As The Days Go By....

        So when I get stressed out I tend to shut down, and like many students coming up on finals and the end of the year I just dont want to do anything. Next thursday is D day. I have my grammar, Conversation, and Composition finals, it is also my very last day of school for this year. I have about....12 days left here, depending on how you count, and yet it seems like I have years and at the same time as though I am leaving tomorrow. Sitting here in Amairis's room, like i have every night for the better part of the last four months reminds me of how important these people are to me. Someone once scolded me for saying I have multiple bestfriends, because of course, how can they all be the best? But thats not how I look at it, I have best friends from all walks of life. And I have collected multiple whom I would call 'best friend' here. Which, is amazing and a little humorous because I was concerned about making friends here before I left for Argentina, now I have my ACA family and several best friends besides. The not funny part of all of this is saying goodbye in less than two weeks. I feel so conflicted, its like the end of my Argentinian life and the resumption of my normal life, I am excited and dreading leaving all at the same time. For many of my ACA friends this weekend will be their last weekend here, our last weekend together.
       So this is me, trying to pull myself up by my bootstraps in order to finish my classes strong. But on the brightside packing will be so much easier since i packed my big suitcase yesterday. Living out of my carry on suitcase for a few days should be fun but a little less stress when the big day comes. Yesterday was also my last day of Translation. *Sigh* Heres to the ending of an incredible year...

TWO WEEKS

      IM COMING HOME IN TWO WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As you can see i am rather excited to be coming home. I am NOT excited about saying goodbye to my ACA family and my best friends here but at least most of them live in the states....except all my beloved Brazilian friends *sniff*. I have not been in the United States for 9 months, and i haven't seen my boyfriend in...11 months. So as you can imagine i am dying to get home. Especially because i havent really been able to sleep in my room these last few weeks. Not sure exactly what changed but my roommates kinda decided that sleeping wasn't important and they should stay up talking with the lights on past 12pm every single night of the week. So I've also been staying up ridiculously late because i cant sleep with light and people talking. I did talk to the dean so its gotten a little better but not enough. The last two weekends I've been sleeping in Callie's or Amairis's rooms and sometimes on weekdays. But I am leaving so soon i hardly even care anymore. I think i might even start packing up my odds and ends...
         Finals are starting this week going until next week. Callie is leaving a few days before me and a few people already left to get home for sibblings graduations. I just can't believe my year abroad is almost over!

So Here Is What You Missed

        I'm not going to try to pretend I had a good reason for not blogging for so long, I just didn't feel like it. Its the third term, every ACA in this country is itching for classes in English, their families/significant others and Starbucks. I am most definitely not an exception, but that being said, I know I will miss this place when I am gone. But I've still got 28 days here so I will try my very best to make it the best 28 days ever.

        So this is what happened since I last wrote. We had the most insane thunderstorm a few weeks ago. The thunder was deafening, the lighting was crashing down very nearby and it was pouring like there was no tomorrow. Campus was literally underwater in some places and the runoff on the road was really more like a waterfall. It was really cool. Amairis,  and I went to Peruanos to meet Callie for dinner, by the time we got there we were 100% drenched. After dinner we went and jumped in every puddle on campus, it was so much fun.
         And in more recent news.... um....all the ACAs got sick again and it wasn't my fault this time. The mosquitoes got bigger since its gotten cold, seriously they are now huuuge. I applied to Andrews University just to see my options. But no one panic transferring is sounding like a lot of work... It was Easter yesterday but that's unimportant because Mom is postponing easter until I get home (I am NOT missing my favorite holiday just because i'm in Argentina). I serial watched all the Doctor Who episodes....and the CELU test is this friday.

You are essentially up to date!

