My first white Christmas 🎄🎅

December started really good! I had a conference in Cheyenne with all the exchange students, I missed the so much and I had a lot of fun with them, they are the ones who you really can tal about your exchange, because we have the same situations and the same way to think, I just love all of them. The day I was coming back, Sunday, my ride to steamboat from Laramie was the owner of the ski area so he took me to ski for a couple hours before go back to steamboat, that was amazing!

I had my first white Christmas, an incredible experience spent with my host families, the Taulmans and the Schlichts. On Tuesday the 23th I celebrate Christmas with the Schlicht because I was leaving the other day with Taulmans. We had dinner out and then we went to a concert, really fun. The next morning we opened presents and they gave me a really nice jacket and an speaker, great presents!

The 24rd at noon I went to Grandparents' house, we were a large group of people with the Taulmans and Julie's brother and his family, The Neals. We opened presents during the afternoon, everyone was enjoying that and I also got more presents! I had an Adidas bag, a blanket, a book, and some gift cards!. After that we had dinner, meat fondue and some other delicious things, it was a nice dinner. On Christmas morning we started with the stockings, I had candy and a waterbotle, and also cards from Julie and in the cards there are bad words in 5 different languages! After we want snowmobiling. Had some snacks and play some games with the boys. At night we had turkey for dinner and salads, smash potato and other stuff, everything really good.

I continued enjoining the winter break with my second hot family and Shirley and Tasia, family members. We went to the real hot springs, ice skating, to the cinema and other fun stuff, was really nice.

Also some exchange students friends came to ski and we skied together, Irem from Turkey and Lena from Germany.

We spent New Year's Day at the neighbor's house with some of their family, was good and I had the same age as Mattew, the neighbor,s nephew, so we hanged out together.

After winter break Suzanne was gone for a week because       she had to work in Texas, so I spent a week with Lori Livingston and her family. They are amazing, they treated me so nice and we really had fun, al of the kids have my age so we did things together like snowshoeing, go the gim, etc. I already miss them and I hope I can go to their house again.

The next week Siri, an exchange student from Sweden came to ski in steamboat so we had a lot of fun skiing together, she is really good.

After a couple weeks the expected trip to Agua prieta, Mexico, came!!! I was really exited about this and was a really nice trip. I made new friends who I haven't met before, and we made a lot of staff to make people fell better over there. The smile of the little kids after we gave them a present was incredible. The trip was also really fun with the Rotarians from Mexico an their kids, who are our friends now. They were nice and they took us to really good places.

Just 2 days after coming from Mexico, I have the Ski trip!!!! (Which is not actually a trip for me because I live here hahah) it was the best in the world ski with my friends, and had s lot of fun during the weekend. Unfortunately when we where   skiing in a very hard run with some students, called "No Names", Clarisse, the exchange student from Belgium, she hurt her knee and he couldn't ski anymore or dance at the western bbq, she was really sad.

We where hosted on different houses, and I was with the Rotarian Scott Marr who hosted 6 students and he was really nice with us, making our breakfast and taking us out for dinner.

Over all this last two months have been amaizing and I can believe I already have 5 months in here, time is going really fast and it has to slow down!

(My apologies for mistakes and errors, I'm working on it 😊)

  

Lice and Life in Argentina

After finishing school in the end of November and beginning summer vacation, life was pretty quiet and uneventful for a while. I spent my days with my host family, learning how to survive the intense daily heat and humidity (by planting yourself in front of a fan and staying inside all day, or casually inviting yourself over to someone’s house who has a pool). I did all of this with what I thought was just my family, sadly unaware that there were unwelcome visitors tagging along every day.

Shortly after I arrived in Argentina, my scalp began to itch. The water down here has more sodium, so I blamed my itchy head on dry skin. As the weeks went by and the itching intensified, I still thought nothing of it. It wasn’t until one night, when my itching craze had reached the point to where I scratched so hard I drew blood, that I learned the truth. In the morning, mortified, I told my host mom that I thought I had lice, and began to cry partially out of humiliation and partially out of disgust. My mom began to laugh, and pulled me in for a close hug, calling me “mi amor” (my love). Ummm…what?

In the United States, if anyone had lice, that person would be avoided like the plague. Here however, I found out that not only is it common to have lice, but it is nothing to be ashamed of. After telling me that I most likely did have lice and informing me that my host sister regularly gets it, my host mom essentially reassured me that I would have it again at some point. She told me that this is a “pais de piojos”, or a “country of lice”. So that’s definitely something to look forward to. At least now, if I’m feeling lonely, it will be easy to find company willing enough to not only spend time with me, but live with me day and night.

