Classes

So I kind of love all of my classes this semester, and I will give you the run-down here:

Monday, 9:30 AM: Cultural History of Spain:

• Precisely the type of history that they don't let you study in school, since everyone is so obsessed with military/political history. I don't care about who won such and such battle or why. Just show me the pretty things they did to commemorate it. 

Monday, 4-7PM: Research Skillz Workshop:

• This one is actually every other Monday, which is nice, and it's helping us adjust to a whole new library system (which is not nearly as warm and cozy as the library system in the States--Thank you Dewey Decimal and all library science majors everywhere!). 
• No, they don't spell it with a 'z' in the syllabus, but I don't care.  I see that it is gangster, and I am very gangster myself.

Tuesday, 9:30 AM: Cultural History of Latin America:

• Like a Cultural History of Spain, except in Latin America. Also, Syncretism!
• Syncretism is the combination of opposing beliefs. It generally refers to combining opposing religious beliefs, such as happened in the Spanish colonies with Christianity and the various indigenous religions--which led to awesome paintings of the baby Jesus dressed up like an Incan. 

Tuesday, 11 AM: Cervantes:

• This class is potentially my favorite. Actually, I can already tell that it is my favorite. Why? Because we are reading Don Quijote (Parts I and II) in one semester and discussing. Also because Don Quijote is awesome. And because Cervantes was a genius. (He may have died bitter and alone, but that doesn't mean he wasn't a genius.) Also because Don Quijote is awesome. 
• One aspect of the Quijote which is kind of important to understand is that, when DQ sets off into the world, he is only doing so to prove that the real world is the same as the world about which he had read in all of his fairy-tale novels. Does this sound familiar to you? Because it kind of sounds familiar to me...

Tuesday, 12:30 AM: Teaching Spanish as a Second Language:

• It was either this or textual criticism, and although all of the technical pedagogical language kind of terrifies me (I think I just used pedagogical and I'm not even sure I know what it means...), it's kind of a nice break from all of the literature. Also, I think it will be helpful.

Wednesday and Thursday just repeat Monday and Tuesday (minus the Research Skillz Workshop), and then Thursday evening, I come home and go to sleep.