Just Vaunting A Bit

       So two things i wanted to share, which are completely non related. My brother Ross is super boss....and My internship is pretty cool too. So first things first. I was talking to Elena today about family and all that fun stuff and i was bragging about my brother Ross. Now, if you haven't met him you really ought to; he is awesome. Not only is he fun, caring, hilarious, and an all around good guy, he is pretty much the reason i made it through pre-calculus my freshman year of college. If i had math questions Ross would drop whatever he was doing and skype me until i all my questions were answered. He actually wrote out the equations step by step and explained it to me so i not only got the right answer, i knew how to do it again later. Did your brother do that for you? Also....he is really fun to talk to and several of my friends say hes really cute, so i'm feeling kinda proud to be his little sister. In case you read this Ross, thank you. :)
   
        So my internship!! I think...I hope i mentioned at some point that i was doing an internship at the elementary school this term. For the first two weeks they shuffled me around grade to grade. I sat in/helped out with the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th grade (apparently elementary and middle school go together in argentina). But i finally settled in 3rd. My friend Amairis and I go every week for 7.5 hours. We  make posters and prep for class, we also help with activities in class and sometimes facilitate math games. I can now explain simple math in spanish, yes i am very proud. The kids are fascinated but us, mostly me because i actually look foreign. So i always end up with a small crowd around my chair...they just hover and watch me do whatever it is that i am doing. Sometimes they just watch and sometimes the ask me questions. Unfortunately half of them speak quickly and mumble simultaneously so i have absolutely no idea what they are saying. They are pretty adorable, even if half the time they are screaming or staring at me...never been one to like the staring. But we bumble along with my limited spanish and their butchered slang spanish. Its all a bit of a process, but its fun and keeps me busy so im happy.

Oh Vaunt means to exhibit or boast/brag/flaunt, in case you were not already informed. I like it. Its a good word.

Take Me to Rio.

        So I just got back this morning at the god-awful hour of 5am from the ACA trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Let me just say, Wow. If you haven't been to Brasil yet cancel all your plans and go. Just go.  Its worth whatever amount of time in a plane, train, or car you would have to spend to get there. Its gorgeous, the people are so friendly and the food, specifically the fruit is delicious. 

We left on Sunday last week and got to Rio monday at 2am or so. Monday morning/afternoon we took the train up to see the Cristo statue, which is not only impressive but also gives an amazing view of Rio. 

Here is the Cristo!

It was beautiful despite the clouds and mist.

Here is my amazing ACA family

Pretty sure in the distance is the Copacabana beach where we stayed. (PC:Elena)

        We had the rest of monday off so while everyone hit up Copacabana, Callie and I went to bed. We woke up in time to go to the Feria (a street fair of sorts). It was a little difficult to communicate since I don't speak Portuguese...but give me a few years and i will. I LOVE the way brasilian Portuguese sounds, its amazing. I am going to learn, its on my hit list.
       Tuesday we got up and pilled onto the bus to go see the Pão de Açúcar "sugar loaves". It is these two hills which supposedly look like sweet bread on its sides. It was a cool excursion and a great view. 

This is what it looks like from the bottom.

Callie, Alex, Me and Sapphira on the top of  Pão de Açúcar. (PC: Elena)

Me and Elena, my very first friend in Argentina :)

On the top they had a wall everyone signed, of course i had to sign it too!

Now my name is forever in Rio!!!

        Wednesday was a free day, which meant of course BEACH DAY!! One of the very best things about the beaches in Rio is that lining the beach is a walkway with a juice stands nearly every 15 feet. You walk up and order and watch them cut up whatever fruit you ordered (Maracuya of course) put it in a blender with some ice and water...Tah-dah! Juice. Best thing ever. Thats pretty much what i had for lunch and dinner everyday. The beaches themselves are amazing too, cream white sand that feels like powdered sugar on the feet and super salyt warm water. Simply amazing..... Except when you don't wear sunscreen and you end up looking (and feeling) a little deep fried....that would be me and Callie and Elena. Yeah....So the beach day was fun while it lasted...that burn is still lasting.

(left to right) Vicki, Lauren, Sapphira and me walking Copacabana. 

Brasil is Heaven...they even had tie-dye beach dresses :D

My beach buddies: Elena, Callie, Me, Sapphira and Lauren. 

This guy is the greatest. They walk the beach selling bikinis on umbrellas. Pretty awesome.

