To start: My Aunt Dawn has given me a couple of “open on this day” dates, and today’s wasn’t a particular not-well-known-designated-day and was instead instructions to write something down that I’ve learned since I’ve been here. So here’s what I’ve got.
Language: Before I came to Mexico I had no idea what a “camion” was, didn’t know how to properly express “tell her that” (avisala), or “dar vueltas” is to run errands.
Geography: Didn’t know basically anything about the Yucatan peninsula and how they pretty much consider themselves not really “mexican” but Yucatacan. I had no idea where Altabrisa was, what Plaza Fiesta looked like, or even what the plaza grande in el Centro consisted of. I also had no idea that they had a completely different food style (see next note).
Food: Panuchos, salbutes, poc chuc. Never knew about them, had never tried them. They’re typical dishes here in the Yucatan. Beyond that, I hadn’t really explored much in the normal mustard area, but I found out I like that. Never tried a mushroom and I found out those aren’t too bad either. They make for pretty interesting texture in the salad. And I even found that I can eat tomato and pumpkin soup. Actually, that’s pretty impressive considering I’m generally pretty opposed to trying new foods.
Culture: I’ve never really been exposed to any “night life” and here I’ve been out to a couple of clubs for dancing. That might not be specifically Mexico, but all the same it’s included a lot of learning. Similarly, I didn’t know what a quinceanera reaaaally entailed and now I’ve been to one.
Sites: While I haven’t done a lot of traveling, I have seen two completely different sets of Mayan Ruins which is something not a ton of people can probably say (or if nothing else I’ve seen something my dad hasn’t (yet).
Self: Timelines make things difficult, or at least temporary stays. Maybe I knew this in part after we moved, but since being here I can see where there’s been some emotional disconnection simply because I know I’m not going to be here come (at this point) 3 months from now. It’s hard for me to socially/emotionally engage in something that seems exceptionally temporary. On the other hand, I’ve also learned that I’m not entirely ‘socially dependent’ as has been prior-to suggested. I’m self sufficient, still need to be socially fed, not starved completely, but I don’t *need* the same social level as some people assert that I do (and I’m not actually directing that ‘some people’ to anyone who’s reading this so it’s cool).
Friends: This one is more of an observation than something I’ve actually learned. It probably would require some intense thought to draw any real conclusions from it. It’s been interesting to see who I’ve actually kept in contact with, and similarly but not entirely the same, who’s kept in contact with me. Since being here, I’ve talked extremely a lot less with some people I thought I was a lot closer to (or with people I expected to talk to more frequently), and on the flip side talked exceptionally a lot more with some people who I don’t normally talk to through out the school year. And of course there are some who I’ve talked to about the same.
Well, that’s probably enough for one post. Originally, it was going to be connected with the rest of the day but I think it’s going to get its own category since we’re on the second page of a Word document now.
Cheers! Kate <3
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
March 03, 2009
Well, this is going to be a pretty short post. The day wasn’t particularly interesting for you folks. It was a day off however which was nice, even though I had a bunch of work to do. It sort of felt like a Saturday though, which didn’t leave me in the most productive of moods. I got most of it done though. Everything is set for my presentation in Migrations, and I should probably finish the powerpoint for Cavernas, but I’ll have a little bit of time tomorrow to do that between said classes.
I did go to the post office today: Mom your CD with the pictures should be en route now. I have a number so I should be able to track it. Otherwise that’s pretty much been the day. My host mom asked for the pictures of Maria Regina’s quinceanera so I gave those to her, andddd I did some work. Took a shower this evening and now am headed to bed after a little reading. I’m doing some Maximum Ride. Should be good times.
Cheers! <3 Kate
I did go to the post office today: Mom your CD with the pictures should be en route now. I have a number so I should be able to track it. Otherwise that’s pretty much been the day. My host mom asked for the pictures of Maria Regina’s quinceanera so I gave those to her, andddd I did some work. Took a shower this evening and now am headed to bed after a little reading. I’m doing some Maximum Ride. Should be good times.
Cheers! <3 Kate
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
March 02, 2009
Woo. Got up at 8, only after being awoken just before 1 o’clock in the morning *so sick* Yeah, my stomach felt like it was trying to kill itself, and at some point I wasn’t sure if I felt like I was going to pass out or throw up. Neither happened, but I was in pretty bad shape til around 1:30. Not a very happy camper.
