So last week I got my spring break! It was 10 days of traveling without having to worry about classes and just what I needed! I think I spent about 60 hours total in buses. It is crazy but the bus system here is great. One option you can take it like basically getting a bed as a seat. it is a seat but it lays down ALL THE WAY so that you can sleep. Its amazing for overnight trips.
My first destination was Valparaiso Chile. It took me two different buses and about 19 hours to get there but I made it! I left thursday night at 8:30 and arrived friday afternoon around 5 maybe. I also had to go through customs. This took about an hour to two hours. One lady got in trouble because she had an apple in her purse and this is illegal for some reason. Anyway, she had to pay $170 US dollars as a fine. How sucky is that! I almost left my visa there by accident! Thankfully I realized my mistake in time.
Vaparaiso was gorgeous. It reminded me of Greece in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Lots of little colorful houses. The ocean. Lots of hilly streets. I sure got a workout walking to and from the hostel. We had to walk down like 2 hundred windy stairs and walk up quite a few steep places. Our hostel was nice. Breakfast was sucky though. Oh and did I mention that one of the employees offered us pot??? haha. Itw as his birthday and he had friends over and invited us to hang out with them. We then proceeded to a club where I was approached and asked to dance and or (i think) but some of my own pot. Needlessly to say I declined both and we left. Then getting home to our hostel was a bit tricky. Apparently in Chile they have taxis and collectivos. The difference is a taxi takes you wherever and a collectivo has a fixed route. BUT on the outside to me they look the same. So we tried to take a collectivo home and it took us like an hour to go ten minutes b/c we didnt know where we lived. haha. The driver took us to the police station to ask them and we finally figured it out and wayyy overpaid him for getting us home safely. To sum up Valparaiso I also ate a lot of seafood including shrimp and some octupus.
Then we went to Santiago and I loved it. I'm not exactly sure why but it might have to do with the fact that they had kentucky fried chicken AND dunkin donuts and Buenos Aires does not. Also the taxi drivers werent honking 24/7 and would actually let pedestrians cross the street. it was nice.
Next, we traveled to Bariloche which is back in Argentina. That bus ride was about 20 hours. Bariloche was gorgeous. It has mountains and lakes, and its just great. I went horseback riding and on a mountain hike. The mountain hike was in the rain for parts. It was super cool but I was soaking wet for 4 hour which was not fun. We saw a black glacier, some waterfalls, and got to the highest point of the mountain. At one area itwas so windy and rainy I thought i'd get blown away! Bariloche is also known for chocolate and I definately got my moneys worth of chocolate while we were there. it was great!
Finally, we completed the journey with yet another 20 hour bus ride to Buenos Aires.
Sorry this is so late!
~lizzi
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Half Way point!
The vida retreat was great! I was able to follow along with the speakers and the worksheets we had. We received two different phamplets to use while sharing your faith. One with the four spiritual laws and one with the different types of christians (lukewarm, smoking hot!, and non believer). I also got to spend quality time with all of my new friends which was great. And I got to meet the staff and students from la plata another province of buenos aires. This retreat was one of a series and the next one will be held in la plata so i hope i can go!
Other than that I have been strapped down with homework and studying. This is the last day of midterms and my life has been stressful. For my theater class (which is tonight) I had to write a 6-7 page paper in spanish about any topic we wanted that related with what we have done in class. Sounds easy but it was NOT. The directions were unclear and I struggled. I finally just wrote something and I hope its ok. My teacher also grades on grammar in our THEATER class and I got a B-/C+ on the last paper I wrote and that was probably better than this one. haha. But my host mom edited this one with me so I'm hoping that I get a better grade bc the last one was all for grammer. LAME. My two tests werent too bad though. Spanish was decent and human rights was cake. :)
And along with stress from school my right back wisdom tooth has decided to act up. Basically for this past week I have had a puffy check, extreme pain in my tooth, and I'd bite my mouth when I talked, laughed, or ate. So that has been great. On monday night an "emergency" dentist came to my house at like 3 in the morning to look at my tooth. I know I sound like a baby but it HURT. It was painful to just swallow. So he gave me a perscription for antibiotics and toldme to see a dentist. I was going to wait till I got back from my vacation (i'm leaving to travel TONIGHT for 10 days!) but I was able to get an appt for this morning. The dentist told me I should probably get my tooth pulled. He did something to my mouth to help it hurt less while I am gone and said to come back after my vacation. While this may sound horrible it might actually be great. It only costs like $50 AND I'll get to miss class to watch tv. I think I'm a winner here. :)
On a more positive note I AM THE NEW CORRESPONDING SECRETARY FOR THE DORIAN SORORITY OF HOPE COLLEGE! yay. I'm super excited. That means I am on the executive board with the pres, vice pres, other secretary, and treasurer. I had to give my speech over skype to the girls in their meeting and it was great to see them all!
