MITZI: A Routine at Last!!

UPO's campus, a bit bigger than LC's

    School has started and I am starting to get a grasp on the fact that I am living here and not just vacationing here.  Today was my second day of school at Pablo de Olavide University (UPO), or as we like to call it, “Pablo.”  Earlier in the week all of the international students ventured out to the campus to take a placement test.  Katie and I were expecting it to be a lot like the tests we have had in Spanish classes back in the states, and we weren’t that worried about it.  The test was a lot like Spanish tests I have had in the past, with multiple choice questions and a couple short essays, it was just a lot harder than I expected.

   The following day all the international students came back in the evening for orientation and to find out our results.  There are more than 200 international students going to Pablo de Olavide, with a high concentration of us from the United States, which isn't many compared to the 10,000 students who attend UPO.  I was slightly bummed when I found out I placed in Intermediate I, however after I thought about it I realized I am a year or two younger than lot of my friends here and that I only have high school Spanish experience and one year of university level Spanish.  I have only found one person who is younger than me on this trip, and I have found that it is a lot more common to go in your junior or senior year of college.  However, I am very happy that I am here now, it fits in perfectly with my college schedule and I am having experiences that will enhance my time back at LCSC immensely. 
    After the orientation the school provided us with tapas, again, drinks and small appetizers for dinner, and we started to get to know the other students from different organizations.  I have met a girl from Canada, a girl from China, and many other students from the United States.
As for classes, if I get all the add/drop stuff I want my schedule will look like this:
    Mondays and Wednesdays:
        12:00-1:20 Conversación en Español (a Spanish conversation class)
        1:30-2:50 History of Spanish Art
    Tuesdays and Thursdays:
        9:00-10:20 Español Intermedio (Intermediate Spanish)
        10:30-11:50 Lectura y Redacción en Español (Reading & Writing in Spanish)
    Fridays:
        no classes :)
That’s it, twelve credits for me this semester, two classes a day, and I’m golden. The classes shouldn’t be too difficult for me, the only thing that will be hard is that three of my four classes, as you can tell by the titles, are taught in Spanish.  However, they are all for the intermediate level and the professors try and slow down and talk clearly for us students.  I think that this will help me a lot in simply understanding the Spanish accent, and will also increase my vocabulary.
    One drawback to the school is that it is on the outskirts of the city and that the only way we can get to the school is by metro or bus.  I have decided to take the metro, it’s about a 20 minute ride to the school.  The metro stop is actually super close to my apartment and I can walk there in under five minutes, which is super convenient.  And I actually have kind of liked the commute so far, just because it gives me some alone time with my music and my thoughts.

Our ice cream adventures. :)

          Last night Katie and I walked down to the main square in the city, Plaza Nueva, and had some ice cream and listened to a street guitar player.  Tonight the plan is to go to this thing called “Salir con Españoles,” or “to go out with Spaniards.”  It’s an exchange created by ISA that allows us students to meet Spaniards and have them show us the non-touristy parts of Sevilla and go where more of the culture and Spanish life is.  It should be interesting!  Ciao!