Bittersweet

       Most of us like to think that people come into our lives for a reason. But what about when they leave and you're just not ready to be left behind? Is there a reason for that? Yesterday I came to the hard realization that pretty soon...in about two months I'm going to be saying goodbye to some of the most amazing people I have ever met. My little ACA family and my UAP friends. Its heartbreaking. Over the years, I have said to friends (out of insecurity) "don't replace me" but that is probably the most ridiculous thing to say to just about anyone I've ever cared about. People can't be replaced by anyone or anything else, and the friends that i've made here can't replace my friends at home, and my friends at home can't replace the friends I have made here.
      Sometimes making friends away from home feels more like a liability than a gift, because in the end I know that we will part ways and there is a good chance of never seeing them again. But a very wise women once told me that each relationship I would have would be like medicine to me, mending old wounds, teaching me lessons, and expanding my life. I think its true, friendships always brings something needed into my life. And even though I hate saying goodbye I know that I have learned some important lessons from the people I have met here and i will be a better person for it. Sometimes its accepting the friendship of someone you didn't want in your life and in the end realizing they became so important despite yourself. Sometimes its the unbiased, non judging kindness of someone who you can tell all your faults and mistakes to that heals the deepest insecurities. And sometimes its those loud and abrasive people with the sunny disposition that always have something to say that brightens your day....whether it but rainbows and kittens or snarky quips.
     So with all this being said, I intend to soak up the time I have left and enjoy the bittersweet last term of ACA in Argentina. Here is to the first day of our last term.

Snakes and New Roommates

      Friday of spring break...lets see what i've done with my time....Oh so i was out running on the Vida Aerobica with Callie on....sometime earlier this week. We were jogging minding our own business and of course im not wearing my glasses so when i see a tree branch in my path i think nothing of it, roots stick out of the ground one more isnt a big deal. Until it was alive. I nearly tripped over a snake. But i didn't. I remember clearly rationalising my first reaction, which was to emergency climb on top of Callie, but i figured that would surprise her, throw us off balance and land onto the snake. So i opted for option two which was to leap to the other side of Callie. She said she had never seen someone move so fast. I mean there was this snake i was about to step on and all i remember was it was several shades of brown with diamonds on its back. I have, however never seen one before and since that day never again...makes me a little paranoid actually.
      Calandra's birthday was yesterday so Elena and i went on a shopping escapade involving probably 4 different stores where we returned to two of them three times each. But it was fun and our mission was accomplished. We had a lunch party, home cooked food by yours truly with the wonderful help of Sapphira, Elena and Callie herself. We made pasta and red sauce and no-bake cookies. The cookies were awesome and so easy to make. When i get home i'm going on a no-bake cookie rampage. :) Actually i will probably just go on a cooking rampage in general. I've been pintresting amazing and healthy looking recipes and i cannot wait to try them out!
 
        Oh and my personal favorite part of my week (i say this with dripping sarcasm) I found out i'm getting another roommate (that makes 3 total in the room). Neither me nor Vanesa know the girl and the problem is space. Our room is technically equipped for three as there are three closets and three beds. But there is only shelving space for two and minimal desk space. Additionally, there are only two mattresses in the room so said new girl gets to go on a mattress hunt. I'm just hoping and praying this one is shy, quiet and has next to no stuff....which would be out of character for an Argentine. I'm told she is moving in today....let the games begin.

       

Don't Be The Curmudgeon

          Its spring break...except that its actually fall break so thats nice. We just got back from the ACA trip to Iguazu (my round two). It was lovely, and despite how much i hate buses it was worth the 16 hour trips...mainly because i was in a drugged sleep through 98% of the traveling. Benadryl does wonders, my eyes don't itch and i sleep....i guess my eyes couldn't really itch in my sleep but that fact is irrelevant. We stayed in cabanas, which weren't cabanas, we ate really amazing and mediocre food, we saw the falls, got absolutely sodden with water from the falls and generally had a nice time. And in case you think i wasn't soaked then here is some proof. 

My traveling buddies

Getting ready to get on the boat to head into the waterfalls!

Lovely waterfall mist and such

     We also saw some adorable Coatis...witnessed one of them hop onto a table where two ladies where eating lunch, stick its head into the box and steal and empanada much to the shock of the poor lady intending to eat that empanada herself. We walked around town, bought a million keychains....and gotten bitten by a million mosquitoes on steroids.

Practicing my cuteness skills

I tamed a butterfly...it was purple and gold...ish.

Incase you didn't believe i was really there.

