So. These past two weeks have been hell.
This past week, I had my first two tests, and the weekend before that I was in Salamanca, and the Monday night of this past week, the time after my first exam and before my second, I had a blackbear concert (i regret nothing, i promise). So let me just go over what happened in my life these past 2 weeks.
School
So, last week was all preparation for the two tests this past week. I had no idea how the tests were gonna be, so I studied like a mad man to be sure I was ready for anything. I still wasn’t ready. Going into Monday, I knew everything I needed to. I did 2 practice tests, all the suggested exercises, memorized my notes, and memorized how to solve the problems the professor did in class. I still was stressed, because the total time was 50 minutes for 10 questions. My first glance at the test made me somewhat relieved, but after trying to solve them, I thought differently. I was able to get a A, but I didn’t feel as confident as I usually do. This frightened me, so I studied out of stress for the Biomechanics exam the next day, and I think that is what got me. We had 40 minutes for 2 questions, with the first question being worth 70% of the total test grade. And versus the first one, this test was all free response with no multiple choice. I freaked out and started working fast to complete it, but I was still stressed from studying the 4 hours before, so I blanked. I wasn’t able to answer 70% of the test because I ran out of time. I am very sure that I got an F on that test, which is fine. Its only 1 of the 4 other grades in the class (thats sarcasm if you cant tell).
No, but for real, I think I will be fine. I am just beating up myself a lot because 2 seconds after I turned my test in, I figured out what I needed to do and would have been able to solve it if I had 20 more minutes. I was just so stressed that my mind blanked and I couldn’t think of the easiest way to solve it. I totally forgot everything I needed to know, even though I knew the information. But there are ways that I can bring my grade back up (if the teacher will let me).
Today, I have an 11 hour day full of labs. I know that my body will fail me after my 3rd class, and then I have 2 more classes after, each lasting 2 hours. So wish me luck, as I will be so full of caffeine my blood will taste like coffee (i wouldnt suggest doing that, but you get it).
Now to the fun part…
Salamanca!!!
This town was literally so beautiful!! The first place we went to is called El Escorial, which is a basilica, a school, and a monastery, all in one!! I sadly couldn’t take pictures inside, but there were lots of beautiful artwork, including intricate wooden doors, painted ceilings, and beautiful architecture. The school is also still a school, because while we were entering, children were in the courtyard playing soccer and whatnot. I would love to have school there in a building with as much history as that, but alas, I am stuck with modern architecture.
After that, we went to Salamanca and arrived at our hotel. They said we would be staying at a 5 star hotel, and they weren’t kidding. We walk in and it looks like the freaking Jefferson! We get our rooms and went up to store our stuff and relax for a little bit, and the rooms were just as nice as the lobby, except for one thing: the wifi. The wifi was horrid. I couldn’t stalk people on Instagram, and I was very disappointed. But that’s fine, I want to go explore the city anyway!!
The first night was amazing. After we went to our rooms to put our luggage away, we had the rest of the night free. So we went to explore the city as well as go tapa bar hopping. We also found an antique book fair going on in the Plaza Mayor, so that was a fin experience too!! After we hopped around for like 4 hours, we got amazing burgers at Goiko Grill! Funny story tho, when we first walked into Goiko, the host asked me what my name was. I knew he was asking for a reservation, but we didn’t make a reservation, and I knew that, but instead of saying I don’t have a reservation, I told the host, “I don’t have a name.” The people behind the counter started laughing, and I couldn’t figure out why. Then I realized, “Oh poop, I said I don’t have a name. No wonder they are laughing.” So yea, embarrassing story.
When we were finished for the night, I proceeded to play on my laptop for 5 hours. Don’t ask me why, since I had a test that Monday, but I did it anyway. The next day, we went on a tour of the city, which was amazing!! Got my Gothic cathedral fix, and at the same time, got balcony seats to a random wedding!! (it was kind of scary cause right after I stopped recording, it looked like someone fainted cause a whole group of people were swarming around someone on the ground. That was a large oof)
After the Cathedral, my body was tired, so after a brief meal and some souvenir shopping (cause im a freaking tourist. sometimes you have to become the thing you hate most lol), we returned to the hotel for a brief siesta. When we wanted to leave again for dinner and a little more “debauchery,” it was raining really hard. Plus we had the grand idea of leaving the hotel before the bars opened, so we went window shopping for a while. Then all of us just got really tired, so we started looking for a place to eat dinner and then go back to the hotel, but turns out its not that easy. Trying to find a place that doesn’t require a reservation and has a nice selection of vegetarian options on a Saturday night was amazingly difficult. After about an hour and a half of searching, we gave up and went to a greasy spoon, I ate a hamburger and probably got a couple of clogged arteries, and then went back to the hotel, where, once again, I played on my laptop for 5 hours instead of studying. Such a great student.
We then started our trip to Avila the next morning. Avila is just a small historical town like Toledo, but it is surrounded by a wall from 100 AD since it wasn’t torn down for expansion like the other cities of old. But since it was raining, they asked us if we wanted to leave early from Avila, which was fine by us. I also tried something called a yema, which is like a squishy little baked good that has the same consistency of dough, but is fully cooked and tastes AMAZING!! So we left Avila early, and got back to Madrid early so that I could study before my test.
blackbear Concert
Even though it was a SUPER FUN concert, it felt kind of short. And it wasn’t like the openers took all the time, it was just super short. blackbear came on, performed for an hour, and then left. That was it. I walked home, and still had time to study for my test the next day before midnight came.
The walk back was really nice too!! Saw a part of the city I hadn’t seen before, so I’d say it was a good experience. And I also had to walk back because even though I was at the bus station, the bus drove right past me!! So then I had to walk back 2 miles to get back home. But here is a picture of that.
All in all…
These past two weeks have been a lot. A lot of waiting for things to come and a lot of time spent actually doing those things. I had to study, take tests, perform labs, and also find time to relax, learn Spanish, and make sure I don’t go insane from worrying about my grades here. One of the annoying things is that the lab technology here is super old, so its super finicky and I am not a fan of that, and so my instrumentation lab, which is just Op-Amp characterization, something I have already done, took me 3 hours to do. It was just super annoying to deal with. But its ok, I promise I’m not losing my mind lol.
This trip is just an emotional roller coaster for me. There are just a lot of feelings running around in my head, from not having my friends around all the time to a different style of teaching to learning a new language and having to use it to communicate with others effectively and feeling dumb if I can’t, its just a fat roller coaster. But despite those feelings, I would not trade this experience for anything. I am learning a lot about myself from this experience and I know I will be a different person when I go back home.
So thank you for reading this far, if you have. I know emotions are not that cool and you’re probably like “Just show me some cool pictures bro, I dont care how you feel!” but thanks anyway. Until next time!!
Brennan's Semester in Spain 