Showing posts with label Week 09: Playing Catch-Up. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Week 09: Playing Catch-Up. Show all posts
Day 62: Fall 2008 SUA Buenos Aires, Argentina Study Abroaders UNITE!
Finally, Buenos Aires study abroaders from Soka UNITED!
It didn’t occur to me till now just how much all of us are growing from study abroad. It’s so crazy. People can actually change in the span of a few months.
Erika and I first met up in the Juramento Plaza where they had a feria. I walked into the plaza and I thought it was…snowing. Turns out it was just stuff from the trees drifting down. XD Yep, so we walked around the feria looking at what they were selling and then we met up with Kelsey.
We ate at a place near the plaza where beef was less than $8. And it was good. Really good. Mm. I’m craving it now. Anyway, it was great to be able to talk about Argentina and sharing the where-to’s, the how-to’s and places that are good to visit. It also brought back a little touch of home, SUA, for all of us I’m sure.
Hearing things about Salta, especially, made me want to visit once before I go back. It’s a 20-hour bus ride, so it’s kinda far… kinda.
I can’t believe their program is almost over… I still have nearly another 2 months after they’re done. It’s insane. They get to go off and travel.
I have classes, midterms, and finals.
Joy.
It didn’t occur to me till now just how much all of us are growing from study abroad. It’s so crazy. People can actually change in the span of a few months.
Erika and I first met up in the Juramento Plaza where they had a feria. I walked into the plaza and I thought it was…snowing. Turns out it was just stuff from the trees drifting down. XD Yep, so we walked around the feria looking at what they were selling and then we met up with Kelsey.
We ate at a place near the plaza where beef was less than $8. And it was good. Really good. Mm. I’m craving it now. Anyway, it was great to be able to talk about Argentina and sharing the where-to’s, the how-to’s and places that are good to visit. It also brought back a little touch of home, SUA, for all of us I’m sure.
Hearing things about Salta, especially, made me want to visit once before I go back. It’s a 20-hour bus ride, so it’s kinda far… kinda.
I can’t believe their program is almost over… I still have nearly another 2 months after they’re done. It’s insane. They get to go off and travel.
I have classes, midterms, and finals.
Joy.
Day 61: The World Stops for COPA… SERIOUSLY
There’s nothing BETTER than needing to wake up at 6 in the morning on a Friday when one HAS NO CLASS. Absolutely nothing.
I had the second part of my visa thing today. I overheard someone from my program talking, and I absolutely agree: by the time we get our visas, we’d only have 50-some days left in Argentina. And even so, apparently if we were to travel outside of Argentina during the semester, we could just continue studying here WITHOUT a visa because a tourist can stay a max of 90 days.
So, I met up with two people in my program to go to this visa place. We got there at 7:30 [we were supposed to meet at 8] and there was already a line of at least 50 people. We were about to get in line when this guy who had some connection with our program said we had to wait for him. So we waited…and waited…
But, it was cool. I got to talk to people inside and outside of my program. For a moment, when I was talking to people, I wanted to stay for a year because just hearing how well these people spoke was amazing. But, I don’t think I could stay a year. It’s too much.
So anyway, when we were finally allowed to go in, after almost 45 minutes of waiting in the cold, we were met with another huge mass of people. Literally it was a little past 8 and it looked like there were people waiting for a concert to happen or something. We skipped past them and we were sat down to wait for our papers and stuff.
The process itself was BORING. I’m glad I did get there earlier, because I did get priority. I was third in line within my program. So they stamped this and that, and took down my info. I paid 200 pesos and I thought I was done. I seriously thought, till 3pm my ass… I’m already done.
Then the lady tells me to go past these doors and wait for my name to be called. I was like okay.
When I go in, there’s seriously about 8 people, nada mas. So, someone please explain to me why my name didn’t get called till noon. Out of nowhere all these people were getting called before me, and they had just walked in… Luckily I brought my homework, but I fell asleep reading it…waiting.
And my name was the first to get called in from my program, so I didn’t expect to hear my name, right. I snort awake and look around, dumbfounded, before everyone in my program were like “FINALLY” and then gesturing me to desk.
So, you would think all this waiting would amount to something really awesome. No.
It was a piece of paper and they just took my thumbprint. That’s it…
I think I would’ve spent those 4-5 hours much better…cuz after that, I just ended up sleeping the rest of the day. Yay. What a waste.
I had the second part of my visa thing today. I overheard someone from my program talking, and I absolutely agree: by the time we get our visas, we’d only have 50-some days left in Argentina. And even so, apparently if we were to travel outside of Argentina during the semester, we could just continue studying here WITHOUT a visa because a tourist can stay a max of 90 days.
