Hola Amigos!
So sorry this is so late. Let me tell you, I being a genius forgot to get the right adaptor for my charger and was out of a charger for 2 days!! My life. But I will tell you about that in a minute.
1. My birthday went well! I had to take an oral exam for spanish and then we went on a walking tour in San Martin. It is completely beautiful with exquisite architecture and parks! I learned a new type of flor and fauna! Palo Borracho. Palo meaning stick, Borracho meaning drunk. Translation: Drunk stick.... yep........ But we walked a TON! and then some new friends and I decided to explore ourselves and ate at a little cafe! We managed to find the right subte and got home in one piece. *Subte is like the the L in Chicago or Subway in New York. Collectivos are buses!* Then my host family invited people over and we had a huge dinner with a cake where they sang in Spanish and English! Also they gave my presents! Romi, the girlfriend of my host brother, gave my perfume and my host family gave me a jewelry box! They are wonderful. After some friends and I went to Club Sugar in Palermo to celebrate! I bought my birthday drink, Rum and Coke. I got home around 3 am, fiddling with the door and my host brother was up and helped me lock the door.
2. Sunday was crazy. My host mom and I ran around BA to not find what I was looking for. SO I decided to use a internet cafe... well technology is behind here and guess what, I missed messages of where people were meeting and got a little lost around Avenida Callao. No worries I knew how to get back. I hung out with my host family and their friends. Hernán and I watched TV where I attempted to make a joke and failed................ BUT I shared Maté with them :)
3. Monday was un día feriado (holiday) and guess what? my charger... across the street... at a hardware store... super cheap......... my life. My friends and I went to San Telmo that day and explored the market. It was wonderful. we shopped around, watched a tango performance and ate at a cafe in the area. It was a splendid day. We also took Cheri to get her phone and had some great laughs! My host mom cooks a lot and feeds me a lot! It is wonderful.
4. Tuesday we just became overwhelmed with information about the school system and the classes...... THEY ALL LOOK SO INTERESTING! I am planning taking spanish and other electives at Flacso and a dance class at IUNA. Love love love. After our overwhelming lectures, Cheri showed me her house and cat! It was wonderful spending time with a wonderful lady! We shared bread and walked around! I came back my apartment and ate with my family!
5. Today, I went shopping with Romi after orientation. SHE IS THE BEST! We have inside jokes now and she bought me lunch! :) She loves the phrase "Passion, what's up boys with my sexy friend" in English! HAHAHAHA I just love the people here!
I am so blessed to be here and learning so much!
My spanish is growing and it can only go up from here!
More updates to come!!
Chau chau!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
Primer día en Argentina!!!!
Hola amigos!!!!
I am officially IN LOVE with Argentina!! Una ciudad fantasitca!!! So you are probably wondering how was my trip? Let me tell you now......
I left my home around 10 am with my mom and grandma (and kingston came too!!) We arrived at Midway and I had to pay $75 for my bag because my suitcase was 65lbs!!!! Que horrible!!! My bag was named "heavy". How embarrassing!!! After I went through security and ate at Potbellies where a worker asked to exchange numbers.... I kindly told him I will be out of the country.... which is true!!! I had a flight full of turbulance to Atlanta and awaited my new flight to BA. I met up with Cheri and a new friend also named Melissa who was traveling to BA too for CIEE! I sat next to man who was Argentine (porteño) and he spoke to me like I was legit! He helped my with my heavy backpack, let me use his headphones when I shamefully sat and broke mine.... and when we were sleeping, he kept curling up by me... how adorable. haha. I made it through customs alright and also met a wonderful new friend named Addie from New York City/Bronx. We met up with the staff from CIEE where we were greeted with a kiss on the cheek (un beso!) It was so wonderful to see the city and the FRESH AIR! We stayed in Hotel Lyon off of Riobamba the first night. The doors are difficult to open but the room were beautiful! No screens on the windows! Love! We had a long day! But I got to explore the city with Cheri, Melissa and Addie as we bought fruit from a Mercado and sat in a park enjoying the sun! (it is summer here and very warm!!) There was a protest in the street! (they were protesting wages) and we got a little lost finding out hotel... but a nice woman in a hardware shop helped us! Argentina is loud and full of life (my kind of city!) We ate dinner at a restaurant near the hotel and I experience Argentine beef... THE FOOD IS AMAZING HERE!!! No joke! It was a long day. Today was filled with Orientation, Empanadas and meeting my host family! I love my host family! Mi máma is amazing at life! Cooking, being awesome, everything. My host sibling are awesome, talking to me, hanging with me. So cool. They say I speak very well but of course I am still self conscience, a little. Time will tell! I love speaking so much spanish! It was hard to think back in English to write this (this must be a good sign!!)
