Settling In

The first day of school was quite an ordeal yesterday. I was placed into Spanish level 3-4 which was lower than I was expecting, and then I got to class and it was everything I learned at the end of sophomore year so I got really frustrated. I realized as I was sitting there and the professor was listing off all the things we were going to learn that if I stayed in 3-4 I wouldn’t be able to take any of the elective classes. You have to be in at least level 7 to take an elective (like Mexican culture, history, film, and so on), and if I got stuck in 3-4 then I would only get to take one of those classes in my whole fifteen weeks here. So I asked Cassandra if I could test up to the next level. She totally understood and helped set up another placement test for me to see if I could get into 5-6.

Today I took the 5-6 placement test after class and passed it easily. So easily, in fact, that they let me take the 7-8 test just to see if I could go up another level. I didn’t pass that one, but that’s ok. At least now I’ll be learning new things and I’ll get to take two electives instead of one.

I really felt in the zone today after class. Everything is in Spanish so these classes are total emersion, and after class I just felt so good at Spanish. I was sitting in the academic office waiting to take my test and I could understand nearly everything the women were saying to each other. If I concentrate hard enough I can understand most of what people say, but I really have to be listening. I feel suddenly more confident speaking too. If this is what one day of class does for me, I really could be fluent by the end of four months!

I’m starting to feel more comfortable in Guadalajara too. I want to explore the city more but I don’t know where to look, there’s so much city to discover. Last night the CEA crew met up at CEPE and took the bus to La Tapatía. Cassandra showed us around la Gran Catedral in the center of La Tapatía and the government building before we got on a tour bus for a ride around the city. I didn’t get much out of the bus ride except that I have to go take a stroll down Chipultapec and Libertar and try every restaurant and café in that neighborhood while I’m here. Chipultapec is a beautiful street with a wide pathway line with trees and dotted with fountains. It’s also supposed to have some of the best restaurants in the city. After the bus ride we had dinner at a place near the cathedral (enchiladas pollo con mole!).


Today after lunch I met up with Tyler and Matt (another guy at CEPE) and we went bowling at the Centro Magno. It was possibly the worst game I’ve ever seen, but it was fun. I only got forty-something points…

I’m off to the movies with my host sister, Paul, and Jesse. Tomorrow I start my real classes!

PS: Katie left this morning because she didn’t think she really wanted to be here. After missing her connection and having to arrive a day late, losing her baggage, and getting placed in a Spanish class that was too advanced she felt really overwhelmed and couldn’t have fun anymore. It’s too bad she left because she seemed really nice. After Paul and Jesse leave in the next week or so it will just be me and Johnny (who only appears at lunchtime).