this is deep. i can't speak to columbian culture although one thing that i find fascinating is the atmosphere you describe and how it is SO different than my experience.

some people took more than the minimum courses. but certainly it was not an issue. it just was never discussed really. frankly i have no idea who took the minimum and who took more. i tried once. to take more. and i was like, "fuck this" and went back to normalcy.

and we still haven't addressed the smartness issue?