?Hola!
I?ll be spending this semester in Madrid, living just south of the city center (Puerta del Sol) with a host family, and attending Universidad Carlos III. Margarita, my host mom, doesn?t speak any English, so I?ve already gotten a lot of practice in Spanish. Strangely enough, the most difficult part for me so far has been talking about food; we chat about books, movies, and school all the time, but the food has been a bit of a challenge. I?ve only ever studied Spanish in literature classes, so there are a lot of names for foods and appliances that I just didn?t know. Speaking of which, the food here is amazing! In Spain, it?s more common to have a big lunch around 2 o?clock (during siesta, when most places actually do close for a few hours in the middle of the day) and then a light dinner closer to 9 or 10. Tapas are great ? I wish we had them back home! Here?s a fun fact: in quite a few of the places we?ve been, a glass of wine is cheaper than a soda.
UC3M?s exchange student program has done an awesome job setting up events for all the international students to get to know each other ? there?s been something every night for the past two weeks! I?m having a blast getting to meet people from around the world and being surrounded by so many different languages. A few of us got together one night, and between the ten of us, we could speak seven languages (almost everyone spoke at least two)! I especially enjoyed our trip to Toledo last Sunday ? the city was beautiful and full of history.
I got really excited about all of the Don Quixote allusions throughout the city (Toledo is the capital of La Mancha, after all).
We also just finished our first week of class! It?s very different here ? every class has a practical component worth 40% of the final grade (it seems like it?s usually a presentation of some kind), and then a final exam worth 60%. I know it?s only been a week, but there doesn?t seem to be as much homework assigned here (I?m certainly not complaining). I?m taking Marketing Management (MKTG 321) and Art History (my visual and performing arts credit) for sure; the other two are still up in the air. Registration was pretty hectic, and I have until Monday to decide. Very few of us got all the classes we wanted, but the professors here have been extremely accommodating so far about letting us join their classes or swap sections. The practical section of my marketing class is a simulation program, and we?re all competing for grades ? I?m excited to see how this goes!
That?s all so far ? thanks for reading!