Sunday, September 23, 2007
minority?
i have never been the minority. i have always been the privileged, dominant population. but since i have been here, i have been put in the minority. and i am glad i am able to have this experience. its so hard to be in this position....people are not cool to you. there have been quite a few times when i have gone to ask someone for help, be it directions or for something else, and i explain it in spanish as best i can and they pretend they don't understand me, when i know they do. these people make me feel so inferior and like i do not belong at all. i don't like this feeling. and i know that in america it is so much the same. we treat people so differently when they are not like us, and it doesn't need to be like that. we are all people and we should all be respected. there have also been times when we go out in a group of 6 or so and try to get into a discoteca (dance club) and we are turned down, simply because they know we are americans. or they try to charge us outrageous cover charges. i am not down with that. it just makes me discouraged to be here when this happens. and its not like it happens frequently, but when it does i just don't want to be here. but most of the time the people are friendly and want to help me find my way to wherever i am going and such. so i think it gets balanced out, but its tough sometimes.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
mas pictures...
first day of school outfit
we were totally in the newspaper today!
juan
the prettiest spot on campusstory time...
our first real misunderstanding
so, before kayla and i left for the beach last saturday, we told our host family we would be back at night and assumed that meant after dinner. aparrently not. we walked in at like 11pm after a long train ride back to sevilla and our host mom, maria, seemed to be flustered/upset with us. we weren't home for dinner and we hadn't made it clear that we weren't going to be. whoops! we thought she was legit upset with us so we went to our room and we conjured up a plan. we knew we had to do something, so we got out a piece of paper and drew a lovely picture of us (as stick figures) on the beach holding a banner that said "NOS SENTAMOS" (we're sorry) and wrote a nice little note saying we were sorry for not being home for dinner and such. and we left it by her door. then she came into our room like 10 minutes later and gave us hugs and kisses and we laughed about it. we felt really bad, but we definitely turned it into something we could laugh about. and maria appearred to enjoy it. :)
placement exam & juan
so we had our placement exam on tuesday to see what level of spanish we needed to take. we were all pretty nervous about it because we just didn't know what format it was going to be and yadda yadda. we made a big deal out of nothing because it was super facil (easy) and we all did great. but after our test, we went for a tour of campus. i must say Pablo de Olavide is not the prettiest campus i have ever seen. it is actually quite ugly. there is lots of brown and dead things, where you would think would be lush, greenery. there is an abundance of palm trees, however, which makes up for the uglyness :) so we went around and saw the library, and the sport courts (which leave little to be desired) and the ping-pong center. that was the greatest. our tour guide, david, was hilarious. it was his first time doing the tour and his english wasn't super great and he doesn't even go to the school. haha. so he told us when we were in the table tennis center "here is the place, there are the tables. put the tables in the place and play." it was amazing. he was hilarious. we loved him. AND then we had seen this dog trotting around campus and got excited like it was the campus dog. so we were sitting on a bench and this dog came and sat on my feet. it was precious. i named him juan, for lack of a better name. and all was good. then we left, and he stayed there. but i haven't seen him again. he must be around somewhere.
first day of class....
oh wow. i must say it was quite the first day of school. i woke up and got ready this morning with no problems and walked to the bus stop and hopped on the bus and was on my way. i thought i had figured out where all my classes were, in which buildings and room numbers, but oh was i wrong. you see, when i had gone through everything, i had not checked to see that the same class that was on monday and wednesdays's were in different places for the different days. i found that out the hard way. i went to the room i thought i was supposed to be in and there were a bunch of kids from my group in that class so i was like oh this is great. no. i checked my schedule because this class was the history of spain, not the history of spanish art (where i was supposed to be). so i looked at the schedule and it was then i had the lightbulb moment of the m & w classes are in different rooms. so i went to the classroom i thought was mine and walked in and the room had about 8 students in it and they were all writing (by this time it was 15 minutes after class started). so i thought this was my class and the teacher looked at me and simply said "no." so i left that room and found a bench to sit on to rearrange my life and try to really figure where i was supposed to be. so i found out that i needed to be in building 16, room 3....not building 13, room 6 where i had just been. so i walked into class about 20 minutes late, luckily the professor was just taking roll and having the kids introduce themselves. i didn't miss much. and the class is in english too, so that made it good as well. the rest of the day was really good. my civilizacion y cultura class is going to be hard to follow because the professor talks really fast in spanish, but will be interesting. and my international marketing professor. wow. that's all i can say. he is quite the guy. he told us his life story and then he gave us rules for the class, yes he had a list of 17 rules/suggestions for us. wow. he is incredibly funny though and very knowledgeable about where to go out at night and he is taking us all out one night at some point for a field trip to a bar. great. he is funny though. it will be a good class. i am excited.
