Day 9: Rethinking

I woke up this morning at 8 a.m. Generalmente (Generally), I leave for school at 8:40 and have class from 9 to 1. But this morning I received a phone call that I will be having school in the afternoon from 2 to 6 p.m. This morning it was raining really bad and I did not feel too well, so needless to say, I had no problem in going back to sleep for three more hours.

Today I am rethinking. Rethinking about my adventures so far here in Bariloche. Yesterday, I was really tired when I wrote my blog and I left out some details I wanted to share:

I sang "Should of Been a Cowboy," by Toby Keith all day yesterday. Especially when we got to gallop really fast across this field. At one point I almost started laughing... I couldn't tell you why. Maybe in that moment it all settled in: I am in Patagonia, Argentina where my closest neighbor is Antarctica for the next three months and I am currently galloping across a field on a horse with no name... another good song, by the way.

It might have been on purpose, but I forgot to mention that I ate carne yesterday... meat that is. Yes, do not fall down on me. Red meat in an empanada... small, grounded-up hamburger meat. It didn't bother me too bad. I pretended it was something else. Piles of meat including sausage and pork got passed around the table, but I did not partake in it. :) I filled my belly with salad, bread, water and wine... and orange juice. All mixed together for one delightful mezcla.

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Back to today. I am rethinking. I was sad about being moved to the afternoon class because I will not be with any of my friends. But I am here to learn Spanish and most of my friends barely speak Spanish or English for that matter of fact.

There is a friend of my house mom's living here with us for 20 days. He arrived yesterday and we talked at lunch today. He said that he went to the States in the late 60's to learn English in Washington D.C. But he doesn't know much English now because he never uses it. For an hour, the two of us struggled to make a decent conversation in both English and Spanish, but I was so taken aback by how eager he was to help me understand Spanish. That hour has made me rethink.

I may like my friends, but I need to rethink what language I use. Yes, one week in, I may not need to be so hard on myself, BUT (for one more time) I need to rethink about my time here. So, I am thanking the wise old man for helping me to rethink.

I already think that the next viente dias while he is here will be some good ones.

Day 8: Horseback Riding

Today, I went horseback riding. Besides the fact my butt hurts and I returned home covered in dirt-- I had a great time. It is very interesting here in Bariloche. One side of the lake (as most of my pictures posted) is very mountain-ish and alive with greens and more snow. The other side of the lake (where I went horseback riding) is more desert like terrain and very windy with dirt.

I arrived at school at 10 a.m. and met up with my amigos that were coming with. It was a thirty minute bus ride to the other side of the lake and then three miles on a dirt path to the ranch.

I went horseback riding on a family owned ranch. I mean, wow. We had two tour guides come with us. My group went all day. We rode for three hours in the a.m., had lunch and then went back out for two more hours.

I saw all of Bariloche from the other side of the lake. Also, my amiga and I switched cameras so she could take pictures of me, and I of her, while we were riding in the morning. I got some great pictures of me riding and it was fun seeing what she had taken of me.

My horse. Well, let's just say that it reminded me of me-- totally stubborn. ha. In the morning he was a little more unsure of me, but by time the afternoon we rolled along as though we were best friends. I really want a horse now. I have always enjoyed them and I can see why people have them. Maybe one day... or maybe a horse besides kids... ha :)

I am one week away from home. One week into Bariloche. One week into already a lot of adventures. Even though I am still very very tired, I hope to get in touch with the local Rotary. I want to start planning my two projects here as part of my Rotary scholarship.

I sadly have not heard from the local Rotary before my arrival, but my house mom said that she knows someone in the Rotary if all else fails. So maybe after my Spanish gets a little better, I can go talk to them. Either way, I am going to figure out a way to bring my Rotary Ambassador promise to Bariloche.

Day 5: Mountain jogging

On the way up...

to one of the MOST BEAUTIFUL...

places...

I have EVER been.

Don't get me wrong-- I LOVE TO HIKE. Love it. I love to walk, run, be active, sweat and all the joys of being outdoors. But before I get into the beauty of these pictures, I must explain my mountain jogging experience.

At school, there is a board with activites for every week. If you are interested, then you sign up and go. Yesterday was such a nice day in Bariloche that many people (myself included) signed up a few hours before the excursion. This place is known as Cerro Campanario. Angie (the school head) said that the walk up was only 30 minutes. Angie came with us. See-- this "walk" is only 30 minutes to Angie because she jogs up this mountain. Normally (come to find out) this is a good hour walk. We JOGGED it in 30 minutes. The movie Rat Race (I think that is the name of it) came to my mind as I kept on repeating, "It's a race."

Insane. Totally insane. I will never go hiking with dear Angie, again. :) But the thing is, whether jogging or hiking, the uphill climb resulted in a breathtaking view. Unbelievable. Wowowowow as my fiance and I say sometimes. Look at the pictures. The blue clearness of the water. I thought that color was only available in the tropics- ha. A few of the mountains belong to Chile, as I am that close to the boarder. The mountain with all the snow made me SUPER happy because I never see such a display of snow in Georgia.

