This week was pretty relaxed. I did a lot of little things to make sure I’m all settled in with my classes and I actually had legitimate homework for the first time since I’ve been here. I bought a book for one of my classes and bought the syllabus for another. It's so strange to me that I had to pay for the syllabus and a set of notes/texts for one of my classes. I had to go to the photocopy room on campus, find my class on a list, and tell the people at the desk the designated number for what I needed photocopies of, which I then had to pay for. It only cost about 2.50 euros for the whole thing but it made me realize how spoiled I am at Tulane where our professors provide everything for us.
On Wednesday I went to see a movie (with CEA but at an actual movie theater) called Blancanieves. Wednesday night is movie night in Granada because all of the theaters have discounted tickets on Wednesdays. I don’t know why Wednesday, but I’m going with it. I was really excited about seeing Blancanieves because it's Spain's entry for the foreign-language film Oscar this year. It was directed by Pablo Berger and is basically a retelling of the Snow White story but set in Seville (the capital of Andalucia, which is the province where Granada is located) in the 1920s. It's actually a silent film (other than music of course) and the whole thing is in black and white. I didn't realize it was a silent film beforehand even though I'd seen the trailer, but I was pleasantly surprised. The movie was absolutely fantastic and I would highly recommend it to anyone who can see it.
Here's the trailer if you're curious:
Blancanieves was definitely the highlight of the week, but there was some excitement at the University of Granada campus today. Because of Spain's struggling economy, a lot of budget cuts have been made, including education. I'm not sure exactly what the protest today was about, but I do know a little bit about some of the various groups who have been protesting. The professors at the Centro de Lenguas Modernas, the part of UGR for international students, have been protesting because they've received the same salary cuts as the rest of the UGR professors, but they don't have the same benefits. They're working more hours a week, receiving less money, and still not being treated equal to the professors at the main part of the university. I think the protest today was mainly students who are upset because the price of education is going up but they're not seeing any results after they finish their studies. The students in Spain basically feel like they have no present because they can't get jobs right now and they have no future because the economy doesn't seem to be improving. Of course, as an International Relations major, I'm dying to see some of the protests and am secretly enjoying all the unrest. Don't get me wrong, I wish Spain's economy was doing better and that the people weren't so upset, but it's totally cool to be experiencing it firsthand.
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