTIAL queue, then the Spanish students waltz up lazily and take their places in a scruffy horde IN FRONT of ME. They couldn’t have been more obvious if they had tapped me on the shoulder and proclaimed ‘excuse me you big bag of international crap, please move. Why? Because I want to be first on the bus!’ It’s not my fault we had a better Empire! Anyway, enough of this hatred/banter, it’s all jest I assure you. Jest laden and smothered with copious, viscous layers of national pride and manners scorned.

Hollie and Nicky went home for the week so a few of my days blended into a bit of a indecipherable mulch. Things I did in no discernible order

1. ) Watched hours of online debates about religion and the environment

2.)    Started hacking my way through the pre-history textbook I had been longing to get my greasy, keen hands on

3.)    Filmed Jah, our favourite Rasta…and made a feature film on him

4.)    Was made nauseous by an over affectionate couple on the bus in front of me having a conversation interspersed with lil kisses, oh, how sweet…nauseating. I had nowhere to look round this bus but at them because it was so busy.

5.)    Went to more lectures; Russian and prehistory

6.)    Went for a solo walk in the local hills, and went to the beach with Imogen a couple of times

7.)    Cooked various meals for various groups of people

8.)    Made a Spanish friend called Elena

9.)    Experienced major storms again

10.)Had a date with Sonia from my Russian class

 

That’s about all for this last two weeks. It’s all about getting into a routine now; lectures, eat, sleep, lectures, forget to apply sun cream and pay the price, sleep, sleep, drink, lectures, etc, etc. Now all I need to do is my matricula (registration) and I am officially a student of the University of Alicante!! Good eh? So…hasta luego…