University of Navarra

Transcription

1 University of Navarra Wong Wai Ching Christy Year 3 (BBA in Information Systems & Economics) Spring 2016

2 Part I Monthly Activity Log January I arrived at Barcelona on 31st December and travelled around for 5 days. Then I took Renfe (the national train of Spain) from Barcelona Sants station to Pamplona. I walked around in Pamplona in the first few days after arrival. It really takes time to adapt to life in Pamplona. Unlike the capital or other big cities in Spain, Pamplona is a small and peaceful town. Most shops have siesta, which means the shops are closed from 2-5pm every day. This is so different from the busy life in Hong Kong. There was an orientation day for exchange students to meet other international students. Also, I joined another orientation activity to San Sebastian, which is a city nearby. We walked along the coast and visited some churches. We also tried some of the best pinchos, which is a kind of tapas well known in northern part of Spain especially in San Sabestian. In late January, there was a public holiday. The school held a skiing day for us in Formigal, a snow mountain near Pamplona. The package is quite cheap and equipment was provided. It is a great chance for you to meet new friends and learn skiing if you have never tried before. February I have adapted to life in Pamplona since February. The course schedule was finalized and I become more familiar with the livelihood in Pamplona. During Chinese New Year I had dinner gathering with other Asian students. We cooked Chinese food and made sesame dumplings together. We even bought rice cake from Chinese supermarket in Pamplona. I can feel the warmth of festival even I

3 am not in Hong Kong. Moreover, I joined some activities held by the student college and get to meet some local students. It is a great opportunity to know more about the local culture. As most of my midterms were in late February, I had studied hard in this month. The coursework was generally manageable and I can still have some time to take a rest. March I finished all midterms in early March. I made a short trip to Valencia for the famous fiesta Las Fallas. There were parades and fireworks every day. In some street, there were lightings and music played from time to time. You can see gigantic dolls everywhere. Those dolls would be burnt on the last day of the fiesta. After travelling to Valencia, my friend and I went to Madrid and watched a football of Real Madrid VS Sevilla. It was such an unforgettable experience as the atmosphere and the match were amazing. In late March, there was a two-week Easter holiday Semana Santa (holy week). I travelled to Andalucia (the Southern part of Spain) and London. Andalucia is especially famous for Semana Santa. Processions were performed nearly on every street every day throughout the entire week. Masses were held in churches too. It is a precious opportunity to have a deeper understanding in Spanish culture.

4 April There were quite a lot of projects and presentations in this month. Also, the course materials are getting harder. Professors usually finished the course materials before the presentations. There would be course review sessions in the last lecture. You can make an appointment with the professors for any enquires before exams. Most of them were quite nice and were willing to answer your questions. I travelled to Portugal with my friends. May I spent most of the time in Pamplona as I had 5 exams during this month. There is a week in between two exams so I travelled to Biarritz and Bordeaux for a few days. Biarritz is a small city in the South of France. It only takes two hour to travel from Pamplona to Biarritz. There you can enjoy the beautiful beaches and views to relieve the stress of studying. I finished my exam on 17th May. After that, I had been travelling around in Europe for a month before going back to Hong Kong from Barcelona airport. Part II General Exchange Information 1. Visa Procedures You need to apply for the Schengen Visa which you can find the application form on the website of the Consulate General of Spain. The visa application requires the acceptance letter from UNAV and the approval letter from HKUST. However, it takes some time for you to get the acceptance letter from UNAV. Therefore, it is suggested that you should prepare other documents before and apply for the visa application as soon as you receive the acceptance letter. The procedure would take about a month. 2. Orientation Activities The International Relations Office and the international student committee would organize lots of orientation activities for exchange students, including tours to nearby cities, Juepintxos night, skiing day etc. You can get useful information for the campus and life in Pamplona during the welcoming session held by the International Relations Office. 3. Accommodations You can apply for off campus student college or rent an apartment nearby the university. Renting an apartment would be cheaper and more convenient as it is closer to the old town. Students usually live in Iturrama, which is 5-10 minutes walk to school. You can search for apartments on the school website where owners post their apartments information. The student college is more expensive as it offers 3 meals per

5 day and many activities. The disadvantage would be students must go back to the college before 11pm every night. 4. Course Registration The University would send you a course list with class schedules together with an online registration form around 6 weeks before the semester starts. After you submitted the online registration form, you are temporarily registered to the courses. There are two weeks of add-drop period after the semester starts. You have to fill in another online registration form to so as to confirm your enrollment to the course. There is an online test for students who wish to register the Spanish grammar course. If you wish to study conversation course, there would be a short interview after during the first week of semester so that you will be registered to the class with the level that suits you. 5. Teaching & Assessment Methods Global Political Economy International Finance Money, Banking & Financial Markets Probabilities & Statistics II Spanish A2* This course is about political policies that would affect the world economy. Real-life cases were taught and there are some interesting readings in each topic. There were two exams and a project with presentation. A theory-based course that mainly covers exchange rates and global financial crisis. The professor is very nice. You can ask him whenever you have questions about the course content. There were two exams and a project with presentation. This course is about roles of central bank and monetary policy setting. There are some real-life cases to study and I found them quite interesting. The professor is same as the one in International Finance. There were two exams and a project with presentation. This is the most difficult course I have taken in this semester. Problem sets were done in lectures and you need to do lots of exercises at home. There are two exams and 3 pop-up quizzes throughout the semester (once per month). I found it quite difficult to catch up at the beginning as the teacher did not speak a single

