Let’s talk about class, baby…

(Front Door of the International Institute)

So, as some of you know this semester amongst other things was/is going to be my time to see what my life would be like as a “real college student”, you know, not the kind that spends more hours in class and rehearsal than he does out or in his apartment… Well so far so good... So as the title of this entry says, let’s talk about class baby!

While my schedule has changed a few times since I’ve been here, I’ve finally settled on a schedule that works for me. I’m in four 4 credit classes that all meet 2 a week. Somehow, Lord only knows, I’ve managed to squeeze all these in and still managed to have Thursdays off (there generally is no class on Fridays for Spanish students…) So yep, Jason has himself some four day weekends… Every week… And oh yeah, he also happens to be in Europe… Anywho, classes…



The first class I have each week is my translation in theatre and film course. So far it’s an extremely entertaining class where we translate myriad different works. For example, right now we’re working on Antz, you know that animated movie about ants with Woody Allen? Yeah, thought so. But it’s been really great learning some more of the intricacies of the language as well as learning a lot of Spanish slang.

My next class is my phonetics class. Um super fun…. It’s kind of like being in a Spanish elementary school… On Monday of this week we were handed worksheets with the alphabet printed on them and were instructed to name the letters and then produce the sound that they make… I know, my life is really rough right now. Afterwards we had to take words who’s syllables had been messed up and reorder them. This prompted the teacher to ask us (in Spanish, of course) “Does everyone know what a syllable is?” We all nodded and added some vocal confirmation. She then proceeds to hit her fists on the desk while saying “Syll-a-ble” in order to drive the point home. Class that day ended with a rousing game of Spanish Scatergories…

Next we have my Art in Madrid class. This art history class is really nice solely because when we study something in class, we end up seeing it in one of the 3 major art museums here in Madrid. Each week one of our two 1:30 classes is spent at either the Thysian, Prado, or the Reina Sofia. Not a bad way to spend some time. Also, the professor is a very nice, intelligent guy.

And my last class. Spanish film. I’m not the biggest movie fan but I’m enjoying this class so far. It’s taught by the same professor as my art history class which is nice (he knows many things…) and we do get exposed to a lot of interesting cinema. So far we’ve been focusing on the Spanish director Luis Buñuel and some of his earlier works and we’ll be working our way up through time ending, I believe, on Almodovar… So there you have it… A little more insight into my life as it stands right now… Oh yeah, I’m also considering getting certified for TOEFL (teaching of English as a second language) and working up to 11 hours a week… But we’ll see…

¡Adios!