¡Listo!

So...I was supposed to have 3 classes today.  I had about 1 and 1/2.

Let me explain.  As I've mentioned before, the Spanish educational system is a lot more lax on certain things, one of them being when classes are held, when the teacher shows up, what room it's in, when they post what room the class is being held in, etc.  (For example, my class at 1:00 takes place in a different room each of the three days it meets.  What???)  This is fairly typical of The University of Sevilla, if not Spanish universities in general.  I knew this going in, so it was only fitting that a lot of this confusion should happen today, the first day of classes.  Here's what happened.

8:30 a.m.: I knew this class, La historia y técnica de la fotografía (History and Technique of Photography), wasn't going to meet today.  It is in its own department, and the entire department doesn't start classes until tomorrow.  So no surprise there.  I was going to go down to the university early anyway.  I got there around 11; saw my former teacher, Ángeles, who also coordinates all of the educational aspects of the program associated with the university; and met up with Meagan, waiting with her until our next class at 1:00.  (Her 8:00 class was canceled.)

1:00 p.m.: Ángeles informed all 5 of us in this next class, La historia de las ideas lingüísticas (History of Linguistic Ideas), that the professor, a good friend of hers, Juan Pablo Mora, wasn't going to be teaching class today because he was driving back from Rotterdam.  (Huh.)  And that today would be taught by a substitute.  Prof. Mora evidently said that the sub might give us an exam to test for our level of knowledge about the material; of course, none of us really knew anything.  Even I, having taken a linguistics class, couldn't tell you who the fundamental philosophers and linguists were before the 19th century, nor could I have told you there basic philosophies or theories.  But whatever.  Ángeles told us that Juan Pablo told her that it wouldn't matter.  No pasa nada.

6:30 p.m.: This was my only sure-fire class, because it was another being taught at EUSA.  And sure enough, it was held.  But all we did was outline the basic aspects of the course and then introduce ourselves to the professor.  Somehow that lasted the entire hour and fifteen minutes.  But I'm not complaning.  He also canceled class on Wednesday.  Awesome!

So there.  I can say that I have been fully indoctrinated into the Spanish system because I've had balking professors and class cancellations already.  They have a phrase that would describe that perfectly in Spanish: ¡Qué arte!  There's not really an accurate translation in English; the closest I can think of is "How artful!" but the feel of it is more like, "How ironic."  I don't know.  Sometimes things just get lost.  Or nobody bothers to do anything about it (like my classes).  Again, not complaning!

Nick