Social Events

The exciting event of LAST weekend was the Junior Philippines Economics Society Launch Party on Saturday night.  This was an event to kick of the start of the school year.  (Trimesters at DLSU run May-August, September-December, January-April with short breaks and semesters at most other schools run June-December and January May, also with short breaks interspersed.)  Though to call it a party would be misleading, it was really more of an event.  It had a fashion show and then some competitions involving beer given that it was sponsored by a beer company.  After the programming there was a DJ.  There wasn't really any dancing though.  I guess people weren't feeling the music, and a few technical glitches probably weren't helping much.  I would guess there were about 150 college students in attendance, all of legal drinking age, and beer selling for approximately 25c.  Generally people just stood around and chatted with some intermittent fist pumping.  And there certainly wasn't any interaction with people whom one didn't know prior to attending the part.  I guess the economists are just shy?  I don't have any pictures because I was delinquent....

The exciting event of THIS weekend was the premier of the Batman movie.  The economics organization at school sold tickets as a fundraiser.  I went, with about 200 other students, and watched a movie about a superhero.  It wasn't a bad movie, but I am generally unwilling to suspend disbelief and I have no particular knowledge of back-stories, or any emotional attachment to the super-hero characters.  In all I'm glad I only paid $7.50 to see it here instead of the $15 it would have likely cost in the states.  I think its more interesting to contemplate the different approaches to technology by Iron-man and Bat-man as it relates to the prevailing literature in the times in which they were written and what that says about fears and expectations.  But that sounds like school - so I'll leave off :)

The REALLY EXCITING event of this weekend is actually going to happen tomorrow.  Tomorrow I am going to watch a survey for COSCA.  My economic development class has developed a survey on poverty which we will administer to a neighborhood outside of the university tomorrow.  I say I'm going to watch because I still can't speak filipino (though I did finally invest in a dictionary) and that is the language the survey will be conducted it.  Mostly I'll just be tagging along :)  I will be sure to give you the full run down on how that goes, because as an aspiring development worker I am really excited to have this kind of real world experience which I wouldn't be able to get in the US.

In other news, Sunday I will be visiting more family, I am entering the second round of tests, and I recently finished Anna Karenina.  All good things.