Finally, I've started the Spanish course at Los Andes. There are about ten students from about six countries. So far it has seemed fine, but it can be kind of a drag having to go downtown at 6 everyday, but it could be a lot farther and a lot worse. The campus is stunning: it was built on a hilly area in the old downtown during the 1940s. This was when the country was in one of it's worst civil wars, simply titled, La Violencia. The thing that made the campus unique was the lack of emphasis on political orientation.

The course is taught by a teacher who is ambiguously Colombian, at best. He looks, dresses, and speaks like a Frenchmen or some other European. Other students clearly share my suspicions. As soon as there was an opportunity, an actual Frenchman asked him where he was from. When he answered "Colombia", another student pressed further "What part?"

He speaks great Spanish and I can tell he knows a lot, but I still feel I am being taught French Spanish.

Yesterday, we were reviewing the syllabus, and there was a section that had 3 parts of the grade, worth, 30%, 20%, and 20%. It didn't add up to 100% and we asked him why. There was a section, at the bottom, that said 10% should be added to each of the three sections. In an effort to break the ice I summoned up by best Spanish to say, "For that reason, you teach Languages, and not Math." He looked at me, fairly unamused. Maybe it was the language, or maybe it was a bad joke. "Bromeando(Joking)," I assured. He rolled with it a little bit ",it's good, yes, I teach languages and not math." I could feel my face flush a little bit "Oh well, you gotta take risks," I thought. I could hear a few students snort at it, and another student turned around and flashed a smile. Toto, we're not in community college anymore.