The view put into perspective the beauty that is in Bariloche and Patagonia, Argentina. I am five days in and I feel like I have been here for weeks. I think it is because the people are so nice and the town is very calm and relaxing.

Slowing down after living 3 1/2 years in Atlanta has been a challenge since graduating in December. I am breaking my need to always feel that life is such a rush. Por ejemplo: when you go to a restaurant in Argentina-- do not be in a hurry. They consider it rude. Do not rush the server. Do not rush the drink order. Do not rush the food. I mean, it comes out in a reasonable time, but it is not rushed. Needless to say, fast food does not exist in Bariloche. I don't even think they have a McDonald's. And no Starbucks, either :)

But... life goes on.

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.

Made it.

My adventure began the moment I stepped into the airport and told me that my 5 lb overweight bag would cost me $150. Highway robbery, I decided. The next adventure was telling everyone that I love hasta luego untill April.

The flight itself was bumpy and largo... long. The worst turbalance was over Cuba. The worst turbulance also occured as I was attempting to use the restroom. It is hard enough to use the extremely small, cubical bathroom, let alone use it while thinking that you are going to fall out into the aisle with your pants at your knees.

When I arrived in Buenos Aires at 7:15 a.m., 4:15 a.m. eastern time, it took an hour to get through customs. But luckily, I did learn on the plane that Buenos Aires has two airports: one for international flights and the other for domestic flights. So-- 115 pesos (40 bucks USD) and 30 minutes later, I arrived at the aeroparque for my other two hour flight.

I slept most of the way. and by time I landed, after 22 hours of traveling, I felt engulfed with nausea and tiredness. Though Bariloche from the air eased some of my pain. We turned and rounded the mountains and I saw Bariloche. THE mountains. Oh my goodness the mountains with the snow capped tips. Unlike anything I had ever seen. Also, the lago (lake) that the whole town sits on was more beautiful that I could have possibely imagined. The town itself is my adventure for tomorrow when I start school.

My family is very nice and my "mom" tiene suerte bien con plantos (has a green thumb). The gardens around the house are giant. She told me today that she always uses the water that she boils vegetables in to water some of her plants because of the vitamins. I told her "tengo mala suerte con plantos" (black thumb!) and that I never would have thought about that.

At first, I was extremely overwhelmed. Tired, hungry and blah. I wasn't even speaking in English, let alone speaking in Spanish. I took my first siesta and I am now ready to explore.

I can already tell that things are different. Also, I could have left more stuff home, even though I thought 55lbs for three months was pretty good. Life is simple here. Quite. I will walk everywhere and the outdoors are already calling me. I am ready for whatever tomorrow brings.

the setup

One of my favorite movies is The Sting. Robert Redford and Paul Newman will always be the most sultry, man-duo of all time. What they have to do with Argentina? Not much. But the plot of the Sting reminds me of my upcoming travels (minus the whole conning millions of dollars out of people). :)

A "sting" is simply a setup. A moment in time that is predetermined, mapped out, formulated... a simple second schemed out ahead of time where the loser loses millions... a sting. BUT! the most important thing about a sting: the choices the person being setup makes.

My trip to Argentina is a "sting" (yet again, minus the being conned out of lots of money).

The Setup: Bariloche, Rio Negro, Argentina. Jan.2, 2010-April 4, 2010. I will be attending school four hours a day, five days a week at a language learning institute STRICTLY for Spanish. I am living with a family. One cat. One dog. My "mom" is a doctor and she has a son. They live in a quite neighborhood 30 minutes away from escuela.

The setup is made. BUT the most important part: what I choose to do with my time in Bariloche.

Have you ever googled Bariloche? Do it. NOW. I fell in love with Bariloche through the images I googled. The picture perfect green mountains and crystal clear lakes sang to me. The town reminds me of everything that I love about where I grew up, but then again, it truly resembles a magical forest utopia that I had only dreamed about-- let alone a place that I would ever get to travel and explore.

I have fallen in love with a place that I have never set foot in. But I am confident this excitement will allow me to fully enjoy my setup. :)

thanks to the Rotary

I would be selfish to say that this trip is anything but a blessing. I have wanted to travel abroad for years. Plane hopping has always been my national pastime as my grandmother has even so gracefully pointed out-- I am the busiest person she knows.

So I have a slight problem with keeping my feet on the ground. I don't know who to blame it on but my mom and dad. They never limited me to staying home. My first BIG trip alone: Panama City with the middle school band. "I will split the price with you" is the travel motto that began then and has let me explore all of my heart and mind's desires.

Entering college, I did not expect this motto to stand. College meant big girl status. I told my mom I wanted to study abroad and I will never forget her words: If you want to study abroad, you will find a way.

Rotary International and the Rotary Foundation have answered my want to study abroad more than I could have EVER imagined. They have provided me with the tools to learn, live and return home to share with others what it means to share "service above self" as a Rotary Ambassador.

Before I leave for Argentina, I have to thank the Rotary. None of this would be possible without them, or without their ongoing mission to empower people to go and live with the intent of furthering global understanding.

Thank you. To the Rotary: in my hometown and the foundation. Thank you to my family, fiance and friends, and mostly-- thank you God for this once in a lifetime trip.