A Foreigner in my Native Land

So, you know in my last entry I asked if its too weird to cry because I'm so happy? Well, my feelings have changed. I'm now asking myself if its too weird to cry because I'm missing everyone. And I know the answer is no.

Saturday, everyone parted and went our separate ways. No two paths are going to be the same. And it was a very emotional day. Happy that we finished our masters degree after traveling and living in three different countries. Yet having that feeling of unknowingness. Unfamiliarity. And uncertainty. Not one of us has a job lined up yet. And we were so used to leaning on each other and knowing that there was someone in the room next door that we could go talk to. And now they are not there. We are all hours upon hours apart. Hundreds of miles separate us. And I miss my girls. Terribly. I feel almost foreign. I feel like I'm missing a part of me.

So please know that I miss you. Girls, life is not the same without you here.

It. Is. Finished.

So, its official...I just took my very last final of my MBA!!!! Its over. Done. Completed. It is finished! And the feeling is FABULOUS!!!! Is it weird that I'm so happy I feel like crying? Yeah, maybe.

Its amazing how fast one year goes by. And even after all this post-graduate studying, I still have such a deep love for school! =) (yes, my boyfriend thinks I'm weird for this! haha!)

This picture is of Julie burning our notes from one of our NOT SO FAVORITE classes!

As one of our last activities with our International Management course, we went to tour the Nestle Mexico plant this morning. It was amazing how high-tech this facility was! They do a lot of the testing of products at this facility (mainly coffee, chili powder, and chocolate powder NesQuik mix). I was kind of hoping that they made candies there so I could be the tester! But, they let me down.

Julie and me acting silly at Nestle Laboratories in our super fabulous outfits!

Things I Find Funny...The Mexico Edition

Today has been a particularly trying day. But I'm still going to post since I know that there are some readers out there that might hold me to my last post's promise of writing at least once a day this week.

This post is dedicated to the country of Mexico..and its idiosyncrasies. =) As some of my avid readers (*probably maybe just my mom) know, I made a list of Things I Find Weird while I was in Canada last fall. Well, its that time to call out Mexico. So here goes...

Things I Find Funny. The Mexico Edition.

• It is not uncommon to see donkeys hanging out on the side of the road. And I now have developed a fascination with seeing donkeys in the "wild." There are blonde donkeys, grey donkeys, and black donkeys, too. Some even look like they've escaped from the zoo. Donkeys with blankets on their backs, donkeys carring sacks, and donkeys that look like they need a snack or two. (Pardon my Dr. Seuss mood. I just bought my mom "Horton Hears A Who.")

• You can find almost ANYTHING at the Mercada de la Cruz (the market...or maybe it should be know as the underground black market). They have every single DVD or CD ever made. They have brand name clothes with generic tags in the collar. They have food, clothes, sunglasses, eyeglasses, purses, headphones, shoes, jewelry, flowers, etc, etc, ETC! Man, I'm gonna miss that place. Brings a whole new meaning to "one-stop-shop!"

• The bakeries here open only at 5pm...and that is the absolute earliest!!!

• Although there are probably hundreds of taco stands on the street (selling a taco for around 40 cents), the stand owners still earn more than an engineer! (side note...there's this one taco stand that we go to where we've heard the people in front of us order 30 tacos to-go!)

• While we're on the subject of tacos, I find the meat here, not so much funny, but weird. The first time I tried a taco from a stand I was told that the meat was from the rib of the pork. I later found out it was the stomach! (Except for a few minor exceptions, I have pretty much deemed myself a vegetarian down here. Minor exceptions meaning "the days I feel brave")

• The streets are amazingly clean here! There are orange-suit workers out 24/7 keeping the streets of Queretaro safe from slime.

• A lot of houses here have an open area in the middle...open to the sky, sun, moon, stars...and dust. (Our house is built this way.)

• We must clean all our fruit with a certain "solution" that magically dissolves any and all bacteria that is residing on it. Shake a few drops in some water, let the fruit soak for 10 minutes, and it is pure! (This is done because fruit can be grown anywhere here...even near ponds that just might be mixed with potty water. But don't worry, the solution kills all!)

• It is perfectly ok to eat fruit that has been covered in bees and insects right before you purchase it (even when its already peeled, and those pests are just thriving on your fruit). We've been told by the locals that this makes the fruit better. Ok...

