Feeling smart, but representing the dumb

In my contemporary political institutions class (the one where I am the token americana), I spend a lot of time confused. I get about 85% of the concepts, about 75% of the vocab, and am really good at reading over peoples´shoulders, so usually I can pull it together (sort of) - it just takes a lot of work.

Today I found myself getting somewhat of a free pass - we were learning about regimenes presidenciales with the US as the key example. WIN! Here´s why studying to an absurd degree for the "American Presidency" last spring paid off! It secretly felt great to watch the Spanish kids struggling with names and concepts for once while I happily took notes and nodded along with the facts.

The class is taught from a different angle than the American politics and history classes I´ve taken all my life - the professor is British and the kids are Spanish, so you gotta figure the slant goes the other way - but the facts obviously don´t change. What´s always enlightening for me though is the question and answer period, when I get to see the political culture I view as the norm questioned.

The Kyoto Treaty was brought up to illustrate separation of powers (signing v ratifying treaties), and the class dissolved into whispers over the absurdity of this. I´ve already witnessed the same group rail on the United States´ handling of conservation and global warming. George Bush and the "War and Terror" were regarded with raised eyebrows and accusatory comments. Just this morning in my IR class, the somewhat volatile lecture hall (there are public fights daily) went nuts over the war in Iraq and American justifications. In all four of my classes (despite the fact that some of them seem to bear on completely unrelated topics), we´ve had long discussions about health care and the US´s failings.

I know I´m lucky to be studying abroad now, as opposed to two years ago - (One of our directors, Teresa, told me that toward the end of the Bush presidency, it got really bad for study abroad kids) - and the truth is that overall, the Spaniards feel pretty positively toward us.

I wouldn´t say Spanish people necessarily have the highest view of their own political system - I got lectured by a cab driver once about how awful the government is - but on the issues that matter to the kids in my class, they seem to be doing a better job.