Welcome to Hogwarts

So I rolled into Uni and the first thing they said to me was 'You're a wizard Crissy' and with a swish of their traje (Harry Potter style uniform), they disappeared into the blue wall tiles. Well it would be pretty sweet if it happened, and even if it did I'd be sworn to wizardy secrecy, so I couldn't tell you anyway. Many students here swear that Coimbra was the inspiration for JK Rowlings amazing best seller, and when I first walked through the court yards and halls stacked high with shelf upon shelf of yellowy books, I believe them. Coimbra is the most beautiful place to study. I look forward to the walk in every morning, even if it means facing the dreaded 'monumentais' (stairs) because I know what is waiting at the top of the hill. It's pure amazing. If a little disorientating, but this is coming from me (remember the Pingo Doce incident?).

My faculty (Letras) is said to be the oldest of all the buildings and is packed with paintings, books and classrooms. Technology in the classrooms is more than a little outdated, but I love it this way. Blackboards in every classroom makes me wanna grab some chalk and get creative, a lack of working projectors means we have to listen and use our imaginations and wooden desks, with fold down wooden seats and a place to stash your bag, are pretty welcomed in the 34º heat.

There is one computer room with 20 computers in it. A sure outrage in Southampton, but with a near 360 degree of the city I don't see anyone complaining as I take time out to write this blog. Coimbra is pretty dreamy and if you do happen to chose it for your year abroad I don't think you will be disappointed with the place. Even the statues look happy to be here, even though they have no choice.

As for the lesson content, the pace here is a lot slower than in England, which means you don't have as much homework as you would in  England. SCORE. Also they have different methods of assessment which include Continued, Mixed and Final. I have opted for continued assessment where you must attend 75% of classes which normally counts towards your grade along with bits and bobs of homework, presentations and maybe an essay or an in class test. You need 50% to pass. If you fail this however, then you go straight to final examination which is an exam in January where you generally only need 40% to pass. Mixed, is somewhere in between the 2, which makes no sense to me because surely it means the most amount of work?! The system for grading students here is based on ECTs, and most units are about 5 ECT's. Check with your University how many you will need to take to pass the year and then you will be able to sort your timetable. Students at Southampton need to take 45 ECTs (in 2011) but only pass about half the units. I'm not gonna make that an excuse to skip classes or fail for the sake of it though. Seems like a waste of my time.

One really good system they have here which I think should be adopted at my Uni, unless online access to core texts becomes available, is photocopying centers, where only the pages of exercises you need are copied to save on students spending 4 times as much on the book. It's pretty efficient, but of course you need to get a ticket and wait your turn like everywhere else around here. 

The teachers here are also very friendly and willing to help and I would recommend the Portuguese for ERASMUS students course that they run here. It's slow paced but great for solidifying grammar and getting to know other ERASMUS students in the same situation as you.