first round of classes

Sorry for the long post, I just started writing and…

Now after two days of classes I have gone to each class once, a pretty interesting experience. Sunday was uneventful, our host family doesn't cook on Sundays so I went with the two roommates to Carls Jr for lunch, and to watch the games, plus it is the closet place to eat. It was really packed, plus the place is 2-3 times bigger than one in the States. For dinner I went to the Wal-Martish store to get some stuff along with dinner. Then I sat around and watched TV till bed.

Now onto yesterday, I got up at 7 to leave at 8 to run a few errands at school before my 9 o'clock class. Well no errands got done because one of my roommates was running late so we didn't get there till 8:30. Then when I went to run the errands I found out that neither the tour sign up desk nor the copy center were open till 9. I went to my first class, Thermodynamics, and was the only non-Mexican there. Oh well it actually came in handy, because the first thing the teacher said about the class was that it was going to be half Metric and half British units, and we needed to memorize all the British units and there would maybe be a quiz on it tomorrow. Everyone else in the class moaned at that. I then had an hour off and went and got a bunch of copies for my Visa. This took forever, since I needed two copies of EVERY page in my passport, along with two copies of a bunch of other documents. The next class I went to was Culture and Traditions of Latin America. He started talking about the class then asked us to go around the room and introduce ourselves along with tell him which city we are from and the prep school we went to. After 10 people went with 5 names each told all there stats, then I was my turn. I said my much shorter name and that I was from the US. He then asked me a question about my parents; I swore he asked where their ancestors are from so I said Ireland and German. This caused the rest of the class to laugh; I figure I answered it wrong. Then he asked how well I understood Spanish was, I responded okay, and he told me that if the Spanish got too hard to come talk to him after class and he would make sure I understood everything. The some more people introduced themselves, and there was another American girl, two Dutch guys, along with another Polish girl. The teacher then put us in groups, one international student per group, so there could be a non-Hispanic view in each one. After that I went and talked to the lawyers who we can have take care of our visas and do the paperwork, he gave me a checklist of what else I needed then I went home. Once getting back I ate lunch and then my Australian roommate wanted to go to a Mall. We went to the mall with our fourth roommate who until then hadn't done much with us. The bus trip required one transfer of busses in a Wal-Mart, Sam's and Home Depot parking lot. We got to the mall which was next to another Wal-Mart and a Costco. We got lost in the weird double decker packing lot and couldn't find the entrance. Finally we got in the mall. It was a pretty nice one and had some good stores. We then took a cab home which was much easier.

Today seemed like the longest day ever. First off Monday it was only in the low 60s, which was okay, but today it got to the low 50s and sprinkled all day. This wouldn't have been so bad, except no one here including the school has heat, so in every classroom it was just as cold as outside. My first class, History of Mexico is only for International Students and I have it with my Australian roommate. Next was Mechanics of Materials, this class I understood almost all of what he said, and got excited when he said we were using the English book, because we all need to practice our English, which made the class groan. He then went around asking us the name we wanted to be called and taking our picture. It got to me and the kid typing the nicknames was very confused on how to spell Matt, the teacher asked where I was from, and after responding everyone stared at me for a good 2 minutes. Upon leaving my teacher told me that I needed to use the Spanish book, because I already am good at Engineering English and need to learn the words in Spanish. Oh well that is why I am really here. After that it was on to the next class, a room change but nothing big. I got to the next class and he said we can pick the language of our big, and I decided on English because this class is much more important. After four and a half hours of class onto the crazy part of my day. It was on to buying textbooks, setting up tours and getting my visa lawyer squared away. I went to the International Students Center to get this necessary form, but it was closed for lunch for the next hour. I decided instead to go get my texts; the school bookstore hadn’t even heard of my books, so I went across the street and got two of the three. Since I need to pay with a Credit Card there was a separate line. It was about 10 people long and each transaction took about 3 minutes. It was finally my turn and I was told the price, which was about a quarter of at home. Next I went across the street to get a compilation copied for another class which went quickly and easily. Now that it was past the lunch hour I went back got the letter and then headed across campus to get it copied and get another classes compilation, which ended up not being there yet. I got the copy, and head downstairs to sign up for the excursions. Only one was ready, this weekend’s to caves nearby, and I then signed up to receive more info about the rest. Lastly it was back to the Lawyer, near the International Students Center. I gave him all the copies, he started some paper work and gave me a letter my host father has to sign and the forms to pay for the visa at the bank. I then decided it was best to get the payment done so I went to the bank, learned I had 15 minutes to pay, but one of the tellers let me cut and got me in and out. It was then off to home, Paul and I went to the supermarket across the street to get school supplies.

Also I just got a surprise call from my family which was a great one. I also am enjoying all the e-mails and comments. Pictures of school will be coming soon.