Hey everyone! I obviously have found myself quite behind and am now doing my best to catch up. This past week was one of the most academically trying and frustrating that I have ever experienced (and I'm sure even writing about it will find me frustrated again). Anywho...there were also many good points to the week as you shall soon see!
Monday we arrived in history class as usual to await our professor. When he waltzed in at 10:15 (roughly his usual 45 minutes late) and began writing on the board, what showed up were the 'final' dates for the rest of this semester. We all knew that dates for the partial, 'recuperatorio' = make-up exam, and project presentations had been moved. We now found out that they were all moved to the same week right after classes are 'over'. Its honestly frustrating, but at least we for sure don't have the presentations on Wednesday and when I have other class comittments. However, we are going to have class on Wednesday instead. So, I will have class from 8:20-10, 9:30-12 (yes I'm aware there is an impossible overlap), 1-3, and 5:30-7... It is going to be a LONG day. Ohh, and in between the 2nd and 3rd classes is when I have to take my "make-up" oral history exam for the one I missed when I was sick. Talk about a crazy day! After the prof was done explaining the dates and times, he read off our homework for the next Monday and sent us on our way. What a gift that class was out early! I had plenty to do before Spanish. Today was our general birthday celebration and I still had to wrap my gift etc. So in was back home for me. I quickly wrapped my gift and then went to the store to buy food for the party. I was in charge of apples and dulce de leche, which is about like apples and caramel. With everything ready, I hurried off to class. We had a great time! Sitting outside under a tree, we spread all the food out on a picnic blanket and shared stories from our favorite birthday and a wish for the next one. There were all kinds of treats and 2 people even made cake! Carrot cake (which no one here has ever even heard of before) and mocha cheesecake (which was AMAZING)! We also exchanged gifts with our "invisible friend" and I received a delicious bottle of white wine and a bar of chocolate from David. :) I think I'll plan to save the wine for the end of the day Wednesday if the partial goes well. After class I walked home and hardly ate lunch (as a result of all the sweets from class) and took a nap before getting up to study into the evening. History, I've decided, is nearly impossible.
Tuesday I woke up with the intention of studying before class and did for a bit, but not much. Then it was off to the office for class. It is getting so hot outside that its hard to convince myself to walk anymore, so I actually gave in and took the trolley. After class I did walk home and enjoyed a lovely lunch and a quick nap before sociology. Class began with an hour long presentation by another teacher about how to draw a proper concept map from reading an article. Apparently we need this information for the group project we're supposed to start working on. After the presentation, our regular teacher announced that she had our second partials graded and we could either have them then or wait until after class and work on some information first. Of course everyone wanted the exams back, so we spent the next hour handing out exams while she was also trying to explain how the rest of the classes would be laid out for the semester. Next week is set to be the make-up exam, and so if we had passed both partials we don't need to come (which is super nice) and then the following week is the global exam over the 2 mid-terms and the information for our group project. If I pass that test with a 78% or higher I won't have to take the final. When the students heard the percent needed to skip the final, they started arguing fiercely with the professor about the level required. This continued as she attempted to hand out exams. I finally got mine back and was SO proud and excited to see an 88.5% (grade 8) written in the top right corner! I not only passed the second exam, I jumped up 2 and nearly 3 levels from the first one! All that reading and studying last week had paid off!!! I was so excited to tell Sole, but when I got home, no one was around. Instead I began attempting to study history again so that I could do well on the exam tomorrow morning, but that studying was not going well. There is just so much information and so many people that I get them confused in my head. After dinner I pretty much went right to bed so I would be ready to get up and face the day tomorrow.
