A+, yay! September 12, 2007

There it was. In bright red, beautiful ink: A+. My first actual assignment for business school, and I got an A+. Hurray! Of course, it wasn’t a terribly difficult assignment, and it didn’t take me very long, and I must admit that I actually found it somewhat satisfying to complete (still shocked that I both like and understand statistics), but still, an A! Given that I went to a university that didn’t have grades (or much of a math requirement), this is especially exciting. My darling little professor even went to the trouble of announcing the names of everyone who’d gotten an A on the assignment. It was definitely a good way to start what had been an otherwise trying morning, and gratifying in a very juvenile, I-feel-like-a-first-grader (-and-like-it!), kind of way. Additionally, I followed the class perfectly today (probability: not as hard as I thought it would be!), and actually enjoyed economics today. Yay! I’m still feeling a deep, deep loathing of accounting (especially because we had the day off yesterday, and it was a beautiful, perfect, Mediterranean day, and I spent my day shut in my apartment reading accounting cases), but am even coming to enjoy my Law class with Speedy Gonzales. Yet more evidence (as if we needed it) that I’m much more a “concept” person than a “details” person. I can say with complete confidence that I’ll be very excited to hire an extremely competent accountant when I have my own business. (In addition to hiring an extremely competent assistant as soon as possible, obviously.)

Since my last update, it’s been a full bunch of days. I spent a large part of my weekend with my work group (dynamic has gone from scary to awesome in record time!), doing, yes, accounting homework. To this I say: blech. At the very least I can say that I enjoy my group, but I very nearly cried with frustration on Sunday, because I was so confused by the combination of new vocabulary and vague concepts (hence, all day yesterday studying accounting). Accounting badness aside, I did manage to have dinner with friends on Friday at a terrific little Lebanese/Greek place in Barrio Gracia, and then made it to not one but two parties. Incredibly, the second party was broken up by the police–I didn’t know they did that here! Typically, I tottered home (accompanied by a friend, of course), and managed to take an absolutely spectacular fall on the way home–I’m blaming the combination of impractical shoes and cobblestones, but I’ll admit, I had had a few glasses of sangria (which is to say: worry not, I felt no pain!).

Basically, all is going according to plan so far. I knew that the first month would pretty much suck, and in a lot of language-related ways, it has been kind of sucking. That aside, it’s mostly interesting and cool, and I’m surprised by my own motivation and excitement, and it’s incredible how comfortable I feel here already–in spite of the challenges with language and accounting, and being pretty much at “0″ with everyone here, in terms of the “getting to know you” process. The mission tonight, if I make it home at a reasonable time, I’m going to pass by the gym by my house and look in to hours. (I forgot the part about how living in Spain makes me feel like a total heifer. And it’s not just because all of the women here are some damn tiny–and they are–but also because I’ve been essentially living on jamon, bread, and fried foodstuffs. Vegetables? Apparently not a priority in this part of the world. And without Laura to make me eat vegetables, well… You get the picture…)

Oh yeah, but, as I was saying: A+, yay!