And more studying...

Well, here I am in my first week of "real" finals. That is to say, this is my first week without class. As of today, I have already taken three finals, and know the results of two. While studying abroad, I just need a 5 out of 10 to pass the class, and do not receive letter grades for classes.

So here are the exams I have taken thus far: Spanish (8.5, yay); German (8 yay); Computer Networks (no score yet, just took it, be patient!).

And I have three more to take: Artificial Intelligence, Local Area Networks, and Logic Design.

So how am I feeling... well, the first tests I have taken I feel pretty good about, and I feel confident about passing Artificial Intelligence and Logic Design. However, I am extremely worried about Local Area Networks. Looking at last years grades, it seems only a few people passed the exam... like literally less than 5. I am worried because the odds are extremely against my favor, especially since the class uses some difficult terminology and there is very little material to prep for the exam with. Scared? You bet I am.

Sad stuff first. Tiina from Finland left last Friday. While we didn't hang out as often as we probably could have (mostly my fault), we did go to a couple museums and go to the movies and hang out a bit. So now, Tiina and Nils (Germany) are both gone. I hope they both have a good time back home.

Ok, now the fun-nish stuff. Apart from studying, I went to church on Monday with Jessica: it was the day of St. Vincent the Martyr, patron saint of Valencia. The service was very long, due to long songs and a very long, read off of paper homily. But afterwards there was a procession that was pretty interesting. They carry a statue of St. Vincent around the streets near the Cathedral, with a band leading the way, military personnel, and the Archbishop (I assume it was the Archbishop anyway). Pictures!

Cell-phone Pictures: Left-to-Right, Top-to-Bottom (bulleted list)

• Inside Church, statue of St. Vincent the Martyr; Jessica taking a picture.
• Spanish Mounties (joking); Santa's Cousins (joking?)
• Ladies in black are part of a St. Vincent society, they had a large block pendant around their necks and wore either velvet or some type of fur black coats, and had black-lace headgear; The band.
• A very happy priest; Bishops and Archbishop, and a military man apparently sleeping on the job.

Then on Tuesday night, after both of us had a test, Jessica and I got together at a little coffee shop. It was spacious, quiet, and had a great atmosphere. I will definitely go there again. We spoke in English the entire time... and boy did that feel good! Not that I speak Spanish all the time, but it was nice speaking English with another native speaker. Neither of us had to slow down, we used whatever words we wanted, without having to stop and explain anything... really nice. Let's do it again sometime, shall we?

Last night I went shopping for shoes and pants. I couldn't find any pants I liked, but I found some shoes. I decided I wanted to get something very Spanish in style. I figured I should try something new and exciting... so what did I buy? Converse All-Stars! Go American shoes made in Vietnam!!!!

Well, I should get to studying. I will let you know next week how things are going. Until then, toodle-loo!