exams

From One Extreme to the Other

/ Benjamin Barnabas / Leave a comment

Five months down the line and I have a destination at last! My gamble with the environment preference paid off after all and I’ve been allocated to a post in EXTREMADURA. It looks even more impressive in capitals. Extremadura, though! Steppe! Ham! Cork oaks! Cortes! Roman ruins! Bustards! And best of all, I haven’t even the slightest clue what it’ll look like in the flesh, since I’ve never even been there! That’s the major draw, of course. As much as I love Andalucia, living there once upon a time means I’ve seen most of it already. Extremadura is a blank slate. And if it all gets too much, then the dear old south is just a stone’s throw away – figuratively speaking. So much is within a stone’s throw from Extremadura, come to think of it. Doñana’s just over the Sierra de Aracena to the south, Toledo’s only a short distance up the Tajo and Portugal’s practically on the doorstep. So it’s safe to say I’m pretty chuffed with my placement! Whether I’m based in Badajoz or Cáceres remains to be seen, but unlike the last time, I think I’ll be more than satisfied with the information I have for some time now. Plenty of reading to do! Not too much, mind – wouldn’t want to spoil the adventure – but enough to get an idea. Cela’s La Familia de Pascual Duarte seems like a good place to start. Still… Extremadura! Can’t even begin to contain my excitement. I’ll be lesson planning before I’ve even got to Jordan if I’m not careful. September can’t come fast enough!

Latest essay came back a measly 66%… not my finest hour. Almost entirely to be blame was my choice of an opening line: ‘the colonial claws that raked the nineteenth century world left few countries unscathed.’ Make of that what you will. I hardly need to tell you that’s it’s not academic language. My marker did, though. Like I said, there’s no escaping the rule of three. Two got under the wire, the third did not. That’s natural. Especially since that last was written at around four in the morning. If that doesn’t lend a shred of credibility to that bat-out-of-hell opening statement, my Burtonesque verbosity just might (I promise I’ll keep the cultural references to a minimum in future). All things considered, 66% is probably a lot more than it’s worth. I’d tell myself to start earlier next time. But then, I tell myself that every time… So now Extremadura’s on the cards, it’s time to obsess over the place whilst I still have a couple of weeks to think in Spanish before I’m whisked off to the Middle East! Here’s a vista extremeña to whet your appetite for the time being. Hasta pronto! BB x

Fingers Crossed

/ Benjamin Barnabas / 1 Comment
Pillars in the Court of Lions, Alhambra, Granada, Spain (2011)

Pillars in the Court of Lions, Alhambra, Granada, Spain (2011)

Today is D-Day. Destination Day, that is. In a matter of hours (hopefully) I’ll have a province, one from either Andalucía, Extremadura or Cantabria, three equally stark, inspiring and beautiful regions of the Iberian peninsula. The BC asks you to specify which one you’d prefer and I wasted no time in putting Andalucía right at the top of the list, but I ranked ‘environment’, another of their categories, higher up the list, so it’s still anyone’s guess where I’m headed. In light of that, I’ll see if I can’t lay down my reasons for choosing each one. When I applied for university, I just went straight for Durham – twice – and filled the other four spaces with names I plucked out of the air. Not this time.

Cantabria

I’ve been to Cantabria twice: once on a school trip, and the second as the landing stage of my solo adventure across Spain back in ’13. Spain’s north coast is unquestionably beautiful, in a manner so very far-removed from the magic of the south. The north smacks more of Ireland, only a wilder, more impressive Ireland, where the people speak Spanish. Oh, and there are still a few bears left in the mountains – not that you’d be likely to see them. The jagged spine of the Picos de Europa rivals the Alps in magnificence – especially Picu Urriellu – in sunshine or in rain. Though speaking from experience, Cantabrian rain is not something to be trifled with. When it rains, it doesn’t just pour, it buckets it down in Biblical fashion. One of my most enduring memories of Cantabria is of sitting under the shelter of a covered well wearing several layers of plastic bags, feeling soaked to the skin and utterly miserable. But it was also a warm and friendly place and the food – especially the quesada pasiega but also the region’s black pudding, morcilla – was to-die-for. That and I feel like pulling out early because of the flood warnings has left the area ‘unfinished’ in my books. I’ll be going back someday, for sure.

