Anyway, where I left off...
So Ana y yo vimos la película hasta muy tarde (we watched the movie until very late) and then it was off to bed. It was, therefore, no surprise that I was so tired in the morning-- No entiendo (I don't understand) how people here manage to wake up in the morning with such an odd sleeping cycle, but I guess it works for them. So at around 8:15, me desperté, me duché, bajé las escaleras (I woke up, showered, and went downstairs). Laura still wasn't feeling well so it was just Ana and me. Our plan was to catch the 9:30 bus on the other side of the Betis stadium so I would make it to my orientation at the International College of Seville by 10. Ana me acompañé the whole ride to make sure I would know what I was doing... she literally walked me to the door. But it wasn't that embarrassing because I saw other host mothers walking their kids, too.
The building is 3 stories and has a few offices, classrooms, a lounge, library, and a computer lab. About 20 of us were ushered into one of the classrooms and the lovely Gina de los Santos, who had been sending all of those housing e-mails, began talking at us. We received lots of packets about House Rules... here are just some of my favorites:
Students may shower in their homes no more than once a day (oops, broke that one)
The room must be cleaned once a week. You are responsible for making your bed and keeping the room tidy on a regular basis (reference: my atom bomb of a cuarto (room) at home)
Students may study with their bedroom light on until a prudent hour (emphasis on PRUDENT. Adios Cornell!)
After we went through the laundry list, the main director and liaison to the University of Sevilla came in and talked to us about nuestros horarios (our schedules). He made it a point decirnos que hay que evitar las clases de 3 profesores particulares (he told us we must avoid the classes of 3 professors at ALL costs). Go figure, I looked down at my schedule and 3 of the 5 prospective classes are with 3 of those professors! Un chiste (a joke), right? After this discussion, he administered the proficiency exam para evaluar nuestros niveles/capacidades (to assess how good we are at Spanish)-- really, it was testing whether or not we know when to use the right form of "to be" (ser vs. estar), the nightmares of the correct form of "for" (por vs. para) and when to use the subjunctive (THANK YOU MRS. TAMBURELLO AND MR. HODUM). After that, we were instructed to check the bulletin board to determine when we would have our one-on-one meetings with the director to finalize pre-registration. While I was downstairs, I saw a sign-up for a program they offer called "Intercambio." It is an opportunity they offer to exchange numbers with a Spanish student and link up as we please, so we can practice our Spanish and they can practice their English. We would request either a boy or girl, but I put no preference so we'll see.
I decided to walk the long a casa (back to home)... It was quite scenic and took media hora (half hour). I came home just in time for LA COMIDA (lunch), but it was just me again at the table because Laura was still sick in bed :( pobrecita (poor thing). Ana invited over her son, Alfonso, his wife, Sofia, and their little 3-year-old Alfonsete. He was really monisimo (cute) and ran around with a spider-man figurine: "ESPIDERMAN!" Let's just say I spoke enough Spanish to last me until forever. I was able to understand a lot of what they said, even if I was slower to respond. I learned that mom is a contable (accountant) and dad is a terapeuta física (physical therapist). We talked a lot about my reasons for coming abroad, what I plan to study, and not to be intimidated by the prospect of taking classes at USevilla... I still felt really bad about it, considering we HAVE to take a minimum of 3 there. I felt one would've been sufficient but I wasn't ready to make up my mind.
Ana rode the bus with me again at 5:30 para regresar al colegio (to return to the school) for my appointment with the director. I met some people during the HOUR WAIT. There is a program called "Discover Seville" that sponsors lots of weekend trip packages at very good prices, so I took a flier. We can sign up online. Our program also takes us on 4 big viajes (trips):
Granada (Feb 19-20)
Córdoba (March 5)
Ronda (April 9)
Jerez (May 7) -- this is apparently a farewell party at a nice beach.
We also do several city visits:
Alcázar: Jan 29
Museo Arqueológico: Feb 5
Ciudad Romana de Itálica: Feb 12
Catedral: Feb 26
Museo de Artes y Costumbres: March 19
Museo de Bellas Artes: April 16
While I was waiting, I met a handful of girls who were equally worried about taking classes at la Universidad. I met a girl from Westchester, Abby, who goes to the University of Vermont, who coincidentally came here with her friend from home who goes to Cornell! Laura and I knew there was another girl, pero no la conocimos (we didn't know her before). Her name, coincidentally, is also Abby. I met another girl who was there on a scholarship for a full year. It is made for minority, low income students who wouldn't have an opportunity to do this otherwise, and at the year's, they make a final presentation to schools all over the nation in similar neighborhoods. Anyway, I had my meeting with the director and we went over el examen (the proficiency test). I scored in the range of students eligible to take classes at la Universidad, and he wasn't giving me any other choice but to work with the schedule. SO I will be taking 3 classes--9 credits-- at the University, and one class offered at the program. This is what the schedule looks like:
Lunes y Mierércoles (Mon/Wed):
At la Universidad:
9 a 11: Poesía latinoamericana contemporánea (contemporary Latin American poetry)
11 a 13: Cine español contemporánea (contemporary Spanish film)
13 a 15: Publicidad y propaganda en la sociedad (advertising and propaganda for mass society)
At The International College of Seville:
17 a 18:30: Culture and Society (in Spanish)
Martes y Jueves (Tue/Thur): NO TENGO CLASE!! (I don't have class!)
Viernes (Fri): NO HAY CLASE (The entire program is off-- usually for travel)
So that is what this semester is looking like... Classes at the program site begin on Monday (Jan 25th). BUT classes at la Universidad no empiezan hasta el 8 de febrero (basically, that translates to smooth sailing for 2 weeks!!)
Afterwards, I went with Abby from UVermont to get my móvil (cell phone). For emergency sake, the number is 689-053-958. They already put 12 euros on it. It is free to receive any calls or texts, but there is a small charge to make calls. Just good to know.
I ended up galavanting with some friends until about 8. Laura still felt enferma (sick), so I braved la cena alone at around 9:30:(. I had to eat fast because some friends and I made plans to go out at 11. Two of the girls I met live around la esquina (corner), so I met them at the bus stop and we traveled al centro (the center of Sevilla, the heart of the city). We did a lot of walking and ultimately ended up at a strip of bars along the famous Calle Betis! We went into a bar and just sat around. I ordered something similar to a Sangria for around 1 euro. I spoke to the girl from Cornell for a bit and she seems really nice. She is a PAM major, like a group of my friends, and we bonded over some classes we hated. As Mr. Hodum said, el mundo es un panuelo (it is a small, small world). I only stayed out til around 1:30 because I knew it would be an early morning...
although I didn't quite understand just HOW early...
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