Day 28: Nueva Casa

I moved in with a new family yesterday. I do not know how religious my readers are BUT every single prayer that I asked God for this past week has come true. Because I told them to no one but him.

My old family was not working out for me. The thing is, I do not think it was working for my house mom either. I went to school on Friday to meet up with my director so we could go to the doctor together. It was there that I saw one of my girlfriends who called me her roommate... I had no clue what was going on.

Evidently, I was being moved in with a new family because my old house mom is having guests arrive on Monday (tomorrow) and she didn't have room for me anymore... harsh? Maybe. But I was really excited about my move.

I still have yet to pick up my camera charger from the post office (as it has arrived) but when I do this week, I will post pictures of my new house. It is right on the lake. The vista from the living room windows is incredible. The mountains and the lake are all right here. Last night there was a full moon. I felt the brilliance of its yellow as it rose over the lake... it welcomed me to my new home.

That is something else that I already like about here-- I feel like it is home. In one day, I already feel like this is my home. I want to stay here for the next two months. I will never dread coming home now.

Last night at dinner, I spoke in total spanish for over two hours. After dinner, I even talked with my fiance in spanish over chat. The family here and my fiance have this incredible ability to make me feel confident in what I am attempting to say in Spanish-- even if it isn't correct. Also, before I went to bed last night I watched an episode of a kid's tv show... en espanol. I think that will be my nightcap for the rest of my time here.

So... after spending a week in bed, after not being able to see my friends off because I was sick, after moving in with a new family with less that 24 hour notice, and after feeling like nothing was going to change-- life is back to where it should be. I feel even better than the day I arrived and now to just keep myseslf healthy, and that light burning.

En conclusion, I also thank you all for the prayers... and continue to keep them coming :) because a prayer never hurt. xoxo

Day 25: Mejor

I do not have much to report from Argentina besides a medical note that I am feeling much better today. Mejor. I have been in bed and in the house since Tuesday, and will be here again all day today.

I am happy that I am locked in my house for another day, actually. Traditionally, this would be the day I would start moving... meaning I would probably make myself sick all over again.

Two of mis amigas came to visit me yesterday in the evening. We went and sat outside in the shade for about an hour. It was great to finally see someone from school.

The sad part about this week for me: I will be the only one left from my original group beginning Sunday. All of the people that I started with on Enero 4, will be gone. I will be the old one starting Lunes at school. This week has been a challenge because the four people left in my group I have not seen. Hopefully, I will see them tomorrow when I head to town to go to the doctor in the morning.

Lunes, I will begin making new friends. Talking really is not hard for me and I can pretty much befriend an arbol, but it will be odd to not have the original group for the rest of my time here in Bariloche.

A part of me can not believe that four weeks have flown by so quickly. The other part can not believe that it has only been four weeks.

Day 23: Update

This is a picture of victory. Almost a four hour hike to the summit, Cerro (Mount) Lopez is the highest mountain in the area besides Cerro Tronador (the mountain directly in front of me this picutre). Five of us completed the journey together on Sunday.

If you look closely, you can see trails in the snow that start all the way at the top... yes, I slid down this mountain to get to the bottom, plus one more part after this. My first experience with snow resulted in twisting my ankle, doing a complete 360 while lying flat on my back and being really freaked out :)

Cerro Tronador. This mountain is on the Argentina-Chile boarder. I have yet to travel there for the hike, but I hope to in the next few weeks.

Ha, Ok. So my first experience with snow was on the way up when I trekked through what seemed like miles of sugar blankets. The climb up included: snow, rocks, a dirt path, more rocks, a dirt trail, more snow and then more rocks. The climb also included some silly faces in the snow.

I have nothing to excuse my week absence besides fact that the third week here in Bariloche has flown by really really fast. Too fast. I feel like I have heard a saying before that after the third week in anyone's travels, it simply begins to pass too quickly.

Before I start with my adventures above, I will let you all know that I am currently sick. Si, otro vez. (yes, again). I went to the doctor today. It cost me 60 pesos (roughly 18 USD) to see the doctor and to get part of the medicine. I have more or less tonsillites and a sinus infection. My tonsils are so swollen that it looks like I put two golf balls in on each side of my throat. I have to stay at home until Friday morning and then I have to go see the doctor. Again.

Yes, muy triste. Sad. Very sad. I was excited about this week because I can tell that my Spanish is improving. School has been coming along really well and I am really enjoying my time learning. I personally think that my teacher is the best in the whole school and it is enjoyable to go to class when you can understand everything and then respond. Delightful!

I will be missing a whole week of school in exchange for mi cama, but I really need to get better. I can not keep getting sick. I bought comida and enough liquids to make Noah's ark float, before I took a taxi and headed home.