So, I met up with two people in my program to go to this visa place. We got there at 7:30 [we were supposed to meet at 8] and there was already a line of at least 50 people. We were about to get in line when this guy who had some connection with our program said we had to wait for him. So we waited…and waited…
But, it was cool. I got to talk to people inside and outside of my program. For a moment, when I was talking to people, I wanted to stay for a year because just hearing how well these people spoke was amazing. But, I don’t think I could stay a year. It’s too much.
So anyway, when we were finally allowed to go in, after almost 45 minutes of waiting in the cold, we were met with another huge mass of people. Literally it was a little past 8 and it looked like there were people waiting for a concert to happen or something. We skipped past them and we were sat down to wait for our papers and stuff.
The process itself was BORING. I’m glad I did get there earlier, because I did get priority. I was third in line within my program. So they stamped this and that, and took down my info. I paid 200 pesos and I thought I was done. I seriously thought, till 3pm my ass… I’m already done.
Then the lady tells me to go past these doors and wait for my name to be called. I was like okay.
When I go in, there’s seriously about 8 people, nada mas. So, someone please explain to me why my name didn’t get called till noon. Out of nowhere all these people were getting called before me, and they had just walked in… Luckily I brought my homework, but I fell asleep reading it…waiting.
And my name was the first to get called in from my program, so I didn’t expect to hear my name, right. I snort awake and look around, dumbfounded, before everyone in my program were like “FINALLY” and then gesturing me to desk.
So, you would think all this waiting would amount to something really awesome. No.
It was a piece of paper and they just took my thumbprint. That’s it…
I think I would’ve spent those 4-5 hours much better…cuz after that, I just ended up sleeping the rest of the day. Yay. What a waste.
Day 60: Rush of Blood to the Head
So two other people and I turned in a paper today for Panorama de Lit. It was a group paper on the comparison of the Odyssey and the Aneid. There were only 3 questions, and it was pretty damn easy. Awesome.
One thing I’ve definitely gotten used to and I realized today was the fact that I can walk faster without gasping for breath. And that’s with carrying my laptop too. Although it’s a pain to stuff myself into the subway cart in the mornings, it’s totally worth bringing my laptop to class.
So, why did I bring it especially today?
For my show biz class, I had a paper (10 lines) about the No-Places and Violence, and another on my pre-thesis. I worked on it a little in between Pan de Lit and Intro, but I had to run home because I’ve still yet to buy a friggin converter for my adapter.
When I get home, I realize I didn’t like my thesis topic. So I changed it. It’s now Representation and Stereotypes of Asians in North American Cinema. Pretty interesting right? Yea, hopefully.
Anyway, what’s amazing is, I was able to finish both of these in the span of 2 hours. Both a page each and in Spanish. I’d say, that’s pretty awesome accomplishment [don’t judge me, I’m special].
So, I leave early to rush to the fotocopiadora near my school and ask them to print. I was so excited, because I was on top of it. I was ready to start class. I was so happy I got caught up. It was the greatest feeling.
And the professor ended up not showing.
Which was okay, I guess. It was a needed break for me most definitely. Actually, it was more of a little present. XD
However, because I hadn’t done a presentation thus far in class, my name was one of the few that got called to get my pre-thesis read and analyzed. So throughout the first part of class I was panicking, thinking my thing was going to be read. Luckily, the people in the class were asking other thing about the thesis SO we didn’t read it the first part of class.
And I ran away during break.
One thing I’ve definitely gotten used to and I realized today was the fact that I can walk faster without gasping for breath. And that’s with carrying my laptop too. Although it’s a pain to stuff myself into the subway cart in the mornings, it’s totally worth bringing my laptop to class.
So, why did I bring it especially today?
For my show biz class, I had a paper (10 lines) about the No-Places and Violence, and another on my pre-thesis. I worked on it a little in between Pan de Lit and Intro, but I had to run home because I’ve still yet to buy a friggin converter for my adapter.
When I get home, I realize I didn’t like my thesis topic. So I changed it. It’s now Representation and Stereotypes of Asians in North American Cinema. Pretty interesting right? Yea, hopefully.
Anyway, what’s amazing is, I was able to finish both of these in the span of 2 hours. Both a page each and in Spanish. I’d say, that’s pretty awesome accomplishment [don’t judge me, I’m special].
So, I leave early to rush to the fotocopiadora near my school and ask them to print. I was so excited, because I was on top of it. I was ready to start class. I was so happy I got caught up. It was the greatest feeling.
And the professor ended up not showing.
Which was okay, I guess. It was a needed break for me most definitely. Actually, it was more of a little present. XD
However, because I hadn’t done a presentation thus far in class, my name was one of the few that got called to get my pre-thesis read and analyzed. So throughout the first part of class I was panicking, thinking my thing was going to be read. Luckily, the people in the class were asking other thing about the thesis SO we didn’t read it the first part of class.
