Thinking about the future . . .

The other day I realized that class registration for Fall 2009 at UCSD is fast approaching. So I finally did what I have been avoiding since November . . . . I decided what I'm actually getting my degree in. Ok I knew that at least one major would be International Studies with a focus on Political Science and on Latin America. However, I was having a horribly difficult time deciding what was most important: graduating in June '10, having a relevant internship, a job I actually get paid for or double majoring. I would love to do all of them but that just isn't a viable option for me (I wish I would have taken more classes as a Freshman and Sophomore). Part of the reason that choosing between these things was so difficult was because I was so sure that I wanted to go to grad school as soon as possible after UCSD. Anyways, looking at what classes I wanted to take next quarter I finally made some decisions.

I am going to double major in Int'l Studies and in Spanish Language Studies (part of the Linguistics department). Hopefully, if I work hard enough and the right classes are offered at the right times, I'll be able to graduate in June of next year. If not I'll have to stick around for summer school or more likely Fall Quarter 2010 (tho I would still do the graduation ceremony in June). I know there aren't many relevant internship opportunities in SD so I'm not going to worry too much about getting that kind of experience right away. Especially since I don't really know exactly what I wanna do with my life.

I've also changed my thinking for post-UCSD. I have known for a long time that I love learning and that I want to continue my education in graduate school or maybe law school. But before I felt as if I had to do it immediately after my undergrad. That if I didn't do all this preparation during UCSD and go to grad school straight away I would never have the opportunity. Part of this is well founded with the ever increasing competition and costs. But then I realized that there are other things I might want to experience first. Why all this rush for grad school and, well, reality? I would love to take some time and travel more, maybe do a research program abroad, just live life more. Not that grad school, full-time employment or having a family isn't living life . . . but for me I think there is more I need to see and do and experience. Since deciding this I've felt an enormous amount of relief. I realize that I have all these options and opportunities ahead of me and that there are many routes that can take me to a desired destination.

Tests and Travels

I'm officially done with my first round of midterms. I had a theory midterm last week and then my history midterm on Tuesday. Both went ok but I'm not sure how they will be graded (I'm hoping for 7's because if I get 7's or higher on all my midterms I won't have to take finals).

This was also a big week for flight purchases. I booked a flight for my momma to come visit me for 2 weeks in July! I am so very excited for this and last night I even had a dream about her being here to visit. Thinking about someone coming to visit me has made me realize how much I'm going to have to explain. There are many aspects of la vida cotidiana (everyday life) that I am accustomed to that I forget are completely different from life in Cali. Like the people selling things on the subte and busses, cat-calls, the importance of monedas (coins), toilets . . . things that were strange to me when I first arrived but now are just a normal part of life. Besides just being able so see and visit with my mom, I'm excited for someone from home to be able to share this part of my life with me. Living here in BsAs has affected me so much and I am glad to have the opportunity for someone from my other life to come here and understand it.

The other big flight purchase was a flight to El Calafate and Ushuaia. On the 20th of May I'm flying to El Calafate which is in southern Argentina near the Andean mountian range. I'll probably spend a day or two there seeing glaciers and parks. Then I'll take a 12-14 hour bus to Ushuaia (with one stop along the way). Ushuaia is the most southern city in the world! - Note: Buenos Aires is more south than South Africa - And I'll likely spend about 4 days in Ushuaia! Ahh I'm sooo excited for this. There probably won't be enough snow for snowboarding but I'm still looking forward to doing things like tours, boat rides, seeing national parks etc.

I've also started looking into a trip to Brazil for late June and I've been thinking about trying to make it to Colombia in August . . . its just a thought and would depend on when I start traveling, how much I like Chile, when I fly back to the U.S. . . . .

The Buenos Aires Pub Crawl

Guess what . . . . I have a job!! When I first got here I found a Craigslist posting from a group that organizes bar hopping events (side note: Craigslist is absolutely amazing and I don't know what I'd do without it). Its called the Buenos Aires Pub Crawl and its a group of people (mostly from the States) and they take the people who come (mostly international travelers) out to a bunch of bars and then to a boliche (i.e. a dancing club). My job is to promote and to help out at the events. Its a bit different than most of the jobs I've had but so far I like it. Its fun plus I get to meet a bunch of interesting people from all over the world. And best of all, my coworkers all seem like great people too work with. Don't worry . . . . I'm still being responsible and I'm not going to get caught up in anything (I already got a lecture from my Dad jaja). Maybe this will be my little reward for busting my ass so hard while I was in the States last. So far its been a pretty good reward.

Besos

To Experience . . . .

You may already know this but I have this weird obsession with lists. I make lists for everything. Shopping lists, to-do lists, to read lists . . . I probably have a list for every other day of the year. Strange, I know. But anyways, today I turned one list into a bit of art/decoration. These are all the things I want to experience while I'm down here (most are in Argentina but not all). Somehow last semester I didn't end up doing a lot of the things I had planned so this time I am determined to experience them! And now its a little bit of decoration and a little bit of reminder above my desk. If there is anything big I missed, let me know.

