Random Update (5.14.13)

Classes are done, people have left, sophomore year is over, and I still feel like a freshman. I will be in the dorms for a few more days until graduation on the 20th working on campus. Today the group of us helped to distribute gowns and caps to the seniors. Our boss got us pizza for lunch, which was cool. It's a very chill job, I am very thankful my friend Zach told me about it. Yesterday was my first day of summer, with absolutely nothing planned. In the morning/afternoon I helped Christine and her dad/sister move her things out, and later that evening I got some food at lower with Miguel and Phillipe after tailgating at the varsity baseball game for a little while with my friend Andy (he is on exchange from Ireland).  Then I helped Miguel move his suitcases to our friend Sebastian's house, which is off campus, and watched the NBA playoffs with a bunch of Spanish-speaking people. Hanging out with them is always good practice for Barcelona. I left the house after the game to go back to campus, and said bye to Miguel, who flew out this morning back to Texas. All my roommates left yesterday as well, so the 8-man suite is so empty. Thank goodness I have a lot of posters, or else it would be very dreary at boring times like in the afternoon like it is as I write this post. 

Basically, I will be hanging out with the seniors and other folks who are around campus for the next few days when I am not at work. I might bus up to Portland and stay with Pat for a night to see an Iron and Wine concert. That could be fun. The next few days will be a good time, but it still kinda feels like a ghost town at BC, and it is strange knowing that sophomore year is already over.

The view from the top of the parking garage. That grass is so nice... too bad BC still lost.

Random Update (5.8.13)

Exams are here. However, before (and perhaps, more importantly, during exams), it is nice to relax one's mind. Last Thursday BC put on "Modstock," the annual free school concert. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis visited, and it was pretty cool. The following Friday, a whole bunch of fellas and I went downtown to our favorite Brazilian steakhouse for an end of semester lunch. Boy oh boy was it good. After lunch, Alex and I took the T out to Maverick to a tiny little soccer shop called "Brazilian Soccer House" to look at new cleats. It is a small place, but they are fully stocked with every possible variety of jersey and footwear (old and new). It was this Friday that I fell in love. I have been wearing the old-school Adidas Copa Mundials for some time, now. And they are wonderful cleats. However, it was time for a change. So, I got these bad boys, and have been taking a study break every day to break them in.

The Nike's

He sings the chorus in, "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore (artist name is Wanz). If you have seen the music video, you know how much of a baller this guy is. 

The fellas

Now it is Wednesday. I got up a little before 8 AM, got some Dunkin Donuts (I really like dunking donuts in coffee...) and made my way over to Stokes Hall, the new, beautiful building on campus, to start studying for my remaining exams. Here's the schedule:

Tuesday 
Modern Physics: it went well... but definitely my hardest exam. Spent Saturday, Sunday, Monday dedicated to problem sets and textbook reading...

Friday
Navigating the Nation: Cityscapes and Countryside: my Spanish final, in Spanish, despite the class title which is in English. Seeing as it is a paper-heavy class, the final is merely an extended essay that broadly covers each artist and author over the semester. Should require a few hours preparation. Not too worried here.

Principles of Macroeconomics: It is non-cumulative! I am studying this now, actually. 

Monday
Western Cultural Tradition: same format as last semester's final. I also have two papers due in this class... might be a busy weekend!

Microeconomic Theory: Cumulative exam + problem set due at the start of the exam. Again... busy weekend...

Random Update (5.1.13)

It's hard not to talk about the weather. It has been sunny and 65 for the last week. Campus is covered with students in colorful clothing relaxing on the grass in the sun. It would surprise me if the prospective students that periodically walk through campus don't all enroll here on the spot.

Two big meetings happened this week already. The first (Monday evening) was the predeparture meeting for studying abroad in Spain next year. Lots of information was given. I am sooooo excited. The second (Tuesday) was a dinner for students who received fellowships/grants for the upcoming summer or year. I got what is called and "advanced study grant" for an independent project this summer to learn some Catalan and research some Catalan poetry. The dinner was really nice! I was pleasantly surprised by Zach (who I'm working with this summer at camp) on my way to dinner, I forgot he had received a Fulbright Fellowship (to study micro-businesses in the Philippines). We met Anna, Alexa, Deepa and a girl whose name slips my mind at our little table. The food was really good. It was salad, green beans, rice, chicken, pasta, and some yummy rolls and soup. Afterwards there were mini cannolis and tea/coffee. 

The speaker was a recent graduate of BC who received the same kind of grant as I did. He has done a lot of work with international arms control, both in his college years and after. Currently he is at the Harvard Kennedy School for Government (wow!). I actually met him earlier this year at a "career conversation" in the career center, and he basically was the reason I decided to apply for the grant. After his speech I let him know that, too. 

In other news, I got my ticket to see Macklemore, a popular new artist with hits like "Thrift Shop" and "Same Love" and "And We Danced". A bunch of us got up around 7 AM Tuesday morning to get in line. The tickets were free, but there are only 6,000 available to all students. Tickets were handed out at 8 AM, and we got ours around 10 AM. Hopefully that was all worth it!