I also interviewed to be a tour guide for admissions next semester. I dont know if i got it yet but I really hope I do! I think it would be such a fun job!
So yeah, tonight I have to go to my theater class and then I leave for Chile at 8:30. I'll be in Valparaiso for a couple days, Santiago for one, and then going to Bariloche (which is in Argentina) for some adventure tourism (more canopying, rafting, paragliding????, and more!). I'll let you know how it goes when I get back in 10 days!
~Lizzie
Other than that I have been strapped down with homework and studying. This is the last day of midterms and my life has been stressful. For my theater class (which is tonight) I had to write a 6-7 page paper in spanish about any topic we wanted that related with what we have done in class. Sounds easy but it was NOT. The directions were unclear and I struggled. I finally just wrote something and I hope its ok. My teacher also grades on grammar in our THEATER class and I got a B-/C+ on the last paper I wrote and that was probably better than this one. haha. But my host mom edited this one with me so I'm hoping that I get a better grade bc the last one was all for grammer. LAME. My two tests werent too bad though. Spanish was decent and human rights was cake. :)
And along with stress from school my right back wisdom tooth has decided to act up. Basically for this past week I have had a puffy check, extreme pain in my tooth, and I'd bite my mouth when I talked, laughed, or ate. So that has been great. On monday night an "emergency" dentist came to my house at like 3 in the morning to look at my tooth. I know I sound like a baby but it HURT. It was painful to just swallow. So he gave me a perscription for antibiotics and toldme to see a dentist. I was going to wait till I got back from my vacation (i'm leaving to travel TONIGHT for 10 days!) but I was able to get an appt for this morning. The dentist told me I should probably get my tooth pulled. He did something to my mouth to help it hurt less while I am gone and said to come back after my vacation. While this may sound horrible it might actually be great. It only costs like $50 AND I'll get to miss class to watch tv. I think I'm a winner here. :)
On a more positive note I AM THE NEW CORRESPONDING SECRETARY FOR THE DORIAN SORORITY OF HOPE COLLEGE! yay. I'm super excited. That means I am on the executive board with the pres, vice pres, other secretary, and treasurer. I had to give my speech over skype to the girls in their meeting and it was great to see them all!
I also interviewed to be a tour guide for admissions next semester. I dont know if i got it yet but I really hope I do! I think it would be such a fun job!
So yeah, tonight I have to go to my theater class and then I leave for Chile at 8:30. I'll be in Valparaiso for a couple days, Santiago for one, and then going to Bariloche (which is in Argentina) for some adventure tourism (more canopying, rafting, paragliding????, and more!). I'll let you know how it goes when I get back in 10 days!
~Lizzie
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
The Beach :)
I went to the beach last weekend! It was amazing. I got to lay around all day friday and saturday and get tan! Doesnt get much better. Now its starting to get colder which is nooo fun, especially for traveling.
It was a group of 7 girls and 1 guy. haha. We had a "departamento" which is a hotel suite for 5 but we squeezed in 8. There were 3 twin beds and a king and no worries dad-i shared with one of the girls!
There were venders at the beach that sold "chocolo" which is corn on the cob! It was amazing. They lathered it in butter and salted it up for a delicious treat.
Easter was a bummer though. I put on a my cute white dress for the occasion. But all I did was eat lunch with my host mom. Her daugthers didnt even come over to eat which was disapointing. And we didnt eat anything special. I didnt go to church either. It seems like easter isnt a big deal around here.
