Reasons why I am still easily pegged as either an outsider, or an American.
1. I don´t wear all black, every day
2. I wear shorts at the gym
3. I go to the gym (being a female this is a bit unusual apparently)
4. I don´t smoke
5. I haven´t figured out how to weave my way through sidewalk traffic to avoid all the smoke
6. I don´t have bangs, a mohawk, mullet, dreadlocks, or a rat tail.
7. I do wear my hair in braids
8. I walk up the escalator
9. I smile. A lot.
10. I use the monthly metro pass.
11. I don´t use my umbrella unless it is actually raining
12. I prefer lined paper
13. I don´t drink coffee
14. I don´t talk during class, when the professor is talking
15. I ask questions in class, or go to office hours
16. I am never late to class
17. I don´t eat mayonnaise on my salad, chicken, or french fries (or anything for that matter)
18. I still squirm when eating vinegar saturated vegetables
19. I don´t own a pair of casual sneakers
20. I am actually have a personal space bubble
21. I´m blonde, naturally
22. I eat or drink while walking on the sidewalk
23. I am uneasy with the silence on the metro
24. I prefer not to go grocery shopping, every day
25. I like to use soap and paper towels when I wash my hands
26. I am accustomed to having toilet paper in the bathrooms
27. I understand every song that comes on the radio in the grocery stores or at the gym, because they are all in English
28. I am tall. Taller than most men here.
29. I don´t like ham, cheese, eggs, or seafood--the most common food here
30. I actually like it here, and am happy to be here. I feel like I am the only one!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Thursday, October 4, 2007
At least I wasn´t the only one.
I survived the first week of classes. By survived, I actually mean understood all my classes--but one. I was forewarned before I arrived in Spain that the classes would be very large, only lecture, and grades would comprise of entirely the final. Wrong on all accounts. I have attendance requirements, which is not something I planned on. I have to write papers, which wouldn´t so too bad, except I don´t know how 15 page Spanish papers will look. Participation is required, in all my classes. My biggest class now has about 35 students, my smallest five.
The one that has five only meets once a week, Thursday nights, for 3.5 hours. Modern Political Theory. Today was my first session of this class, and I get there early, in case the class in full, to get a seat towards the front. By the time class started, there were two other students (both in their mid-twenties) and someone who looked like he might be a graduate student helping teach the class. Our professor walks in, looks at me, and asks "what are you doing here?". (keep in mind yes, this is in Spanish)
"I´m here to study political theory"
"No, more general. Why are you here?"
"To learn about another culture, and to improve my Spanish"
"Where did you come from?"
"The United States"
At this point he simply shook his head in despair and proceed to ask the graduate student next to me the same question, "why are you here?" "I am here because according to ----- theory (still don´t know which theory it was) nature must not only reproduce, but produce new things before reproducing itself....."
Of course. How silly of me not to have known that. Failed task one. I then had some saving grace when he ask me to name five current presidents. He then fired questions at as, and since there were multiple answers, and we had a small group, everyone had to respond. I immediately began answering first, simply because I didn´t want my answers taken. Bad call. The professor then felt I had redeemed myself, and knew what I was talking about.
After 2.5 hours, he decided to let us out early, to give us time to prepare our research topics for the semester. Lost, I asked "I didn´t know we had a research project, what is it about?" "Modern Political Theory", laughs, and leaves. Greatttt.
The other 4 students in class however were as wide-eyed as I was, and we had a pow-wow to attempt to figure what had just taken place during the past few hours. We collectively decided that he wanted us to create a question orientated thesis regarding a basis human theory, and connect it to Sociology and Politics. Fantastic. No pressure.
I have come to a conclusion however. I can argue and debate better about politics or academic related fields better than I can order food in a restaurant in Spanish. My basic Spanish still has wide gaps, which will hopefully be closed upon my return home. Yet my points, as odd as they are, are conveyed quite clearly in class. Go figure.
Tomorrow I am off to the south of France with another preplanned trip with the Americans. Incredibly excited that I will have been to Italy and France in the same week--two places I´ve always wanted to visit.
The one that has five only meets once a week, Thursday nights, for 3.5 hours. Modern Political Theory. Today was my first session of this class, and I get there early, in case the class in full, to get a seat towards the front. By the time class started, there were two other students (both in their mid-twenties) and someone who looked like he might be a graduate student helping teach the class. Our professor walks in, looks at me, and asks "what are you doing here?". (keep in mind yes, this is in Spanish)
"I´m here to study political theory"
"No, more general. Why are you here?"
