oh herrrrooooo

So now that I've settled down a little bit, I have some updates to talk about:

School!

Classes started on Wednesday. I was disheartened at first because the first class I attended, History of Contemporary Spanish Art, was rather disappointing. The professor showed up 30 minutes late and then proceeded to ramble (very quickly in a thick Andalusian accent, no less) about the aesthetic value of art, artistic tendencies, the meaning of art, etc., which was very boring. Fortunately, the classes I attended on Thursday were much more to my taste. The first class I went to was History of Egypt and the Middle East, which was AWESOME. The professor was very easy to understand and very kind to me. He also was very organized and used PowerPoint presentations, which helped me understand the material better. Later, I went to History of Al-Andalus, which I think will be a good class, but I'm not sure yet. The professor was also very nice, but we only reviewed the syllabus. Finally, I went to History of Photography, which seems like it will be a very cool course-- half of the course is devoted to the history of photography, but the other half is devoted to teaching students the technical aspects of using a camera. At the end of the semester, we have to hand in a themed portfolio of ~20 photos using the techniques we learn. The professor is fairly young (probably not older than 25) and seems like a cool dude. He suggested that I invest in a manual camera for the class, but I don't know where to find one in Cordoba/if I should buy another camera. Regardless, the class should be good, and the practical portion will be a nice break from all the history lectures. Overall, I'm very pleased with my classes. Additionally, I only chose classes that meet on Tuesday and Thursday, so I'll have 4 day weekends every week. YAY!

Friends

Although I've been spending quite a bit of time with my apartment mates (Charo, Blanca, Laura, and Miriam), I've been spending even more time with other international students. Two of my Middlebury friends live in an apartment building that primarily houses Erasmus students, who are international exchange students. For some strange reason, the majority of Erasmus students that I know are from Italy and are studying at Cordoba's Veterinarian school. Honestly, there are about 10 of them... I feel like I'm meeting all of Italy's future vets. There are also some students from France, Germany, and Poland (they were so impressed that I knew some Polish!) that I've been getting to know, and they're all a lot of fun to go out with. I'm going to try and spend more time with my Spanish friends, though-- it's better for my Spanish, and they're all great girls.

Funny Things I've Noticed about Cordoba

1. All the dogs in Cordoba are tiny. I guess it's because most people live in small apartments, but it's so strange that there aren't any dogs bigger than medium-sized terriers. People generally don't leash their dogs, either, but I haven't come across a poorly behaved dog yet.

2. Harem pants are very stylish right now. I guess the Arab influence lives on?

3. Time is never exact for the Spanish people. If you're 15 minutes late, you're on time, if not early.

4. The cafeteria at school sells beer. I think this is only strange for me because this would never happen at an American school, even if it were legal for all university students to drink.

5. Most stores are closed for siesta, meaning NOTHING is open from 2-5. This is sometimes inconvenient, but I'm learning to plan around it.

6. THERE ISN'T PEANUT BUTTER HERE. It's so sad.

That's all I can think of for now, but there are undoubtedly more things strike me as funny here.

I took some pictures here, which are now up: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025707&id=1366590008 Unfortunately, the photo upload feature doesn't work for some reason, so I can't post my pictures here. If you can't access my albums on facebook, send me an email (maye@middlebury.edu) and I can send you another link to them.

Anyway, that's about all I have to say for now... hope all is well at home!

Peace, Love, and Penguins,

Morgan

Cordoba!

So, I made it to Cordoba on Monday. It's been a hectic few days, but I have a lovely apartment that I'm sharing with 4 other girls. All of them go to UCO and are about my age, so I'm very happy about that. Cordoba is a great city-- it has both older beautiful historic neighborhoods and more modern areas. I haven't had a chance to spend some time wandering and taking pictures, but hopefully that will happen very soon. This is really a beautiful place, and I am so happy to be here.

GRRRRR

So, I have lots of great pictures to share, except that my computer/the internet are not cooperating. I hope to have pictures up when I settle in Cordoba, but I make no promises.

Today was great-- I met up with some other friends from Middlebury (Jeff, Ann, and Daniela), and did a lot of touristy things. We went to the Naval museum, the Parque de Buen Retiro, and the Reina Sofia museum, in which I got to see Picasso's Guernica, which was so much more powerful in person than in Spanish textbooks. The food is great, and my Spanish isn't too terrible... which is comforting. I hear that Spanish is much more difficult to understand in Cordoba, but I guess I'll find out for myself on Monday. Anyway, it's late... so, buenas noches, y hasta luego!

Hola! I have arrived safely in Madrid with Rafael. We took a nice ciesta after checking into the hostal, and then we met up with our friend Andrew for some early evening touring around the Puerta del Sol area. Pictures to come when the internet isn't acting up!

t minus 1.5 days

In the throes of packing today, I realized that I did not know the Spanish word for "neuroscience." As this is an important word to know when introducing myself, I decided to look it up. However, there were very few words that I could find that accurately described my area of study. "Neurociencia," which is a relatively literal translation, was the best I could do. While it's somewhat unfortunate that I probably won't be able to properly communicate my interests within my major to people I meet in Spain, perhaps it's also a blessing. I need a break from learning about the world through neuroscience, and my semester in Córdoba will be just that. I have been looking forward to this experience for so many years, and it's hard to believe that it's finally here.

Although I'm nervous about leaving New York/Vermont, I am very ready to leave. Rafael will be here tomorrow, and we'll leave for Madrid on Thursday evening. I intend on updating this blog with pictures and noteworthy stories frequently, so please check back often!


...but for now, back to packing.