This weekend there is a Vida Retreat on sharing your faith. I'm really excited b/c another group from one of the provinces is coming up so I'll get to meet more Argentines and Americans! We were originally supposed to go to them but they just changed the plan. I dont know if there will be sleepovers involved but I hope so!
Miss you all! I'll be home in 88 days!
~Lizzie
It was a group of 7 girls and 1 guy. haha. We had a "departamento" which is a hotel suite for 5 but we squeezed in 8. There were 3 twin beds and a king and no worries dad-i shared with one of the girls!
There were venders at the beach that sold "chocolo" which is corn on the cob! It was amazing. They lathered it in butter and salted it up for a delicious treat.
Easter was a bummer though. I put on a my cute white dress for the occasion. But all I did was eat lunch with my host mom. Her daugthers didnt even come over to eat which was disapointing. And we didnt eat anything special. I didnt go to church either. It seems like easter isnt a big deal around here.
This weekend there is a Vida Retreat on sharing your faith. I'm really excited b/c another group from one of the provinces is coming up so I'll get to meet more Argentines and Americans! We were originally supposed to go to them but they just changed the plan. I dont know if there will be sleepovers involved but I hope so!
Miss you all! I'll be home in 88 days!
~Lizzie
Monday, April 6, 2009
Flying through the air
So, its been a while since I have updated and I have a lot of topics! I just got back from a weekend in Mendoza, Argentina, a city known for its wine, that is very close to the Andes Mountains. At first I wasnt very excited to go because I do not like wine but I had an amazing time. Thursday was a national holiday which meant no school so we left wednesday night at 8. I had to skip school friday but it was worth it. We took a 14 hour bus ride in a semi-cama (semi bed) bus overnight and therefore did not get much sleep! So we got to our hostel thursday morning and waited while they cleaned our room. After a quick lunch we went on a wine tour. I learned how they make wine as well as sampled a few but it just reinforced my dislike for wine so I bought a grape juice in a bottle--no I havent changed at all! haha.
Then friday we went canopying AND rafting. I was terrified to go canopying but everyone else wanted to. For those who dont know what canopying is ( I had no idea) it is like zip lining over mountains and water. When we arrived I was relieved b/c we weren't literally on the top of a huge mountain but we were very very high up. We thought we'd maybe get to do it once but no- it was a six part course. After the first one though I was just flying high! It was so great and I never thought I'd do it. I went canopying over mini mountains and a lake! Afterwards, we had a 3 hour break for lunch and relaxation and I got some more color (mostly red. haha). Then we went white water river rafting. We had to put on like full body suits, a jacket, shoes, life vest, and helmet before we were ready to go. I had a blast, it was about an hour ride down the river while getting very wet. Our guide was the leader and the best and he let us jump in too. Well he actually made us because he said if we didnt get in he would push us in .haha.
Saturday was active as well. We woke up and went horseback riding in the foothills of the Andes Mountains for two hours. At the beginning of our trek I was the last horse but that was boring and we were going slowly so our guide helped me get the horse going faster. I moved up to the front and my horse and my friend Jaclyn's were like competing to be first in line. haha. It was great. I loved trotting on my horse. I've gone on horse rides before but never that fast so it was a new experience.
Finally, we took the bus home saturday night to sunday morning completing our trip to mendoza :) It has been my best weekend here so far in my one month and 6 days.
Other than that I have continued to go to bible study and vida (CRU). I am very grateful for this connection because they are very welcoming and supportive. Through my bible study I have made a pretty good friend, Agos, who is from argentina. She only speaks spanish so I get to practice with her which is very nice. Last last saturday I went to an orphanage with vida as well. It was a bit frustrating because I couldnt communicate with the kids too well but I'm very glad I went. They go once a month so hopefully I'll get to go back soon. We made necklaces with the kids and gave them a snack of cookies and juice. The kids were about 4-6 years old and super cute but very dirty. I was told they all probably had lice as well so to be careful.
Then saturday night we went bowling for one of the stinters, Turner, (american CRU staff) birthdays. It was fun. I didnt even arrive till 11 and thats when we started. I have never bowled that late. We were probably there until about 2! The first game I didnt do so well but I got 2nd place in the 2nd game and only lost by 4 points!
