Just Keep Swimming

I'm trying my hardest to follow Dory's advice, and 'just keep swimming'. I'll survive this next week and a half of homework overload, and I won't let it get me down!

So, as a nice break from various papers I'm currently juggling, I've decided to update everyone on what I've been up to these past few days.

On Tuesday we had a relatively normal history class, full of neocolonialsim and imperialism. The only notable change of sorts was probably that this lecture tested both the speed of my pencil and my ability to actively listen, as we proceeded without a supplementary ppt for the first part of class and were hit with a lot of information. Other than that, Marc also impressed us by pulling out a '5' answer to the term 'neocolonialism'. The way he tied together the effect of foreign species introduction and neocolonialism in Latin America was quite interesting, and made complete sense. Maybe glimpsing a 5 point answer that I can relate my major will inspire me to finally get a 5 of my own... I'll try to fight off the lingering sense of doubt of whether or not this will actually happen, and be positive!

Following the rearrangement of our homework schedule for the next 2 weeks (YES!!) JINS proceeded as expected, with the discussion of Galeano's book. I liked that we got a chance to look at each other while discussing the book, as it's easier to discuss a topic when you can look at the people who are involved. An interesting tid bit about this class period was that the photographer who took pictures of our class was my suitemate from freshmen year. Gotta love her!

A sad note from Tuesday was finding out that the Shaman, who we plan on working with in Panama, had a stroke a few weeks back. He cured himself, but we are not yet sure what parts of his mind or ability to communicate were affected by this sad turn of events. We hope, not only for the viability of our project to preserve his wisdom, but also for his sake, that he is alright.

Wednesday's class involved the usual group updates and work. The most exciting part of my day today was the trip to Outreach in search of clothing that I can destroy in Panama without a second thought. I ended up leaving with lots of goodies, from clothing to English materials (books), for only 7 dollars! A pretty good deal I'd say. The best clothing option at this location had to be the shiny leopard print button up pictured on the left. While it was tempting to purchase this shirt, as it would clearly help me blend in to the natural environment of El Cope, I decided against it lest people confuse me for a shiny leopard and run in fear. Ah well, maybe someday...

As I alluded to above, I spent part of the day today collecting various items that we can take with us to aid in the teaching of English. Thus far I have obtained some books, a cereal box, a birthday card, and some stuff that I kidnapped from the Botanical Gardens.

On a more random note, I have decided to share a bit of a problem of mine with I.D. cards... I am currently the proud owner of I.D. badge number 5. I almost feel like I'm cursed a little bit when it comes to these cards. I'll lose one of them and be forced to purchase a new one due to some need (food, MOBIUS, etc). After spending the money (its $25 now!) and getting the new expensive piece of plastic, I always find the old one!!! I've found them in text books, in check books, in scarcely used pockets... They always allude me until after I buy a new one. It never fails that, within a week, the old one resurfaces. My most recent purchase was Tuesday afternoon, and today I found the old one... It probably goes without saying that I am quite frustrated. (Irony here being that I clearly haven't lost any of them since, as I have my beautiful collection displayed above).

Whew, I feel relieved to have vented that a little. Now back to my essays I suppose... *sigh*