I did get to go back to sleep though, as I mentioned, and I got up at 8. 8 AM and I was pretty good to go. Got up, decided that since I had taken a late shower I wasn’t going to waste time with it, somehow my hair didn’t look too bad, just a little mussy which I wasn’t entirely opposed to as long as it saved me some time. I got everything together and was out the door just after 9.
I had to wait a surprisingly long time for the bus, around 15 minutes which is usual. Either way, I got to Plaza Fiesta with the intention of taking a Motul to school that way I would have more time to work on the Cavernas presentation. And guess who showed up? Remember my friend from awhile ago? Actually I’m not entirely sure if I mentioned him or not. We were on the same bus and then riding the same next bus home and we had a conversation which was unusual to have someone from the college take any interest so it was cool.
So yeah, he walks across the street, and I didn’t really recognize him, but he strolled right up and said hello (or it may have been good morning I don’t remember) and gave me a kiss on the cheek like we were pals. (cultural note: this is how people who know each other greet eachother) So we kinda chatted, sometimes there wasn’t much to say. I also felt a little silly because of course, while I didn’t completely lack putting myself together (like if I had bothered to take my shower I would’ve been just as nice looking as normal, lol) but I also was wearing my bottom retainer because I hadn’t worn it in some time so I figured I’d just give it the day to let my teeth reset or whatever.
Eventually, after two full motuls passing, we managed to get one. I did learn he doesn’t like cats. Too bad for him, lol. Pretty sure my loyalties remain with the Meek. Anyway, so that was kind of a neat way to start off the day, although by the time we made it to school I was starting to not feel so hot again.
As it turned out, there were no copies in the fotocopiadora, so I was out of luck if I did in fact have a presentation so I tried to be productive by starting my Migrations presentation. As it turned out I didn’t have one. It’s Wednesday (which I kind of suspected to be the case).
After class, I hiked up to 7-11 where in a lot of people were staring at me. And I’m not entirely sure why. Maybe I was just momentarily more aware of it (you know how absolutely observant I am). In any case, I got some meds from 7-11 and then walked back to the facultad where I had lunch and then had to go to the library for two reasons: 1) Diana had brownies, bus maps, and hoy en tu comunidad shirts in her office, most importantly the brownies 2) I needed those Cavernas copies for Wednesday since we don’t have school tomorrow.
Of course, getting all that done in the 15 minutes before class starting was impossible. Ariana went with me to get her brownie and shirt and map, and then she went to class before I had even managed to figure out where the book was I needed copies of. She said she’d tell our prof I’d be late. Which I was, by like half an hour (although being late here is not nearly as bit of a deal as it is in the States.) Either way I didn’t really have a choice because I needed the copies. The place would be closed by the time I got out of class.
So then I went and did Mayan Civ til 6 o’clock and took the bus(es) back home. The evening I’m taking off pretty much. Catching up on e-mails I haven’t had a chance to read. The Ellen one was hilarious, let me just say *nods*.
I’m hoping now to watch a movie we didn’t get a chance to watch while Mom was here. I hope everyone enjoys the snow that seems to have invaded up there. It was cold today, but no where near that cold lol.
Cheers! Kate <3
I did get to go back to sleep though, as I mentioned, and I got up at 8. 8 AM and I was pretty good to go. Got up, decided that since I had taken a late shower I wasn’t going to waste time with it, somehow my hair didn’t look too bad, just a little mussy which I wasn’t entirely opposed to as long as it saved me some time. I got everything together and was out the door just after 9.
I had to wait a surprisingly long time for the bus, around 15 minutes which is usual. Either way, I got to Plaza Fiesta with the intention of taking a Motul to school that way I would have more time to work on the Cavernas presentation. And guess who showed up? Remember my friend from awhile ago? Actually I’m not entirely sure if I mentioned him or not. We were on the same bus and then riding the same next bus home and we had a conversation which was unusual to have someone from the college take any interest so it was cool.
