But back to the beginning of the day. Kim and I ran to the gym this morning, did an amazing 45 minute spinning class, and then ran home in time to grab breakfast, shower, and get to class on time. Granted, our first classes of the day were at 1pm, but I still thought is was a productive morning.
My class was on the History of Roman Spain. I really liked the professor during the preliminary session last week, but today the class did a complete 180. Instead of really interacting with the six students in the class, he spent the whole time lecturing. I have no problem with a good lecture, but it seemed like he was talking down to us. I appreciate the fact that he spoke slowly, but the information was really watered down, which is not at all what I am used to at Smith. I want a class that will challenge me, and the material he presented today was not at all what I thought it would be. Alternatively, Kim and a bunch of my other friends are in a class on Comparative Political Institutions: Spain vs. US. It meets at the same time as my current History of Roman Spain, so I'm going to try to switch. Unfortunately, I won't until Wednesday whether I can definitely make the switch. I'll keep my fingers crossed.
After lunch, I had my second class on the Music of Spain. I really like the professor, and the subject is interesting. She is this little old lady who turns on the music and proceeds to shout over it telling trying to explain what to listen for- its a riot. On the way home from class, I took a photo of Calle Postrera, the street where I live:
Post-class, I enjoyed a little bit of quiet time at home to organize my room and put away my laundry, which magically appeared on my bed in perfectly folded piles. The housekeeper even folded my underwear. I had no idea that was possible, but I love it. And that's something I'd think of or spend my own time doing.
Tonight we had our preliminary Sevillanas class. Sevillanas is a style of Flamenco that is particular to the Andalucia region, so it should be pretty fun. We didn't actually dance today; we had some organizational stuff to cover in terms of meeting times, etc. The dance mortification/struggle will begin on Wednesday. And after class a few of us went to a bar and had a beer on the plaza.
When Kim and I got home, we each went to our rooms to wait to be called for dinner. Carmen, our host mom, doesn't like when we hang out in the kitchen while she cooks; she'd prefer us to be somewhere else until she calls us when dinner is ready. Today, however, she didn't call us downstairs, so we waited. She came upstairs to get us around 10:15 (only slightly late for Spanish dinner), and was all flustered that we hadn't come downstairs at 9:30 to eat. But the thing is, we've never had a conversation about when dinner is served. We've only talked about staying out of the way. And in terms of the timing, every meal is a guessing game. I felt badly that we were late, but there was no way of knowing when... Anyways, Kim and I apologized profusely and then ate mostly in silence. This is a big cultural difference I have noticed, though. Spaniards don't directly say things; it is more about assuming and guessing the expectations, which can be really difficult with the big cultural differences. I keep finding myself in situations where I'm not sure if I should ask something, or whether it might be rude or assume... I guess for now it's as much trial and error learning as anything else.
And now here I am... I'm actually having a pretty homesick day. Between the class this morning not being what I had hoped, (hopefully) switching to the political class, and now this late dinner drama, I just feel off. When I say that I'm homesick I feel ungrateful, but I'm not. I'm loving Spain and am so happy to be here, but it is hard, so much harder than I expected, to be away from home. I know its the first week of classes and I'm transitioning, yet again, to a new routine, but the rationalization hardly helps. Home is far away, and I feel the distance. Hopefully it'll be better if I go to sleep soon and take a nice run in the morning.
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