Well, before all this sad sickness came along, I hiked Cerro Lopez on Sunday. We started at noon. The first half of the hike is all up hill on a narrow trail. It included rocks, dirt, rocks and more dirt. Also! it included flies. Lots of flies. Lots of pesky HORSE flies. I think the group decided that they were more like flying rats because they were so big. They also stung you. At one point, I think one of them wanted to live in my ear.

But we did make up a new dance move in memory of our dear fly friends. For those older generations who may not know about dance moves like the shopping cart, the sprinkler or the lawn mower, then you may not find the humor in this. But we call it the pesky fly: where you are walking and waving your arms in a circular motion around your head, occasionally swatting at your legs. Ha, well-- we thought it was funny.

Shy of two hours, we made it to the Refugio that sits inbetween the summit and the bottom. We rested for a while. Ate homemade sandwiches on moist white bread. Forty-five minutes later, we wasted no time in climbing treading to the top.

Now. My camera. I left my camera charger at home in Georgia. My mom mailed it to me three weeks ago on Thursday. I had this feeling that was camera was gonna start dying on Sunday. Sure enough, it began flashing red at me before I even got the top. Meaning I had to take pictures wisely. The only picture that I did not get is one of the rocks that we climbed for most of the way up. At some points, I felt like I needed a rope and some rock climbing shoes.

It was intense. Crazy. Insane. REALLY insane. But it was also a moment of accomplishment and achievement. When we finally made it to the summit I think I could have cried, but the view took my breath away. I have never seen such beauty. The thing about Bariloche is every mountain or place that I go it is something different. There are new mountains, new lakes, new scenery. It really is incredible.

I could write more today, but I have three days to catch myself up on my own life. I have been too busy to even meditate on the events of the past week. It has been a wild one. A fast one. And even though I am sick now, it has been a good one :)

Day 15: Details

I have yet to mention the details of Bariloche that I probably look at more than most people. The shower knobs read "C" and "F": caliente y frio. My first shower two weeks ago finally resulted in me discovering that C did not mean cold...

My "mom" has amazing gardens. Though, most of the houses around have immense rose gardens. Red, pink, yellow and orange roses. The calles smell of lavender. Always. Big, purple lavender bushes line the streets. The calles.

But my "mom" also has food gardens. Right now there are raspberries, strawberries and gooseberries. A few days ago, she planted a blackberry bush. Last night for dinner she needed an onion. I went outside and picked one from her garden, and she put into this soup with eggplant, corn, mushrooms and tomotes. Fresco. Fresh.

I sat outside in the backyard for a few hours this morning and read. There was a bird. The same bird pulled brown, wiggling worms out of the ground for hours. This bird was old. His plumas were ruffled in the front. White and ruffled from many years of flying. Tattered from years of living.

I got into a car today for the first time in two weeks. I went out with my "mom" and one of her friends for the afternoon. It was nice that she invited me. The warm sun disappeared on us though as we got to the beach. But this beach was not really a beach. A dock located on a hiking trail in this small, almost laguna, sort of place. When we arrived, only one young girl had jumped ship into the cold waters.

As I may have stated before, the summer this year in Bariloche has been really cold. My "mom" likes to go to the beach during the summer. Around here, the sun only shines brightly for two, maybe three, months out of the year. The summer sun rejuvenates the people of Bariloche. My "mom" wanted so bad to have summer today that she became the second person to plunge in.

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Mate. Mate tea. I have yet to mention Mate. It is a very strong tea that is from Argentina. People can drink it in a tea bag form OR-- people drink it from a mate cup. Google it. You must see the variety of cups that people use to drink it. They come in all shapes and sizes and it has a straw: wood and aluminum are the most popular. In the cup you put Mate in it, pack it down with the straw and then fill it with water. The water is hot but you drink it fast.

I will be the first to tell you that Mate looks like someone scraped up dirt out of my mom's flower bed and decided to start drinking it... ha. BUT let me tell ya... it is good. I am addicted. Just like everyone else in Argentina.

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We sipped our Mate on the dock until its warmth no longer kept the goosebumps at bay in the disappearing sun. The playa turned into a trip to Colonial Suiza. A local entity turned into a toursit trap. Colonial Suiza is a Swiss Colony that settled in Argentina around the 1930s. Think of the place as a permanent art festival. Clothes, jewerly, pantings, food, chocolate. All handmade. Everything wonderful.

The last detail I want to talk about is the museo. Today, I felt this spirit of old Swiss in this yellow house. This yellow house with white trim and shutters was the first house in the colony. The whole house is surrounded by verduras and jardins. The veggie gardens are all lined up perfectly, each with a wooden stock at each end. There is a tienda that sells the fruits and veggies that are grown there.

