Christmas in Seville

Okay, I'm leaving tomorrow morning, am so I can't actually say anything about Christmas itself. But I did want to say something about the time beforehand. 

Nativity scenes, which they call belenes in Spanish, are in most homes, and are not only the little things that you find in the US, although those do exist, they also include whole villages. They're really quite fantastic, and the pictures above are of the one we set up in the school. 

Christmas trees aren't as popular, I think, although I see them around as well. The pictures above are of the tree we put up in the school and one in a train station, so they're around, but there aren't shops with tree ornaments springing up in the middle of town like the nativity scene shops that are there.

Lights! These are gorgeous. And they're on the main streets in the evening. It makes things feel magical and I love it. 

I don't have pictures for this last one, but music is definitely existent too. If I was out more in the evenings I'd probably find more, but I've  definitely found some groups singing Christmas carols, which they call villancicos in Spanish, and they're lovely.

So that's everything I've actually seen. But just to add one thing I do know about their celebrations, they traditionally receive gifts on January 6, from the Reyes Magos (the magi/three kings), not on Christmas. American influence, however, is making it so that something is given on Christmas, butI think the main gift giving is still on January 6. 

Morocco

I promised pictures. Here they are. And, no, I'm not a good story teller with pictures by internet. So I'll just give you the link. Oh, and my camera had an almost dead battery, so I took very few. That and the fact that I don't take many pictures when I'm in a tour group like I would if I was alone. Anyway, the link: http://tinyurl.com/m5wyylk

And I'll try to make a post about Christmas celebrations here later in the week, because they're lovely.

Ten Comments, Things I Would Change, and Other Thoughts

These are in no particular order and just what come out of the top of my head:

1) Just... Senior year is a bad time to study abroad. I'm kinda dying here between stuff I've got to do in the IS, senioritis, twice as many weeks of school as normal in a row.... Yeah, just study abroad in junior year if you can. 

2) On the other hand, studying abroad when you've had as much language study as possible at home helps you to really get the most out of your experience. So, I really do advise waiting until you've taken as many language classes at home as possible/reasonable.

3) Working in groups with local students can be interesting, to say the least. It wasn't bad, I guess, but since they all knew each other and I'm a foreigner and a stranger they kinda disregarded that I might be able to speak Spanish and I might have interesting things to add. So that was interesting.... But I'm sure that not everyone has that experience, and there are other students who I suspect would be a lot nicer.

4) A lot of people in shops or whatever like to try to practice their English... either that or they just think I can't speak Spanish when I hesitate for a second. Or they're racist. I don't even know, but I try to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they just want to practice their English.

5) Getting out there and doing something with the community is a great idea. Especially if nobody speaks English in the group. It gets you involved in the culture in a whole new way. My thing was choir, but I also strongly considered volunteering, and I'm sure there are a million things out there that you could find to do. Just do it, it's something you'll never regret.

6) And don't bite off more than you can chew. A word to people from schools that run on quarters picking classes with semester credits: It's not just when you transfer them back home that 3 semester credits equal 4.5 quarter credits. It's also in the day to day workload.

7) Tutoring was nice, while I did it. Just be okay with asking the parents questions about their kid and asking for help elsewhere too. But if you like working with kids and teaching, it should be a good experience.

8) I'll just repeat what I was told, by one of my favorite professors, in my freshman year of college: You're doing a lot of studying, yes, but find something that's just good for your soul. Whether it's music or escaping to the hills or travelling (if you can afford it) or reading books or anything at all. Just find something that helps you relax and be you and not worry about life as much. (A lot of people like being in the city, but I kinda dislike flat cities, so I've taken plenty of solace in books and choir.)

9) Be open to making friends. So be willing to spend time with people when they invite you to do stuff with them. I'm rather reserved and used to living on a college campus where it's easy to just run into people, so I haven't done that great at that, but just be willing to put some effort into talking to people and making a connection with them.

