The STUDY in Study Abroad

STUDY abroad…as the name indicates, obviously means that I am actually taking classes here, in addition to traveling and enjoying Sevilla. Since my intensive language class during the first 2 weeks of my time here counted as 3 credits, I am currently only taking 4 classes during the semester. I have two classes each day from Monday through Thursday. Mondays and Wednesdays I have the same classes. My first one is one about the 3 cultures that are prevalent in Spain, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Sounds like an interesting topic…should be… but my professor looks at the back of the room the entire time and I swear he is just talking to himself. (I keep trying to make eye contact, but it just doesn’t happen). That class is two hours long since it’s at the University. Then I have a Spanish Linguistics course (not by choice…it counts for my required distribution credits at iu). I really didn’t have any idea what to expect, but it is actually pretty interesting and my teacher is really enthusiastic and interactive, which makes everything so much better. It is at the CIEE study center and is 1 ½ hours. Tuesdays and Thursdays I have my International studies classes. The first is at the University, called Contemporary Spain and its International Relations. The first day of class, there were probably like 50 kids in the class… now it is down to maybe 10 (if that tells you anything about the teacher). Ha An older woman teaches the course, huge glasses, missing a bottom tooth, kind of sounds like a goat. But learning about Spain’s history in an international context is really interesting to me, and she is starting to grow on me… minus the goat voice. I pair up her lectures with Wikipedia and when I know what is going on, I really enjoy it. I’m saving the best for last…my other class is called International Relations from a European Perspective. My professor’s name is Rafa Zafra… so you already know it is going to be awesome. He makes international right and theory the most interesting thing and asks a lot of questions, which forces us to speak Spanish and keeps us on our toes. I also think is the best dresser ever. There is a lot of reading and work for that class, but the fact that I barely have any outside work for the others makes it really reasonable. Midterms are coming up in a few weeks though, so I’m sure it will get a lot more stressful soon!