Feb. 24, 1965
Hi Sue Ellen!
How are you? Thank you for that most comprehensive letter - I really feel like I know exactly what's happening at Mount Holyoke. You're better than the News! I'm glad the semester has started off so well for you! It sounds like you're going to be extremely busy.
I've been kind of busy myself! After almost three weeks here, I'm pretty much accustomed to the routine. I've got oodles to tell you. My family is just wonderful. Papá (that's what I call him) is a retired Army Colonel who now manages the airport of Bogotá. He's extremely good-natured - I really love him. Mamá is in her early forties, very warmhearted and motherly. I really feel like their daughter. Mamá's younger sister, Marina, also lives with us. She's in her early thirties, I think, and is some kind of lab technician in a clinic here in Bogotá. We're kind of good buddies - she's very easy to get along with, and I really like her. The kids are awfully sweet. Rafael, at 17, is the oldest - it's cool having a brother almost my own age. Then, there's Isabel del Socorro (called Socorro, 'cause Mamá is named Isabel, too). She's 15 and really adorable - long dark hair and dark eyes. Then, the other boys - Gerardo, 10, Manuel José, 7, Gonzalo, 4, and Carlos Eduardo, 1. How's that for a family?! And me with only 1 sister! It's fun, though. They're all lovable. There are also 2 young girls who live with the family - one cooks and the other is a kind of maid. Here, servants are a way of life - all the more well-to-do families have them. But it really bothers me to see all the work these little kids have to do - they're only 13 and 18 years old.
I have my own room and it's really lovely. The only problem is that it's always cold in the house. Outside, the weather is usually beautiful, but inside it's very damp and chilly. I usually walk around with a bathrobe over my clothes and with a pair of slipper-socks on. That thermal underwear really comes in handy - no kidding! I sleep with that, flannel pajamas, wool socks and 4 wool blankets!
The food is pretty good and pretty much like American food. I was sick one weekend, but I haven't had any recurrences, so I guess my stomach has finally adapted! At one point, though, I would have given almost anything for a plate of chicken glop! These people eat more food than you would believe possible. I really think you have to because of the altitude. I'm eating lots more than I do at school and I think I may be losing weight. (I weigh 54 kilos - how's that?!) Since everyone in the house gets up at a different time, we all eat in our own rooms. Am I going to be spoiled! Breakfast on a tray - wow! When I get home from school, I have onces (snacks), 'cause we don't eat dinner until 8:00. That's typical of Colombia.
My father has a chauffeur at his disposal (an employee of the airport), so every day he (Lucas, the chauffeur) takes me to school. Pretty neat, huh? One day I made a boo-boo and was rather embarrassed. I wanted to ask him if he was going to take me to school the next day. So I said, "Lucas, va a tomarme mañana" instead of "va a llevarme?" Priscilla will explain the difference to you. Anyway, there were a few awkward moments while I got redder and redder, and then we both burst out laughing. By the way, Lucas is 28 and unmarried.
The University of the Andes is really interesting. It's relatively modern I think it was founded in 1948. It's located on the side of a mountain and it's rather small, but picturesque. The rough part is climbing up to some of the classrooms! There are no dormitories; everyone commutes. Coeducation, in case you don't remember, is a very interesting process! There are lots more guys than girls, and we're slowly beginning to make friends. Practically everyone speaks English, so there's really no language problem. If we can't say what we want to in Spanish, we switch into English and they understand. Some of the professors are hard to understand, but usually I don't have too much trouble. Besides, what better way to get acquainted than to lean over the shoulder of the boy beside you to copy his notes?! The guys are very gallant - they do hold doors. As a matter of fact, one day I was taking the bus home and I had a small notebook in my hand. A young man got off at the same place I did and insisted on carrying the notebook the 2 blocks to my house. A perfect stranger! I'm telling you, it's really snowy!
On the whole, my courses are pretty interesting. One of the worst, though, is humanities. It's a section for premed students and all the examples the professor uses are from physics or chemistry. It's really awful. There's very little work, though, 'cause for them it's only a 2-credit course. (We get 3 credits for each course we take.) My Spanish lit class is really good. Our prof is a Colombian poet, and really knows his stuff. The problem is that he's usually too busy writing poems to come to class, so everybody else in the department takes turns giving the lectures. Oh well, you know what they say about variety! None of my professors expect much in the way of outside preparation. If you want to do some reading, it's okay, and if you don't, that's okay too. Very little is assigned. I think it may be because the Colombians take more hours of class than we do, and so they just don't have time for homework. It's kind of an insecure feeling, not knowing what you should be going; [sic] but it's also fun to be able to choose what you want to read and study. I also have a course in Colombian history which is really interesting. You'd like my cultural anthropology class - the prof really knows what's coming off (and he's very easy to understand!) We have a special Spanish class (for foreigners!) and unfortunately it's kind of dull. Grammar and conversation, but rather artificial. I really hope the English for foreign students at Holyoke isn't this bad. I guess we're learning lots, though I know my speaking ability has really improved in the last few weeks, and so has my comprehension of spoken Spanish. It's really going to be a worthwhile semester. I think it's the best choice I've made in a long time!
The kids in the Rollins Group are really very nice. There's one girl who's kind of an "Ugly American" type, but the others are just great. The boys are nice too, and all different types. One of them is Jewish - the one from New Jersey. (I asked him if he knew the Graefs, and he said no.) He's very outgoing and a real wile character - fun! Harold's from Capital, a sophomore, and kind of quiet. I haven't got him psyched out yet. Then there's Dick, a blue-eyed blond from Idaho. He's the strong, silent type, but with a sense of humor. I really like him. We North Americans are very exclusive; we usually eat together and go places together while we're at school. It's kind of hard to get into groups at the Andes - there are very definite cliques. I think after a little more time, though, we shouldn't have any problems.
Well, Sue Ellen, I really must go. Take care, and write if you get a chance. Please let MA, CA, and P. read this letter 'cause I really don't have time to write to all of you separately. See you in September! (Maybe this summer?)
Love,
BobbieP.S. Would you return this form to the Dean's Office for me? [no longer with the letter] Thanks a lot!