Faculty Letter - Spain
An Encounter with Spain ~ Past & Present
Dear Prospective Participant,
Patricia and I cordially invite you to join us for an unforgettable five weeks in Madrid this summer. The 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 programs were highly successful, and we expect to build on that experience to make version 5.0 even better.
Participants and faculty are housed in a self-sufficient colegio mayor on the campus of the main university in Madrid, the Complutense. We take meals together in the light and airy dining room, with an excellent view of the extensive and well-manicured grounds. The colegio is in a very quiet area, so you are not aware of being in a large city. Bus and metro stops are within easy walking distance. The staff of the colegio are very congenial and accommodating. They will make you feel at home.
On site are classrooms, a film viewing room, a modest library with a good video collection, a dedicated study room, a computer room, and other amenities such as tennis courts, a soccer field, swimming pool, TV viewing area, and snack bar. There is a large and inviting veranda adjacent to the snack bar, overlooking the grounds and recreational facilities. You would have a private room, equipped with a high-speed Internet connection. You are urged to bring a laptop if you have one, not just for e-mail but also to facilitate completion of some assignments.
Undergraduates will enroll in SPN 103, a new course unique to the summer program in Spain, and SPN 190. Both receive letter grades. Graduate students will enroll in SPN 290 and 291, both of which are graded S/NC. SPN 190, 290, and 291 will be custom-tailored to suit individual needs and interests. Graduate students will be able to use the most important all-purpose library in Spain, the Biblioteca Nacional.
Our normal routine for each week is to have lectures, discussions, and view audio-visual materials at the colegio on MWF. Tuesdays are set aside for excursions within the city, mainly to museums and other sites of cultural and historical interest. Thursdays are for excursions to places outside Madrid, such as the Escorial, Toledo, Segovia and La Granja, Ávila and Salamanca. The food preparation staff prepares a sack lunch for each of us to take along on the Thursday excursions. Ordinarily we return in time for the midday meal on Tuesdays.
There is sufficient unstructured time for visits to the numerous smaller museums in the city, to enjoy a zarzuela, play, or movie, to do shopping, and, on weekends, to take short trips to other nearby sites of interest, for instance Alcalá de Henares, where Cervantes was born, or to experience the huge Sunday-morning flea market in Madrid known as the Rastro. Nightlife in Madrid is legendary, but students in the program should indulge only on weekends. Patricia and I run a tight ship and we are committed to maintaining academic standards, but we will also be available to you 24/7 and will go out of our way to accommodate your special needs, to give you personal and travel advice on request, and make these five weeks a time you will remember with pleasure for a lifetime.
Space is limited. We can accommodate no more than twenty participants, so please make your reservation in a timely manner. If you do not have a passport, be sure to begin the process soon, since it takes several weeks to get one. We will provide information once you have enrolled about cell phone options in Spain, flight arrangements, public transportation in Madrid, managing money, health precautions, and other matters of possible interest and concern.
We are, of course, happy to respond to any questions you may have now. You can reach me at any time at Cervantista@aol.com, while Patricia, my wife, is available at DoctoraParr@aol.com. Your main source of information about the necessary steps to be taken in preparing for this unique experience is, however, Mely Fitzgerald in Summer Sessions (Mely.Fitzgerald@ucr.edu).
Hoping to visit with you in person very soon,
James A. Parr, Professor of Hispanic Studies, UCR
| Member of NAFSA: Association of International Educators |
