Las Cataratas del Iguazu

Ok, so for some reason, the way the pictures loaded is in reverse chronological order to my trip to the North. So, I will give a summary of the trip in the correct order and then go through and explain the pictures, and hope that everyone follows (I don't think it should be any harder than the most recent Mensa questionnaire you read on an airplane).

My recent trip consisted of three portions: Iguazu Falls for three days, a day in Buenos Aires, and a day in Uruguay.

On our first day in Iguazu (which is situated on the border between Argentina and Brasil just south of the Paraguayan border) we did a tour of the park which took us pretty much the whole day as the tour requires walking through an untold number of walkways all with multiple stops to take in the immense beauty of the place. The first site we visited in the park was the main attraction for tourists: La Garganta del Diablo which means the Throat of the Devil in English. The viewing platform for this spectacle is situated at the top of the falls and looks down into "the throat".
The whole time while we walked around, the place had a very surreal feeling to it. I kept thinking, "Places like this just don't exist in real life, this is a place you only see in the movies." And as it would turn out, that this is where they shot scenes for the newest installment of the Indiana Jones series. It is also in the running for the New Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Every 15 feet on the walkway I felt I had to take another picture to take in the scene in front of me. Unfortunately, as with the glaciers, a picture fails to accurately convey the feeling of the place, so I strongly suggest that if you are ever in Argentina or Brasil that you should take advantage of your proximity to such an amazing place and pay a visit.

The second day we revisited the park to find the water level slightly less, which was due to the fact that the river is dammed farther upriver and thus the water flow varies according to the amount of water let through obviously. However, although there was less water, it did not make it any less majestic or awe-inspiring as instead it exposed more of the wall behind the falls which was full of vegetation and really made it even prettier in my eyes.

Just before lunch, we went for a hike through the rainforest. Along the way, we saw wildlife such as gigantic spiders, tucans, other birds that I couldn't identify, a rodent-looking animal I couldn't identify, and capuchin monkeys. The 3 mile long trail ends at an isolated waterfall with a pool at the bottom, so we all jumped in and played in the waterfall and then had lunch on the side of the pool.

Later on in the day, we made our way back to the main part of the park and went for a boat ride in the river. This gave great opportunities for shots of all the falls and then the driver drove us into one of the larger waterfalls to cool down on the hot day.

A map of the park can be found here, so check out the layout of the place, por favor. The boat took us up both forks, first the left to take pictures of La Garganta, and then on the right fork where we got dunked just underneath Salto San Martin. There was also a ferry that took us out to the island where we walked all around and then swam in the right fork of the river. The picture above makes things look relatively small, but in actuality the smallest fall is over 200 feet high.

On our third day, we had started off the day with a zip-line canopy tour of a portion of the rainforest that was close to our hotel. Then, we had a free day to do as we pleased. So, while the rest of the group stayed behind in town, my friends Ray, Jonas, and I, given that we were so close to such an amazing spot as the Falls, decided to pay another visit to the park. But on this day, we established a moratorium on picture taking as the last two days had been so full of pictures, we wanted to really just absorb the feeling of the place. So, with Nietzche and Kafka on hand, we spent our existentialist day mostly on the island due to the fact that it provided great views of most all of the falls. But, before heading back, we wanted to go exploring more in the rainforest. So, we went back to the trail and hiked as we pleased, stopping to play with spiders, and leaving the trail at parts to go exploring for wildlife.

After our time in Iguazu ended, we headed back to Buenos Aires, and because the group I was with was not familiar with the city, we did a full city tour although to tell you the truth I had already seen most of it because I live so nearby. That night, we enjoyed a full meal accompanied by a tango show which was a great sample of Argentine culture.

The next and final day of our trip, we crossed the Rio del Plata to Uruguay on a charter boat which only took about 45 minutes. We arrived in Colonia which is a historically rich, touristy town located on the opposite side of the river from Buenos Aires. It is a very cozy town, full of cobblestone streets, wonderful views of the river, etc. We spent our last day of the trip here and had a great time albeit the sweltering heat.

And thusly, we end our trip, and start with the pictures.

Obviously, I was not able to rotate this picture, so you might just have to crane your neck a little. And I do realize that you all are probably feeling a little let down right now due to my exceptionally well-formatted blog from my last trip complete with captions on the side of pictures. It's alright though, from here on out, it is smooth reverse-chronological sailing.

This sideways photo above is a very large Uruguayan flag in Colonia alongside the river.

Here we have a restaurant (conveniently shaded) in Colonia that looked out on to the river from the patio. My friends and I spent the afternoon here talking and taking in the surroundings.