overall, i am very excited for school and such. i have two classes tomorrow, both in spanish. they should be okay though. i am getting more confident every day speaking to people and such, although i still hestitate a lot sometimes. i like taking the bus to school every day. even when i have to walk home in the rain storm with no umbrella, like today. :) anyway, pictures are coming after this.... LOVE TO ALL!
so, before kayla and i left for the beach last saturday, we told our host family we would be back at night and assumed that meant after dinner. aparrently not. we walked in at like 11pm after a long train ride back to sevilla and our host mom, maria, seemed to be flustered/upset with us. we weren't home for dinner and we hadn't made it clear that we weren't going to be. whoops! we thought she was legit upset with us so we went to our room and we conjured up a plan. we knew we had to do something, so we got out a piece of paper and drew a lovely picture of us (as stick figures) on the beach holding a banner that said "NOS SENTAMOS" (we're sorry) and wrote a nice little note saying we were sorry for not being home for dinner and such. and we left it by her door. then she came into our room like 10 minutes later and gave us hugs and kisses and we laughed about it. we felt really bad, but we definitely turned it into something we could laugh about. and maria appearred to enjoy it. :)
placement exam & juan
so we had our placement exam on tuesday to see what level of spanish we needed to take. we were all pretty nervous about it because we just didn't know what format it was going to be and yadda yadda. we made a big deal out of nothing because it was super facil (easy) and we all did great. but after our test, we went for a tour of campus. i must say Pablo de Olavide is not the prettiest campus i have ever seen. it is actually quite ugly. there is lots of brown and dead things, where you would think would be lush, greenery. there is an abundance of palm trees, however, which makes up for the uglyness :) so we went around and saw the library, and the sport courts (which leave little to be desired) and the ping-pong center. that was the greatest. our tour guide, david, was hilarious. it was his first time doing the tour and his english wasn't super great and he doesn't even go to the school. haha. so he told us when we were in the table tennis center "here is the place, there are the tables. put the tables in the place and play." it was amazing. he was hilarious. we loved him. AND then we had seen this dog trotting around campus and got excited like it was the campus dog. so we were sitting on a bench and this dog came and sat on my feet. it was precious. i named him juan, for lack of a better name. and all was good. then we left, and he stayed there. but i haven't seen him again. he must be around somewhere.
first day of class....
oh wow. i must say it was quite the first day of school. i woke up and got ready this morning with no problems and walked to the bus stop and hopped on the bus and was on my way. i thought i had figured out where all my classes were, in which buildings and room numbers, but oh was i wrong. you see, when i had gone through everything, i had not checked to see that the same class that was on monday and wednesdays's were in different places for the different days. i found that out the hard way. i went to the room i thought i was supposed to be in and there were a bunch of kids from my group in that class so i was like oh this is great. no. i checked my schedule because this class was the history of spain, not the history of spanish art (where i was supposed to be). so i looked at the schedule and it was then i had the lightbulb moment of the m & w classes are in different rooms. so i went to the classroom i thought was mine and walked in and the room had about 8 students in it and they were all writing (by this time it was 15 minutes after class started). so i thought this was my class and the teacher looked at me and simply said "no." so i left that room and found a bench to sit on to rearrange my life and try to really figure where i was supposed to be. so i found out that i needed to be in building 16, room 3....not building 13, room 6 where i had just been. so i walked into class about 20 minutes late, luckily the professor was just taking roll and having the kids introduce themselves. i didn't miss much. and the class is in english too, so that made it good as well. the rest of the day was really good. my civilizacion y cultura class is going to be hard to follow because the professor talks really fast in spanish, but will be interesting. and my international marketing professor. wow. that's all i can say. he is quite the guy. he told us his life story and then he gave us rules for the class, yes he had a list of 17 rules/suggestions for us. wow. he is incredibly funny though and very knowledgeable about where to go out at night and he is taking us all out one night at some point for a field trip to a bar. great. he is funny though. it will be a good class. i am excited.
overall, i am very excited for school and such. i have two classes tomorrow, both in spanish. they should be okay though. i am getting more confident every day speaking to people and such, although i still hestitate a lot sometimes. i like taking the bus to school every day. even when i have to walk home in the rain storm with no umbrella, like today. :) anyway, pictures are coming after this.... LOVE TO ALL!
