Viernes - 21.45

I had my midterm today, which I almost forgot about. When I got to campus, I walked into the building at the same time as two of the new girls, who were talking with Sima. When we got to the second floor, where my class was, one of the girls went to study for our midterm in front of the classroom, since the door was locked. The other left for her class. Sima asked me some questions about San Sebastian, which I answered with enthusiasm, since it's been my favorite city in Spain so far, and suggested places for me to go in Granada, since she went three weeks ago. Most of the places she recommended were bars, clubs, pub crawls, and hookah joints. I mostly nodded and said, 'yeah, I'll have to check that out', while thinking to myself that I had absolutely no interest in these sort of places, especially if I go by myself. She then said she wanted to plan a trip to Valencia for the third weekend, which upset me a bit, because on Facebook she made it seem like she was going the last weekend and that people should go with her, and not me. I'm over it though, because at this point, if none of the people that I talk to want to go with me, then I really don't care if anyone does.

I also found out a few days ago that the girls that originally wanted to go to Granada and Sevilla are planning on going the third weekend, which is next weekend. I'll admit, this upset me. I know they had seen my post saying I wanted to go, because they had replied to it. If they knew I wanted to go, I feel like they could have at least let me know their plans. I wouldn't have wanted to go anyway because of the weekend, because I don't want to miss the planned USAC trips because we've already paid for them with our tuition. One of the girls talked to Sima and I on her way to study for our midterm. She said they were deciding between Valencia and Granada for the third weekend. I would have suggested she go to Valencia that weekend, and then Granada with me the last weekend, but by that point I didn't really care. Her and her friend are two that complain about their late nights in class (the average time they return to their apartments: about 5:30), so I think I might have dodged a bullet. According to Sima though, there aren't any "good bars"in Granada haha.

Then Patricia came by to start class. She was late, as is very typical of professors here, I'm learning. The only one ever on time is Mar for our cinema class, and that's only two days a week. Anyway, she wrote down the paintings and artists we had all chosen before the midterm. Since I chose one of the Black Paintings by Goya, neither of the other two girls were allowed to do them, which they hadn't wanted to anyway. This is a bonus for me, because now I can talk about Goya a bit, then about the Black Paintings as a set, and then my painting, and then the techniques used. Plus the entire presentation is in English. This should be a piece of cake. One of the girls had a hard time picking a painting, and asked for a suggestion from Patricia. She gave her one that she said was "very pretty". The girl was like, 'oh good, I like pretty'. I had to chuckle to myself again, because the one I chose is the polar opposite of "pretty".

The midterm went really well. She showed us two paintings, and we had a few questions to answer for each. They were: 'who is the painter', 'when was it painted (in relation to their life)', 'what style is it', and 'what's the name'; basic questions. Then the first major question was 'describe the meaning behind the painting'. This was a piece of cake since she talked so in depth about them in class. I wrote really small because I knew I would run out of space with my answers. I had just enough though. The second part to each painting was basically 'describe the techniques used'. This also was a piece of cake. The second page to the exam had more general questions, such as 'what is tenebrism', 'who is Ribera', 'how does Velázquez use light', etc. These were all easy, and I know I got them all right except maybe the first one and the second one. I didn't know who Ribera was. Oops. It's only one question though, I'll be fine.

I have to say, this midterm was also a first for me. Why? Because I was the second-to-last person to turn in my exam, and the last person to hand it in was only after me because he had to put his pencil in his backpack and zip it up. The only other time in my life that I was the last person to hand in an exam was in the seventh grade in my algebra class because I didn't know how to do the problems. This time, it was because I had so much to say! All my answers were in small writing, so I hope Patricia's glasses work well enough! I could have written more, but I ran out of space for some of the questions. So that was interesting.

I then headed outside, since it was only ten thirty. My next class didn't start until 11:30. I sat in half-sun, half-shade in the courtyard while I went through my planner. I'm going to use the month pages for my scrapbook when I get back to the states, so I'm writing in what I do every day, where I go, if I have exams or presentations or whatnot. In my OCD style, it's all color coded with the five different colored pens I brought. I also used some more of the stickers in the back of my planner, like "test", "midterm", "final exam", "important", "study", etc. Now it's nicely decorated and colored.

