(no subject)
I'm actually trying to keep a journal, though it won't be daily.
No one here is like me. First of all, I’m the only southerner, and most of them have weird Yankee accents. But provincialism aside, they’re partiers, and I know that I am not. I’ll have a drink, especially the great one they have here that’s a mix of red wine and coke, but I don’t do the staying out until 5am thing, especially if it’s at a club. I hate clubs. Bars - ok, but I hate clubs. Not surprising coming from the worst dancer in the world. I hope that there is someone else in this group of sixty Americans that shares my view, although I was with all but 15 of them last night as they began their semester-long party.
The two things I wish I had here are an Internet connection at home and an easier way to keep up with the goings-on in the U.S., which could be considered the same as the former desire. I’m not just talking about the news (we have CNN in English) and what my friends and family are up to, but also things like sports. I want to watch the Saints in the playoffs, and other people here want to watch the Bears, but I think we’re SOL. Fútbol is the only football they have here.
The first week here at the University has been pretty boring. We had to do all the orientation stuff of learning where things are, talking about the academic side of our stay in Bilbao, and taking the Spanish placement test, which was super easy. I’m thinking that Spanish III is going to be too easy for me, but I don’t want to go higher because then I’d have to directly enroll and be here until July. I’ve got things to do this summer…I hope. Yesterday we went to Las Encartaciones. I don’t really understand what that is - whether it’s a region or what - but the trip consisted of a really cool cave that we unfortunately could not take pictures in and a visit to the oldest town in the region, which was founded in 1199. The Guggenheim was today, but I now see what my host mother was talking about. It’s a great sight from the outside, but the inside is pretty boring if you don’t like modern art. I don’t really know if it’s that I don’t like it or that I can’t appreciate it from lack of understanding, but I think those go hand in hand. There was one painting that consisted of 4 concentric triangles, each of a different color, and as I looked at it and listened to the description, I thought, “I could do that.” So is it just the idea that is so appreciated in modern art?, because the ability needed to make some of those works seems common.
And my host mother - she’s very nice. She likes to talk a lot, which isn’t really my thing, but I deal with it. She’s a great cook, and she gives me so much food I have to decline it after a while. Apparently, her mother died last night, and she and her daughter have to travel to “another country” to have the services or whatever. I told her I could just eat out until they got back tomorrow night, but she insisted that she cook and leave things for me to heat up.
So I’m definitely sick. Got the scratchy throat and cough. I suppose it’s just the cold, but these Spaniards sure know how to put some fear into you. They handed us all a sheet yesterday about how the mumps are going around Spanish university students, instructing us that we could get vaccinated on Monday if we aren’t already. And then one of the other guy’s host mom has malaria. I didn’t know people still got that, but apparently she just traveled to Africa 2 or 3 weeks ago.
No one here is like me. First of all, I’m the only southerner, and most of them have weird Yankee accents. But provincialism aside, they’re partiers, and I know that I am not. I’ll have a drink, especially the great one they have here that’s a mix of red wine and coke, but I don’t do the staying out until 5am thing, especially if it’s at a club. I hate clubs. Bars - ok, but I hate clubs. Not surprising coming from the worst dancer in the world. I hope that there is someone else in this group of sixty Americans that shares my view, although I was with all but 15 of them last night as they began their semester-long party.
The two things I wish I had here are an Internet connection at home and an easier way to keep up with the goings-on in the U.S., which could be considered the same as the former desire. I’m not just talking about the news (we have CNN in English) and what my friends and family are up to, but also things like sports. I want to watch the Saints in the playoffs, and other people here want to watch the Bears, but I think we’re SOL. Fútbol is the only football they have here.
The first week here at the University has been pretty boring. We had to do all the orientation stuff of learning where things are, talking about the academic side of our stay in Bilbao, and taking the Spanish placement test, which was super easy. I’m thinking that Spanish III is going to be too easy for me, but I don’t want to go higher because then I’d have to directly enroll and be here until July. I’ve got things to do this summer…I hope. Yesterday we went to Las Encartaciones. I don’t really understand what that is - whether it’s a region or what - but the trip consisted of a really cool cave that we unfortunately could not take pictures in and a visit to the oldest town in the region, which was founded in 1199. The Guggenheim was today, but I now see what my host mother was talking about. It’s a great sight from the outside, but the inside is pretty boring if you don’t like modern art. I don’t really know if it’s that I don’t like it or that I can’t appreciate it from lack of understanding, but I think those go hand in hand. There was one painting that consisted of 4 concentric triangles, each of a different color, and as I looked at it and listened to the description, I thought, “I could do that.” So is it just the idea that is so appreciated in modern art?, because the ability needed to make some of those works seems common.
And my host mother - she’s very nice. She likes to talk a lot, which isn’t really my thing, but I deal with it. She’s a great cook, and she gives me so much food I have to decline it after a while. Apparently, her mother died last night, and she and her daughter have to travel to “another country” to have the services or whatever. I told her I could just eat out until they got back tomorrow night, but she insisted that she cook and leave things for me to heat up.
So I’m definitely sick. Got the scratchy throat and cough. I suppose it’s just the cold, but these Spaniards sure know how to put some fear into you. They handed us all a sheet yesterday about how the mumps are going around Spanish university students, instructing us that we could get vaccinated on Monday if we aren’t already. And then one of the other guy’s host mom has malaria. I didn’t know people still got that, but apparently she just traveled to Africa 2 or 3 weeks ago.