Schedule is finally decided

Hurray, I have my final schedule!

Mon/Wed: 11am - 1pm Phonetics, 1pm - 3pm Grammar
Tue/Thur: 11am - 1pm Cinema, 1pm - 3pm Semantics
Fri: 8am - noon Seminar

Basically, I'm taking 3 linguistics classes, a class where I get to watch awesome movies which I can't understand, and a required seminar that will force me to get out of bed much earlier than I'd like. It could be worse. I know I'll have to wake up a lot earlier this summer when I start working on a regular intern schedule again. I really like the university classes I'm taking so far. I have some neat professors who I can understand, for the most part.

I'm a little nervous about evaluation for my classes, because in Spain my entire grade is based on a midterm and a final exam for each class. I haven't studied for a big test like that in at least a year. Last semester my finals consisted solely of papers and presentations. The semester before, all my tests were non-cumulative, lessening the stress built up before them. Finals week this semester will determine half of my grade in all of my classes, which might be a first for me. Luckily, I feel pretty good about my classes so far and think that I'll be able to handle finals by the time they come around.

This Thursday the Geranios group is going to see an Espectáculo Flamenco. I'm sure it will be fabulous. I don't have a lot else going on this week. Marit and I have started working out way through the Firefly series (which she has never seen), and our goal is to finish it by the time we leave Spain. With only 14 episodes, this should be a fairly easy goal to reach. We have about 9 hours to fit into the next 3 months. Piece of cake. Or rather ice cream, as is our new tradition. Spanish ice cream is delicious.

Pictures (these are all from Córdoba last weekend):
1) marketplace
2) more marketplace
3) the church tower
4) one of the cutest restaurant entryways I've ever seen
5) big van + narrow road = success? The driver actually made it out without a scratch.
6) pretty building that everyone wanted a picture with (have I mentioned that the architecture here is gorgeous?)
7) fountains outside the walls which surround the main part of the city

Valentines in Córdoba

Today we went to Córdoba. Just like in our old choir song. I had an unfortunate experience with the buses this morning, involving chasing down the wrong bus, getting off at the next stop, and chasing down the right bus at the original stop. But I eventually made it to the train station (different from the train station I went to the first week), and it was smooth sailing from there. We looked at an old mosque/church (it transitioned from Muslim to Christian during the Christian Reconquista of Muslim land). We walked around a lot through adorable little streets with semi-touristy shops. On the train ride home, I spent about an hour talking with Nuria (our teacher/tourguide) in Spanish about random subjects, which was very good language practice.

I don't have much more to say about Córdoba. My day got a lot more exciting after I got home, to be honest. Marc sent me a very sweet email and a mysterious file. Now I know it's not always the best idea to open mysterious files, but I trust Marc, so I opened it. Apparently about a week ago, Marc set off to compile pictures and drawings and letters from people at home (school) who miss me. He sent emails to some of my friends asking if they wanted to donate anything to the cause. So I now have a folder in my computer filled with photos, drawings, notes, and even a video from 11 friends from school. Yay! It made my day. And now I have 12 thank-you's I need to send out to people. I'm looking forward to it.

Pictures:
1) this is one of many fabulous recycling bins scattered throughout the city
2) an average Sevillan just lazing about on a Friday afternoon in the Centro
3) one of my favorite advertisements
4) a pair of nuns
5) one of the three stray dogs I saw begging for food in Carmona
6) gorgeous ivy-covered patio in Carmona
7) al Giraldilla (little Giralda, similar to la Giralda in Sevilla) in Carmona, taken from the top of a castle
8) a closer view of la Giraldilla
9) ancient tombs in Carmona

Current class status

Whew, okay. So I talked with my program director today about classes and here is what is happening. I register for all 5 classes. If Grammar gets dropped, I stay in the remaining 4. If Grammar stays, then I get to choose either Flamenco or Semantics and drop the remaining one. I'm supposed to find out on Monday if Grammar stays or goes.

We also set up our seminar time. I have seminar every Friday from 8am to 12pm. I'll be waking up very early on Fridays. I'm not looking forward to that very much.

