First day of classes...

I woke up this morning to the sound of my neighbor's metal window blind being raised. Yes, the blinds are metal. I find it rather interesting. It sure does make it dark for sleeping though, which is great. Anyway, thank goodness I heard her opening her blinds because apparently I didn't set my clock and alarm correctly; if it weren't for her I would have certainly missed breakfast and been late to class. They are very strict here - once the door has closed you ABSOLUTELY MAY NOT ENTER the classroom; you're counted absent. The program does not allow you to be absent - you will fail, basically, if you are. So, I'm glad that I was woken up. Breakfast was okay, but a little difficult for me since I have food allergies. We eat all of our meals in the residence hall dining room, located on the floor below me - structurally my room is on the third floor, but linguistically I am on the second floor. After breakfast a group of us set out together to head to the classroom site. We were told it would take about 25 minutes to walk there - found out that's only if you walk FAST. Tomorrow we plan to leave a little earlier so that we can actually enjoy our morning walk.

We have all of our classes in the same room; the professors come in and out to teach us each class. Classes start at 8:30 and go until 2:00 when we break for lunch & siesta. Each class is 50 minutes long, and there is a 30 minute break in there somewhere. After lunch & siesta, at 4:30 or 5:00, depending, we have our last two hours of class. The classes I am taking are: History of Modern Spain, Spanish Grammar, Modern Spanish Literature, Development of the Spanish Language, Methodology, and Popular Culture & Film. All of the classes are in Spanish, of course, so by the end of the day I am both mentally and physically exhausted.

I have discovered that the majority of students in this program are native Spanish speakers. That means it is constant Spanish all day - no English unless you happen to connect with one of the very few native English speakers. So yes, I am tired. But it's a good tired.

This afternoon in our culture class we learned about the history of the University (founded in 1218 by King Alfonso IX). It was very interesting and included a short walk to some of the original university structures. The photo below is of the fachada, or facade, located in the Plaza de las Escuelas, which is a courtyard area between two original buildings: the Escuela Menor and Escuela Mayor. The Escuela Menor was for younger students preparing for university, and Escuela Mayor was for the older students acutally doing University studies. The fachada was added in the 16th century to the Escuela Mayor building that had been constructed in the 15th century. All the buildings are made of sandstone from a quarry near by, so they are all the same color - I love it! It looks amazing. Legend has it that if you can find the frog sitting on top of the skull in the fachada then you will have good luck. I wasn't able to find it...

Dinner is at 9:00 every night and that is an adjustment. I'm getting used to it though, I guess. The weather is hot and there is limited, if any, A/C in buildings, including the residence hall. I am taking a while to adjust to that too. Oh well! It's all part of the adventure... :) So, it is now 11:00 for me, which means I need to go to bed. Hasta luego...