I also have decided to drop my tango class. It is tuesday nights from 6-10 but adding transportation times its like 5-11 so its a hassle. I'll still have 15 credits without it but only 12 might count towards my major/minor but I'm willing to do that. I'd rather enjoy the time I have here and not be stressed out. Plus, now I can go to the Vida taco nights at a place like chipotle b/c those are tuesday too.
Finally, this past wednesday/tuesday night was the first time i was very sick. I dont know what I ate but something gave me terrible stomach cramps and tuesday night I went to the bathroom like 6 times. My host mom called the doctor wednesday morning and he came by to check me out. I was so nervous that I wouldnt be able to go to Mendoza that night but I got increasingly better so I went. :)
Interesting fact of the day: Many argentines have the same names as americans. Example: Elizabeth, Kevin, ect however its funny b/c when we say those names they have no idea what we are saying and same when they say it b/c we all say them differently!
~lizzie
Then friday we went canopying AND rafting. I was terrified to go canopying but everyone else wanted to. For those who dont know what canopying is ( I had no idea) it is like zip lining over mountains and water. When we arrived I was relieved b/c we weren't literally on the top of a huge mountain but we were very very high up. We thought we'd maybe get to do it once but no- it was a six part course. After the first one though I was just flying high! It was so great and I never thought I'd do it. I went canopying over mini mountains and a lake! Afterwards, we had a 3 hour break for lunch and relaxation and I got some more color (mostly red. haha). Then we went white water river rafting. We had to put on like full body suits, a jacket, shoes, life vest, and helmet before we were ready to go. I had a blast, it was about an hour ride down the river while getting very wet. Our guide was the leader and the best and he let us jump in too. Well he actually made us because he said if we didnt get in he would push us in .haha.
Saturday was active as well. We woke up and went horseback riding in the foothills of the Andes Mountains for two hours. At the beginning of our trek I was the last horse but that was boring and we were going slowly so our guide helped me get the horse going faster. I moved up to the front and my horse and my friend Jaclyn's were like competing to be first in line. haha. It was great. I loved trotting on my horse. I've gone on horse rides before but never that fast so it was a new experience.
Finally, we took the bus home saturday night to sunday morning completing our trip to mendoza :) It has been my best weekend here so far in my one month and 6 days.
Other than that I have continued to go to bible study and vida (CRU). I am very grateful for this connection because they are very welcoming and supportive. Through my bible study I have made a pretty good friend, Agos, who is from argentina. She only speaks spanish so I get to practice with her which is very nice. Last last saturday I went to an orphanage with vida as well. It was a bit frustrating because I couldnt communicate with the kids too well but I'm very glad I went. They go once a month so hopefully I'll get to go back soon. We made necklaces with the kids and gave them a snack of cookies and juice. The kids were about 4-6 years old and super cute but very dirty. I was told they all probably had lice as well so to be careful.
Then saturday night we went bowling for one of the stinters, Turner, (american CRU staff) birthdays. It was fun. I didnt even arrive till 11 and thats when we started. I have never bowled that late. We were probably there until about 2! The first game I didnt do so well but I got 2nd place in the 2nd game and only lost by 4 points!
I also have decided to drop my tango class. It is tuesday nights from 6-10 but adding transportation times its like 5-11 so its a hassle. I'll still have 15 credits without it but only 12 might count towards my major/minor but I'm willing to do that. I'd rather enjoy the time I have here and not be stressed out. Plus, now I can go to the Vida taco nights at a place like chipotle b/c those are tuesday too.
Finally, this past wednesday/tuesday night was the first time i was very sick. I dont know what I ate but something gave me terrible stomach cramps and tuesday night I went to the bathroom like 6 times. My host mom called the doctor wednesday morning and he came by to check me out. I was so nervous that I wouldnt be able to go to Mendoza that night but I got increasingly better so I went. :)
Interesting fact of the day: Many argentines have the same names as americans. Example: Elizabeth, Kevin, ect however its funny b/c when we say those names they have no idea what we are saying and same when they say it b/c we all say them differently!