Also I forgot my two prong plug for my computer so I need to find another converter or else I am screwed....
Well I must go!
Hasta luego chicos!!
Pictures to come!!!
Chau!!
I am officially IN LOVE with Argentina!! Una ciudad fantasitca!!! So you are probably wondering how was my trip? Let me tell you now......
I left my home around 10 am with my mom and grandma (and kingston came too!!) We arrived at Midway and I had to pay $75 for my bag because my suitcase was 65lbs!!!! Que horrible!!! My bag was named "heavy". How embarrassing!!! After I went through security and ate at Potbellies where a worker asked to exchange numbers.... I kindly told him I will be out of the country.... which is true!!! I had a flight full of turbulance to Atlanta and awaited my new flight to BA. I met up with Cheri and a new friend also named Melissa who was traveling to BA too for CIEE! I sat next to man who was Argentine (porteño) and he spoke to me like I was legit! He helped my with my heavy backpack, let me use his headphones when I shamefully sat and broke mine.... and when we were sleeping, he kept curling up by me... how adorable. haha. I made it through customs alright and also met a wonderful new friend named Addie from New York City/Bronx. We met up with the staff from CIEE where we were greeted with a kiss on the cheek (un beso!) It was so wonderful to see the city and the FRESH AIR! We stayed in Hotel Lyon off of Riobamba the first night. The doors are difficult to open but the room were beautiful! No screens on the windows! Love! We had a long day! But I got to explore the city with Cheri, Melissa and Addie as we bought fruit from a Mercado and sat in a park enjoying the sun! (it is summer here and very warm!!) There was a protest in the street! (they were protesting wages) and we got a little lost finding out hotel... but a nice woman in a hardware shop helped us! Argentina is loud and full of life (my kind of city!) We ate dinner at a restaurant near the hotel and I experience Argentine beef... THE FOOD IS AMAZING HERE!!! No joke! It was a long day. Today was filled with Orientation, Empanadas and meeting my host family! I love my host family! Mi máma is amazing at life! Cooking, being awesome, everything. My host sibling are awesome, talking to me, hanging with me. So cool. They say I speak very well but of course I am still self conscience, a little. Time will tell! I love speaking so much spanish! It was hard to think back in English to write this (this must be a good sign!!)
Also I forgot my two prong plug for my computer so I need to find another converter or else I am screwed....
Well I must go!
Hasta luego chicos!!
Pictures to come!!!
Chau!!
Saturday, February 18, 2012
The countdown and the greeting
Friends (Amigos)
Time in the states is running low. I have 3 more days left of waiting. My international traveling will commence and I will embrace every moment of it with open arms. I am anticipating all the new culture to be explored and the people observe. How this journey has taken me from the day I decided I was going to apply to CIEE Buenos Aires. The packing continues and I have officially decided to buy my host family some Frango Mints (Chicago trademark) and the lovely card game of UNO! Something for them to bond with me as I desperately try to explain myself and the game!
Now my host family, I was lucky to receive an email from them on Friday!!! It was the coolest feeling I have ever felt! I was so excited that I quickly read it through like 5 times!!! I am lucky to be living in Buenos Aires with my new host mom and two older siblings (and a dog!!!!) She described the house, my room, the area around it and how excited they were to get to know me! I am always in denial when I hear that. They want to get to know me? Really? Where do I even begin!!?? They seem amazing on paper and I am so thrilled to meet them on Feb 24th! The things we will talk about and the places I will see with them by my side. Maybe so, maybe not. But I will only hope for the best!
This weekend, my family celebrated my birthday early ( I turn 21 while abroad, like 2 days in. My birthday is the 25th). It was fun to see friends and family! They were so gracious and kind. My brother and his lovely girlfriend bought me this flip camera which is small and compact so I can film some of my adventures! They are too good to me! I also received a journal and luggage tags from uncle and aunt and money from the rest of the fam. They are too good to me. Thank you all!
I am thrilled to being so close to departure and now it is 72 hours until my Spanish soul takes ahold of me.
Above is a recent picture of my loving American family. They will be missed.