10) People in this country can be incredibly nice. Like, they actually pay attention if you look like you're having a hard time, or at least some of them do. And it's driven me insane, because I hate crying uncontrollably and I can usually hold it in until I'm alone if people leave me alone. But it's also great, and if you see that someone looks like they might care and you need to talk, you're probably safe to do so. Just don't worry about it. (Also, I've found that the other american students are really nice too when I need a listening ear. People really do care about you who aren't thousands of miles away. Trust me.)

October Trips

So, during the month of October I went on a bunch of trips. There were the required trips with the group, to Córdoba for one day and a weekend trip to Mérida, Cáceres, and Trujillo, as well as the trips I decided to go on during my long weekends, to Granada and Rome. It was a lot of travel, but it just happened to be how the schedule fell together... and I loved travelling alone to Granada and Rome. Here's a quick summary of all of the trips:

Córdoba: We went to the mosque/cathedral, a small art museum, and maybe one or two other places I can't remember. I was tired and kind of frustrated at the size of the group and running around from one place to another, but I think that might have been because I had a headache or some other problem internal to myself. That and the fact that I've been on a few too many group tours seeing tons of sights over the last three months that I've been in Spain. The pictures I took are combined with those from Granada.

Granada: It was the first trip I've done solo, and it was a great experience. I stayed in a hostel between the Albaycín, which is a lovely neighbourhood on a hill and I suspect is somewhat old and the Alhambra. I never actually went into the Alhambra, I just spent my time wandering around the streets and reading, relaxing. I spent the first day in two different neighbourhoods on hills and the second walking around the Alhambra and enjoying the views down from the hill it's on. I especially enjoyed that it was in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, since I've been getting rather tired of being in a flat city and I rather suspect that being on hillsides makes cities forced to be more open and less constricting--something I desperately needed. My pictures are here: http://tinyurl.com/np45ty3

Mérida, Cáceres, and Trujillo: Again, I went on this trip with the group. We were about 35 people, I think, and moving around touring places as a group. However, it didn't feel as bad as it had in Córdoba (probably because I didn't have a migraine or whatever had been ailing me) and I rather enjoyed it. In Mérida we saw some Roman ruins and a museum full of artifacts from the ruins, in Cáceres we saw the medieval part of the city (which remains almost untouched), and in Trujillo we visited the castle and the house/museum of Francisco Pizarro and had an hour left to wander where we wanted to. I enjoyed all of that, but especially Trujillo. It was nice to be allowed to wander freely again, and it was nice that the town was on a hill. (I'm beginning to think that I have a thing for cities on hills....) My pictures are here: http://tinyurl.com/jvn9s48

Rome: Well, other than some trouble getting there (I forgot my passport and had to take a taxi back to the apartment to fetch it, which was quite expensive and stressful), it was a great trip. I visited the Roman ruins on the Palatine hill, the Colosseum, St. Peter's basilica, St. Mary Major, St. John Lateran, St. Peter in Chains, and a couple of other churches I found. And... I found another hill on the Sunday afternoon and hung out on the ridge relaxing and reading. Because apparently I relax by finding hills and reading books. My pictures are here: http://tinyurl.com/n8394wb

As far as plans for future trips, I'm going on a trip to Morocco with the group in a couple of weeks and I'm considering travelling to England in December. That depends on if I can afford it, though, so we'll see what happens. (Morocco is definitely going to happen.)

Continuation Period and Travel

If I'm learning one thing about myself, it's that I should never promise to keep up a blog. I appear to be terrible at it. But that said, here's an attempt at an update on my life here in Spain.

As far as classes, they're mostly good, but I'm maybe overburdened. I have lit, history, and linguistics as far as classes with a normal amount of content, and then I also have dance and speaking classes. That would be a fine load if it weren't for the fact that I'm also trying to tutor a kid in English, go to choir rehearsals, and start doing a bunch of work on my honors project. I'm enjoying everything except for one or two classes, though, and the class I like least is one of the most useful when I return to SPU, so I have to work through it anyway. And it's a manageable enough load, although it is stretching me pretty far.

