Goodbye Spain!

The examination period is much longer in Spain than in Scotland and summer holiday starts much later. In Spain, exams are over as late as mid-July while in Glasgow, everything is over by the end of May. Also the format and the structure of Spanish exams are different from those in Scotland and they depend on the concrete tutor to a much greater extent. I am still awaiting results in one subject but I believe that I have done well just like in all other subjects and that I successfully finished the academic year.

They say time flies fast…Well, I am starting to realise there must be something to it. I am sitting here and that Erasmus year I had been looking forward to so much since I began my studies, the year I had been planning and imagining all that time is now suddenly over. For sure, there are many resons for me to see it as a positive one. In the first place, I improved my proficiency in yet another foreign language and studied at a university in that language. Next, again I lived in one flat with people from a different culture with different habits and character and I had to communicate and deal with them every day. I also experienced how it feels to live in a southern country where it rains little and the Sun shines a lot. I got to know Spanish cuisine- a cheap, light, fresh, colourful, healthy and tasty one. Once again, I had to put up with nostalgia and missing my friends, not only those in the Czech Republic but also those I made in Scotland in the course of the last two years. I had to get used to a third education system in my life. I lived in a splendid historic town, not too big but not too small either…

So, summing up my third year, once again it was completely different than the previous one and I am sure it will be the same next year. I assume it will be the most difficult one. To begin with, I will have to hand in my Dissertation in December. Moreover, I did not spend my Junior Honours in Glasgow and so I did not experience the mild turn or shift in the way teaching is imparted that occurs after the second year. In that way, it will be more demanding and difficult for me in comparison to my classmates to get used to the demands of Senior Honours as I will lack the continuity. However, I am looking forward to the fact that courses will be more specialized and in-depth, classes will be smaller and the relation between tutors and students will be more personal. I am also looking forward to an easy and cheap way of travelling between Glasgow and the Czech Republic (which is something I did not really experience this year). And to be honest, I am also looking forward to Scottish academic calendar which seems more logical to me and which (yes, indeed!) offers more holidays than the Spanish one. Last but not least, I am obviously looking forward to seeing my friends. Notwithstanding, now let us enjoy summer so that I am fresh and rested for my last year!