In the Groove of Things (02.03.11-08.03.11)

   This past week shot by. I guess I'm really getting used to my schedule and beginning to enjoy my classes--now that I have had a little bit of time to study outside of lecture so I can better follow just what my professor is talking about. I still have a lot more to study though. Yet the best part is that I actually feel like a student again, which I love.

   Last Tuesday, during my ballet class, I received wonderful news: the studio's going to have a recital this June, and I'm going to be in it! The only problem is that the shows are the Saturday and Sunday before my last exam at my university in June. Of course I'm still going to dance though, I'll just really need to be prepared well in advance. Tonight in class the instructor described to us the scenario of our dance: we're going to be like bold, malevolent dancers that interrupt a calm, innocent group dancing before. They were white long tutus, us bright short ones. Overall, perfect! I can't wait. Ah, to perform again...such bliss...

   This past Friday was the birthday party of a girl from Finland who I knew from my Spanish course. I ended up going and having a lot of friends, hanging out with the group I have really grown fond of. Speaking of which, me and three friends (Niels from Amsterdam, Ali from Florida, and Elias from Vienna) are going to go on a brief road trip this weekend to the city of Salamanca (about 2.5hr west of Madrid). We'll leave Saturday morning, stay in a hostel that night, and then return Sunday afternoon. It will be pretty jam packed, but I'm really excited to see the city. I've heard its full of young people and has a nice environment. Also, I signed up to go to Valencia the following weekend with the Erasmus Student Network for the festival, Las Fallas (3rd biggest in Spain). I'm really excited to see something so major in the culture, and I also am anxious to see Valencia. I'm going to try the city's two specialities: paella and horchata. I'm sure after tasting the true originals, that food and drink will be ruined for me if not in Valencia.

   Lastly, this week I had the opportunity to go to the movies for the first time in a foreign country, and I went twice! On Sunday, I went to see "Rango" with my roommates. This movie was rerecorded in Spanish, so unfortunately there was no Johnny Depp in this version. Yet I was really pleased by how well I followed the movie (granted it was a kids movie, so maybe it was slightly easier). Yesterday I went to see True Grit. This time it was in English, with Spanish subtitles. The funniest part was sometimes reading the Spanish helped me understand, because the southern/cowboy accents were almost inaudible. Also, sometimes I read the Spanish while listening, and I noticed that a lot of the meaning is lot in the translation. So I feel bad for those that only read the subtitles; they're missing out.