~lizzie
Thursday, March 26, 2009
New Experiences
This past week has been a bit stressful b/c I am trying to figure out which classes I actually want to take and which to drop or switch. I am keeping my general spanish and writing workshop classes b/c I want to get better at my spanish. I am also keeping my theater class b/c it fulfills an arts 1 gen ed. I think that I am dropping sculpture and picking up either digital photography or tango. And I am trying to switch my poetry class for a human rights internship which sounds really intersting. I just need to get permission, but like I said about organization, I havent been emailed back with a response yet. If I dont get permission I am dropping poetry anyway b/c I dont like it and have no interest. I sat in on the human rights internship class and was on the edge of my seat so I hope they let me take it! The internship includes a 2 hour lecture once a week and 6 hours of interning. I think it would be a great experience.
I also attended my first bible study here. We didnt actually study the bible but we will in the future. Instead, we had dinner together and just hung out. It was great. I am so thankful to have met these campus crusade girls. They are tons of fun and we laugh a lot. Their spanish is impressive as well. The bible study as well as the friday night meetigns will help me get to know local Argentines too which is an added bonus!
I also went to Tigre again. Tuesday was a national holiday so we had no school. However, no one told us why it was a national holiday so I didnt think much of it. I went back with a differnt group of people and we got to swim! It was great except the water is brown...no worries, its not poop, its mineral water. We also ate a nice lunch again but I didnt like my asado (some kinda meat). I think that we are going to go back b/c they also have an amusement park you can go to and we want to check it out!
One of my biggest annoyances here is the blatant stares from men. It doesnt matter what you are wearing either. They will look at you. Maybe even comment. Whenever I see a man and I'm alone I just stare straight ahead like I dont even see him and I have a glare on my face. I feel like a grinch or something and its no fun.
Another annoyance: Dogs poop on the sidewalk and people may or may not clean it up. It is so gross. I see smooshed dog poop on the sidewalk all the time! GROSS.
Interesting fact of the day: At many of the drug stores around here they ring up your purchase in one line then you have to get in another line to actually pay for it!
~Lizzie
I also attended my first bible study here. We didnt actually study the bible but we will in the future. Instead, we had dinner together and just hung out. It was great. I am so thankful to have met these campus crusade girls. They are tons of fun and we laugh a lot. Their spanish is impressive as well. The bible study as well as the friday night meetigns will help me get to know local Argentines too which is an added bonus!
I also went to Tigre again. Tuesday was a national holiday so we had no school. However, no one told us why it was a national holiday so I didnt think much of it. I went back with a differnt group of people and we got to swim! It was great except the water is brown...no worries, its not poop, its mineral water. We also ate a nice lunch again but I didnt like my asado (some kinda meat). I think that we are going to go back b/c they also have an amusement park you can go to and we want to check it out!
One of my biggest annoyances here is the blatant stares from men. It doesnt matter what you are wearing either. They will look at you. Maybe even comment. Whenever I see a man and I'm alone I just stare straight ahead like I dont even see him and I have a glare on my face. I feel like a grinch or something and its no fun.
Another annoyance: Dogs poop on the sidewalk and people may or may not clean it up. It is so gross. I see smooshed dog poop on the sidewalk all the time! GROSS.
Interesting fact of the day: At many of the drug stores around here they ring up your purchase in one line then you have to get in another line to actually pay for it!
~Lizzie
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Exploring the Outdoors
Yesterday I went on a day trip to El Tigre. I belive it is the name of the river...maybe not, it might just be the neighborhood. I never got a guide book so I dont know too much about what is around me. It was a fun and exhuasting day. I went with a group of 8 girls and we took two trains to get there. Then, we took a boat that was like a bus down the river to eat some lunch. I had a $7 steak that was really thick and really juicy and delicious. Afterwards, we walked around a bit and found a place where we could rent canoe's. At first I was hot and tired and all I wanted to do was swim in the river so i wasnt that excited about canoeing. However, it really made the trip and I'm very glad we did it. It only cost $5 per person for an hour! What a deal.
