Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Something was going on with my alarm and Julia came in saying, “desayuno, desayuno, chica! Desayuno” so good thing I had all of my stuff laid out and my bag packed because I was definitely rushed. Julia definitely looked like she was still sleeping and kept saying that it was still nighttime and before I was even out the door she was back in bed! I have been anxious to get into a more stable schedule after so much traveling and orientation so today was nice even though it was an early start. Grammar class was the only one I had today and it went pretty well. There’s a ton of people in it and the desks are so tiny so we were pretty much shoulder to shoulder. The teacher seems really cool and our book was super cheap – only €5 for a bunch of worksheets bound into a book. After class I decided to do a little shopping and I’m soooo happy with my purchases – a pink summer dress and a bright green spring jacket. (Both from Zara, obviously) Came back for lunch then headed back to the CLM for my French placement test. It was pretty tough, especially the grammar and written portions. After that I had an interview with the professor and he said that my test was ok, the writing part wasn’t bad, but my conversation skills are much better. He said I was on the boarder but suggested that I be in 3B and I immediately declined. That’s even higher than my Spanish and there’s no way that’s possible! The other only option was to take 2B which will hopefully be pretty easy and I can move up if I need to. The other kid taking the test who tested into 3B was an Erasmus student who was more or less fluent and I definitely didn’t want to be in his class. Another girl tested into 5B – I didn’t even know it went that high! Got money out because my funds have been depleted since the trip, and came back to my place. I tried to organize some stuff and get things done before dinner and when Taylor got back but I still feel like I have so much to do! We had dinner and Julia and I got into some pretty deep conversations. We discussed euthanasia, her ex-husband, and two bad experiences she’s had with students staying with her. I kept trying to get away from the table and Taylor gave some “subtle” hints, but in such personal and intense topics it was impossible to just cut her off even though we were 45 minutes late for our plans. Finally Mitch rang the bell and the three of us headed to Hannigan’s (again) to watch the Spain vs. England soccer game. It wasn’t as exciting as I’d hoped but it was still fun, especially since Spain won! PS it was a really nice day today, maybe 60’s? I sported my new fluorescent jacket J
