Day 5

Thursday, January 29, 2009

The morning went as usual. I missed the 9:25 train and so I practically ran to get to class on time, but it was fine. I’ve been getting a lot of exercise power walking to places when I’m late – getting places here takes longer than I’m used to (not like Stetson where I can walk out of the Pi Phi house 5 minutes before class).

Monica went over a bunch of vocabulary that seems simple but a lot of us have forgotten, plus the vosotros form, which we don’t really learn in the US. Fatima taught us a bunch of colloquial Spanish through music, and I think I want to take her class that focuses solely on that subject. It seems like something that will be useful for my time here. During the break I had my oral “exam” with Monica, which was really just me talking to her about random stuff.

After class, this really eccentric guy who started Canterbury English Schools came to talk to us about taking his class or workshop to learn how to teach English as a 2nd language. I think that I’m going to do the 2 ½ hour workshop – it’ll be interesting for me considering I already taught English in Pierson last semester. I think it’ll be useful (but maybe not) and hopefully I can bring some suggestions back to improve the classes at Pierson.
When he was done, Isabel finished her orientation with us, mostly about culture shock (which I think is a stupid name for being close-minded). I did learn a bunch of things about peculiarities of Spanish culture, like they ask people everything 3 times in a kind of social game of politeness.

Back at the apartment, I met Sue, the Chinese arrival. She was really upset that Teresa doesn’t have internet (as I’m typing this she’s still trying to hack into the local wireless lines that come up as security-enabled). We talked for a while about the internet; it was a little difficult because she speaks English and Spanish with a thick Chinese accent (a LOT of difficulty with l’s and r’s). Then I hung out with her and Teresa while she explained some things to her, like what to call her and Spanish last names. I learned that Teresa, or MayTe as a nickname for Maria Teresa, is separated from her husband (not divorced because she’s very Catholic) and doesn’t have any children, which is why she takes exchange students – we’re like her daughters.
Sue doesn’t go to UC3 either, but rather a private school in Madrid like Natasha. Isabel told us during our orientation to UC3 that we are studying at the best school in Madrid because it is public – that in Spain going to a private school is not prestigious as in the states. Instead, public universities, which are very inexpensive, only admit the best students and they don’t have to pay a lot as their reward… and it’s an incentive to keep doing well, because not so good students have to pay a lot to go to private schools, which have lower standards.

That night I watched TV with Natasha and fell asleep around 10:30… rare for me normally, but it seems to be when I get tired here.