Wednesday... oh Wednesday... One of the worst days I've had... Childhood went well in the morning (early, but well) and I booked it out of there as fast as possible to catch a bus into town and to class. I ended up on a bus that took the most indirect route possible and finally asked to just hop off at a stoplight (which you technically aren't supposed to do). I quickly walked the block to school and the 6 flights of stairs up to the classroom... I sat through the lecture trying to catch onto what the professor was talking about... and hardly catching any of it. After class, we waited patiently for her to get her notes in order and then she simply started asking us questions about the material and the authors...One question per person back and forth and when one didn't have the answer, she'd turn to the other looking for a response. Clearly we weren't doing very well and with every question, she got more specific and we got more confused. After about half an hour of half answered questions and failed attempts on both our parts, she decided that we would stop there. "I don't know if its the language or the material," she said, "but how about you study some more and we'll try this again next week?" She also asked us to make her timelines to bring to class on the next Thursday when we attempt the exam again. Its her idea of how to better organize the authors and all the thoughts. I have never been so upset in my life. I left the classroom practically in tears behind my sunglasses. While waiting at the bus stop, we bumped into some other girls from the program. and they were really comforting about the whole thing. It amazes me how close we've all gotten here. What a blessing to have all these other students to share experiences and trials with. I made it to spanish and my friend Louisa could tell something was wrong. I explained to her before class and we grudgingly walked into the room... She's so supportive and caring. All through class I sat unusually quiet and at the break my professor asked me if I was ok. I clearly was not, and told her all about the morning. With every sentence about the history class she seemed to get more frustrated and by the end of my explanation she was fuming! She's usually very calm and pleasant, and I've never seen her so upset. She started spouting off about how unkind this treatment was and that they should understand we're a special case being from another country and trying to learn the language and that we were being discriminated against. I wasn't sure if I agreed with it all, but I was thankful for her support. We all went outside for break and I was sure she was talking to the other professors about the situation. When we got back to class, she put a notebook in front of me and asked me to write down the professors' names, name of the class, etc because she is planning to come sit in on the next exam to make sure we are treated fairly. I was in shock! This was not what I had planned and I certainly didn't want it to look like I had gone over the professor's head complaining ... But she would not be swayed. So I wrote down the information. We finished class without any other exciting events and I went home for my quick lunch and 20 minute nap before Tango. When I got home what a wonderful lunch awaited me! I was SO excited. Sole always seems to know when I'm going to need a pick me up type meal. She had made omelets! Egg, ham, and cheese. I was so happy. My short break passed in the blink of an eye and I found myself on the way to tango with 3 other girls from the class. We walked and talked about the week. I wasn't the only one who had become seriously frustrated with professors or the system and its so nice to have each other to confide in or rant to, cause we certainly need it at least once a week. When we got to tango, hardly anyone was there. I knew not many people were coming since it was the practice after the show, but I was surprised that there were only about 7 of us. The first part of the class was spent taking notes about the theory and structure of tango for our written exam on the 18th of November (one more thing to add to the hell week) and then we practiced simple patterns for a bit. It was a lot of fun and I wondered if we had started with steps like this how much better we would've looked in the show. After class I walked home with a bunch of friends and we stopped for ice cream on the way. It was pretty good and just what we needed in a hot afternoon after a rough week. When I got home I was exhausted. With no desire to study I relaxed and watched tv while I waited on dinner. After dinner it was straight to bed. My academic week was finally over.
Thursday since I didn't have class I enjoyed sleeping in and relaxing during the morning. My only commitment for the day was volunteering so after lunch I headed over. The children were their usual happy selves and bounced around the study room and outside. It was hard to get them to sit still long enough to work on their hw, but some seemed to accomplish their assignments. Louise and I were also preoccupied over the babies that were in the room today. One is a few months old and her mom and siblings live at Brazos Abiertos. The other one couldn't have been more that a week or 2 old. Her mom had been pregnant with her when we arrived and I was shocked at how tiny this little girl was! I sat in awe holding her while the kids worked on hw. I had no idea where her mom even was! It makes me so nervous to watch the younger kids no more than 7 or 8 years old carrying around the babies. They can hardly lift them and I'm so afraid they'll get distracted and drop them. We had a good time though with all the caos and children everywhere. After they had eaten a snack and started to file home we decided it was time to leave and Louisa and I walked one of the girls home. On the bus we caught up about the week and discussed plans for the weekend. Tomorrow is the program Halloween party and lots of people seem to be going, so that will definitely be fun. When I got home I took a much needed nap and then set about working on hw. I began on the timeline for history and also tackled other hw for spanish. Before I knew it it was time for dinner and we ate and I was off to bed. Still after 3 months I'm constantly exhausted... Although today it could have something to do with the heat! 102º and sunny here in Mendoza...if this is the spring, I think summer might kill me...
