Okay, so the last couple of days have been rather crazy for me. Figuring out my class schedule has been confusing enough, but add a brand new campus to explore, enrollment to take care of, homework to do, advising meetings to attend, and an essay to write, and you have a rather busy Caryn. However, I think I am finally getting things figured out.
Yesterday, I finally decided on my class schedule for the semester. After visiting six classes (even though the professor never showed up to one of them), I have decided to take a class on the Latin American short story, a class on Latin American culture and society, a survey class called Great Authors that may or may not count for Spanish credit (hey, the professor is awesome and there are barely any gringos in the class, so I am doing it anyway), and a class through CIEE about the linguistics of Chile. I think it should be a pretty good schedule-- challenging but not impossible. Plus, it is just a relief to be done deciding. To be honest, I went with my gut for the most part. If a class or a professor seemed boring, I dropped it from the list. I firmly believe that a professor can make or break a class, and I really want to enjoy my time here. I don’t want a bad professor to ruin that for me.
Other than that, I have been exploring the campus during the day. Mostly I just walk around to get a feel for things. I really enjoy getting purposefully lost. So far I have found a couple of good lunch places, some gorgeous study spots, a computer lab with tons of windows, and the schedule for the weight room! The last one was sort of an interesting experience. I think the guy working at the gym thought I was lost as I was reading the schedule, but I calmly explained to him that I simply wanted to see when the room was open and then confirmed with him that it is free for students. It looks like I will be working out Tuesdays and Thursdays after class since those are practically the only times that there isn’t something scheduled. Now if only my student ID would come, so I can get started.
I also met a super nice Chilean student in the computer lab yesterday. His name is Daniel, and he is a civil engineering student at the PUC. We started talking because he asked me how to use the at-symbol on the computer (silly Spanish keyboards), but of course, I had no idea and then he heard my accent and realized I’m a foreigner. We talked for about fifteen minutes until I had to go to class. I told him I would find him on facebook, but unfortunately there are quite a few Daniel Fuentes. Oh well. Currently I’m still waiting to get set up with a tandem partner, and I am starting to get nervous since one of the other girls in my program already has hers. I want to know who mine is! I guess the trick is just to be patient and to trust that I submitted my application correctly.
Other than that, the protests continue here. This morning I was riding the metro and minding my own business, when suddenly there was an announcement over the loudspeakers. I missed it because I had my headphones in, but then I smelled something kind of weird and everyone around me covered their noses and mouths. It was then that I realized it was tear gas. Though there wasn’t a lot of it in the air, it was enough to make my nose and throat burn a bit. My host mom had warned me of the protests in the center of the city this morning, but I didn’t realize the tear gas would make it all the way to the subway tunnel. Kind of scary. Still it served as an important reminder that while I am going to school, plenty of students are fighting for the right to education. It also made me proud of my right to free speech and that in the United States I can protest on the steps of the capitol without being tear-gassed or arrested. Speaking of arrested, tonight alone they have arrested over 500 students. People are currently going crazy in the city. Everywhere there are students in the streets banging on pans, and I can hear tons of cars honking outside my window. It’s madness, but I love it.
On the home front, I received a mass email on Tuesday from the head of the Legal Studies department asking if any students would be interested in being in contact with some Madison alumni who have agreed to serve as mentors. I read the bios of the eight alums and asked to be put in contact with a woman named Katie who is currently in law school at the University of California. I figured, “Why not? Maybe she has some good advice.” Within hours I had her email address, and I sent her an email about myself and asked a few questions about herself and law school. She responded with a lengthy email, and she gave me some great insight about the next steps I should take if I decide law school is for me. I think it will be incredibly helpful to have someone to talk to about these sorts of things who will give me a candid answer. It’s crazy to think that when I come back from Chile I’ll be signing up for LSAT courses. Ugh.
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