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Toledo pics...
Me at the windmills on the way to Sevilla
Senior picture at the Cathedral in Toledo (for you Brandi :))
Toledo Cathedral courtyard
Highest point in Toledo (atop a church)
thoughts...
so i have officially been in spain for a week and one day. where to begin. it has been quite the journey thus far. it has been quite an emotional rollercoaster, but it is starting to settle down. we did lots of touring with the group (of 40 students) over the first 4 days, and then we got to our homes. there is lots to see here and many cathedrals and castles to learn about. in madrid we toured quite a bit then we went to toledo (about an hour south of madrid) and did more touring. then we finally got on the bus for a six hour ride to sevilla. it was the most nerve-wracking ride of my life. when we were getting close to sevilla, i was questioning myself and wondering what i was doing here. i was so nervous to meet my family and make sevilla my home for the next 3 1/2 months. i would have to find my way around this place, and really be at home here. crazy thought! i was tenative to get off the bus and very anxious to hear the directors call my name to meet my host mom. i felt numb and scared, but at the same time so glad to be in a place i could call home.
now i look back on that day and think i was being silly. it has been amazing here! i get lost pretty much every day, but i must say i am incredible at reading a map. i must look like a fool to all the natives here because i have to look at my map wherever i go, but hey, that is alright. i am settling in here, and it is becoming easier for me to understand the language. and i am speaking more of it too. i feel so accomplished when i can understand a whole conversation that we have with our host mom. its a great feeling! and i know it will only get better.
other than that, not much else has been going on. we (my roommate kayla, and i) went to the beach yesterday (a 2 hour train ride) and it was soooo nice to just relax. we got back late and were exhausted so we went to bed. we are going to review our spanish today so we can do well on our placement exam tomorrow. we have that test then we are touring the campus. and then on tuesday, we have an orientation and welcome reception in the evening and then classes start on wednesday! i am actually really excited to start classes and see what they are like and such. until then, we need to figure out how to get a bus pass and where the bus stop is. :)
i hope things are going well for everyone! any news/anything is welcome :) hope to hear from you soon! love to all!
now i look back on that day and think i was being silly. it has been amazing here! i get lost pretty much every day, but i must say i am incredible at reading a map. i must look like a fool to all the natives here because i have to look at my map wherever i go, but hey, that is alright. i am settling in here, and it is becoming easier for me to understand the language. and i am speaking more of it too. i feel so accomplished when i can understand a whole conversation that we have with our host mom. its a great feeling! and i know it will only get better.
other than that, not much else has been going on. we (my roommate kayla, and i) went to the beach yesterday (a 2 hour train ride) and it was soooo nice to just relax. we got back late and were exhausted so we went to bed. we are going to review our spanish today so we can do well on our placement exam tomorrow. we have that test then we are touring the campus. and then on tuesday, we have an orientation and welcome reception in the evening and then classes start on wednesday! i am actually really excited to start classes and see what they are like and such. until then, we need to figure out how to get a bus pass and where the bus stop is. :)
i hope things are going well for everyone! any news/anything is welcome :) hope to hear from you soon! love to all!
Thursday, September 06, 2007
A couple more pictures..
A few more pictures...
Mind. The. Gap. Seriously people. 
Buckingham Palace in the background....aka my future home :)
Some random clocktower that we saw....I forget what its called....Big something
London Highlights...
Hey! So here are some highlight pictures from London! I had an incredible time! It's amazing there! And I can't wait until the Queen invites me to live with her at Buckingham Palace...she doesn't know it yet, but I am confident it will happen! :)
On the London Eye ferris wheel type of thing! Wonderful view from the top!
Having a beer at a pub! It's all part of the London experience if you know what I mean...
This one is for those Harry Potter fans! Haha.
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