So yeah, he walks across the street, and I didn’t really recognize him, but he strolled right up and said hello (or it may have been good morning I don’t remember) and gave me a kiss on the cheek like we were pals. (cultural note: this is how people who know each other greet eachother) So we kinda chatted, sometimes there wasn’t much to say. I also felt a little silly because of course, while I didn’t completely lack putting myself together (like if I had bothered to take my shower I would’ve been just as nice looking as normal, lol) but I also was wearing my bottom retainer because I hadn’t worn it in some time so I figured I’d just give it the day to let my teeth reset or whatever.
Eventually, after two full motuls passing, we managed to get one. I did learn he doesn’t like cats. Too bad for him, lol. Pretty sure my loyalties remain with the Meek. Anyway, so that was kind of a neat way to start off the day, although by the time we made it to school I was starting to not feel so hot again.
As it turned out, there were no copies in the fotocopiadora, so I was out of luck if I did in fact have a presentation so I tried to be productive by starting my Migrations presentation. As it turned out I didn’t have one. It’s Wednesday (which I kind of suspected to be the case).
After class, I hiked up to 7-11 where in a lot of people were staring at me. And I’m not entirely sure why. Maybe I was just momentarily more aware of it (you know how absolutely observant I am). In any case, I got some meds from 7-11 and then walked back to the facultad where I had lunch and then had to go to the library for two reasons: 1) Diana had brownies, bus maps, and hoy en tu comunidad shirts in her office, most importantly the brownies 2) I needed those Cavernas copies for Wednesday since we don’t have school tomorrow.
Of course, getting all that done in the 15 minutes before class starting was impossible. Ariana went with me to get her brownie and shirt and map, and then she went to class before I had even managed to figure out where the book was I needed copies of. She said she’d tell our prof I’d be late. Which I was, by like half an hour (although being late here is not nearly as bit of a deal as it is in the States.) Either way I didn’t really have a choice because I needed the copies. The place would be closed by the time I got out of class.
So then I went and did Mayan Civ til 6 o’clock and took the bus(es) back home. The evening I’m taking off pretty much. Catching up on e-mails I haven’t had a chance to read. The Ellen one was hilarious, let me just say *nods*.
I’m hoping now to watch a movie we didn’t get a chance to watch while Mom was here. I hope everyone enjoys the snow that seems to have invaded up there. It was cold today, but no where near that cold lol.
Cheers! Kate <3
Monday, March 2, 2009
March 01, 2009
Happy First day of March! Actually, it wasn’t a pleasant beginning, I woke up feeling not so great at 8 which was also not a very great time to be awake. After a little while of attempting to fall back to sleep I got up and took some medicine, and (obviously) posted for you guys which was good. Then I managed to fall back a sleep for a little bit but not too long before I imagined one of the squawkers outside calling my name…but birds don’t really do that. Either way though it was 11:30 which is the longest amount of time I think I’ve stayed in bed here in Merida. That’s probably a record for a school semester, having only once stayed in bed til 11:30. Crazy.
Basically at that point I got up and got a shower and then began working on reading for Migrations class. I have a presentation in there on Wednesday. About half way through the reading I txted Chelsea to see if she wanted to go post card hunting like she said she wanted to get some earlier. Then I finished the reading, and my family had left to go out to lunch without me, so I made myself a sandwich with some potato chips and had a little slice of left over birthday cake before giving Chelsea a ring to see if she was up to going out.She said she was so we went down to El Centro and walked around.
As I was trying to walk out the door, my host family came back and after struggling to get the door open, my host mom apologized for having forgotten me. She asked if I wanted to have dessert with them but I declined because I was going out. Besides, I had already helped myself to a little cake.
Chelsea did manage to find some post cards, and she paid less for them than the original place we stopped at. Then, since it was Merida en domingo, we walked around the Plaza Grande just looking. All the fun people from Carnaval weren’t around which was a little sad, but that’s okay. We decided to split a Coca-Light and a bag of churros then went back to my house for a bit so Chelsea could try this Guanabana thing. I also lent her Velocity since she didn’t have anything to read. She lent me When Crickets Cry so I’m going to try it out. I’m not really convinced we have similar tastes in literature though, so we’ll see. More on that later
After that I talked to Mom on the phone for a bit, and J online, and by that time it was off to bed so I could go into school early tomorrow. I thought I might have to present in Cavernas so I was going to need to get the reading before class. Last time we had class I was sick and presenting all the same so my focus really wasn’t on the readings.