I sort of have an internship. Thursdays I'm going to go with Mercedes (host mom) to the school she works at and talk with an 11-year-old girl for an hour. Her name is Miriam, she's Spanish, and I'm helping her practice her English. I met her yesterday and she's very sweet. I think I'm going to enjoy our future talks. It's a little difficult though, because that means my Thursday schedule is hectic, and then I have to go to bed early for Friday morning seminar. We'll see how this turns out.

Pictures:
These are all from Alcazar, a really cool old building in Sevilla next to la Catedral. The first picture is of me standing on a roof with a great view of la Catedral. Turns out our tour guide's sister lives right next to it, and the roof of her apartment has the perfect view.

First week done and still can't decide

So when we left off, I'd taken 6 out of my 7 try-out classes and narrowed down my decision to 5, pending the Spanish Food class. I stand by my decision to drop that one. It's all lecture, and completely oral, which makes it very hard to follow what's going on. It's also joint-taught. One of the professors has the Andalucian accent, which I'm getting used to, but he speaks very slowly and clearly. He also looks like a cross between Ross Gellar from Friends and Ted Mosby from How I met your Mother. The other rushes through every word as if she's trying to finish class before catching the last train home. This woman talks FAST. Even she kept stumbling over her words, I have no idea why she didn't slow down. I don't think I've ever heard anyone talk so fast. So that class is gone.

It's narrowed down to the following:
Mon/Wed: 11 - 1 Phonetics, 1 - 3 Grammar
Tues/Thurs: 9 - 11 Flamenco, 11 - 1 Cinema, 1 - 3 Semantics

I only need 4. I've registered for Phonetics, Grammar, and Cinema, and now have to choose between Flamenco and Semantics. I have no idea which one I want, at this point. The professor of the Flamenco class is a little bit less exciting than I'd like, but the material is interesting. The Semantics professor is much more engaging, but the material isn't as exciting. However, it would probably help me improve my Spanish more than the other class would. Even just looking at the times of the classes, it's between getting to sleep in versus getting to finish classes earlier. I really don't think I have a good enough feel for the classes and the professors to choose between them after just 2 classes. Apparently I need to choose by tomorrow, since Geranios needs my final schedule by then.

There's also a problem with the Grammar class. People are dropping it, and if we don't get at least 8 students registered, it gets dropped from the program. In that case, I'd no longer have to choose between the other 2, but I'd have to take both the Flamenco and Semantics classes which means I have a 6-hour block of straight classes twice a week. While that doesn't appeal to me, I think I could handle it. I've gotten used to bringing snacks to school, so I don't get too hungry during the 6 hours between breakfast and lunch.

Other than classes, things are going pretty well. I've had some very nice Skype conversations with people back home, and I just received a letter from my grandparents today. (Thanks, Grandparents!) I've got an ice cream/Firefly date with a friend tomorrow, and Saturday my group is going to Cordoba.

Pictures:
1) Me (right) with Marit (middle) and Megan (left) standing in front of a McDonald's AND Burger King. I think I've hung out with Marit the most while here, she's fabulous. Everybody send thanks and hugs to Karen for introducing me to her awesome cousin.
2) my new friend Brittney, whose path I happened to cross during University orientation
3) the two Italian girls who stayed with us for two weeks during orientation
4) Jamón in the supermercado. It comes as an entire leg, hoof attached. Mmm.
5) view of Sevilla from the top of La Giralda, the high tower in la Catedral
6) inside of la Catedral
7) two of the eight enourmous pipe organs in la Catedral
8) the gorgeous ceilings of la Catedral
9) la Catedral is really tall

Second day of school

Day 2 of classes has occurred. Well, at least part of it. I had Flamenco, Cinema, and Semantics this afternoon. I was very hungry by the time I got home. I still have to go back to school in an hour for the Food class to give it a chance before most likely dropping it.

Flamenco seems like a very interesting class, but hard as well. I talked to several people who'd heard the class was hard, and the professor did a lot of writing and had us take a bunch of notes. If I keep this class, I'll have to go to a couple of flamenco shows and write a paper about them. Sounds like fun, but the paper is worth 40% of my grade. No pressure. The professor ends the class right at the official end time (11am), which I don't like because the next class period starts right at 11am and Cinema is crowded and I like sitting near the front. I officially added Cinema, the professor is amazing and it looks like we'll be watching some very fun movies in the class. Semantics looks like another tough class, so I'm still not sure if I should go for that one or the flamenco one. I'll go to a couple more to get a better feel for them, but I have to choose by next week.