Until next time,
Chau!
Time in the states is running low. I have 3 more days left of waiting. My international traveling will commence and I will embrace every moment of it with open arms. I am anticipating all the new culture to be explored and the people observe. How this journey has taken me from the day I decided I was going to apply to CIEE Buenos Aires. The packing continues and I have officially decided to buy my host family some Frango Mints (Chicago trademark) and the lovely card game of UNO! Something for them to bond with me as I desperately try to explain myself and the game!
Now my host family, I was lucky to receive an email from them on Friday!!! It was the coolest feeling I have ever felt! I was so excited that I quickly read it through like 5 times!!! I am lucky to be living in Buenos Aires with my new host mom and two older siblings (and a dog!!!!) She described the house, my room, the area around it and how excited they were to get to know me! I am always in denial when I hear that. They want to get to know me? Really? Where do I even begin!!?? They seem amazing on paper and I am so thrilled to meet them on Feb 24th! The things we will talk about and the places I will see with them by my side. Maybe so, maybe not. But I will only hope for the best!
This weekend, my family celebrated my birthday early ( I turn 21 while abroad, like 2 days in. My birthday is the 25th). It was fun to see friends and family! They were so gracious and kind. My brother and his lovely girlfriend bought me this flip camera which is small and compact so I can film some of my adventures! They are too good to me! I also received a journal and luggage tags from uncle and aunt and money from the rest of the fam. They are too good to me. Thank you all!
I am thrilled to being so close to departure and now it is 72 hours until my Spanish soul takes ahold of me.
Above is a recent picture of my loving American family. They will be missed.
Until next time,
Chau!
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Packing, Preparing, and Praying
Countdown is now up to 8 days!
I can not believe how fast time is going. My reality is being thrown upside down. I am about to leave the country for the first time on my own. I am in pure shock. Lately, I have been coming to terms that I need to stop procrastinating and start packing! So much has been going on it is quite overwhelming.
I checked off the bank on my last to-do list! I warned them of excursions down south and applied for my very first credit card! I am still awaiting the arrival, I hope it gets here on time! I attempted to be ambitious and order pesos from my bank. Unfortunately, I got Mexican pesos instead of Argentine pesos.... drat. Now I must resort to doing currency exchange at the Atlanta airport ( I have a three hour lay-over anyways, why not do something). That was that.
Next, I began to pack. It is so hard to decide what clothes to bring. I was a complete dork and tried on most of the clothes that I was iffy about to see if I would wear it in Argentina. That was interesting, I think I changed my outfit like 7 times... that is a new record! I have been using the rolling method of packing by rolling all of my clothes super tight and stuffing them together... so much more room for other stuff.... Oh boy. Packing is always the toughest for me. I get distracted all the time because I want to leave it until I absolutely have too. Not this time!
I finally got walking shoes for Argentina. I made a journey to Oakbrook's REI and bought REAL shoes that will LAST. I bought my first pair of Merrels! They are heaven on my feet! Also I bought my first pair of Chaco sandals. They are my favorite pair of sandals. So much arch support and perfect for the amount of walking that is ahead of me. I think my favorite purchase of the day was the "Bra Money Pouch". It is this silk pocket like thing, perfect size for ids and cash and it fits right into your bra! No one would even dare to look there! Genius! My new form of money transportation! Plus, I would DEFINITELY notice if someone tried pick-bra (pocket) me. For real, no one could miss that! Best invention ever!
I have been reading and refreshing my spanish lately. I still can't wrap my head around all the Spanish I will be exposed to when I arrive there. We had an online orientation through a live chat conference call where a coordinator from CIEE talked to us and showed us a powerpoint of important things we need to know. It was refreshing to hear some Spanish and hear the accent. I just hope I can show them my competence in Spanish... Espero que si.
Lately, I have been praying for communities. Argentina community, CIEE community, Hope community, Naperville community. I believe that when we band together and make this bond of community, we can get through anything. What keeps a community together you may ask? Love. If we all pitched in and loved one another; I think we could take on the whole world.
Quiero amar, Quiero esperar. Quiero soñar.
The days are passing quickly. Must cherish all of this time I have with the community that raised me.
"I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul."
Chau!
I can not believe how fast time is going. My reality is being thrown upside down. I am about to leave the country for the first time on my own. I am in pure shock. Lately, I have been coming to terms that I need to stop procrastinating and start packing! So much has been going on it is quite overwhelming.
