A brief (for real this time) update!

Hello, loved ones!


I'm sitting in Cafe&Te, a cafe in the central plaza of Palma (the Plaza de España), which has become one of my friends' and my favorite spots for a snack or a coffee. I just have a few minutes because I have my first Spanish language class at 6pm (and I need to allow extra time to get there because I've become notorious for being constantly lost here), but I thought I'd write a quick update! 


I've finally been able to attend all of my university classes and I feel really good about them! I think they'll be a bit of a challenge, just because of the differences in format and structure (for instance, I haven't received a single syllabus, I have no idea what books I need to buy or where to buy them, and I only know one of my professors' names), but I feel pretty comfortable with the level of the language, at least thus far. John and I also introduced ourselves today to two Spanish girls who are in almost all of our classes; they were incredibly nice and friendly and they even offered to add us to a email chain they have going with their friends where they all share/compare class notes. It was John's idea to introduce ourselves to them after we noticed they were in most of our classes, and I'm so glad he thought of it!


Actually, today is John's 22nd birthday, so extra love to him today! A few of us went out to tapas last night so that we could be with him at midnight, and tonight I think we're just going to go out to dinner, since most of us have class until 8:30 or 9. We're taking a big group of friends and international students out to a club to officially celebrate on Friday, though! Here are a couple photos from last night:

I'm trying to remember what else I've been up to since I last posted...every day has been so busy that it's hard to keep track of it all! I went to the beach for the first time this past Friday. It was cold and rainy but we still played a little soccer and went for a jog; it's always nice to feel sand between one's toes! Monday through Thursday, John and I spend all day at school, and then usually spend the nights having friends over for dinner or shopping or watching movies or going out. We don't have classes on Friday, so our weekend starts right away with more relaxing and spending lots of time with our new "family" here (it's been decided that I'm the mother).


Overall, though there are continued problems with administration and bureaucracy and the lack of Internet continues, the fabulous family I have here and the non-stop fun we have together and love we have for each other has made this experience absolutely amazing so far. The weather has finally been starting to get a little nicer (it's been in the low to mid 50s this week), and I'm sure things will only keep getting better as the sun gets stronger.


Sending all my love from Palma!


PS I just realized I forgot to tell about my weekend this past weekend! It was Carnaval this weekend, which is similar to Halloween in that both adults and children dress up in costumes and celebrate and go to parties (the elementary school directly across the street from my apartment with blasting music all day and all of the little kids were dancing on the basketball courts in their costumes on Friday afternoon). Friday evening, a large group of international students went to a club and it was a pretty funny juxtaposition to see people in their "dressed to impress" clubbing clothes dancing next to girls painted blue and dressed like Smurfs. On Saturday night, my friend Corinna had a party at her flat, and there were some great costumes. One of her roommates dressed up as a table, complete with a lamp, glasses, place settings, and a basket of bread. That roommate's friend dressed up as a ghost carrying a baby in a cage. My friends Freddy and Robert dressed up as sailors while Fabio, another friend and our resident Italian, was the infamous Schettino:

You can't really tell from this picture, but I'm dressed as a cheesy fitness video instructor, complete with crazy 80s eye makeup.

first week and a half!

I arrived in Spain on Sunday, February 5, and since then have only had access to the internet at cafes and at school, so please excuse the lack of posts! I’m hoping to get internet in my apartment by the end of the week, so I plan on writing a lot more.

So, a summary of what I’ve been up to in the last week and a half since leaving my family at JKF.

 

here I am at the airport  

I arrived at the university’s residencia, where I was allowed to stay for up to a week while I looked for an apartment, (http://www.residenciauib.es/index.php?lang=en) on the afternoon of the fifth, glad to be in Spain but quite dismayed to see snow on the ground. My travel-addled brain was confused—where was the beach? A few days later, I learned that that snow was the first Mallorca had seen in 56 years! 

I guess I just brought a little taste of northern Vermont to Europe with me! I didn’t do much the first night except relax, shower, and meet my temporary roommate, since my orientation didn’t begin until the next day.

The next morning, Monday, I met all of the other international students at an informational event hosted by the International Services office. The number of countries represented here is amazing—Sweden, Austria, the Netherlands, Germany, China, England, Mexico, Peru, Italy, France, and more I’m sure I’m forgetting. After meeting each other and getting a bit of information about the school, we all went to take the placement exam for our Spanish language course. I spent the rest of the day doing errands and getting to know the few other international students who were staying in the residencia better (I learned that most students were already in their apartments, having been advised to find housing before arriving here; my American friend John and I were told the opposite).

The next day, Tuesday we had more informational meetings and a campus tour during the day, with free time during the afternoon and evening, when I went out to tapas with some friends. 

Wednesday was a guided tour around the old part of Palma, which was very lovely but would have been even nicer if it hadn’t been cold and drizzly. I took too many pictures to post here, so if you're interested, check them out in my Facebook album.

So far, the weather has been incredibly weird—very cold (30s and 40s, which is extremely unusual for Mallorca), rainy, and cloudy. Most of the clothes I brought are of the sandals and sundress variety, so it’s been a little tough, but the weather should start warming up by the end of the week.

On Wednesday night, John and I stayed at our friend Alvaro’s apartment because we had found the residencia to be pretty unwelcoming—freezing, unfriendly people, bad food, and it’s located on campus, which is actually about 5 miles outside of the city—and were eager to have a night in the city with friends. We left bright and early on Thursday morning to take an old wooden train to the nearby town of Soller, which has a beautiful, famous port.

             John and I moved out of the residencia that afternoon and, after a long string of bad luck with apartments, finally found and moved into our beautiful place that evening. We had all of our afternoons and evenings free all week, so I got to spend a lot of time eating, going out, and spending time with new friends, which made me feel much more comfortable and at home here. Friday was our last day of orientation, which consisted of a big group dinner and then some of us went to the Paseo Maritimeo, a part of the city along the water where all the clubs are.

We spent the weekend eating, shopping, going out with friends, and settling into our apartment. 

            Classes started this Monday, the 13^th, but John and I weren’t able to actually start until today. I really love this country, and love the school so far, but all of the bureaucracy and administration is incredibly disorganized and lackadaisical. We had a difficult, stressful time enrolling, finding our classes, and getting our rent money from the International office, but it seems like things are finally almost sorted out.

Even with all the stress, things have been quite fantastic. I’ve made so many amazing friends here from all over the world, and we’ve been spending every day together. Some of us have been taking turns cooking typical cuisines from our country on different nights and having people over, or going to cafes together, or shopping, or out for drinks. It’s all been a ton of fun and I’m glad we all got a little more vacation time together before school started. I went to my first classes today and they went pretty well! I’m still confused about assignments, syllabi, and books, especially since I missed all of my classes on Monday and Tuesday (which were the first two days of classes), but I felt comfortable learning 100% in Spanish and the content seems pretty manageable.

So, there’s a rapid-fire (ish) summary of my first week and a half in Palma! More to come soon!

INTERNET!

Hi, party people!
After many days of fighting with my computer, I HAVE INTERNET! A real blog entry will be coming very soon, I already have one written!
Love from Palma,
Lucia