Back to School

      It's getting close to the end of the first week here, but it feels a lot longer than that. In the past couple days I think I've been bonding more with my host family, and yesterday I was able to make a joke that they actually laughed at. Success! So far I haven't had any health problems, although I'm not quite adjusted to the sleep schedule yet. The food is still wonderful, today with lunch (a delicious green mystery soup and then rice and the best carne asada of my life) there was fresh pineapple juice that was maybe the best thing I've had here so far. There have been lots of fruit juices (mango, orange, strawberry, and something green and slightly sour), but the I think the pineapple juice is truly the one for me.

A plaza near Universidad de los Andes. It's hard to see,
but Monserrate is the white bump on top of the mountain

    In the past couple days as I struggle mightily against the bureaucracy of the Colombian Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores trying to get a student visa, I've been thinking a lot about Colombian and American university systems. I'm told that Colombia has a reputation for very good schools, probably better than the United States, and I believe it. Because the schools are so good, most people who grow up in Bogota go to one of the universities here and live with their family. It also seems like small schools are looked down upon. From what I can gather the best schools in Colombia are universities, which usually have between 25,000-35,000 students. Universidad de los Andes (Uniandes), where my host-sister Susana goes to school and where I'm trying to register for a Spanish class, is on the upper end of that scale. I was also surprised to hear that the public universities are the best in the nation, although there isn't a big difference in the quality between public and private universities (unlike public and private high schools). (Keep in mind that everything I say here should probably taken with a grain of salt, because it was all discussed in Spanish so there's a good chance that I have no idea what I'm talking about).

The Architecture Library,
Universidad de los Andes
(not my picture)

      With all the differences I wasn't expecting Uniandes to feel as familiar as it did. On Monday I sat in on two of Susana's classes (an Anthropology class on Aztecs, Incas and Mayas and an Art History course on Latin American art). There were probably over 50 students in each class, but they were both great and it felt a lot like being back at Grinnell. I really loved being on campus, it was relaxing to be in a familiar environment, and around people my own age, even if I can't communicate with them that well. Moreover, parts of the campus are gorgeous. First there's the view of the mountains and Monserrate (a famous old church), and then there's the buildings. Yesterday I spent some time in the architecture library in a portion of campus that looks like a converted colonial pueblo. I'm not sure if the library actually was an old church or was just built to look like one, but either way I loved it. I'm nervous that my visa won't get approved in time to register for classes, because besides getting formal Spanish instruction and meeting other people who might be in my same situation, I'd really like to be able to spend more time on campus. As a visitor, it's a big hassle getting into any of the buildings or certain portions of campus. We're going to try to work it all out tomorrow, so wish me luck!