Cardinals' Nest

It really is happening here!

Hello all! I haven't blogged in awhile, but it's not without good reason. I have been busy touring the state, visiting with students at college fairs, high school visits, and our First Look events!  I absolutely love meeting with you, students.

But while I've been out and about, a number of AWESOME things have been going on right here on campus!  Let me just recap a few highlights of the past couple weeks...

-Hardball with Chris Matthews, a show on MSNBC, was live on campus on Monday! I watched from Paducah and loved seeing a number of students I know on TV!  They represented UofL well.

-Three major local races had debates on campus last week.  They were free and open for the public to attend, and of course a number of students attended.  Things like this go back to the relationship we have with and in the community and city; because of that relationship, we are able to do such awesome things on campus.

-The first Discover Louisville Festival welcomed OKGo to campus for a free concert!  I hope this will be the first of many similar events.

-Our men's soccer team is currently number one in the nation!  As a student, my favorite thing to do was attend athletic events, and we consisently do well in nearly every sport, so it's nice to have that national recognition!  Plus our new downtown arena just opened (I cannot wait to visit!) and the expanded football stadium is awesome.

Even though I haven't been able to go to a lot of these events (sad, I know), just knowing they occur right here, on our campus, makes me so excited, happy, and proud.  I love the University of Louisville and believe events like this are fantastic and offer our students a variety of opportunities they would not be able to experience elsewhere.  So when we say "it's happening here"... I feel like it's a pretty true statement!  Can't wait to see what's happening next...

-Amanda James, Admissions Counselor

Why Time Flies

It's been some time since my last post, but not without reason. One of the difficulties of studying abroad is time management, something that may seem easy at home. For me, time management became difficult as I was worked to complete a Fulbright Application and apply to law schools while in another country. Nearly all of my correspondence with the UofL professors, my family, and everyone else who supported me had to be done through email, Facebook, or Skype, which makes the process much more difficult. On top of those tasks, I have the responsibility of an internship for the Ministry of Economic and Social Inclusion, and classes. Of course in between everything, I want to hang out with friends, explore Ecuador while I have the opportunity, meet new people, and try new things. While abroad everything is new, and so much can happen in one day that it can be overwhelming... but that is what makes it fun.

September 30, the police went on strike in a protest that some say was staged, and others say was an attempt to overthrow the President Rafael Correa (that is another story entirely). I was at my internship in the government office when the events of that day began. Because of my location, I was able to stay informed thanks to my coworkers, the majority of whom took to the streets to march in favor of the President. Meanwhile, the bridges leading out of the city were blocked by protesters, and there was looting going on inside the city. I live outside of the city and could not return home. A military unit arrived to take control of the building because the Vicepresident was transported to the locale. I left with one of my coworkers who accompanied me to an elementary school a few blocks away where a few girls from my university were interning at the time. We waited behind the walls of the school until some university professors arrived to take us home when the bridge had been cleared. No one really new what to do, and the government declared a state of emergency.

Before those events we had planned a trip to the beach with some local friends. After making sure we were safe, one of them asked me if we still wanted to go to the beach. I  was astonished. He simply told me, that they were "used to that sort thing, because it happens all the time." Needless to say, within two days, the world was back in order and everyone resumed their normal routines as if nothing had happened. We went to the beach and had a great time, although the events were still on everyone's mind. When we finally returned to school, we discussed the events in every class, and the professors were especially interested in the comments from the "gringos". There is a lot more to the events that happened that day, that are readily available from several news sources. 

Although other events may not have been as drastic (salsa class, soccer games, weekend trips, etc.), they have all played into the idea of time management. Now, we are in finals week (many classes are on a bimester schedule) and then Fall Break. I am looking forward to traveling and discovering new things in the upcoming weeks.