Today we have no school. It's also raining. So, as you can imagine, there isn't a whole lot to do today...which makes it a pretty good day for a blog post.
Why don't we have school? Today's the memorial day of the war en las Islas Malvinas (Falkland Islands) Which England swooped in and occupied thirty years ago...and there's still some remaining animosity between the two countries. My class all went to watch a movie about it (Which I completely understood, I had a little nerd-fest about that) and we talked to someone who fought there. It was really inspiring, actually...I learned that most of the tension surrounding the subject of the war was due to the fact that so many men died fighting for Islands that, in all honesty, not many people would be living on right now if Argentina had won.. And these "men", were all around the ages of 18 and 20...So many future families and plans and dreams, lost. I actually almost cried watching the movie.
Not much has changed. I still feel very settled, probably more now than I did in my last post, even...I may even be happier. I didn't think it was possible, but I am. I feel less homesick now, as well. Mostly because I've learned how to deal with it better. Sure, there are some moments when it's 3 A.M. and I'm thinking "I would love to just jump in the car with Lilly and go get Dunkin' Donuts and then come home and watch Modern Family" or "I miss people-watching with Dad when we go places" or "I would really love to be sacked out on the couch with mom eating unhealthy food and watching a movie after work" But then I think....all in due time. There is no sense in wishing away my time here, especially when I'm enjoying it so much. Now that I've figured all this out, I really feel like life here is just about perfect.
So now that all the emotional stuff is out of the way....
There really aren't any huge changes that I need to update. That's probably why it's taken so long to write another post. Things don't feel so hugely different for me anymore. Sure, I have the occaisional "Holy Sh*t I'm in Argentina" moment still...but there are a lot of things I've adjusted to, such as:
1. Sleeping in the middle of the day.
2-6 in the afternoon is designated "Let's not do anything time" in Argentina. Everything is closed, and everyone sleeps. If a friend from the U.S. asks me to skype, now I'm like "are you stupid? I'll be asleep." The re-adjustment is going to be rough.
2. The night-owl schedule.
The idea of eating dinner now anytime before 9 or 9:30 is just weird to me. I also remember when I thought it was so crazy that people didn't leave to go out until 1 a.m. Now, it's normal. Shower at 10, dinner at 11, pregaming starts at 12, and we actually usually leave for clubs at around 2:30 and get home anywhere between 7:30 and 8:30 in the morning, depending on if we had to go out of town or not. And like I said, it's not strange anymore...The idea of being home by 12 is what's weird now.
3. Speaking Spanish
It was weird for me, up until recently, to wake up in the morning to people speaking to me in Spanish...I always needed an adjustment period of about an hour to actually be able to talk. Now, it's expected, and I actually have a harder time speaking in English with people here for an extended period of time. I find myself able to understand almost everything now, which is good...it's a lot more fun going out with friends/having them over when you know what's going on :)
4. Not wearing makeup ever.
Girls here don't wear makeup during the week. Actually, the only time they do put it on is if they're going out to a club. But to school, dinner with friends, having people over, no foundation, no mascara, no nothing. I've never gone a day without having makeup on and I have to say it's pretty refreshing not wearing it hardly ever....Much less work in the morning.
5. Living with someone my age.
I never really realized how different it would be. But I feel really lucky, because talking to some other exchange students, some of them are having problems with their host siblings....and I absolutely love living with mine! It was strange at first not being the oldest in the house, but I'm so happy that I have her for support, and we have a great time together.
So that's it, really. My weeks are filled with School, going to the gym, track, and hanging out with friends....and weekends are for partying. This week's Semana Santa so we only have two days of school. Four day weekend = Mucha Joda.
Oh! I'm also going to Iguazu falls in May.
Chau!