6 word in English during class. The teacher would have many interactions with students so you may have lots of chances to practise your Spanish. There were two writing tasks and two exams. The coursework are relatively easy if you do revision before the assessments. *There are two types of Spanish courses offered to international students Conversation and Grammar. The International Relations Office of UNAV would invite you to take a Spanish test online around a month before semester starts. Then 6. Sports & Recreation Facilities There is a sports centre in the campus where you can book various facilities. It is free for students and you can rent rackets or other equipment there. You may also go into the gym room. You can either pay for a month or 3 months. In January, there was a sports orientation which the university staff would introduce all sports facilities and you can try out some sports activities such as archery and fencing. The student colleges organize various activities such as dancing night, cultural night and career talks. There were some short trips to cities nearby in the weekend. They welcome non-residents and international students to join their activities. It is the best way to get along with local students and explore the Spanish culture. For shopping, there is a shopping mall La Morea. It takes 15 minutes by bus. Apart from this, there is a department store El Corte Ingles near the bus terminal and many stores in the old town. 7. Costs & Expenses Item Expense (Euros per month) Accommodation 265 Food 150 Communication (phone card) 10 Transport (within Pamplona) 2-3 Travel 400 (depends) Total Safety Many people thought that it is not safe in Spain. However, Pamplona is a safe town as people in northern part of Spain are generally wealthier. It is totally fine for you to walk alone even in midnights. Yet, you should beware of pickpockets when you go travel in cities like Madrid and Barcelona.

7 9. Transportation Pamplona is a small city that almost everything is within walking distance. It takes me around 20 minutes from UNAV to the old town. Yet, you can consider buying a bus card at Tobacco. You can have discount with the bus card. You may need to take a bus to go to train station and La Morea, or sometimes when you are tired. If you need to travel to different places, you can take train (Renfe) or overnight bus (ALSA and Monbus) to Barcelona & Madrid then go to other countries by flight. It takes around 3 hours to Madrid and 4 hours to Barcelona by train. There is a small local airport in Pamplona. However, there are only a few flights (usually to/from Madrid) each day and it costs much more expensive than other transportation means. You can find cheap flights from Ryanair, Easyjet or Vueling. Apart from public transports, you may choose to travel within Spain or Southern France by Blablacar. You can search for ride share according to your starting point and destination. It is quite fun as you can meet different Spanish people and you can know more about the Spanish culture. Nevertheless, bear in mind that some drivers do not speak English and you are suggested to find some experienced drivers with positives feedbacks. 10. Food It is much cheaper to cook at home. I usually cooked with my friends in any of our home. The price of food in supermarket is similar or even a bit cheaper than those in Hong Kong. You can find Chinese food in the Chinese supermarkets (Chinos) in Iturrama. There are many Spanish restaurants in Iturrama and the old town. You can try authentic Spanish cuisine such as paella, tapas, tortilla and churros etc. In the old town, there are many bars offering different kinds of pinchos. Most of them have Juepintxos on Thurdays you can get a pincho and a drink for 2 euros. 11. Climate It is always raining in Pamplona. Also, it can be quite cold in wintertime. Make sure you have brought enough winter clothing and an umbrella with you when you go out. The temperature in winter is around 0-10 degree Celsius. It sometimes snows in January and February. The weather gets warmer in April and you can enjoy the best weather in May. The temperature is around degree Celsius. 12. Communication

8 People in Pamplona do not speak English. It would be better for you to ready for some basic Spanish. It would be very useful when you are in restaurant or supermarkets. You can speak in Chinese when you are in Chinese restaurant or Chinese supermarkets. You can get a phone card from Orange or Vodaphone in Iturrama. You can pay for an amount for a month or top up the card value whenever you need. 13. Others You can set up a bank account in Spain. The university staff would introduce the service to you during the welcoming session. There is only one bank (Santander) available for student accounts. In Spain, you can easily withdraw money from ATM with the Union Pay logo. Make sure you have set overseas withdrawal on your account before you leave Hong Kong. Part III Items to Bring! Letter of Acceptance! Insurance Proof! HKID Card & Passport! Money & Credit Card! Passport Photo! Clothing for winter and summer! Mobile Phone, Laptop & charger! Adaptor! Camera! Medicine (optional)! Umbrella! Cabin luggage / Backpack for travel