Studying would (in theory) be much easier in this picturesque Madrid street cafe than in 209.
Columbia Colliegettes™, believe it or not, I am already at the tail end of midterm season. How can that be, do you ask? At SU Madrid, all of the courses are structured in the two midterms and a final way. And yes,with midterms, that means that I actually have to do work while abroad. But never fear, Columbians are professionals at ceaseless studying, and so you can rest easy while away from Morningside. Even though I’m six hours ahead and a continent away, I did not leave my good midterm practices in New York. Here are some cardinal rules for midterm preparation, when abroad or at Columbia:
Lo más importante (The most important): SLEEP
I’m convinced that getting at least 7 hours of sleep every night has in some way contributed to my good grades. I know my body well enough to gauge when I need to stop and go to sleep to insure more futile studying the next day. Going out late most nights of the week is a huge draw for American students studying in Europe. In Madrid, the Metro closes from 1:30-6AM every night so staying out until the Metro opens again is completely normal, but in my case, I cannot last that long.
From my experience, the days where I don’t get enough sleep are the ones where I’m the least productive. During our orientation seminar, four hours of sleep was the norm, so by the time I got to Madrid, I felt really run down on top of catching a cold. I had such a great time, but ten days of little sleep got to me. Also, with my Señora (what we call our host mothers) asking me how I slept and how long I sleep every night, I have more motivation to keep up good sleeping patterns.
Lo segundo más importante (The second most important): Get your work done and give yourself enough time to study
After four years of boarding school, I’m a firm believer in working ahead and at the beginning of every semester you can normally find me getting through as much reading as I can in Butler, Starbucks, or on my dorm room bed. While studying abroad, you can have your cake and eat it, too; you have more free time and you can really enjoy it to explore where you’re living or to travel nearby. Since I am planning on using most of my weekends for travelling and want to be as real of a madrileña as I can, budgeting my time to balance work and fun is paramount.
Last week, I had two back-to-back tests and a sociology presentation that required fieldwork with young Spaniards. As stressed out as I was (making going to the gym just about impossible because I had so much work to do), I had the comfort of knowing that I could solely concentrate on studying for my two exams and finishing my project because all of my other assignments were done.
Y por fin (And finally): Take breaks
I confess that I am not always so keen on taking breaks because I often do not feel like I deserve them. But, the days where I do take more breaks are the ones that I find to be the most productive because I am not as consumed by pending assessments and the anticipation of grades. Being a commuter (from my homestay to school and back) has built in automatic buffer time because doing homework on the Metro is incredibly impractical. My breaks come in many froms – from trying to catch up on the news, to watching Chelsea Lately clips, to even dabbling into dubbed episodes of Desperate Housewives and Sex and the City (which here is called Sexo en Nueva York). Escpecially while abroad, study breaks can be as simple as walking outside. You never know where you might wander, what cafe you might stumble upon, which park you may find to read in, etc. Don’t be afraid to explore between cram sessions. Maybe you’ll even find a new favorite study spot!
¡Hasta la próxima!