So sorting out my courses has been tougher than I thought. The whole application for courses is done through the UPV website, which is awful. On the occurance that the site does actually work, you are able to look at all the possible course choices. Coming into the semester, I needed 24 credits (minus 6 for the Spanish exam in Gandia), so two or three graphic design subjects would be enough. The international relations office was a bit unhelpful the first time I went, giving me the feeling that they were only there to answer questions rather than to make sure I was okay with everything. Although speaking with the main exchange co-ordinator did make things a lot clearer.
Choosing the courses online was difficult - some of the descriptions were really vague which made it hard to understand what the courses actually involved. I found a few design-related subjects, but none that would be near the standard as my home university. A couple of my classes clashed with each other on two days, along with the problem of teachers not turning up for their own lessons, "illness and personal motives" being the excuse written on doors...okay perhaps it's because the semester hasn't fully started yet...Hmm. It also didn't help that my bloody alarm didn't work on Monday morning...(actually I'm sure I set two alarms!), so I missed that lesson...
But I managed to attend two classes, one being the Taller de diseno grafico (graphic design workshop), which turned out to be unbelievely basic that it almost took the piss, to the extent I was laughing. For the whole first semester the class had to draw lines in squares to create grid layouts. (pleeease don't mention that 'grids' word again...people from my home university will know what I mean...). Actually today the online appliation said 'Not Accepted' for this course - no idea why, but it's probably better this way!
The other course being typography - I thought this would be the most specialised graphic subject, but I soon changed my mind after the teacher casually turning up 15 minutes late, (okay this is acceptable considering Spain has it's own time zone - CET+30 minutes!! (always late!), and finding out what sort of work the students were doing! - experimental typography - making an alphabet out of photos of objects. I'm pretty sure this was something design students did before degree level, and perhaps I'd rather harm myself than to do this project. Anyway...enough of being negative...I've come for the city not the Uni! - I'm sure they are much better design courses in other Spanish universities.
Generally the fine art subjects are full with Spanish students, so it's great to know that I'd learn a lot of Spanish in the classes. A lot of other exchange students have chosen courses in English, but their subjects are a lot more complicated. I'm pretty sure mine will be okay.
Even with three courses plus a Spanish lesson twice a week, my timetable is looking pretty full, so living a few minutes walk from the university is perfect. I still haven't narrowed down my course choices...it will have to wait until I get back from Andorra.
Espanol
I think my Spanish is improving...I'm picking up more words but still struggling to understand people unless they talk slowly with basic vocabulary. I find speaking and getting the message across is much easier than understanding people's responses, and I'm sure if they wrote down their reply, I'd understand it.
I don't feel like I'm speaking as much Spanish as I'd like in the flat though - the Spanish guy (Carlos) seems to be out a lot of the time, but instead the house is dominated by Italians! (friends of my flatmate). I've agreed to only speak Spanish with them, but with their English being so good too, it's so easy to slip back into the language when it's hard to explain something in Spanish. That's why it's great to talk to Spaniards that have no English knowledge - it forces you to think and say the same thing in different ways.
I'm trying to expose myself to the language as much as possible - television, computer/facebook in spanish and translating simple sentences in my head. I bought a kid's book to help learn (because I'm cool), but it's just been lying closed on my desk...How am I supposed to pick it up when nights out finish at 6am in the morning??
And anyway, it's been confirmed that Spanglish is an official language for Erasmus students!!
Ohh Spanish tenses! (the next bit is boring)
They are so many more tenses in Spanish than English - really confusing! The past tense is something I still need to get to grips with. For example there are three different ways of saying something in the past tense. I bought:
Yo he comprado - I have bought
Yo compre - I bought
Yo compraba - I used to buy
All three are used for different time frames in the past. From what I understand, He comprado is most recent, if you've just bought something. Yo compre is something that could be bought yesterday or recently, and Yo compraba is used if you 'used to buy' something in the past. I've tried asking Spanish people about when it's correct to say them, but they really have to think! - it's something they just know and say, and don't really know why.
Words are also different depending on if a girl or guy says them, or if you are talking to a girl or guy, which is different from English. For example to say 'I am tired':
Estoy cansado (guy saying it)
Estoy cansada (girl saying it)
Oh, and in Spanish, the words for 'Yes' and 'If' are the same....just 'Si' - confusing? - You'd think so, but actually I'm okay with this one!
