Trip to Concha beach.

Pose and View of North Atlantic Ocean

Concha is the Spanish term which means shell. They bay of North Atlantic Ocean, Concha beach is the so called because of its shape. It is famous urban beach in Europe. It is located near San Sebastain, Basque country, Spain.

Source:http://www.sansebastianturismo.com/en/to-do/let-s-go-to-the-beach

We made trip to San Sebastain on the day when Traditional Traineras Final was held. Traineres is a traditional boat that was used to move catch fish from big ship. It has now become like a sport and it has its own league.

                           

Traineras.

We start our journey from Mondragon to San Sebastian. From Mondragon its north-east direction and it take one hour drive by bus.

We had enjoyable trip visiting bay of North Atlantic Ocean (Concha beach) and even attain party that day.

On the way to party.

View of party.

My roommate in Spain.

Loneliness can be of emotional loneliness and physical loneliness. Physical loneliness can be cured if we have friends and even an emotional loneliness will cure to some extent. My loneliness in Spain was cure after I got friends.

Mr. Patrik

Now, I will introduce my new friends that I got after reaching Spain. They aren’t Spanish. They are from different country like me and here as an international student. They are my roommate.  

We are of four in flat. Two from Italy, they are Italian and one from Slovakia, he is Slovakian. Let me first introduce Slovakian. He is none other than a good looking guy known by name Patrik Vepr Filipek. He is here for exchange program. He is going to study Master in Mechanical Engineering. To talk about him. I just say he is good. He has a sense of friendliness and of course sociability. I just love his personality.

Mr.Pierpaolo Loddo

My second friend who is going to be my roommate is Pierpaolo Loddo. He is from Italy, 2010 world cup champion country. He is also the exchange program student going to study Master in Mechanical Engineering. Pierpaolo is a nice guy who always search a solution to help other. In short he is supportive and friendliness.

Mr.Gain Nicola

Gain Nicola Carboni is the third friend who is going to be my roommate. He is Italian. He let three of us to laugh frequently. He scare us sometime by shouting. But remember he is good guy possess friendliness. All my roommate are friendliness. I am happy to be their friend and have them as my friends.

I believe in cycle of karma and we are together here because of previous fate. Thank you god for three precious friends.  

Dinner time 

Trying to Pose

My view on Spain.

   

View of Arrasate Mondragon.

Part of Mondragon

             

Scenario of the place is so beautiful and fascinating. “Clean and understanding place” is words I am going to describe.

Clean place because it is clean with proper litterbin (different bin for different waste) being placed at suitable place. I can find no litter on the ground. People are civilized here. They reached their litter to litterbin.  

Understanding place because people are comprehensible to each other. It was amazing to witness people following traffic rule strictly. Walker on the road cross only through zebra crossing even when no vehicles is moving. On the other hand driver respect zebra crossing. They wait at zebra crossing if people target to cross zebra from the distance.

You may be alone here physically but you are never alone mentally. No sooner than we ask about something, they try to response us with the answer. If people speak English then I guarantee you, Spain is your home.

The real happiness is with people of Spain. Irrespective of all age, they have the time to gather at rest place in the city. Come weekend, the party come along with. And very interesting night is being observed. We will not witness the chaos and disorder make out of drink.

I am happy here, Spain

Teaching and Learning Environment is Different

The teaching and learning environment in a foreign country, Mondragon University, Spain, is completely different from that in my country, Bhutan. I cannot say which one is better—the practice adopted in Bhutan or the practice adopted in Spain.

Learning takes place here because there is constant communication between tutors and students. Classes are friendly, and students can ask any question without hesitation. One interesting thing I have noticed is that students use personal computers (PCs) and utilize them very effectively. They use search engines like Google to find answers to questions. Tutors do not even come around to check whether students are using the PCs effectively—they trust their students very much.

In comparison, in Bhutan, there is little interaction between students and tutors. Students often hesitate to communicate with tutors, and the gap between students and tutors still exists. If students were given a chance to use PCs in a classroom with Wi-Fi available, I am sure many would misuse the platform (for example, Facebook). I admit that I even misused the platform here at Mondragon University, Spain.

Formality in the Classroom

In Bhutan, students maintain good decorum with tutors. They know how to respond to tutors respectfully.

In Spain, however, decorum is different. We can address our tutors by their first names, and the relationship is much less formal. Students show less outward respect toward tutors, at least in the way Bhutanese students do.

