I want to start with the concrete, actual stories before getting into the varying speed of time, so here goes.
This past Wednesday, we got a snow day! I, of course found out about this at a dreadfully early 7:00am (since I normally get up at around 8:15am here, that feels waaay too early) when I heard the gasps (yes, literally gasps) from my host sisters' room. By 7:30am (again, this is reaaaly early) I was out the door in inadequate snow boots and ruffled hair. I hung out with one group of friends until the started walking to the edges of town, where the hills are way to steep to walk on with shoes that don't stop slipping, and then I found a different group of friends who were (thankfully) being lazier. So I want with them and we watched some shows (turns out day-time TV isn't better here in Spain than it is across the pond), and then we all sort of drifted off to our respective houses. Unfortunately, that was the end of snow-day excursions for me, I fell really ill that afternoon, and am indeed still recovering.
Another funny story, though this is more of a generic representation of a conversation that has happened a bunch of different times with various boys in my class.
Them (to someone near by): Ask her if she knows how to say "spoon" in English.
Me: Spoon.
Them (still to the someone near by): She understands Catalan?
Me and the someone near by: Yeah. Duh. Catch up.
The underlined text is in Catalan.
So that happens with more frequency than one might expect, but it doesn't bug me. It would be way worse if they thought I spoke more than I did (which happens to some of my fellow AFSers here in Catalonia).
So now on to the varying speeds of time.
Picture this: You are sitting in catalan class (where the teacher hasn't even bothered to learn your name, and clearly has no intention of giving you a grade or work in the class) watching the seconds tick by and you are thinking to yourself how it would be a miracle if this class ended before you are fifty.
So this is a fairly common situation I find myself in, although just in Catalan class, the other are far more interesting, and here, I see time passing slowly, like molasses in January.
This view of time is pretty common, though sometimes of the scale of "this week" or "this year abroad" but it is all the same basic view of time.
The other way that time moves is fast, like out-of-control skis sliding unimpeded down the slopes. This can happen on the scale of "this year abroad" or "before i leave for college" or "my life" (though strangely I never have this problem in Catalan class).
The cool thing about this is that officially, its an optical illusion, since seconds don't ever actually take longer than other ones. But take away the human concept of time, and you are left with just your perception of things. A year can fly by and feel a short as a really dragged on Catalan class.
So that's my take on that.
Hope you guys are having a good start to the month of February, and I will post again when I have more fun stuff to tell you guys!
