First Trimester

So my first trimester of Spanish school is DONE! Thank goodness, that now we have break and I can focus more on learning Spanish and having fun and not worrying about school! To be honest I never really was worried too much about school, because I don't think I'm going to be getting much credit at my school in the United States for the classes I take here, if any. But I still wanted to pass Psycology and Spanish language, becuase those are the most likely classes that I could get credit for.
Anyways, here are my grades for Trimester 1:

Ciencias para el Mundo Contemporaneo:  9

Educación Física:  10

Filosofía: 3

Lengua Castellana:  8

Inglés:  10

Biología:  3 

  

Física y Química:  4

Matemáticas:  6

Psicología:  8

So basically, this is how the grading scale works : Anything lower than a 5, and you fail. A 5 is passing, a 6 or 7 is like a C in the US system. An 8 is a B, and a 9 or 10 is an A. 

Now this is the real equivalent- based on the difficulty of the schools here compared the the US, and the huge amount of material you have to study to do well. A 5 is a grade many kids are thrilled with because there are some classes that are just so hard you are super thankful you could pass. A 6 is decent. A 7 is what most kids shoot for- shooting for 7's and 8's is like A's and B's in the US. A 9 is almost unheard of, only the geniuses typically get 9's. And 10's aren't given out. Ever. I swear some teachers have a bias against giving 10's. Except for the exchange students, when it's your native language ;) Which explains my 10 in English.

So overall, these grades are pretty darn good for an exchange student, especially considering I'm not putting alot of focus on my grades here. I failed 3 classes- not too bad.

MERRY CHRISTMAS A TODOS!

Besos, Lani

Videos and Music

Firstly, how is everyone doing? I hope you all are enjoying the holiday season! So, I thought it would be fun to share some of the entertainment/youtube videos and music that is really popular in Spain right now! Or at least, in the region that I live in and among my friends.

First, this is absolutely all the rage in Spain right now. It's been the number one youtube video here for months, I'm pretty sure. It's basically the song for Spain like "Call me Maybe" was to the US. You hear it everywhere and people are always humming it; and when it comes on we all do the dance. I really have no idea if it's popular in the US too, I'm sure it probably is... but anyways GANGHAM STYLE. (I have just been informed that yes, it is also immensely popular in the US, but whatever, because it is in Spain toooo!)

So the truth is that songs from America and just English songs in general are really more popular than Spanish songs here, but there are still a few "typical spanish" songs I can include.

Pan y Mantequilla:

Some people here hate this song (probably because it's played so much), but I personally love it!

Yo Te Esperaré:

 

This one is also a personal favorite:

Te voy a esperar:

 

And finally, this is a Spanish commercial for Fanta that is seriously amazing. If you don't watch any of these videos, at least watch this one. I think it's hilarious:

 

I'll hopefully write again soon, Besos, 

Lani.

Random Things

So we only have about two weeks of school left and then the first trimester is over. That means 1/3 of my time here is already gone. Craziness.

I can't imagine leaving. I know I have so much time left still and that shouldn't be on my mind yet, but I can't help it. I'll be listening to my teachers rambling off in Spanish and I'll think that next year, I'm not going to have this immersion. It's going to be so much harder to keep up my Spanish. But that just makes me even more determined to listen and try to learn becuase it's like- I only have this for a limited time.

School is actually fun. I enjoy going because my teachers for the most part are all nice, and funny, and it's not too long and boring. Only six classes and they go by in a breeze. We've been having alot of big exams recently because the trimester is coming to an end. For some classes, all we have is like two exams and our entire grade is based on those two. So it's stressful for the kids here, and they have to spend all weekend studying. I'm really not a fan of the Spanish school system now that I've seen it first-hand. We almost never get together after school because everyone has to study the whole time or go to extra classes like English or French. Then on the weekends, there is a lot more studying- although we do usually leave at night. But the thing is, the majority of the kids study sooo much but yet still don't do well. Nobody gets 10's (A), 9's are very very difficult (B), most kids shoot for 7's. Which technically would be a C and not an amazing grade, but here kids are very happy if they get 7's. I usually just try to pass with a 5. I could spend my whole life here studying (which is definitely not going to happen), and I probably wouldn't get higher then a 6 or 7. I don't know why this is, but I really think the school system here isn't right and puts way too much pressure on kids.

So my Spanish is going pretty good... when I pay attention to everything in class I can usually understand everything. Not every word, but the idea of each sentence. (Usually, but it does depend on the day and some teachers I understand better than others.) For example Paco, (Yes, that's what we call him!) my Physics teacher talks so fast that half the time it doesn't even sound like Spanish. Understanding him is a whole other goal that I have yet to achieve. And my speaking skills are moving along too- it really helps that I only speak in Spanish with my friends.

I think I'm learning that not every word in Spanish has to have an exact, sensible English definition. I just have to accept Spanish as the combination of sounds it is, and learn the words and when it's appropriate to say them. Not necessarily translate every new word into English to learn it. Because that oftentimes just leaves me confused. For example, at the end of talking with someone, the Spanish many times will say "Venga" to end the conversation. This literally translates as "come-" however it obviously doesn't make much sense to say "come" at the end of a conversation with someone. So I just have to accept it and learn it as what it is, not as words translated into English and back.

Last night I went out with my friends and this ice cream blended with juice thing was amazing and look how cool it was-

We also got a muffin and it was amazing

Also, I just realized I have to make a post of when I visited Bembibre! That will be coming soon.

Besos, Lani.