And finally, you should change the way you say things depending on who you are talking to, so it doesn't sound disrespectful. For example, What is your name?
Como te llama? (informal, with friends, etc)
Como se llama usted? (formal, to older people/people you don't know)
Before studying Spanish, hearing the language meant nothing, but now when I hear it I can break some of it down and hear the words...but by the time I've translated the first thing someone says, they are spamming the third sentence at me - so it takes too long to translate! When talking spanish I find myself using the same limited vocabulary...similar sentences and ways of saying things. Although it feels good when you learn a new word and you use it for the first time in conversation.
Ok so I hope I've bored you enough. Next!
Xativa - day trip
ESN (Erasmus Student Network) arranged a day trip to a castle in Xativa. Here are some pics:
The coast!
So with another day of sunshine, we walked to the beach with the idea of seeing the setting up of the
Americas Cup, a sailing event in Valencia. It seemed like a great event - well organised, sponsors/big brands, nice design, etc. We walked around the port, the shops, saw a couple of yachts (St Tropez style!), and saw the actual cup.
Mmmm, jealous much England?
The closer you get to the beach, the more run-down and destroyed the area gets. Half-collapsed buildings, etc - not a nice place to live - I'm glad I chose closer to the city centre!
It's good to have a flatmate from the first semester. He knows the area well and is in contact with the club owners, so he get's free entries and discounts. The other day we had the chance to go to Las Animas (the biggest club in Valencia) for free, instead of the 22 euro door entry, but actually I didn't go...We will next week!
This week we had a look at the other clubs of the city -
Cafe Tucan,
Black note, Rombo, Nikanna, The Cube, Carribeans, Studio/Sky (8 free cocktails and 5 free chupitos here!), etc.
It's quite strange that I haven't met many English exchange students. Actually I met a few on enrollment day - could tell they were English a mile away! Other than that, the only other English person I met was on the street...he told me he'd lived in Spain for five years, so we talked for a few minutes and I asked if he was fluent in Spanish yet...to which he replied:
"ah nah mate, i can swear and shit like that"...Haha, I wish sterotypes weren't so accurate!
Valencia vs Valladolid at the Mestalla
A group of us spontanously decided to see Valencia play against Villavoid in the evening. There were still many unsold tickets because the Away team was one of the lowest in La Liga (top Spanish league). The price was 20 euros, bought just 15 minutes before Kick-off, which got us a great high corner seat. The stadium is so steep, here are a few pictures:
Valencia dominated the game with David Villa, Silva (a great first goal), Meta, Pablo and Marchena, etc. If I had more time I would have put a small bet on Valencia to win and Villa to score anytime during the match...damn! - always get it right when you don't do the bet!
So I thought I'd waste some more money, seen as it's disappearing so quickly! - a Valencia home kit, and a scarf, coming to 55 euros. I'll just keep persuading myself I'll use it more than once!
The next game we'll see is up in Barcelona, against Malaga, which is on the 28th of this month. I'ts one of the American's birthdays, so we'll go up there for a few days. Then we'll probably buy tickets to see a game in Madrid.
I think there is a three week break sometime in April, so a few of us were thinking of travelling around Europe, to Portugal, Italy and Greece perhaps. We'll see what happens...
The City of Arts and Sciences
The
City of Arts and Sciences is a complex which was built to promote and modernise Valencia (I think). During the weekend MTV Winter hosted a concert there with the Arctic Monkeys - was a shame we missed it in Andorra!
The Superbowl
On Friday, we went to watch the Superbowl at an american pub in the city centre called the Portland Ale House. It's the biggest event of the year for American Football. I'd never watched a match before so was curious to see if I'd like it. It took a while to understand the rules of the game (with help from the American exchange students), but I'm still not totally with it! All these game terms...quarterback, running back, hunk, down, etc Eh?!
And talking about Americans....in almost every other conversation we talk about using different words for the same thing. crisps/chips, soda, pop/fizzy drinks, etc! I said I was going to get a jumper out of my bag, and one replied, What?? (they don't use this word). Another phrase the American's use..."I'm jacked!" (hyped up, excited), Haha. Oh, and apparantly a water fountain is called a 'bubbler'!
