STORES, STORES, and more STORES

 In Huelva, there are more mom and pop stores in walking distance for every department of need such as pharmacy, school supplies, cafes, electronics, knick knacks and so forth. definitely do not focus on the concept of a one stop shop as much as the U.S. Which means that finding a chain store with everything you need like Walmart or Target is nearly impossible unless you have a car whereas it is how it generally is in the States. Even the idea to have a car isn't like a rite of passage here in Spain, whereas in the States it is a must.

Pharmacy

Clock shop

Typical Bazar Store with Knickknacks

School Supplies Store

Here in order to get things that don't have its own store, you would be recommended to go to a Bazar store that carries the most mini departments of items such as costumes, home products, or even feminine hygiene. These places is recommended a lot to Erasmus Students because of events like costume parties or in need of low cost products. They are most one chain in a sense that is all over Huelva. It is very interesting to me the lack of desire to have a one stop department store where in the states, stores with the most  different low cost products are most visited by the general public. 

School System at UHU vs in the US:

Studying in Huelva gives me a great perspective on how the system works in Huelva. School semester starts about a month later than ones in the states. There are several opportunities for youngsters to go to English School with extra cost on top of their regular courses. Classes are usually 2 or 3 days with hours that follows one class after another. For instance, one class ends at 1030 and another would start at the same room at 1030 as well. But usually the professor and the students are relaxed and don't feel the need to be on time themselves or even with the lecture. Attendance is important, but not mandatory even with first year students, which is quite the contrary for students at my university where taking roll is part of the grade. The only time to actually physically check in was for practicals. The registration system is also different. Students in Huelva would be expected to check out classes for about a month before registering, but once you register it is pretty much a done deal.  In the states, exams normally consist of three regular exams over certain chapter, 1midterm, and 1 final and within the class, there is essays, homework, presentations and so forth. In Huelva, there is lecture all semester with practicals  within the class and usually one exam in the end consisting of 3-5 questions with two points a question with ultimate goal of getting a 10, which is an A or for some presentations. In America, there is some pressure to keep up, but with many opportunities to pass. In Huelva, there is almost no pressure until exam time. Then at this time it is pretty much a flip of a coin with a lot of cramming.  However, there  are some classes that are an exception to this exam frenzy.