Today (Wednesday -- yes all my posts are out of order) I crashed an orientation. Let me explain. On Tuesday I got in contact with other Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars in the area and went to hang out with one of the Scholars and some international UNAM students he had met. He had stumbled upon and stayed for the international student undergraduate (licenciatura) orientation and hung out with the people afterward. He asked me if I was going to the master's program orientation for foreign students on Wednesday -- which I have never heard about.
So this morning we went to the orientation. It turns out that it was just for students doing an exchange program -- staying for a semester or one year and taking various classes but not getting a degree. You can apply to the school much like you would through a study abroad program, except it's organized by UNAM itself. I didn't even realize that was an option since I knew the area I wanted to focus in and had only researched that program and requirements. It probably would have been easier (no thesis proposal!), but I wouldn't have changed what I did. I want the full Rotary Ambassadorial experience, but I also want the full academic experience and to come out with a degree.
I stayed for the orientation to see if they had any useful information, especially since my program isn't especially helpful for foreign students. There wasn't anything earth shattering, but I did come away with a map of the university (which I had been asking for and couldn't track down anywhere), the metro, the metro bus, and the university buses.
Afterward I went to the south part of campus to get more information about getting my undergrad grade recognized and the Spanish test I have to take.
Then went to San Angel to meet up with a second year student for lunch at a French restaurant called Cluny (http://www.cluny.com.mx/) -- yum!
