Estoy en Argentina!

Well, it’s real now. I’m really actually in Argentina at this very moment while I am typing this. I have been in this country since about 6 o’clock on the 20th. After a 2 day orientation with other students of AFS in Buenos Aires, I arrived to my host family at 11 in the morning on the 22nd. I know that I am indeed in Argentina, but it really hasn’t hit me yet that this is my home now. Every day has a new situation and I think when it becomes daily routine it will hit me that I am actually very, very far from home.

Everyone writes on my facebook wall, messages me, and I feel so blessed that I have people interested in my journey. It is so hard to get back to everyone though and I feel bad about not being able to answer in full detail all the questions everyone asks me. I feel like this blog will help me talk about my trip more and hopefully answer all the questions that people have for me. I even find it hard to find time for myself to think.

I think the best place to start is after the orientation in Buenos Aires. I really did enjoy the orientation and meeting other kids but we didn’t leave the building for 2 days so we could have been in my backyard in Pennsylvania in this building and I wouldn’t have known the difference. My bus ride from Buenos Aires to Formosa was really smooth and enjoyable. We sat first class and got reclining leather seats and we received meals. I slept through the night and when I woke up the next morning we were only 2 hours from Formosa. When I got off the bus in Formosa, my host family, my host cousin, and 2 friends I have were there to greet me. I was not expecting the signs they made or anything of the sort. In all the commotion, I must have left all my Spanish skills on the bus, because as soon as I stepped foot in Formosa I felt as though my Spanish diminished.

When I arrived at my new house I got the tour of where I will be living and I was instantly charmed. It’s cute and it feels like home. I unpacked my suitcase and got to know my new room that I share with my host-sister. After this, I got a shower and we ate the famous Argentinean asado! Now I know what the obsession with this meat is. I can tell that asado and I are going to have a very good relationship though. After my very first asado, a few friends came over and we chatted and drank some cold tea drink. I can’t remember the name but it is really good. Later that evening we went to the supermarket to buy food for the week. Their supermarket here is almost the equivalent of wal-mart. At some outrageously late hour we ate hamburgers for our dinner. Throughout the whole day I met family members and friends of the family. It is all a blur who is who and whatnot but I hope to sort out the names soon.

Monday, I did not go to school. I stayed with my host sister and we went shopping for things I was going to need. I got to buy my school uniform shirt and the shoes. I still don’t have my skirt yet, so until then it is just jeans and my polo to school. My host dad and sister showed me around the city a little and I got to try and take it all in. A new habit that I have is after lunch, I go upstairs with my host sister and we watch Disney until we fall asleep. I can’t say I hate it, because I definitely don’t. My Spanish at this point is still questionable and sometimes I have what it takes to say what I need to say and other times I trip and fall into my own Spanish mess.

Tuesday was my first day of school and I really like it there. It is so much different than school in Ligonier. I constantly tell myself “It’s not good, it’s not bad… it’s just different.” That’s how I feel about school here. To be honest, so far I haven’t done much. The only classes I have really understood were math and chemistry. This is ridiculous because in the United States I do horrible in those subjects. But, I’ll take it. ;) The English teacher at school has been playing show and tell with me for days. I go to other classes and talk about my life in the United States and talk in English for them. What I can say, I do say in Spanish, but most of it I say in English and the teacher translates. I really like her. She is a great person and I am happy I got to meet her.

Currently I am in the 6th year of school here, which is equivalent to being a senior in the United States, which is fitting because that is what I am. But, I’m going to be completely honest and say I don’t like my classmates too much. I fit in really well with another class and so I am changing my class. It is no problem with the school and I am really happy about this because I feel so much better with the other class. I think I have a better chance of learning in their too because I can communicate well with them.

So far I have gone out every night with friends to see the city and to get to know people. I have met a few really great people who I adore. Sorry to all in Pennsylvania and my friends and family in the United States, but I can’t say I’m missing you too much right now. I don’t have time to miss you and the people who have taken your place are incredible. I feel like I could write about all my experiences for hours and hours and still forget something and I haven’t even been here for a week. But to sum it all up, I’m doing really well.
Besos a todos!