Don’t get me wrong, my professor for my Literature of Spain is very good: she is very amiable, animated when she speaks, and clearly passionate about her work. Nonetheless, it is very difficult to pay attention to literary theories, author biographies and excerpts of the text (without the text in front of me) for  two hours, three days a week.  Personally, I think that a literature class needs the discussion aspect, which this class lacks. I am currently writing this post in class right now, because I can no longer pay attention. Sadly, this has been happening for the past three weeks.
“What did we do in class today?” my friend who did show up to class that day asks;
“I don’t know, I was drawing for most of the time.”

I came into this class knowing that it would be tough, but I thought it would be the  content  that would be difficult to grasp. However, the tough part is the class itself: it is just a tad monotonous. Okay maybe I don’t draw for the  entire  time (it would be a lie to say that I don’t draw at all). I do really try to pay attention. Plus, you can’t blame me since my drawing class, which I am absolutely in love with, is normally right after my literature class; I simply get a little bit eager to go to it. I kept on complaining to my mom about the class in the beginning about how it was so hard to understand the professor because she talked  so fast; meanwhile, my mom would tell me I should probably drop the class before I am permanently in it. However, I knew that I would get over the language barrier as I did in Professor Valenzuela’s Spanish Art/Lyric/Verse class at Whitman. And I am glad I did not drop it because I still do think I am learning a lot in this class, especially more than the other IFSA students who enrolled in the other literature class offered. Apparently, in Colonial Argentine Literature (which I opted not to take because I knew that the colonial Argentine Spanish would be treacherous to read), the students did not know anything about what they were supposed to read and learn about in class, if the professors even showed up to teach them.

The thing is I love the content of my class. I just got finished reading a book calledDoña Perfecta  por Benito Pérez Galdos, and I definitely recommend it (it is available in English, and you can download it online for free!). The novel is a mix between any book criticizing the corruption of the Catholic religion and  Lord of the Flies, depicting human insanity in its true form. However, as a Realistic author, Galdos wrote purely what he saw in his society without the intent to critique it. Galdos writes with a Voltaire-esque sarcasm, making it a light and humorous read. It is genius.

So yes, I am still learning a lot in this class. The content itself is not the hard part. The forms of evaluation are mildly easy: although I do have to study all the little bits of information like the movements of literature in which the books are written, or what the author’s definition of a protagonist is, I still get to express what I am thinking while taking my tests or writing my  informes, the reports we write every other week. I also do like that we are learning about all these theories, because it helps justify and rationalize what the author may be conveying with his work. I also have a tutor through IFSA that keeps me up to par on what we are learning in class, making sure that the notes I take in class are coherent and accurate. I end up talking to her about my thoughts on the texts during our tutoring sessions.

Despite all of my grievances, as a Spanish major, I am learning very interesting bits of information, to my fortune. And I still am having a good time in the education world here. I am also taking other classes like Dibujo (drawing), Desarrollo Regional (Regional Development), and Tango (Tango). I found that I can actually draw and have made very good friends in mi clase de dibujo. In Desarrollo Regional, we are learning about the development of Argentina in comparison to the United States as a first world country, along with theories and trends behind development in the world. The class keeps me in tune with the knowledge of the social sciences, which I have lacked by not taking a social science class since high school. It also includes a break in the middle and surprisingly is more interactive than my literature class, even though it is straight facts. Lastly, I am enrolled in Tango. More on that later  J.

I could just change one thing right now it would to be to include more discussion in this class. It has interfered with my experience here, so it would help if the class itself were more enjoyable. However, in no way do I regret taking the class, especially since I have other exciting diversions to relieve my worries. I am in Argentina after all.

I feel as though I have been  quejandome mucho, complaining quite a bit. I promise that the next post will be happier.