• It is not uncommon for our house to just all-of-a-sudden run out of water. Oh, and also for our toilets to just quit working and spew sewage from the drains of our shower when we try to flush the toilet. Oh, but don't worry...that has only happened 5 times.

So that's a rough Top 10 list...stay tuned, I might just have a sequel in store later this week.

Countdown: 5 days.

Changes

In honor of it being our very last week of our MBA program here in Mexico, I have decided to try and post multiple entries (probably the max you will get out of me is one a day since its finals week! haha!).

This entry came about because Julie and I were talking the other day about how NONE of us look the same as we did when we first started the program in Canada just a little under a year ago! How things change in one year! I have brown hair and brown eyes (contacts. My attempt at "blending in down here in Mexico"). David's hair went from hippie-long to buzzed super short. Julie has blonder hair. We went from 9 people to 8 people...well, you get the picture. But if you don't, here's some comparison shots--from the beginning and end of the program! =)

CANADA (beginning!):

MEXICO (end!):

(I know I'm writing this an hour after midnight, but I'm still counting this as my Sunday post!!) SO.....6 DAYS!!!!!!!!

And so it begins...the beginning of the end

And so it begins, or should I say "ends." Tomorrow marks the first day of the very last week of the 2008-2009 TMBA. In less than a week eight strangers-turned-friends will return to our homelands with a masters degree in hand! Its a week of mixed emotions. A lot of us are ready to get home to see our friends and families (and to start making money!), but its weird to think that we all won't be meeting up again in a couple of weeks to start a new semester with the program in a different place.

It will be over. Done. Finished.

And we will be MBA graduates.

7 days.

The Children of the Street

If I'm in a writing kind of mood, maybe I should be working on one of the THREE projects that needs some attention! So, I'll keep this short. In one of my previous posts, I've made mention of how I love the kids down here. I really feel for them. I love them. And I just want to hug them, because they just might not get any type of love at home. They know only one life, and they are destined to probably live that life forever--and its the street life. So any form of attention you can give a little 5-year old that's forced by their family to sell can literally brighten up that kid's whole day! It doesn't take much, trust me! [I feel very strongly about this and wish so strongly that there was something more that I could do]

Make a difference in a child's life today! It might be their only glimpse of hope and love!

Teotihuacan--The Pyramids of Mexico!!

Oops! I totally forgot to talk about the wonders of Teotihuacan--the Aztec pyramids! I had the pleasure of visiting this area with my dad before everyone else flew in to Mexico City. (As I had mentioned before, Dad had flown in a couple of days before everyone else because he had a business trip in Mexico City). Going to see the pyramids was something that I REALLY wanted to do...like, I was not going to leave Mexico without seeing this. I even wrote a book about the ancient civilizations in Mexico when I was in third grade (you didn't know I was an author, did you?). *Mom, you should look for this book so I can see it when I get back!* Dad really wanted to go here also! I think its more than safe to say that Dad and I are definitely the adventurous ones in the family who always look for new things to explore!

Hot air balloon above a pyramid

So the day after I took the bus (by myself) to Mexico City to meet him, we woke up at 5am to go see the pyramids (again, lots of logistics involved when you don't rent a car...taxis galore + two separate bus rides. But believe me, you don't want to drive in Mexico City!). The bus that we *thought* the girl told us was 15 minutes long ended up being 1hr15min! But it was incredibly worth it! As we were arriving at the pyramids, there were three hot air balloons making their way above the pyramids. Such a beautiful site. Dad and I got out of the bus at one of the entrances--only to find that the gate was still locked at 8am! [The pyramids and the whole area that makes up what was once the land of this ancient civilization has a fence around its perimeters]

A car pulled up behind us, also stunned that the gate was still locked. He was a local, yet could speak English. SCORE! We started talking to him, and he asked us if we wanted to hop in his car and get the tour, but ENSURED us we would not have to pay. [I found this very funny] ;) I looked at Dad, like "um, are you sure?" and Dad said "well yeah!" only to then tell me that he would be absolutely furious if he ever found out if I did this again. [I mean, who hops in a pretty banged-up 1980s car with a stranger that has long pinky fingernails!! Dad, seriously, you don't have to worry about me getting into cars with strangers...and I'm actually surprised that you said OK to this idea! haha!] The guy turned out to be normal (no kidnappings ensued) and he was a great tourguide, telling us all about the ancient civilization, what each structure was for, showing us the archaeological sites, etc. We got to see the Pyramid of the Sun, Pyramid of the Moon, the avenue of the dead, and the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, among many other small ruins. It is amazing to me to imagine what life must have been like at that time. I climbed to the top of the highest pyramid--the third largest pyramid in the world! And to just look down from the top of that structure and visualize life in the ancient Aztec world is simply breathtaking.

