The weather has finally taken a turn for the incredible, and I can finally appreciate why everyone warned us about how hot it’s going to get here! Dates are being set for our exams, people are finalizing travel plans and their return home, and perhaps for this combination, I’m finally feeling really good about being here. It’s been a while perhaps the basic routine, and then traveling and having to come back to things being just the same, but whatever rut I was in for a bit, I have finally recovered from. I’m looking forward to finally doing some things that I’ve been thinking about all semester, but haven’t wanted to spend the money on, and now that it’s nearing the end, it’s now or never. I’m hoping to go see a soccer game between Sevilla’s rival teams, FC Sevilla and FC Betis, although the entire population of the city is also going to try and see said game, so who knows if we’ll be able to get tickets. A number of my friends have seen bullfights, and that’s something I feel really mixed about – on the one hand it’s an incredible tradition, really considered an art form here, but on the other hand, it’s really quite brutal. Another goal of mine is to hit up the Arab baths, which are essentially just large hot tubs, but with Arab music and incense, and a rather exotic feel.
So I’m looking forward to fitting a lot into my last month-and-a-bit here. My classes continue to be interesting, in a cultural way, more than in the actual material we’re learning – this week in two of my three university courses, I watched a kind of haggling session between the professor and the students about when the last day of class would be and when the exam would be set for. Most professors offer an earlier exam than the officially scheduled one, to give the international students a chance to take it so they can head home. It also gives the Spanish students a chance to sit for the exam twice. If they felt that they did badly on the first exam, they can do some sort of re-take exam and keep whichever grade is better. It seems like a pretty good deal overall. All of my professors are assuring us that we should have no problem with their exams, that we have nothing to worry about, and that we’ll do fine. Which is great, that they have so much confidence in us. Unfortunately, they have no way of telling, so far, what we’ve been getting out of their classes, and I have to admit, I’m understanding more of some than others. When I think that I’m going to have to read over 4 months of notes to prepare for these exams, that’s a little daunting. So, hopefully, all will go as they predict. I am really happy with myself, if nothing else, for my ability to follow class lectures and discussions of texts, while also taking notes. It’s also much easier to comprehend what’s going on in my classes, as opposed to trying to take down every word and missing the point, which is how the beginning was. Overall, although my mastery of speaking Spanish hasn’t improved drastically (in my opinion) now I can understand Andaluz, and they say when you’ve got that, you can understand anything.
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