16 September 2008

Cambio de clases!

I had my first day of classes today, and it was a rough one. My first class was at 8:30. . . it seems a lot earlier when you consider I needed to be at the bus stop around 7:45 to guarantee punctuality. It's a twenty minute bus ride (or more?) and a ten minute walk, but it can be 15 minutes between buses.
Anyway, that first class was Spanish/English Translation Strategies, and it was a pretty good class. It wasn't anything I couldn't handle, but I wasn't too into it. Plus, I just really wanted to take a couple of different classes. So when that was over around 10:30, I headed into the office to change my schedule.
I am now enrolled in Contemporary Spanish Theater, the required Spanish grammar class, Creative Writing, Ceramics, Theater and Performance Workshop, and El Greco, Velazquez, and Goya in the Prado Museum. It's basically my dream schedule, but it's also 6 classes (not normal) and 19 credit hours (the max). I feel like dropping Translation (a tough class) in favor of both Creative Writing and Contemporary Theater (fun classes) is a fair trade, and I don't want anyone telling me otherwise. Plus, not only is mine a tough courseload hours-wise, it's also going to be pretty time-consuming. On Tuesdays, for instance, I'll be arriving at the IES Center at 9 in the morning and I won't have a break until about 3:45, when I'll go grab lunch somewhere (I really love this little sandwich place called Rodilla), but my Prado class will be meeting (at the Prado, naturally) from 5 to 6:30, so I can't be late for that. But I think I'm going to like being busy all the time, especially because all of my classes are on subjects that I really enjoy.
Ceramics, for instance- that class was great today! The walk was a little ridiculous- our guide took us around the Parque del Oueste instead of through it, in case we have to walk alone (which will literally never happen, because we will all be at the IES Center right before that for our required grammar class)- and it took 40 minutes! But once we arrived, the instructors set us right to work glazing already-made plates, and then we fired them, raku-style! [Raku is a Japanese ceramic technique that involves putting the pieces in fire pits!] Somehow, they managed to fire them in about 2 hours, and during those two hours, we made pinch pots- pretty much the starting point of any ceramics class. There are only two of us in the class with prior ceramics experience, so I feel pretty good about. I was really surprised that we actually started making things on our very first day.
In a totally unrelated story. . . Mom, I've already got your Christmas present! (Just kidding. . . this one's got Gracie's name all over it.]
So tomorrow's Spanish, Creative Writing, and the Prado class (again). We also find out what level of Spanish we tested into. I'm not too worried about that: if I did well, I get to be a high-level, impressive-sounding class; if I did poorly, I can coast through it. Woo hoo!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Raku pots in Spain sounds so fun! Love the pictures.

Heading to the Mules game this weekend with Mom.

When do you return?

Grace (big grace)

Anonymous said...

6 classes/19 credit hours? SLACKER!

PS. I was catching up on your blog when I noticed that you mentioned Pepe. He walked by at that moment and was pleased that you thought of him. He misses you.