Challenges and Goals

I recently realized the parallels here between me talking to Spaniards and my University of Rio friends talking to me and my chorus friends. I realized that even when I occasionally get annoyed when Spaniards constantly correct my mistakes and when I get frustrated that I can’t express my thoughts and feelings as well as in English, I just have to remember Alexandre and my other Brazilian friends and remember that even though it’s frustrating now, it will be worth it soon enough. Even if it is difficult now, when I am fluent I will be so glad that I put in that extra effort. I have seen firsthand how much someone can improve their language skills in a few months and that is what's motivating me to work harder on improving my Spanish fluency.

So tomorrow I have my first regular session class of the semester. It’s at the University of Seville and it’s one of my “cursos para extranjeros” it’s called Spanish in America and it’s from 5-7 pm. Not a bad first day of classes haha. Before class, I am planning on meeting up with a friend to walk around the university and find our classrooms, go for coffee and enjoy the day. I’m excited to finally get a routine going and to meet some more new people. The university is so unique: it used to be a tobacco factory and it’s really beautiful, so I’m really excited for this experience.

This past weekend I finished up the second half of my intensive Spanish classes. I did well and I learned a fair amount. We had to go to see Pedro Almodóvar’s new movie for class and I really didn’t like it. I left the theater multiple times and then left for good with about 30 minutes to go. I usually don’t mind his movies and sometimes I like them, but this was wayyy over the top.

This week we also had a party with our "intercambios," students who we’re supposed to practice Spanish with, but I haven’t been able to meet mine yet since she couldn’t make it to the party, but hopefully I will get a chance soon.

This past week I met a lot of new students who study at the two universities here and I practiced my Spanish with them a lot. It was a lot of fun getting to know them and talking about phrases in Spanish vs. phrases in English. One friend even said that since he wants to practice his English so much, we should talk to him in Spanish and he’ll respond in English!

I’ve done a lot more exploring around Seville and each time I find more places and things that I love, and there are always more things to do here! Today my program took a trip to the beach in Cádiz, a little over an hour away. We toured the city, which is the oldest in Europe and dates back over 3,000 years. It is a truly beautiful city by the ocean and we learned that the US even has a military base there because of its convenient proximity to Africa. I will have to go back to Cádiz to show my parents when they visit me in a few weeks. I’m very excited for their visit!

Ciao for now, xoxo,

Jennie