This place is special because it was built by one family many years ago and has survived. Not only has it survived, it has grown. The same family still owns and operates this colony in such a modern time. The small spirit of that first house has lived on and I wish that more places like it still prospered.

Day 14: Hiking Weekend

Hi all :)

I went for a five hour hike today to Mount Otto. It is the closest mountain to Bariloche. It was the perfect day for some hiking. Cloud coverage, wind and more wind... ha. But wind is always a factor in Bariloche.

I went with a friend of mine from school. A lot of my other friends went white water rafting today BUT I knew that the weather was gonna be a little colder today so I opted out of that one.

I am feeling better too. I mean obviously as I set out for a five hour hike. While we were out exploring, we came across two different sets of rock climbers and that was sooo awesome. If I knew how to, then I might attempt... looks exciting!!

Again, the veiw from the top of is breathtaking. I really think that is the only word that sums up the beauty of Bariloche. It really is pretty as a post card.

We also went off the trail walking... ok, we went into a trail that said: prohibio sacar... ummm we just pretended that we didn't speak spanish... haha :) There we found some really nice views of the other side of Bariloche. Which is more mountains. For lunch, we perched along a rock in the sun and away from the wind. I drank half my water and inhaled my sandwich. Immediately resulting in my pack weighing five pounds less.

I felt very accomplished and healthy after the hike today... but as we headed down the last part of the mountain in a slow, causal walk, a man RAN past us up the mountain. YES, RUNNING. No jogging involved, but sprinting. I did look back to admire his great calf muscles. I would have fallen on my face.

I think what I have come to like the most about my friends in Bariloche is how they all are very different and unique, but we all get along so well. Everyday I have one-on-one time with a different person, doing a different activity. Meeting great people makes this trip even more perfect.

Meeting new people means another person I get to learn about. Not to mention, another person I can visit in the future. :-) Tonight, I am resting and going to make tofu with my 'mom'. I am going on an eight hour trail tomorrow... golly bless me... soooo I need some crazy good sleep this evening.

To end, I would like to say that I hope this blogs finds everyone well. Know that I am thinking about you always. Lots of love, xoxo.

Day 11: Mi cama

My bed.

This is where I have stayed all day today. I walked to get some medicine and more orange juice this morning, but other than that-- I have been in bed sleeping with Mickey... the cat ;)

I have not introduced my lovely animals yet. The cat is Mickey. She is very very sweet and will sit with you all day if you let her. The dog is Luna. She also is very sweet and stays inside. I think that she is one of the calmest dogs I have ever met... well, besides my Brooks from growing up. I am really happy they have animals. They are great company and lots of fun.

One last thing for today... I have only been in Bariloche for 11 days and I have already made such good friends. I know that I have God to thank for this. My girl friend Kathrina came by to see me today. To check in on me because she knew I was sick. She also said that 'the group' said to feel better and that they missed me :) That right there has truly brightened my day.

I am looking for brighter and warmer skies tomorrow... last time I checked the weather reported a high of 33 celsius... you can convert that if you are interested.

Day 10: the bad with the good

Today has been a bad day. Just an overall, no good very bad day. I think it has been bad for a few reasons:

1) I am sick. Yea, the sinus/cold monster has finally got me. I knew that it would eventually. I mean the weather here is more unstable than Georgia's so it really was only a matter of time.

2) I miss my friends. I have class in the afternoon this week. Hopefully this will be the only week where I do not have class in the morning. Missing my friends would not be too bad, but the guy that I now have class with-- I terribly dislike. I tried to give the kid the benefit of the doubt because he is from Nottingham, England where Robin Hood is from, but I think this guy steals from the poor and gives to the rich.

He likes to talk. Ha, I know. Fancy me saying that someone else likes to talk. But he likes to talk in Spanish (which is perfectly fine) but I am shy in Spanish. Very shy and I do not need someone butting in every two seconds when I am attempting to speak. He really annoys me. Even worse, he totally sucks up to the teacher. I mean his Spanish is not that great (not that I can talk) but at least he tries. They both smoke, so when they are outside filling their lungs with their nicotine friend, they are also bonding very closely.

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In class today, at one point I felt like I had been invited to a dinner party where only three people showed up and the one person (ME!) they really did not want to include in their conversation. I do not think it would be too bad overall, but then when I attempted to talk he corrects me. Who are you to correct me?

An overall trying day. Then he has enough nerve after class to tell me that he talks a lot and that he was sorry. Well! Then shut your mouth if you are so incredibly sorry. Otherwise, keep it to yourself.

Hum.

3) I think that I am going to stop with two.

Out with the bad, in with the good.
It is now gone and tomorrow is a new day... hopefully.