Cheers! <3 Kate
Basically at that point I got up and got a shower and then began working on reading for Migrations class. I have a presentation in there on Wednesday. About half way through the reading I txted Chelsea to see if she wanted to go post card hunting like she said she wanted to get some earlier. Then I finished the reading, and my family had left to go out to lunch without me, so I made myself a sandwich with some potato chips and had a little slice of left over birthday cake before giving Chelsea a ring to see if she was up to going out.She said she was so we went down to El Centro and walked around.
As I was trying to walk out the door, my host family came back and after struggling to get the door open, my host mom apologized for having forgotten me. She asked if I wanted to have dessert with them but I declined because I was going out. Besides, I had already helped myself to a little cake.
Chelsea did manage to find some post cards, and she paid less for them than the original place we stopped at. Then, since it was Merida en domingo, we walked around the Plaza Grande just looking. All the fun people from Carnaval weren’t around which was a little sad, but that’s okay. We decided to split a Coca-Light and a bag of churros then went back to my house for a bit so Chelsea could try this Guanabana thing. I also lent her Velocity since she didn’t have anything to read. She lent me When Crickets Cry so I’m going to try it out. I’m not really convinced we have similar tastes in literature though, so we’ll see. More on that later
After that I talked to Mom on the phone for a bit, and J online, and by that time it was off to bed so I could go into school early tomorrow. I thought I might have to present in Cavernas so I was going to need to get the reading before class. Last time we had class I was sick and presenting all the same so my focus really wasn’t on the readings.
Cheers! <3 Kate
Sunday, March 1, 2009
February 28, 2009
¡Feliz Cumpleaños Maria Regina! Today is my youngest host sister’s birthday. I woke up around 10, but there didn’t seem to be a whole lot going on festivity-wise. It would all be taking place later tonight. I got some breakfast in the kitchen and wished Maria Regina a happy birthday.
At lunch, there were 10 of us sitting at the table and several different dishes that were kind of varieties or leftovers. I wasn’t super hungry since I’d had a late breakfast but I ate a little and everyone sat around the table for a while longer than usual. Then my mom brought out a hostess cupcake surrounded by little bunny figurines with a heart-candle on a stick standing out of the center of the cupcake. We all sang happy birthday in Spanish (which I don’t really know the words to so I should work on that) and she blew out the candle though she gave the cupcake away to her sister. That was surprising to me.
After lunch I asked if she had opened her presents (someone had come to the door just before lunch and given her one) and she said she had so I told her I had one for her. We went to my room to open it, and then on it being a little difficult to get out of the box, she brought in back into the kitchen where her mom helped out a little. Maria Regina seemed to think it was neat, but all the while seemed distracted. Either way her mom seemed to think it was a good gift I think. =)
After that I had some free time. I finished Velocity which was quite good then hopped into the shower and began the whole getting-ready routine. Quinceaneras are formal events, so I got to wear my little black dress, though really I could have worn something even a little fancier if I had had it with me.
I talked to my parents on AIM, I have a plane ticket now for Sunday, May 17th. That’s earlier than originally planned (May 23rd) but it’ll be good. There’s a possibility I’d have to take a summer class because I’m short a few for graduation as is. But anyway, May 17th.
When I went to get a little something to drink and a small snack at about 5:15, Maria Regina was getting pictures taken in the back yard. She was very pretty, dressed in a gown that was somewhere between mint and tinkerbell green. She had a beautiful corsage and her hair was half up in a little up-do. Very very pretty.
Her mom actually had a dress on very similar in color so they matched. They finished taking pictures just as it was about time to leave to go to Mass. The Mass was a special service specifically for Maria Regina. She sat up front and center in a special chair and her parents sat to her left and her godparents to her right. It was a very special service.
After that the party began. We went to someone’s house/mansion and inside everything was done up in pink and green. There were balloons, cake, cupcakes, brownies, and over a hundred people there.
There was a video viewing of Maria Regina which was accompanied by a song written for her by her grandfather. The song was very sweet and incorporated her name, it was very special too. After that they put on a waltz and Maria Regina and her father took the dance floor which was set up over the pool. As they waltzed, another older gentleman took over, and so Maria Regina was passed from man to man, each cutting in after a few steps and ending with a twirl. After a little bit even some of her friends cut in. It was *really* nice. How neat, I thought, to do something like that where she danced with all of them. I’d kinda like to do something like that, ne?