This is a picture of the live band from the tango show. Unfortunately there was not enough light to get a good shot of the tangoers as they didn't seem to want to hold still for long periods of time.
Jonas and Ray, from left to right, as we are off exploring the underbrush on the third day. Here we had kind of hit a dead end in our searches and so we had to stop turn around.
A view from the island looking in the middle of the two tiers of falls. This spot was my favorite because it provided a great view of all the falls on the right fork of the river.
Some of the green exposed on the second day with less water. I had a terrible urge to go exploring and climbing on the rocks amidst the falls, but sadly they didn't allow it.
My buds, post waterfall dunking.
A picture of a monkey peeling a mandarin. We were lucky enough to catch a group of them while they were all eating. It was great to watch them go to town on the fruit, and the air was full of a citrus smell. Also, they dropped their peels and half-eaten mandarins on us (although I don't view that us a plus).

Here we are at the end of the trail, playing in the waterfall. The water felt like steel pebbles being dropped on you because it was falling from about 200 feet up.
A nice shot of the right side of the falls.
This is La Garganta del Diablo as seen from the Island San Martin.
Another good view of the island and the falls from the Circuito Inferior.
The border between Argentina and Brazil is the middle of La Garganta del Diablo. This is the Brazilian half of La Garganta from the observation deck on the Argentine side. This was a spot in town where Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina all meet. It isn't shown so well in this picture, but just past the people is a fork in the river which separates Argentina and Brasil. The land on the upper left side of the picture is Paraguay. It was very interesting because on all three sides there are pinnacles painted in the country's flag's colors which made for easy identification.

My time in Iguazu was spent taking in an awesome place with good friends, and it was a place I know I will never forget. I strongly recommend that if you are every anywhere near the place that you should go without hesitation.

Although at the end of the trip I had a lot of pictures of waterfalls, many of which look relatively the same, and although my photography skills leave something to be desired, I will definitely look back on all of them with fond memories.

El verano completo

So, throughout the summer I have failed to be exceptionally diligent with my blogs, and I am sorry about that, life has been busy and changing over the last months. Shortly after my trip to the South, we had a great Christmas celebration with my host family. Luckily, I had a great set of packages from home that helped bring the Christmas spirit from the U.S. Also, I felt fortunate that I didn't feel overly homesick, as I hear that the holiday season can be particularly tough on exchangers. Then, quickly followed New Years, just how it does up there in the Northern Hemisphere where my class from school got together and had a party into the wee hours of the morning.

Shortly thereafter, January 4thish, I changed families. The Moretti's so far have been great, and I am very settled here now having been here just over two months. The family consists of the parents Jose and Monica and two kids, Juan Pedro and Maria Eugenia, 24 and 22 in age respectively, and the chihuahua Bionda. Everybody is very nice and exceptionally welcoming, although at first Bionda was very wary of the outsider living in her home. 

The house is located in a gated community called Los Lagartos (The Lizards), and it is a very upscale neighborhood. Thusly, I have access to tennis courts, golf course, and swimming pools.

So, since the move, life during the summer has been pretty calm, I swim most days to keep in shape, and I play a good amount of tennis. I have yet to brave the golf course so as not to disgrace the Hansen/Swanson family name and to avoid setting Argentine records for the largest divots.

Life is good, I see my friends from school often, as well as my exchange friends Jonas, Oliver, and Ray who all live about a half hour away. For my birthday on the 12th, we had a big group from school along with the aforementioned three over to the house for swimming, Frisbee, and an asado. It was a jolly ol' time, and I ended up having as good a birthday as can be expected sans almond spice cake. (Can you believe there is no buttermilk in Argentina? Also, there is practically no peanut butter here, although my family saved me and sent me some for Christmas. Life has been full of PB&J for the last two months.)

And just a few days ago, my most exciting adventure of the summer came to an end. I recently returned from a week long trip to Iguazu Falls with the same group of exchange students that I went with to the South. It is definitely one of the most breathtaking places on the planet, and I will do a recap accompanied by some great photos here on the ol' blog in the next day or so once I get the pictures uploaded and all.

Anyhow, I again want to apologize for my absence, I have recently rehashed my outlook on blogging and will try to write more, shorter, anecdotal blogs from now on, and I hope you all find it in your busy schedules to check in from time to time.

¡Verano ha llegado!

