Cambios en todo

What an incredible and tiring day so far! But first, the last two days.

My birthday wasn't anything too special, just a really great day, and I was thankful for that. My tica mom got me a present and a card, and the next day my tica sister brought me one as well :) It made me feel more like part of their familia tica. The day started off with my bailes populares class where we learned merengue. I couldn't figure out the hip movement at ALL, considering it's entirely different from the movements of salsa and cha-cha (which already took me forever to get). Everyone else has known it since they were babies, so the professor didn't even touch on technique, but the students helped me out. I'd like to say I got it by the end, but I'm still not sure. I felt better because I met a very nice girl who told me while I was struggling 'no puedo hacerlo tampoco, y soy tica!'. Maybe dancing isn't just in the blood, and we both tried our best with our untrained 'caderas'.

Just after that, I went to audit the awesome organic agriculture class, which was even better when it was aimed towards the students. I asked someone where it was, and he told me he was waiting for the professor as well so we chatted a while and became semi-friends. Only later did I realize I had passed him earlier in the Agronomy building and said 'hola' out of habit, and he had to point that out to me because I didn't remember him at all! So many faces...Anyways, that may have been why he was so friendly to me, which was good because I felt welcome right away and was able to learn a lot from him. The class was amazing, and I understood practically everything, so I wondered aloud to my classmate why on earth I wouldn't be able to do well in the class (I originally tried to enroll, but the director of the Agronomy Department told me that I didn't have the prerequisites and would fail from lack of comprehension). He told me that he had already taken a course with the professor, and that I wouldn't have problems, so I went to beg the professor one last time.

Turns out, he wouldn't mind at all if I joined the class, and he never had a problem with it. Students in my program have taken it in the past and done very well. Curious...Anywho, I spoke with the director again, who blamed the professor for not letting me take the course (which is very obviously not the case) and demanded proof that the professor would let me in the class. Now I just have to wait on the professor...so nothing's official, besides me letting the computer malfunction that didn't enroll me in the environmental education class be (it seemed to be an appropriate sign that I was doing the right thing) and missing that class today and what would have been my first quiz.

That's pretty much what happened all day Wednesday, I ran around trying to enroll in his course and drop the most boring course ever: Environmental Education. It should have been named The Theory of Education and its History from an Environmental Standpoint, as there is no biology nor environmental science whatsoever :( On the bright side, I'm looking into volunteering for an environmental education program, and that seems to be more to my interests.

Back to Tuesday, just to wrap that up, my natural history class was cancelled, so instead I went with my friend from bailes populares to her English class, as I mentioned before. It was pretty fun, a little awkward, and interesting to see how people go about learning English (after all this time of trying to learn Spanish). She is so sweet: she brought me a little snack for break time and her mom dropped me off at home. The English teacher wants me to come back and try to get some people from the program to come, but I'm not sure if I can make that happen. I doubt class will be cancelled again, but I'm planning to ask the other students, just in case.

Wednesday was more bailes populares, and the Wednesday class is much more like PE where we play games and such. Man, PE was embarrassing, and it's not much better now that I'm older and can't speak the language...At least everyone is nice about it. I met another person whose dad is from the states, and we chatted a while and exchanged snobby stories from France. He speaks English, French and Spanish all fluently because he went to a French school, I'm so jealous! I wish the US would get on language education for children :( Then I did classes stuff, and then was too tired to go to the art festival with some friends and just went home and felt lame (yet excited about the schedule changes) instead.

Today I went to work on the farm with the other organic agriculture students. I'm not sure if I'm going to be in the group on Tuesdays or on Thursdays, but I was hoping that the professor would be there to sign my enrollment form. No such luck. I did, however, have a great time. I guess I say 'farm' lightly because when we arrived we were shown a big chunk of land with trees, bushes, and weeds everywhere. We basically walked into a mini forest with machetes, shovels and hoes and were told 'okay, here's the plot, clear it all, good luck'. If anyone has started a game of Harvest Moon, and seen what your field looks like when you start out, bingo. So, I got to work like Jack, the character, and felt awesome, just much, much slower. At the end of four hours, we had completely transformed the area. I couldn't believe it! To be a part of that was really cool, even if I wasn't as strong or as effective as the males or the people with experience. Sadly, many weedy plants and shrubs/bushes/not really sure had to die, but they're going to become part of our organic compost, so I don't feel as badly. Seriously, great class.

Now all I have left tonight is choir, and I have been eating these banana chips (yes, bananas are everywhere here, even in soup, and I'm starting to really like them) with salt and lime to get up enough strength to not only go but be social. And not fall asleep. Farm work is hard :)