Not only is Survive and Advance the mantra of NCAA basketball teams in March Madness, it is what I am doing here. I am happy to say that I have survived my first "trimester" by completing my Finance and Operations Management classes. We took our OM final today and I passed with a flying 86. Slightly lower than my miraculous midterm performance of 97, but I'm still happy just to earn a passing grade.
Those 2 classes met twice a week for 4 hours each session for 5 weeks. I am currently in two classes, Statistics (and by currently in, I mean this literally, the teacher is talking about Analysis of Variance and I am paying attention amazingly well), and Practical Strategies for New Markets that only meet once a week so they are still going on. We don't get much time to relax, as our next 5 week classes, an Economics class and an Accounting class start next week.
However, some of the people in the MIB program are going to a cabin outside of Monterrey for the weekend so that should be fun. I'm bringing my frisbee. We deserve a break, after spending about 20 hours per week in class not to mention studying, group projects, and homework, it will be nice to relax.
This program and the university is legit. In Nicaragua, the classes were at a lower level than I was used to, these classes are definitely at a higher level. I am learning a lot, and I know my Spanish is improving.
The majority of the teachers have their Ph.D. and the school is this crazy seashell design. Apparently they spend a lot of money on building designs because on the main campus, there is a building that looks like a napkin holder and another that is a 12 story building of all glass, it looks like it could have come straight out of Chicago.
The students in my program are all really nice and really smart. We do a lot of group work and I am usually trying to add my small 2 cents, but everyone is patient and helps me with my Spanish and repeats things when necessary. We are a group of 17 students, all between 21 and 25 years old. I love having this small group because everyone knows everyone and I'm not afraid to ask the teacher a question if I don't understand.
Today I went to the Migration office and signed a bunch of things and gave my thumb prints so I will be legit with a FM3 student visa in the next 10-14 days (supposedly). One less thing to worry about.
Also, I will be moving to a new apartment on July 31st and I am really excited. When I arrived in Monterrey, I had no place to stay so I went to a Holiday Inn Express, and the next day, I found the first, easiest thing that was something cheaper than 80 bucks a night, but it kind of resembles a nice freshman dorm, 15 by 12 feet, shared TV & kitchen outside my room, but I had my own shower and AC, which is a must in the constant 100 degree heat.
Lucky enough, another student from my program mentioned last week that he was having a hard time finding a one bedroom apartment. So we looked for a 2 bedroom to share and boy did we find a winner.
This place is just across the street from the Tec, which will cut down on my walking distance about 10 minutes each way, it has 24/7 security, Central Air Conditioning (Which is HUGE!) 2 bedrooms each with a shower and bathroom, Legit kitchen with fridge/freezer, microwave, and stove/oven, a nice living room with couches that are included, and a small study room! It is also right next to another student in our program so that will make carpooling easier too, since our classes are in a different building about 20 minutes by car away.
Overall, I would say that I am really enjoying my time here and I am very grateful to all the people who helped me along the way and helped me to get to where I am today.
Thank you for reading, hope you're doin great
This is the outside of the church