Well I've been absent for quite a while, which can be explained in a number of ways. First, after my last blog, I was very busy finishing up the school year with all my classmates, and between end of the year concerts, parties, and finally graduation, there was little time in between. Then, after my last day of school on the 28th, I had an exchange student meeting the 29th where I finally got to meet all the exchange students in my district. Moreover the next day, I left on a trip with about 35 exchange students from the greater Buenos Aires area for a 15 day trip to Patagonia and the south of the continent. Needless to say, I was out of reach there, and have spent the first days of this week recooping away from an Internet connection. Anyhow, enough of my excuses of negligence, I hope to give you all a very thorough recap of the last month or so of my life here in Argentina.

The Monday before graduation, I had a unique opportunity here in Pilar. My host mom and a couple other ladies of the Rotary Club here have an hour long radio talk show in which they notify community members as to the happenings of our Rotary Club here. And I had the good fortune of being interviewed on said program. Completely in Spanish. Luckily, I was able to conduct a fairly coherent 5-10 minute Q & A. It was really at this point that I realized that I am competent enough to understand and respond in Spanish (fluency is still a ways off I think).

The radio station from which they broadcast is a kind of community station where people can rent a time slot, and the 20 something year-old guys scheduled after the Rotary show came in early and caught part of my interview. They were hosting a sports/comedy/shoot-the-breeze show and so, when we finished our show, they yanked me in and started asking me questions about differences between Argentina and the U.S. and their respective women, nightlife, etc. Needless to say, it was interesting.

It was these events, combined with the onset of my understanding of the Spanish-dubbed Simpsons that it really dawned on me that I could communicate in Castellano.

Throughout the next week, we finished wrapping up school, meaning we spent most of our time at school watching movies, playing on the computers, playing a card game called Truco, or battling it out on a board game called T.E.G. in which you try to conquer the world. The last few days were not too taxing to tell you the truth. Anyhow, Thursday was the day of our graduation of which I am going to try and include a few pictures. And to my surprise, I received a nice certificate saying I participated throughout the year. It was a very nice ceremony, and due to the small size of our class, each student went up individually with his/her parents and received their diplomas, a medal, and some flowers. Then, my host mom had prepared a video slideshow of all the students, starting with baby pictures, and showing their progression. I was even included, although my pictures were only from the last two months, so it showed my progression from long hair to short as I recently got a haircut to survive in the terrible heat. Afterwards, there was asado, cake, and refreshments.

This is a picture of most of my class before the graduation ceremony.

The next day, we went to school late, and during lunch, we participated in the tradition of every graduating class, in which we go into the yard and throw mud, paint, and eggs all over the school uniforms that the opposite sex is wearing. So, after we were all nice and dirty, we left for the day (and the year) ready to start summer.

The next Sunday, I departed aboard a two level bus headed south on a 5000 mile journey. Due to the length of the journey, we spent a good portion of the two weeks on the bus that we all came to resent to a previously unforseen level. And while the trip was amazing, and I saw incredibly unique places and sights, the best aspect of the trip was the people I was with. After two weeks I felt like I had known some of these exchange students for years. It was a great experience for me to finally get to know other people in a situation like mine. I also met people from all over the world and the Buenos Aires province so I can now travel a lot of places where I know people.

While about half the time was spent travelling, we stopped and saw sights on the way so as to get out of the bus every once in a while. One of my favorite of these stops was in un bosque petrificado, which is a petrified forest. The scenery reminded me a lot of Eastern Washington around the Columbia River, Vantage, and Gorge area. It was quite nice to be out of the bus and I managed to get a good picture of un zorro colorado, or a Colorado fox.

On our trip our main stops were for three days in Ushuaia, and four days in Calafate. And really everything in between was pretty barren due to the fact that it is Patagonia. Highlights of the in between include crossing the Strait of Magellan in a ferry while black-and-white dolphins swam alongside and passing through Chile and seeing flamingos, llamas, juanacos, and wild horses.

Jonas from Germany, David from Denmark, and myself on board the ferry on the windy estrecho de Magallanes.

And here are the dolphins alongside the ferry.

The first major stop was in Ushuaia which is the most austral (southernmost) city in the world. It is located on Tierra del Fuego, the large island on the tip of South America shared by Chile and Argentina. Although it is called Tierra del Fuego, which means land of fire, it is actually quite cold. It got the name when Magellan crossed the strait at night and saw the indigenous people's fires on the south side of the strait. I think its name should be Tierra que Necesita un Fuego. So, despite its hot name, it is actually quite cold, but full of verdant woods and lakes at the Southern tip of the Andes. And for all of us from the roasting hot Buenos Aires area, it was a very pleasant break to breathe cold air and not be in a constant state of sweating.

Ushuaia is right on the Beagle Canal which runs on the southern side of Tierra del Fuego, and above is a picture from the Canal. It is named the Beagle Canal after the Beagle that Darwin sailed on around the world collecting specimens which would lead to his theory of evolution.

