Our last Monday in Amherst

Back to the routine today: breakfast at 7.30 and class at 8.30.

Bruce had made a list of the important "isms" covered during our programme: constitutional federalism, localism, individualism, civil society, regionalism, New Deal liberalism, anti-communism, environmentalism, feminism, civil rights, political fundamentalism, Reaganism, pluralism, racism, diversity, consumerism, patriotism, and tourism.

In about two hours, we commented on these topics and explained how we experienced them during our stay in the U.S.A. Many of these were rather vague before I came on this programme, and I would have had trouble giving offhand examples as to what they might mean or how we find all of these reflected in daily life. I realise that the courses we had and the field trips we made really added up to a deeper knowledge and broader understanding of American society - so thank you Fulbright and ITD!

As usual, we evaluated week 5 and received the schedule for week 6.

In the afternoon, I finished my presentation, which I have scheduled for Thursday morning. I am pleased that's settled. Now, I can work on the suitcase problem: how to redistribute all the stuff so that my luggage does not exceed the weight limit. It promises to be a hard nut to crack.

I bought some more presents to take home and in the evening Sandra, Stella and I found a snackbar with outdoor tables where I had a nice quiche and they had a drink until it started raining cats and dogs and we hurried inside. We then moved on to Amherst Café, a nice and cosy pub for another drink - a cup of tea for me - and a long chat about life, love, human relationships, and other fascinating issues.

Back at the dorm, we met José Luis and Alistair around the kitchen table with a few bottles in the middle. José Luis suggested we should try a typical Mexican drink: Tequila Sunrise, which we accepted - of course.

... and we continued our chat about work, school, airports, luggage, and other fascinating issues!

This last week honestly gives me a double feeling: sad that the end is nearing and happy to go home. I feel like a horse that smells its stable - I would like time to go swiftly now - and yet I can feel the draw on the reins, because I know there will be the final goodbyes... just now that you get to know people and feel comfortable around each other. We'll have to make the best of every day of the week, I guess, and celebrate whenever we can, whether it's with a beer in a bar, a glass of milk in the kitchen, or simply breakfast at Valentine's.