Things are starting to fall into place. My flat-mate Parisa has been here now for over a week. Enrollment administration will be concluded at the end of this month and homework will start pouring in. As the academic year has commenced last week, Parisa and I had to try out as many classes as we could in order to find the best match according to our university's standards. It was pretty tiring and hard to believe that just the weekend before we were city-tripping in Barcelona! However, now that our schedules are pretty much set, we're happy to be starting our semester at the University of Lleida. Luckily, we managed to pick classes which are given in Spanish and English. All of our teachers are really nice. Classes here last for one hour and a half and we have each class three hours a week. Overall, we have five classes. Little by little we are also getting to know Lleida. It's not a big city, so the university and shops are within walking distance. Our university is a fast 10 minute walk away (my pace!). The Carrefour - now our favourite grocery store- is just one street away. The Seu Vella, one of the oldest Cathedrals in Catalunya is just one and a half km from our apartment. To get to Calle Mayor, the main street with all the shops, takes less then 20 minutes. We don't go by bus, hence we have been walking a lot here! Our daily average is about 10,000 steps, which is about 3.5 miles. Since we're on the move a lot, we've already heard a lot of conversations in Catalan. The language is an interesting combination of French, Italian, Spanish,... Some words almost seem Romanian! Therefore, Catalan is a language on its own with its own political functions, its own grammar and vocabulary. The majority are bilingual and thus speak Spanish and Catalan. A minority (usually older people) speak only Catalan and some speak only Spanish (for example the big Chinese minority). People usually answer in Spanish when they see that you don't understand or speak Catalan, but the opposite happens as well. Some people are really against the Spanish government and language. The lifestyle is something I'm still having trouble with. I can't seem to get used to the fact that shops close at 2pm and don't open until 5pm. Also the siestas is something I need to get the hang of. Parisa has always done siestas, but I like to go to bed early and sleep a minimum of seven hours. We are loving it here though! It's so fun to live with one of your best friends in the same flat. We feel like two sisters living together with a sweet crazy Spanish mama! I wouldn't trade the time we are going to have here with anything in the world:) un beso, Suzanna Facultat de Lletres (my uni) La Seu Vella La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona
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Hola a todos! I'm in Lleida, Spain! My life here as an erasmus student has officially begun. I flew to Gerona with my parents Saturday evening. On the flight we were mainly among tourists. I didn't really realise that I would be living in Catalunya for five months and I felt like I was going on a regular city-trip with my parents. On the first day, we visited medieval Gerona with its old walls and cathedrals. The architecture of the cathedrals is gothic and really dark. It made us think of the Spanish Inquisition because it was kinda scary. We started driving towards Lleida around noon with some stops underway. Our first stop was Besalu, another old town like many others but we had the luck that there was an medieval event going on. So we visited this picturesque village while enjoying the local medieval ambience. I felt a little less like a tourist because we didn't really hear foreign tourists although there were a lot of people at this event. There were almost only Spanish people from other parts of Spain. The town was really beautiful and the atmosphere was full of folk music and dancing. There was also a market where we bought 2 kinds of artisan cheese which we had for lunch with some bread. The next town we visited was Castellfollit de la Roca. This wasn't as big and pretty but very interesting to visit for its location as you can see in this picture: Around 8pm, we arrived in Lleida where I am now, we met Bienvenida (the owner of the apartment), whom I will be sharing the kitchen and bathroom of the apartment with. She is really sweet and she was so happy to finally meet me. She showed me her apartment and then we went out to have dinner (at 9:30pm!). She doesn't speak very well English but slowly and steadily we understood each other. She is very welcoming -her name (Bienvenida) suits her! Monday morning, she showed us the Seu Vella, the old cathedral on the top of the hill in the middle of the city. This one was really old and has endured a lot which means it really needs restoration but at the same time the fact that it's worn down gives the construction a certain authenticity. As I had to say goodbye to my parents, I felt somehow like tearing up but I luckily managed not to cry! I didn't think it would be this hard since last time I've been gone for almost a year. But the fact that in the US I was staying with a host family and I already spoke and understood English made it easier back then than now. Luckily now I have sweet, welcoming and hospitable Bienvenida, which makes it not as difficult. Also the uni organised orientations to welcome the new students. I met students from Latin America, Asia, Europe and from different regions of Spain. Compared to the size of the city the university is pretty big and international. Nevertheless they recommend you to take a Catalan course before classes start because all professors have the right to teach in Catalan. They are pretty chauvinistic. Luckily I study Spanish and English! Bueno, hasta pronto! un beso, Suzanna |
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