Today was my first day of school at La Universidad De Cantabria. I met with my friend Michelle and Nikko who live near me so we could go to class together. It took us about 40 minutes to walk but the weather was pleasant and I was with good company. My host mom warned me that it would be cold today and very cloudy. Her definition of cloudy would be challenged by a true Oregonian. The sun was still out and it was fairly warm during the day. Some people describe the weather in Santander similar to Oregon. Based on the past few days, I would beg to differ because it’s much warmer. I even got a little bit of a tan from walking around on Sunday.
We arrived early to our first class, grammar. Our grammar professors’ name is Marian and she’s so funny and could probably make it as a standup comedian. She started class by taking role and getting to know each one of the students. Since there are less than 20 of us in the class she was able to give each one of us individual attention and ask us questions. We learned the 4 types of basic verbs, which sounds extremely boring. She made the topic come alive by making the learning more of a conversation instead of a lecture and had the entire class laughing. She would give us verbs and phrases on the board and then individually ask us questions so we could practice answering them with proper Spanish grammar.
At one point in the class she asked one of the 3 guys in our program what types of girls he liked. He said he liked all types and he has a waiting list of girls who want to date him. We all busted up laughing. Then one of the other guys in the class asked the Spanish equivalent of “you dog.” Marian was pleased to tell us “Es ¡Que tío!” and practiced her new English saying “you dog.” After this Marian wanted to probe a little more as we were practicing different types of verbs in the present tense like ser and estar, verbs like gustar, and pronouns. She then turned the conversation to the girls asking what things we look for in guys. In general we decided we like when they like to talk but not about sports, when they have nice hair and aren’t bald, and they should be taller than us. Then she turned it to the guys and asked what they liked in a girl. It felt like a Spanish dating show. Somehow they got on the topic of not liking girls who wear “tacones” or heels that they can’t walk in. For some of us this was a new vocab word. One girl in our class was completely lost and asked what “tacones” were.
When Marian started explaining them she used her hands to measure different lengths and pointed down. Most of us girls would nod to indicate we liked taller heels. At this point the girl was still lost and got her head in the gutters when Marian was indicating lengths with her hands. Based on this description, she thought “tacones” were a man’s body part. The entire class was laughing hysterically and I was almost crying from laughter. My new favorite class is grammar con Marian.
Our next class is Conversation con Isabel and finally Art History. Nothing too out of the ordinary happened in either class. The art history class is a little dry but we have some excursions planned later in the term that coincide with things we learn in class. Our Art History professor had a hard time pronouncing my name in class. I didn’t realize it was so tough, that has never happened to me back home.
After school and siesta, 12 of us met up to get “un móvil” or cell phone. I’ve been several days without one and feel lost. We spent a couple hours figuring out all the different phone services and plans in town because we needed one that was cheap and pay as you go without contracts. One of the girls on the program happened to get 2 phones from students who were in Spain last year for free and offered me one of them. The phones were cheap but I was glad to save 20 extra euros. The phone is so basic and has regular buttons so I’m slow at texting after being accustom to a touch phone back in the states. Once I got my phone activated it still had the settings from the girl who previously owned the phone. Some of her text history was still sitting in her inbox. I was noisy and randomly looked at a conversation she had with some guy. The first text I opened was a juicy love note from him. I had to read more. I’ll let you use your imagination, but it sounded like she had a great fling abroad!
With a phone in hand, a friend and I walked home and were slowed down by hundreds of hundreds of people in the street. It was about 8:30 at night and the beginning of the procession for La Semana Santa celebration. La Semana Santa is the equivalent of Easter in the US and is a big deal for the catholic people of Spain. You could tell how meaningful the celebration was because many people watched the procession and cried. The whole city had a somber feeling to it and was reflected in the music played by the drummers in the procession. I felt like such a tourist as I took pictures.
We were warned ahead of time that some of the people in the procession would be dressed in robes and hats that look similar to what the Ku Klux Khan wore. I made sure to capture pictures of them too. I’m glad someone warned me about their dress because they were definitely creepy. I’m currently sitting in my room and can hear the procession going by on the main street by my house. The music from the drums sounds haunting.
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