Tutoring is good, and hard. I'm enjoying it, and the boy is learning, although I'm definitely having to stop and think sometimes how to actually make progress.

The choir is fun too, and I'm enjoying the more traditional Spanish music we're working on now. It's a different musical tradition from the one I've grown up in, so it's a great experience.

I'm travelling a lot this month, both with the program and without. So far, I've been to Córdoba with the program and Granada on my own. Córdoba was nice enough, but I'm kind of tired of running around and seeing all the sights, and the larger the group the more stressful it is. When I went to Granada, I went with almost no plan, and just planned to relax and enjoy the city. It was one of the nicest trips I've been on, and it was great to just be able to do whatever. I have a lot of pictures from Granada, and a few from Córdoba as well. I'll share them when I can. This weekend, we're going to Méridad, Cáceres, and Trujillo as a group, and next weekend I'll go to Rome on my own. Then I'm actually staying put for a while.... Again, I'll post pictures when I can. And I'll try to post something with pictures and maybe about our trip this weekend next week.

Review, Romería, and Continuation Period

I named this post after the period that's coming up, but I'm going to start with the period that just ended, the intensive period. We had three weeks of intensive language classes, as the name suggests, and it was good. The classes were well done, so while I was a bit tired of intensive classes (I do not recommend that other people try to do seven weeks of intensive class in a row, it gets rather tiring.), I also kind of enjoyed the classes.

This last weekend, we went to a romería, a local festival that is basically a short pilgrimage to a shrine nearby. It was lovely. The people were garbed in their traditional dress, on horses and on foot and with some carriages carrying food. There were also donkeys carrying stuff. There was music and conversation as they walked, and then I suspect that there was dancing at the end, but we left because of the rain. We watched them set out and then hopped in a bus to go to the end point and wait until they got there, but most of them walked or rode horses or carriages the whole way. Here are some pictures of the romería.

The cart carrying the image of Mary they were taking to a small shrine on their pilgrimage.

One of the food carts.

The part of the crowd that was ahead of us when they stopped to pray at noon. (This was just about where we turned around to take the bus to the end point.

Some people on horseback at the end of their journey. I was sitting on a hillside, looking down.

Now, the continuation period is starting, and I'm going starting my new classes and my tutoring work with an 8-year-old child nearby. I should meet him and his parents this week, and I'm talking to his parents about the specifics of that. Yesterday was the first day of class, so nothing's really happened with that yet. I'll let you know how my classes are in a week or so.

As far as photos, I just uploaded quite a few. There are new pictures of Salamanca here, pictures of Segovia here, and pictures of the romería here.

Seville

So, it's been a few weeks since I posted last. I'm in Seville now, and I honestly feel a lot more comfortable here than I did in Salamanca. In Salamanca I didn't really have any friends, and couldn't find what I wanted to in the local churches either, but within a few days of being in Seville I found both. Also, I have been a bit more communicative with my host mom, which helps tremendously in feeling at home.

A few thoughts comparing the International Studies Abroad (ISA) and Spanish Studies Abroad (SSA) programs:

The ISA students never actually practiced Spanish with each other and mostly stayed together, and the other students in Salamanca often spoke English too, so I didn´t actually practice my Spanish with people very much outside of class. There was a reason that when I finally got something approaching friends they were Korean girls who didn't really speak English or hang out with other Koreans. (Okay, maybe the culture had something to do with it to. I don't know anything about Korea, so I don't know.) Not all of the students here in the SSA program actually speak Spanish together, but at least we have a policy saying that we're only allowed to and I have friends who do.

The ISA program was only four weeks, whereas SSA is 16 weeks, so I have much more time to settle down and actually get comfortable with the language here.

The ISA program was smaller, which was both good and bad. We didn't have our classes as a group of students from the US, we had them with people from all over the world, which was fun. But we also were only ten students, so it was easy for groups to form and not be able to find anyone who could be a good friend. Here I can still have some amount of personal relationship with the directors, and it's easier to find friends. We have all our classes in the center (which may or may not be a product of the size of the program, I don't know), which means that we're mostly spending time with Americans, but we all have speaking partners and host families. And Spanish students study English in the center too, so we'll see what happens when their classes start in a few weeks. It should be interesting.

