Alrighty, it’s the night of September 23, meaning I have been out of the country just 3 weeks or so. Some days I feel like I’ve been gone forever, and then on others I think of what’s to come and feel as if the time is moving way to quickly…. ahhhhhhh Classes have officially begun.. ergo so has my routine mas or menos. I have classes everyday M-F, and the days get easier as the week goes by. My weekly schedule is as follows (I know, just what you wanted to read about today, right?...for mom.):
Lunes: 9:00 Introducción a la literatura 10:00 Civilización latinoamericana 11:00 Literatura el cuento hispanoamericano 12:00 Civilización española 2-4 Lunch/siesta 4:00 Fonética española
Martes: 9:00 Introducción a la literatura 11:00 Civilización latinoamericana 12:00 Civilización española 2-4 Lunch/siesta 4:00 Fonética española
Miércoles: 9:00 Introducción a la literatura 11:00 Civilización latinoamericana 2-4 Lunch/siesta 4:00 Fonética española
Jueves: 11:00 Literatura el cuento hispanoamericano 12:00 Civilización española 2-? Lunch/siesta
Viernes: 12:00 Literatura el cuento hispanoamericano 2-? Lunch/siesta
Looking at this, it’s not really an ideal schedule as far as remembering when classes are because everything is so scattered and slightly inconsistent, but that should come with time. (I think just typing that out helped.) All my profs are great, and each one is so different. I have 5 total (plus intensive which is donnne!)—my civ hispanoamericano, has got the sexy European/Spanish thing going on, which makes his class slightly more lively to say the least.. and there’s no ring on his finger.. this is a fact. Back to reality here, right? My other civ teacher is quite the opposite.. old, boring, and a very dry mouth. When he’s talking I have this urge to squirt him with water. He goes on tangents every 2 minutes. Tangents in English are bad enough cause I have a hard time figuring out important material.. so you can imagine it all in Spanish. Buah. The other teachers are great.. the lit classes are going to be hard, but good. In Fonética, my teacher is young really pretty like 80 percent of the people here, and just very peppy—good thing cause it makes us come out of our sleep walking after siesta. Classes are taught in Spanish, claro…and all held in Fonseca, which is about a 6 minute walk from my casa. Next week, they’re getting moved to different locations near Plaza Anaya and La Catédral en La Universidad. That walk is about 20 minutes or so on a nice day, so those afternoon ciestas on M-W may not work out so well... upside = mas ejercisio! speaking of… Tues-Fri are possible running days I think.
SOOOOOOOO….I have good news and not-so-good news.
Here’s the not-so-good news—I’ve said earlier how I was having weird battery trouble with my laptop. Well, just as WiFi status was looking up (we found a spot on the corner in front of the church outside our house, in La Plaza Carmelitas, where we can get it!) my laptop battery completely fries. It still works, but only when it’s plugged in. (now I cant use the WiFi at the corner—boo.) So now I’m trying to get in touch will JMU help desk, begging them to send me a new battery—doubtful—before this one does on me..
Good news!!!!!!!! Just purchased a (cheap) plane ticket to fly up and see Megan in Belgium!!! Not going for another two weeks. Granted I’ll only be there for Saturday and part of Sunday, but the trip there is going to be a doozy. It consists of lots of buses, trains, and obviously a plane. So essentially I’ll be doing more traveling than anything---Half of which will be in Belgium where they apparently speak Flemish. I’m not quite sure what that even sounds like… so this should be interesting.--- We are taking a day trip to Amsterdam, 30-40 minute train ride from Antwerp, and then doing the Antwerp tour on Sunday before I’m back to Spain. Sounds like too much in less than 48 hours? Yes… that would be because it is. I just keep telling myself that it’s OKAY!! You’ll get a complete synopsis of that trip as soon as I’m back. ALSO! Romania tickets have also been purchased!! (Can’t lie on this one—it’s all thanks to Dad.) So that will be in November. After that I won’t be doing any other big traveling, unless it’s around Spain… which I’m not complaining AT ALL! This country is beautiful!
So, my enlightenment.. which translates to.."Perri, you think too much." Sunday night we went to our first Spanish film. It was called Los Girasoles Ciegos, which means “The Blind Sunflowers.” The film was entirely in Spanish, obviously, and was about a family post WWII. It was your typical father and son get called to war with communists and facists but rebels and flees.. sort of. I really enjoyed it! I anticipated more war scenes and the militaristic perspective, but actually it was a very intimate movie and just the story of one family. I stayed awake and wide-eyed through it all. (That fact in itself is amazing because I will be the first to admit that I fall asleep in American films like this within 5 minutes, and therefore usually stick to chick flicks.) Anywho, before the movie began while everyone was getting popcorn—which was amazing by the way and is a reason in itself to go to the movies in Spain—I was looking around at all the upcoming films. There are tons that I want to see!
So I thought…… this is where the enlightenment comes in……that I am going to cut the alcohol spending (which I don’t do frequently anyway)… get in touch with my lamer side, and spend my free Thursday/ Friday nights at the movies. Here’s my reasoning…I’m in Spain studying abroad this one time. (Which for a lot of people translates to: party.) I’ve been here for three weeks, have spent about 40 Euros on going out on weekends, just to wake up and feel crummy the next day. I do enjoy dancing and I do usually have a good time, but bars get old fast to me and I didn’t come all the way here and work all summer to have weekends that I could have back at JMU (which are also not a huge habit for me) or anywhere else for that matter. I would rather spend it and learn something, practice my Spanish, really live here… and do that by going to al cine and seeing more movies like I did last night!! (Assuming that they will all be good, I hope!) Now, to some people that probably sounds like the most ridiculous thing and you can call me lame if you want to… (partially true.) but if you know me then this shouldn’t come as a huge shock. (closet dork.) And the best part of it all? I have an amazing roommate who has a very similar outlook on this as I do. Qué Suerte, No?
Now, I am not restricting all weekend social activities because that would be a little extreme, I’m just hate the thought of looking back on this trip, come December, knowing that I could have been 100euro richer to get something like a really cool piece of artwork or…. I don’t, 10 Spanish films and some popcorn? Yup, I like the sound of that already.
I’m currently at a library on campus… Danielle, Jackie and I just spent about an hour searching for. I asked about 6 other students where the biblioteca was and kept getting told to go in a certain direction and then ask someone else. Ah.. well, we figured out that there is a “library” in just about every building belonging to la Universidad. Not full libraries, just mini ones that have tables, a few books from that buildings department, and silencio signs….We still have yet to find the big one?
Boringish entry...lo siento... just needed something to do during free time... now it’s back to tarea :)
