Nomad JuanCa's Report

Oh yeah, today i was there. at Universidad Espiritu Santo (UEES) my future University (i hope...). I had to fix some stuff in the Alegro PCS store in the morning, then going to the headquarters where i got some more troubles that were sort of solved by midday (as you can see... i do work for them also on week days). Well, then i decided i would go there... you know.. they will start classes in January and i know i have few time to arrive there and get involved in their system.

First thing, i knew their campus was sort of outside of the city... so i went to the Juan Tanca Marengo Avenue...but i was wrong, there is the Tecnologico Espiritu Santo there (that belongs to them ass well but it is not same as the University) ... it was already 2pm and i was told University had moved to... Samborondon. I was so, so, so, so surprised, first cause that is also out of the city, but so fucking far from my house and from where i was in that moment, second... i was surprised cause Samborondon is fulled of really VIP neighbourhoods which is good visually speaking but bad for your feet, why? cause it is quite hard to get there if you own a car.. and quite hard to get out of there too.

Called Mom to tell her what had happened and she told me.. well come to visit your sister and you can go there other day it is already late, but i said: No, i want to go there today, i want to get done with this. Basically cause i know if i don't start pushing this forward... i will not make it. So went downtown to see if i could find any buss that takes me there and i could not. I was advised to go to the terminal, which is right at the end of the city in the north, took a buss and he didn't know where the University was....but i got in, at least the buss go in the way to Samborondon, it would leave me near. I sort of knew the zone, cause Alegro PCS used to make some product launch in some fancy discos of the zone. I got worried for a while cause we had gone long way and i didn't see any sign of the University until finally.. i saw this.

I was so happy, got off the buss and walked for about a km (later on i realised i had gone wrong way and there was a shorter way to reach the University), i was getting afraid.. you know.. the zone is quite VIP i was thinking... damn.. prices... transportation... payment... it is not going to work :( but kept on walking, at least i had to arrive there, once there i could say to myself i didn't fail me... when i saw this.

Yep, this is the University, one of the entrances, and then i saw this building you see in the other pic, quite modern and i though...ahh it is right behind the shopping centre (riocentro puntilla), i should have known it... but when i was getting closer i realised.. it was not the shopping centre at all.. that modern building belongs to the University, wow.... impressive.

Infrastructure of this University is superior to the one in Catholic University, two or three times, nice buildings, everything luxurious, walls, floor, doors, COMPUTERS IN THE CORRIDORS oh my God!!! i hadn't seen that anywhere here.. only in Peru. wow... well decorated, damn.. you felt great just being there.. i guess studying there must be.. amazing.

By the way, did i mentioned that they have cameras everywhere? internal circuit for safety.. wow...of course the parking was full of last generation cars, i think the oldest was from 2003.

I started to think.. this might not be my place.. why? cause i remember at Catholic University i used to envy those people who had more possibilities than me, because you know.. life is not fair, sometimes you have to work really hard to get few things and others get everything doing nothing... you have to suffer to go to the end of the fucking city to study.. and they take their last generation car to go there sometimes to do nothing. Well... i didn't want to feel like that again. Although i was there so i had to explore.

Well after walking around the buildings, full of cameras, announcements in English, and Spanish, lot of art and cultural things on the walls i could finally reach to the ICP (International Career Program) luckily cause due to so many pics i was taking people started to look at me like if i would just arrive from the country side. I entered then and asked for information about the IUP (International University Program) and this girl there said.. what? I knew it... there is always someone like that everywhere... so i explained the meaning of IUP with my perfect English (time to feel superior huh? ;) she called someone else to explain me and well, the other girl came and started to talk to me and some stuff but i wanted something to read, something to touch, something to examinate and evaluate if this would be the place i want to spend my following years.. and she arranged me a meeting with the director, uuuuhhhh!!!

I met this man, off course perfectly well dressed but with some problems in their facial muscles that generate tips in his face when he was speaking, then i though... it could be too much stress, or it could be the way God teach us sometimes to be less marginative with others. He was quite opened, quite friendly, like none i had seen before (and like nothing you will ever see in the Catholic University), i guess he was not used to meet future students, cause he didn't know where to start but it was kind for him to receive me so i asked and asked and asked.

His first question was... what about your English? i answered, mine is fine he was looking at me like... Really? then i realised he should have heard that before, so i started to share with him more about my profile, my experience in this international organisation that allowed me to travel among 5 countries, and to attend English speaking conferences, plus living in Moscow for about a year and my 3 years at Catholic University studying International Business Administration with mention in languages. He asked.. have you taken TOEFL? ... no i haven't. I started to be scared.

Well the meeting was fine, we talked a lot, he gave me lot of info and the wrap up goes like this...

• I need to present an English test to check my English level prior to join the career. My exam was scheduled for next Friday december 8th.


• I have to bring my transcripts from the subjects i have taken at Catholic University to see if they can accept them so i don't have to repeat them


• The i have to choose the schedule i will have cause they are starting classes on January 8th in an intensive period.

The other important problem, sorry i meant.. point, was.. the payment. Every subject costs 309 usd if you take them in English, people normally take 2 or 3. which makes almost 1000 USD, as they have their classes in bimester, it means that every subject ends in 7 weeks or 7,5 weeks in the case i take 3 subjects i will have to pay them all in 3 payments all before the bimester ends. Just take into account my basic salary in Alegro PCS is 200 usd and with comissions it reaches 300 usd perhaps... and well, i have to eat, pay electricity, transportation, 4 credit cards, internet, to pay the laptop.... i usually finds myself without any money. So... the University and it all sounds very nice... but i am not sure i can afford it, in fact... i cannot afford it, what i am not sure if i can find a way to cover it.

Well, asked everything to this man, and asked everything in the financial department, now i have to start looking for grants, something not so popular here... worst if i was never such a good student. I mean i wasn't bad, i was normal.. although due to Aiesec i never focused to my studies properly.... so... now it is affecting me. Ok, i am wrong in what i said, but you know.. it is frustrating to be in this position... i do want to study, but i don't have the money... grants are mostly for those who always had good grades, ok i didn't worry about that before, but i have the will to study, doesn't it count? I will discover it in the following days... where i will start to make a research for different possibilities here to get a grant.

In the mean time, well... i will be studying English to see if i can make it well in the exam, i am very confident.