Classes

I have only four classes, compared to the normal load here of seven or eight.  The hardest will be my architecture studio, as I will be dealing with two foreign languages, Spanish and, much more unfamiliar to me, metrics.  I have labeled many dimensions in my room in centimeters and meters using chalk, string, and paper in order to accustom myself to the system.  

I am also taking Economy and Organization of Businesses (tailored for architecture students).  I understand the least in this class due to the type of vocabulary used, but I have the most friends in it (Spaniards) who have already been huge sources of help.  

Finally, my two favorite classes are Urban Landscape: Hand Drawing and French.  The drawing class consists of one 4.5-hour session per week of drawing in a beautiful spot in the historic city center (1 drawing/week).  How awesome is that?!

French I discovered online last night (taking three weeks to realize its existence due to the absolutely horrendous organization of the online system).  I walked into the class late, after being misled by an incorrect online listing...typical, to a professor's cheerful greeting rattled off in perfect French.  I smiled and said "Bonjour" back (the only word I had understood) and then readily replied "no" to perhaps the only French phrase I know ("parlez-vous Français?").  The class was interactive and exciting, mostly taught in French (accompanied by exaggerated gestures for our benefit), which gave all of the Spanish speakers in the class the same disadvantage I had in understanding.  It's amazing how much easier it is to understand French knowing Spanish.  It won't be as hard taking a foreign language in Spanish as it probably sounds.  I can't wait to learn more!