Wow, it's crazy to see that I haven't written in a month. The title of this post means Jarryd is going to write again, I promise you. I guess I thought I hadn't done anything interesting enough to write about, but now that I look back, there are some things that you might think are cool.
So one day, someone from the communication department of the EGADE asked me and Marcelo who is from Bolivia and in my MIB program, and my new roommate-we'll get to that soon, if we would be available to be interviewed by El Norte, which is the main newspaper here in Monterrey. They wanted to write an article about people from other countries who had come to Monterrey to study at one of the several universities, not just as an exchange student, but people who were trying to earn degrees. So we came back to campus that afternoon, got our pictures taken and interviewed with a reporter about why we had chosen the university and the program, basically why we were there. I tried to attach the little story they wrote about me and my picture with a cute little American flag, but it didn't work, so if you want to see it, just email me and I email it to you with the translation if you want. It was fun, and it was cool to see my picture in the paper.
As you could see from the pics in a previous post, my old room was kind of tiny and it was basically a glorified dorm room. So about two weeks ago, I moved into a new apartment and this place is legit. It came with a nice couch, chairs around a kitchen table and new beds. There are two bedrooms each with their own bathroom and shower. There is a kitchen with fridge, stove, oven, and microwave, and there is a study room as well. It is right across the street from the Tec and in a neighborhood with lots of restaraunts and bars and other apartment buildings for students.
I was pretty lucky to find this place, because Marcelo, who is in my program mentioned that he was having a hard time finding a 1 bed room apartment. So we found this place and it's pretty cool.
In my last post I wrote that some friends and I were planning to go to a cabin in the mountains close to Monterrey after we finished our first five-week block. It was beautiful. It was like being in Colorado. Since we were up in the mountains, the temperature was cool, which was a great break from the ubiquitous 100 degree days in Monterrey. They had a broad field where we played soccer and threw the frisbee around a little bit. I mostly passed the time relaxing outside and listening to music. We also drove by a tourist attraction called Cola de Caballo (horse’s tail), which is a waterfall. I saw a bungee jump, but I don't know if anything can top my bungee jump in South Africa, almost 200 meters.
I think I've already written about our four-hour classes. About two weeks ago, we had to make up a class because the teacher was out of town the week before, so we had a total of 28 hours of class in 5 days. That's 2 days of 2 classes of 4 hours each and 3 days of 1 class each. Let's just say I was happy when that week ended.
So far, I have watched three Mexico soccer games with my friends in my program so far and I've realized something. There is about a 30% chance of someone dropping their beer when Mexico scores a goal. This sport is much more than a game here, it is serious, almost like life and death. When the US scored the first goal in the game on Wednesday, I celebrated for about 1.2 seconds before I realized what I was doing in front of a room full of people who were going for Mexico and stopped. Right away, one of my buddies said, "Jarryd, leave." but they were kidding. I didn't actually care about the game, it was just fun to watch soccer with people who know all about the sport.
We just have 1 week of class left in this block, and I am pumped to be done. We have a three week break and I am going home. I can't wait to see CJ, grill steaks and brats, see some of my brother's football games, play golf, chill out, and so much more.
During a typical day, we have class from 9 am to 1 pm, then we all go home for lunch, and then we meet at the library around 3 pm to work on homework or group projects for three to four hours. For one of our assignments in our Statistics class, we had to keep track of the amount of time we spent on our activities each day. I learned that I spend more than 40 hours each week studying, doing homework, and attending class. So it’s kind of like a job, but I like it and I know I am learning a lot. I am learning about both the class content and the Spanish language.
I have been really impressed with several things about Monterrey. The students are willing to help me out and are patient with my improving grasp of Spanish. This city is super developed, all of the highways are nice, the police cars are Dodge Chargers (sweet right?), there are tall apartment buildings and office buildings and the malls are sprawling. The teachers are nice and patiently respond to my questions. My university is legit and has unique architecture.
I attended my first and second Rotary meetings over the past month. The first meeting was better planned because I actually talked to someone on the phone before I went. At that meeting I got to speak about my scholarship and my time in Monterrey so far. They told me that the next day there was another Rotary club that met in the same place. So two weeks and one day later, I just showed up and asked if I could visit and they were cool with it. It was interesting to hear the four way test in Spanish. I asked the first club if they could help me get into contact with the other Rotary clubs in the district and now I have a list with locations, phone numbers, and email addresses of club Presidents in Monterrey and the surrounding area.
Overall, I would say that I am doing well after two months in Monterrey. This experience isn’t easy, but most things worth doing aren’t easy. I know I am already improving my Spanish which is one of the main reasons I came. I am looking forward to learning more and visiting more Rotary clubs.
Well I guess that all makes for one long, random blog post about my life in Monterrey for the last month.
Thanks for reading!
Here is my new address
Jarryd Widhalm
Avenida Eugenio Garza Sada 2660 Dep 8
Bachilleres y Avenida El Estado
Col. Tecnologico, Monterrey, N.L. Mexico