As far as what I'm up to right now, we're in a period of intensive Spanish study. This goes on for three weeks (we have one left), and then we begin the semester. There's a local choir that a couple of my friends and I are singing in, and we went to a rehearsal for the first time last night. We won't be able to perform in their Christmas concert, because we leave before then, but we will be able to rehearse and maybe sing in other events that they sing in. Next week my class at the Universidad de Pablo Olavide starts, and the week after that we begin the other regular classes. I'll write more about those classes when they have actually started.

Health and Homesickness

The last couple of weeks have been rough health wise. I sprained my ankle, I got sick, and I didn't have my usual resources. 

I had to go to urgent care to see a doctor for my ankle, because the ankle brace I had bought was hurting me instead of helping me. I was scared and lonely and wanted my mommy. But it turned out okay, and although sprains don't heal fast my ankle is more or less okay and I got through.

Just this Tuesday, I got sick. Well, I started to have a fever on Monday night, but I wasn't sure and forgot about my doubts until the next day at school. But, for once in my life, I actually had mercy on myself and rested, so it only lasted a few days.

There have been a few accomplishments tied into these episodes: I went to urgent care, I dealt with a sprain, I took a taxi. These are good things to learn from as well as painful experiences.

Today, I was feeling pretty low because I miss my friends and went to the park nearby to read. I got to talking to an old man because of his dog (Well, his daughter's dog.) and he talked a bit about affection for home being a natural and healthy and good thing after I said that I was kinda homesick in response to queries about what I like about the city. It was nice to find someone being so nice. Also, I should hang around where old men hang out and talk to them more often.

But as far as happier notes, we had a flamenco dance class yesterday and we're going to Segovia tomorrow. Finals are next week, and next Saturday I get on a bus to Seville. I'll be there for four times as long, so I think it will be much easier to set down roots and feel comfortable in the city. Also, I'll have more time to get to know people and practice Spanish with them.

Computer

Just as a public service announcement, I didn't bring mine. If I take a few days to reply to an email, I'm probably waiting to be able to use a real computer. (I'm typing this from my phone, but it's an inconvenient endeavor, so I don't intend to ever repeat it. I just thought I should get this out there sooner rather than later, since there are a few emails just waiting for Monday.)

School

School started two weeks ago. We all took a placement test, which was both multiple choice and oral, and got our results and class schedules that evening. I got placed into advanced, which correlates to B2 in the European system (CEFR) or high intermediate/low advanced in the American system (ACTFL). My class schedule is this:

9:00-11:00 Spanish Language. We've been working on grammar, and it has definitely been helping me. I wasn't sure at first about taking Spanish classes, but it's much more enjoyable than the Spanish classes back at home, because we're actually using the language with people who actually use it in real life.

11:05-12:05 Spanish Culture. We've been talking about how Spaniards interact, eat, normal schedules, etc. We're about to talk about different regions of Spain. It's probably my least favorite class, but it's good and I do enjoy the discussions. The main thing that bothers me is that it feels very slow.

12:10-1:10 Art History of Spain. This might be my favorite class. We're focusing on five different painters, El Greco, Velazquez, and three more (I think the last two are Dalí and Picasso, but I'm not sure). For each painter, we're learning about his life and paintings from every key period of his life.

1:15-2:15 Practice of Writing Skills. This is probably the hardest class for me, simply because it's in the fifth hour straight of classes. However, we're talking about writing different types of documents, and it's good. I'm sure it will be good for me to have to write and get back graded papers.

The way classes are graded is different from in the States. 20-30% of the grade is based on participation/interest/attention/etc. and the rest is based on the final exam. That is, for every class other than my writing class. There, we don't have a final and our grade comes directly from our grades on the papers.

