So... I realize it has been a while since I blogged and a lot has happened since then. SORRY! (Warning: This will be a long post) *sigh*, where to begin??
So, I know its hard to comprehend, but I am actually on Summer vacation right now. Which means it is HOT here... and very COLD in CT (weird!). I am so happy and lucky to have another summer vacation. I consider school to be somewhat of a joke, especially in the first few months when I can't read or write, and barely understand anything they're saying. I know it will be easier Feb. 27th when we start school again and I am looking forward to it. It is hard enough starting school in the middle of the year, but adding the fact that I didn't understand everything, made it that much harder. In Feb., I will actually be ready for school in Spanish.
It doesn't really feel like its almost Christmas because, well, there's no snow. I've been tanning and sitting by the pool, the last thing I've been thinking about is Christmas. Christmas... in two weeks... really? My summer days are very relaxing. Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, I have Swim team in the morning and aerobics at night. Tuesdays and Thursdays, Swim team, along with some Saturdays. Other then that, I hang out with friends, chill by the pool, or even read the newspaper (in Spanish). My Spanish has grown some much. I am almost past that awkward stage. By the end of February, I'm pretty sure I will be past the awkward stage and thats when the real fun and enjoyment of this experience will start. The human brain is absolutely amazing. Sometimes I say words that I didn't even know I knew. It shocks me every time. I've gotten to the point when I honestly believe I have forgotten English. I think of how to say words in Spanish and then in English, and sometimes I can't even come up with what the word is in English. I define the awkward stage as when your brain turns to mush. You can't really speak any language, English or Spanish. Your brain is taking in some much information that it almost explodes. It is a crazy feeling knowing that I am speaking a totally different language, without really thinking about it. I can't wait until I get my brain back :)
Now onto what has happened in the past two weeks...
We went to Santiago to visit my host Mothers family. Her father turned 98! Here's a picture of him blowing out the candle (singular). They kept relighting the candle for him to blow it out again, I swear they were about to keep relighting the candle another 97 times, and one more for good luck. I didn't know there were so many ways to sing Happy Birthday in Spanish!:D
The party was just for family only... but I kept wondering, if this is just family why are there so many people!? There were about 25 of us, all family members, and we were still missing a lot of people! A delicious Asado and dip in the pool topped off a great day.
Went to a Birthday party with my host sister Rosario :)
My host sister is pretty amazing. She is the girl in the spotlight doing the cheerleading stunt (pretty impressive). I went to see her dance studios end of the year performance and it was amazing! Argentina really is the country of dance. Every style of dance, they've mastered it, by age 10! Rosario will be going to New Zealand on Jan. 27th with AFS and I am going to miss her a lot!
This is a video of the entertainment at a 50th Birthday party I went to. A dance company performed ballroom style dances from South America. In this video, the famous Argentinean tango :) I was absolutely speechless after this performance and especially after there other performance of American tango.
This past Sunday I had another swimming competition. I can't even explain how surreal it feels to be swimming on a club team in Argentina when I'm 16. It was a small meet and only included clubs in the Salta area. I competed in the 50 Free, 50 Breast, and 50 Back stroke. 4th place in the 50 free and I WON the 50 Back!! I was very exited! I've been working very hard to get my back stroke times down, and the work payed off.
Thats me, in lane 3.
First place, 39 seconds. (PS the pools here are measured in meters, therefore it is longer then in the US. My time would normally be 35 seconds.) Looks like I will be competing a lot more this summer especially.
Yesterday, I felt it was time to get in the Christmas spirit. I made Christmas cookies for about three hours! I learned quickly that lots of cookies and a little pan equals lots of batches. My host sister and I changed the recipe and added Dulce de Leche. The cookies from my mom's cookie book (One Dough Fifty Cookies) has officially been Argentineanized. I loved being able to share with my host sister what my christmas traditions are normally like. Baking cookies and listening to christmas songs with my mother is our old holiday tradition. It wasn't totally lost. I was able to bake cookies with my host sister and we listened to folk glory, the music typical to Salta.
Its has almost been 4 months since I've been living in Argentina and it feels like so much longer. After Christmas and New Years, I already know the time is going to fly by. Just like every AFS experience, there are the ups and downs, it is exactly what completes the experience. With the holidays around the corner it is hard not to miss my family and our old holiday traditions, but I am learning about NEW traditions. I have been given this amazing opportunity to see the world from a completely different perspective. I learn more and more every day, about myself, about a new culture, and a new language. It's hard for me to believe that I have 7 months left. When you compare it to 11 months, it seams like too little time, but I am here and I'm not going anywhere. For the rest of my life I will be able to say that I lived in Argentina when I was 16, for my junior year of high school, and I am so exited that I will be able to say that. Not many people can. :D This experience has already changed me (in a good way). I am so exited for my future, here in Argentina and back in the US. I find the unknown and mystery of what's to come so intriguing and beyond exiting.
Thank you for reading! I hope I will be able to write again soon.
If not... Merry Christmas everyone! Feliz Navidad!
