Welcome back! I have survived my first week of classes in Spain. Here’s how this week went...
Monday:
I started my day with 20th Century Spanish Literature (taught in Spanish) at SAIIE. The class goes from 10:30-12:30, and I really struggled to function because I made the mistake of sitting near the window. The sun was not completely up when I chose my seat, but as the two-hour long class progressed, the sun rose and covered me in heat and light more and more. A smart person might have just moved, but I didn’t want to disrupt the class, so I stayed there. The professor gave us a great introduction to the course, and she was very kind and passionate about the class content.
After my class, I went back to my homestay and went to bed because I was tired. Later in the afternoon, I emerged from my room to go to my 5-7pm class which was the Social Psychology of Learning Language at the Universidad de Sevilla. This class was my only class in English, so it was very important to be in because it was keeping me as a full-time student. The UW-Platteville Spanish major requires students to take 8-10 maximum credits abroad (in the language of Spanish). I already maxed out on that, so I needed one English class to put me to the 12 credits required to be a full-time student. Without that enrollment status, I would not receive financial aid.
But this class soon proved to be problematic. I signed up to take it in English, but the professors on the first day told me there was a strong possibility for it to be taught in Spanish. I panicked because no other English classes would contribute to my Criminal Justice major and it would put me at more than 10 credits in Spanish. Kelley helped calm me down, though, and told me that there’s a solution to everything.
From 7-9pm I had my last class of the day with Taylor at the Universidad: Wine in Spain (taught in Spanish). Thankfully, the professor talked at a very easy speed for us to understand. He let us out at 7:45, and Taylor and I headed home to eat dinner with our host. We went to bed soon after.
Tuesday:
On Tuesday, I had my Spanish Civilization (taught in Spanish) class 8:30-10:30am with Taylor. Luckily for us, it is a requirement to graduate, so it is convenient that we are knocking it out now. Our professor, Virginia, is the best one I have here! She is so sweet and really understands American students.
The class I had after that one went from 10:30am-12:30pm. This class, Artistic Monuments, is taught in Spanish as well—and is very hard to follow along with the professor. But on the plus side, Kelley is in it with me! Basically, we get to learn about monuments in Seville and then go visit them!
I was still feeling very worried about not having enough credits to be a full-time student, so I emailed the head of the Humanities department at Platteville. I requested to be able to take more than 10 credits in Spanish abroad and have them count towards my major and enrollment status.
Wednesday:
On Wednesday I got my answer: he said yes! All I need to do is sign a form when I return, which will be easy. I started my day just like Monday because I had the same schedule. Except this time, I didn’t sit in the sun! Originally, I was going to drop the 20th Century Spanish Literature course because I already had 10 Spanish credits from my Spanish Civilization, Artistic Monuments, and Wine in Spain classes. But now that I was able to take more Spanish classes, I decided to stick with it! I am not too much of a literature person, but I enjoy reading and I know that this class will benefit me so much. Understanding literature is hard in English, so learning it in Spanish is even more of a challenge! Plus, the professor is fantastic at teaching this subject, so I know she will take her time to make sure we really understand. My class size came out to the grand total of four students, which was surprising. I think that this class is going to be so beneficial!
I went to the academic director at the SAIIE program in the afternoon to ask him if I could drop the Social Psychology of Learning Language course. Even though it being taught in Spanish would count with the credit exception the Humanities department made for me, I really had no interest in it. I am not a psychology person, so it did not seem beneficial to me. SAIIE dropped it easily, and I left the school very happy!
Afterwards, I stayed in my house working on scholarship applications until I met up with Kelley and Taylor to get our phone plans fixed at the European equivalent of Verizon. After we figured that out, Kelley went to class and Taylor and I chilled outside of a restaurant. There, we ate churros con chocolate and I FINALLY got to facetime my sister. Soon after, we walked to our wine class where we learned the very beginning of the history of wine.
After class we had to go to a required program activity called an Intercambio. Basically, we take the time to meet Spainards at a bar/restaurant and they teach us about life here. All I’m going to say about the intercambio is that Taylor and I had the completely wrong idea of how it works, and we ended up laughing hysterically about it later. We each got dinner for 3 euro afterwards and went home to laugh about it with our senora.