My daily routine mostly consists of studying and relaxing, but we've been doing some touring as a group. We went to the cathedrals last Wednesday (August 6), last weekend we went to Aveiro, Portugal (August 8-10) and the beach, and yesterday we went to the old university (August 13). I might write about those sometime if anyone cares and asks, but right now I'm just leaving the pictures online and not writing anything.

Here are the pictures I have so far:
Salamanca streets, just ones that I normally walk and views I normally see: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/106015904924642531113/albums/6047451708393226977
Our trip to Aveiro: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/106015904924642531113/albums/6047457684001577937
Views from the walls of the cathedrals: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/106015904924642531113/albums/6047457465350062113
Madrid and Toledo pictures: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/106015904924642531113/albums/6044126560332149553

Spain!

We got to Spain just about a week ago, but I've been to busy to post anything in the last week. Here's a summary of my time so far, or at least of the first weekend.

When I landed in Spain, I was in Madrid. We met there as a group, and went to our hotel. We had the afternoon free, but after that we had to get together for a meeting in the evening and a quick tour of the city by bus. We saw a bunch of sites from the bus, and talked about how things work for our program, and those of us who had signed up to get cell phones got them at the end. The next day, we had a walking tour of the old part of the city, Madrid de los Austrias (named because of the Austrias, or Hapsburgs, who moved the capital from Madrid to Spain), and visited El Prado. I don´t have many pictures of that morning, because I don´t take good documentary photos and they didn't let us take pictures in El Prado.

In my free time, I mostly went to the park across the street, Retiro, which is probably the most popular park in Madrid. It was a great place. I also went to the botanical garden, which was rather sparse in flowers because it was August, but I enjoyed anyway. Here are some pictures I took in the garden.

Bonsai

The last picture is of bonsai. There was a nice selection of it, but I don't have many pictures because the background was bushes.

After our time in Madrid, we went to Toledo, which is also beautiful. We toured the cathedral and the synagogue, and I think we saw other things that I don´t remember. After the tour, we had lunch and free time, so I wandered around the streets for a bit. Toledo was the old capital of Spain, so it has a lot of beautiful and old places. Here are a couple of pictures from there:

I think this is a Roman bridge.

A view of the other side of the river. I have no idea what this is. And I also don't know why it's blurry.

Here, you can see the combination of styles (moorish and roman, I think) in the arches.

Sorry I don't have time to say more. We should be leaving in a few minutes to have a get together with Spanish students to set up speaking partners. I'll tell about school and other things when I can, probably next week. We're leaving for Aveiro, Portugal tomorrow for the weekend.

Leaving in one week!

In one week, I leave Portland on my way to Spain. I'll spend about five days doing some travel within the States, but after that I'm heading off to Salamanca!

Here are some things I'm looking forward to:

First and foremost, my host family and simply studying and living in the Spanish language and culture. I'm looking forward to simply trying to slip into the culture of Spain while I'm abroad. This is really what I'm looking forward to the most, being immersed in Spain. Everything else that I'm looking forward to is part of this.

Of course, being a bibliophile, I had to love these pictures of the biblioteca antigua. I'm sure that I will find a library--if not this one--at the Universidad de Salamanca, and spend many a happy hour there. I have to have something to read after I finish La sombra del viento.

This is a picture of one of the cathedrals, but I am looking forward to churches in general as well. Which brings me to the next concept: art.

It seems practically impossible to try to find a picture that shows art in general, so I won't even try. But the art in the architecture and in museums is something I expect to enjoy. Not to mention art in music, which I love dearly.

Food. I have eaten Argentine food, which is quite similar to Spanish food, all my life, so it isn't as if this is going to be terribly exotic. But I do love that food and am looking forward to being surrounded by it.

Just getting lost on the streets. There is little I like more than going out to wander on streets that I don't know (with a map or enough knowledge of the area to get back safely, and preferably with a cell phone), and I greatly look forward to doing this while I am abroad.

See you in a couple weeks, after I arrive in Salamanca!