P.S.
Two posts in one day means that this blog has become my second favorite way to avoid actually doing my reading for class . . . .

Olavarría

For Semana Santa (aka Holy Week) I took a mini vacation to the town of Olavarría which is the hometown of Santi and Majo (two people I lived with last semester). It was about a 7 hour bus ride that flew by because Norma (former roommate), Christo (also lived at the Resi last semester) and I slept the whole time. Friday we got a little tour of the town, had fish and rice for dinner and then enjoyed a bit of the night life. For me, Saturday was the best part of the trip. We woke up and around 11 we drove out to Santi's parent's country house. It was about an hour drive through fields and farms and it looked surprisingly like the drive on I-5 when you are north of the grape vine. Just flat fields with occasional houses or clumps of trees. We ate an amazing asado that was mostly carne (i.e. cow meat). Mmmm and my favorite is the choripan! After eating copious amounts of meat we all laid around in the grass outside and napped. The weather was absolutly perfect and it was the most relaxing thing I've done in a long time. When we woke up we enjoyed some mate and fracturas (little pastries with a fruit filling or chocolate drizzeled). Then we explored the camp a bit and saw the horses, mini ponies, sheep, cows, orchards and miles and miles of pastures. By the time we finished the sun was setting and it was absolutely breathtaking. It was a really nice día en el campo. Saturday night we had more yummy home cooking and checked out more of the nightlife.

Sunday we went to Majo's parent's house for lunch. Again we had a delicious asado but with different kinds of meat than the day before and great red wine. I was brave and I tried liver, lamb and something else (I still don't know what it was). Of the three the only thing I didn't like was the liver, ewwww. After lunch we had some ice cream and chocolate eggs (because of course the commercial parts of the holiday exist everywhere . . .). In the afternoon me, Santi, Majo, Norma and Christo all piled into Majo's dad's truck and he drove us back to BsAs. But since it was the end of a long weekend we of course hit a ton of traffic trying to get back into the city. So Majo's dad decided to take a short cut and explore a bit. We ended up driving through probably 25 or 35 miles of country back roads but it worked and we got around what a huge traffic jab that was probably because of an accident.

Overall it was a really great weekend and here are the rest of the pics. I love going home with people and getting a glimpse of family life outside of the city. It is also refreshing to be in a house, with a loving family eating "mom's" delicious home cooking." Jaja. This trip did re-awaken my desire to get out and travel more while I'm here. I spent quite a bit of today planning out some of the trips I want to make and trying to decide when I'm going to go where . . . .

Chau, besos.

Sunday Morning

I think there is a good chance that this is the most unproductive I've ever been. Even when I was in Msvl for two months with absolutely no responsibilities I got more done than I have in the past week or so. And with the holidays I know next week will be more of the same. Ehhh I hate feeling like this but sometimes I just don't know how to get out of it. Hopefully once I have more responsibilities and get into a more regular schedule it will get better.

Oh I did have a big achievement today though! My Señora is out of town for two weeks and when I woke up this afternoon (yes it was past 12) the internet wasn't working. So I fiddled with equipment a bit but still, no internet. So . . . instead of giving up I found the number and called tech support. I talked to the guy and he walked me through what I had to do to fix the connection. I am posting this so obviously I got it to work. Now, the exciting part of all this is that it was all in Spanish! I mean tech support or customer service can be hard and a major pain in the ass in general, but doing it all in your second language (and I don't know computer jargon in Spanish) is hard! So ya, I was very pround of myself.

P.S.
Did you know that hotdogs taste absolutely amazing at 5:30 in the morning??

Classes, Cooking, Conversation

I can't believe its been almost a month already. It is kind of scary, how fast time goes by. Every year just goes by faster than the one before it and everyone tells me that this is the way it will always be. That the older you get the faster time seems to go by. I don't want it to be like that! I want things to pass slowly so I can take everything in and enjoy the little things in each moment.

Ah, anyways . . . things are going well here in BsAs. I changed my schedule around at UBA. I'm now taking History of Argentina and Theory of International Relations. History is a bit boring but I like it because it is giving me a more in depth understanding of things I already know a little about. I've only had one Theory class (I joined the class during 3rd week) but I really really like it so far. The readings are very stimulating and it seems to be quite relevant to my major (go figure from the title and all).

My exciting news: my cooking is improving! I cooked my first real peice of meat the other day. Steak with sauted peppers and onions. Mmmm it was quite yummy if I do say so myself. Even my old standby - pasta - is getting better. I'm figuring out new varieties and new kinds of sauces.

I've also been a little home sick lately too. I think its probably because I was without internet for about two weeks so I haven't really been able to talk to anyone from home. I miss my family so so much. I want them to be here so they can share some of these experiences with me. And I miss all the things I do with my friends from home. I'm sad I'm missing baseball season (but I do get to listen to UOP games online). And I miss my girls in San Diego, especially Dollar Scoop. But, now that I have internet I can start catching up with people I miss and start making arrangements for people to come visit me . . . . yay!