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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