First Day of Classes!

If one were to look at my Ipod, one would see a plain white background with the following code:
1 elevator
6 to stop
4-7 wait
21 bus
1 walk
=33-36 min arrival
The "code" is my daily routine to get to my university. The stop is a quick walk from my apartment, down streets dotted with orange-laden trees...I wonder if it's legal to pick them?

I have a friend that rides the bus with me, and we keep the english conversation hushed so that everyone can keep thinking we are locals, since we are pros already at the whole nonchalant-swipe-bus-card-hold-on-with-one-finger-to-the-ramp thing. I had two classes today, in which both professors told us that 4 out of the 40 lecture hours would be dedicated to "activities outside the class", such as visiting a famous ceramic pottery shop, going to the theatre, visiting the Cathedral....yes. Classes are taught by spanish professors who are hired by UVA (my program host), but are only with programs students; so to meet locals, I signed up for a class called "Women in Spanish Culture" held at the neighboring Universidad Católica, offered to locals as well as exchange students from all over Europe. The class is actually a series of lectures from various specialists in Women's Studies, and will be held in an ancient building in the Ciudad Antigua. This is real life.
I have time to grab the bus home right after classes to arrive at 2 pm for lunch. Today was a treat! My host mother made "black rice", which is a slow-cooked rice stewed in squid ink (hence the black), with shrimp and calamari. The locals mix it with a type of garlic mayonnaise, and it's delicious! Of course, add a salad, fresh bread, and cheese. Well on my way to the extra 8 pounds.

I grabbed the metro to go retrieve my long last suitcase at the airport, and then walked along the stretch of park that separates the traffic lanes on the road. I found myself indicating to these two tourists where the Botanical Gardens where (behind my apartment). I must be making SOME progress! ;) Despite the first two days of rain, Valencia seems to create sunshine. It streams to the leaves, goldens the white marble fountains...beautiful. My host father says that Valencianos "create" the sunshine and sell it to the rest of the world...pues, claro! You didn't know?

What a sunshiney life :)

Besos, Roxy