school... because I am studying
The whole “studying” part of studying abroad has honestly been one of the easiest things so far. Our summer is divided into 2 terms, and we only have 1 class per term. I’ll get 8 credits for the whole summer from taking a literature class and an advanced grammar/communication class. This week is already the last week of the first term, and we have exams on Thursday morning. I haven’t really had homework, but I’ve put in a lot of hours outside of class from re-reading what we read in class. I’ve found that the first time I read something in Spanish, I really only understand what Salva, my professor, retells. After I dissect it more and more and look up vocab I don’t know, I can understand it a lot better. There are only 4 of us in my class, so we have been having “study parties” at coffee shops around town so we can work together to understand the readings. It sometimes takes all 4 of us, but we can usually figure stuff out!
I think it would be easier to read modern Spanish literature, but we’re reading texts from the first few centuries, so the language and vocabulary in some of the stories isn’t even used any more. Imagine reading Shakespeare, but in another language, and that’s kind of where I feel like I’m at. Shakespeare is practically another language anyways! I’m planning on buying a copy of the Hunger Games or Harry Potter when I leave because I want to see if I can read that since I know the story so well in English. I’ve read a few magazines in Spanish, and in Spanish IV in high school we read some contemporary literature that was a lot easier.
I definitely have a newly discovered empathy for my future and former students who have trouble reading and comprehending texts! I’ve never struggled with reading, and I love reading (in English), so it’s hard for me to imagine what it’s like to come to second or third grade without any reading ability. Yet, here I am at age 20 and I can’t understand what I’m reading on the first or second try. Sometimes I mentally do running records on myself while I’m reading aloud :) My mother would be so proud.
My class walks all over the city almost every day to see the actual settings of the texts we are reading, so that’s definitely been my favorite part. This week there’s been some construction going on in the office suite above our school, so we went to Dunkin Donuts one day to have class. The best part- everything we do in class is on the school’s tab!
(Side note- Spaniards listen to soooo much American music; it’s super hard to focus on reading classic Spanish literature when “Climax” by Usher and Celine Dion ballads are playing in the background and everyone around you is basically oblivious to what the lyrics mean).
Our school is great about giving us lots of activities and building community among the students outside of class. We aren’t all taking the same classes, so I am only really with the same 3 girls and Salva during class time. However, Katie, who’s more or less our RD, organizes a lot of events for us after school. Today we are going to the nursing home near school to play BINGO. Yesterday we had a BBQ on her apartment’s rooftop.
We also had the opportunity to take a dance class (for a price, but not much!) to learn Sevillanas, the traditional Sevilla dance. I am loving it! Sevillanas is really hard, and we are doing an “express” class. Our teacher tells us that she’s had students who’ve taken her class all semester and weren’t as good as us. Another fun fact- her nephew won the Spanish X-Factor a few seasons ago and he comes to our school every now and then! Sylvia (the teacher) is hilarious- she knows some dance-related words in English and she loves to use them. Working with her has been a great way to learn some extra Spanish and have another opportunity to listen and talk with a native speaker, too.
Thanks for your mail, prayers, texts, Skype/FaceTime/phone calls, and for reading my blog! I love having you all follow along on this journey with me!
I think it would be easier to read modern Spanish literature, but we’re reading texts from the first few centuries, so the language and vocabulary in some of the stories isn’t even used any more. Imagine reading Shakespeare, but in another language, and that’s kind of where I feel like I’m at. Shakespeare is practically another language anyways! I’m planning on buying a copy of the Hunger Games or Harry Potter when I leave because I want to see if I can read that since I know the story so well in English. I’ve read a few magazines in Spanish, and in Spanish IV in high school we read some contemporary literature that was a lot easier.
I definitely have a newly discovered empathy for my future and former students who have trouble reading and comprehending texts! I’ve never struggled with reading, and I love reading (in English), so it’s hard for me to imagine what it’s like to come to second or third grade without any reading ability. Yet, here I am at age 20 and I can’t understand what I’m reading on the first or second try. Sometimes I mentally do running records on myself while I’m reading aloud :) My mother would be so proud.
My class walks all over the city almost every day to see the actual settings of the texts we are reading, so that’s definitely been my favorite part. This week there’s been some construction going on in the office suite above our school, so we went to Dunkin Donuts one day to have class. The best part- everything we do in class is on the school’s tab!
(Side note- Spaniards listen to soooo much American music; it’s super hard to focus on reading classic Spanish literature when “Climax” by Usher and Celine Dion ballads are playing in the background and everyone around you is basically oblivious to what the lyrics mean).
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| acting out a scene from El Burlador de Sevilla in class with Salva |
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| my classroom... when I’m not at Dunkin or at a cafe around town |
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| on Katie’s rooftop- BEAUTIFUL view of the city, especially the cathedral |
We also had the opportunity to take a dance class (for a price, but not much!) to learn Sevillanas, the traditional Sevilla dance. I am loving it! Sevillanas is really hard, and we are doing an “express” class. Our teacher tells us that she’s had students who’ve taken her class all semester and weren’t as good as us. Another fun fact- her nephew won the Spanish X-Factor a few seasons ago and he comes to our school every now and then! Sylvia (the teacher) is hilarious- she knows some dance-related words in English and she loves to use them. Working with her has been a great way to learn some extra Spanish and have another opportunity to listen and talk with a native speaker, too.
Thanks for your mail, prayers, texts, Skype/FaceTime/phone calls, and for reading my blog! I love having you all follow along on this journey with me!
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