whirlwind...

Getting back full on to classes and life here, it's been quite the whirlwind but okay to start these last 2 weeks. as some of you know, the first couple months here were not quite a holiday in the sun - just super intense and frustrated with the program and life here, but it's been a relatively good start this time round, much better being refreshed & renewed in hope for the coming months.

my blog's so scattered cuz i don't get the chance to put things up right away when i want to, but ill try to do more bits and pieces now!

anyways, coming back to "home" here actually was pretty nice

with actually, a pretty nice view from my window that i forgot about, especially now in the dry season when it's beautiful out all the time!

and with that also... the lovely neighbourhood kids that play soccer every day outside and love to drive up

and down

and up

and down our street on their ATVs! i realized soon after i got here that latin american culture has an appreciation for "nice & noisy" that i just haven't been able to quite embrace. there was one time last semester i was exhaustedly trying to finish a paper and it was already well past midnight and i'm used to waking up to car alarms every day (which are going off as i type! but especially in november when kids were setting off firecrackers all day long and the impact of the explosions would set all the car alarms off), but anyways two guys (who don't live near here, or at least on our street as far as i know!) were sitting in their car outside my window with the car alarm going off for a good twenty minutes like music to their ears, until finally my frustration got the better of my respect for culture and i screamed at them over the volume of the whirling beeping alarm and slammed my window shut... yikes. not my proudest moment, but they did drive away to my exasperated relief at the time! and minus that minor incident.. :) ... I really like our neighbours - they are really friendly and it's nice to know most of the kids that congregate on our block at least by face and i'll bring them cookies sometimes if i've baked.

hehe.. but anyways, its been beautiful out - no more rainy day showers on our porch like the last couple months

and, very happily, my roommie Julianne just came back today after spending 2 extra weeks at home in the states... we have such a good time together and she is such a blessing!