     Also i have 79 days to enjoy Argentina and not be a curmudgeon....so i am commencing with the enjoying and eliminating the no-fun-having, homesick-ing, and general whining. Isn't that a relief?! Also i would like you all to know... the doritos bring all the boys the the grass.... Just so you are aware. Oh and last note...soused may mean soaked but it really means in alcohol, as in drunk. So don't try to tell someone you got soused on an ACA trip...i can't imagine that would go well. :)

Aoristic

         Well i made it through finals without punching anyone in the face...but i still feel like sleeping for a week straight. See here in Argentina the class set up is different, tests are different so trying to prepare for finals is pretty rough. In the states professors, as a general rule, go over the most important things to study or give out a study guide. Here they just say know chapters 1-7 and thats all you get. However the tests are pretty short and they like to ask questions about things that really aren't that important, like little inconsequential details, its pretty hard to know what to study. So thats fun....But I'm done, i did pretty well and now i just have to decide what to take third term. There are so many options though....I have the chance to do an internship teaching English to a elementary class, so I'm signing up for that...should be interesting.
        
         Tonight ACA leaves for Iguazu. We are taking a bus all the way to Misiones, thats roughly 15 hours by bus, my worse nightmare. Have i mention i hate bus/planes/car? I get motion sick. So since we are main traveling at night I'm going to take a benadryl and knock out....should work. So we spend about 3 days there and 30 hours in a bus...
        The dorm decided to paint all the ACA rooms, I'm kinda excited because my wall always looks dirty, not to mention there are places where the wall is falling apart so I'm hoping that will get fixed too. We have to move almost all of our stuff into the closest....so I'm just hoping my roommate doesn't decide to move back in this weekend while I'm gone cause that would probably not go well with them painting. But all in all things are getting better, new, better classes, a break for two weeks, and only 85 more days.
        Also, i started reading the thesaurus again and aoristic was my favorite today, it means indeterminate or indefinite. Just in case you were wondering. :)

Counting, Always Counting.

     Well i am officially the most inconsistent blogger ever. That being said there really wasn't anything of consequence to blog about, so you know it wasn't entirely my fault. But here i am. blogging. and isn't it lovely? So, you know how after a really long vacation away from home the last day or two of the trip you are just kinda done? well....that's how i feel. we passed the 100 day mark (100 before i go home) and now i'm just done. I have seen so many amazing things, been to awesome places and now i want to have the luxury of reading a book...in English...in my own bed. So I'm sitting at a wonderful 92 days more until I'm home, and less than 40 days of actually class left.... Tomorrow marks the beginning of finals week. The week all college students dread where we get no sleep, our cortisol levels sky-rocket, we eat too much or not enough, and feel like punching the first person who says hi in the face. Yup....that's tomorrow. But ever the optimist....OK I'm not really an optimist but whatever. After this week of hell we have our trip to Iguazu and then spring break following immediately. Then after that its two weeks of the third, and final term, then a week in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. So i mean that's not too bad....also i learned how to make some of my favorite Argentinian foods so that's also good.... by the time I'm back in school for more than two weeks it will be the middle of April.
     Ok why on earth does spell check correct i'm to I'm but it doesn't care about i to I? Cause i think thats pretty irritating...but maybe thats just me. Ok lets see....so....its gotten cooler its never in the high 90s now, which i am highly appreciative of. My hamsters have gotten fat so now they're even cuter, i even caught them all asleep cuddling. Oh and Elena showed me where to buy really yummy incense so my room is always yummy smelling and hippie-y so that makes me more comfortable. Annnddd...... and.......yup. Great things. wooo. Hahahha :)

Winter blues in Summer hues

     So its February...remember when i first got to Argentina and i was so excited about...well everything? I was making friends and doing new fun things, and all kinds of stuff. And then i had some great times traveling around over winter break and now its the middle term. And....If they told me i could go home tomorrow you'd be hard pressed stopping me. See, its not that its horrible here, or any of that nonsense....its just that I've been away from home since September and kinda like a hobbit, I'm rather fond of home. Also, like any college student in the pacific northwest, and probably other places, winter term is just exhausting. You have no energy for anything and everything sucks. So despite the blazing heat here and there, I'm just tired and homesick.

    But! On the bright side i have been learnign traditional Argentinian cooking in Folklore class, the Iguazu trip, spring break, and the Brasil trip are all back to back here pretty soon, and i have hamsters. So thats nice. Not to mention my friends here rock, i mean i can either excercise myself to death with Callie, make snarky remarks and serial watch movies/sherlock with Amairis, discuss the furthering of our hippie selves with Elena...ok clearly this was a mistake i'm not going to list all my friends and the things i do with them. But my point was i have awesome friends. And....i mean i can actually speak Spanish now. Does this mean that i feel like using it on a regular basis, however? No. But when taking all Spanish classes that's not really an option.

