Highs and Lows, but mostly highs

LOW: Yesterday (Tuesday the 14th) was quite the day. I had been feeling overwhelmed with homework and the difficulty of communication and accomplishing small tasks since Sunday afternoon. I had two exams and a presentation for Monday. Another presentation, reading, grammar homework, an interview, two papers, and a news report for Tuesday. Come Tuesday morning I was short on sleep and had barely completed my homework, and not very well. During the first spanish class we looked over our exams from the day before, which had been very challenging and frustrating. There were entire sections that I did not understand, or in which I had to recall 10-15 coloquial phrases using "por." I remembered about 3, and then made up the rest!

HIGH: I wasn't the only one! The other students had made up equally ridiculous responses and phrases in those sections, and several of us were able to laugh it off and count it as an interesting experience. We spent the first hour of class laughing at our lack of knowledge, and our professor said she was thrilled that we had at least tried and could laugh about it later. She said she's never laughed so hard while grading an exam. She has had students who stormed out of the class, cursed at her in english, threw their books on the floor...

LOW: I felt like I bored the class to death during my first presentation, and I was more nervous than I expected to be. I received a very decent grade, but the feeling I leave with is always more important.

HIGH: We didn't get to the homework that I hadn't done well.

HIGH: My Tuesday presentation went very, very well. I was able to engage the class in a difficult discussion about indigenous groups and culture in Ecuador. I explained a bit about what I had found in my research, and then read a few excerpts from a book full of interviews and stories from various indigenous persons. They are some of the most powerful stories I've ever read, and brought several students (including myself) to tears. After class, my professor thanked me for choosing a challenging topic, and said it was obvious that I had spent extra time and effort on the research and presentation. She also said it was very clear that I had a personal investment in the subject, and she encouraged me to keep researching and expressing my thoughts in class. I left walking on a cloud. I honestly believe that being able to express my feelings is one of the most satisfying things in my life, in any language or medium!

LOW: I think I have a cold.

HIGH: Anyel and I went to the park to run and exercise, and we ended up playing basketball with some precious young boys who definitely schooled us in the art of basketball. Humbling, hilarious, and very satisfying. Marco and Anderson were their names, and I'd guess they were about 13 or 14. We ended the outing with ice cream bars from the Penguino man and a great conversation about dear friends in our lives.

I try not to quantify things, but if I had to make a tally, I'd say the "highs" took the day. Buen día.