Oh what a week it has been.

So I have probably blogged more times this week than the rest of the semester thus far, and I have taken you on my full emotional roller coaster ride. But as this morning's graph and cautious optimism demonstrates, we are on the upswing.

UAB Day #2 was marked by a series of highs and lows:

High: Returned to Relaciones Internacionales. This time it was the professor, who was infinitely nicer than the TA. At the end of class, he asked all of the international students to raise their hands, and he asked us all where we were from. He then instructed the rest of the class to be kind to us, help us navigate the university, and if we get stuck, photocopy their notes for us. He also decided it was totally fine for us to peace out in December and just take our own version of the final. WIN. And bonus time: we have short papers every few weeks and it's our option — we can hand them in in Catalan, Spanish, OR.... English!

Low: My friends at Brown will say this one is my fault. I tend to extend my shopping period for longer than necessary because I just keep deciding to try out new classes "for fun." (Note: It's not usually that fun). This one was Analisis de conflictas internacionales y culturales. Supposedly in Spanish, but the Powerpoint was in Catalan. The teacher was apparently speaking castellano, but I'm not convinced. At one point — unable to follow along — I wrote "SHE MAY AS WELL BE SPEAKING CATALAN. WTF." in my notebook (in all cap letters), which elicited laughter from the German girls on my right (who concurred). So that class was a fail.

High: Returned to the Spanish-speaking section of Contemporary Political Institutions. The girl on my left commented on how it was cool that we had the same pen; I proceeded to read her notes over her shoulder for the duration of class. It's less that I have issues understanding, and more that spelling is a struggle.

Low: At the end of class, I went up to the professor and tried to explain (en español) that I'm only here until December, and would very much appreciate being able to take the final then. A native Brit, he switched to English upon hearing my accent. "I don't know," he said. "I need to think about it." Ok great. Let me know. Anytime.

So I survived a week of shopping. We'll take it from here. Tomorrow morning I'm leaving on a jet plane to visit Chaz in Sweden (actually the title of his blog, but Chaz is in Sweden, and I am going to visit him). I'm so excited to see a new part of Europe — even if it meant I had to go under my bed and find my quasi-winter clothing today. Now I'll concentrate all my thoughts on Swedish meatballs and Ikea and disregard UAB until next week. Sounds like a good plan to me.