Day 2

Two days into school and I already feel like I have learned more in the past 60-ish hours than the past four years of college. Or maybe I am finally coming out of my shell because in Bariloche I have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

I really like school. It is a school totally for the learning of Spanish. There are 20 students total in the school, all at different levels. It is not like a normal universidad. People come and go for however long they wish. Many students are only passing through for one or two weeks, others for four weeks. I am on the only student there for such a long period of time, which means I will meet many people by time it is all said and done. In my class, it is me, another chica from Switzerland and my teacher. Haha, I have no option but to talk and participate. And I like my profesora even more because when I mess up or I am trying really hard to say something, she let's me struggle through it and helps me. She doesn't look at me like I am dumb... past experiences with college professors.

Today in Bariloche it is cold. It is the summer time, but it still only reaches 75 to 80 degrees maximum. It is maybe only 50 today and very very windy from the lake. Which is normal. Tonight it is supposed to reach 30 degrees. LUCKILY tomorrow it should be warm.

Last night I went out with my new friends and we tried our hand at the local activities-- coffee and helado (ice cream), a few shops and then an Irish pub (go figure, right? Irish pub in Argentina? ha).

The picture above is of the lake from earlier today. Need I say more? It is so beautiful.

My other adventure everyday is walking to and from school and then out to town if I want. THERE ARE SO MANY HILLS HERE! and when I say hills, I really mean steep mountains... haha. If you know me at all, then you know I love working out and jogging and walking, but this one hill is unlike anything I have even walked more than once. It is over a mile of steep uphill walking. I walked it twice yesterday. My calves hurt :) but I will be in good shape come April.

For now, I will leave you with my biggeset challenge for the next three months: pensar como un Argentinean... to think like an Argentinean... why this is so important and also challenging? The only way I am going to learn Spanish is by forgetting all my English grammar and sentence structures and mind frame and think like an Argentinean. Or as my fiance says: Someone is going to need to teach me English when I return.

Untill then-- when in Rome, do as the Romans.