     So anyways, I'm fine. I miss everyone at home. Maybe i'll write more blog posts.

Hamsters and Heat Stroke

     So its been a while since I lasted posted anything on my blog...I know, I'm terrible. But have no fear, I am here. Since my last post I have nearly failed grammar advance 2, nearly died of heat exhaustion, and nearly decided I never want to see the temperature above 20 degrees C, ever again. Nearly. But in reality, I'm scraping by in grammar, I haven't experience heat exhaustion yet, but I'm confidant its in my near future; and if I was sitting through below zero degree weather I would probably beg for another Argentinian summer.

     Let me back up. Trimester two is already in full swing, in fact i had my first midterm yesterday. I moved up from advanced one into advanced two, and despite the fact that the same professor teaches both classes he failed to mention that the difference between the two classes was....I cant think of a cool intelligent sounding word, so basically its big. Advanced 1 was teaching present tense and command form, advanced two had already learned 10 tenses we had not yet learned. Did we know this? No. It was only explained to us that if you got an A- or A you could move up, so we did. And now....well now every time i sit in class tv/movie quotes run through my head: "You shall not pass!" and "You know nothing Jon Snow". Fun right?

     So all that aside...ask me how summer is down here. Go ahead, i dare you. Oh summer, I'm sorry you meant the 'inferno' right? So far this month its been generally 93-102 Fahrenheit. There really isn't great shade,and  the dorms don't have AC. At night it stays about mid 80s outside but inside our dorms, its more like high 80s low 90s on bad nights. Some nights i legitimately don't sleep at all because I'm just that hot.....But on the bright side I have hamsters. A friend of a friend didn't want them, that friend didn't want them, so now i have them. There are two dwarf hamsters and one normal sized hamster. The dwarves are Gimli and Gloin and the Big grey fat one is Galdalf. Fitting right?

Gandalf chillin' in a boot

Gloin in a cup

And Gandalf doing monkey bars.

Sorry i don't have a picture of Gimli, but he is the cutest so I'm not sharing.

All That And A Bag Of Chips

       For starters, i thought the saying was All that and a slice of bread, however Alex has informed me that i am wrong and its chips. So if the saying in the title is wrong you can blame Alex Thomas. Anyways...I am tired of recapping so.... Christmas was just another day and New Years was great I spent it with Zeke and Callie and all of Zeke's family....And I saw the Hobbit part 2 in iMax 3D it was incredible. That's all you need to know. You are now up to date.

Before going to Zeke's family's party :)

Not only did they welcome us, grandma wanted to dance with us.

      So its the first week back in classes...and both Callie and i came to the realization last night, while doing grammar, and today in literature class, how terrible at Spanish we are. So...I'm going to buckle under and force myself to be fluent by next week. I'll let you know how that goes.
    Its nice to be home, i was all traveled out. I had the best time ever, and now i'm not leaving and you can't make me....So, today has been interesting. I left my windows open last night in hopes of a small breeze and in the morning i discovered, yet again, a cockroach...bugs must love me. Bummer. I kill them all. Actually, i missed hitting it and had to leave for class so later i enlisted Sapphira to help me. Then i cleaned every inch of my room....I HATE bugs. *shudders*. Then it was another normal scorching hot day in la villa. It was so hot i got out of a cold shower and immediately felt uncomfortably too warm. But its ok because in the middle of Literatura it gets all dark, the wind picks up, the power goes off, and its thundering, lightning and raining like there is no tomorrow. It was even raining sideways and i swear i saw a tree branch fly passed the window. So I'm happy. If it wanted to rain for a week i wouldn't even be mad.

     Its January...or so they tell me, but in my head its about...late June in the Rogue Valley, like a hot late June. I should be working and relaxing...i really miss working. its aggravating to not be able to work for an entire year. Its like i panic every time i look at my bank account and see it getting smaller. But why?! I should be refilling it. Working will be one of those things i look forward to about coming home in 4.5 months. I Love, love LOVE it here....but I'm itching to get done. I would like to be fluent and at home. Tadah!