This is me protecting myself from the cold and the ocean spray in front of a famous lighthouse that guided the ways for boats passing through the Beagle Canal .

The town of Ushuaia itself was, although touristy, full of lovely little shops and restaurants. It was great to duck into a little hole in the wall cafe and grab a hot cocoa with some friends or to peruse the shopping options. All in all, it had a feel not unlike that of Leavenworth, Washington, (minus the Bavarian theme of course).

After Ushuaia, we retraced our steps aways and then headed up the west side of Patagonia along the Andes to Calafate and el Lago Argentino where numerous glaciers are located, including the famous Perito Moreno glacier, which is one of the few glaciers still advancing in the world.

The first day in Calafate we took a boat tour of Lago Argentina which is touched by four or five different glaciers. This was also a lot of fun because we drove by tons and tons of icebergs that were such an intense blue that a photo couldn't accurately capture it.


So I finally figured out how to put text on the side of my photos which I am quite happy about (and I'm sure you are too).

This one is in front of the Upsala glacier, named after a town in Sweden actually.

We were very fortunate as the weather in the Calafate area during our stay was a great 70 degrees or so and sunny. This helped to add to the majesty of the sights during the boat trip and the glacier hike.

Here I am in front of Perito Moreno before we start on our excursion over the famous glacier.

I was trying to capture the immense size and color of the thing, but I'm not sure if it is accurately portrayed. The glacier at the edge is about 30 stories high, and incredibly blue.
And below is a picture of me faking climbing up part of the glacier.

I wasn't too worried about the hike because our guide was Jesus. Haha actually, no this is just a water accumulation that is frozen over on top by a thin layer of ice. Below is a great view of the lakes and hills surrounding the glacier.


















At the end of the hike, it is a tradition to drink some whiskey with glacier ice in it, so the guides lead you to this little table close to the edge of the glacier and take out their pick-axes and chop up some ice and hand out a glass of scotch to each hiker.

The day before, I had also bought a very cool-looking hat that made me the envy of everbody on the trip if you will notice.

All in all, this was definitely the highlight of my trip as it gave me a chance to see something really unique in the world, and with my love for the outdoors, it proved to be an awesome experience. I really could see myself being a guide for something like this for a summer in Alaska maybe.

Another fun fact about the glacier is that where we were hiking, was in fact closer to the Pacific Ocean, as the bird flies, than Calafate, where we were staying. It really shows how narrow Chile is at some points as it was only a thirty minute drive to the glacier from Calafate. But although the proximity was close, the surfing had to wait as we would have had to hike over these mountains called the Andes to get to the Pacific.

Perito Moreno is also the glacier that forms huge arches on one side that touches land during a span of four years, and then, like clockwork, every fourth summer they come tumbling down. That is the main reason for its famek, and if you every see videos of a lot of people watching a glacier fall, you can tell your friends that I've been there.



I also really enjoyed the town of Calafate itself apart from the glaciers, which was full of people, restaurants, and tourist stores. Most of our time in town was spent walking around with friends, looking at things, or grabbing a sandwich in a restaurant.


This picture was taken on the side of the road between our hotel and the plaza. Being that we were all Rotary exchange students, we thought it would make a good shot.

These three were also some of my best friends on the trip and we live quite close to each other here in Buenos Aires.

The one with the sunglasses is Ray and he's from Lake Tahoe, the one on the left is Oliver from Sweden, and the one on the right is Jonas from Germany. We all plan on getting together here soon for a barbecue or something of the sort.


After our stay in Calafate, it was time to return home and we got on our way. One of our stops however, was just south of Trelew at a breeding site of pinguinos magallenos. This was another eagerly anticipated stop for me, as it is a rare opportunity to see live, wild penguins. They are very noisy and inquisitive creatures, coming up to you (although we weren't allowed to touch them), looking at you strangely, and then making strange honking noises. It was very interesting to see these particular penguins in their native habitat which is a far-cry from the typical picture one holds in their head. But all the same, it was fun to see them interact with each other and their young: fighting, jumping in the ocean, or simpy waddling around.

And after the penguins, we travelled home, saying our goodbyes to people who got off the bus before us. All in all, it was a great trip that I really enjoyed full with people, glaciers, dolphins, and penguins.

Now, I find myself here in Pilar, in the midst of a hot summer although I can now wear shorts and sandals everyday. There was a Rotary Christmas Party last night at my next host family's home, and we all had a great time. I should be changing families here just after the beginning of the year. I get along well with everyone in the family, and I think it should be an excellent situation. But right now, the focus is on Christmas, which is quite strange for me with the hot weather. I really am missing the snow of Washington right now (although it sounds like they have more than they can handle right now). I hope everyone finds themselves with loved ones around the holidays.