In the beginning of December my host siblings’ cousin got married! I was able to experience two days of festivities because here, when someone gets married, there is a civil wedding and a religious wedding. The civil wedding took place in the middle of the day in a tiny room into which the bride, groom, and extended family from each side crowded. There was an officiator who spoke a bit, asked the couple and a few others to sign some documents, and BOOM! They were officially married! Everyone rushed outside and eagerly threw fist-fulls of rice into the newlyweds’ faces. Afterwards, we all went to a beautiful reception party filled with food, music, food, dancing, and more food. I was astounded by the amount of food, yet everyone assured me that it was nothing compared to what would happen during the religious wedding, and how right they were.

At the civil wedding

Dancing line with grandma!!

 

At the religious wedding

Two days later, at 10:00 pm, I went with my family to a church for the religious wedding. I was surprised by how informal everything seemed; the cultural differences were definitely notable, but it was interesting to observe. The priest  jokingly reprimanded the groom for not supporting the same soccer team as him, because soccer is life here. The entire ceremony was over in less than 45 minutes, but then the real party began. All of the family members and friends went to a beautiful reception building to begin the festivities. When we arrived, everyone mingled outside, eating what I thought would be dinner for the entire night. Along with an outdoor bar, there were numerous tables groaning under the weight of platters filled with delicacies. Everyone failed to mention that these were just the appetizers, however, and so when we finally moved inside at midnight to truly begin the night (or morning?), I was stuffed. Everyone was assigned their own table, all of which surrounded a dance floor overhung by disco balls and laser lights. The rest of the night was filled with dancing, but not traditional wedding dancing - hardcore, jumping-up-and-down-and-yelling, throwing-the-bride-in-the-air - dancing. It was madness, and I loved every minute. People of all ages went to dance, and I quickly realized that I was the only one unable to move my hips. All of the girls here, it doesn’t matter if they are 2 or 94, can dance flawlessly, shaking their hips to the rhythm. I have had people try to teach me countless times to no avail. I swear it’s just a skill with which they are born.

Bride, groom, and several cousins

This wedding was so different from anything I had experienced in the United States - at 2 am, waiters brought out the first course, and the rest of the evening was filled with dancing punctuated by food breaks. The main meal arrived at 3 am, followed by a first dessert at 4 am, then the countless dessert carts and tables at 5 am, followed by pizzas and a whole pig to make sandwiches at 6 am (just in case anyone was still hungry), followed by a coffee cart at 7 am. Just when I thought that that was it for the night, someone would bring more food. Apart from the food, at around 5 am, waiters came to fill the tables with funny hats, glow in the dark bracelets, and other costume items that everyone promptly seized. After adorning themselves, the people rushed back onto the dance floor. I couldn’t believe that everyone lasted the entire night! There were elderly folk who were still wide-awake after having spent the entire night dancing. I have to hand it to them, the Argentinians know how to throw a real party.

My host brothers ready to party!

The day after the wedding, after going to bed at 8 in the morning, I had the opportunity to participate in a “peregrinacion” (I don’t know the English translation). Every year, there is only one or two, during which people walk from various towns to the city of Lujan, where there is a basilica. Along the way, the people pray and repent. There was a group of people going from the Cathedral that I attend, and so even though I was exhausted, I decided to go because I think this will be one of the only times in my life that I will have the opportunity. I left at 1 am to walk over 35 kilometers to Lujan throughout the night, singing and laughing with my group. Needless to say, I was pooped when we arrived, but I did it and am incredibly proud! 

Cathedral group at our halfway point...only 18 more kilometers to go!

I MADE IT. Still standing, somehow, in the Basilica

Now I am on summer vacation and plan to enjoy every minute assuming I don't first melt in a puddle of my own sweat!

No Penguins in the South

How ironic that my one true “assignment” is to write a blog post every month and I procrastinate like it’s my job…Argentina and its laid-back, “tranquila” mentality is really getting to me! I no longer hate sleeping so little during the night, and have come to look forward to my lazy afternoon siestas.

            Right now, I believe that I am beginning to hit the point where most students start to experience bouts of homesickness. A few weeks ago, I still wasn’t truly homesick. However, I recently returned from a trip to the South of Argentina that reminded me incredibly of Steamboat. The trip began on a pleasant note and over the few days transformed into that of a dream, something surreal. On a Thursday night, I was reunited with my fellow 11 exchange students in the district. I’m still amazed that I was able to speak after that encounter, due to the amount of high pitched shrieks of glee I emitted. The incredible thing about exchange students is how close they become in such a short period of time. I had met these students one time previously for a brief two days, yet they already felt like my family. Exchange students have their own sort of secret language, a mix of several different languages and hand gestures combined into one. What I love the most is that although everyone speaks different languages, we find ways to communicate. Often times someone will say something in English, and although I know exactly what they want to say, it sounds weird. I have a German friend who frequently tells me that he wants to “Be on the toilet” instead of “go to the restroom”, but I have yet to correct him because it makes my day every time.

