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.