Firsts

This week, I had my first classes and my first Rotary club meeting. Everything went really well. I'm still nervous because they haven't resolved my application/admission problems yet, and tomorrow is the last day to sign up for classes (I've been attending this week without actually being enrolled). I'm going to go harrass them at the Graduate School office tomorrow. I feel bad for not having applied when I should have, but I really was confused about the application date! Scott was there, and he knows that I followed the link in the email, and on that page it said that the last day to apply was Jan. 1. I should have opened the damned attachment, which had the correct date on it, but it had the same name as an attachment that had already been sent to me. I feel so disorganized. I hate having to explain to everyone here what happened, because it makes me regret more and more that I didn't open that attachment!

Bueno, I'm doing the best I can right now. Monday, I met with Professor Robles, who is the new director of graduate studies in the History Dept. He's very young and really helpful. He told me that the history professors at the UdeC are really conservative, and that if I tried to propose anything outside their ideology (such as calling Pinochet a dictator rather than a president), then I would not be successful nor have a happy experience. He told me which professors I should take, and one of them is Alejandra Brito, who is a good friend of UNM history prof Dr. Liz Hutchison. The other class is with an American professor (it's taught in Spanish, of course), Susan Foote.

Dra. Foote's class is about analyzing testimonies as both historical sources and literary works. We're also going to look at poetry as testimony. It's actually a literature grad course, but it is cross-listed as a history grad seminar. I participated in class when we were analyzing a poem, and I felt very proud of myself! Some of the guys in the class (there are 5 of us total) speak very fast, and it is hard to understand them. Every day, though, I understand more and have to ask for fewer repetitions. Seriously, Chilean Spanish is very close to Cuban Spanish, as if the speaker's tongue were swollen. I love it, though. It's very pretty. I imagine my experience right now is akin to someone who learned British English and went to study in Tennesse or some other Southern state!

My other class, which is with Dra. Brito, is going to be not only interesting, but also helpful for my thesis. It's called, "Gender, Power, and History." We're reading a lot of the classics on gender analysis, as well as some works about Chile. I'm really excited about it. I actually have a leg up on the other students since I took Dr. Ferguson's seminar on the history of sexuality. I have already read the basic texts (Foucault, Scott, some Butler, Laqueur, etc.), so all I need to do is refresh myself on those.

Those are the only two classes I am taking. My undergraduate house-mates can't believe it, but that's how it is in grad school in the U.S., too. Two classes (6 hours) is full time for a grad student, and rightfully so! I didn't want to take another since a) the classes are in Spanish and will therefore require more work on my part, b) I have other responsibilities with Rotary, c) These classes are probably not going to count for any degree I get, and d) I'm in freaking Chile and want to enjoy my time here rather than spend it chained to a desk.

Anyway, I also had my first Rotary club meeting and speech last night. It was at my host club, which is a young club consisting of young professionals in the thrities and forties. It's the first club in Conce to mix men and women! Diane had already given two speeches the week before, so she had her presentation down pat. I basically did what I always do, which is more or less to shoot from the hip. A better term would be "extemporaneous." That's what we learned in public speaking. I had a power point with different maps and country music and bluegrass stars and scenes from Tennessee and Kentucky. I figured I'd keep my first presentation pretty light. I'll add some stuff about the economy for the more conservative clubs. I gave a little quiz at the end, and the people who answered first got small bottles of whisky (jack, jim, and makers), a Nashville shot glass, and a mix CD of classic country and bluegrass. I don't know if I'll do any of that for my other presentations. Maybe the CD's, but no more whisky. I don't know that it would be received as well as it was at this club.

So, in sum, I'm very happy with both my classes and my Rotary stuff. Diane and I are giving another speech Tuesday at another club, and we're going out tomorrow night with some of the Rotaracters (college-level Rotary) tomorrow night. I'm feeling more and more at home every day. (And by the way, yet another student moved in last night! His name is Milton, and he's from Bolivia. What is up with these Latin-American guys with anglo names?) Anyway, for now I'll say chau chau, and que les vaya bien.