"To learn about another culture, and to improve my Spanish"
"Where did you come from?"
"The United States"
At this point he simply shook his head in despair and proceed to ask the graduate student next to me the same question, "why are you here?" "I am here because according to ----- theory (still don´t know which theory it was) nature must not only reproduce, but produce new things before reproducing itself....."
Of course. How silly of me not to have known that. Failed task one. I then had some saving grace when he ask me to name five current presidents. He then fired questions at as, and since there were multiple answers, and we had a small group, everyone had to respond. I immediately began answering first, simply because I didn´t want my answers taken. Bad call. The professor then felt I had redeemed myself, and knew what I was talking about.
After 2.5 hours, he decided to let us out early, to give us time to prepare our research topics for the semester. Lost, I asked "I didn´t know we had a research project, what is it about?" "Modern Political Theory", laughs, and leaves. Greatttt.
The other 4 students in class however were as wide-eyed as I was, and we had a pow-wow to attempt to figure what had just taken place during the past few hours. We collectively decided that he wanted us to create a question orientated thesis regarding a basis human theory, and connect it to Sociology and Politics. Fantastic. No pressure.
I have come to a conclusion however. I can argue and debate better about politics or academic related fields better than I can order food in a restaurant in Spanish. My basic Spanish still has wide gaps, which will hopefully be closed upon my return home. Yet my points, as odd as they are, are conveyed quite clearly in class. Go figure.
Tomorrow I am off to the south of France with another preplanned trip with the Americans. Incredibly excited that I will have been to Italy and France in the same week--two places I´ve always wanted to visit.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Welcome to the World of Spanish Classes.
Three down and one to go. I successful have made it through 3 of my classes, understanding the lectures AND the homework assignments. That was a huge plus. I am a bit confused as to why no professors here like syllabi, and as I am a huge fan of them, may struggle without them. Especially with my fluency level, being able to work ahead would be a great asset, but alas, that ball is not in my court.
The hallways are swarming with students. However, when I say students, it refers to people studying, not necessarily the college age type student you might envision. For example, today I sat behind two 30 year old women. I know, it´s strange that I would ever sit behind someone, as I generally am in the front row, but I was sadly too intimidated to do such today. I am glad that I have time between my classes, as I would never be able to navigate a path through the congestion of people packed into the hallways. There are 17,000 students at Deusto, and two buildings in which classes are held. The halls, library, and cafeteria are all utter chaos.
The classes however are not nearly as large as I envisioned. I was forewarned that as there is no cap on classes, a lecture hall could be filled with close to 125 students. My largest class thus far however, probably only has about 40 students. Definitely manageable.
I do have rather early classes, I´ll have to wake up at 6:15 on Wednesdays to get ready, catch the metro, walk to campus for class to start at 8:00. It was a fair trade though, as I have a travel cushion on free Fridays and late classes on Mondays. I envision it will be worth it. I may need to bring my flashlight on Wednesdays´s though, as the sun rises around 8:00. It will definitely be entertaining. Maybe I´ll finally see empty streets, as that as not yet occurred.
The hallways are swarming with students. However, when I say students, it refers to people studying, not necessarily the college age type student you might envision. For example, today I sat behind two 30 year old women. I know, it´s strange that I would ever sit behind someone, as I generally am in the front row, but I was sadly too intimidated to do such today. I am glad that I have time between my classes, as I would never be able to navigate a path through the congestion of people packed into the hallways. There are 17,000 students at Deusto, and two buildings in which classes are held. The halls, library, and cafeteria are all utter chaos.
The classes however are not nearly as large as I envisioned. I was forewarned that as there is no cap on classes, a lecture hall could be filled with close to 125 students. My largest class thus far however, probably only has about 40 students. Definitely manageable.
I do have rather early classes, I´ll have to wake up at 6:15 on Wednesdays to get ready, catch the metro, walk to campus for class to start at 8:00. It was a fair trade though, as I have a travel cushion on free Fridays and late classes on Mondays. I envision it will be worth it. I may need to bring my flashlight on Wednesdays´s though, as the sun rises around 8:00. It will definitely be entertaining. Maybe I´ll finally see empty streets, as that as not yet occurred.
Gladiators Glory.