I checked off the bank on my last to-do list! I warned them of excursions down south and applied for my very first credit card! I am still awaiting the arrival, I hope it gets here on time! I attempted to be ambitious and order pesos from my bank. Unfortunately, I got Mexican pesos instead of Argentine pesos.... drat. Now I must resort to doing currency exchange at the Atlanta airport ( I have a three hour lay-over anyways, why not do something). That was that.
Next, I began to pack. It is so hard to decide what clothes to bring. I was a complete dork and tried on most of the clothes that I was iffy about to see if I would wear it in Argentina. That was interesting, I think I changed my outfit like 7 times... that is a new record! I have been using the rolling method of packing by rolling all of my clothes super tight and stuffing them together... so much more room for other stuff.... Oh boy. Packing is always the toughest for me. I get distracted all the time because I want to leave it until I absolutely have too. Not this time!
I finally got walking shoes for Argentina. I made a journey to Oakbrook's REI and bought REAL shoes that will LAST. I bought my first pair of Merrels! They are heaven on my feet! Also I bought my first pair of Chaco sandals. They are my favorite pair of sandals. So much arch support and perfect for the amount of walking that is ahead of me. I think my favorite purchase of the day was the "Bra Money Pouch". It is this silk pocket like thing, perfect size for ids and cash and it fits right into your bra! No one would even dare to look there! Genius! My new form of money transportation! Plus, I would DEFINITELY notice if someone tried pick-bra (pocket) me. For real, no one could miss that! Best invention ever!
I have been reading and refreshing my spanish lately. I still can't wrap my head around all the Spanish I will be exposed to when I arrive there. We had an online orientation through a live chat conference call where a coordinator from CIEE talked to us and showed us a powerpoint of important things we need to know. It was refreshing to hear some Spanish and hear the accent. I just hope I can show them my competence in Spanish... Espero que si.
Lately, I have been praying for communities. Argentina community, CIEE community, Hope community, Naperville community. I believe that when we band together and make this bond of community, we can get through anything. What keeps a community together you may ask? Love. If we all pitched in and loved one another; I think we could take on the whole world.
Quiero amar, Quiero esperar. Quiero soñar.
The days are passing quickly. Must cherish all of this time I have with the community that raised me.
"I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul."
Chau!
Monday, February 6, 2012
Almost there!
Tomorrow, February 7th, will be the two week mark until departure. That is 16 days from now. Oh the excitement is luring through my body! I just want to be there! I want to learn, travel, and meet new people. Everyone has been telling me "This will be a great opportunity in your life", "I am so excited for you, you wil have a great time"
Yes, I hope so. However, I am currently in the "waiting stage" and it doesn't seem real. Today I received an insurance card from CIEE (yay for being insured!) so I guess that is a step towards reality. I still have bunches to do:
1. Warn my bank so they are not bamboozled by the notion of money being withdrawn in a different continent.
2. Get my computer checked so the kinks are smoothed out.... I would prefer not to have my computer crash and be overwhelemed by language change.
3. WALKING SHOES... right now they do not exist. Any ideas of what kind would be great? help?
4. Packing..... My normal proto call would be to start packing at 11 pm but not for this trip. Usually I always forget one thing... not this time!!
5. Necesito practicar Español.
There is probably more.....
About two weekends ago, I was priviliged to have some time in Holland, MI to spend time with some great friends! But before I go on to tell how wonderful they are, let me tell you about the ride up there. I took the amtrak to Holland to avoid any unwanted snow and accidents in my car. Fun fact, you meet some interesting people on the train..... For starters, I was sitting in the amtrak lobby waiting for train 377 to Grand Rapids (Holland is a stop on this route) when an elderly couple were looking for two seats by each other (cute!). There was an open seat on either side of me so I offered to move over one so they could be together. I got the choir of "bless your heart", "How kind of you " but then I got a weird comment from the elderly man.... "You must be a democrat" Really? That is the comment you come up with? "You must be a democrat" Taken off guard I responded with a polite "I beg your pardon?" His wife elbows me and says "That is his way of saying you must be a nice person". Interesting.. I really do not have a favored side. I have agreements and disagreements with both sides but I just smiled and said "You are too kind, thanks". However, when I moved over I then was sitting next to a returning solider who seemed friendly from the start (just a year older than I) but then started talking of the war.....uh oh... I decided to keep my mouth shut that I was a pacifist and I would rather "hug it out" then "blow 'em up". He began telling me this sadistic stories and laughing about it. I feel for him because he has seen such violence at a young age but at the same time my mind is saying "holy smokes he is insane". I tried to shut that voice out and pray for his soul. It was just ironic that he would talk about the war in that light and I was reading Shane Claibornes "The Irresitable Revolution" which is all about love and finding this war terrible for the families in the USA and the families in the Middle East. Thankfully, I got on my train and had a wonderful conversation with this elderly man who told me that his wife was an Art professor at Hope and he knew the whole dance department! Crazy, how you meet these people. We talked for two hours before he had to get off at the St. Joe stop. God works in mysterious ways.
