Do I Want to Study in a Big or a Small City?

I am in touch with many students from many different countries, with wildly different backgrounds, experiences, exposure to other countries, goals, inclinations, orientations... I could go on... The one thing that they have in common is that they want to come study in Spain. Many students immediately tell me that their first choice is either Barcelona or Madrid. For some students, I think that these options are fine, but I dont believe that these cities reflect by any stretch of the imagination all that Spain has to offer. Spain is an extremely diverse country. There are four official languages, several other local dialects, drastically different historical influences, migration and immigration trends, social issues, political issues (galore), not to mention topographical and economic differences that make every region, and even each city a world to discover. Students want to study in the big cities, perhaps because they think that this is where the cultural centers are, where they will be the most exposed to the new and different, where they will have more opportunites, but I think that in some ways this is an error. If you want to sink your heels down into a place, get to know some of the local citizens, step off the beaten path, learn the language, and discover how the language is tied to the people, you may find that life in a smaller city allows you the luxury to examine all of those things through a much more powerful lense.

¿CALIENTE o TEMPLADO? Coffee culture Spanish style

Coffee in the United States has more variations than a politician has enemies. I worked in a coffee shop many moons ago and remember the customers asking for single latte skim, double shot of hazelnut, a touch of mocha and extra foam, all of that they could spit out in one breath. I also remember the full pot of coffee that I used to make each morning before heading out the door (carry mug in hand filled to the rim). I remember seeing the other people just like me drinking their coffee out of their thermal mugs in their cars, and at work. Morning coffee was a ritual I clung to like a child with their first blanket. A morning without coffee was worse than a curse, something unthinkable, surreal.
Here in Spain, when I first arrived a few years ago, I admit that I looked long and hard to replace my thermal coffee cup (I left mine at home, thinking that they would have them everywhere). Finally when I found one, and began using it, I was surprised by the banter from my Spanish colleagues, who had never seen such a contraption. They were dumbfounded that I would prefer to carry my own coffee from home around with me. The coffee at the bar next door was just fine, they said. They didn't understand that for me it was a question of quantity not quality. After losing my coffee cup, having to buy another, and then losing that one, I gave up. Now I go to the bar like a "regular" Spaniard to ask for a "café con leche". It still gets me everytime, the way they ask me, "caliente o templado?" (hot or luke warm?). With all of the variations for coffee that existed to me before, no one had ever proposed luke warm coffee. The truth is though, it is just right!

Universidad de Navarra

This is a photo of the campus at Universidad de Navarra that I recently found. The campus is gorgeous. This university is great because they have a very high ratio of international students: 16% of the student body is from outside of Spain. They are one of the most progressive universities in Spain, and are constantly working to make their programs more accessible to students from outside of Spain. At this university, you can study degrees that are valid in the United States.