Extremadura

Extremadura, alongside Galicia, La Rioja and Valencia, is one of the few regions I haven’t yet had the pleasure to visit. Perhaps that’s because it’s so far off the beaten track for most excursions that you’d be better off based somewhere like Andalucía to have a wide range within driving distance. But there’s no two ways about it: Extremadura is a hidden gem. Often overlooked in favour of its southern neighbour, it’s a vast stretch of rolling steppe, craggy river valleys and endless cork oak forests flooded with flowers in the spring. It’s about as rustic as you can get it, if you know where to go. Of course, it’s also about as unforgiving as the plains of La Mancha in high summer, and it has a reputation – Cortes and Pizarro were born here – but if you can look past that, you’ll understand why I’m almost hoping that my gamble with valuing environment over region will have the BC place me here. I’ve criss-crossed most of Andalucía already. Extremadura is still vast, unexplored and full of adventure.

Andalucía

Three people have told me now that if I should apply to Andalucía via the BC, I should be careful not to wind up in Cadiz, because of the miserable weather, the isolation and the impenetrable accent. Trouble is, I can’t help my heart. I grew up in Cadiz. The accent I can vouch for – it’s Bwindi-level impenetrable – but as far as isolation and miserable weather is concerned, that’s not the Andalucía I know and love. Far from it. If you’ll forgive me an almighty head-over-heels moment, Andalucía is and always has been the greatest love of my life. Granada and its Moorish echoes to the east. Cordoba’s flowerpot streets and the magnificence of the Gran Mezquita to the north. The godforsaken terrain of El Torcal and the Sierra de Grazalema to the south. And last but not least, the sweeping marshlands of Doñana to the west. Not to mention the enduring horse culture, flamenco, the vulture-filled blue skies and, of course, the dark-eyed beauty of the people. Andalucía has everything. Honestly, if it weren’t for Andalucía, I might have been braver and gone for a BC post in South America. But the way I see it, turning down a chance to spend another eight months in my old homeland would be one of the greatest mistakes I could make. That’s why Andalucía tops the list.

But we’ll see how things pan out, shall we? I’d better head on down to Elvet Riverside to pick up that last Arabic essay. Slightly dreading the results, since it was another late night work, my third this year, and my first genuine all-nighter. And three is, and always has been, a dangerous number. I’ll get back to you later! BB x

Back to the Drawing Board

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LC_Areusa

The waiting game continues. The last language exam is around the corner and then it’s two essay-based exams and then I’m done on the academic front – for the time being – and it’s headlong into three weeks straight of rehearsals, gigs and parties. Isn’t that what summer’s for? As I explained earlier, there’s quite a bit of admin to get through, and I’ve already set out on that, but I can’t tackle the two most pressing until I have a vague idea exactly where it is I’ll be spending the bulk of my year abroad. So roll on Friday! I’m kind of past caring where the British Council send me now, I’m sure it’ll be an enriching experience wherever it is. How’s that for prefabricated merchandising?

So today, tired of revising Arabic grammar, I shut al-Kitaab for the first time in days, shoved it down the side of the sofa and turned my attention back to La Celestina, one of the texts I’m supposed to be writing about in next week’s exam. I’d quite forgotten how good it is. More than that; by academic standards, it’s praiseworthy to say the least, but even as regular books go, it’s really quite amusing. A lot of the gags and stitch-ups are as true-to-life today as they were then. The birth of satire, or something like that. If I can spin a yarn like that in the exam I should be alright. We’ll see. Long ways to go, really – we’re talking next Friday. When that’s over, I’ll be finished, so it ought to be at the bottom of my priorities. But it’s a heck-of-a-lot easier to revise texts because it means I can doodle and muse to my heart’s content and still call it revision. Brilliant. So I thought I’d share with you one of my revision doodles. Featured are Areusa and Elicia, two subsidiary characters from the tale. Yes, they’re quite clearly based on Margaret from the latest Poldark series. So judge me. I’m hooked. It’s a bloody good job the series ended the weekend before my exams began, or I’d really have been doomed. Small mercies! x