My friends were so sweet and welcoming. So much love at the beautiful Hope College. It was weird feeling like a visitor at a place where I have called home for 5 semesters. It was weird to not be on meal plan or have my cupboard of food when spending money did not seem appealing. Also having my id work no where, not knowing the new code to "the cabin" and not having homework or studying to do. That will change when my friends are off for the summer and I am studying still (but to be honest, my whole study abroad is like a 5 month vacation anyways).
I am so thankful for the beautiful people in Holland, Naperville and of course Chicago.
Two weeks. 18 days. 432 hours. 25,920 minutes. (But really whose counting)
Chau
Yes, I hope so. However, I am currently in the "waiting stage" and it doesn't seem real. Today I received an insurance card from CIEE (yay for being insured!) so I guess that is a step towards reality. I still have bunches to do:
1. Warn my bank so they are not bamboozled by the notion of money being withdrawn in a different continent.
2. Get my computer checked so the kinks are smoothed out.... I would prefer not to have my computer crash and be overwhelemed by language change.
3. WALKING SHOES... right now they do not exist. Any ideas of what kind would be great? help?
4. Packing..... My normal proto call would be to start packing at 11 pm but not for this trip. Usually I always forget one thing... not this time!!
5. Necesito practicar Español.
There is probably more.....
About two weekends ago, I was priviliged to have some time in Holland, MI to spend time with some great friends! But before I go on to tell how wonderful they are, let me tell you about the ride up there. I took the amtrak to Holland to avoid any unwanted snow and accidents in my car. Fun fact, you meet some interesting people on the train..... For starters, I was sitting in the amtrak lobby waiting for train 377 to Grand Rapids (Holland is a stop on this route) when an elderly couple were looking for two seats by each other (cute!). There was an open seat on either side of me so I offered to move over one so they could be together. I got the choir of "bless your heart", "How kind of you " but then I got a weird comment from the elderly man.... "You must be a democrat" Really? That is the comment you come up with? "You must be a democrat" Taken off guard I responded with a polite "I beg your pardon?" His wife elbows me and says "That is his way of saying you must be a nice person". Interesting.. I really do not have a favored side. I have agreements and disagreements with both sides but I just smiled and said "You are too kind, thanks". However, when I moved over I then was sitting next to a returning solider who seemed friendly from the start (just a year older than I) but then started talking of the war.....uh oh... I decided to keep my mouth shut that I was a pacifist and I would rather "hug it out" then "blow 'em up". He began telling me this sadistic stories and laughing about it. I feel for him because he has seen such violence at a young age but at the same time my mind is saying "holy smokes he is insane". I tried to shut that voice out and pray for his soul. It was just ironic that he would talk about the war in that light and I was reading Shane Claibornes "The Irresitable Revolution" which is all about love and finding this war terrible for the families in the USA and the families in the Middle East. Thankfully, I got on my train and had a wonderful conversation with this elderly man who told me that his wife was an Art professor at Hope and he knew the whole dance department! Crazy, how you meet these people. We talked for two hours before he had to get off at the St. Joe stop. God works in mysterious ways.
My friends were so sweet and welcoming. So much love at the beautiful Hope College. It was weird feeling like a visitor at a place where I have called home for 5 semesters. It was weird to not be on meal plan or have my cupboard of food when spending money did not seem appealing. Also having my id work no where, not knowing the new code to "the cabin" and not having homework or studying to do. That will change when my friends are off for the summer and I am studying still (but to be honest, my whole study abroad is like a 5 month vacation anyways).
I am so thankful for the beautiful people in Holland, Naperville and of course Chicago.
Two weeks. 18 days. 432 hours. 25,920 minutes. (But really whose counting)
Chau
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