So I'll rewind...
El domingo (On Sunday), Laura and I decided we should be festive and go watch the Superbowl. Not only do I know nothing about football, I also really dislike the food people eat on this particular day (wings, etc.). It was also kind of problematic because 6:30 your time is really 12:30 here, and Monday was my first day of classes. But I sucked it up and gave in. Nos reunimos (we met up) with a group of girls, some from Cornell and the remainder were non-Cornellians in their apartment, at an Irish pub called Flaherty's. Se situa (it is located) right in el Centro, so we took a bus and got there around 10. They were offering a 12 euro deal for food, 2 drinks, and seats near the screen. Pues (well)... the food was all right... I pretty much loaded up on lots of nachos but then figured I should cave and try wings for the first time. And they weren't that bad! After we finished eating, we still had time to kill before el partido de fútbol americano started, so we left the smokey bar and took a walk around el centro. There were significantly more Americans on the street-- surprise! When we came back in, we were flagged down by the two travel agent guys from Discover Sevilla who helped book our trip. Mira: (Look/Understand): these guys are literally everywhere because they do SO much promotion for their company. They are the 2 guys with nearly 2,000 facebook friends, yet can literally flag us down by name when they see us. They called us out for not being at the discoteca they were promoting, and they were pushing us to do karaoke on Monday night-- a free bebida (drink) for each song!
We ended up lasting there hasta (until) about 1:30, which was longer than we expected, but I really wasn't feeling too well-- I just chalked it up to nerves and dreading my 7:30AM wake-up.
The next morning, me desperté con la fiebre y los escalofríos (I woke up with a fever and the chills), so I pulled a Laura: pop some Ibuprofin, chug a pitcher of water, and smile. So cogí el autobus (I caught the bus) at 8:20, which put me across the street from la Universidad de Sevilla at 8:45. Even though I was given a tour, I naturally felt disoriented upon arrival but made it to my first class on time.
La clase de Poesía latinoamericana contemporánea (contemporary Latin American poetry) was pretty small-- maybe 12-15 kids. It was a two hour introduction to what we would be studying throughout the semester (the classes are SO long here). The professor seems really passionate about what she teaches, so hopefully it will be contagioso (contagious). The 4 poets we will be focusing on are Huidobro, Vallejo, Guillea (sp?), and Octavio Paz (I've read him before). The first poemário (long poem) we will be looking at is by Huidobro, called Altazor. She did tell us to prepare to work hard, and that we will undoubtedly sufrir la frustración (get frustrated). But her main point: "Cómo aprendemos? Cayendo!" (How do we learn? By falling down first)-- I think she was trying to make an analogy to riding a bike, but I may have misinterpreted.
I can tell I'm really going to love la clase de Cine español contemporánea (contemporary Spanish film). The teacher is young and speaks at a good pace for me, and the class is pretty large. The format of the class is usually a discussion or introduction to the movie we will be watching, a screening of the film, and then more discussion. She divided the course into 4 grupos/temas de películas (4 themes). The schedule looks like the following:
Tema: Musical (musical)
Películas: Sevillanos, El otro lado de la cama
Tema: Ideología (ideology)
Películas: Belle Epoque (I've seen this), La lengua de las mariposas (I've seen this), La niña de tus ojos, Los años bárbaros
Tema: Extranjero (foreigner-- specifically American)
Películas: Bienvenido Mr. Marshall, Los desafíos
Tema: Mujer (Women, portrayed as strong)
Películas: Ana y los lobos, Tristana, Carmen, Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios, Tesis.
The professor mentioned the format of the class would call for 2 exams (a midterm and a final), that she is only giving because la Universidad les manda a los profesores (the University makes teachers) give exams. The questions will be essay formatted and related to the themes-- she will give us 2 questions and we can eligir (select) one. She encourages us to bring our dictionaries to class, and to feel free to ask her if we get stuck on words. MUCH more ayuda (help) than any professor at Cornell.
