First Blog

Hey Everyone!
This is our first posting, and since it's just Matt writing, it's not gonna be too long - just testing this out.

We've just completed our first day of classes at the Universidade de Vigo in Vigo, Spain and we're pretty surprised/confused/happy/irritated! The system here is so different from anything we've seen previously and we're not exactly sure what to think or do.. The requirements for us, as told to us by those who matter to our grades, is that we learn the Spanish language and way of life. Classes are required and a serious attempt must be made, but most students here fail class, let alone students who barely can speak the language! Something like 60% of the students fail or at least get a D; usually only 1 student from every class earns an A! Heather is not happy, to say the least!

Aside from that confusion, we've landed ourselves in a nice apartment with a beautiful view of the Ria de Vigo and the cityscape. Our "flat" is higher than the rest until the river, so we always have a very beautiful view throughout the day. We are told that most days will be cloudy even though it has been beautiful to this point. We have been walking around the city daily - great exercise going up and down the hilly city streets, and have found the bus the most convenient way to get to campus, even though it's "schedule" is not something we are used to!

The way of life is very different, from the meal schedule being much more spread out to the late nights and constantly noisy streets (with no air conditioning our windows stay open), we're still adjusting. All in all though, things are great! We're learning the language, poco a poco (little by little I think), and loving the delicious fresh fruit and seafood surrounding us. We have decided on what classes to attempt first and will start attending them tomorrow. And we have met some other international students who speak English (nice to speak our native language at times) - hopefully we'll find some Spanish speakers to learn the language with while enjoying a nice cafe solo at the closest cafe. Life is fun, strange, and noisy, and we love it! Will write more when my wife can join me... Love you all and thank you for reading! -Matt