And since I'm trying to catch up with picture posting now that I know how to do it, here are some more pictures:
1) Lisa, one of the two dogs in my host home
2) La Catedral. That's Spanish for "the cathedral." It's about a 3-minute walk from my school.
3) The Geranios group with Nuria, one of our teachers, at a wine tour in Jerez, Spanish wine country.
4) me in front of a church in Jerez
5) Barrio Santa Cruz at night

First day of school

Today was my first day of classes! It went pretty well, I think. I went to Phonetics and Conversation, Grammar, and Advanced Flamenco Communication. I met some nice people in each class I had today, which made my first day at the university even more pleasant. I'm pretty sure I want to keep Phonetics and Grammar, I really liked both professors and they look like interesting classes. The Grammar prof talked about linguistics today, so I think he's going to incorporate some aspects of that into the class, which I think I'm going to like. I'll probably drop the Advanced Flamenco Communication. It looks like an amazing class and the professor is very engaging, but it's faster-paced and I have trouble understanding him. I've been an overachiever my whole life, and I think by this point I'm allowed to give myself a bit of a break. Especially during my semester abroad. Stressing out is for California.

I have 4 more classes coming up tomorrow: Flamenco Culture, Spanish Cinema, Semantics, and Spanish Food. I'm sure I'll keep Spanish Cinema. I'll probably end up dropping Spanish Food, because it's another advanced class and it looks like it's more about the history of food rather than practical aspects, like cooking. It's also at an inconvenient time of day, which doesn't make me want it more. So I've basically chosen 3 classes, and ruled out 2, and that leaves me with one more open spot. It's probably between Flamenco Culture and Semantics. I might end up with both of them if not enough people sign up for the Grammar class and it's canceled, but I really hope that doesn't happen.

Timewise, it looks like I'll have a schedule that'll look something like this:
Mon/Wed: 11am - 1pm Phonetics, 1pm - 3pm Grammar
Tues/Thurs: 9am - 11am Flamenco Culture, 11am - 1pm Spanish Cinema, 1pm - 3pm Semantics
(I'll have to choose either Flamenco or Semantics)
Fri: 9:30am - 12:30pm required Geranios program seminar

We'll also be adding another 3-hour chunk somewhere during the week for a seminar we'll hold every other week. Probably some afternoon. I'm going to be busy.

I also, with Marc's help, figured out how to post pictures! Here's a brief description in what is hopefully the correct order:
1) me at Itálica
2) the ancient stadium at Itálica.
3) mosaics at Itálica
4) me hand-feeding wild doves
5) gorgeous gardens next to the Plaza de España
6) the Geranios group with our tour guide at the Plaza de España
7) more Plaza de España

Exams, Spanish driving, and lunch

Today we had our last day of orientation. That means 3 written tests and an oral exam! I was very, very concerned about the exams today, but I think I actually did pretty well on all of them. Whew. I'm still glad it's over.

To celebrate, the Geranios staff took us out for a celebratory lunch. I rode in a teacher's car with a couple of other students to get to the restaurant. Cars in Spain are interesting. Most of the ones I've seen are pretty old, and they all manage to fit down these tiny narrow streets. The teacher driving the car said she'd never driven an automatic before. Parking the car was an adventure, Spaniards manage to parallel park in the tiniest of spots. Today I discovered their secret. In the U.S., we squeeze and dodge to avoid hitting the cars in front of and behind us when we parallel park. In Spain, it is very acceptable (and often required) to bump the car in front of and behind you when you're fitting yourself into a spot. Parking is limited, spaces are tiny, and cars give each other frequent love taps. But they aren't bad drivers. Or at least they don't drive cheaply. Apparently, taking driver's ed and a driving test costs 2,000 euros (roughly $2,565.79).

So we after several friendly bumps, we eventually made it to lunch. I figured it would be a nice lunch with tasty food. I was not expecting the 5-course meal they served us. Strawberry salad with feta cheese, some sort of crab cake with shrimp in it, pork wrapped around a mysterious but delicious filling, choice of meat or fish dish, and an incredible cream-filled pastry for dessert. Everything they served was delicious. And not kosher, obviously. Good thing the only Jew in this program doesn't keep kosher (which I hear is very hard to do here). By the way, I figured out how to post pictures!