So, as of now, I have officially finished one whole week of Spanish university. I am taking four classes at 6 ECTS a piece, which equals out to 12 credit hours back home. I am taking:
They’re all pretty interesting from what I’ve gleaned when the professor talks. I honestly am surprised with how much I get out of going to class despite my lack of vocabulary and the Málaga accent. Málaga people drop consonants all over the place. Like, ‘gracias’ is ‘gracia’ and ‘buenas dias’, is ‘buena dia’. My coordinator gave me a bit of advice: “If you can understand people in Málaga, you can understand anyone in Spain.”
I’ve noticed the fashion here is very different from the United States. Everyone is pretty dressy; I’ve only seen two people in sweatpants. The men wear what we would consider feminine clothes: tight pants, sweaters, bright colored scarves, and lots of jewelry. I haven’t seen a guy who doesn’t have some sort of piercing and a beard. There are no natural blondes here. I look like a Spaniard enough that if I don’t talk, people usually assume I’m from here. Women are usually in HIGH HEELS, AT SCHOOL? The women wear tight pants, sweaters, scarves, lots of makeup usually, and generally look pretty put together.
Today I went to the supermarket and to this store called Primart. Primart is kinda like Target, if Target only had clothes and home stuff. I bought some towels and over the door racks to hang stuff. I went to this big super market chain called Eroski as well. One thing that I don’t think I’ll ever get used too is only being able to buy stuff for about three or four days because I can’t carry anything else besides that.
Siesta time is still as stepping stone I’m trying to get used too. Everything closes from 2-5 and sometimes doesn’t open back up again. Say, the bank for example, I’ve been attempting for the past week to pay rent and get my credit card from my bank here, Unicaja. It’s literally impossible to get there before 2 because I have class. And they open at 9. And don’t reopen after siesta. So stuff like everything closing from 2-5 and nothing being open on Sunday is something I’m still getting used too.
Biggest problem of the week: we ran out of butane. So we couldn’t cook or shower or anything. We ended up having to get our neighbors to take Martin, my flatmate, to the butante store and buy two bottles so we don’t run out so fast. Split between the four of us, I only paid 8€ for the two bottles. One bottle only lasts 10 days because there is four of us living here. I’m learning stuff every day.
I’m feeling more and more comfortable in the city as I go to classes, talk to Spanish and other exchange students, and interact with everyone. Something that still blows my mind is that, as an American, I’m so used to only see people who look Latino to speak fluent Spanish. While here, black, white, Asian, everyone speaks Spanish. It still jolts me a little bit when an Asian looking girl starts speaking to me in Spanish. It just shows how sheltered Americans are to other cultures, even me. I considered myself pretty culturally aware, but I have realized I’m not. So far, this study abroad experience has been incredibly humbling. I can’t wait to learn more.
Un saludo,
Natalie
- Roman Architecture
- Women in Hispanic Literature
- History of Ancient Religion
- The Greek and Roman World
They’re all pretty interesting from what I’ve gleaned when the professor talks. I honestly am surprised with how much I get out of going to class despite my lack of vocabulary and the Málaga accent. Málaga people drop consonants all over the place. Like, ‘gracias’ is ‘gracia’ and ‘buenas dias’, is ‘buena dia’. My coordinator gave me a bit of advice: “If you can understand people in Málaga, you can understand anyone in Spain.”
I’ve noticed the fashion here is very different from the United States. Everyone is pretty dressy; I’ve only seen two people in sweatpants. The men wear what we would consider feminine clothes: tight pants, sweaters, bright colored scarves, and lots of jewelry. I haven’t seen a guy who doesn’t have some sort of piercing and a beard. There are no natural blondes here. I look like a Spaniard enough that if I don’t talk, people usually assume I’m from here. Women are usually in HIGH HEELS, AT SCHOOL? The women wear tight pants, sweaters, scarves, lots of makeup usually, and generally look pretty put together.
Today I went to the supermarket and to this store called Primart. Primart is kinda like Target, if Target only had clothes and home stuff. I bought some towels and over the door racks to hang stuff. I went to this big super market chain called Eroski as well. One thing that I don’t think I’ll ever get used too is only being able to buy stuff for about three or four days because I can’t carry anything else besides that.
Siesta time is still as stepping stone I’m trying to get used too. Everything closes from 2-5 and sometimes doesn’t open back up again. Say, the bank for example, I’ve been attempting for the past week to pay rent and get my credit card from my bank here, Unicaja. It’s literally impossible to get there before 2 because I have class. And they open at 9. And don’t reopen after siesta. So stuff like everything closing from 2-5 and nothing being open on Sunday is something I’m still getting used too.
Biggest problem of the week: we ran out of butane. So we couldn’t cook or shower or anything. We ended up having to get our neighbors to take Martin, my flatmate, to the butante store and buy two bottles so we don’t run out so fast. Split between the four of us, I only paid 8€ for the two bottles. One bottle only lasts 10 days because there is four of us living here. I’m learning stuff every day.
I’m feeling more and more comfortable in the city as I go to classes, talk to Spanish and other exchange students, and interact with everyone. Something that still blows my mind is that, as an American, I’m so used to only see people who look Latino to speak fluent Spanish. While here, black, white, Asian, everyone speaks Spanish. It still jolts me a little bit when an Asian looking girl starts speaking to me in Spanish. It just shows how sheltered Americans are to other cultures, even me. I considered myself pretty culturally aware, but I have realized I’m not. So far, this study abroad experience has been incredibly humbling. I can’t wait to learn more.
Un saludo,
Natalie