I will try to be a little bit more prompt with my next blogs. Again I apologize for the absence, but I hope you all find the time to read.


¡Felicidades todos!

Besitos,

Andy

P.S. I apologize for the spacing in the blog, the pictures mess around with it a bit.

Catching Up

So, as predicted, the rate of blogging has taken a decrease in the past few weeks. I would like to offer my apologies, but my life has been fairly busy and computer free for the last while. However, now I have some time and will try to fill you all in on what life has been like as the summer starts here in Pilar.

The majority of my weekdays pass uneventfully, I have a steady routine of waking up, going to school, and afterwards returning home, studying, reading, taking a dip in the pool, and going to bed. All the while, my main goal is to continue learning and using Spanish.

Despite the general placidity of life, I will go through and give the highlights of the past 3 weeks.

On Friday, a fortnight ago or so, (actually 17ish days ago, to be honest, I just couldn't resist the opportunity to use the word "fortnight") I went to an opthamalogist here in Argentina because my eyes have been reacting strangely with the new climate or something. They had been red and bloodshot pretty much since my arrival, although they didn't irritate me at all. So, after this appointment, I was unable to wear contacts for a week and used eye drops which thankfully cleared up any redness. I still don't know exactly what happened, but they seem to be better for now. Anyhow, for a week I didn't wear my contacts, and that made life exceptionally interesting as I am effectively blind without them, and I also don't own a pair of glasses. Thus, I grew accustomed to a blurry world for a week, although I didn't really have to go to school either, so I got some good reading done at home.

The next Friday was an amazing day for me, as I was finally able to wear my contacts again, and really, after seven days of squinting and holding things six inches in front of my face, the gift of clear sight was immensely appreciated. That day happened to be Halloween, which also is my mommy's birthday, and I had the good fortune of speaking with her and my brother via the wonderous Skype program. After giving her birthday wishes, my host brother Christian and I made the trip in to Buenos Aires for a Halloween party with Christian's girlfriend and others.

That Sunday, we hosted an asado at the house in honor of my host father, Guillermo's, birthday. Guille's daughters and parents came, as did Patricia's parents and we all had a very nice afternoon eating on the lawn.

The next big event in my life occurred on the evening, or more so late night, of Tuesday, November 4th, 2008. Luckily for me, we have access to U.S. news channels at the house here in Pilar, and I was prepared to stay up watching the election coverage as long as was necessary. Unfortunately, as I started watching, I was soon faced with the exceptionally difficult decision of choosing between CNN or Fox News. (even though admittedly I would rather have watched Stewart and Colbert's coverage on Comedy Central).

Anyhow, due to my 3 hour time difference with the East Coast, I was up quite late into the night watching Wolf and Co. talk to holograms and playing with their endless technology. I was finally able to get to bed around 3:30 having watched Obama's speech, and I have to say that my hopes are high for our country. McCain gave a terrific speech, even in defeat. He was ever-so gracious, and I hope that despite the tough campaign, we can get together behind our new leader as a nation and put aside the ridiculous partisanship that characterizes our politics. I hope you all voted and watched during this monumental election.

It truly is a pivotal time for the world, and having seen the coverage from down here, I see that America really does set the standard in so many ways and we have a responsibility to pull ourselves up and move on into the future.

Ok, sorry about that diversion; too many toes can be stepped on with politics.

So, after staying up into the wee hours of the morning, I woke up Wednesday and did not manage to make it into school what with my lack of sleep and my rising allergies with the onset of hot weather. And speaking of hot weather, man has it been hot. Essentially, the first day of November would equate to the first day of May for you Northern Hemisphereans. And on the first day of November, our temperature was right around 37 degrees celsius which can roughly convert to 102 degrees F. And to add to the tenacity of the heat, my hair is currently the longest it has been in pretty much my whole life. And on top of that, at my school we have to wear pants and shoes as part of the uniform (meaning we cant wear shorts and sandals, not that I want to go to school pantlsless). Needless to say, for me, whereas I usually start wearing shorts and flip-flops in March, wearing jeans and sneakers in the equivalent of August weather has been a little tough. Each day when I go home, there is a lot of pool use.

Anywho, to return to storytelling, Thursday, I did go to school feeling rested, and that evening, many of my classmates and myself went in to BA for a fiesta egresada, which is a party that each graduating high school class puts on around this time. This fiesta was exceptionally fun, and we danced the night away.