And I ran away during break.
Day 59: The Universe is Telling Me Something
“Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying,
And this same flower that smiles today
Tomorrow will be dying.”
- Robert Herrick
Today, my Panorama de Literatura professor recited this to emphasize the concept of carpe diem, while introducing the renaissance. The way she recited it was absolute awe-inspiring. I think one thing that came and went today was my motivation. After hearing this quote in class, I was really pumped and was ready for anything coming my way.
There’s actually great meaning [or at least I think so] that this quote was brought up today because on my way to la FUC and waiting for the crosswalk to turn green, I saw a pigeon just walking around one of the cars, and without a second’s notice, it was run over. It put life into a perspective. Our lives can end just like that, without a moment’s notice, and the things we’ve done, the things we’ve said, everything stays at that. There’s no chance to apologize, to change what could’ve been.
It’s a pit full of regret just waiting to be fallen into.
Carpe diem. Live each moment as if it’s the last, because realmente, it’s so easy to die. Just living through a day is an accomplishment, and it’s something that we take for granted, something that we simply don’t appreciate enough. It means that you were able overcome what today brought you, and you’re ready for the next challenges.
Some days when I’m here, I feel so defeated, I wish for tomorrow to never come. But, what good does that do for me? Time will still move; the sun will still rise; and it will be tomorrow again, today. Life is so precious and yet I haven’t taken it seriously. Seeing something die in front of me so flawlessly definitely set things into motion for me.
Yet, I’m still seemingly defeated but things I shouldn’t be – I can somehow find a parallel between SA and the first semester at SUA [actually it’s almost uncanny how similar the two are]. There are moments I feel content being here and there are other moments when I just want to break loose and run away.
And then, things like past thoughts [como Herrick’s poem] bring it back to reason. “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying, And this same flower that smiles today, Tomorrow will be dying.” Each day is a memory waiting to be created. Each moment that we spend may not last till tomorrow, but surely those memories will keep them alive.
Oh, how I miss romanticism.
Old Time is still a-flying,
And this same flower that smiles today
Tomorrow will be dying.”
- Robert Herrick
Today, my Panorama de Literatura professor recited this to emphasize the concept of carpe diem, while introducing the renaissance. The way she recited it was absolute awe-inspiring. I think one thing that came and went today was my motivation. After hearing this quote in class, I was really pumped and was ready for anything coming my way.
There’s actually great meaning [or at least I think so] that this quote was brought up today because on my way to la FUC and waiting for the crosswalk to turn green, I saw a pigeon just walking around one of the cars, and without a second’s notice, it was run over. It put life into a perspective. Our lives can end just like that, without a moment’s notice, and the things we’ve done, the things we’ve said, everything stays at that. There’s no chance to apologize, to change what could’ve been.
It’s a pit full of regret just waiting to be fallen into.
Carpe diem. Live each moment as if it’s the last, because realmente, it’s so easy to die. Just living through a day is an accomplishment, and it’s something that we take for granted, something that we simply don’t appreciate enough. It means that you were able overcome what today brought you, and you’re ready for the next challenges.
Some days when I’m here, I feel so defeated, I wish for tomorrow to never come. But, what good does that do for me? Time will still move; the sun will still rise; and it will be tomorrow again, today. Life is so precious and yet I haven’t taken it seriously. Seeing something die in front of me so flawlessly definitely set things into motion for me.
Yet, I’m still seemingly defeated but things I shouldn’t be – I can somehow find a parallel between SA and the first semester at SUA [actually it’s almost uncanny how similar the two are]. There are moments I feel content being here and there are other moments when I just want to break loose and run away.
And then, things like past thoughts [como Herrick’s poem] bring it back to reason. “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying, And this same flower that smiles today, Tomorrow will be dying.” Each day is a memory waiting to be created. Each moment that we spend may not last till tomorrow, but surely those memories will keep them alive.
Oh, how I miss romanticism.
Day 58: Sometimes I Make Myself Wonder…
First off, I would like to say: “oversleeping” is not synonymous for “being late,” though it is possible to use both in a cause and effect sentence. For example, “I am late because I overslept.” Today, I completely defied that. I definitely overslept [my alarm clock], but I made it on time for class. It’s one of those days when you find yourself waking up before your alarm clock and you fall asleep again, and then before you know it, the next time you wake up, you’re supposed to be half way towards the subway.
I ran… It was almost embarrassing, though I didn’t care at the time. It’s funny how I stress so easily. The moment I got to the university, I walked up to the door of my classroom and tugged on it for a while, thinking it was stuck. Nope. Just locked. And then, I texted my professor asking him where class was. Turns out he wasn’t even there yet. So, it was a big sigh of relief.
