EAFIT

It may seem like all we do here is do laundry and eat fruit.  This is not (always) true.  We also go to school.  This is a post we've been meaning to write for a while.  Two weeks to be exact, as two weeks ago we began classes at a university here in Medellin (whose name, EAFIT, we have been mispronouncing since we arrived).  The campus, like many other things here, is beautiful.  The school's agricultural program seems to be pretty hands on and the university is covered in flowers, vines and trees.

The campus (photo clearly not taken by us)

Ground level shot, done by yours truly.  I'm not sure why we chose this particular place for a photo, there are many nicer sitting spots, but it gives you a good indication of the classrooms.  

The orchids that inhabit almost every tree:

And, clearly our favorite aspect of campus, CHICKENS!

You guys, sometimes they crow when we're walking to class.  It's the best! 

For our first session we opted for an intensive class that meets from 9:00 - 1:00.  With travel times, it means we're out and about for at least 6 hours and we often come home pretty beat.  It's both hard and wonderful being students again.  Our classes are comprised of a mix of nationalities, personalities and skill levels - though in theory we are grouped by ability.  I'm currently going to school with a girl from Vietnam and four British Marines - hulking men who I enjoy as long as we keep the conversation far away from women and politics.  Matt's class is a similarly a mixed bag.  Everything will be switched up starting next week when we drop our class hours down to two a day and get all new classmates. One of our plans in dropping to fewer hours per day is that we can take advantage of many of the activities happening at the university, like lectures, hikes, and conversation clubs. We're also hoping to get more partners for language exchange, and on the whole increasing our chances of practicing the language.

And, in case you're only visiting this blog for the pictures (which is definitely what we would be doing), here are some lovely pictures we got from an exhibit at EAFIT called Colors of the Amazon.  It featured different plants and the incredible pigments created from their leaves.