Day 75 – November 11th – Tuesday – 38 Days remaining
Not a whole lot to report today, just another day of class. I have a test tomorrow in Spanish, so we reviewed for that. We started talking about a new painter in Art class: Joan Miró. He lived through the Spanish Civil War, WWII and forty years of a military dictatorship. His generation is ofter referred to as the lost generation due to the fact that they never really had a chance to properly grow up, live and work according to their own views. Miró strongly opposed Franco and was pushed into exile in France for this. His style is very easily recognized, using bright primary colors and simple symbols with universal meanings. The sun, the earth, the sky, birds and the stars are almost always present in his works. He did survive to see the beginning of democracy in Spain before dying in Palma de Mallorca in 1983. After class, I headed home and studied. In addition to my Spanish test, I have a short exam in Catalán. We have been told by both teachers that their tests will be easy, but teachers are liars. Just kidding, but we'll see how it goes.

Day 76 – November 12th – Wednesday
Today was essentially my second and last day of school this week, after being in Holland Monday and traveling to Zürich tomorrow. I had my test in Spanish class, which was not as easy as advertised, but I think I still did pretty well. Also, we had more of a quiz in Catalán. I'm pretty sure I got at the very least an A, if not a “sobresaliente,” which is an A+. In film class, we watched a movie called “Tesis,” directed by Alejandro Amenábar. It was a thriller about a film student doing her thesis (hence the title of the movie) on violent film. In the process, she discovers a “snuff” film ring and almost becomes a star of one of these films. (A snuff film is a recording of a murder or suicide where everything is real, no special effects, no makeup.) While the content was a little macabre, it was a very well done movie and I was still trying to decide who the killer was until it was made obvious. Its a good film and not too gory or shocking, though at one point everyone in the class jumped. I recommend it if you like to be scarred just a little bit. After class, I hung out at school and Skyped a few people, as has become custom for me, and then headed home for dinner. I had hoped to meet again with my intercambio partner (language exchange), but she couldn't do it until tomorrow and I will already be off on another international adventure. Again, I will write one big entry on Zürich when I get back and hopefully have some great pictures.