El Cine

I've recently become obsessed with watching Spanish movies.

And also movies that are in Spanish. Last night I even went to my first Spanish cinema! Mi profesora for Present Day Spanish Usage is teaching us about Spanish cinema and gave out 2-for-1 movie passes for us to use this weekend. So, I went with 3 other Americans from my residencia to see the movie Bienvenidos Al Sur, which means "Welcome to the South." and is actually an Italian film so we watched it with Spanish subtitles (Italian is close enough to Spanish, right?) Anyways, It was hilarious! It was a comedy about a man who works for the postal service in northern Italy and wants to be transferred to Milan (another northern city) for all the glam it has to offer and also to please his wife... However, after his attempts to be transferred end badly, he gets transferred instead to a small village near Naples (again for those bad with geography it's in the south) for two years. The movie then proceeds to play off the stereotypes for both the North and South which is always fun in every country. The south are thought to be backwards, violent and stupid; while the northerners are perceived as haughty, rude, and uptight. Overall a great movie.

The first Spanish movie that actually started this new obsession is one that I saw earlier this week on Monday. In my class at Universidad de Sevilla, we watched the film La Lengua de las Mariposas, which translates literally to mean, "the language of the butterflies" or also "the butterfly's tongue." This movie takes place in Spain during the time right before the civil war, around 1936. It is about a little boy, Moncho, who is scared to start school because he thinks his teacher is going to be very mean. However, he finds his teacher to be very nice and smart and he learns a lot in that class. His teacher has political views that are very republicano since it is during the time of the Second Republic in Spain. The story continues to foreshadow on the anti-republican ideas that lead into the Spanish Civil War. It is a very good story and the little boy is just adorable. I recommend it for anyone, especially those who want to learn more about Spain's history.

I know this is completely out of order but oh well. The second Spanish movie I watched in the past week was Los Abrazos Rotos, a.k.a. "Broken Embraces". It is a movie starring Penelope Cruz about a blind movie writer who must reflect back 14 years on the last movie he wrote in order to get over his current pain. There is definitely a lot of drama and I was hooked from the beginning so I recommend it to everyone.

I hope you all enjoyed my movie reviews and I will be sure to keep you updated on any new Spanish entertainment that I encounter this semester. I would like to challenge everyone who reads this to go check out any foreign film you choose and see how you like it, it's definitely going to be different from the Hollywood films that you're used to. Maybe, like me, you'll appreciate the different style and develop a new passion :)

Hasta Luego,

Caitlin xx

My School(s)

Universidad De Sevilla

Now that I've got a less crazy schedule and a free weekend, I'm going to fill you in more about my new life. As you already know, I arrived here on February 4. From February 7- 25 was the "intensive period" at my school where I took one grammar class for three weeks, Monday through Friday, for four hours each day. Now that class has finished (thank goodness!) and I have recently started all new classes this past week. Now I'm taking a total of five classes but they're spread out over the week so it's less stressful in my opinion. So far Tuesday is the only day of the week where I'm ready to take a bullet to the head by the end of it. I have all five classes on Tuesday spanning from 9:00 am til 7:00 pm. Whoever created coffee was brilliant because I live on it for that day. Here are the classes I'm taking:

• Present Day Spanish Usage
  
• Great Works of Spanish Literature
  
• Cultural Realities of Spain
  
• Teaching English as a Foreign Language
  
• Current Spain (taken at the University of Seville)
  

It's quite a large course-load but I'm very interested in all of the topics so I don't mind. My most difficult class is the one at the University. It's a fifth year history course… College is supposed to be 4 years, do the math. So it's obviously for advanced history students, which I would consider myself being one. Since it's so challenging, I think it's also my favorite course. I like challenges J My literature class is a close second place for the same reason.

The professors at the Center are all excellent. There is plenty of interaction between students and professor in all of my classes. Also class sizes are the smallest I've ever had. Class sizes range from 9- 15 for ALL my classes in the Center. My university class has about 40 students but it's also a lecture style and very different from the courses I'm taking at the Center. Next, I'm going to tell you about my homework and studying. This is your warning, the following is not going to sound like I'm writing it… but I assure you that it really is Caitlin.

Here it goes… I love homework! I think that until you're in a similar situation to the one I'm in right now, it's very difficult to see the benefits of homework. Since being here, I've seen fast results in everything I've worked on. My vocabulary has grown, my accent has improved, my grammar has improved (slightly), and I've gained confidence in using Spanish for my everyday life. It's like being on a diet and immediately losing weight. I do my homework then next day I can apply the things I've practiced. People always said that being immersed in a foreign language is the best way to learn one. It's true. I'm definitely not fluent after a month. I don't even know if I will be after five months. But I know that I will be exponentially better than I was when I arrived. I hope that you all can understand what I'm trying to say, or at least notice the amount of passion I now have for studying abroad.