During my stay in Spain, I will learn about their culture and, if possible, adopt the best practices in our country.

Finally, a question to the reader: Which culture is better?

My Nostalgia in Spain.

                            

Pose near university

Mondragon University.

It was 16:00 hours when I arrived in Spain (Mondragon University, MU) on 1st September. Miss Adrune, the international coordinator of the Interweave Project, guided me to reach my residence. There were two female students from MU who took me to my room and explained everything available in it: how to use the items in the room, where the toilet and bathroom were, where the sitting area was, and how to cook, all with their limited English.

I was alone in the room, as my three roommates—one from Slovakia and two from Italy—were yet to arrive on 3rd and 4th September, respectively. My friends from Bhutan and Nepal were living in different residences. The deepest sorrow of being alone in Spain, after traveling all the way from Asia (Bhutan), was something I could only describe as “My Nostalgia in Spain.” Tension after tension kept flowing nonstop. The language I speak was not understood by them, and the language they spoke was incomprehensible to me, creating a significant language barrier. The food they ate felt tasteless to me, and the food I was used to could not be found here. My nostalgia in Spain became even more intense as I deeply missed my loving parents. No matter how kind the people of Spain were or how hospitable they showed themselves to me, it could not replace the love and care my parents give me.

Although my mind was overwhelmed by “my nostalgia of Spain,” I still had deep faith in God Almighty, my only root teacher (Tsa-Wai-Lam), and gratitude toward my parents. I continued to follow my daily routine of praying in the morning and evening before bed.

To ease my nostalgia, I decided to visit my friends’ residences, where Keshav from Nepal and Anup Thapa, my friend from Bhutan, were staying. They were lucky enough to have a Spanish roommate named Joseba, who is pursuing a Master’s in Electrical Engineering. He helped us a lot. Thank you, Joseba—you are the first Spanish friend I added to my friend list after arriving here.

My only and unique brother, Gom Dorji.

Gom Droji and Jigme Zangpo

We Are Brothers by Fate

We are brothers by fate, and I am happy to be his brother. Growing up in the same family, I have many memories that have comforted my lonely mind whenever I think of them. Unlike other brothers who are not always together, we have always stayed close—until I left for Spain for the exchange program scholarship.

We studied in the same pre-primary school in our village. In 2003, I separated from my brother and went to Lauri Primary School to complete my Class Six. In 2004, while he was still in Class Six in the village, I was in Minjiwoong Lower Secondary School, studying in Class Seven. We were together again in 2005 at Minjiwoong School, where we even shared the same bed. Unfortunately, I fell ill in 2005 and could not attend the final exams. But instead of feeling unhappy in 2006 for missing a year, I was happy to study together with my brother. From that point onward, we were always in the same grade.

At Nanglam Middle Secondary School, we were in the same class (IX A) and shared the same bed. We completed Class X peacefully in 2008, in the same class and same bed.

The results of the Bhutan Certificate of Secondary Education (BCSE, Class X) were declared in February 2009. We both qualified for Class 11 and were placed in Nangkor Higher Secondary School. He was in 11 Science B, and I was in 11 Science A, but we shared the same room. We completed our +2 studies at Nangkor in 2010.

The Bhutan Higher Secondary Education Certificate was declared at the end of January 2011. We both joined College of Science and Technology to become Engineer. 

Looking back at where we are today and where we came from, we are proud of our hard work and determination. Three years of college have gone by, and the days and nights we spent together in the same room for six semesters were truly wonderful. You obeyed me as I was your brother, but brother, I am sorry that I could not obey you as much as you did. That is my only lingering regret when we are no longer together. I now realize the value of respect and obedience. Once again, I am sorry, my dear brother Gom Dorji. Please forgive me for being impolite sometimes. I am happy because you always understood my nature.

Brother, I shall always strive to keep our bond of brotherhood strong, now and forever. I have great expectations from you that you will unite our family as a family should be.

Now that you are in your final year, my hope and deepest prayer are that you always remain true to yourself, stay away from negative friends, and continue to care for our precious parents.

Your brother will be in Spain for 10 months, missing you all.

With affection,
Jigme Zangpo

My visa for Spain has been approved.

Finally, I received my Spain visa after almost a month since submitting my documents. Thank you to everyone who helped me obtain the visa. Now everything is ready, and I am prepared to leave for Spain.

On 1st September 2014, I will be traveling to Spain via Brussels, the capital of Belgium.