Now that the semester is in full swing, I will update everyone on the class situation. I have four classes in total. Two are at La Universidad Pontificia Católica de Chile, one is at La Universidad de Chile, and one is through the study-abroad program.
- Spanish Phonetics & Phonology. I am (I think) one of two foreign students in the class. There are about 25 Chileans. I have had some exposure to the subject before, back at Georgetown, so I'm not too worried about the level of difficulty.
- Spanish of Chile. I am the only gringo in this class. It is going to be very hard, but should be very rewarding. Chilean Spanish is weird; centuries of isolation have made the dialect very different from surrounding countries'. This class aims to analyze the dialect spoken in Chile.
- Sociolinguistics. This class is important to me because it is my field of interest within Linguistics. Again, I have had some exposure to the material before so I am not that worried about it. I think the final project will be difficult, though.
- Human Rights & Historical Memory. This is the class with the study-abroad program. It focuses on the military dictatorship headed by Gen. Pinochet from 1973-1990. This time period is without a doubt the most controversial factor in Chilean politics, even today. There were lots of human rights abuses during the dictatorship (people were tortured, murdered, and "disappeared" - read: flown out over the Pacific and thrown out of the plane.) I know that this class will be very emotionally intense (I still get very angry about the effect of Pinochet on Chilean society today), but the professor is excellent and I know that I will be glad I took the class.
I am also filling two evenings a week teaching English at a language institute. I kind of accidentally fell into the job, but it will provide some pocket money and the chance to add international work experience to the resume.
This semester will be busy, but the time will probably pass very quickly. It's hard to believe that I have been in Chile for 6.5 months, and only have a little more than 3.5 months left.
In other news, I daresay that spring is on the way. The forecast for the next few days is ample sunshine with temps reaching 70F. Nights are still cold, though.
PS If anyone finds a bottle of "Royal Bitch" wine, let me know.
3 comments:
I bought a bottle of Grenache and Liquor Barn in Louisville that was called just "Bitch" and had a rather catchy label, but sad to say, it's probably not the same thing. Where did you find that one?
Mmmmm, Royal Bitch, well I bought some Il Bastardo at Liquor Barn but I don't recall ever seeing Royal Bitch. I am going to look, however. Good luck with classes and definitely fill us in on your professorship, that should prove interesting. Still hot here, we are about to break a record on the stretch of 90F and above days in a row. G
I would say that finding that brand of wine here would be a "royal bitch!" I just cracked up at the picture of the vineyard. Your classes sound very interesting and unique......Shelia
Post a Comment