10 Things I've Done in the Last Month

So I haven't posted on my blog in quite a while but this is definitely one of those occasions where no news is good news :) I've done a lot of things since my last post such as:
1) Get my first speeding ticket
2) Start training for a 10K
3) Choose a career path (LAW SCHOOL I'M COMING FOR YA)
4) End my exchange
5) Venture out into the wild (aka take a trip to Dolphin Mall by myself)
6) Sign up for paddle board lessons
7) Visit the Miami International Auto Show
8) Make some amazing new friends
9) Visit home for thanksgiving
10) Watch American Pie for the first time

When I made the choice to come on this exchange they told me all about the different emotional phases and they couldn't have been more correct.  As I enter the last week of the semester all I want to do is cry, which is pretty similar to how I felt around week 4.  Back then I was miserable because making friends was hard and everyone else could speak Spanish and I couldn't and I felt like such an outsider.  Entering week 14 I'm proud to say I'm nearly 50% fluent in Spanish (thank you to all of my native speaking friends and Duolingo!) and I have some of the coolest friends I've ever made.  I live in a city where I can walk across the street for a $20 pedicure or spend $10 for an hour of paddle boarding in South Beach.  I can go to any restaurant (literally any restaurant from Sushi Maki to McDonald's to La Carreta) and order in Spanish.  When I point out whole milk to someone's grandma in Publix she's bound to kiss me on the cheek and tell me at least one story from her glory days.  Needless to say I went from being an outsider here to feeling like this is my true home.  I've never been more thankful for any experience in my life and I can thank NSE (along with a little hard work, a supportive family, and phenomenal friends) for helping me find myself.

If I can make one goal for myself post exchange, it would be to maintain all the progress I've made since I moved here.  6 months ago the highlight of my week would've been $1 shots at a bar in 5 points.  Today the highlight of my week is making a new PR on a run or lusting over the shiny gold Lamborghini we got to touch in South Beach.  I know a lot of the people from my past are struggling to understand how such a simple life can be so fulfilling for me but I love who I've become and I plan to stick to it.  Moving back to Columbia will be one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.  I came to Miami as a southern girl with very little knowledge on this area or the people who inhabit it.  I'll be returning to the 803 on December 11 but I'm definitely a Miami girl at heart (or should I say North Cuba - here's a little Miami humor for you haha)

Now feel free to scroll through pictures that I've randomly taken over the last month

 These two pictures above are of Tamiami park, it's right beside the dorms and I run there often

 Sometime's it rains excessively in Miami so you should just ditch your shoes on the walk to class

 This is Luca and I'm in love with him

 If these two pictures don't show you how beautiful FIU is then I don't know what will

 A few pictures from the car show

 Sometimes people pass out coconuts between classes

Rory, I love you.

Why I Love My Roomies

On Monday night my roommates mom came to town but right before then she made us cookie dough from scratch (which I was so thrilled about!). All week I've been running to the fridge feeling like such a rebel eating this cookie dough since she decided not to make cookies (because everyone knows about the annoying back labels that say "do not consume raw cookie dough for your own safety blah blah blah") and then I figured why not make cookies and eat cookie dough too (the best of both worlds!). At that moment I experienced a first world problem: how do you bake cookies with no cookie pouch that has directions? I googled the answer and was told that 375 for 10 minutes was the perfect method and then to my surprise the cookies came out raw in the middles and burnt on the edges. We had a pretty good laugh over my lack of knowledge of baking without directions and I learned that sugar burns at 350 so you have to bake cookies a little lower than that. The next day I totally redeemed myself by making pizza (on dough that I made from scratch just saying) and it was quite tasty!

A couple weeks ago my roommates and I sat outside for about an hour trying to see the special moon but it was too cloudy to see anything.  We were pretty bummed to have no cool pics for our family and friends and I saw this text online so I sent it to our group text (the boy takes a picture of a tortilla on the counter and pretends it was the moon). Just a little humor to get us through the day :)

Also this morning I woke up to 5 texts from my roommate so I walked over to her room to see what the fuss was about.  She'd gotten a message from her friend saying "I will be in the library all day, feel free to tag along". She was all panicked and she's like "I keep trying to translate this and it doesn't make sense, what is she trying to tell me about tag along?!" I absolutely adore my roommates and I couldn't have gotten matched with better girls this semester, I just hate that they're leaving me in December!

Funny Things I've Noticed

It's funny to me how certain things are so prevalent in some places that you don't notice their presence or absence right away. Over time I became so accustomed to seeing squirrels and mopeds on campus at USC that I imagined I'd always be around them.  To my surprise, it took nearly a month of school at FIU before I saw a single squirrel or moped.  So I'm sure you're wondering what the two were replaced with. Everyone here either skateboards, bikes, or rides electrical boards to class every day. I think the electrical boards are probably the funniest to see because people tend to walk in pairs but of course normal walking takes longer than riding a board so the person is always speeding up and slowing down to catch up with their walking friend.  Squirrels were replaced with skittish white birds and very bold lizards. Much like squirrels at USC fear no human, lizards at FIU will challenge your walking path on the sidewalk anytime they feel like it.  There's also some very large birds nesting on campus.  They sometimes blend in with the grass if you aren't paying attention when you walk.

I'm the type of person who loves to know what kind of animals are around me, especially if they're interesting/I can put studying off for 5 more minutes because I just had to google them :) I'm pretty convinced that the white birds I've been seeing on campus are "American White Ibis". They're consistent with this geographic area however I don't know why they've been flocking to campus.  They usually spend at least 10 hours a day looking for food but they eat from shallow water sources so I'm not sure why they're always pecking away at the grass on campus. Maybe I have the wrong bird but nonetheless it's pretty exciting!

