1) The dreaded registration for Winter Quarter. Registration always seems stressful, especially since I mostly need International classes and they are really difficult to get into. As always, things will most likely change up until the first week of classes, but as of now I am planning on taking Theories of Non-Violence II and Human Rights and the Role of Women. I'm really excited for both classes. Before I started this program, I never thought I would be taking so many gender classes, but I think after my first class here (Culture, Gender, and Global Communications) I was hooked (thanks Margie!). I'm still interested in taking human rights courses and working with refugees when I graduate, but I'm definitely interested in gender issues as well.
2) Three and a half weeks left until the end of the quarter. Both of my classes have had weekly papers, and I am happy that this is my last week of those. That leaves me a few weeks to finish up my final papers. For Gender and Health, I am writing a paper about HIV/AIDS in Kenya and how exposure and treatment are different for men and women. For International and Intercultural Comm, I am writing about how cultural differences led to the the post-election violence in Kenya in 2007/2008. I'm pretty excited about both...now I just need to start researching and writing!
3) Six weeks of Spanish lessons. They are getting increasingly more difficult, but my tutor, Mariela, makes it enjoyable and easy to understand. Learning Spanish seems like such a daunting task, but she makes me feel like it's not impossible.
It's hard to believe that in May I will be registering for my last quarter of classes at DU, and in a year, I will be finishing up my internship and getting ready to graduate! I'm excited to get to that point, but I'm also really excited for what is to come before then.