Friday, after a little bit of sleep, we went to school and actually had a football match against a neighboring school. Our grade actually tied in the end, 1-1, all on very little sleep, so we were proud enough of our performance.

The rest of my weekend passed nonchalantly enough. Sunday was Patricia's birthday, so we came in to her parent's house for a glorious asado, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite meals. We also had some ice cream, which is a bit different than ours in the States. I would compare it more to gelato, and helado frutilla con crema is my favorite (strawberry with cream).

Anyhow, there is a semi-brief update on my life's happenings, hopefully next week I can give you some insight into everday life here in Pilar and tell you about some of the idiosyncratic differences between my life in the States and my life here. I think that could be fun and hopefully give you all a nice picture of Argentina.

Life is going fantastic for me here, trying to wear shorts as much as I can outside of school, and still learning some Spanish. I'm also in the process of organizing for a trip to the south of the country that will take 30 other exchange students and myself through Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, the Strait of Magellan, and to el Fin del Mundo, or the end of the world essentially. That should be tons of fun and an exceptionally unique experience I'm sure. It is scheduled for December some time, so those exciting stories still have a while before they are told.

That about does it, thanks for reading, I hope life is treating everybody well, and thanks for voting for one, giving me great news, and two, showing the world that we have the power in our country to do things truly revolutionary.

La Primavera

Here in Pilar, we are in the full swing of spring officially - I´m starting my fourth week here in Argentina and the sun is shining bright through the window in front of me. Yesterday was Mother´s Day and we sprung forward with Daylight savings. So, for those keeping track, Buenos Aires is now five hours ahead of Pacific Time.

My week or so has been paradoxically eventful and uneventful. Last Monday the boys in our grade took on the teachers in a game of soccer, sadly we were defeated 3-2. But we followed up with some lunch at a local asado restaurant. Then, throughout the rest of the week, the relative placidity sank in, and routine stayed the same. Primarily consisting of going to school, going to my host grandparents home, and then back to my home, the days follow a similar pattern. Despite the apparent tedium, life is rich with culture and new things. I continue to learn Spanish and that is my primary focus throughout my days.

Although school gives me a place to associate with friends, some classes are quite beyond me, so my time is passed reading. So far, I have read in English A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson, The Life of Pi, and Of Mice and Men, all fantastic reads. I am currently reading A Wrinkle in Time and afterwards plan to start The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in Spanish. However, I do participate in some classes such as math, and English class, where I passed our last test with flying colors. Also, we have a debate class on Thursdays in English, so I did pretty well due to my native tongue!

Hopefully these little anecdotes will help paint a picture of my school days, I am hoping to slowly provide a picture instead of telling you all at once. After all, I need something to write about in the future!

Anyhow, my weekend resurrected eventfullness and Saturday morning, Alex, Patricia, Guillermo, and I went up north a ways to a farm set up where a new Rotary Club was having a kick-off party. Along the way, we passed the only golf course in Argentina that has golf carts which was designed by Jack Nicklaus coincidentally. Upon arriving at the party, we were greeted by members from our Rotary club and shortly thereafter presented with a feast where I think the goal was for every guest to eat their body weight in meat. Being the steak lover that I am, I saw nothing wrong with this and happily strived for the goal. (But in all actuality I heard a stat today that said the average Argentinean eats 80 kilos of meat a year, which equates to about 175 lbs. So by the end of my time here, I should have realistically attained that far-fetched goal.) Anyway, the party was enjoyable, complete with performers during the meal who entertained us with folkloricó and traditional pampas dancing. There were complex rhythmic drum routines, which was added to by an extremely entertaining stomp dance in which a man used boleadoras, which are old hunting tools consisting of long ropes with balls on the end. He would swing these in circles all about them and strike the balls on the stage, keeping an ever-changing beat, and meanwhile his partner was beating a drum in a very unique way all the while both were making complex stomps with their feet. Pretty awesome to tell you the truth.

Soon after lunch ended, I was introduced to a German boy who is currently in a city about 20 minutes away from Pilar. Together in our lack of understanding a lot of what is going on, Jonas and I got along quite well and he filled me in on all that I had missed amongst the exchange students. Apparently there are only five of us with my recent addition - Jonas, myself, a Danish boy, a Swedish boy, and an American girl. Everybody communicates in English primarily which makes things easy for me, but also is kind of disheartening as I realize that Jonas is striving to become trilingual. But, between talking to Jonas and my recent communication with a friend in Brasil, I realized that I am really quiet lucky having studied Spanish for three years back home. My friend in Brasil says that people have shown surprise recently as she has started speaking to them in Portuguese. Luckily I have had this luxury my whole time here and have strived to augment my vocabulary and work on pronunciation.