My Plan for Spain

In Spain, I am going to study with two different programs and in two different cities. The first month will be spent in Salamanca, with International Studies Abroad, and the rest of the time I will be in Seville, with Spanish Studies Abroad. I decided to do both programs so I would be able to have some time at the beginning to ease into the language and culture and so I would be able to spend as much time as possible in Spain. It also provides the opportunity to experience the culture and history of both Salamanca and Seville.

Salamanca is home to one of the oldest universities in Europe, one of the first places where Muslims, Jews, and Christians studied the writings of the ancient Greeks together. Many of my classes have mentioned this period at least in passing, and I think that visiting the University of Salamanca would be a wonderful experience.

The reason I chose International Studies Abroad was partially that the schedule would allow me to spend the most time possible studying in Spain and partially that I wanted an opportunity to adapt gently to the Spanish language and culture before the fall semester starts in earnest. I was afraid of having all my classes in Spanish (which they will likely be anyway, and I know I can handle, but I'm still slightly afraid of it), so I wanted to be allowed to lapse into English while I adjust.

Seville is an absolutely beautiful city, filled with a culture that mixes both European and Moorish influences. When I visited three years ago, after I finished high school, I fell in love with the city and wanted to return there someday. I have never doubted whether I want to study in Seville, only if I wanted to study in other cities. Added to the beauty of the city, I have friends who live near Seville, whom I will be able to visit at times and will spend the few days between programs with.

I chose to study with Spanish Studies Abroad in Seville because of their emphasis on using Spanish only, and their incorporation with the universities. I want to be able to live in the local language and culture, not just as a tourist. I want to be able to sing in the university choir, spend time at a local Catholic parish and possibly get involved there, and participate in normal life in the city.

See you in Salamanca!

Update: Leaving in 4 weeks!

In just four weeks and a few days I will be leaving for Spain. I will spend August in Salamanca with International Studies Abroad and September through December 20 in Seville with Spanish Studies Abroad. I decided to do both programs so that I would be able to have more background and practice when I begin my studies in Seville in the fall, and thus be better prepared to dive into deeper study of Spanish and get the most I can out of my time abroad.

I'm really looking forward to this time abroad. I want to explore the Spanish culture, especially since my mother was raised in Argentina and my upbringing has not been that of a normal american. I'm looking forward to improving my Spanish, which I have heard since birth (and find particularly comforting, since my mother spoke it to me) but have not learned to speak fluently. I hope to develop friendships while abroad. I hope to experience the difference between the United States and Spain the the practice of Catholicism, as far as things are variable by country.

I also have some fears. I'm a bit worried that my visa won't arrive in time (the consulate said that it would be 3-4 weeks, which leaves 1 or 2 to spare, so I should be okay). I'm afraid that I will still be affected by the shooting on my campus the last week of spring quarter and will struggle at times with unreasonable fears and/or irritability. I'm afraid that my slowness to speak (which I have also struggled with in English) will be perceived as ignorance of the language. I'm afraid that I will struggle with making connections with people.

But on the whole, I'm not so afraid as I am excited. Sure, there are problems I have to face. But they are not insurmountable and I think I'll be fine. I'm really looking forward to this trip, and all that I will learn and do and see in Spain.

See you from Salamanca and Seville!

Hi

Hello. My name is Cynthia, and I decided to make this blog as a way to record my journeys studying in Spain. As of today, I have been accepted to study with GlobaLinks Abroad (7-7-2014: The program has since been changed to International Studies Abroad by GlobaLinks and ISA.) in Salamanca in August 2014, and I am in the process of applying to study with Spanish Studies Abroad in Seville in the Fall. I will use this blog as a place to post my progress as I prepare to go abroad and when I go abroad. In the meantime, here are a few pictures that I took the last time I was in Seville:

This guy was just playing his guitar by the walls outside the castle.

I don't know where this is in Seville, but somewhere near the castle.

A random alley in the Jewish district.

I stepped in here to get out of the way of a car. Either that, or I just saw it and stepped in because it was pretty. But the alleys in that area are narrow enough that you have to jump into doorways to get out of the way of oncoming cars. Or enough of them are, anyway.

One of the many plazas in the Jewish district. I don't remember the name.