In our tourguide's car

Our "tourguide" Barnaby

So our "guide" turns out to be a vendor--one that walks around to all the visitors at the pyramids trying to sell all kinds of jewelry, rock formations, ceremonial masks, etc. They even sold these things that sounded like a jaguar's growl when you blew into them (yes, they tried to sell you these after they touched their own mouth to them. *SORRY* I am a germaphobe!!). Our guy didn't try to push a sale on us, but we bought several things from him anyway. It made for a perfect morning adventure. And we made it back to the airport in plenty of time to pick up the rest of the crew!! Thanks, Dad, for this awesome adventure!!

Mi Familia y Mi Novio Visitan Queretaro!!

Some of you might be wondering how Tony ended up in the picture (two posts below) with me on top of Pena de Bernal. No, it wasn't photoshop. He actually was here in Mexico!!! And so was my whole family! I just haven't had a chance to write about their visit because I was trying to catch all you lovely readers up on my trips to the beautiful cities of Mexico.

El Tono's visit was *supposed* to be a surprise...but he ended up telling me before he came (which probably was a good thing due to all the crazy logistics involved in getting to Queretaro...plane, bus, taxi, donkey. Ok, just kidding about the donkey, but seriously, its a lot!). Even though it turned out to not be a surprise, I was extremely happy!! Tony's visit coincindentally coincided with my whole family's visit, which I was also extremely happy about! My dad had to come to Mexico City for work, and it just so happens that Mexico City is only about 3 hours away from Queretaro! So I had found the fam a hotel just up the street from where I live. So the visitor list included: Tony, Dad, Mom, Alex and Amber (Alex's girlfriend). So it was a week-long visit with me being the entertainer! The day they all arrived was also Julie's birthday!! AND her boyfriend was coming in also. So July 16th was a HUGE day in this household!

Julie's birthday celebration started off the week-long visit perfectly...we even got to witness her smashing a dog pinata (she's not a fan of dogs!) EVERYONE was there--so fun!!! Next on the agenda, was discovering Queretaro. Since I already had discovered it, well, just about everyday [Julie and I try to search out new things and explore places we have never been], I ended up being the awesome tourguide. And let me just say, that this whole week that I had visitors, my Spanish improved by at least 1,000%! Everyone depended on me to get us where we had to go, to order food, to get bus tickets, etc. And it was a lot of fun to know that I could actually do it!

My brother ended up hurting his thumb [huge chunk of wood stuck underneath his fingernail...gross and painful]. So the emergency room was one of the first places where I had to force my Spanish. After that, we walked to the market, toured the city so I could show them all the cool places, and made them try new things. I even saw some things I had never seen before [new adventures everyday, right?]...camels, zebras, and tigers in vehicles going down the street with music playing! The circus was in town. And these animals looked drugged. Maybe the drug cartels had gotten ahold of them. Either way, it was very sad and I just wanted to hug that poor white tiger.

**Check out Alex's bandaged thumb. Us in the taxi on the way back from the emergency room!

A couple of days were spent around Queretaro; at the market, around the city, in the plazas, etc. But we did take a couple of side trips.

Next in store was a trip to San Miguel de Allende. I think everyone liked this town because English is spoken in most parts! So it felt more "at home." The bus ride there was not so enjoyable though because Amber is prone to getting car-sick. So here's the factors of the equation: bus with improper hydraulics + dirty bumpy Mexico backroads + smells of the bus... and well, you know what that equals. But once we were there, things were fine; food was great, shops were greater, and the scenery even greater!

The next sidetrip was with Tony, Julie, and Remi (Julie's boyfriend). We went to Bernal and had a great time climbing the mountain together. It was a gorgeous day with beautiful clouds and it made for super awesome pictures. It was definitely hot though; once we had climbed down the mountain we were in need of some serious gorditas!!! The best of the best in Bernal!!

Their visit seemed way too short and I was not ready for them to leave!!! But I think some of them were ready to get back to normalcy in the Bluegrass State.

Guanajuato!!