After the Vatican we were a bit weary that we had chosen the most impressive attraction as our first one. We were wrong. The Colosseum was amazing. We arrived early again, to miss the lines, of which there were none, and we were told admission was free that day. Perfect. Thus we splurged for the audio tour, hesitating, but electing to do it English instead of Spanish. It was a good call, as I would have been disappointed to miss out on the tour.
When the Colosseum opened, 5,000 animals were killed in the first hundred days. It was a slaughter house. When the Colosseum was in its prime, the Romans had 140 holidays in which it was used. Everyone gained free entrance, and were assigned seats prior to their arrival. The senators sat in the front rows with their names engraved on their seats.
Though the Colosseum is nearly all ruins on the inside, you could still see the cells where they housed the slaves and animals that fought for their lives in front of what they believe were nearly 50,000 viewers. I was unaware the that Colosseum later became a place of Christian interest, as the early Christian Priests claimed that the games were unjust and were not permitted. Thus many Christians were killed for this at the time, and now the Colosseum is a remembrance of the Christian martyrs who died for their beliefs. After the Colosseum we headed over to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, both of which were complete ruins.
I had to return to the Colosseum our final evening just so that I could take pictures at sunset. My best pictures were of this massive construction; which I am rather pleased about.
When the Colosseum opened, 5,000 animals were killed in the first hundred days. It was a slaughter house. When the Colosseum was in its prime, the Romans had 140 holidays in which it was used. Everyone gained free entrance, and were assigned seats prior to their arrival. The senators sat in the front rows with their names engraved on their seats.
Though the Colosseum is nearly all ruins on the inside, you could still see the cells where they housed the slaves and animals that fought for their lives in front of what they believe were nearly 50,000 viewers. I was unaware the that Colosseum later became a place of Christian interest, as the early Christian Priests claimed that the games were unjust and were not permitted. Thus many Christians were killed for this at the time, and now the Colosseum is a remembrance of the Christian martyrs who died for their beliefs. After the Colosseum we headed over to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, both of which were complete ruins.
I had to return to the Colosseum our final evening just so that I could take pictures at sunset. My best pictures were of this massive construction; which I am rather pleased about.
The Vatican
Though as I mentioned before, nearly all admissions were free in Rome, we opted not to do the free tour of the Sistine Chapel. The last Sunday of the month, that the Pope was speaking, we decided that it would be far too chaotic to attempted. Thus the Vatican was our first stop, Friday morning. Though we arrived early, an hour before they opened, we waited in line for nearly two hours in the rain to gain entrance to the Chapel. We made some friends, mainly those trying to sell us umbrellas despite the fact that we were each appropriately attired with them.
The Chapel was overwhelming. There was too much to see. You could spend hours in every room, just admiring all the art work that was put into every column, window, wall and painting. One of the most impressive rooms was done entirely in mosaics, floor included. It was spectacular. I was previously unaware of the Egyptian architecture influence that many of the rooms. I fancied the statues and actual framework to the paintings and tapestries, but everything was impressive.
We we arrived in the actual chapel, we were rather amazed. For two reasons: it was incredible, and nothing like we expected. The ceiling was not domed, as we all had envisioned, and the main piece was not what we had previously envisioned. We are still on a hunt to find what room we all had expected the Sistine Chapel to look like, as we all had similar images in mind.
After the Chapel we headed off to the St. Peter´s Basilica which was a masterpiece as well. The Center Square where we waited in line gave us a great view of the Roman columns and fountains that surround the Basilica. The best aspect of the Basilica was the Copula (the outer top of the dome, with a panoramic view of the city). None of us actually knew what Copula meant, but saw a long line, which we translated to mean that this was a site worth seeing. All we knew is that we had to climb 525 stairs. So we did. I felt however, that we were climbing a castle to the towers and the staircases were very narrow, titled, and spiralling. Without the center rope, we would have fallen--especially on the way back down. The hike was well worth it however, as it was gorgeous view, not just of the Vatican, but of the whole city.
We spent the whole day at those two attractions, and it was a day well spent. Religious or not, everyone who entered the Vatican was impressed.
The Chapel was overwhelming. There was too much to see. You could spend hours in every room, just admiring all the art work that was put into every column, window, wall and painting. One of the most impressive rooms was done entirely in mosaics, floor included. It was spectacular. I was previously unaware of the Egyptian architecture influence that many of the rooms. I fancied the statues and actual framework to the paintings and tapestries, but everything was impressive.