I also ate one of my bananas that I bought last week, because they're just now starting to be ripe enough for me to eat. It was a nice snack. I've actually eaten like a normal person today... Then I played hearts on my phone because I wasn't sure what else to do. When I was waiting for class, Alicia, the girl in the class in the classroom before my class sat next to me again. She talked with another girl about what they were going to do today. It was pretty awkward for me, like I wasn't sitting there. This is the point when I realized I have done nothing social this entire month outside of classes, though I wouldn't even call myself social in them. This is also the point when I realized I haven't been invited to do anything with anyone, other than the museum with Sima, but that totally flopped.

The conversation class went well though, and was over quickly, as usual. Then I headed to the supermarket for lunch. I didn't want another sandwich (I think I'm to the point where I've eaten so many I'm sick of them...) so I grabbed another tortilla de patata. I also grabbed a Sunny D to add some sunshine to my day! I didn't have a microwave, so I ate my tortilla cold. It turns out it's just as delicious cold! And after I opened it, I used the plastic film to hold it, so I didn't even need a fork! Ah the mind of a creative thinker. After that I headed to the restaurante to meet Cora for our second session. 

It went awesome this time! I understood a lot more of what she was saying, and was able to communicate full ideas in Spanish! It was really exciting, she also commented on how shy I am, saying she was like me when she went to study abroad in Germany, but that one day she just started talking because she was tired of being callada (quiet). I'm still waiting for that day... She also said I speak Spanish well (thanks!), which was a boost to my confidence. We talked about art a lot today, since I mentioned that class was in the Prado yesterday and that I took my midterm this morning. I was able to describe the light in Las Meninas in full Spanish (though I stumbled and it probably wasn't completely grammatically correct). I was proud of myself today.

For our English hour, she had me go through a script for a play. It was so interesting! I was only able to get through a fraction of the pages though, so it's a cliff hanger! She did comment that I read fast, which I kind of chuckled at. I've been told that all my life. I guess that's what happens when you're a shy bookworm throughout all my years of schooling. After that, I headed back to the apartment, taking my time. I then got online, did my email and Facebook, and took my siesta. Carlitos woke up screaming at 3:30, effectively waking up everyone else and was crying and hollering for at least a half hour. I was not excited. But my nap was good! When I woke up, I looked through the email of more suggestions from USAC for our weekend. I found a few more things that looked interesting to pencil into my calendar. I also planned out Sevilla based on the time I'll be in the city and the hours of the places I want to visit. Hopefully I don't get TOO lost, because there's a lot of places I want to see!

Then I did some email, and then Facebook. I got to talk to Gabi, who's a Tech student in my degree in Germany right now for a co-op. We talked about enterprises, which I've been considering, but don't really know anything about. When I talked to Evie (my department advisor) she highly suggested CinOptic, which is the "humanities" enterprise, but it didn't sound really interesting to me. I'm glad I talked to Gabi though, because a lot of questions are answered now! After that I pretty much just did nothing except browse the internet, boring stuff like that.

Then I had dinner. Monica, Maria Teresa, and Pilar all ate with me today, a rare occasion! It was good too, cheeseburgers and fries; very American haha. I put ketchup on my burger, and I thought I had used a lot, but then I watched Pilar put some on Monica's burger... I did not use a lot. I used very little. It was really good though, and the fries were fresh from the fryer. I had yogurt for dessert, and came back to my room afterward. For the rest of the night I'm going to sit back and relax. I'm actually going to read some of Gabi's blog to see what she's been up to in Germany and to see how working abroad has been for her. Tomorrow I have the field trip to Segovia, and it should be fun. I think there's a big group going though, which I'm not too sure I like. On the plus side, I may be able to tag along with Jennifer and Alicia, if they'll have me. The field trip for El Escorial should be pretty empty, since many people are planning trips that weekend. I'm pretty excited for that one, but everyone else thinks it will be boring. I guess I'm a special kind of person... so until tomorrow, adios!