We only have less than two weeks left! Sad, because there is still SO MUCH to see!! So we decided to take another side trip a couple of days ago. This past weekend took us to another city in Mexico, about 2 hours away from Queretaro. This city was called Guanajuato...and guess what! It might possibly be my new favorite place! Yes, I say this with every city I visit in Mexico, but they are all just so downright charming! And I truely love every single town! This place had a lot of mines back in the day, so silver is pretty popular here. The city also has MANY tunnels that take roads underground. Some guy described the town as swiss cheese because of all the underground roads and tunnel openings that resemble swiss cheese holes. I didn't know this before I went, but this town is actually considered a World Heritage Site.


"Our best mummy poses"

Guanajuato is known for its mummies. Real mummies. Not mummies wrapped in shreds of cloth, but naturally preserved. The cause is unsure, but most believe it to be because of the air and the metal surrounding the bodies. There is a museum that we went to called "Guanajuato Mummy Museum" and there were probably 40 mummies on display! The clothes on some of them were still intact!! There were even babies that had been mummified--so sad to see! Our tour was in Spanish, so I'm sure I missed a lot...but at least they had description plates in English.

We also went to a torture museum because Guanajuato was known for torturing prisoners also. We were able to get the tour in English so that made it much more interesting (even though I'm sure you could use your imagination here). It seems that the person behind all the "SAW" movies must have seen this museum!!!! Too many similarities (creepy!). It definitely offered some fun photo ops! haha!

Just walking around the city and stopping in the shops was really fun and interesting. Shannon even bought a rug for only 300 pesos ($25US)!!! There was a theatre in the middle of the city that reminded me so much of Hollywood Blvd because it looked like a movie could be set there...plus there were a lot of palm trees around it. =)

TMBA--This is LIFE!

I want to take this post to tell everyone interested (or even somewhat interested) in participating in the TMBA to DO IT!!! I am so glad that I did. Not only have I experienced some amazing cities, new cultures, crazy adventures, and met great people, but I will have my MBA in less than one month! One year jam-packed with adventure while studying is completely worth it and has gone by so incredibly fast!

I also want to commend WKU for taking this program into its hands and giving me and all other future MBA students this AMAZING opportunity! It has been the experience of a lifetime! GO TOPS!

Post a comment if you are interested in this program and you have any questions at all! =)

Side Trip to Bernal!!!

Ok, so actually Bernal is my new favorite place! Its funny how I think I've seen the most beautiful place, only to discover one that I love even more!!! Bernal is a town that holds a grand natural beauty--Pena de Bernal, or Bernal Peak! This is actually a HUGE rock that juts straight out of the ground in the middle of nowhere. And when I say HUGE, I mean the height is 1150 ft (and 8230 ft above sea level)! If you have never been to Queretaro, you may not know that it is very mountainous. And right now we are in the rainy season so all the mountains are a beautiful tropical green color (think of the tree-filled cliffs on "LOST" and that is what Queretaro looks like in the country). But then, you have this huge rock, called a monolith, with virtually NO trees...so it kinda stands out! Its said to be made from volcanic rock many, many years ago. How freakin' awesome to be able to climb this thing! AND I was definitely excited!

Hiking/rock climbing Bernal was not as easy as it looks. In fact, it was a lot more dangerous than I felt it to be at the time. But, I have quite the adventurous spirit--straight from my dad. And when you're up there, you feel like you are on top of the world and that you accomplished something fabulous!

P.S. David saw a scorpion while we were climbing!!!!! Glad I didn't accidently grab that rock!

Updates from Mexico!! Part II

More on the side trips...

So I thought San Miguel was the most beautiful city...until we went to Tequisquiapan. Then, I fell in love with that city! The girls and Hector took a side trip to Tequisquiapan to go ride horses in the country. After we took an hour-long bus ride (for only $3.00!), and a taxi, the horses were not where they are "normally" stationed!!! SO, I said, "Well, let's just go find the horses' house!" So, we took a little walking journey asking all the locals if they knew where these certain horses lived (well, actually where their owners live...haha!). Long story short, and many sights later, we found the horses and were able to ride them. One hour=$3.00! It seems like everything is $3.00 around here! We rode out in the country along a cobblestone road and saw some very interesting Mexican "rural-ness." Definitely an experience I won't forget! The town of Tequisquiapan is very pretty in a very natural way...they have these HUGE trees that have the biggest trunks I have ever seen! The stores here were very nice too...and suprisingly different from Queretaro or San Miguel.

