Last Day of Classes
Tomorrow is the last day of classes for me. That means I survived a quarter of waking up at 6:30 am in order to walk ten blocks to the train station, taking the train, and the subsequent 15 block walk that ensued. I suppose that means that 8:30's at UW are technically do-able, although I'm not eager to try. I am sitting in an internet cafe to write this blog as my beloved computer and link to the outside world is still inoperable. It costs 3 pesos an hour, or a little less than a dollar. That's the kind of cost I'm willing to expend to stay in contact with you guys. Take note. I am completely finished with one class, I have an easy final and presentation in another class tomorrow, and in the remaining classes I have a final exam and a final paper (Marketing and International Relations). We finally got the air conditioning set up. We had the machine for a few weeks but in the old building we are in, we didn't have the right voltage on the outlets so we had to have an electrician come (the owners paid). It was pretty bad having that air conditioning machine staring us in the face when the tempature climbed into the low thirty's celcius. Apparently this kind of weather was hot for spring but be prepared for it in December and apparently January is scorched. Well, I've got some pictures from the Gala (aka exchange student goodbye party), and soccer, but you'll have to wait till I get my computer back to see them.
Yesterday for dinner I ate 15 pesos worth of premium steak, mmmm....
Yesterday representatives from Rice University in Texas, a decent private school in Texas (Mr. Anderson went there), came to San Andrés and met with the American students to see if San Andrés would be a good fit for Rice University. At the end of our meeting the main lady, who told us she had been in the Foreign Studies Office for 15 some odd years, told us that this is one of the best programs that she has seen in her career. She said that most study abroads quarentine off exchange students in special classes as if they were lepers, and in consequence the exchange students only interact with each other. But here, we were given the first week to pick whatever class we wanted with the only restriction being that we had the necessary pre-reqs, and as consequence we meshed into the university and learned Spanish.
Spanish update: shit, I don't know anymore. Somewhere between beginner and expert. I do think, however, that it will be necessary to spend 6 more months more somewhere if I am going solidify my skills. I saw a Fullbright internship for recent business undergrads in Mexico that I'll apply for when I graduate. It was something related to NAFTA. Side note, here "nafta" means gasoline not North American Free Trade Agreement.
I've missed all the big events of the 21 century while I was in Argentina. A huge financial crisis and subsequent turning point in economic policy, and one of the more important presidential elections in US history. People keep asking me about the financial crisis and the truth is I have no freaking idea because I have been here the whole time.
So you know how when grandmother has baguettes that are too hard/stale she wets them down with water and then heats them up in the microwave to freshen them up. Ya, I totally do that now. But actually, my cooking has gotten much better as I have been responsible for all of my meals and shopping for the past 6 months. There are a few unanticipated results, however. Primarily, all of my cost to weight reference points are now in pesos and in kilograms. I can tell you a fair price for potatoes (about 3 pesos/kg) but I have no idea what it is in pounds or dollars. When my parents told me they got some really nice mushrooms for $16/pound I didn't really pay it much mind. But when I converted into pesos/kilogram and found out that it was 100 pesos/kilogram, my mind was blown. That is really expensive. Also, for cooking recipes, I use the metric system. My recipe for krepes calls for .5 liters of milk. Is that like 2 cups or something? I don't know. Anyway, all this talk of food has made me hungry so I have to go. Chau.
Yesterday for dinner I ate 15 pesos worth of premium steak, mmmm....
Yesterday representatives from Rice University in Texas, a decent private school in Texas (Mr. Anderson went there), came to San Andrés and met with the American students to see if San Andrés would be a good fit for Rice University. At the end of our meeting the main lady, who told us she had been in the Foreign Studies Office for 15 some odd years, told us that this is one of the best programs that she has seen in her career. She said that most study abroads quarentine off exchange students in special classes as if they were lepers, and in consequence the exchange students only interact with each other. But here, we were given the first week to pick whatever class we wanted with the only restriction being that we had the necessary pre-reqs, and as consequence we meshed into the university and learned Spanish.
Spanish update: shit, I don't know anymore. Somewhere between beginner and expert. I do think, however, that it will be necessary to spend 6 more months more somewhere if I am going solidify my skills. I saw a Fullbright internship for recent business undergrads in Mexico that I'll apply for when I graduate. It was something related to NAFTA. Side note, here "nafta" means gasoline not North American Free Trade Agreement.
I've missed all the big events of the 21 century while I was in Argentina. A huge financial crisis and subsequent turning point in economic policy, and one of the more important presidential elections in US history. People keep asking me about the financial crisis and the truth is I have no freaking idea because I have been here the whole time.
So you know how when grandmother has baguettes that are too hard/stale she wets them down with water and then heats them up in the microwave to freshen them up. Ya, I totally do that now. But actually, my cooking has gotten much better as I have been responsible for all of my meals and shopping for the past 6 months. There are a few unanticipated results, however. Primarily, all of my cost to weight reference points are now in pesos and in kilograms. I can tell you a fair price for potatoes (about 3 pesos/kg) but I have no idea what it is in pounds or dollars. When my parents told me they got some really nice mushrooms for $16/pound I didn't really pay it much mind. But when I converted into pesos/kilogram and found out that it was 100 pesos/kilogram, my mind was blown. That is really expensive. Also, for cooking recipes, I use the metric system. My recipe for krepes calls for .5 liters of milk. Is that like 2 cups or something? I don't know. Anyway, all this talk of food has made me hungry so I have to go. Chau.
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