ADIOS ARGENTINA! :)

I dont even want to think about having to say goodbye all over agian! The thing is when I said goodbye to my family and friends back at home I knew I was coming home soon. I knew that I would see them again. But these goodbyes are 100 times harder because i dont have a garinty that i will see them again in a year or in 5 years from now. And that thought scares me more then ever.

I have learned more in 6 months here then I could have ever learned back home in bend. I realized the meaning of family which now to me is so important. I was shown everyday by my family here how important spending daily time together is. I have made life long friendships here and to me that is more important then anything. I now can say I have a family half way around the world and bestfriends that will always be in my life.

These 6 months have been some of the hardest and best days of my life. I went from so desperatley wanting to be back at home speaking english and having my family and friends.To not wanting to go home at all. I guess because I have watched myself grow and have seen that I am maturing. I just dont want to go home and have to start all over again. I dont want to go back to my old life that was so average and only fullfilling one thing myself.

Argentina is a place i could never forget with people i WILL never forget. This experience may be forgotten by others but it will stay in my heart forever.

Friday I have a goodbye party at the boliche(club) with my goodfriend from Iceland. I am going to spend as much time as i can with friends and family. And of course drinking mate and eating all my favorite food here. I am going to miss the food here soo much :( haha

I leave on the 15th to reconquista which is a city about an hour away from mine and then from there we take a bus all the way to Buenos Aries which is about a 10 hr bus ride. Then I have 3 days in Buenos Aries and then I leave to the USA!!!!!!!!! I will be back in America on the 19th of july. :)

THANK YOU ARGENTINA FOR MAKING THIS AN AMAZING AND UNFORGETABLE EXPERIENCE!!! TE VOY A EXTRANAR :)

sorry for my spelling and english it is not very good right now.

TIME FLEW BY! :(

I cant believe that I have to go home in 3 weeks :(

It makes me so sad to even think about having to say goodbye all over again! But i know its not a goodbye forever just for now. I can now say that this experience has changed my life! The time since i have been gone has shown me how much strength i really do have! I now am going to come home a more mature independent girl. 

This last month I have been really busy and it has been filled with activites. I went to my first 15 which is a really big deal here! They have a huge party with all of their friends and family. I also went to my grandpas farm and got to go horse back ridding which was really cool! I go to the boliche (club) every weekend! I am going to miss them they are soo fun :( the other day i got to be on the radio and had to talk in spanish haha!

I have talked alot about the US here. I have done many presentations infront of a lot of people. I did one infront of almost my whole city and then i did another one in the english school! I go to the english school quite often to talk with the kids. Tomorrow I am going to the hospital with my mom to see what her job is like. 

I have made dulce de leche which is handy because it is now one of my favorite foods in the world!

I will write again soon this was just a quick update since i have not written in awhile!

see you all soon :)

Random

Well I thought I was in need of an update. So here it goes! Its June 1 and this means I have exactly a month and 18 days until I will be in the footsteeps of bend! I dont exactly want to talk about going home just yet so we will just save that for another blog update. I have school in about an hour or so and I love Fridays at school! I guess its cuz i like the classes and how excited everyone is to leave! I have language( whear i learn how to correct my grammer in spanish) Economy and math! Now if you asked anyone at home they would say I hate those subjects but I love them here maybe because i actually understand more then 5 words the teacher is saying! School here is pretty short compared to school back at home its about 5 hours and i go in the afternoon after lunch. It will be hard getting up early next year when i get up late here everyday but i always seem to still be tired even if i get up at 10.
The other night I made mac and cheese for my family here and they loved it. In there words "Que rico" its pretty easy to make when its just a box of noodles and cheese. This weekend im going to make brownies and french toast! I want to share as much American culture with them as possible before I leave.
I have amazing friends here that make me never want to go home! They are people I will never forget and even if I will be a million miles away nothing could break our friendship! These people will always be some of my bestfriends! They have made a huge impact on my life and will always be apart of my life.
Tonight we have a pena which is when our whole class gets together to eat and dance!
I am learning how to play the guitar from this lady who is trying to put together this english song for her new album. She actually has an amazing voice in English!
I Love drinking mate with my friends and people who invite me to comeover because they are intrested in who i am i guess! I am known as the yankee here! The other day i was walking down the street and this lady with her kids said oh look its the girl from the United States and soon enough the little boy came up to me talking in english! Everyone here knows who I am and sometimes its hard because i cant even go running without people trying to stop me to talk to me in english or ask me questions. I walk in the supermarket and the next day at school everyone knows i went to the supermarket. Thats what its like here!
The one thing i miss so much back at home is my activites dance, soccer, my job! I always had something to do and here its different! but it has been a good thing since i have time for myself to look and reflect on life.
 I have learned alot about house chores (mom you should be excited) I do more here then i do back at home! It made me realize how much more i need to help out around the house!
My daily goal : To not worry about tomorrow or yesterday but enjoy what the day has instore for me! I am putting on my big girl pants and trying to be stong!