After the waltzing, the music picked up into dance music where all the kids flooded the floor and began dancing it up. It was really quite the party, having started at 7:30 after Mass at 6:30: I did not get home until 1 AM. I was glad Chelsea was there so we could chat a little bit throughout the evening and I didn’t feel too out of place. Actually Diana and her husband were there too and we sat at their table. It was a really nice night and I think that Maria Regina had a great time. I’m glad, her quince años should be special =)
Cheers! <3 Kate
February 27, 2009
Well today I had my first presentation in migrations class and also turned in that crazy test she assigned us. My presentation was only on giving a summary of the book I read a while back, so that being considered it wasn’t super difficult. It would have been nice though if I could have presented when I was supposed to: I had already turned in my paper to her on it so I didn’t have anything to go off of once I was standing in front of the class…plus by that time it had been a good two weeks since I’d finished reading it. Either way though, I glimpsed a little bit of humanity in my professor after class when she said I did a good job and that it must have been hard for me since it was in Spanish. Maybe she finally has an inkling that doing everything in her class does require a lot more effort/though/brainpower since it’s not in our first language.
Moving on though, after a trip to the photocopier and the library I got on the bus and headed home, pulling out the book Velocity. Unfortunately, I got so wrapped up in the book I missed my stop at Plaza Fiesta and just kept right on going til I got to El Centro. This wasn’t really that big of a deal. It cost a little more time but 2 pesos less.
When I got home I knew I reallllllly needed to do laundry. So I skipped on down to the laundry mat (not really by this time I was pretty tired, so I kind of trudged along carrying my 8 ½ kilos of laundry) and got that all settled. Back at the house, I was caught going back to my room for an earlier lunch. Maria Regina was playing hookie from school since her cousin was here so we didn’t have to wait til 2:30 like normal. They had fixed fish, however, so I was a little out of luck in that respect, my host mom told me there was cochinita in the fridge so I had that instead which was quite tasty. Cochinita is pork cooked a particular way, or seasoned a particular way. It’s a dish that I think is specific to Yucatan.
After lunch, I came back to my room, read a couple more chapters from Velocity and took a nap that went from around 2:30 or 3 to 5:10 when Chelsea texted me to do something tonight. She said she wanted to see the movie Slumdog Millionaire, and I was down for that. I didn’t really feel like seeing a chick flick so that seemed like a good option even if I didn’t really know what it was about all.
Keeping in style, we also grabbed dinner before the movie. We went to the food court in AltaBrisa (the newest mall in Merida) and ate at some place called like the 60s or something like that. We had chicken strips and I had curly fries (Chelsea had straight fries). While the curly fries were more expensive, they were well worth it.
After dinner and three cups of Coca-Light (I was apparently rather thirsty at dinner and we got free refills), Chelsea and I stopped into this really sweet store where I bought Maria Regina’s birthday present. It’s a picture frame, but it’s a chalkboard, and it comes with 5 different color chalk pieces. It’s pretty neat I think =)
Chelsea and I also applauded ourselves when we got to the movie theater. Well, no, back up. First we went to the bathroom and I had my wits scared out of me when I went to walk into a stall and there was this evil little boy standing there. Surprise much? Well, he wasn’t *actually* there, it was one of those wall pin-ups type things; I selected another stall.
Mexicans don’t really feel much need to get the theater early. They don’t have a 20, so I guess I understand, but the seats are so amazingly comfortable and high-class I’m definitely going to miss that aspect when I get home. No more cheap movie theaters with fantastic viewing and sitting pleasures. But in either case, that just meant since we were a tad early (later than I would normally be to a movie theater I think) we had more or less first choice on seats so we got a central location. And then the rest came filing in til we had a full theater. We applauded ourselves on choosing to do something that the rest of the people in Merida do for their Friday night.
The movie was amazing. You’ve probably heard it won Golden Globes or something like that. I didn’t actually see the awards ceremony, but go see that movie. It’s worth it.
