February 09, 2010

Duh

I was talking to my Mom yesterday via Skype and she mentioned how I never talk about maybe one of the most important aspects of this trip - my classes! They're the whole reason I came to Spain to pursue a Spanish minor!

I have classes 4 hours a day M-F. I start with Spanish Language early in the morning with our profesora, Jema. I know it's the most important and useful class I will take here but it's sooooo difficult to be interested in anything other than my warm bed at 8 AM when I should be learning about verb tenses. But so far, so good. I haven't dozed off yet! We've been doing reviews of different verb tenses, which has definitely helped me a lot in regular conversations since I've gotten here.

Next I have an hour of Spanish Literature with my favorite profesor, Antonio! He makes everything more interesting, even Medieval Spanish literature! So far we've learned about the "Cantar de Mio Cid", a famous epic poem (think Iliad) by an anonymous author. It's about a caballero in King Alfonso VI's army during the Reconquista who is blamed for robbing the king. He is exiled but instead of being a baby about it, he does the honorable thing and travels around Spain, kicking out the Muslims. I think it's really interesting that many great books before the Renaissance were anonymously written - writers were not considered artists and people didn't care who wrote what.

After Literature, I have a 1.5 hour break until Culture and Society with Antonio again. So far we've learned about the different regions of Spain. We've learned about their geography, economies, and things that make them unique. But the past couple days we've been watching a movie about the different areas, which isn't boring in itself, but he turns off the lights and there are no windows in the basement. My body seems to think it's the perfect opportunity for a siesta.

After my morning classes, I go back to the homestay, where I usually write a post and goof around on the internet until lunch is ready. Maria Jose is an amazingggg cook! My favorite thing she's made so far is macarrones. It's, like, way better than any pasta I've ever had before except for Mom's mac n' cheese. Right after lunch, I'm usually on the brink of a food coma. But, I have to rush off to my afternoon class for Art History.

The entire first week, my profesora, Cristina, only talked in Spanish. Which is great except it was supposed to be taught in English. There are now 2 other people in the class with me because the other students switched out of her class. But she came in yesterday and spoke English the entire time! She must have spent a lot of time over the weekend practicing and preparing her notes. We had to speak slowly for her to understand us but it was much better than last week! It's pretty cool to see the progress she's made in the past week because it shows me that I can improve my Spanish too.

So far in that class, we've only discussed El Greco, the first great Spanish painter. Even though he was born in Greece and studied for years in Italy, he considered Spain his home. We got to see a few of his pieces in El Museo del Prado in Madrid a few weeks ago so it's interesting to find out more about his works as well as his life.

After that, I'm done for the day! I usually come back home, do my homework, go online again, then do something at night before dinner. Last night, Emma and I went on a run along the beach at night. It was beautiful! I usually get sick of running after about 10 minutes but I just kept reminding myself that I was looking at the freaking Mediterranean Sea 2000 miles from my home. When will I ever get the chance to do this again after April?! I better make the most of every minute of it.

Plans are starting to come together for some trips to other countries. I don't want to jinx anything yet but I'm really excited about it all!

Hasta luego! Os amo :)

1 comment:

Dr. Brother said...

we were just learning about some areas around the Mediterranean in Geo. And I was thinking about you! And we have to do a project on it.