California Here I Am!

Expect the unexpected! On August 13, I was all packed to go the graduate school in the Netherlands when, after a week of desperate searching, I came to the horrible conclusion that the student loan I had planned to take out for my living expenses in 2011-2012 did not exist! As it turns out, that particular school is not on the US government's list of approved schools for government student loans. And since reputable banks use that list as well, I couldn't even get a private student loan. The decision I had to make was painful, but clear: I cancelled my flight and started planning (AGAIN) to go to graduate school in Davis, California.

After a couple weeks of long-distant grunt work, I had a position teaching Spanish at the university that offset most of my costs, and a signed lease for a home not far from campus. I arrived on the 5th of September (with a nasty case of poison ivy--hello student health services!) and started getting to know my new home.

Now, one month later, I've gotten my California driver's license, my voter's registration, the essential bike to get myself around town, and even a membership at the local food cooperative. As a foodie, I fit right in in Davis. On Saturday mornings you can find me at the infamous famer's market grabbing mark-down fruit and samples of expensive cheeses and desserts. On Sunday afternoons you'll find me at the free food recovery picnic in the park (grocery stores, bakeries, etc donate foods that they legally have to throw away, even though they are still perfectly good). And inevitably once or twice a week my cohort has a potluck dinner party. Yum! I have a great cohort of 22 other new students in my program (titled International Agricultural Development) and 11 students who are in their second year of study. At least 6 of us were Peace Corps volunteers, and there's 15 or so international students. One of the guys was a volunteer with me in Paraguay! Needless to say, we are all pretty like-minded and get along very well. In fact, last weekend the 2nd year students organized a camping trip for us to the beautiful foothills of the Capay Valley, about 1.5 hours from Davis. It was my first time out of Davis since I arrived, and I soaked in the views. Even though Davis is very green, it is also very flat (perfect for biking). Getting out into the country made me realize how much I was missing the mountains. It was also a great chance to relax, get to know my fellow students, and get some good advice from the 2nd year students.

I really enjoy teaching my 26 Spanish I students (especially because they call me Profesora), although the required teaching course I have for 4 hours a week is a bit over the top. Fortunately, even if I continue teaching Spanish (let's hope!) I won't have to take that course ever again. The other 3 classes I attend every week are all for my own major: Soil Science, Vegetable Crop Management, and Agricultural Development. The Veg crop management course is highly interactive: we spent 4 hours a week in the fields growing broccoli! Ag Development is quite philosophical, and soil science is forcing me to dredge up knowledge from high school chem class. While the change of pace has been a challenge for me, I admit that it is pretty nice to give my brain a challenge once again after 3 years vegetating in a South American hammock.

It is hard to be in a bad mood in a place like Davis. It's always sunny, and you're never sitting still for very long; to get from here to there, you strap on your helmet and pedal away! That's enough to get your blood pumping, and to stave off those extra potluck dinner calories.

I spoke with my host mother in Paraguay yesterday, and she told me they are all quite concerned that there will soon be unrest in their country. The president is ill with lymphoma, and has turned over power to his Vice-President, who is of a different political party. Especially given recent events in Ecuador, the Paraguayans are fearing that a change in power will bring some type of uprising or coup d'etat. Please keep them in your thoughts!

That's all for now! Thanks for reading.