i'm back in class again. it's another class of 16 people (me, a german, a swede, a salvadorena and 13 russians) and we have 4 hours of class a day 5 days a week. i have the same teacher as last time (she's really good, tough but well liked) but at the moment we're stuck in review (i want to move on!). in addition to that, i have spanish class on wednesdays, a spanish-speaking group once a month, ultimate frisbee on mondays, snow football occasionally, the gym whenever i manage to get motivated (not too often lately) and i've just recently signed up for a football (soccer) group (a bunch of us foreigners getting together to play on tuesdays).

oh, one kinda big event is that i've applied for grad school at the university of jyväskylä. i'm trying to get into a intercultural communications program. it looks really interesting and it would probably help me get a job in an international huminatarian aid organization (my goal at this point). i spent a couple of months researching and writing a master's thesis proposal that was required as part of the application. yeah, a thesis proposal BEFORE i study anything. i had to read up on a lot of bachground material, theory and methodology since i have NO academic experience in communications. i wrote my thesis on the importance and influence of social status hierarchies in the communication of kyrgyzstani villagers in their communication with people perceived as outsiders. wordy, but i think it's a good paper. the uni will tell me before march 19th if they want to interview me. from a group of 30-40 interviewees they will select 15 people to be in the program next year. so, it is fairly competitive. i do, however, feel relatively confident about my chances of getting in (let's hope i'm not far off the mark here). i feels nice to have written the proposal and sent out my application, but the waiting weighs down on me