Friday night I went to the Campus Crusade meeting. Here in Argentina it is called "La Vida Estudill" which I think means student life. It was a lot of fun. They gave a talk about time management in spanish and I understood the general idea, there were powerpoints too which helped a lot. Then, we just hung out and met the students who went. It was very informal after the meeting ended. I got "besos" -kissed- by people I didnt even know. This was my first experience being with more Argentine's than Americans. A few people came and introduced themselves and we spoke in english and spanish. Right before the Vida meetings they have an english club where students can practice english if they wnt so alot of the students can speak pretty well. I think that I will contnue to attend as long as I am not traveling.
I have a place here. It sells pizza by the slize and empanadas. Both are less than $4 pesos each which is like a dollar. It is ridiculous. I've gone a couple times a week so far. Every time but one I've had the same waiter. he is great. Now he greets us as soon as we walk in.
I went shopping again. I got 4 shirts and a dress for I think $30 dollars total. it is crazy. I wanted to get shoes too but it seems like they dont go past size 40 and I'm like a 43! It is so not fair b/c right now with their sales you can get 3 pairs of shoes for $40 dollars!
Since being here I really miss little kids. I think it is because I see them everywhere but I cant hold them or play with them b/c I dont know them! Basically, I miss babysitting. It was never that bad at Hope but I think that is because I only saw other college students!
INTERESTING FACT OF THE DAy: I have seen Amish people here in Argentina...I did not see that coming!
Friday night I went to the Campus Crusade meeting. Here in Argentina it is called "La Vida Estudill" which I think means student life. It was a lot of fun. They gave a talk about time management in spanish and I understood the general idea, there were powerpoints too which helped a lot. Then, we just hung out and met the students who went. It was very informal after the meeting ended. I got "besos" -kissed- by people I didnt even know. This was my first experience being with more Argentine's than Americans. A few people came and introduced themselves and we spoke in english and spanish. Right before the Vida meetings they have an english club where students can practice english if they wnt so alot of the students can speak pretty well. I think that I will contnue to attend as long as I am not traveling.
I have a place here. It sells pizza by the slize and empanadas. Both are less than $4 pesos each which is like a dollar. It is ridiculous. I've gone a couple times a week so far. Every time but one I've had the same waiter. he is great. Now he greets us as soon as we walk in.
I went shopping again. I got 4 shirts and a dress for I think $30 dollars total. it is crazy. I wanted to get shoes too but it seems like they dont go past size 40 and I'm like a 43! It is so not fair b/c right now with their sales you can get 3 pairs of shoes for $40 dollars!
Since being here I really miss little kids. I think it is because I see them everywhere but I cant hold them or play with them b/c I dont know them! Basically, I miss babysitting. It was never that bad at Hope but I think that is because I only saw other college students!
INTERESTING FACT OF THE DAy: I have seen Amish people here in Argentina...I did not see that coming!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
School is for fools :)
Today was my second day of classes. and let me tell you it felt LONG. Tuesday I had class from 11-1 HOWEVER that was the day I had to go to immigrations to get my visa. Long story short, it didnt happen. The good news is that I can write my own "F my life."
"So I waited in line for 3 hours at immigrations only to find out they had no more numbers for the day and couldnt get my visa. Little did I know that I had a group appointment and got to cut the line. If I had done that I'd have my visa right now. F MY LIFE." It sounded better when I made it up yesterday but oh well!
That basically sums up the story. I got up at 6:30 am to go to immigrations. Then waited in a line with a million people for about 3 hours. Apparently there was a miscommunication about where to meet. There are ALOT of those with this program that I am with. Now my weekend plans to leave the country are ruined b/c I am in the process of getting my student visa. And now I have to go back to immigrations and who knows how long that will take.
Anyway, back to classes. Tuesday I went to my general spanish and it was alright. Mostly review right now. I also had my sculpture class. I think that I will be dropping that. It was 4 hours. We talked in spanish for about 2 about boring thigns. Then we had about an hour to design and I quickly learned that I do not like to design thigns creatively and sculpture is not my thing. haha. Then today I had a spansih writing workshop which is ok too and my spanish class again. Plus a poetry class. ew i hate poetry in english let alone spanish but i need an english class for my cultural heritage credit. Tomorrow will be poetry again. and my theater class. I'll keep you posted.
On a lighter note, the other day on the bus some older woman sat down to me and her pants had somehow gotten unzipped. It then took her about 10 minutes to zip them back up. It was a side zip and they almost fell off. I couldnt keep from giggling so I turned away so she couldnt see.
