Tips for Students 1

So my friends and I went to the university today for the first time. It was interesting, helpful, yet still a little frustrating. First, we took the campus bus to school. We have bus cards and we pay for 10 trips at a time. That's usually good for a full week during regular school time, but you can pay for one trip or for a full month of trips at a time if you prefer. Once we got to the university, we saw the list of classes on the wall. Yes, you read that correctly. The students don't sign-up for classes online like we do in the U.S. They have a wall of classes that you choose from. Then, you just show up for class. However, the list isn't necessarily an updated version, so you might need to ask. We met with the head of the English Department, the person I think with whom we'll primarily be working and another English professor. They were both incredibly nice and understanding. Since Kerry and I are teaching here for the semester and going to classes, we have extra things to take care of. None of which we could do today because everything closes at 2 pm. So, tomorrow morning, we have a ton to do. First, since we're working, we need to open up a bank account so that the university can reimburse us for our plane ticket and deposit our pay at the end of each month. However, when we went to do that, we were told that in order to open an account, we need residence cards! So, tomorrow we have to go to the police station and hopefully not wait too long for residence cards. Then, we have to go back to campus, open an account (I hope), turn in our university library card application, get a student ID card (which unlike in the states is a different card), meet with someone about classes to take, and hopefully, get reimbursed for the plane ticket. And all before 2 pm. So, when you're studying abroad, remember that there are always road blocks in your plans and you might have to go from Spain to Australia to get everything done. But, it does get done.