ORIENTATION OVERVIEW

By Hanz Berduo

University of Illinois at Chicago

Having the opportunity to study abroad can be viewed primarily as the ability to visit a new place and be able to instantly become accustomed to the area and live in the new country with ease. However, this is not the case. One must be introduced to the different aspects and fundamentals a new country has to offer. It also might be possible that visiting a country may cause confusion within an individuals state of mind and he or she may forget who he or she represents, their affiliations, or overall the individuals purpose of being in the enthralling new location. It must be noted that CIEE has done a wonderful job of being able to target those issues that a foreigner may feel during the first stages of a new adventure and expedition. Now living in Spain for two weeks, CIEE has made sure that the students, who have made an appearance to whichever program, feel welcomed to this new, majestic place with open arms. Students receive unconditional attention and care for unstable assurance and the many emotions a foreigner may feel during the first few stages. The transition to living in Spain from the United States has been facilitated by the comforting transition that is acquired and provided by the staff of CIEE. Thus, any paternal or maternal figure should know that his or her child is in good hands that can further be described as responsible, organized, and attentive to the needs of any student encountered by emotional distress.

            In addition, the safety of living in Spain is multiplied sufficiently by the introduction of our surroundings that create a solidified awareness of different locations as well as the importance of the country’s culture and norms. All this allows the student to avoid unnecessary confrontations with deviants of its society as well as saying the wrong thing to whoever is participating in the communication process with a foreigner. CIEE did show the student to learn to become less ignorant to the environment and as mentioned, the culture that exists as something very unfamiliar to one who has never considered such differences. This cultural education indefinitely allows the student to take a few steps further towards an enlightened form of living.

            Furthermore, with the help of CIEE, the new students are fortunate enough to be introduced to the many local attractions and areas of interest that cuts out a significant portion of time that an individual explorer must spend in finding these luminous places. All the sight seeing occurs during a faster rate so that more can be seen during, as it seems, such a limited timeframe. There is never enough to see, you just want more and more! This maintains the feelings of anticipation and surprise that allows the student to capture these moments with true significance that will be kept as memories forever. With all the benefits that CIEE has provided, it must also be noted that from all this assistance, the student forms a greater incentive to learn more about the new country and to explore much more than that individual had expected. Therefore, the journey that the student experiences, becomes more legitimate and genuine.         

COMIENZA EL SEMESTRE DE OTOÑO

Comienza el Otoño 2011!!
Ya están en Madrid los estudiantes que participan en el programa de Legal Studies. Con energía y mucho entusiasmo, los estudiantes recibieron la bienvenida del personal de CIEE Madrid mientras se preparaban para participar en unas jornadas repletas de las actividades que conforman la Orientación en Madrid.
Poco a poco nuestros estudiantes fueron conociendo el funcionamiento de la capital de país, el lugar donde van a vivir, algunas de sus profesoras, sus anfitrionas, los cursos que tienen que tomar, etc. Y cada día además, acudimos con ellos a conocer los distintos barrios de Madrid como La Latina, Chueca o Barrio de las Letras, donde compartimos almuerzos y cenas en algunos de los restaurantes más típicos, modernos o populares de la ciudad.
Sin duda, comienza la gran aventura de los chicos del Otoño 2011.

ORIENTATION IN EL ESPINAR

Text by Joshua Berlinger

Tufts University

Orientation in El Espinar was three of the busiest days of my life.  I arrived after about 15 hours of travel from LA to meet Senzeni and Paco, the program coordinators, at the airport, and was promptly driven to the CIEE Legal Housing by Senzeni (Paco had to wait for Sarah, another one of the Legal Studies students who had not arrived).  I quickly learned that although I was going to the apartment, we would only be briefly eating breakfast there and would head straight up to El Espinar for our orientation.  Once we arrived, we had our first full meal, where we got to enjoy David’s delicious cooking for the first time.  Around 3pm, after lunch, we started some icebreakers and learned about the course.  We soon learned that we would be doing the first three sessions of our Spanish Legal Language class with Cristina.

The second day, we watched the film Mar Adentro, starring Javier Bardem, which stemmed into our first thematic discussion of euthanasia and Spanish law. We discussed both the moral and legal conflict, and the difference and similarities that exist in this debate in both the United States and Spain.  Through this we then stemmed into a discussion of the concepts of the Spanish Judicial system, and got an introduction and insight into how the Spanish Legal system works. 

Wednesday was our final day in El Espinar, we started by learning the rights of foreigners in Spain (which we all found very applicable), and then learned more Spanish legal language and terminology.  At the end, Senzeni and Paco discussed what we would be doing for the next few days, and how we should start looking at courses, and grabbed a fantastic lunch, took a few pictures, said goodbye to El Espinar, and hit the road for Madrid where we met Sabela, a Law Professor at Universidad Carlos III, who will be our Resident Assistant during our stay in Madrid.

SPRING 2011 ORIENTATION

Rodeado por las montañas de la Sierra de Guadarrama en plena naturaleza e inmerso en la tranquilidad rural, se encuentra el pueblo de El Espinar, lugar elegido por CIEE Madrid para llevar a cabo la Orientación del Programa de Derecho para nuevos estudiantes.

El Espinar, villa cuyo origen se remonta a la época romana y que cobró cierta importancia durante el siglo XÏII, es ahora una pequeña población de algo más de ocho mil habitantes, donde se puede disfrutar de una amplia oferta de turismo rural, rutas de senderismo en las cercanas montañas o la visita a la Iglesia de San Eutropio del siglo XVII.

Durante tres días, el equipo de CIEE, las profesoras del programa de Derecho y los estudiantes que participan en el programa disfrutaron este "alejamiento" de la gran ciudad, para ir adaptandose, conociendo el Programa y su personal, y comenzar con los primeros ejercicios que sirven para un primer acercamiento al mundo del Derecho en España. Durante estos primeros días de Orientación, los estudiantes pudieron disfrutar de visitas histórico-culturales a la ciudad de Segovia (antigua sede de la Corte Real), debates sobre temas de actualidad relacionados con las leyes y comenzar con el curso de Lenguaje Jurídico (Spanish Legal Language).

Fueron días que sirvieron como introducción a los meses de estudio que aguardan a nuestros estudiantes y, que sin duda, les ayudaron a estar mejor preparados para el comienzo de sus clases y la vuelta a la ciudad.