Bostezar

​I take it all back.


Classes are hard, Spanish is hard, and as if making friends in your first language isn’t hard enough, try doing it in your second.

Okay, it’s not that bad. This is like the first real week of classes – last week was more or less like an American syllabus week. This morning I had Spanish Narrative Literature and guess who doesn’t like to write notes and prefers to just lecture – it’s my professor. In all honesty, she seems really nice and she repeated everything at least once so I had almost no problem at all getting all my notes down! At the end of class, Er and I went up and told her that we were stupid Americans – just so she could know in advance – and she said that she gives us dummy international students some extra help so I’m pretty psyched about that, especially considering this is my Spanish Major Literature credit course and I would REALLY not like to have to take that again in the States. Now I’m in Syntax and Semantics – sounds enticing, I know – but I actually really enjoy linguistics because I am a freak of nature and this professor is freakin’ awesome so this class is not one I’m all that worried about, honestly. And in case anyone was wondering, thus far my professors have been very easy to understand (lucky for me) and I’m more than ecstatic about that. I may fall asleep before I get to go home though if I’m being honest, I had two granola bars this morning and let me just say they are not doing the job. They’re very small, light granola bars that basically just remind you how hungry you are – they don’t really do the whole “protein bars” and stuff like that, which if you ask me is crap, I want my freakin’ protein man.

This weekend was pretty great!

We had Friday off which was a gift from God and so the three day weekend began with.. We went out for drinks and what started off as a slow night ended up with us at an Erasmus party in a freakin’ bull ring. You read that right. A party in La Plaza de Torros. Erasmus, by the way, is the international student organization that puts together international parties (free entry – and sangria), trips throughout Spain, and even trips to other countries. The best part is although you have to pay for the trips and activities, they’re at a ridiculously discounted price. For example, there’s a day trip to Valencia this weekend for 30 euro! I of course will not be attending, because I’ll be too busy enjoying Milan. I understand if this is the part where you stop reading, because Milan. We leave Thursday! Oh crap, that’s In like 3 days.. MILAN! Anyway, I ended the night at Abbe’s – don’t get too excited, she has an extra bed in her room – and as the beautiful, wonderful person that she is, I woke up late to an AMAZING breakfast and a cup of coffee waiting for me in the kitchen. Seriously, I’m going to sleep over more often. I headed home and got changed for the gym (because yay weekend fitness). Afterwards, Er and I went to the market and I picked up some apples and nutella (my secret love) and some lettuce (because I eat salads now or something). Getting skinny sucks, by the way. I stayed in because it was cold and dreary and freezing and miserable outside and I don’t really “do” cold and dreary and freezing and miserable. It was still, somehow, a late night because I do this really cool thing where when I start a good book, I have to finish it in the same freakin’ night, even if it’s 600 pages. So, I read for 5 hours straight and got through the book. I’m not proud of it. Anyway, that’s why I slept in on Sunday!

Yesterday involved a whole lot of me lying in my bed. I woke up at 12:30 – I swear I was up late, I don’t sleep THAT much – to the girls ringing my doorbell to get buzzed into my apartment. I think they’ve come to the realization that sometimes if you really want to wake me up, you have to come over and do it yourself.  We went for our Sunday tradition - Turkish doeners – if you haven’t had one, you’re doing it wrong, and then stopped for some frozen yogurt (which is basically calorie free or something). Afterwards, Er and I watched Bourne Identity and napped – shout out again to dad for the movies on my computer – and then she headed home. Afterwards I curled up in a ball in my bed and watched Grey’s Anatomy until it was time to make dinner. Dinner, in case anyone was wondering, was a freakin’ delicious taco salad, and dessert was an apple with nutella while I sat with the girls for awhile to talk about movies and school and how we didn’t want to go to class this morning.

And now I’m back full circle – sitting where I was when I first started this post – in Profesor Pietro’s Syntax and Semantics class, writing this on a Word document because my Internet login information has decided not to work for me. I swear if we were talking about an actual lesson right now I would pay attention, but he’s going over half of the syllabus again and I can read that all on my lonesome. I probably just jinxed something by saying that. He’s probably telling people the meaning of life… Still not listening.  

Guys… I’m starving. Like I think my stomach is starting to eat at its own inner lining because otherwise I’ll die. And this class is scheduled for two hours. I guess I should mention that two hour courses get a break in between, but my awesome professor thought we would rather get out early than have a break in the middle (and he was right) so I’m hoping to be done in about an hour. A girl can hope, right? My lack of internet is infuriating, by the way. I know the codes and stuff work because I’ve used campus internet before and yet, nothing. Absolutely nothing. I’m losing my marbles. Almost through my computer into a wall in my Lit class but I figured it would be frowned upon. Speaking of frowning and cultural disapproval, I found a rather interesting minute couple of differences between us and the Spanish – those who take notes with their computers write in paragraphs, and those who do not use computers seem to all use printer paper to take notes. Personally, my notes have lots of different bullet points and indents so I can see where one thought (yes, sometimes I thnk) ends and another begins. And I can barely walk in a straight line, let alone write words that way. I guess I’ll leave those methods to the Spanish, it’s probably better that way.

Oh hey, my word of the day! Look that rhymed. If I’m being honest, I find that a little more amusing than I should. Alright, so the word of the day today is bostezar, which is the verb for “to yawn,” which is something I have been doing uncontrollably today. No philosophical thoughts on this one, just thought it was a pretty cool lookin’ word that I personally find useful. But anyway, believe what you want, I say this crap is infectious. I guess in a really weird way it kind of shows you someone was looking at you if they yawn when you do... Or the poor soul just looked around the room at the wrong time. The point is I need a nap. After this class of happy fun time, I’m headed home for lunch (and hopefully a nap) before the gym. Then I get to call my school and find out why in the world my stipend (we are supposed to receive a stipend from the school) is going to be delayed another FOUR WEEKS. From what I understand, it is because people are idiots, but I plan to find out for sure. Not to sound like a whiney brat, but the stipend is supposed to pay my rent and my bills and for my groceries – it would be nice to have received it by now, wouldn’t you say? Not like I can do anything to actually speed up the process, but I can yell at them… which tends to help.

Part of me wants to keep writing this thing because God knows I don’t want to pay attention in class, but the other part of me realizes that if I don’t end this soon I will be rambling and you will never want to read my super fun words about Spain ever again. Guess this is the part where I pay attention in class.
‘Sta luego!

Oh, last minute addition – Er and I promised each other to make one friend each today. That definitely did not happen. That is all.

Update: Profe is giving us a break in the middle – so I’m never leaving ever. I would leave for home but I have a feeling we’re going to start with actual real notes after this super fun break – I think it’s naptime.