More class drama

And I thought the second time around it was going to be easy.  Silly me.  I signed up for classes 3 weeks ago with high hopes for the coming semester.  However, there have been a few mix-ups. 

The first happened when I signed up for a sociology class with Dominicans that it turns out you can only take with certain prerequisites.  So I was automatically dropped from the course.  The second mix-up was a little more time consuming.

I wanted to take a religious studies class but, because they are only worth 2 credits each here, I decided to take two.  The second one I signed up for is called Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church, and this would also be with all Dominicans.  Because I missed the first week, I was hoping to show up early and just sort of blend into the background of the class unnoticed.  Yeah, right.  In my dreams. 

So I dutifully get there early and see that there is a class in the room I’m going to be in so I chill in the hall.  The bell rings and I wait around some more as other Dominicans pour out of other classrooms nearby.  Waiting, waiting.  Pretty soon I realize that the classroom I’m supposed to be in is going to stay full of a different class for the next hour.  Crap.  But this is not an insurmountable problem.  It has happened before that they switch classrooms the first week or so of the semester.  So I call our program office to see if someone there can look up where I am actually supposed to be. 

By this time it is about 9:58am and the class is scheduled to start at 10.  Here is the conversation I had: ‘Hi Dinelis, it’s Rose.  I’m supposed to have a class right now, but there is a different class in that room.  What should I do?’  Dinelis: ‘Hi Rose.  What time is your class supposed to start?’  Me: ’10.  But I got here early and the class has been in there for more than 15 minutes and I they’re not moving.’  Dinelis: ‘Don’t worry.  You still have a little time before the hour.  They will probably move.  And if they don’t, just call me back.’  Me: ‘But, there’s only like 2 minutes…’  Dinelis: ‘Don’t worry about it.  They will probably move.’  Me: ‘Okay.  Bye.’  Hang up.

So I am still standing there.  And then I get the brilliant idea to ask next door.  A bunch of students have been filing in and if they moved my class, why not move it to an empty room close by?  So I step tentatively into the door, 30 heads turn my way and I quietly ask if this is Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church.  One of the women in the class responds, but she’s whispering, so I have to ask her to repeat it.  Nope, turns out this is an economics class.  Crap.

Back out in the hall.  This time I run into someone from my program.  She has also been here for 5 months and she tells me I should just go in and ask in the classroom I supposed to be in.  This would be a good idea except I KNOW that that is not my class.  They’ve been in there an hour already.  But, as I am a little desperate at this point, I do it anyway.  Nope, this class is an ethics class.  Crap.

Back in the hall.  I call the office again and this time she tells me to hang on, she’ll check where it’s been moved to, and she’ll call me back.  Thank you.  She does and it turns out it was moved to the third floor.  Okay.  This is good.  Now at least I know I am headed to the right place.  Although now my stellar plan of slipping in unnoticed has been completely shot out of the water because it’s 10:10.  Whatever, I really want to take this class.

I head up to the third floor and peek in the door.  Well, I figure I’ve just got to bite the bullet.  So I walk in.  I have about a half-second thought ‘Hey, there’s only men in here,’ before the Professor turns to me and I ask- for the third time in 20 minutes- if this is Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church.  He answers: ‘Yes, it is in fact that class…”  Yes!  Yes!  Double yes and thank goodness I’ve found it!  ‘…but this is a special section, only offered to men who want to become priests.’  Crap!  Double crap!  Uggghhhhh!  Me: ‘Um, oops.  Never mind.’

Back peddle out the door and down the steps.  Well, that was a sequence of unnecessary and embarrassing events.  You’d think the whole thing could have been avoided had there simply been a prerequisite for the class- must be male with religious vocation.  Is that too much to ask? 

And here is a reflection I made to a friend about accidentally going to the wrong classroom here: You kinda just slink out and hope no one notices you (yeah, a little late for me) and hope that they will just blame it on you being foreign and not on your general intelligence. 

Whatever.  I am foreign after all.  Just water under the bridge. 

I'm baaaccckkkkk!

In case you were all wondering over the break- no I did not disappear.  I was simply taking a hiatus.  But- lots of cool adventures did happen so here’s a brief sample:

El campo.

A couple of days after Christmas I headed out to the campo- for real this time.  A taxi, bus and moto concho (motorcycle concho) ride later found me on top of one of the mountains standing on the north side of the city.  Let just say we went up so far and so fast my ears popped more than once.  I stayed with friends of a friend who were very gracious.  The only real complaint I have is the COLD.  You can tell me all you want about how much colder it is back in MN or CO, but when was the last time you kept your house at 50 degrees and turned fans on (there was a wind and the rooms were not sealed!)?  And all you had to wear were chacos?  Probably not too often.  Needless to say I was glad to get back to the city, even just for some warmer footwear. 

New Years eve was spent with extended family.  As a dress up event (of course), my suspicions about dress-length protocol were confirmed: if the fabric covers your rear end while standing, you’re good to go.  Needless to say, my LBD that reached past my fingertips was far from scandalous.  Neither were my flats when placed next to platform heels. 