The Great Admin Flood

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We’re getting to that transitional stage of the Master Plan when it suddenly all gets real. Not the British Council side, of course – details, as usual, are and continue to be pending, but it’s the Arabic side that’s beginning to take off, so to speak. By the end of May, I’m supposed to have completely the necessary admin for and secured:

  • Student Finance for 2015/16
  • Erasmus
  • Form No.6 for the MLAC Department
  • A study placement at an Arabic language institute in Amman, Jordan
  • Flights for said study placement
  • Insurance for said study placement (HAH)
  • Rail ticket home to catch flight to said study placement

All before the month is out. And somewhere in there I’ve still got four exams to go, all revision-heavy and – guess what? – all right down to the wire. The afternoon of the 29th, to be precise. The second the British Council gives me my province, I’ll tackle the lot in one afternoon flat, I reckon. After some kind of tribal rain dance in celebration, welcoming that information like rain at the end of this great drought of ignorance. Too metaphorical? Of course it is. But a great deal less over-the-top than my comparison of the Berlin Wall to a Great-Crested Grebe’s nest in yesterday’s Spanish exam. Yes. Don’t even ask. I simply couldn’t resist using that wonderful word somormujo in an exam. I’ve been waiting for the chance and I took it. I just hope the examiner on the other hand is lenient enough to let it slide. Or has a sense of humour. That’d be preferable. Anonymous codes aside, by the time anybody reaches the letter ‘Y’, they must be getting pretty tired of reading essays, by my (wistful/skewed) logic. Fingers crossed! It’s one thing having a sackful of random, wacky vocab to pull out at the opportune moment, but it’s quite another to find somewhere wholly relevant. But I’m sure you don’t need telling that. That’s more of a strike across the hand for me. Maybe I’ll look back on this in a couple of years and laugh. Or, more likely still, in a couple of weeks, with grades in hand, and berate my foolishness. EIther or.

Major digression. What I was actually intending to write about was my predictions for Jordan. So I was revising Arabic grammar this afternoon at the Student Union building which lapsed into a Jordan planning sesh after a couple of hours of the jussive and the imperative. A couple of hours too many. Two things I found: that an ISIC card should (theoretically) get you a student discount of around 45-60% off flights to Jordan (which, when you consider the £200 average price, is a major deal-breaker), and that the Jerash Music Festival will be taking place during our stay. I’m normally unlucky with that kind of thing, missing out on the big religious festivals or musical events by a couple of weeks when I’m on my travels, but this time I’ve struck it lucky. So although it’ll be way too hot to do some of the things I’d planned on doing – like desert treks, for example – where there’s a will, there’s a way. Jordan is going to be expensive, which is a major downer, especially when you compare it to Morocco, which is where I’d planned on going. Not only did Fes grow on me when I stayed there over the Easter, but when you compare the flight rates to those of Amman – £20 to £240 – you almost want to tear up the carpet in frustration. I did, anyway. Almost.

Check on me later when I’m in a more stable state of mind. This evening had me finally get around to fixing the wobbly wheely chair with super glue, which naturally had a little get onto my hands which then required a mad dash to the kitchen and boiling water. Not a stable state of mind. I’ll let you know when the BC gives me a province, okay? Hasta pronto x

Green Light

/ Benjamin Barnabas / 3 Comments

Six months and six days after sending off my forms, the British Council have finally given me the go-ahead I’ve been waiting for:

‘I am pleased to inform you that you have passed the eligibility and quality assessment stage for applications to Spain and that we will now be proposing your application for a post.’

