The Rubia, the Micro, and the Wrong Direction.

Waking up at 10:30 today was like heaven! Seriously, these 8:00am wake up times are evil, so being able to sleep in for a bit felt so good! I ate breakfast, prepared my lunch, and then met up with Brian and James to walk to Universidad Nacional de Cuyo for an orientation at the 'Facultad de Filosofia y Letras' or 'The Literature Building'. We thought walking would be a good idea, but, after minute 12 of walking, I was beginning to regret this decision. First, it's like a 35 minute walk. Second, it's all uphill! I didn't realize that I was a part of the quest to see The Ring to the fires of freaking Mount Doom. Had I known that I would have packed a tent, water, some rations, and my bow and arrow! The walk seemed like it took forever! Whoever looked at this mountain range and thought, "Yeah, let's build a school right here" should be smacked. Once we were finally there I was feeling very disagreeable (a feeling which usually happens whenever I exercise or eat vegetables). We toured the building and learned about the ins-and-outs of student life in a typical Argentine University. For example, did you know that instead of buying books, teachers assign reading assignments which students buy photocopies of at the desk usually located the front/first floor of the building. If the book isn't at the desk, you must first go up a flight of stairs to find the call number of the book, then go down two flights to the library, check the book out (the book is usually allowed out for just a few hours), then head back to the main floor. It's an exhaustive and confusing process that has lead me to the conclusion that I will be avoiding all classes with books not immediately available at the photocopy desk. I mean, I'm here to study abroad, not participate in 'The Amazing Race'. I already have to hop a camel to make it to my classes, I do not want to have to pull an Indiana Jones just to get the right class material. After our tour, we had Spanish class, in which we had a conversation about adoption, the rights surrounding it, and all those involved. This is a conversation that is difficult to have in English let alone a foreign one! Oh well, I guess it's all for the sake of comprehending a language.

After class, there was another tour of the 'Facultad de Ciencias Politicas y Sociales' or 'The Political Science Building'. That building functioned the same way as the one before it, so it was easy to follow along with our tour guide. When we left, a group of us decided that it would be easier to take a micro home. So we waited, and waited, and waited for the the right one to come. We needed a micro in the '30s' which means we were looking for a bus with a giant 3 on the top, with a number somewhere in the 30s on the side. Micros kept passing, but none of them were for us. Finally, a friend (we'll call her 'Rubia') saw a bus that had a 3 on the top but was number 114. She said that this was the bus she had taken to get to the University so it must be the one that takes her back. I was going with her to meet up with some friends so I hopped on with her. We were feeling pretty relieved that we didn't have to wait anymore... until the bus turned in the complete opposite direction from where we needed to go! I turned to look at her. "Where are we going?" I asked... "Um, I don't know?" was her response. We then proceed to spend the next 30 minutes not going in any familiar direction, at one point even heading up into the mountains! Seriously! We tried to make sense of where we were based on the street signs and direction that we were heading, but the bus made three U-turns and went into  two random side streets! I told her right then and there that if she ever chose something again based on her past experiences I would slap her. As if the situation couldn't get any worse, it seems as though half the city of Mendoza wanted to get on the exact micro that we were on. It soon became a game: How Many People Can We Shove Onto a Micro Without it Tipping? I think the driver was shooting for a personal best. Anyway, the second that we saw a familiar land mark, we assessed where we were and promptly decided to GTFO. That was the next struggle. There were so many people, it was near impossible to move to the door! It was so uncomfortable trying to push by people and maneuver around all the stuff on the floor (I'm convinced I stepped on a small child), that we practically jumped off the micro while it was still moving! Rubia soooo owed me for this! But she paid up, buying me a snack at a coffee bar that we hit up after arriving at one of the streets near my house. After we parted, I decided that I had had enough fun for one day and elected to not hang out with some friends and, instead, just chill out at home. I wrote a few emails, Skyped with my family, and ate dinner.

Tomorrow, I don't have to be anywhere until 1:00pm, so I am for sure sleeping in. I figure with as much as this country puts me through, I deserve a late start. Don't you agree?