Erasmus+ Journal (Issue 2) 2013/14
Sandra Maloversnik, Spain, Universidad de Huelva, Mobility for Studies
University and history of the city
Huelva is the capital city of the identically named province Huelva. The province Huelva is one of the eight regions in Andalusia which is in the south of Spain. It is located in western Andalusia and adjoins the regions Cádiz, Sevilla and Badajoz. Furthermore it`s located next to Portugal at the Atlantic Ocean.
The city Huelva is not very touristic there is a lot of industry. Despite the industry it is a nice small city with a lot of Erasmus students from all over Europe.
Huelva is just a 15-20 minutes bus ride from the ocean and has some very beautiful beaches. Furthermore there is a big national park called Coto de Doñana.
And we should keep in mind that from Huelva Christopher Columbus set sail towards America. There is a museum with the three ships of Columbus which is a sight to see.
The beach at Punta Umbría (Photo Sandra Maloversnik)
The University of Huelva shortly UHU has three different campuses: Campus La Merced, Campus El Carmen and La Rabida. The department of education is at Campus El Carmen which is a little bit outside the city centre. But it`s no problem to get there because there are different bus lines which drive to Campus El Carmen or you get there by foot or bike. At Campus El Carmen you also find the International Office and the ESN office. The campus is immense and most of the departments are located here. The Campus La Merced is situated in the city centre and La Rabida is outside the city.
University of Huelva (Photo: Sandra Maloversnik)
Differences between the education systems
One very big difference is that in Huelva I only had 6 courses during the whole semester, compared with my education in Austria I would have had about 20 courses.
I attended four courses in education, one Spanish language course and I did my school practicum. For each course I got 6 ECTS, in Austria you get about 1 or 1,5 ECTS for a course like that.
All my courses were Erasmus courses which were held in English. Erasmus courses are much easier than normal Spanish courses. They are conceived so that every student can pass them. This is why I didn`t have any exams this semester. There was only homework to do. The Erasmus courses are not very challenging compared to the Spanish courses. If you attend normal Spanish courses you have a lot more work. My flatmate did all of her courses in Spanish and she really had a lot that needed to be done during the semester like a lot of homework, presentations and exams. It can be said that Spanish courses are more challenging.
Another difference is the grading system. In Spain they have grades from 1 to 10. 1 is like a 5 in Austria that means 1 in Spain is the worst whereas in Austria 1 is the best. You pass the course with a 5 and 10 is the best according to the Spanish grading system.
Furthermore the whole education system differs from ours in Austria. In Spain you start school earlier. It is called kindergarten where the children already learn a lot. Children in Austrians kindergarten do not learn that much, they play more. Later on in primary and secondary school the subjects that are taught are very different from our subjects taught in Austria. Moreover the relationship between teachers and students is more like they are friends. At home the relationship is more respectful.
University Courses
I attended three courses of Prof. Manuel Bautista: Creativity and Learning, General Didactics and Curriculum Making.
All three courses were pooled. We met him every Monday in small groups in his office and discussed different topics with him. It was always really interesting because he gave us new ideas and suggestions and encouraged us to think in another way. He is really up-to-date and it`s really fascinating how much he knows and the way he thinks is incredible. The group I joined was always a different one with people from all over Europe and therefore it was really interesting to hear about their ideas and how their education system works.
Instead of exams, the professor sent us an e-mail with different articles concerning our discussion in the office at the end of the week and we had to read these articles and comment them.
Effects of global changes in the natural ecosystem
This course was also a very interesting one. Prof. Pablo Hidalgo was the lecturer of our small group. He gave us some input and then we discussed different topics about global changes. At the end of the lesson we got some homework to do. It was always a question or something we had to research on the internet and summarize it. In order to get a better mark there was the option of doing a presentation and once there was an excursion.
Teacher practicum
I also had to do a 50 hour school practicum. My school, called “Santo Ángel de la Guarda” was located in the city centre of Huelva. It was a religious primary school. But not like primary schools in Austria which goes from 1st grade to 4th grade. Here it goes from 1st grade to 6th grade and the kindergarten is also in the same building. So there are children from three years to twelve years.
There are both, negative and positive perspectives about the school system in Spain. It`s really different if you compare it with the Austrian system. It was a great experience to see how schools work in Spain.
What I really like was that pupils and teachers have a much better relationship in Spain than in Austria. They really treat each other like friends. Anyway the children respect the teachers.
At the beginning it was a little bit weird that the children call their teachers with their first name but after a while you don`t care anymore. It`s only because we`re used to be called with our surname.
