Valle Escondido!

This Wednesday, me and about 30 friends went to Vickie's house in the Valle. Valle Escondido is where wealthy people in Salta own a country house.

There is a pool...

(The water was FREEZING!!!!! And I was one of the people who was pushed in! Can you say, "Hypothermia!!!!!!!!") 

A golf course...

A soccer/football field...

And the best part.... 

ATV's

Valle was awesome! All of my friends are great :) I've had to adjust to how different they are from my friends at home. Meaning here there crazy, loud, wild, and fun. HAHA They are at home too, but not to this extent. I have adjusted and I absolutely adore all of my crazy friends :) We got there at 11am on Wed. and we left at 11am on Thurs. SO yes, 30 people stayed in one house for 24 hours! (Don't worry, there were parents there... at night). Luckily a friend lives in Valle so a few of the girls went to sleep at her house, and some people went home, but that still left about 20 people. Therefore, I didn't get to sleep on a bed and I woke up Thursday morning and couln't move my neck because I was so sore! That's what I get for sleeping on a tile floor!

One thing I forgot to mention earlier, is how much people like to take pictures! Picture after picture! I have thought I lost my camera like 5 times because it just disappears and I get it back with 100 more photos on it! LOL And they make sure I put ALL of them on facebook! 

As you can tell from the photos, everything is very dry here. Right now it is the end of Winter. It is dry and cold at night, but it is getting a lot warmer during the day. September 21st is the first day of Spring which is also a holiday, student day! Yes, they actually have a holiday for hardworking students here :) I have heard that Salta is even more beautiful in Spring and Summer when everything is green and blooming. The sun is a lot stronger here so during the day it feels very hot. I still can't believe that today was the first day it has rained since I've been in Salta! After it rains is when Salta is the most beautiful. You can see all of the mountains so perfectly! I would show you a picture, but for some reason the camera doesn't capture just how gorgeous it really is, so I decided to just let your imagination wonder. Enjoy. :)

Yesterday (Friday), my family got home from vacation! I missed them a lot and I was very exited to see them :D Now that there home and I can fully unpack my clothes, this really feels like home. 

My Mom and Dad back home in the US are now hosting and AFS student from the Philippines. Datu competed against 150 other students from his city for one placement. He received a full scholarship too. Datu wasn't going to be able to go to the US if someone didn't host him. So when AFS was making the last calls begging for people to host, my parents caved and said yes. Imagine after all that, he couldn't come because no one would host him. Hearing about Datu made me appreciate my host family even more then I already do! AFS is an amazing program that offers students the opportunity of a life time, but AFS isn't possible without volunteers. My host family isn't getting paid to take care of me for a year, but they want to. I couldn't be more thankful! I hope that AFS will grow stronger.... especially in the US. There are so many people that have the ability to host a student and they really should, and there are so many students from all over the world who really want to go to the US on AFS. I love my country and I want other students from all over the world to get to see and live in the US, which is why more people need to think about hosting. :D I hope people who read my blog can share this with friends or ask themselves if they are the right people to host. Spread the word!!! 

Visit http://www.afsusa.org/host-family/ to learn more! :D

I am absolutely loving Argentina! Salta is an amazing city. It is beautiful, the people are kind and friendly, my family is great, and my friends are awesome. I am so happy I have been given this opportunity. I have learned so much and I have only been here for about 5 weeks. Imagine how much I will have grown after a year! I have to thank my Mom and Dad for letting me do this by supporting me, and -cough, cough-, paying. LOL. It is worth every penny :) And thanks to AFS, I have been able to meet people from all over the world, learn a new language and embrace a new culture, as well as learn to see things from a new perspective. :D That is the beauty of foreign exchange!

Chao for now!