My last class at la Universidad was Publicidad y propaganda en la sociedad (advertising and propaganda for mass society). This was definitely the most intense con respecto a (with respect to) the pace of the professor. He seems like he's mid-40s, and not only does he speak a mile a minute, he also has a heavy lisp. The course seems really cool, but I know understanding him will be the primary battle. I asked him at the end if we were getting any sort of syllabus/if we had any tarea (homework)-- he looked at me like I had 10 heads and said absolutely not. He is another teacher who openly expressed: "Odio los examenes" (I hate exams), and explained the only mandatory outside reading we will do will come later on in the semester when we read George Orwell's Animal Farm in Spanish: Rebelión en la granja.
By the time I was finally done with my morning, it was 3PM and all I wanted to do was go home to bed. But, there was NO escaping la comida! I thought I could come in discretely, and I had really had enough Spanish, but Ana reeled me right on in. She sat me down and just GUESS what she put on my plate: LA TERNERA (VEAL!) Ughh I thought we were clear in our last conversation the last time she served it that I don't eat it, but she just smiled and kept talking. I think lo peor (the worst part) was that as she was putting la filete (the cutlet) on my plate, she kept shaking her head saying, "Ay, vaca pequeña, pobrecito pobrecito" (poor baby cow!). I didn't touch it after that.
I still was feeling crappy, but I pushed myself to go to my 5PM class... it was really bad though... the ONE day the teacher decides to talk on and on for 10 minutes over when all I wanted to do was end my day.
Cuando volví a casa (when I returned home), I went upstairs for my much needed siesta, but I still had a fever when I woke up. So, naturally Ana comes in and has to assess the situation and repeat herself from all angles:
"Se pone enferma? Estás enferma? Necesitas comer algo... como una tostada. Vicki! Toma un té. Vicki va a subir con la cena. Vamos a ver si tienes fiebre... Ay qué color tiene la cara [touches face] y muy calentita. Vamos a ver si tienes fiebre pero yo lo sé que la tienes."
("Are you sick [x2]. You need to eat something, like toast. Vicki [calling in her designated "Vicki voice"]! Vicki will come upstairs with your dinner. Let's see if you have a fever... Your face is so flushed and it feels warm. Let's see if you have a fever, but I am certain that you have one.")
And, as she did when Laura was sick, she shoved the Celsius thermometer in my mouth and left in there while she whispered, "mi pobrecita... mi malita" (poor/sick thing...). And she also did that thing that Grandma Vivian does, where she takes my hand in hers and starts scratching. Made me feel a little homesick on top of everything.
And then she caught eye of Bobbie Bear, that raggedy stuffed oso (bear) that I've had forever. And she let out a wooping, "Mira que mono! Mira la marmota!" Laura and I kind of looked at each other, and she pulled out her computer to look up the word. Turns out, marmota is a ground hog. So she was comparing my beautiful bear to an ugly groundhog, and still insisted it was precious. To make things even more hilarious, Laura pulled up the following picture:
http://bobbeckstead.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/ground-hog-day1.jpg
And Ana still screamed out, "Mira! Mira qué simpática es" (Look! Look how nice that is!) That had to be the most disgusting thing I have seen in a while.
On that note, we relaxed for the rest of the night and went to bed shortly after. I wasn't in shape for class this morning, but Ana sure enough came in and woke me up, chanting:
"Sarita! Como está la malita! Como estás de fiebre!"
Laura went to class and I tried to sleep it off more... Vicki came up a few times and brought me tostada, which I could tolerate. But when she came up with PUUUU-DEEEEEN (otherwise known as pudding) i couldn't take it. She sat with me for a little and talked... and sat... and kind of awkwardly watched me. But she took good care of me, and for that le agradezco mucho (I appreciate greatly).
Deborah came today! She is doing really well, in spite of the jetlag! She brought us mantequilla de cacahuete (peanut butter), which you really can't buy anywhere else in Sevilla. She speaks Spanish reallly well, considering she's spent time volunteering Guatemala and backpacking in Argentina, Brazil, and Ecuador. She helps facilitate the family conversation, considering all the awkward pauses that otherwise transpire when it's just Laura and me. We have big plans for this week!
So at this point, I am getting ready for bed, and hopefully tomorrow will be a fresh day!
Hasta Luego!
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