(***Look how pretty the sky is in the picture! If you know me, you know I'm obsessed with perfect clouds in pictures...and these were stunning perfection!***)

Stay tuned for BERNAL!!

Updates from Mexico!!! Part I

Hola from Mexico!

I had all but given up on my blogging down here in Mexico because of the intense construction going on in the historic district (which is where I live). The city has made a movement to put every single telephone, internet, and electric cable underground. Up until now they have been on poles above (and connected to buildings). But because of this construction, our internet at our house has become, well, non-existant most times, and quite flakey the rest of the time. Only stable enough for me to make short Facebook posts...and it took NUMEROUS tries to even upload pictures!! And school's computer labs are closed because its summer!! BUT last week, my family came to visit and my dad, the wonderful tech-y brain that he is, fixed our internet!! So now, I'm back to blogging!! =)

And I greatly apologize for letting my readers down. But I will do a quick re-cap of what has been going on in the QRO.

The first month (from around June 15 til July 15) was spent getting acquainted with this beautiful city. As I mentioned earlier, we live in the historic district in an amazing house that has three different levels of open terraces that are considered our roof. Our house is an old, hacienda-style home, meaning that we have an open-area courtyard right in the middle of our house! We even have a little pet bird that comes inside our house and sleeps on a pipe near our front door. Since we are right in the middle of the historic distric, we are literally walking distance from every plaza area in this city! Its SO nice to not have to ride the bus everywhere!

School is also great! The teachers are very laid-back, as is common with this culture. They are also very helpful and are willing to go out of their way if we needed help with the city (or school) at all. Our classes are: International Management of Sales, International Economics, International Management, and Strategic Management. We also have a Spanish course that is once a week. Learning the language has been much easier than I ever would have thought. With only Spanish-speaking people surrounding me, I've been pretty much forced (in a good way) to learn. This is how I buy things, how I go to the market, how I tell the taxi driver where to take us, etc., etc., etc.

We have also made several small side trips to the surrounding cities within a 2-hour driving range from Queretaro. The first trip we made was to San Miguel de Allende. This city has a lot of English-speaking people who come here from the States to retire. San Miguel is also known for its international film festival that happens at the end of July. Over 400 films can be screened during this week-long festival. We stayed at a hotel/residence called Casa de la Sol (a friend of Hector's owns it) and toured the city. San Miguel is also famous for its natural hot springs, or oasis. We also visited one of these. I'm somewhat of a germ-freak, so naturally I worried about if the water was sanitary because, well, its "natural," and there were tons of people.

(Look for "Updates from Mexico!! Part II)

We're Here!!

I wanted to update to say we are here, finally!!! But we don't have wireless internet...so I have to keep this brief. The city is absolutely gorgeous. I feel like I am in Italy, not in Mexico. There are TONS of small little outdoor restaurants that have gardens and all kinds of nice little shops! Our house is really awesome. We have an outdoor courtyard right in the middle of our house. I will post pictures and write more on all this later...

Seeing the Light at the End of the Tunnel

As most of you know this semester has been the hardest yet for all of us! But I'm feeling that we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Last week was filled with three research papers and an essay take-home final due (YES, all in one week!!). In the midst of all these projects being written, there were other activities that occurred. I seriously didn't know how much more I could handle. So last week that "light" felt like the light was on the train that had just hit me! But as I turned that last paper in on Friday, I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders. I feel like this whole semester I have been very spread thin and my classes have pulled me in every direction. Basically, I feel like I have put my life on hold. Now all that's left of this semester is Finals Week (one final on Monday and one on Wednesday). Pray for all of us as we had all reached our ropes' end last week and we're trying to recover to make it through this last week!

TMBA 2009-2010 Enrollment!!!

Its that time of year again. AH, April. The time for deadlines--not just for taxes, but also for the 2009-2010 TMBA program!! April 15 is the soft deadline for the program to get things turned in such as resume, letter of intent, transcripts, etc. If you are at all interested, please go talk to me or someone in the MBA office at WKU! Dr. Hatfield and I will be on WBKO AM Live tomorrow morning promoting the program! It won't hurt you to wake up a little bit earlier in the morning to listen to what WKU's MBA programs have to offer you to further your education to enhance your future careers!!!

