It's that time of the semester again: the time when all the upperclassmen are looking to see what classes they can take that will best allow them to coast through there senior year while the underclassmen stress out about whether or not they will be able to get into any of the classes that they want. As I'm studying abroad next semester I was fortunate enough to not have to go through this process but instead got to observe from the sidelines. For me registration has always been stressful. I've never known what classes to take and I always have this constant fear that I'll choose a ton of classes that look really fun but end up really boring and useless (I got stuck with one such class this semester). I'm happy that this year I get to put off the stressful process until the beginning of the next semester.
On Thursday I decided it would be a good idea to look at what classes I might be taking next semester. Although the program I'm studying with doesn't allow me to actually register for classes until a week or so before they start, CMU requires me to turn in a list of classes that I will be taking. The list of classes offered by the exchange program isn't final, and I have no way of finding out what will be available from the Complutense but I did my best to come up with a preliminary list of courses which I will be takin. In reading through the descriptions I learned one very important thing, next semester is going to be HARD. Firstly, the courses I take will be very in depth literature and history courses, a large step out of my comfort zone which consist mainly of technical courses. Furthermore, they will all be in Spanish! I was really only introduced to the language 5 semesters ago, and I will read more in Spanish this upcoming semester than I have ever read in English in a semester. Needless to say, it is very intimidating.
Despite the fact that my knees are trembling at the though of stepping so far out of my comfort zone, I'm also somewhat excited about the idea. I know that if I stayed at CMU I never would have explored any classes about history or literature and I expect it will be a valuable growing experience. It may be the case that everything in the program will be over my head since it seems like most students in the program are Spanish or Hispanic Studies majors; but if it is, so what? If I end up failing everything (falling below my normal standards for myself) I'll try not fret about it. I'll take solace in knowing that despite not having a perfect outcome, I took a chance on something that many people never even consider.
Anyways, enough of my babbling, here are the courses I'm currently looking at:
- Contemporary Spanish History: Republic to Present
- Contemporary Spanish Novel
- El Greco, Velazquez and Goya in the Prado Museum
- Advanced Grammar and Usage
I also plan on taking at least one computer science related class at the Complutense, but I won't know if this is possible until right before the start of school in Sepetember. I think such a class would be a great way to bridge my major (computer science) with my minor (Spanish).
It is also worth noting that "El Greco, Velazquez and Goya in the Prado Museum" is, as may be evident from the title, taught at the Prado Museum! Instead of looking at slides of paintings by the artists, we get to see the paintings up close in all of their illustriousness!
