Back to School

Classes officially started last week and so far, so good. It’s a little tricky since they are all taught in Spanish, but I know that it will definitely be worth it and I will learn a lot. I am taking 4 classes here: a Spanish grammar class, a Sociology class called Mujeres en Europa (Women in Europe), another Sociology class called Programas de Lucha contra la Pobreza y la Exclusión Social en la Unión Europea (Programs to fight Poverty and Social Exlusion in the European Union), and a History class called El Mundo Mediterráneo y España (The Mediterranean World and Spain). All of my classes are taught only for international students, which has its pros and cons. It’s nice that everyone in the class is in the same situation, but I feel cut off from the rest of the university and the actual Spanish students. In an attempt to integrate myself, I’m going to start going to yoga classes at the school every Monday evening. I’m eager to get back into the swing of yoga, so hopefully this class works out and is what I am looking for.

In this past week, we’ve done a lot of sightseeing.  On Monday we went to the Torre del Oro, which is right by the river and has some beautiful views of the city and riverside. 

Then we went on to Real Alcazar, but of course, not before taking a batido break in between monuments. Isn’t that just the prettiest milkshake you’ve ever seen?? Trevor and I had already seen the Real Alcazar but Jody, Ally and Preston hadn’t. And I definitely don’t mind going back. It’s only 2 euros for students and it’s so beautiful. This time, we saw a bunch of peacocks that we never saw last time. They aren’t scared of people at all and if you have food, they will follow you until you give it to them. They’re somewhat intimidating actually. 

After playing around in the gardens, we grabbed a quick tapas before Trevor and I headed home to attempt to make a traditional Spanish dish called a tortilla. It’s basically a fried omelet-type dish made of potatoes and eggs. It is meant to be served cold, but I think it’s much better warm.  This was our first attempt making anything legitimately Spanish, and it actually worked! Well, at least one of them worked; we tried to make two and the second one just ended up being a pile of scrambled and eggs and potatoes, which was still pretty delicious. I’m still counting it as a success.

I finally got to go shopping! On Saturday Ally, Jody, Angie and I went to the mall near our apartment and a few other stores around the city. The mall is just like any mall that would be in the States. We even ate lunch at McDonalds. The main difference is that here, during January and February, the entire region goes through their period of rebajas (sales). Every store has huge markdowns on already cheap things. For 130 euros (about 170 USD), I bought 4 dresses, 4 tops, a cardigan, a (fake) leather jacket, a skirt, a pair of heels, a necklace and a scarf.  While the majority of the stores have really cute, fashion forward things, there is always the occasional “What the heck??” clothing item. For example, Wedgie Jeans, as we like to call them. Haven’t actually seen anyone on the street wearing them, but someone must have them and think they’re the best things that ever existed. Almost worse than leggings as pants…

I am currently patiently awaiting the arrival of my new Kindle. Apparently it’s fairly normal for Kindles to experience “impact damage” with hardly any actual impact, and lines appear on the screen. Amazon is very graciously sending me a new one, but the international shipping means I won’t receive it for another few weeks. RIP Kindle and my means of reading in English.

Headed to Córdoba for the weekend later this afternoon, so will probably be out of touch until Sunday. Nobody freak out if I don’t answer an email or facebook post! 

Love from Spain! xoxo