Here’s a Dominican New Years tradition: take a piece of luggage to wherever you’re going to be celebrating the new year, and when the clock strikes midnight, run into the new year pulling your suitcase behind you.  This will ensure you travel far in the year to come.  Also- HUGS ALL AROUND!

The new students arrived January 2, so Nea and I (bored as we were over break) went with the program leaders to pick them up.  After a few delayed flights, we finally met 4 of our new peers.  Exciting!  The only catch- some of their luggage had been ‘misplaced’ in transit and the airline was looking for it.  Bummer!  Not one person fall semester had problems with lost suitcases, and at least 4 of the new people had to wait a few days for their stuff to arrive.  Talk about an added layer of stress: new country, new language, new people, and none of the comforts of home.  Luckily, by this point, all possessions have been returned to their proper owner. 

A view of our hotel!

Los Hermanos!  January fourth brought a bus trip down to the capital, a ride out to the airport by a friend of the host family, some waiting around, and a joyous reunion between family.  Hooray!  Jim, Robert and Piere came to visit me for nine days.  Some highlights of our time together include: seeing David Ortiz randomly in Santo Domingo, traversing 27 charcos (‘It felt like I was in a dream’ – Robert), spending 3 glorious days at the ocean with my aunt and uncle (also vacationing from the US), eating lots of delicious food, visiting a cigar factory, playing Jin/Rummy, eating more delicious food- provided by both my host mom and this amazing restaurant, AND just a general good time hanging out.  Phew- it was a lot!  They are now back in the US and I am into my semester here. 

Which brings me to… the line up.  Here are the classes I am taking:

Survey of Latin American Lit (for my Spanish major)

Latin American Culture and Society (also for my Spanish major)

Teaching English as a second language (even though, let’s be honest, it might be someone’s 4^th or 5^th.)

Jesus, the Person (for a potential Religious studies minor)

Social doctrine of the Catholic Church (also for a potential Religious studies minor)

So there you have it.  That’s what I’ll be doing with my time for the next 3 ½ months.  

The Sculpting Saga

All I wanted to do was visit a sculpting class to see if I liked it and wanted to add it to my schedule.  A simple plan.  But the best laid plans…

            

I was told, originally, to go to the student center, third floor.  If it wasn’t immediately obvious where my class was upon reaching this point, I should ask someone who would hopefully know.  So I set out.  I arrived about ten minutes early, in my American mind not excessively early (this would give me time to find the room and hopefully intercept the Prof before all the students arrived) but of course I am in the DR.  The only students who arrive early to any of my classes are other people from the US.  So basically the third floor was deserted.  And honestly there isn’t much up there.  A big room with lots of ping-pong tables, a few closed doors and a hallway full of old gym mats stacked haphazardly.  I poked my nose around a little to try and find something or someone and oops- turned a corner and there was a couple, taking a nap on one of the mats.  I backed away slowly, not wanting to wake them up and have this be awkward for everyone.  (I will add that in the back of my mind I have filed that napping spot away.  It’s quiet and out of the way and heck, there are mats to sleep on!) 

So to the second floor I ventured, to the office for foreign students and asked in there.  These are some of the same students who taught us to dance a couple weeks ago, and they’ve been going to school here for a lot longer.  But alas, they had no idea where my sculpture class might be.  Honestly I think they were surprised the school offered it.  “Go to the Dean’s office across the hall,” they advised me.

And that’s where I went.  But the office was closed for lunch break and I had to wait.  But I wasn’t alone for long.  Shortly after I sat down a Haitian guy came up and looked considerable bummed to see the office closed too.  So I asked him what he was waiting for (shuffling classes around) and he asked me what time my class was supposed to start.  Two.  “Don’t you think you’re kind of early?” he asked good-naturedly.  By this time there’s only about three minutes to class and I still had no idea where it was or if I was even in the right building.  Early?  I think not.

A few minutes later he had to leave and I thought I’d try my luck up on the third floor one more time.  Hey, maybe students have arrives and doors will be thrown open to reveal giant marble blocks with saints and heroes beginning to emerge.  In my dreams.  But this time the guy who was napping was awake and we made eye contact so I thought I’d ask him.  He didn’t know where the room might be either, but suggested I go ask in the office of fine arts- back on the second floor. 

Okay people, come on! 

So back down the stairs, down the hall, past the bookstore (per his directions) and into the office of fine arts.  Whew!  Might they know where my class was?  Yes!  But it’s across campus to a part I’ve never been in before.  After having the woman explain the directions to me about 4 times, I felt confident enough to set out. 

This is, by the way, about the hottest part of the day here.  So it was about 90 degrees and humid and by the time I get to the building (after having taken a wrong turn and had to bush whack through a stand of trees and only twenty five minutes late) I am super sweaty.  But I made it, alleluia, so the rest doesn’t matter. 

The Professor seems nice and inviting, he put me right to work sanding the paint off a block of wood, and the majority of the students are Dominican, which is a pleasant change from the rest of my classes.  Our (first?) project for the semester: making a lamp!