COLEGIO

School is very different here. Every school has all grades, from ages four to eighteen. There are three different groups though - Primaria for six years, ESO for four and Bachillerato for two - and they usually are in different parts of the school. My school is quite large but I've seen only the part I'm in everyday. Like most european schools, I think, your courses are based on the option you want to follow. At my school there is four options; social science, health, humanities and an art type one. Everyone has the same basic courses of english, history, language etc, and then four courses in their option. I'm in the social science one but if this were the system I went through in Canada I would have done health which is mostly sciences. My courses are a little different because I don't need the diploma from my option. I am taking three classes from the social science option and one from the health which is an environmental science class and my favourite. Here you have a classroom, like I did in elementary school, where you can keep your books in your desk and there are hangers around the room for your coat, we sit in alphabetical order and it's your class and your classroom for the year. The teachers move between classrooms for each course and most unlike my old school we don't use any technology: old-school green chalkboards! Teachers also go by their first names and dress casually every day, outfits are consecutively sometimes, and they all seem very young. The relationships between teachers and students are great and we even have one class a week where we talk with our main tutor as a class about any problems or feelings we have. I think I had pretty good relationships with my teachers back home so it's nice that they're really helpful and friendly here, it was a big portion of why I enjoyed school so much. The schedule is a bit different too. We start at 8:30 in the morning then three periods, each 50mins with a 5min break between each and then it's a half hour recess. This is the only break we have during the day at school. During this break a lot of kids whip out their packs of cigarettes as they exit the building and will hang out right outside the doors/steps smoking with their friends, there are groups of teachers doing the exact same thing too and sometimes they commingle. None of my friends are smokers and I'm certainly not going to pick up the habit so we usually walk to Carlos III, the main street in Pamplona named after a king, and hang out under these cool trees between a candy store and Lacoste. There's usually only time for the candy store though. Then it's back to class. Monday and Wednesday you have three more periods and then you are dismissed at 14:30 to go home for siesta and the big meal of the day. Tuesday and Thursday you have two periods after recess before going home from 13:35-15:35 to eat and then returning for two afternoon periods until 17:25. Friday you are finished at 13:35. Right now the hardest part of school is paying attention for the whole period and understanding everything. The seating arrangement has me at the front of the class so I can't fall asleep, but I haven't gotten in trouble for doodling yet so that's good. I enjoy school, some classes are harder than others and I don't do homework but I want the language to come first before I stress over grades.