School...

Yay! So, the third month begins. I wish I had a  lot of exciting news to share but my life here now is really just normal life. School is difficult. Not just because of the language barrier but because the academics in the Basque Country are just harder than in any other part of Spain (or so I have been told.) However, if I do listen I find that I understand most of what the teachers are saying. Actually paying attention and listening is the hard part.

My experience with school here is that it isn't much different from school in America. I read a lot of blog posts before I came about how kids don't pay attention in class or you stay in the say room all day but for me it hasn't exactly been like that. I move switch classrooms most periods and find that students study really hard for exams and take school seriously. They do all of their homework and just have their stuff together. It is kind of intimidating actually.

I personally have six classes. Other students have to take english, basque, and informatika but I am exempt because I speak english, I don't speak basque, and I have to take history instead of computers. The classes I do have are:

Filosofia - This class is very hard to understand. I get that the teacher is funny but I can't pay attention for long enough to get the jokes. The teacher is really nice but has horrible hand writing so the notes I do take I barely understand. We don't really have homework but I get that we are supposed to be studying every night. Thankfully, I don't need this class for my school in America so I am just doing the best that I can..

Lengua - This is like english class in America. They work on their grammar and what not. I am still trying to get the basics of speaking down so grammar isn't my main concern right now. We usually just talk during the class about the big evaluations they have or just joke around with the teacher. It is all pretty relaxed which I don't mind.

Historia - I take this class in the grade level above because it doesn't fit into the schedule for my grade. I actually understand most things the teacher says but the classes are two hours long so by the end I am pretty tired and not trying that hard to translate. The teacher is really nice and makes special tests for me because I came into the class late.

Gimnasia - Obviously gym. They take it really seriously here. One class we just ran for half an hour straight which is something I would never do in America. Also, everyone is legitimately sweating by the end of the class. I don't mind the exercise but I also don't like going back to class sweaty.

Chimica - For this class and biologia I only have six other kids in the class so we get a lot of personal attention. It is really helpful because the class itself is really difficult. Some things I learned in science class last year and some are new. The teacher is really intense, like he has gotten into screaming matches with a couple of the students over their work.

Biologia - No this class is not fun. We have it twice a week for two hours and the teacher talks at a speed I haven't heard come from a human before. The other students don't understand so obviously, neither can I. I learned a lot of the things freshman year which is helpful but was still a while ago. A lot of studying is very necessary, more so than my other classes.

So, that was a short run down on all of my classes. I don't have a lot to say about all of them because honestly it is just school and what can I say besides it is hard and I have to study a lot. I knew it was going to be like this when I came here so I am trying to not let it freak me out or anything.