the uac's quincinera

Yesterday was the kickoff to the UAC-CP's annual Intercarreras--a four day festival at the College that could probably be likened to a mini-olympics, of sorts. Students, according to each of the five carreras (majors), comepte in a wide variety of competitions: soccer, music, volleyball, basketball, karaokee, futsol, drama, comedy, dancing, and overall spirit and cheer.

There is no rest for the weary during this time. The days are long (students are generally up around 6 am) and the nights are even longer (shows on the Campus Manning stage have been known to go pat 1 am). Though I'm not sure where they get their energy, I can imagine that the cheering and chanting (Agro! Agro! Agro-no-mia!) and waving of flags that correspond to their major area of study, is what keeps them going. That, and their intense desire to win the entire Intercarreras.

The Intercarreras coincides with the UAC-CP's anniversary on October 4th. This year, the College is celebrating 15 years of providing higher education in rural Bolivia. At last night's opening ceremony, Fr. Freddy de Villar, director, talked about all the accomplishments the College has seen in the last 15 years--mostly talking about the numbers of graduates and the number of students currenly enrolled. He thanked all the people who play an important role in the livelihood of the College, especially Sr. Damon and Dick and Ann Leahy--who made the dream of the UAC a reality, and the faculty and staff--who dedicate themselves to educating and forming young people.