some randomness

I think everyone has a few random memories from when they were young… the kind that have absolutely no significance and you don’t have any reason to remember, but you’ve held onto them anyway for some reason or another. One of mine is from my eighth grade year with my sister and my step dad. We were walking home and had to cross Colombia Pike. I remember standing there (cold, in a Jefferson Jackets cheerleading uniform) with Veronica as we watched cars speed by us. We both wanted to walk to the crosswalk – if you know Arlington and Colombia Pike, you know why we wanted this – but my step dad held our arms in his hands and ran with us across the street. He crossed more or less in a safe way, but we were still pretty mad and we complained to him the rest of the way home. All he kept saying was “If you saw how you have to cross the roads where I come from…”

I don’t know why I remember that afternoon, but I do. The only reason I bring it up now is because I can totally see what my step dad met about crossing roads “where he comes from”. Granted, El Salvador and Ecuador are two very different countries. But the traffic here (even on the smaller roads), makes Colombia Pike look like nothing. The scary part is that I am getting completely comfortable with having to cross in some pretty dangerous areas – and I think if my step dad and I had a Frogger-type competition when I get back to the States in December, I might be able to show him a few things.

The week so far has been pretty tough… by far the worst academically since getting here. I had a literature exam last night and I have my final for the 6-credit Spanish class in the morning. We have to take the final 6 days early because of our Galapagos trip. I also have to give a final presentation (on public education in Ecuador) tomorrow. It wouldn’t have been so bad … but we didn’t know about the final exam or the presentation until Monday. They decided to change the date (it was originally scheduled for Oct. 10). So the change has made for a bit of a stressful week. I guess the good part is that everything will be done before we leave for the Galapagos on Friday morning. I’d much rather enjoy all my time while we’re gone and not have to worry about a final exam the day after we get back.

I’ve noticed over the past few days how much my Spanish is improving. It’s easier to do just about everything. This change is nice. That’s not to say that there aren’t thing making me crazy – like llama vs. llama (yeah, I know they’re the same thing, except that one is referring to the 3rd person singular form of the verb ‘llamar’, “to call”, and the other is referring to the small animal in my friend’s backyard. And then cola vs. cola vs. cola… tail of an animal vs. soft drink vs. line (and of course, this isn’t the preferred word to use when you’re discussing a line, because that would be all too convenient). I find myself running into these situations more and more as my vocabulary increases each week. Knowing synonyms and antonyms is helpful… as is know multiple definitions for each word… or the different definitions for words that are completely different but are nevertheless spelled the same. It all comes at a cost though. My brain hurts at the end of each day. A lot.

I’m looking forward to the Galapagos so much!!! I can hardly sit still and wait – I want Friday morning to be here. Tomorrow is going to be another crazy day (3½ hour class, final exam, lunch, 2 hour religion class, 2 hour lit class, packing… 8:30am – 8:00pm without a break… so I won’t be able to update the blog again. I promise to take tons of photos and share them all when I get back. I won’t be able to post again until next Wednesday (at the earliest) ... so no worries because I'll be fine during the next week. I hope everything is going well at home and that everyone is great! I miss you all! Seriosuly, a ton.

Haha, I just realized that this post was completely random. That’s about how I’ve been feeling.

:-)

p.s. The rainy season here won't begin until early December. For some reason it is storming right now - hardcore storming. The thunder is so loud! And the rain is coming down really fast. I don't remember the last time there was a storm or rain like this... never here, and a long time back in the States. I hope it stops soon. I need to walk home. :-(