Second Exam... and my score???

I made a 94. And what made me happiest about that (other than the fact that the retired Catholic theologian from Texas made a 90 and the Canadian journalist made an 82) is that of the 6 points I lost, 4 were simple, lack of attention mistakes. Only 2 points were for something I actually don´t know -- and it was ONE something that came up TWICE in the test. So I´m hyped, to say the least. I won´t mention that you only have to make 75 or higher to advance to the next level....

René, a 23-year-old from Holand who lives with the same host family as I do, scored a 97, and it makes him BOUNDLESSLY happy to have out-scored me. I didn´t tell him about my four points of silly mistakes. What, his being from Holand and all, living below sea-level as he does, etc., it´s good for him to feel elevated for a change.

After the exam we watched a movie. It was Johnny Cien Pesos ("Hundred Peso Johnny"), a docu-drama about a robbery gone bad in the first year of democracy after the end of the Pinochet government (in 1990). VERY interesting. It is a Chilean film, and we watched it with the English sub-titles turned on. (The professors readily admit that it is VERY difficult to understand Chileans when they speak at a normal pace, even for native Spanish speakers. I must say, I agree with them that it is VERY challenging.) By the end of the film there were only 4 of us watching, out of maybe 15 who started. I should say 4 students. There were 4 or 5 professors half watching from the other side of the cafeteria (coffee/lounge). I´m glad to have watched it, and was able to pick up a lot of the Spanish fairly well. I´m feeling good about that.

Tonight we have a party at the school -- the every-other week "graduation and farewell" party. If they do here as is done in Buenos Aires, there will be lots of food and a time for handing out deplomas to those who terminate their programs today. It´s also a great opportunity to make new friends and to practice Spaish with the professors. Me gusta mucho. Afterward there will probably be folks going out, and we´ll see if I go. I´m not that much of a "goer-outer" at home, so it´s a good bit of a stretch here. But we shall see.

OK, time to get moving. There is a large hill behind our house, the Cerro San Cristobal (in this case Cerro indicates "small mountain". René climbed it yesterday and said it took him an hour to achieve the top. His advice to me was "Don´t forget water!" Evidently, he did. At any rate, there is also a funicular that climbs it, and a teleferico (sky-ride) that goes across the cerro to the other side. I have no idea what I´ll do, but suspect I´ll climb (walk, actually, though steeply). For sure, I want to do this while I´m in town, and today seems as good a day as any.

Thanks, one and all, for keeping up with how things are going. Know that your sharing this journey with me is a special gift, and I am appreciative.

With much love,
-- Bill