New year, fresh perspective

After a well-needed (though not for my figure) and super-lovely two weeks off for Christmas at home home, I'm back in Madrid to do semester one all over again, though this time I know what I'm getting myself into!

Been back for two weeks now, which have both gone really quickly, probably something to do with having exams rather than normal classes: meaning that I've been procrastinating sufficiently so that revision hasn't turned my brain to complete mush. I'm actually not to sure how my exams have gone, we'll just have to wait and see. Though it's definitely safe to say that Spanish exams are very different to what I'm used to at Bham! Rather than a two hour exam consisting of two essay questions, most of my exams have been multiple choice tests with incorrect answers losing you half a mark - which is why it's so hard to gauge how well (or badly) I've done, especially when the answers are so similar! However, what's even more different than the content is the process. I showed up for my first exam (after having to ask at the main admin desk the room because we hadn't been told in advance (unless I missed it because of my lack of Spanishness which is a possibility)) in plenty of time, only to find it full of all the students revising and chatting in groups (as opposed to the strict UK entry and seating procedure). The first member of staff showed up 20 minutes after the exam was supposed to start, and after another 10 minutes of shuffling to separate students, then exam finally started... And all of my others have been of a similar informal nature.

In other news, I've got two new housemates! Two girls from the US have moved in to replace the two lads that moved out before Christmas. They both really easy to get on with, and I've got a feeling that this semester is going to be a lot more of a house rather than hotel vibe! Though the kitchen is as cold as it always is, making it kind of hard to remain in there for social reasons... We're thinking of investing in a little heating though, so hopefully that won't be an issue for much longer!

As I'm writing this, I've finished all my exams, and I should be getting ready to catch my bus to Bilbao for a couple days of sightseeing, but I feel like utter crap meaning I'm coming down with something. So I've decided (as painful as the decision was due to my foolish decision of booking non-flexi/refundable tickets and accommodation) to not go, as four days walking in the cold and possibly rain isn't going to make me any better, nor will feeling like rubbish make my experience as enjoyable as it should be. With five days off before second semester starts, I've now got plenty of time (so no excuses) to start thinking about my year abroad essay and be hella productive without the weight of other uni work to do. But that starts tomorrow. Promise.

I've applied to change two of my classes for the second semester (again) as I've realised how naive I was when picking Spanish Civil Law as a 9 credit class. So if I get my choice of International Relations Theory, then term two should be a lot easier on my brain, even if I have already studied the subject.

Just as a final thing to note, this has been the quickest blog post I've written thus far: taking about half an hour. Go me.

Nos vemos x