Anyhow, Jonas and I got along well like I said, I told him of the only German band I know, a heavy metal, electronic band called Ramstein, who are apparently kind of a joke in certain circles in Germany. After chatting for awhile, we went and played some Bocce ball with Guillermo and Alex (where we won of course.) Soon after, we were invited over to an arena where they had a horse show, complete with races and a bilingual narrating gaucho. Games were played and boleadoras thrown, and eventually, it was time to return home.

Sunday here in Argentina was Mother's Day as I mentioned, so we came over to the grandparents house for an asado. Guillermo´s parents and daughters were all here so it was a big family gathering where I again tried to eat my body weight in lomo and asado. After the meal I had the nice privilege of speaking to my mom via the incredibly useful Skype and saying hi to Uncle Keith, Aunt Vonnie, Tami, and Izzy who were all at the house in Yakima. Of course I wished her a happy Mother's Day although that probably didn't quite register as it is currently fall in the Northern Hemisphere. We had a lovely chat, but then I had to run off as it was also the day of Superclásico which is basically the match up of the two most revered club soccer teams here in Argentina. Boca Juniors (who I saw two weeks ago) vs. River Plate (all club names are in English for some reason and River Plate is the translation of Rio del Plata). Everyone in my household are avid Boca supporters, so I have fallen into their line of thinking or I risk estrangement. Superclásico is a huge event as it only takes place twice a year - think of it as the Yankees and Red Sox meeting only twice each year, about 40 years ago when baseball was the sport in the US. It gets pretty crazy to say the least. Luckily for all of our sanity, Boca managed to prevail 1-0 in a nail-biter, but everyone went home happy. Last night we ate some leftover steak and retired to bed for school this morning.

Fun fact: I start off my mornings with a bowl of Zucaritas which are actually Frosted Flakes, so even though I am half a world away, I can still find my favorite cereal!

Right now I am sitting in computer class, preparing for lunch in a bit, with the window open in front of me. The sun is shining in with a nice breeze carrying a smell that distinctly reminds me of Hawaii and leis. I am really shocked at how much the olfactory senses can recall memories, and actually I just went and pulled some freshly bloomed flowers from the plant and am currently relishing the memories of hot Hawaiian sun.

Life is going well for me here, thinking of times past and times still to come, and I hope all of you can be found in a similar state of mind - thanks for reading.

Day 10!

The title of this blog is day 10 as most keen readers can ascertain. But to me this is strange indeed, I feel like I have been here for much more than 10 simple days. My schedule and routine has lulled me into a sense of things always being this way. It is a strange sensation to say the least.

Well as is apparent from my comfortable attitude towards life here, the last week has gone very smoothly, and I have adjusted well to life in a foreign country. (It is quite surprising how quickly one can become adjusted to not understanding anything being said around them.)

My first weekend in Argentina was a full one. After school Friday, my host brother Christian and I went and played some tennis, and boy did it feel good to get some of the rust off. Then, the whole family went into Buenos Aires for dinner around 10 (things run on a different clock here). Saturday I woke up, played some video games with my host brother Alex and then went horseback riding with him on some horses from the farm just down the road. That night, Christian and I went over to a friend's house from school and relaxed there for a while. Then, the group was going dancing, but Christian and I called it an early night around 1 because we had the good fortune of going to Buenos Aires again on Sunday.

Sunday consisted of waking up to the smell of meat on the grill. Here in Argentina it is very typical for families to have an "asado" for lunch on Sundays. A barbecue essentially, it consists of chorizos (sausages), lomo (tenderloin), and asado (a sort of ribs). It was all very tasty, and soon after lunch, Christian and I departed for a Rotarian's home here in Pilar.

The Rotarian lived in perhaps the nicest home I´ve yet to see in Pilar, and to my good fortune, it turns out that they are my next family here in Argentina. The father then took us on a drive to Buenos Aires and ended up in a suburb called La Boca. For those Spanish knowers out there, it is called La Boca because it was the first major port to the city due to its access to Rio del Plata. La Boca is a rich historical neighborhood, the originator of the tango, and the home to the country´s most popular club soccer team - Boca Juniors. The game had all the crazy fans dressed head to toe in blue and yellow, and a decent game. Sadly, Boca lost 2-1 but is still in contention in the league.

That was the highlight of my weekend for sure, and other than that, I have spent most of this week getting even more comfortable with my routine here, going to school, etc. Another event worth noting was my first Rotary function. The Pilar Norte Rotary club hosted a golf tournament Tuesday, but sadly I couldn´t showcase the amazing Swanson athleticism that is innate to all that bear that name as I was in school. But afterwards, I joined the Rotarians and participants for a nice dinner in the clubhouse and I got some great practice with my Spanish.

