I hope everyone's semester is going swell! It's hard to believe March is just around the corner. El tiempo vuela (time flies), as they say.
Classes are now in full swing, with midterms coming up in about two weeks. I have been learning un montón de español, especially in my direct enrollment class with Spaniards. I thought I'd comment a bit on how my Spanish university experience differs from my experience back home at UW-Madison:
In general, lecture in Spain is just like lecture in the States. The professor talks while the students take notes and ask questions. Here however, the professor makes very little use of aids such as powerpoints or outlines; he will simply talk and expect you to write down what he is saying. While this can be frustrating at times, especially when you miss a key point, overall it's really great in terms of developing listening skills. It also forces student collaboration. Students will meet up outside of class to go over notes and concepts the professor has talked about.
The workload is a lot less rigorous than what I'm used to at UW. There are no homework assignments and no quizzes or essays throughout the whole term. That is not to say that there is no work, however. The professor expects you to work independently outside of class, reading works from an extensive bibliography given at the beginning of the semester. My grade is based solely on one final exam (85% of my grade) and one final paper (the remaining 15%). Both grades are based on my understanding of material presented in class, as well as my demonstration of having read works from the bibliography. I'm used to having more exams and homeworks factor into my grade, so this grading system is definitely intimidating, but I think I will do just fine.
In other news, last weekend I traveled with other kids on the yearlong program to the city of Salamanca, about 6 hours north of Sevilla. Salamanca is a city with a really rich history. Its university was founded in 1218, making it the oldest university in Spain, and the 3rd oldest in Western Europe. To this day, Salamanca continues to be a popping college town, attracting students from across the globe.
Friday on our way to Salamanca, we stopped in the town of Mérida, which is famous for its Roman ruins. We toured the old amphitheater and theatre, both very impressive.
While the amphitheater was not as big as the Colosseum in Rome, or the amphitheater in Itálica, it is still amazing to think that it has remained standing for hundreds and hundreds of years.
The Roman theater was jaw-droppingly astounding. It wasn't discovered until 1910, and the excavation and restoration continued up until the mid 70's. The theater has been put back to use for outdoor summer performances.
After our stop in Mérida, we continued on to Salamanca where we arrived in time for dinner. Our hotel was perfectly located, about 15 minutes walking distance from the center of the city where all the good restaurants and bars were located.
Saturday we woke up bright and early to do a walking tour of the city. Salamanca has a much different feel than Sevilla. All the buildings are made of stone, and you definitely felt that college town vibe. Among some of the sites we saw were:
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| Plaza Mayor |
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| Door of the University |
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| Casa de las Conchas/ House of Shells |
Salamanca is an important stop on the pilgrimage path to Santiago de Compostela. If you are a loyal reader of this blog (which I know you all are :P), you'll remember I mentioned in my Santiago post that the symbol of this pilgrimage is the seashell, which would explain why this building is covered in them.
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| Catedral de Salamanca |
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| Old Cathedral |
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| New Cathedral |
Technically, Salamanca has 2 Cathedrals which are conjoined. The old cathedral was built in the 12th Century and has a very romanesque, slightly gothic style. The "new" one was built in the 16th century and has a slightly gothic, very baroque style. Both are stunning. Despite the large number of cathedrals and churches I have seen during my travels, I am still always dumbfounded by the overwhelming beauty of each and every one.
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| Casa Lis |
Saturday, we also toured Casa Lis, an Art Nouveau museum. Art Nouveau is a style that became popular in the 1890's and early 1900's. It is characterized by dynamic, moving figures, the use of curves, and elements from nature. While this style can be seen in painting and sculpture, it really made a big impact in interior design and decorative arts. On display in Casa Lis were a variety of furniture, jewelry, ceramics and decorative household items. It was unlike any other art museum I had been in, and was a delight to tour.
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| Ceiling of Casa Lis |
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| View of Salamanca from Casa Lis |
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| hot chocolate with toffee! |
Not to mention I had the best hot chocolate of my life in the museum café.
As you can see from the hot chocolate, I ate really well in Salamanca. Our Saturday night pinchos (tapas) dinner was PHENOMENAL. I am so sad that I forgot my camera to take pics, but here are some descriptions of a few of the tapas that I ate:
Lomo con Queso Roquefort - A pork tenderloin sandwich with blue cheese. I ate two of these.
Morcilla con Queso y Chocolate - So Morcilla is blood sausage. Which is gross. Normally I can't stand to take even a bite of blood sausage. However the combination of cheese and chocolate somehow made this dish DELICIOUS.
Setas- Mushrooms. Another thing I generally don't like. They were doused in olive oil and salt and had a great taste.
The best part about all these tapas: They were only one euro each! Ah the beauty of a college town. Eating well at a great price.
Saturday evening we hit up the bar scene and found a place that was having a 50's night, and we proceeded to dance the night away to some oldies. It was a quality ending to a quality day.
Sunday we woke up early to hit up one final tourist attraction before heading to Sevilla. We toured the Convent of St. Esteban, a Dominican convent that has been around since the 13th century. We got to tour the church and the cloisters, a perfect activity for a peaceful Sunday morning.
And that about wraps up Salamanca! It was a great weekend. In other news, I'm looking forward to the arrival of my friend Jenny, who is studying in France! Jenny and I were roommates back at UW, and I am looking forward to seeing a familiar face as well as playing tour guide. It should be a rather fun weekend!
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