In addition, I would like to re-post a comment made on my blog by one of my awesome friends, who happens to be one of the Canadian students in the TMBA program this year:

"Hey everyone, if you’re thinking about signing up, please do! It’s an awesome experience, especially if you haven’t travelled that much in your life. It’s the perfect time to do it, and for those of you who have a girlfriend/boyfriend and are scared of the distance … almost all of us have left someone back home and it only makes your relationship stronger and more meaningful, honestly! I look forward in meeting the new TMBA group in September 2009; I will be in Moncton New Brunswick so you will see me around :)" --Shannon, TMBA 2008-2009

Thanks Shannon for your comment! And everyone else, feel free to comment...it encourages me to post more often. ;)

Remember, WBKO AM Live tomorrow, April 14!!

Updates from WKU

I'd like to take this time to update all my blog readers on what has been going on this semester. And I'd like to apologize for not updating as frequently as I did in Canada...its quite different to write about things happening in my home country versus the new experiences that happened daily in Canada! haha! Here's the rundown:

One of our first activities as a group here in the States was venturing to Mariah's--my favorite restaurant in Bowling Green. It was nice for us all to get together before classes started without the added stress of coursework looming on our shoulders. Every restaurant that they go to here, they make the same comment about how LARGE American portions are!

They also experienced their VERY FIRST basketball game EVER!! Its awesome to witness some of these "first" experiences. Here's Shannon and me at halftime:

One unusually warm day in February, one of the WKU full-time MBA students, Tom, took us caving in a cave he has in his backyard. Unfortunately for us, it had rained the day before and once we had climbed through the cave for a while the water got up to our chests! Needless to say, we couldn't go further...unless we wanted to swim in super cold cave water with fish and cave crickets! =/ Check out our super cool headlamps...yeah, we're pro splunkers!

St. Patty's Day, some 0f my Kappa Delta friends were getting together at Double Dogs. So I brought the girls there with me. And guess what--they don't celebrate St. Patrick's Day in Canada...and they didn't have ANY green clothing! We refrained from pinching them--only cause they were new to the holiday.

March also brought three TMBA birthdays: Shannon, David, and Pepe. We had a birthday celebration POUTINE-STYLE! If you can remember, poutine is the amazing food they have in Canada (fries, gravy, and cheese curds). Julie had gotten the special poutine gravy sauce brought to her by some of her visiting friends. Can I just say, OH how I have missed poutine!! Here's David cutting his cake, sporting the WKU Sunbelt Champs shirt that us girls got him! GO TOPS!

One week, the Canadian girls were quite stressed...so I decided to brighten their moods and take them shopping in Nashville. Retail therapy always works! We had an awesome time shopping, exploring downtown Nashville, eating dessert at the Melting Pot, and pretending to be cowgirls! Gen, don't kill me for putting this up--I still think you should be in a country music video with that look!

We're trying to fit in as many things as we can with school going on. We're gonna keep on exploring, and hopefully I can keep witnessing their "first" experiences!

A New Semester

After a VERY long break (1 month and 1 week!!!) and several personal travels in-between, we are back in school for our second semester of the TMBA! This semester brings us to my home court: WKU!!! And although I absolutely LOVED being in Canada, I must admit that I am happy to be in familiar settings with familiar people. School started last Monday, which ended up being a very busy week.



But the week before was even crazier with all the Canadian students and Mexican students arriving to the States. Each one seemed to have an adventurous story of their travels to the States, my favorite one being where one of the Canadian girls got stuck in the Toronto airport because the lady at UdeM told her that she needed the COPY of her Student Visa to go through customs (not the original). This caused her to be in a "holding room" for what seemed like hours with U.S. customs staring at her like she was a criminal. After a while, they finally let her go through, but by that time she had already missed her flight. In the meantime, I was already in Nashville ready to pick her up from the airport when I got a call from her (she was unable to use her phone in the "holding" room)! Since there are only two flights that go to Nashville from Toronto each day, she had to wait at the airport for 10 hours!!!

All the students seem to really love Bowling Green (and the States in general...they think Nashville looks like Vegas...NASHVegas!). They are living in really nice, off-campus apartments, but they are so close to campus that they are able to walk to class--a huge plus since (just like me in Canada) they have no cars here. But they have met a friend here that owns a limo...so that has been their preferred method of travel! The Mexicans even went to WalMart in the limo...I wish I had a picture to post from that!

This semester already seems a bit harder than the Canadian semester. We have research papers in almost all of our classes. The other students have already expressed concern about this because, as you know, English is not their first language. Time will tell what this semester has in store for us!