Life goes on here in Pilar as I´m sure it does elsewhere, and tonight there is a fiesta honoring the graduating class at my school. It will be a bit of a late night, but there is no school Friday or Monday so I should be able to catch up just fine.(On Monday our grade at school has a soccer match against the male staff members followed by an asado. It should be a great time.)

I hope this finds everyone well, and thanks for reading.

Day 3

Just to let everyone know, I am sorry that this blog did not come out sooner, there is so much to tell and not a whole lot of time to simply sit and write. This blog has thus been pieced together with three different computers over two days and hopefully paints an accurate picture of my world here in Pilar.

I have travelled so far in the last few days, physically, emotionally, and metntally. Culture shock has definitely been the phrase for my initial time here in Pilar. But, for those of you who don´t know the details, I will give a brief recap.

I left Seatac airport at 800 in the morning on Monday and flew to Atlanta. This was an exceptionally fun flight as Delta had installed personal screens in the back of every headrest. You could rent movies, access free music, or play games which consumed most of my time. There was one game which was a trivia game where anyone on the plane could compete against eachother. This was right up my alley and I spent mostof my time involved with that and competing with the guy behind me.

Then after a 5 hour layover in Atlanta which primarily consisted of watching Family Guy on my iPod, I embarked on a 10 hour flight from Atlanta to Buenos Aires. I sat next to a young woman from Sweden who was on her way to Argentina for a study abroad program. Luckily, I managed to catch some sleep on the plane and I woke up Tuesday morning at 600 Buenos Aires time. We were treated to the lovely smell of bagels in a microwaved bag and packaged cream cheese.

Upon arriving, I made it through customs a-ok and found my host family waiting for me with a sign with my name on it and all. The first thing they said to me was to communicate how surprised they were at my height. Apparently this will be a theme for my stay here. Luckily or unluckily, I´m still not sure which, my whole family, mom, dad, and two brothers, can speak English with a high degree of fluency. My host mother, two brothers, and my host mother´s father then proceeded to drive me back to Pilar which is about a thirty-minute drive north of the city. The grandfather was actually raised in England, so he mantained an English conversation in the car and he pointed out different eccentricities of the city.

To get home, we drove all the way through town, and proceeded down a dirt road for about half a mile and arrived upon a quaint cottage-like home. I was then given the tour, complete with satellite TV and Playstation 2. I have a spacious room, a comfy bed, a fan!, and my own bathroom, all the amenities one could desire. Life was settling in and we had beef and rice for dinner. Just what I was hoping!

The next morning I woke up early (715) to go to school with my host father and brothers. It was a half-hour drive through town, and down a lot of dirt roads. When we arrived at school, my host brother introduced me to the class and a lot of very fast Spanish flew my way. After getting settled, I was able to explain to them that I could understand them if they spoke very slowly. I am actually quite surprised with my language skills at the end of my second day here. I have found that I can communicate my ideas fairly well to someone with enough patience and if someone wants to talk to me, I can usually catch the gist of what they are saying in a slow tone. However, conversational Spanish here, with the speed and unfamiliar Castellano accent, is lost on me almost entirely. Luckily, most of the students speak English and if necessary I can communicate in my native tongue. In these episodes, I have been told that I speak Spain Spanish with an American accent. Apparently there is some work to do.

The school set-up is different entirely than anything I´ve ever witnessed or heard of. The students stay together in one class for the whole day and teachers come and visit the class. The structure in the class is almost non-existant, with kids shouting as they please and there is a general lack of rules in the class. However, there are 22 kids in the class and all very close and also very welcoming of me and ready to talk, albeit slowly.

My days here have been very full of excitement and new things. Here on the night of my third day, I finally feel as if I am settling in to my new environment. I think this is largely due to my use of language as tonight I have finally started to track the general gist of some (not all) conversations not directed towards me. This has given me a lot of hope, and my family was whole-heartedly embraced suffering my broken Spanish. I plan on watching the vice-presidential debate tonight with my host father Guillermo thanks to our satellite TV. Guillo as we call him was a Representative in the Argentine House of Representatives and takes an active interest in world politics.

I am feeling good about my decision to be here, and my family is very supportive. Tomorrow I will go to school and then play some tennis with my brother Christian and some kids from school. Hopefully I can tackle the clay courts! I hope this finds everybody well and I will try to be more prompt with future posts. Chao mis amigos y mi familia!