by Clarence on February 8th, 2009
It’s my pleasure to say something about my memorable experience in Granada. I spent my first semester of CIMET program from September 2008 to January 2009 in Spain and left for St-Etienne, France on 23rd January, 2009. Recalling the last five months in Spain, I would say this is a truly rewarding experience, especially for a 22-year-old young man, it enables me to see the world and grow up a lot.
Study in Granada University
Normally, we had our classes in the optics department of the science faculty or the study building behind it. The facilities in the department are comparatively advanced and there is a computer lab uniquely provided for the CIMET students. The most joyful thing of studying in the department is that you are able to study with some top researchers in the area of Color Science and Color Imaging, such as Prof. Javier Romero and Prof Manuel Malgosa, etc. I highly suggest that the students who are interested in optics and photonics to spend at least one semester here, and you will be given an opportunity to cultivate some research skills with these professors.
Language and Culture
In Granada, we had an 80-hour intensive course on Spanish, but more importantly, you are now living in Spain which enables you to practice your Spanish every day! The local people here in Granada are quite open and talkative, but they don’t speak English at all! Therefore if possible, please try to pick up some simple Spanish before coming here; otherwise you will turn to be dumb in first few weeks! Unlike Chinese or English who I have been familiar with, Spanish people are very open and speak out their feeling very directly. Some small culture shocks are unavoidable at first, but after you made through the changes, you will realize the beauty of the Spanish life.
There are many activities and holidays going on during the year. Probably you may know about bull fighting and flamenco in Spanish. Yes, these activities are very popular in Spain, but besides that, enjoying some football matches in the bar and watching the holiday parade celebrating Columbus’s voyage have become another way of experiencing the Spanish culture.
Traveling
Definitely, I will never miss out the backpack traveling in this country. We traveled to Almuñecar during a color imaging workshop and Madrid while applying for the French visa. Also, we went to Sevilla during the Christmas break and of course the completely city exploration in Granada. Several hard evidence are listed below (Please note, though we are good image processing learners, I have not done anything on these photos :)).
Madrid trip
en Sevilla
Granada city
After all, the Spanish living is worthwhile memorizing for my whole life. I feel really gratitude to have a chance to study in Granada and be able to touch the Spanish world. To finish this blog, I would love to quote some of the words in my thank-you letter to the professors, “The teaching staff here are the nicest I have been studied with. I have gained great knowledge throughout this semester. Also, your motivation of improving the quality of this master inspires me to try my best to improve my study method. Probably you may know, I am so far the youngest member in the CIMET family and this Spanish study experience is definitely beneficial for my future life in the long run. It is a shame that I only stayed here for less than 6 months, but I have already had many memorable moments here in Granada. At last, I want to thank you again for sharing the precious time with me, and hope Granada will be one of the best hosting universities in the future.”