My host mom is so great. She is just super sweet. Last week I had a few long days and when I got home from orientation activities all I wanted was a shower and a pepsi. Luckily for me there is a little store underneath our building so after I got clean I'd go get a pepsi to relax. After a few days of this Christina started buying pepsi for us to drink with dinner. I love her!
I am a bit nervous that I am going to get fat. I feel like I eat a lot here. Some kids are complaining about losing weight. I dont know how that is happening. I eat 3-4 meals a day if you add up all the snacks I eat. it is ridiculous. And my last meal is around 8-9 and I go to bed only a couple hours after that so it just sits in my tummy! ahhh.
On a positive note I met a girl today from campus crusade, alexis, who is on a stint here in Bs. As. It was great to meet another christian here in argentina b/c my program seems to have few if any, that stand out anyway. I'm hoping to get involved with what she is doing around here. They have meetings every friday night and a few other events as well! It sounds like a lot of fun. They also volunteer at an orphanage once a month and I'd love to do that. As long as I am in town this weekend I think that I'll go to their friday meeting and see where that leads. I think that this is my opportunity to meet locals and maybe get involved in the community around me. :)
Interesting fact of the day: Alexis told me that some homless people "rent" out their kids to others b/c kids can make more money begging. It is so sad. There are a lot of homeless people around and even families
~Lizzie
"So I waited in line for 3 hours at immigrations only to find out they had no more numbers for the day and couldnt get my visa. Little did I know that I had a group appointment and got to cut the line. If I had done that I'd have my visa right now. F MY LIFE." It sounded better when I made it up yesterday but oh well!
That basically sums up the story. I got up at 6:30 am to go to immigrations. Then waited in a line with a million people for about 3 hours. Apparently there was a miscommunication about where to meet. There are ALOT of those with this program that I am with. Now my weekend plans to leave the country are ruined b/c I am in the process of getting my student visa. And now I have to go back to immigrations and who knows how long that will take.
Anyway, back to classes. Tuesday I went to my general spanish and it was alright. Mostly review right now. I also had my sculpture class. I think that I will be dropping that. It was 4 hours. We talked in spanish for about 2 about boring thigns. Then we had about an hour to design and I quickly learned that I do not like to design thigns creatively and sculpture is not my thing. haha. Then today I had a spansih writing workshop which is ok too and my spanish class again. Plus a poetry class. ew i hate poetry in english let alone spanish but i need an english class for my cultural heritage credit. Tomorrow will be poetry again. and my theater class. I'll keep you posted.
On a lighter note, the other day on the bus some older woman sat down to me and her pants had somehow gotten unzipped. It then took her about 10 minutes to zip them back up. It was a side zip and they almost fell off. I couldnt keep from giggling so I turned away so she couldnt see.
My host mom is so great. She is just super sweet. Last week I had a few long days and when I got home from orientation activities all I wanted was a shower and a pepsi. Luckily for me there is a little store underneath our building so after I got clean I'd go get a pepsi to relax. After a few days of this Christina started buying pepsi for us to drink with dinner. I love her!
I am a bit nervous that I am going to get fat. I feel like I eat a lot here. Some kids are complaining about losing weight. I dont know how that is happening. I eat 3-4 meals a day if you add up all the snacks I eat. it is ridiculous. And my last meal is around 8-9 and I go to bed only a couple hours after that so it just sits in my tummy! ahhh.
On a positive note I met a girl today from campus crusade, alexis, who is on a stint here in Bs. As. It was great to meet another christian here in argentina b/c my program seems to have few if any, that stand out anyway. I'm hoping to get involved with what she is doing around here. They have meetings every friday night and a few other events as well! It sounds like a lot of fun. They also volunteer at an orphanage once a month and I'd love to do that. As long as I am in town this weekend I think that I'll go to their friday meeting and see where that leads. I think that this is my opportunity to meet locals and maybe get involved in the community around me. :)
Interesting fact of the day: Alexis told me that some homless people "rent" out their kids to others b/c kids can make more money begging. It is so sad. There are a lot of homeless people around and even families
~Lizzie
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