I finally found time to write another post!

I have been keeping a personal journal, but really need to start posting on here more often :) Quite a bit has happened since the last time that I posted (over a week ago!). I registered for classes- I am taking five classes: The Contemporary History of Spain, The History of Spanish Language, The History of Eupoean Economic Intitutions, Spanish Art and Culture: Analysis for Tourism, and European Theory. Monday was my first day of class. My first class was my art class, which is an upper level class for people majoring in Tourism. The professor walks in and asks everyone if they had taken the art appreciation class to should be taken before this class, and of course they had, and I'm just sitting there with no idea what to expect since I only signed up for this class because the title sounded interesting (as an exchange student, I can sign up for any class in any field of study). The professor was talking about the topics that will be covered this semester and everyone is taking notes, while I'm sitting there terrified that I had made a bad decision. But my second day (yesterday) in the class went much better and I think that as long as I take notes I should be fine.


In most of the classes here, the majority, if not all, of your grade is based on the final. Some people like it because it means that you don't have to go to class or do assignments; as long as you do well on the final, you're good. That terrifies me because what if I don't do well on the final. I'll feel like I spent an entire semester in a class and don't have anything to show for it.


My other classes went well. It was the usual "This is what we'll be learning this semester" that is typical on any first day of class. One thing that has surprised me is that two of my classes have already been canceled. The professor just leaves a note on the door saying that there won't be class today. It was odd at first, but I wasn't complaining.


Last Friday we went on a tour of the city (parts of it). We got to see the old Casino, which used to be the casino in town centuries ago but is now sort of (from what I understood) a country club type place. We also got to see the old theater, which has a painted curtain that is beautiful and is one of a handful in the country. Then we walked to the bell tower and were able to climb to the top, which was dizzying and exhausting. Once we got to the top, the view was totally worth it. It was such a beautiful day and you could see the entire city and the mountains (too bad I forgot my camera that day). We then walked through the market and were able to see two of the main squares in town.


I have started to see more and more the attitude that Spaniards have toward their family and friends. They view their friends as family and their families mean everything to them. My host mom was telling me that she lived at home until she moved in with her husband before they got married, which is typical here. So people here don't move away from home until they are around thirty, which is something that you rarely find in the U.S. Dori explained to me that yes ocassionally people move out during college to live in the dorms or in an apartment with friends, but then they move back home afterwards. It is frowned upon to leave home at a young age, especially if you're a woman and are moving out to live alone. I tried to explain to her that the U.S. once you leave home for college it is frowned upon to return back home; moving back home is harder in the U.S. because there is this stigma that is associated with moving back home. People very moving back home as something bad, like you had to go back home because you were unable to make it on your own. There is such are such different views that Americans take on the personal self and family. You have your family, but in the end you are trying to achieve personal sucess. In Spain the view is that you achieve personal sucess because of your family; your sucesses are those of your family and family is more important than the self.



Over the past week I have gotten to know Antonio's family (his parents, sister & her family, and brother and his wife) and many of thier friends. Everyone has been super nice to me, which has been so nice because I find myself a more shy here than I have felt before. They have accepted me into their circle of friends and it came as a bit of a surprise, actually. I thought that they would be friendly for the sake of being nice to their friends' exchange student, but they are genuinely nice to me. One of their friends, Rosa, invited me to the movies and another friend, Marilin, took me shopping with her. Even though most of their friends are older than me (in the earlier and mid 30s), I still feel comfortable with them and they feel fine with me.



So in addition to keeping a journal and a blog, I am also keeping a food diary. My main reason for that is so that I don't forget what I ate and which new foods I tasted. Also to remember what I did and did not like for future reference. So far I have tasted and not like bacalao, octopus and the eggs that my host mom made for breakfast. Other than that, the food that I have tried has been pretty good. It doesn't have as much spice as I'm used to, but it's not bad.

I fell like things are coming more natural for me after having been here for two weeks. I know my way around, sort of, and have been figuring things out for myself. I have made friends, both Spanish and Erasmus, and I think that the next four and a half months will fly by.