Monday, May 9, 2011

nueve de mayo

7:03 p.m.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately! I have been quite a busy girl lately, and my down time is used to read (what else?).

The lack of internet is annoying when I want to get in touch with people, but it's something I've started to welcome when it means wasting less time. I am astounded at how quickly I can get through homework without the distraction of my computer (unless the homework requires internet, in which case it becomes a long process of finding internet and using it efficiently).

This weekend was nothing special. Almost everyone (save for Sara, Kyla, Becca, and myself) spent it traveling, but we spent it in sleepy little Santander. On Thursday after class we went to the beach for a few hours, and that night we went to karaoke with a group of students learning English at Universidad Internacional de Menendez Pelayo (UIMP, pronounced "wimp"), which was fun. Us true English-speakers know how to pick karaoke songs ("I Will Survive" is a way better crowd-pleaser than "Other Side". The Red Hot Chili Peppers were not meant to be karaoke-d).

On Friday I spent the day running, reading, relaxing, and shopping. I bought an adorable dress that is going to be my "big" purchase this trip, and that should serve me well this summer.

On Saturday it was more running, reading, and relaxing...Sunday was more of the same. What can I say? I find things to do that work for me, and I stick to them. I'm definitely a creature of habit.

Which is why I started this week a little disgruntled and out of sorts. The problems my class has been having with our grammar teacher, Isabel, have led to us having our usual classes during the week, as well as two extra hours in the afternoons on Mondays and Tuesdays.

At first, I was peeved - why should I have to go to two extra classes a week (and not receive any extra course credit) just to learn what I fully grasped the first time around? I was also peeved because it would interrupt my schedule - I was completely adjusted to going home, eating, studying for a bit, going for a run, going to Skype Jonny, doing homework, and having dinner.

After actually having the class this afternoon, I feel a lot better. I'm still a little annoyed that I have to go to extra class for no additional credit, and I'm still peeved that my schedule will be out of sorts, but the class itself was actually phenomenal.

Last week we were told we wouldn't be learning anything new, just reviewing what Isabel was teaching us, but that turned out to be incorrect. Manolo (the best teacher at the university, according to students and staff alike) is a great teacher, and today we learned a new concept that would have taken weeks for Isabel to teach us. Not to rag on Isabel or anything...she's really smart, just used to teaching big groups of native Spanish speakers.

The new material was easy for me to grasp, which makes me feel a lot better about how slowly we've been going through things with Isabel. With the concept we've been covering being hashed and rehashed for the past six weeks, I was starting to wonder if I was missing something. It turns out, I'm still as smart as I thought I was (not to toot my own horn or anything), and I still feel like learning a new language comes naturally to me, even with more difficult concepts being presented.

So, despite being out of sorts due to a new schedule, I'm not complaining about the extra class. Unless it's sunny. In which case I will be staring wistfully outside, wishing I was at the beach for the duration of my two-hour class (it goes form 4:00 to 6:00).

This week is another busy one - I have three sizable projects and papers I want to get done before our big group excursion to Toledo, Burgos, and Segovia this weekend. I probably should take advantage of the mercado's internet and get some research done.

Hasta luego!

♥ abigail

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