Thursday:
By Thursday I was starting to get really tired. I had walked so much in the past week that it finally caught up to me. After class I went back to my homestay and worked some more on scholarships. When Taylor was done with class at 3, we ate lunch together, which was crazy. Our host gave us each a ton of pasta noodles that completely covered our plates! I made myself eat it all and felt slightly sick soon afterward. So, I went to bed. I took a very long nap and woke up in the late afternoon. I was feeling way too lazy, so I made myself go on a walk to an ATM with Taylor which helped me feel better. When we got to the ATM that we normally use, there was a guy there. We kept our distance to not invade his privacy and we noticed that this man had a baguette tucked under his arm. This wasn’t just a normal loaf though; this baguette was huge. To make this situation even more strange/funny, the guy started beating on the ATM. Taylor and I thought it was broken, but he must’ve forgotten his pin since it worked fine for her. After he beat the ATM up a little more, he stormed off in a rage, baguette still under his arm. Me and Taylor waited a moment before using it, and someone working inside came out and looked at us because he heard the pounding on the ATM. We just looked at him very confused and he went back inside.
After the comedic walk, we came back to a dinner of fried rice and ham, and then showered before bed.
Friday:
Normally we do not have anything to do on Fridays, but my program had an included day trip to Ronda. The 17 of us packed into a small bus and headed towards the mountains. I was absolutely blown away by the beauty of Ronda. It was a quiet, historic city with the smell of fresh blossoms everywhere. We went on a guided tour to a bullfighting ring and around the rest of the city, and then spent some time on our own. Most of the group split up, but I stayed with three girls and met up with the boys at a small restaurant. The seating was limited, so we ended up sitting away from them, but that was okay. The girls and I had very good conversation and we spent a couple hours getting to know each other better. Even though I could have explored Ronda more, I think that the time I spent with Adriana, Taylor, and Carissa was so much more worth it! We headed back to the bus station and I spent the two-hour drive back looking out the window at the scenery while thinking about all my family and friends back home.
*Check out some photos in the slide show below!*
That night, around 9pm, we went out for Japanese food. Sadly, the servings were quite small, so Taylor and I were still hungry. I suggested that we go get gelato and one of my friends said that the closest place closes in 15 minutes. We left our money for the bill and speed walked over to the gelato place. We made it just in time! Gelato at 10:30pm was the perfect idea!
When we got home our host wasn’t there. So, we showered and got ready for bed. When she got back, she asked us if we were going to go out at all with friends. We explained how exhausted we were and that we just wanted to go to bed. I think she has had students in the past that went out to the bars and clubs often, so she asks us often if we have plans to. Taylor and I are pretty low-key, so we always just laugh and say no.
Saturday:
Saturday morning I woke up tired and annoyed. Every single night since I have been in Spain, I have been awake multiple times because I am absolutely freezing. Somehow I have managed to kick off my blankets, (sometimes throwing them on Taylor) 2-3 times a night. After I got dressed and ready for the day, I headed out with friends to get breakfast. I spent the rest of the day reading, walking around Sevilla, and using free wifi at Starbucks. I have been really homesick this past week and it hit me hard Saturday. All I wanted to do was go back to my homestay and go back to bed, but I decided to meet up with Kelley and Taylor at Starbucks anyways. I ordered my favorite drink from the US, a caramel macchiato, and then spent the day with them which lifted my spirits. Another thing that made me happy is that for the very first time my name was spelt correctly on a coffee cup! Back home I always laugh at the funny spellings on my cup, but I secretly dislike my name for being spelled so strangely. However, in Spain, everyone spells my name right! I quickly facetimed my family to tell them about my cup. This might be looking too much into it, but I think it was a sign that I am meant to be in Spain because I was sad prior.
On Saturday night the girls and I went to a game night at la Iglesia Batista Fe—a Baptist church in Sevilla. We found out about this church through one of Taylor’s friends that had studied abroad here. The best part about this church is that there is a small group in English for international students! We spent our time playing games and eating snacks. The oranges in Spain are amazing, which they had for us there. Originally, we planned to stay for only a short while because it started at 7pm, but we ended up staying the entire time! After feeling homesick most of the day, it was really nice to pass time with new people that we easily related to.
Sunday:
To be honest, I didn’t do much Sunday. I had a croissant pastry thing for breakfast, and then went back to my room to read and sleep. After relaxing for a few hours, I went to church at 5. My favorite part about going to church here is the music! It’s so entertaining to hear songs sung the same way in Spanish instead of English.
This week was hard to get through, but it was really nice to have a schedule. I’ve been feeling that I don’t have much of a purpose in Spain because I am not involved in much compared to all I do at UW-Platteville. Hopefully I begin to make more of my time as the semester progresses, but it is nice to be able to relax.
If you liked reading this, go check out more on my travel Instagram @micaela_meetsworld (or you can click the Instagram icon on the bottom of the page)!