At the end of the night, we caught a taxi back and I came into the room, drew “Feliz Quinceañera” on the picture frame, packed it up, and headed to bed. =)
Cheers! <3 Kate
PS: you guys must think I’m dying or something by your comments, but I’m good, no worries lol. =D
Moving on though, after a trip to the photocopier and the library I got on the bus and headed home, pulling out the book Velocity. Unfortunately, I got so wrapped up in the book I missed my stop at Plaza Fiesta and just kept right on going til I got to El Centro. This wasn’t really that big of a deal. It cost a little more time but 2 pesos less.
When I got home I knew I reallllllly needed to do laundry. So I skipped on down to the laundry mat (not really by this time I was pretty tired, so I kind of trudged along carrying my 8 ½ kilos of laundry) and got that all settled. Back at the house, I was caught going back to my room for an earlier lunch. Maria Regina was playing hookie from school since her cousin was here so we didn’t have to wait til 2:30 like normal. They had fixed fish, however, so I was a little out of luck in that respect, my host mom told me there was cochinita in the fridge so I had that instead which was quite tasty. Cochinita is pork cooked a particular way, or seasoned a particular way. It’s a dish that I think is specific to Yucatan.
After lunch, I came back to my room, read a couple more chapters from Velocity and took a nap that went from around 2:30 or 3 to 5:10 when Chelsea texted me to do something tonight. She said she wanted to see the movie Slumdog Millionaire, and I was down for that. I didn’t really feel like seeing a chick flick so that seemed like a good option even if I didn’t really know what it was about all.
Keeping in style, we also grabbed dinner before the movie. We went to the food court in AltaBrisa (the newest mall in Merida) and ate at some place called like the 60s or something like that. We had chicken strips and I had curly fries (Chelsea had straight fries). While the curly fries were more expensive, they were well worth it.
After dinner and three cups of Coca-Light (I was apparently rather thirsty at dinner and we got free refills), Chelsea and I stopped into this really sweet store where I bought Maria Regina’s birthday present. It’s a picture frame, but it’s a chalkboard, and it comes with 5 different color chalk pieces. It’s pretty neat I think =)
Chelsea and I also applauded ourselves when we got to the movie theater. Well, no, back up. First we went to the bathroom and I had my wits scared out of me when I went to walk into a stall and there was this evil little boy standing there. Surprise much? Well, he wasn’t *actually* there, it was one of those wall pin-ups type things; I selected another stall.
Mexicans don’t really feel much need to get the theater early. They don’t have a 20, so I guess I understand, but the seats are so amazingly comfortable and high-class I’m definitely going to miss that aspect when I get home. No more cheap movie theaters with fantastic viewing and sitting pleasures. But in either case, that just meant since we were a tad early (later than I would normally be to a movie theater I think) we had more or less first choice on seats so we got a central location. And then the rest came filing in til we had a full theater. We applauded ourselves on choosing to do something that the rest of the people in Merida do for their Friday night.
The movie was amazing. You’ve probably heard it won Golden Globes or something like that. I didn’t actually see the awards ceremony, but go see that movie. It’s worth it.
At the end of the night, we caught a taxi back and I came into the room, drew “Feliz Quinceañera” on the picture frame, packed it up, and headed to bed. =)
Cheers! <3 Kate
PS: you guys must think I’m dying or something by your comments, but I’m good, no worries lol. =D
Friday, February 27, 2009
February 26, 2009
4:15 was a rather early wake up thanks to Mom’s flight. She got up and got going and I waited in bed until she was ready to leave. Then we walked to the elevator and she got in but it closed really quickly so our good byes were rushed a little by the closing metal doors. Then she came out on the floor below us (which was not the main floor). I guess I had been working the elevator if and when we used it. Piso Bajo (PB) didn’t have the same significance as G for ground floor. Anyway we managed to get it so that she was headed down to the main floor and out to the airport.
I went to sleep after that for another two hours til 6:45 at which point it was abruptly back to the grind. I fit the rest of my stuff somehow into a carryable stance and did just that: carried everything to the bus stop. I had my weighty backpack and my laptop case, my purse, another plastic bag, and this blue gift bag filled to the brim which I had to carry in both hands and not by the handle. As you might be able to imagine at this point, all this stuff is not a good combination for a bus. Especially a bus that is *very* packed. That meant that I didn’t even really have time to adjust all my stuff before someone sat down next to me which, at one point in time the poor lady next to me was holding my gift bag full of stuff. There really just wasn’t enough room!