Friday Sole was busy cooking up a storm in the kitchen and I did my best to stay far out of it. Did I mention she's cooking/making most of the food for the halloween party? So I worked on hw all morning and into the afternoon while Sole and Paola worked away in the kitchen. All said and done she cooked vegetables, 4 chickens, 4 pot roast, and made different sauces as well. We're going to have sandwiches and snacks at the party. At 6pm I left with them to go to the house and decorate. The part is being held out in a neighborhood a little north of town and its beautiful! The house was really nice and we set to work with the decorating. Meagan, the girl who is staying in the house helped to and in about 20 minutes we blew up a TON of balloons. The only problem, was that they were black and tasted awful! By the end both my fingers and my mouth were black too. :) After decorations, we sat down at the kitchen table and cut break for the sandwiches. The lady who owns the house had bought "pan arabe" arab bread for the sandwiches and it needed to be cut open. They are kind of like mini pittas. We must have cut at least a couple hundred open before taking a break to dress for the party. With a complete lack of costume options, I had lots of help from Sole and Paola. All said and done, I was Batechica (Bat Woman) and used a mask, black tights, black mini dress, and a black shirt with HUGE sleeves. It actually came out pretty nice. The party was a blast! There were lots of people there and we ate amazing food and danced to music played by DJ's until after midnight. Then it was time to decide what the next step in the plan was. Most people were either headed north to a foreign exchange party thrown by the organization at UNCuyo or south to Aristedes. I personally would've been fine with either option, but I had somehow left my phone at the house earlier and wanted to go back and get it before anything else. No one wanted to come with me on the way, so I went alone back home and by the time I got there I wasn't really sure I wanted to go anywhere. I talked to Sole about it and she said there was no way I was going to the party in Las Heras by myself. It was too far away and too late and not in a good spot of town. So I changed clothes and met up with some friends on Aristedes. However, 5 minutes after I got there, a couple people wanted to leave and go to the other party. Since that had been my original plan and I now wouldn't be alone, I piled into the taxi with them and we set off. Sole wasn't kidding! It was super far away. We had a good time though hanging out in our group and dancing. I got to know the girl who is interning at the program office, Lucia, and we had a really good time talking. I also danced with one of the guys from here (quite the exception for me) and he seemed really nice. As it got later, a few of us decided it was time to go home and we piled into a taxi to head for bed. I crawled in later than planned, but was glad I'd gone out again. Its starting to hit me how little time I really have left here. I want to take advantage of it before its all gone.
Saturday morning did not exist for me. I definitely woke up after 12pm and started in on hw. My plan was to finish everything except the history so that I could spend all of Sunday on history hw. As per their usual disorganized disaster, my history teachers had yet again failed to communicate on the hw front and as of Friday night by mail they had sent us the new assignment: read the 150 page Essay on Civil Government by Locke and answer the following 13 questions in preparation for a class discussion... I swear everyone in that class is ready to overthrow the monarchy of power... Not to mention that when they change the hw at such a late hour, there is no option to go to the photocopier for the book at all... Hence I found myself without the reading material and with very little time to get it done. However, Deven being the WONDERFUL guy that he is offered to let me borrow his book Sunday when he's done. So most of Saturday was spent in my room working on hw and studying. I didn't go out Saturday night either, because I was just too tired and wanted to really make use of my day on Sunday instead of sleeping through half of it.
Sunday morning I continued to work on my timeline for history and then around 12 I went to Deven's house to pick up the book. We ranted a bit about the absurdity of the class and then I headed back home. Its gotten so warm here that I've been forced to break out the shorts, but I have never felt so self conscious in my life. If I thought the attention was bad in the winter...its NOTHING compared to the spring. Oh well, I'm not going to roast to death in jeans and a sweatshirt in an attempt to avoid some of the attention. When I got home, I set right into reading. With only breaks for meals and brief walks around the apartment it took me the rest of the day to finish the book. I spent nearly 9 hours (not counting time out for meals) reading this book! When I went to bed, it was after midnight and I had only scrawled notes in answer to the questions (hoping that like before he would only ask us to discuss and not to turn in our responses). What a week of frustration over school! I just have to keep reminding myself that this is a learning experience and I am growing from all the trials I've had to overcome (especially with the history class). I never thought I would appreciate the US or DU system this much more just by experiencing the system here!
As you can see school is starting to get to me a bit...all of a sudden we seem to be running out of time to finish everything and with the extra wrench of the swine flu earlier in the semester teachers are having a serious issue adjusting. Oh well. Overall I'm still having a great time and learning lots. Spring has hit with a vengeance and everywhere you look the trees are green and some of them are flowering in pink and purple! Its absolutely beautiful and I still have a hard time realizing that I'm here! I hope everything is going well for all of you at home. If you're in Colorado I wish you luck with your crazy October snow days! Its quite surreal to be here in 100º sunshine while classes are being cancelled at home for feet of snow... Watching the messages on facebook has been an interesting mix this week of complaining about the oppressive heat in Mendoza or the absurd amounts of snow in CO. I think I'm in for quite the weather shock when I come home in a few months. :)
Miss you all bunches, stay healthy, and remember I'm thinking of you!
All my love!
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