Caminé Mucho

I decided to let myself sleep until I "naturally"(whatever that means) woke up. Which meant nine-ish. I started reading and making food. I enjoyed a stir fry with ingredients i mentioned yesterday. Then I headed to la UNAM to try to find the CELA to get copies of the reading for my class tomorrow. I wandered the halls of Filosofía y Letras for quite a while, and then decided to go to the office for a different class, to try to pick up that reading. They said that my classmates had already picked it up (usually one student takes the one copy to one of the many places where people can make copies). And they suggested I ask at a receptionist's office about where the CELA was.

I asked in another office, and they gave me directions. I didn't follow them correctly, but asked at another place and finally found la Coordinación de Estudios Latinoamericanos. On the way, I ran into Ale, and we agreed to meet shortly at las islas (the islands). That's a part of the quad near Filosofía y Letras that has grass. Because the whole campus is on a lava flow, to be able to have trees on this grassy part, they had to create mounds of dirt, which are referred to as las islas. So I finally arrived at la CELA, and after I asked about the copies, they showed me a notice that had been posed outside saying that the room for my class had changed (now it's in the Humanities 2 Tower, which is where el PUEG is), and that there wouldn't be reading due tomorrow. I need to learn to read before I ask questions, but at least I got another minute practicing Spanish. lol. And here's the part in front of the library. Looking back at my previous picture, I realize that there were already trees there... The sign says "Espacio en Rehabilitación" (space in rehabilitation).

I made it to las islas, and started looking for Ale. And Rebecca called me also looking for Ale. All three of us eventually found each other and we had a chisme (gossip) session. lol. Then Ale and I headed to Casa de California to get more info on officially enrolling in classes, which we have to do by Friday. Then we headed back, and I read, got my laundry (which wasn't all completely dry, because it rained in the middle of the night, and so the clothes had to start drying this morning from being sopping wet. I did some reading and eating, and then Rebecca and I headed back to Casa de California for a documentary showing, after being a bit indecisive.

The documentary was called Siete instantes (Seven Moments). It was really amazing! It was about the revolutionary movement in Uruguay, and was mostly made up of interviews of women who had been in their late teens when they entered the movement. The film dealt with a lot of really interesting issues, and the filmmaker, who was there, said one of the important parts was the dramatic/emotional response. She was 6 or 7 when all of this was going on, and so she had chosen to interview people older than her, the people whose position she would have been in if she had been ten years older, since her family was involved in the movement. The music was all pretty much a clarinetist and percussion, and it was beautiful. As was the way the film was made. Wow! I am feeling like it would be a really interesting thing to analyze in my paper for my graduate class; talking about how it can be a film of resistance, using a spiral technique. Or maybe I could talk about a few documentaries, and how they explore boundaries and are acts of resistance. I still have no idea; but I'll keep thinking.


After the film ended, people asked questions, and there was a really interesting discussion. Then some of us talked afterwards about other things. Ale, Rebecca, Maru, one of the coordinators of the UC program here (Max Parra), someone named Eduardo (if I remember correctly) who is a UNAM student taking on the of the Comparative classes as Casa de California, and I talked. We spent a while talking about how ridiculous the prejudices are against study abroad in México, and how people use only the media to decide that it's a terrible and unsafe idea. And that EAP advisers often discourage students from coming. ugh. Ale discovered that Eduardo is an economics major at UNAM, since she's taking one class from that department. Turns her professor is his mentor. And he's taking Lucía's gender class at la Casa de California.

Then we headed home, and I now need to get my form for enrollment ready, as well as perhaps make my food for tomorrow (though maybe it would be better to wait on that. Sleep is important, and if nothing else, maybe I can buy some french fries and maybe a mollete (bread with beans and cheese....only I'd try to get it w/o the cheese) at school. Bringing food would probably be better, though I'm getting the impression that there might be a vegetarian place around Filosofía y Letras.


P.S. - I've added some pictures that Mateo took and I asked him to send to me, so that I have so more pictures of me. Here are links to that part of my blog:
http://twodifferentshoes.blogspot.com/2009/08/tlahuac-y-quesadillas.html
http://twodifferentshoes.blogspot.com/2009/07/teotihuacan.html