Dinner with the Director

October 15th

My morning classes went well and I'm finding that all of my classes are covering overlapping subjects so its been interesting to hear the similarities and differences of the material as described in each class.

I had intentions of having a quick snack and taking a siesta, but instead I had a long lunch with Antonio.  We talked a lot about our families and where we were from.  A lot of times I want to speak how I would in English and I find it annoying when I don't know the right words.  In a more or less round about way I think I conveyed everything I was trying to say.

My afternoon classes were good as well.  If I'm going to drop a class, it will be Analisis de Política Pública as the professor is the least organized and the class itself seems a little more theoretical than I'm used to.

Tonight was my dinner with the UC EAP director and his family at his apartment.  I stopped by an ice cream parlor to pick up a pint of vanilla ice cream that I could bring over as dessert.  Two other students and I would be the first to attend the dinners hosted by Ramon Piñon, the director, and his family.  

After changing into some nicer clothes, I walked over to their apartment that is more or less adjacent to the cathedral.  I was the first to arrive and was welcomed into their spacious apartment.  I talked to his wife and his youngest daughter who is living with her parents here in Spain after graduating from NYU this past year.  The two other students came shortly after me and we sat down to a nice dinner and interesting conversation.  Director Piñon is a biology professor at UCSD but has been working with EAP for 20 years.  He had done the Madrid program for a few years and had been instrumental in starting the program here in Granada.  He and his family have lived in a dozen different countries.  He now alternates between teaching in the US and serving as the director of the program here in Spain.  I learned that UC offers the most broad and diverse study abroad program in the country as students have the options of studying abroad in more than 30 different countries.   I had a great time and I thought it was very personable for them to take the time to get to know all of the students outside of the academic setting.