            My trip to the south was only six days long, and it was a blessing to escape the heat and humidity of Mercedes! We arrived at 7 am in a quaint, touristy town of Calafate, named after a flower and berry that grows ardently. Despite the fact that we had traveled all night long, we made a quick stop at the hotel to drop off our bags and were out the door to visit a glacier park. I have a feeling the majority who read “glacier park” are without a doubt thinking, “Wow, a park full of ice…how riveting”, but I can assure these people they are wrong. In the middle of a lake, surrounded by picturesque towering purple mountains peaked with snowcaps, sat a massive glacier. Glistening and formidable, it expanded over kilometers of water and land. I had previously thought that glaciers were flat and smooth, but there were peaks and valleys, and the ice shined a pure blue when the sun hit it. Every once in a while a large chunk would break off and smash into the lake, sending roaring waves into the air. Because the glacier was so large, there were boardwalks all around the lake to view it from different angles. We spent the day walking, singing, and without a doubt annoying every other person in the national park with our rambunctious laughter.
 

Repping our country flags!

 

The next day, we left Calafate to drive three hours to Chalten, a “town” with less than 1,000 inhabitants. There was a small grocery store, several hotels and touristy shops, and a homemade ice cream store- everything I needed. Mountains on all sides surrounded Chalten, and the air was pure. Although some of the others couldn’t stand the cold, dry climate, I was thriving. We went one day to take a hike up a mountain, and ended up on a rocky cliff overlooking the town bathed in the afternoon sunlight. Later, we paid for insanely overpriced homemade ice cream, and after eating one cone, promptly returned for more. The ice cream here is different than in the United States, not just in the South but in general. I can’t describe it, it is so much more creamy and delicious, and there are so many flavors it shouldn’t be allowed. Any chocolate lovers out there? Come to Argentina and you can take your pick of a wide variety of chocolates, including Marroc, Chocolate Amargo, Chocolate Blanco, Chocolate Patagonia, Chocolate con Nueces, and all kinds of other chocolates filled with chunks of deliciousness.

            One of my favorite days in the South was when we embarked on a boat ride across a lake to go walk on the glaciers. As we steered through the water teeming with tiny icebergs, I couldn’t help but feel as though I was on the Titanic. We docked the boat next to some brilliant red rocks with swirly patterns, and clambered onto a glacier! With the help of the guides, we attached crampons to our shoes so that we could properly “walk”, or waddle like penguins, up and down the slopes. In some places the glacier was melted and there were small pools of icy clear water. Our guides passed out cups, and everyone knelt down to fill them. We toasted each other, and giddy with happiness, appeared to be rather tipsy, embracing the phrase “high on life”.

Good thing I noticed it was upside down.

 

On our trekking tour

Can I move here please?

In the beginning, I thought, “Oh, ice is ice, and I’ve seen plenty growing up in Steamboat”. The ice in the South, however, was so different from that which I have seen. Every day was more beautiful and breathtaking than the previous day. It didn’t matter if we were hiking through a forest to find a semi-frozen lake, venturing out to visit a waterfall, or simply meandering through town; every day was truly magical. After six short days, I now have a close family of exchange students who understand me. We had burping contests, ate ice cream everyday, and taught each other our favorite cuss words in our own languages. A definite successful trip, I would say.

Yes, this is real.

 

My Spanish is beginning to come along, I am now at the point where I can understand almost every conversation, although I still can’t speak in the way I would like. Here in Mercedes, the people have their own sort of dialect full of phrases and words that are not used in many other parts of the country. Fortunately, I found a fantastic “book” in the South, called “Che, Boludo!” (Hey, asshole!). Essentially a dictionary of the bad words and phrases distinct to Argentina, complete with drawings of the hand gestures and their meanings, my vocabulary has increased immensely by studying.

            I hope to soon begin Tango lessons, which is a disaster waiting to happen, but I figure as long as I don’t know anybody it can’t hurt to try. My school ends in about two weeks, and it is almost summer break!! It’s strange to think that it’s already snowing in my town in Steamboat, as it has been a balmy 90+ degrees here. Hoping to stay alive during the summer- my plan is to live in a pool, as almost everyone here has his or her own small one. Wish me luck.

Besitos <3

Already a month?!

Despite the reputation some exchange students have for being lazy and procrastinating when it comes to matters such as writing a blog or participating in school, I think I speak for all when I say that this reputation can be unfair. Trying to be the ideal exchange student and ambassador, I wrote about all of my experiences three weeks after I arrived. Due to circumstances out of my control however, such as an almost laughably horrible wifi connection in my first house, I was not able to upload the blog. I recently moved houses even though I have only been in Argentina for seven weeks, which I will explain in my next blog, and in my new house I can actually use the internet! Therefore, apologies to all; below is the first blog that I had hoped to originally post.