Oh the Difference 600 Miles Will Make

Today is the first day in a long time I've woken up to a temperature that feels like less than 100 degrees! It rains nearly everyday in Miami and usually the storms are short lived and sunny but sometimes they're dark and set in like back at home.


You could definitely say I'm missing the typical PSL (pumpkin spice lattes) with scarves, cute boots, and cardigans but I guess year round pool access isn't too bad either ;)

Living Away From Home

Being so far away from home has been tough. When things aren't going right you're the only person who can fix them because you can't turn to your parents or your friends for that extra little push to get through it.  I've had a few interesting and slightly stressful situations lately but I'm taking them all in stride.
The other night it had gotten kind of late and I needed scissors.  I ran over to the Walgreen's right across the street from the school and after about 10 minutes of browsing the "back to school" section I could only find the rounded tip children's scissors. I walked up to the front register and after waiting in the long line I asked the lady if they sold any regular size scissors there. About half way through my sentence I could tell from the face she was making that she didn't speak English and unfortunately my Spanish wasn't strong enough to get me out of this predicament. We spent the next few minutes with me making hand gestures and elongating all of the syllables to my words and her saying "you want price check?".  By now I was dying of frustration because such a simple question was impossible for her to understand. The customers in line behind me were sighing and looking around for another open register so I finally turned to the man who had been in line behind me the whole time and desperately asked him if he could translate for me. He simply turned to the woman and said "tijeras para adultos" and she turned to me and smiled and said "isle 5". ANGRY is an understatement for how I felt.  I couldn't believe there was someone there who could help me the whole time but he just stood and watched the both of us struggle instead.
This week I also realized that I threw away one of my textbook components. The business school here is very big on online software components.  An access code that's good for 6 months comes with your textbook bundle but since I lost mine I had to spend nearly $100 for a new one which is quite disheartening when you're unemployed. My school schedule would easily allow me to have a job but I've realized it's extremely difficult to get a job in a place where English is not the predominately spoken language yet it's the only one you're fluent in.
Lastly, as luck would have it, I was up pretty late last night doing a little homework. I typically do homework in my bed because it's more comfortable than my desk chair. As I slid off the bed to run to the kitchen for some water my foot got caught in my laptop cord and hurled my laptop off the bed. The screen cracked and the outside shelling is coming apart. Thankfully it seems to still work well enough because being unemployed in a big city, I can't afford a new one on my own. I know my parents are always there when I really, truly need a pick me up or any type of monetary favor but going from being really independent to needing everything handed to you doesn't feel very nice.
Although most people here voluntarily speak Spanish all the time and adjusting to the environment has been quite the struggle, my roommates have been really helpful with me practicing Spanish and most of my classmates have noticed that I don't speak Spanish so they speak in English sometimes for me :) If nothing else I've just been taking everything one day at a time and always putting my best foot forward.  The stressful moments of today are the laugh worthy moments of tomorrow

Getting Settled In

For the last week or so I've struggled relentlessly with my advisor (Christy you rock!) and my family, in an attempt to get registered for classes and settle into my dorm.  Difficult is an understatement when describing the moving process.  The drive took nearly 11 hours and everything in Florida is so different.  I went from living in a townhouse with a walk in closet to a dorm with two roommates but I also upgraded to the Miami lifestyle and my roommates are awesome (I love you guys already!).  Of course I miss my family and friends and the comfort of Darla Moore and just Columbia in general.  I've finally started learning the area a little bit (I can find Walmart, Target, and a few fast food places) and I'm so happy to say southern hospitality doesn't only exist in South Carolina.  Even when I'm faced with people I can't communicate with (language barriers suck!) they always smile and wave and point which is nice.

So many things have blown my mind here! It's more common to find someone who speaks no English at all then it is to find someone like me who only speaks English fluently.  Although I am still in the USA I've learned to assume every person I see is Hispanic because people are almost never white or black which is what you usually encounter in South Carolina.  When you call places (restaurants, tourist attractions, offices) they almost always answer with a Spanish greeting instead of English because people just don't speak English here. I considered getting a job but a lot of places request bilingual applicants because the area around the school is filled with Spanish native speakers who don't typically use English.  Needless to say I've already upped my daily Spanish lessons on Duolingo and since both of my roommates are from Argentina I should be learning Spanish pretty quickly.

Differences I've noticed in Miami and Columbia? In our grocery stores the delis sell hot wings and wedge fries.  Here they sell pork and plantains. McDonald's here doesn't sell strawberry sundaes but they sell mozzarella cheese sticks and apple empanadas.  There's a Cuban store or restuarant on almost every corner (Cuban food is fantastic by the way OMG) and oddly enough late night restaurants in Columbia are places like Beezers and Fast Eddies, here they have 24 hour Cuban/Latin American restaurants!  I've frequented the toll roads in Greenville where you stop and pay.  Here they have toll roads on nearly every interstate and you don't stop and pay, they take a picture of your license plate and send you a bill in the mail.  Hopefully I'll learn back roads soon because the tolls are pretty expensive!  Also football season is nowhere near as appreciated at FIU as it is at USC :( But I can understand why people are more inclined to travel to South Beach for the weekend than they are to tailgate and go to the bars to celebrate a win.  I miss tailgating already but I think South Beach with the blue water and oceanfront hookah bars, restaurants, and shops will be more than enough to keep me company over the next few months :)

Here's a few pictures from the South Beach tour I went on.  The city is so beautiful and the people truly are one of a kind.  If I didn't know any better I'd say I wasn't in America anymore.  Miami truly feels like a foreign land and I'm loving every minute of it.