To make matters a little worse, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to gather my stuff in time to get off at my stop. Instead, I ended up on the flip side of the coin. I stood up, got everything together, and then had a ways to go. And because I didn’t have any hands free, it was really confusing on when I wanted to get off. So I went a little further but then a lot more people stood up to get off and I just got off the bus somewhere around 8 blocks from my house. So in the already really hot morning I carried all my stuff to the house but all the same managed to make it back…even if my arms were trembling in the end.
I actually made it back with enough time that I was able to unpack somewhat before heading off to school. And when I got there, I gave the rural anthropology exposition I was supposed to give last week. Over all, that presentation didn’t go swimmingly well but I stumbled through it and then the professor kind of summarized things. It’s all good, in that class I’ll get the grade for the effort.
After that, or rather during that class, Mom got to Houston intact, no problems except for a heavy carry on hehe. And I ate lunch, and went to Spanish class where we talked about the subjunctive which passed the time pretty quickly. And by the time it ended, at about 4 o’clock, I was actually rather hungry so Chelsea and I decided to drop by Plaza Fiesta where I got a bagel with cream cheese which was really good in that that hasn’t really been an optional food since I’ve been here. The guy I ordered it from seemed really baffled that that was all I wanted: no tomato, no nothing on it, just cream cheese.
And that was the fun of the day. When I got back I worked on my essay test for Migrations that was due the next day. The first question went really well, and then things progressively got shorter as the evening wore on and I began to care a little less. Not exactly shooting for an A in this class. Doesn’t transfer to my gpa anyway… and one C in my college career might not kill me…hopefully ^.~
At 11 I was finished. The day was kind of long, and I was really tired. And so I went to bed and slept with some intentions to get up in the morning and maybe look over the essay-test a little more in the morning.
Cheers! <3 Kate
I went to sleep after that for another two hours til 6:45 at which point it was abruptly back to the grind. I fit the rest of my stuff somehow into a carryable stance and did just that: carried everything to the bus stop. I had my weighty backpack and my laptop case, my purse, another plastic bag, and this blue gift bag filled to the brim which I had to carry in both hands and not by the handle. As you might be able to imagine at this point, all this stuff is not a good combination for a bus. Especially a bus that is *very* packed. That meant that I didn’t even really have time to adjust all my stuff before someone sat down next to me which, at one point in time the poor lady next to me was holding my gift bag full of stuff. There really just wasn’t enough room!
To make matters a little worse, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to gather my stuff in time to get off at my stop. Instead, I ended up on the flip side of the coin. I stood up, got everything together, and then had a ways to go. And because I didn’t have any hands free, it was really confusing on when I wanted to get off. So I went a little further but then a lot more people stood up to get off and I just got off the bus somewhere around 8 blocks from my house. So in the already really hot morning I carried all my stuff to the house but all the same managed to make it back…even if my arms were trembling in the end.
I actually made it back with enough time that I was able to unpack somewhat before heading off to school. And when I got there, I gave the rural anthropology exposition I was supposed to give last week. Over all, that presentation didn’t go swimmingly well but I stumbled through it and then the professor kind of summarized things. It’s all good, in that class I’ll get the grade for the effort.
After that, or rather during that class, Mom got to Houston intact, no problems except for a heavy carry on hehe. And I ate lunch, and went to Spanish class where we talked about the subjunctive which passed the time pretty quickly. And by the time it ended, at about 4 o’clock, I was actually rather hungry so Chelsea and I decided to drop by Plaza Fiesta where I got a bagel with cream cheese which was really good in that that hasn’t really been an optional food since I’ve been here. The guy I ordered it from seemed really baffled that that was all I wanted: no tomato, no nothing on it, just cream cheese.
And that was the fun of the day. When I got back I worked on my essay test for Migrations that was due the next day. The first question went really well, and then things progressively got shorter as the evening wore on and I began to care a little less. Not exactly shooting for an A in this class. Doesn’t transfer to my gpa anyway… and one C in my college career might not kill me…hopefully ^.~
At 11 I was finished. The day was kind of long, and I was really tired. And so I went to bed and slept with some intentions to get up in the morning and maybe look over the essay-test a little more in the morning.
Cheers! <3 Kate
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