Ahh, I love my Spanish life.

Besos,
Caitlin xx

Pura Vida

I feel so alive right now! Sitting here on the bus ride back to Sevilla listening to my iPod and reflecting back upon my day I realize that all of my senses have been completely stimulated in the past 6 hours. Some friends and I decided to take a day trip to Ronda, a town in the Andalucía region. Ronda is about an hour and half from Sevilla and perfect for visiting on our day off of classes for Día de Andalucía. Two of my close friends from Ferrum (visiting me for Spring break) and two of my friends from my program (plus another random American student we met on the bus) spent our day in Ronda after hearing many other people recommend it; and I definitely understand why now.

I don't cease to be amazed by this visual beauty of this region. I walk the city streets in Sevilla in awe everyday as I try to take in all the history that still lives on wherever you look. But also just 10 minutes outside the city you'll find yourself winding through the foothills of the beautiful Sierra Mountains. Ronda is located in the Sierras. Famous for the bridge "Puente Nuevo," Ronda is gorge-ously divided into two sections (sorry I had to). Sitting on the edge of the town looking out at the miles of beauty, I was completely captivated.

I had plenty opportunity today to both hear and speak Spanish. There are so many different accents present in this area; I literally get to enjoy every sound of this beautiful language daily. It's great! I both love and hate the Sevillano "S" sound. It's terribly difficult to understand at a rapid-fire pace but it's also very fun to imitate in my opinion. I still don't speak as much as I could, but I think my speaking is good when I do use it. While ordering lunch today (which turned out to be delicious) I was told by our waiter that I was a "beautiful Spanish speaker"… I'm not sure whether he meant my Spanish was beautiful or that I was beautiful but either way I enjoyed the compliment. I really feel like my Spanish is improving more and more each day. I made a new goal to learn to roll my rr's and I think I've already gotten a little bit better at it (my intercambio said to vrrrrrroom like a motorcycle to make the sound). Well anyways, I hope to update you again soon on my travels! Chau! xx

Puente Nueve

An update... Finally!

First, I apologize. I'm so sorry that I haven't posted sooner, this first month has been insanely busy. Muy muy loco! But finally a gasp of fresh air. I'm not going to jam this entire first month into one blog but I will give you an introduction to my new life and let you know that I have arrived safely (Don't worry, I notified my parents of my safe arrival immediately).

Okay so about my new Spanish life. I live in a residencia (like a dorm building) right smack dab in the center of Sevilla. I know, pretty nice right? Like it's literally located "in the center of 'El Centro'". Seville is divided into "barrios" or neighborhoods so that it's easier to identify the different parts of the city. I live in El Centro- the center.

In my residencia I share a room with two Spanish-speaking girls named Laura and Macarena aka "Maca" (yes, like the dance). Laura is from Bogotá, Colombia and Maca is from Spain. They are both college students and very nice and friendly :) There are also many other Spanish-speaking students in the residencia along with other Americans so I really like the mixture. (My roommates, L-R: Laura, Me, Maca)

Aside from where I live, I just finished a three-week intensive Spanish course with my program, CC-CS and I've started taking a class at the huge public university here, Universidad de Sevilla. I will write more on those in my next post, which I promise will be soon! Hasta luego!

besos,

Caitlin xx

Snowpocalypse!!

I feel like I just had déjà vu… I could've sworn that on Monday I told people I was leaving "the day after tomorrow" because I actually was supposed to leave Wednesday. However the snowpocalypse is upon us and decided to dump "20 feet" of snow on Chicago, the city where I'm supposed to fly into on my way to Spain. Ahh, life can definitely throw curve snowballs (Ba-Dum-CH). So once again I find myself saying that I'm leaving the day after tomorrow (Well technically tomorrow now due to the hour, but whatever). And I'm actually one of the lucky ones; most of the other students can't fly out till Friday or Saturday. When rescheduling my flight my mom requested that I be put on a flight that avoided the snowstorm altogether, ya know, just in case the storm decides to loiter over Chi-town for a few days. So now I'm flying to Miami, which I think is going to be a pretty safe bet when it comes to steering clear of snow. So (knock on wood), I should be in Spain on Friday. I'll miss orientation, have to travel completely alone, and have no idea where I'm going or what to do when I get there… BUT I will be in Spain, finally.... Oh yeah, this is where the faith part kicks in, right? Pray for me; this water is gonna be deep.

Besos,
Caitie