Hallelujah. Three nail-biting hours spent sitting in the armchair in the living room with a neglected Persian verb table lying open next to me and we have news! And good news, too. They go on to reiterate that it’s not a guaranteed post, just as they have in every email they’ve sent yet, and even though there’s still nothing on a location – nor will there be until the end of the month – it’s still made my day. Next year is now that little bit more certain. And how’s that for an ego boost! Expect a dearth of sarcastic posts for a time. I blame the latent advent of Hip-Hop into my music taste. And myself, of course. Heck, no, not today. I’ll be having none of this self-critical stuff today. Nuh-uh. Today’s about victory. I’m going back. Where exactly is anybody’s guess, but that’s not what matters. I’m going back. A whole eight months’ work in Spain, speaking Spanish, teaching English and freshly-squeezed orange juice. Did somebody say churros? Oh yeah! I’m not going to let an early morning countryside sortie hold me back this time. Not with eight months in the seat!

Of course, it’s all admin from here on up. Admin and exams. So much subtle admin in the wings that I’m a little worried I might overlook one or two of the little tasks. Best to keep your head screwed on for the time being. Anyway, I’d better get back to the Persian revision for the time being, I think. Priority number one for the next eighteen hours!

Khoda hafiz, folks x

Notorious ASMR

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First exam out of the way. One down, eight to go. Ka-pow. Yeah, so I made a couple of the usual mistakes. Concordancia, como siempre. Seems to go out the window in exam conditions. That and sistema/problema/idioma switching. Linguist problems. The kind of thing you don’t really worry too much about in the real world but that drags you down in an oral. Ah well. I know how I’d go about marking myself and that’s good enough for the time being. Now, at least, I can put Spanish behind me temporarily and tackle Arabic head on, before moving on to Persian. One language at a time, bud. Don’t want to go tripping over false friends – and I thought that cutting French would be the end of that. So much for sweet dreams.

ASMR in my headphones as usual. It’s not strictly a Monday night thing, but it sure is dead calming after an exam. It wasn’t a particularly stressful one, granted – Archie said his was a train-wreck, so I should be grateful, I suppose – but it’s never a bad time to zone out for a bit. Say what you want, it’s pretty calming stuff. When the explosion in popularity began is anyone’s guess, I just started trucking along with it before exams this time last year when it turned out to be just what I was looking for in the chaotic world that is an Arts degree (we have to juggle a heck of a lot, in all seriousness). It’s not a completely spaced-out evening. I’ve got my Arabic oral questions open in one tab and Biggie Smalls’ Get Money open in another. Suddenly got into that kind of thing, and that’s a little harder to explain. Funk will always hold the pole position, closely followed by Afrobeat of course, but hip-hop comes a close third. The things you discover when you turn your iPod off for a month…! I recommend it. It’s why I never take my iPod travelling with me. You see so much more when you’re not plugged in. Try it. We’re not half as dependent on such trinkets as we think we are.

Tongue-Tied

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The exams loom closer by the day. Make that the hour, as it’s twenty-four hours exactly until my first exam is up. Standard oral exam fare: two videos, two presentations and a whole host of questions on global issues that range from predictable to out-of-the-midnight-blue. I gave both the videos a run-through this afternoon after the usual Saturday morning Northern Lights rehearsal at Mary’s, with the newbies in tow, and an audition with Gospel Choir for Grey Day. If we get through, that’s just one more date to add to the list. Heck, by comparison, exam season looks a heck of a lot less stressful than the three weeks that follow it. Rehearsal after rehearsal after rehearsal. Not to mention a gig every three days or so. Or more. And that’s just the music side – doubtless there’ll be other things to do. Like, say, going for a night out without any reason in particular. I never thought I’d actually propose that as an option, but I suppose I should face the facts: clubbing in Durham, kitsch as it is, is still pretty fun. And I don’t suppose I’ll be getting much nightlife in Amman – or Spain, if they’ll have me. That’s ok – I prefer wildlife over nightlife anyday – but the total absence of it may be a bit odd. You know, like the way you miss something the minute it’s gone, even if you never really gave it much thought; like a book you never got around to reading, or a friend who left the country. Yeah…. on that basis, I think I probably should be making the most of it whilst I still can. A language degree being what it is, a large number of the people I see around the place will be gone by the time I get back – or not, since I tend to hang around in the company of fellow linguists anyway.