We we arrived in the actual chapel, we were rather amazed. For two reasons: it was incredible, and nothing like we expected. The ceiling was not domed, as we all had envisioned, and the main piece was not what we had previously envisioned. We are still on a hunt to find what room we all had expected the Sistine Chapel to look like, as we all had similar images in mind.
After the Chapel we headed off to the St. Peter´s Basilica which was a masterpiece as well. The Center Square where we waited in line gave us a great view of the Roman columns and fountains that surround the Basilica. The best aspect of the Basilica was the Copula (the outer top of the dome, with a panoramic view of the city). None of us actually knew what Copula meant, but saw a long line, which we translated to mean that this was a site worth seeing. All we knew is that we had to climb 525 stairs. So we did. I felt however, that we were climbing a castle to the towers and the staircases were very narrow, titled, and spiralling. Without the center rope, we would have fallen--especially on the way back down. The hike was well worth it however, as it was gorgeous view, not just of the Vatican, but of the whole city.
We spent the whole day at those two attractions, and it was a day well spent. Religious or not, everyone who entered the Vatican was impressed.
The Big Picture of Rome
6 buses and two planes later, I am safe after my trip to Rome. This trip was cheap for a reason—traveling was not the most direct route. The only time we actually used public transportation however, was to and from Rome, once we were there, map in hand, we walked everywhere.
I’ve decided I like hostels—a lot actually. They are inexpensive, welcoming, and you get to meet a multitude of people. Lindsey, Terese, and I slept in an 8 person mixed room. Every night all the beds were occupied, and we never saw the same people for more than 2 nights. I thoroughly enjoyed coming “home” exhausted, and hearing about everyone else’s travels. The conversations in the room most nights would be in Spanish, which was interesting. Though everyone knew English, Spanish was many of the other travelers’ first languages, so lucky me; I still got to practice my Spanish.
I never however, got to use my superb Italian skills. I ever had a hand written dictionary of 20 useful phrases that I thought I should know. Everyone however, knows English there, or if I had to, I would resort to Spanish as a second option. I was blown away at how easy it was to spend the weekend in Rome. The city was incredibly easy to navigate, our hostel was in a prime location, walking distance from every sight we wanted to see, and we didn’t have to worry about a language barrier, as there was none. Tours for all the museums could be given in English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese or Korean. On the topic of the overall museums, nearly everything was free. It was “European Days of Patrimony” and the last Sunday of the month, which apparently translated into all admissions being free (which the exception of the Sistine Chapel, which god forbid, I had to cough up 8 Euros for.
The food of course, as anticipated was phenomenal. I love Italian food. I really was struggling to ever be hungry, as it was too hard to resist eating all the wonderful food. We ate gelato on the Spanish steps. Were serenaded outside the Trevi Fountain while enjoying our three course meal. Devoured pizza and calzones at an outdoor patio on a side street. Really, we quite enjoyed the Italian diet.
I’ve decided I like hostels—a lot actually. They are inexpensive, welcoming, and you get to meet a multitude of people. Lindsey, Terese, and I slept in an 8 person mixed room. Every night all the beds were occupied, and we never saw the same people for more than 2 nights. I thoroughly enjoyed coming “home” exhausted, and hearing about everyone else’s travels. The conversations in the room most nights would be in Spanish, which was interesting. Though everyone knew English, Spanish was many of the other travelers’ first languages, so lucky me; I still got to practice my Spanish.
I never however, got to use my superb Italian skills. I ever had a hand written dictionary of 20 useful phrases that I thought I should know. Everyone however, knows English there, or if I had to, I would resort to Spanish as a second option. I was blown away at how easy it was to spend the weekend in Rome. The city was incredibly easy to navigate, our hostel was in a prime location, walking distance from every sight we wanted to see, and we didn’t have to worry about a language barrier, as there was none. Tours for all the museums could be given in English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese or Korean. On the topic of the overall museums, nearly everything was free. It was “European Days of Patrimony” and the last Sunday of the month, which apparently translated into all admissions being free (which the exception of the Sistine Chapel, which god forbid, I had to cough up 8 Euros for.
The food of course, as anticipated was phenomenal. I love Italian food. I really was struggling to ever be hungry, as it was too hard to resist eating all the wonderful food. We ate gelato on the Spanish steps. Were serenaded outside the Trevi Fountain while enjoying our three course meal. Devoured pizza and calzones at an outdoor patio on a side street. Really, we quite enjoyed the Italian diet.
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