The "Study" Part of Study Abroad

I just finished up my first week of school, which was a bit of a shock to the system since I still feel like I'm on vacation. Last week we had orientation where we took a Spanish placement exam, did a tour around the campus, and listened to professors talk about their classes. The university we go to is an hour away from the apartment in a neighborhood outside the city, so to get there I walk to the metro, which I take to the train station, which I take to the neighborhood, and finally I walk to campus. The campus itself is much smaller than I'm used to, but there are multiple campuses around the city. Here's a picture of the central quad area, with the main cafeteria at the end:

My classes:

• Spanish-pretty standard except we actually learn how not to sound like foolish Americans instead of being taught by foolish Americans
• Culture and Civilization-class for only our program, taught by our program director
• Politics and Society-taught by a Spanish professor specifically for American students (there are actually a lot of us here)
• History of Philosophy-getting credit for the good ol' PNP major (if you don't know/have forgotten what that is, I'm sure you're not the only one but it's really too much to explain)
• Spanish Linguistics-more PNP credit, I predict this will be my favorite class because it seems easy, I like linguistics, and the professor is off her rocker enough to be entertaining

All of my classes are in Spanish and the last two are mostly Spanish students, which is cool. Because of the commute I have to wake up way earlier than I would ever have to in the U.S. so I may or may not become a coffee addict while I'm here. Despite the fatigue I am excited for weekend #2 in Madrid!!!