On that note, I broke an age-old unwritten rule the other day and actually got talking to a bunch of first-year Arabists. It arose from an educated guess from across the DSU cafe. One group of students were sat around a table reading from sheets, all of them looking somewhere on the scale between fear and hysterics. Between that, and the unmistakeable al-Kitaab on the desk, it was pretty obvious they were Arabists. So I went over to say hi and to clear up any doubts about the upcoming oral exam and to help insofar as I could.

There seems to be this unsaid rule that first and second year linguists don’t interact. The reason is fairly understandable. Unlike any other degree where department mingling might be an easy way to make new friends, with a languages degree you’re saddled with the knowledge that the year abroad spoils any and all attempts to get to know the first years. Especially first year linguists, since, like you, they’ll be taking a year abroad as well – the one following yours. So whereas you might come back to find first-year English or History students still kicking around, any linguists of their year will be out there in the wide beyond doing what you just did. And before they get back, you’ll have graduated and moved on. Case closed. I guess that’s why there’s not much mingling; there’s no future in it. The college parents system tries to rectify that to some extent by pairing first years with second-year students in their field in their college, but I’ve only seen it function properly with one or two cases. Which is a crying shame, because you’d have thought that linguists would appreciate an eye-in-the-sky, as it were, more than any other degree. But then, I can’t really talk. I’m not exactly a regular at the Arabic Café run by the fourth years because I find it a little intimidating. Hypocrite alert. It’s funny, that. Speaking Arabic’s not a problem abroad, but put me in a situation where I’m supposed to engage an Arab or a Spaniard in conversation in the UK and it’s suddenly a great deal harder. I wonder why that is?

Back to the grindstone – got to try to enthuse about Hispano-American language policy and domestic equality in Latin America… Oh summer, you can’t come fast enough!

Looking Ahead

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Blimey, these Arabic listening past papers are a mixed bag and a half. Learning the vocab in advance isn’t the problem, it’s the random new words they throw in for good measure. The case marking doesn’t help either, but at least we don’t have to do that ourselves. MSA is supposed to be clear and easy to understand, but sometimes I swear it was easier to get by in Morocco. None of this case-marking chaos in the real world. Yes, I am writing this post in the last five minutes of an Arabic lab session. It kind of petered out towards the end. Everybody seems to be in the same boat as far as total disorganisation is concerned. Us British Council hopefuls aren’t the only ones in the dark. The entire Arabic portion of the year abroad is still very much up in the air. Will it be Jordan? Will it be Lebanon? Or will it be Morocco? Cause it sure as hell won’t be anywhere else, since those are our only options. Oh, to have been born a few years earlier and then to have had the chance to go to Syria or Egypt…! Puts everything in perspective, that. I mean, Syria…! As a viable year abroad option! Nobody would even dream of it nowadays. And to think it was at the top of my list when I first applied to study Arabic three years ago. So much for that. Thanks Assad. Thanks IS. Thanks to everyone else on the CIA hit list.

The bigger picture, kid, think of the bigger picture. I suppose Jordan won’t be so bad. It’s just the price hike that bothers me and that’s just me being petty, right? Were I going to the American Language Institute in Fes (ALIF) and not Qasid, hopping back and forth between Spain and Morocco would be easy as anything – not to mention adventurous, since it would entail docking at either Tangier or the Spanish enclaves and then traversing the Rif to get to Fes. How’s that for commuting? As it stands, it looks like Amman is the only viable option, and it’s not so easy to get to and from Spain – let alone the UK – from Jordan at the snap of a wrist. Well, I’ll be playing it by ear for a little longer, I think. These first few posts have quite a sarky, waspish tone to them that I don’t like. That’s probably lingering BC stress and pre-exam tension setting in. The sun, however, is shining brighter than ever. The long British heatwave known as ‘summer’ is upon us. Things can only go up from here, right?