Before my actual arrival into Argentina, I had my first taste of the culture and people on my final flight from Atlanta to Buenos Aires. After a fiasco in the airport during which security confiscated a present for my host brother, causing me to miss my flight, I was fortunate enough to be put on a different plane. For those wondering, it pains me to admit that the present security confiscated was a knife. Well done Kelly. One would think that as a mature 18 year old who had traveled many times before, it would have occurred to me that security just may find a knife to be threatening, yet this trivial detail slipped my mind. After I took my seat on the plane, I began to cry the ugly, sobbing kind of cry out of relief, nerves, and exhaustion. To my embarrassment, the man sitting next to me, from Argentina, witnessed it all. Instead of requesting a seat change, which is what I would have done in his case, he kindly asked me, “Todo esta bien?” In slow and broken Spanish, I began to tell him what I was doing and explained that I had just said goodbye to my friends and family. I had heard that Argentinian people were very warm and welcoming, but that description does not do justice to how kind this stranger was to me. He helped on the rest of the flight, he carried my luggage, and upon our arrival into the country, he waited for me and made sure that I made it into the right line to pass through customs. This man’s kindness was only a sample of what I would begin to experience.

            Not only did my host family meet me at the airport, but several members of Rotary and various exchange students did as well. As I walked out, they all came to kiss me on the cheek in the traditional form of greeting, which I nailed thanks to Sebastian Camargo who showed me what to do! They refused to let me carry my own luggage, and ushered me into the car to drive to my new home in Mercedes Oeste, a city of about 50,000 people located an hour outside of Buenos Aires.

Trying Mate for the first time!

Colegio San Patricio

 I attend a private school, Colegio San Patricio, which has 6 grades. In my district, there are actually three other exchange students. Sven, a boy from Germany, and I go to the same school, started the same day, and are in the same room. Here in school, even though I am 18, I am in the 5^th year so that when school ends in December and begins again in March, I will be with the same classmates. There are about 30 kids in one classroom, and they stay together all year long. During the day, the teachers change rooms while the students stay in one room. Sven and I were the first exchange students the school had ever had, and so the best word to describe my first day of school was pandemonium. The director introduced us in front of the entire student body, and when he set us loose, chaos ensued. We were truly swarmed by kids wanting to touch us and talk to us, and I felt like I was an animal in a zoo. There is a courtyard outside with glass windows up above, and when we looked up, the glass was full of faces eagerly pressed against the windows to get a better look at the “foreigners”. All day long, every time I did something, I had a million people watching me with fascination. I went to the bathroom and it was like people had never seen anything more riveting. Although all of the energy was exhausting, it was very flattering as well. During class, Sven and I felt like celebrities because everyone wanted to talk to us and could care less what the teacher was saying. Needless to say, I was rather exhausted after my first day of school. Shortly after my first day, the school was closed on a Thursday and Friday due to “cleaning”. What everyone failed to mention, however, was that this cleaning was actually a disinfection process to rid the school of rats. I thought it was a joke, but no. There are actually rats in my school. Welcome to Argentina!! 

My rowdy male classmates

   A week ago, along with several other exchange students in my district, I went to an annual festival here that is entirely dedicated to Salami! Mercedes is famous for peaches and salami. The festival is three days long, but I only went the first night as it is not very common for people my age to go. A band opened the night with the national anthem of Argentina while various "queens" paraded around. There is a queen of salami, and various others for corn, grapes, etc that come from different parts of Argentina to participate in the festival. I was incredibly surprised to learn that there is no queen dedicated to Dulce de Leche, a type of caramel sauce which the people here consume on an hourly basis. It doesn't matter if the food is already sweet, Dulce de Leche is a necessity. Cookies with chocolate? No, definitely not sweet enough, let's add some dulce de leche! :) At the festival, there were small kiosks that sold all kinds of sweets, plants, scarves, and succulent food. There was dancing and singing, and I half expected to see some fireworks in the shape of salami, but was sadly disappointed. Additionally, I think I would have enjoyed the festival more if I actually like salami, as it is one of the only meats that I do not like. I did not think that the festival was the best time to mention this, however, so I graciously forced down every different type of salami that the vendors wanted us to try. 

At the Salame Festival with the Rotary Club President and exchange students from Oklahoma, Germany, and Switzerland

With the various queens!

  The people here are incredible, the food is riquisima, and every day I learn something new. I am pleased to find that although I may not understand every word, I can definitely understand the meaning of the conversations here. When people speak slowly, I understand almost everything. Although I have only been here for two weeks, it feels as though it has been a month because the past few days have been filled with activities! I know this is the beginning of an incredible journey, and can’t wait to see what lies ahead. Besos!

I have friends!