Anyway, I found myself thinking the ENTIRE day: “Think positive, Kusho. Positive, positive, positive!” This week is really shitty, I can already tell. I think it’s because I have so much to do for my classes. You know how there are some days when it seems that all of your professors [and only the professors YOU have] somehow coordinated to assign the most work, all during the SAME week.
Yeah. This is one of those weeks.
Literally, if you know what my pocket-size Moleskin notebook looks like, I have two full pages of things-to-dos. Argh. I hate my life right now. Yes, I’m being emo. Leave me be in my corner.
[dot dot dot]
So, here’s the thought that makes me wonder: the moment I jumped out of bed and ran my way to the subway, all I thought in was Spanish. “Mierda, mierda, mierda. Por qué me acosté tarde la noche pasada!” So… I think, somewhere between orientation and now, my mind made a switch. Or maybe it’s just because I didn’t have time to even flip a language switch and it just stuck to Spanish?
Whatever the case, I ended up speaking more Spanish in school today. Unfortunately, that led me to do a presentation by myself on one of the chapters of one of the readings for one of my hardest classes. -_-;;
At least I have 2 weeks to prepare.
Goody.
I ran… It was almost embarrassing, though I didn’t care at the time. It’s funny how I stress so easily. The moment I got to the university, I walked up to the door of my classroom and tugged on it for a while, thinking it was stuck. Nope. Just locked. And then, I texted my professor asking him where class was. Turns out he wasn’t even there yet. So, it was a big sigh of relief.
Anyway, I found myself thinking the ENTIRE day: “Think positive, Kusho. Positive, positive, positive!” This week is really shitty, I can already tell. I think it’s because I have so much to do for my classes. You know how there are some days when it seems that all of your professors [and only the professors YOU have] somehow coordinated to assign the most work, all during the SAME week.
Yeah. This is one of those weeks.
Literally, if you know what my pocket-size Moleskin notebook looks like, I have two full pages of things-to-dos. Argh. I hate my life right now. Yes, I’m being emo. Leave me be in my corner.
[dot dot dot]
So, here’s the thought that makes me wonder: the moment I jumped out of bed and ran my way to the subway, all I thought in was Spanish. “Mierda, mierda, mierda. Por qué me acosté tarde la noche pasada!” So… I think, somewhere between orientation and now, my mind made a switch. Or maybe it’s just because I didn’t have time to even flip a language switch and it just stuck to Spanish?
Whatever the case, I ended up speaking more Spanish in school today. Unfortunately, that led me to do a presentation by myself on one of the chapters of one of the readings for one of my hardest classes. -_-;;
At least I have 2 weeks to prepare.
Goody.
Day 57: Re-determination… Doesn’t Come So Easily
I raced a pigeon today. Guess which one of us won. Me. Wanna know another pigeon no-joke? Why didn’t the pigeon have to cross the road? Because I kicked it to the other side. Seriously. I can step right next to a pigeon and it won’t fly away. No joke.
So, why do I start off on this random spiel about pigeons? Because, for some reason, there’s not much to talk about. I just want to run away from my surroundings and hide under a rock. It’s incredibly hard. I’m slowly beginning to realize just how hard it is to live. Yes, to live. We can die at any moment, but we can’t live fully without regrets without fully realizing and making each moment count.
I was really reluctant to leave my room today. But, then I thought, hey, what was the point of me coming here anyway. *dry look*
Right now, I’m stuck in a bind. I just need to plow through it. Somehow, all the while playing catch up. XP
On a good note, I found out I’m in the group where all my friends are for the Bariloche trip. It’s from Oct. 24-26. Something to look forward to in the coming month. XD
P.S. Things that should be watched:
SNL Skit - Sarah Palin & Hillary Clinton Open
Matt Damon Rips Sarah Palin
So, why do I start off on this random spiel about pigeons? Because, for some reason, there’s not much to talk about. I just want to run away from my surroundings and hide under a rock. It’s incredibly hard. I’m slowly beginning to realize just how hard it is to live. Yes, to live. We can die at any moment, but we can’t live fully without regrets without fully realizing and making each moment count.
I was really reluctant to leave my room today. But, then I thought, hey, what was the point of me coming here anyway. *dry look*
Right now, I’m stuck in a bind. I just need to plow through it. Somehow, all the while playing catch up. XP
On a good note, I found out I’m in the group where all my friends are for the Bariloche trip. It’s from Oct. 24-26. Something to look forward to in the coming month. XD
P.S. Things that should be watched:
SNL Skit - Sarah Palin & Hillary Clinton Open
Matt Damon Rips Sarah Palin
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