I still haven’t accessed the Internet in Alcalá, and it’s beginning to get to me. I went online at least 3 times a day in the United States, and I haven’t seen e-mail or Facebook for five days now. I’m writing my blog in Word, hoping that it will eventually reach its intended audience. But that’s not to say that we have plenty of things to do. Yesterday, we had our first discussion group with Jorge, a professor of Spanish literature at the university. We played Spanish Taboo, talked about Spanish history and culture, covering everything from Franco to Cardinal Cisneros (who founded the university) to the Moors to the attacks on the Metro in 2004 (the suicide bombers actually got on the Metro in Alcalá).
But our discussion class gave me a greater understanding of the language and a profound appreciation for languages in general. I’ve learned Spanish through classes, which give us words that I translate into English in my head, then I process the words in context. In English, I know phrases by their sounds, their phonetics, but very rarely do I appreciate their meanings or their origins. Like lyrics in a song. I know which sounds and which consonants go where, but it takes a while for me to appreciate them fully. On “Friends,” Phoebe thinks that Elton John sings, “Hold me closer Tony Daaanzaaa…” which isn’t totally unexpected. We all do it. But learning another language gives you respect for the meaning in words and phrases. The phrase yesterday was relaciones internacionales, which Jorge translated for us, even though us Tufts students probably didn’t need it. International relations. It’s a phrase tossed around a lot at Tufts, but its meaning is sometimes lost, at least for me. When I finally thought about it yesterday, how “international” refers to all countries, and “relations” refers to how they interact, it gave more clarity to the phrase. In any case, Spanish is giving me more appreciation for the subtleties in language.
We also went out last night, and it was really fun and pretty low-key. The eight Tufts students met up with the one full-year Tufts student, Luke, who showed us a cheap tapas bar and made some of us braver souls to try blood sausage. We had wine and a small dinner, then went to another bar, had a few drinks, and played Mafia, which really made my night (as sQ! knows…). A few of our companions left the group at around midnight, since it was only our second night with our host families and they didn’t know if staying out late was acceptable for their families. Frankly, I wasn’t too sure either, but Luke reassured some of us that Spanish parents, especially host parents, expect their older kids to stay out late and participate nightly in la marcha, or bar hopping. So, I decided to take a chance (something I rarely do…) and stay out late, drinking Spanish beer and meeting other international students staying in Alcalá. I had a great time, and I got home around 2:00am.
Just to make sure, I asked Pilar if I got home too late last night, and she replied, “¡No! Tienes libertad. Te llegaste bastante temprano anoche.” “No, you have the freedom to stay out late. You came back too early last night!”
We’ll see what happens tonight…Luke has promised another fun night, and frankly, I couldn’t be more excited.
So happy to read whatever you write!
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