I was really overpowered by the friendliness of everybody. Also teachers among themselves have a great relationship. They don`t treat each other like colleagues how they do in Austria, they are more like friends.
All children were so nice. They couldn`t wait asking me for my name and my country and really enjoyed trying to introduce themselves in English to me.
What was a really shock for me was the way teachers teach.
Not really the way but the time they are wasting. For instance they really need a lot of time correcting things, it`s a much more relaxed working atmosphere. It would never work like that in Austria. What they did here in Spain in about half an hour would be done in Austria in 10 or 15 minutes. On the other hand the Spanish students are more autonomous. In Austria you waste so much time explaining tasks because everything must be explained in detail otherwise the students wouldn`t do the tasks in the right way. In Spain this is easier. You don`t have to explain ever single step they have to do. They already know that they have to take out a red pen when it comes to correcting things.
I thing one reason why they are so autonomous could be that they already have to be very autonomous in kindergarten. In Spain they already start to learn some things in kindergarten.
This self-dependence really facilitates a teacher’s life.
I really enjoyed my two weeks at the Spanish school and if I have the possibility in the future to teach abroad I would really like to use this opportunity in order to get some new ideas for the Austrian school system and my work with children.
Application and Registration
At the beginning I had to fill out an application form and sent it to the University of Huelva. When they accepted it I could start searching for courses I would like to attend in Huelva.
I had to coordinate the courses with the International Office at my home university and then I could fill out the Learning Agreement which needed to be signed by the home university as well as the University in Huelva.
Arrived in Huelva I had to change some courses in my Learning Agreement but that was no problem. I got the okay and signature from my home university and from the University of Huelva and had to announce the changes in the Learning Agreement.
After about one month I got a date for my registration where I officially registered me for all the courses in my Learning Agreement.
Before my semester abroad I had to attend some preparatory courses at my home University. In Huelva there were also some preparatory courses which needed to be attended during the welcome week. There they told you everything about the registration and your courses at the University of Huelva.
Contacts
Information of the university
Universidad de Huelva
Dr. Cantero Cuadrado, 6. 21071 Huelva, Spain
Website: http://www.uhu.es/index.php
Phone number: 959 218000
Information of the Coordinator of the International Office
Name: Isabel Leandro
Servicio de Relaciones Internacionales
Universidad de Huelva
Email: drinter02@sc.uhu.es
Phone number: 959219494
Pab. 13_Juan Agustín de Mora
Campus del Carmen
21071 Huelva, Spain
Accomodation
I found my apartment via Facebook in November because there was already an Erasmus page for the spring semester.
Students from the winter semester posted their flats with pictures, prices and when they would be available.
If students didn’t find something on Facebook, they could look for an apartment when they would arrive in Huelva and also the ESN-team from the university would helped you to find something, because they had a list of available flats and would contact the landlord for a meeting.
Description of the accomodation
I lived together with Lisa from my home University and a German girl. The flat was quite big and had everything you need to live. There was a full equipped kitchen with a washing machine, a big living room, a bath, three bedrooms and two terraces. The rent was about 250€ including all bills like electricity, internet and water. Our flat was very central situated in the middle of the city centre so that we could nearly reach everything by foot. There was a small supermarket just around the corner and a bigger one about 300 meters away. The pedestrian area with all the shops was just a five minute walk away. All the Erasmus bars were around our street.
Life
The life in Huelva is in my opinion less expensive compared to Austria. All the groceries are cheaper than in Austria and they have fantastic fresh fruits and vegetables. I spent about 150-200€ a month for food and going out. It`s so cheap if you go out because there are many low-priced Tapas bars where you pay about 1€ for a Tapa or a beer.
Huelva is a nice small city near the Atlantic Ocean so it`s no problem to get to the Ocean. You can take a 15-20 minutes bus ride and you are at the beach. Huelva has some very beautiful beaches were I enjoyed most of my free time.
Horse-riding at the beach of Mazagón (Photo: Sandra Maloversnik)
And Huelva is a good starting point for travelling. Once we drove with “BlaBlaCar”, which is a car sharing company, to Lisbon.
Lisbon (Photo: Sandra Maloversnik)
Another time we drove to the Algarve and we even visited the Sahara and spent some days in Morocco.
I really enjoyed my life in Huelva and already miss it and all the amazing friends we made over there. It was an experience that nobody can disseise me. I will never forget my lovely life and the delicious strawberries in Huelva.
Sahara (Photo: Lina Feder)