I somehow got stuck with one of the worst classes schedules in existence because not only do I miss siesta time (booooo), I also don't have enough time to go home for lunch which means I live the bocadillo life. What is the bocadillo life, you ask? It basically means that I have to bring my lunch to school with me everyday. I call it the bocadillo life because my host mom always makes me sandwiches (or bocadillos in Spanish). On the plus side, the Centro de Lenguas Modernas is absolutely beautiful. I have classes in two different buildings and they are both amazing places to be.
Here is the inside of one of the buildings.
On Mondays and Wednesdays, I have three classes. The first one starts at 8:30am which means that I leave my apartment, bocadillo in hand, at 7:50am because it takes about a half an hour to walk to class and I like to get there slightly early. My first class is about the Political Systems in Spain and my professor is really cool. He has a lot of really interesting opinions which makes the class even more interesting. Something that I've noticed about professors in Spain is that they do not shy away from sharing their opinions which I think is really refreshing. After that class, I have a two hour break which I usually spend in a café, exploring the area, or in a park that is close to the building. I tend to try to get some homework done during this time as well. Next I have my Spanish Grammar class. My professor is really helpful and funny. The whole class is in Spanish which is interesting for me because I feel like I have to be paying attention 100% of the time, which means no making to do lists during class. After that, I have an hour and a half break at which point I usually move to the other building and eat my lunch while talking to friends or working on homework. Then I have a class about the geography and demography of Spain. My professor is really good (in fact, it's safe to say that I really like all of the professors I have in Spain). This class is strange to me though, only because 90% of the time, I have no clue what's happening or what I should take notes on. After class, I make the walk back to the apartment. I usually stop in a store and do some shopping (I've definitely become a huge shopaholic since I've been in Europe, oops) or stop by a park and relax for a while. On Monday and Wednesday nights, I tend to focus on homework and relaxing. My host mom makes me dinner which is usually croquetas or soup (and it's always delicous) around 9:00pm or 9:30pm after which, I usually retire to my room and go to sleep. I know, really lame, but what can I say? I love to sleep and since I travel almost every weekend, I take all the sleep I can get.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I only have two classes. The first one starts at 12:30pm which means I have time to sleep in and relax in the morning. However, on Tuesday mornings, I volunteer at a school that is a few minutes away form my apartment. The school is a bilingual school so the students have class in both English and Spanish. I am there for two classes. One of them is a music class for the equivalence of first graders in the US. The class rotates between Spanish and English everyday so it really depends on the day which language is spoken however, the school asks that I only speak English to the students so that they can hear a native English speaker. This is actually really difficult and I always find myself speaking Spanish because the kids have a difficult understanding me. My next class is an English class for third graders. I love this class because it is very close to the Spanish classes that I have taken in the US except they are learning English. I always have to explain to the kids that if they are going to speak Spanish to me, they have to speak slowly just like I have to speak slowly if I am going to speak English to them. After I volunteer, I head over to my first class of the day which is another Spanish class. I have the same professor as my Spanish class on Mondays and Wednesdays but this one is more focused on speaking and writing. Honestly, the two classes blend together and it is very difficult to tell them apart. After this class I have an hour and a half before my next class and I usually use this time to grab lunch with a friend or eat my bocadillo and work on homework. My next class is History of Spain and it is by far my favorite. I love my professor. He is actually one of the funniest people I have ever met and he makes the class really interesting. After class, I head home and hang out with my host mom for a while before I go out to hang out with my friends. There is usually something interesting going on (such as a flamenco show or something along those lines) or we just go out for tapas. After that, I go home and crash.
Sometimes I have class on Fridays but not always. They are used as makeup days for if we have a day off during the week. If I don't have class, I'm usually hopping on a plane or bus and traveling Europe because travel is so much more inexpensive around Europe from Spain than from the US.
Anyway, that is my typical week. Something different is happening everyday, whether my program is giving a tour or I'm exploring on my own or I'm catching up with friends or catching up on sleep. I love my time in Granada and I wouldn't change it for the world.
Thanks for reading,
Kelly
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