Adventures :)

So the last time I posted I was getting ready to go on my trip to the north part of Argentina. To see Salta, Jujuy and these Absolutley breath taking waterfalls. I was gone for a week and during that week I did and tried things I would have never done unless I was in Argentina. I went rafting in Salta which was awesome because how many people can say they went rafting in Argentina. Then I went to go see these mountains in Jujuy that are called the mountains with 7 colors and they actually had colors such as red, pink, green, blueish and white.Next we went to Iguazu, where i went zip linning and repelling down a waterfall. Yea no big deal right. But the best thing of the trip was when I got to see the 7 wonders of the world the waterfalls! They were seriously amazing! They were massive waterfalls that made you think how beautiful this world is and how lucky you are to get to live in it! We even got to ride in this boat to get to see the waterfalls closer! We all got soaking wet but it was so worth it! The trip was so fun and I already miss all of my new friends and the crazy adventures. It was sad to say goodbye but hopefully I will see them all again in Buenos Arríes. I prolly forgot a couple details because it was filled with activities but these were my favorite activites.

Now I have been in Argentina for about 3 and half months now and my spanish is so much better! I understand almost everything everyone says and can keep a conversation but its just the verbs that are hard. But im starting to talk in spanish without having to think about it! I absolutley love my life here in Calchaqui. I have great friends and a great family. Im Sad that in about 2 and half months im going to have to leave all of what i started behind. That is going to be a really hard day. I just want to keep learning about my self and growing up. Its Crazy how fast you mature when you are an exchange student but i guess its like forced maturity.

Here are some pictures of my trip! Enjoy!

She is the other exchange student in my city!



The Mountain with 7 colors


Zip linning!!!!!!!!


The waterfalls




Beautiful!


Friends I will never forget!

TWO MONTHS!

It has been some time since I last posted! I have ups and downs but in the end I am having the time of my life! So 2 weeks ago I went to a different city that is about 2 hours away from where i live! I went for an afs event and it was tons of fun! I went to a boliche there and it is way better because it is bigger and more people! I also played soccer with these random guys I did not know but it was really fun! Because here girls dont play soccer and it is rare when a girl does! so they were suprised i knew how to play! I absolutley love the ice cream here and i used to eat it almost everyday and since i went to the ice cream shop so much the owner gave me a tour of how they make the ice cream. Also everyday I have to go to the supermarket and the owner of the store always helps me with my list of food,  everyone here is so sweet!! The other day I had to take a math test and of course it is in spanish! but i did really good on it better then kids in my class. but because my friends tutored me and helped explain it to me better.  I never thought i would ever actually like math. The bad news is that i got a bad cold (lost my voice) and havent been feeling the greatest but good thing my mom is a doctor here and knew exactly what to do!! I am finally starting to have my own routine and starting to feel more at home! My family is great we have some good times blasting the music singing and dancing! and of course the late night snacks with my brother :) I am going on a trip to salta jujuy and cartartas which are these really pretty citys and has one of the biggest waterfalls in the world. I am going for a week it is about 20 hrs away from whear i live and im going on a bus.... but I am going with a bunch of other kids so it should be fun! I am learning so much about my self and others! but I LOVE hearing from people so facebook, email or write me :) Hope you like the pictures! :)

My friends before the boliche! :)



My favorite ice cream parlor



Calchaqui my city! :)

The Truth :)

Being an Exchange student is one of the best choices I have ever made.But little did I know how hard it would be. Everyone thinks being an exchange student is all fun and games but to tell you the truth that is so far from right. There are the days when I wake up and forget how far away I am, how I dont have my phone to call my mom and ask her to come get me when things get tough. Or when I just want to be laying in my bed watching hitch. But this is what seperates us from everyone else. Us exchange students are so far from different. We are the Kids who are going to change the way people view the world. We are the people who arent afraid when we fall because we know that in time we will get right back up! We have the strength and power to make change and see change! We are the kids who get to live in a history book and understand the meaning of the word citizen.
Then their are the days that blow my mind away, like how lucky am I to be in this beautiful place learning a new language and making friends, I would have never known before. And these days always out weigh the bad ones. These are the days that make me never want to go home. I never knew how much strength I had until my first step off the plane. Being here has made me change my mind about many things. I want to so badly make this world a better place and this right now is my first step in doing it.

I will write again soon about my update in activites! I am having a wonderful time abroad! :)

One month :)

Today makes one month of being with my family in Argentina :) I love it here soo much! Everyday I learn something new and try something new!!! But it is going by so fast :/ school is still hard for me since I am still learning Spanish! But my Spanish is much better then it was my first day or even week here!! I went to the English school with the little kids and they are so darn cute but one day I will go back to talk to the older kids. Me and my sister watch many tv shows but they are all in Spanish but I really like them becuase they are interesting haha. Santa fe was very fun. We went shopping and I got some new stuff. I love the shoes here and the scandals so I bought some new ones :) I am starting to have my own friends which is cool! Everyone here is very nice!! I don't have really an update but how I'm loving it here!! I miss everyone :)

Everything comes with time!

I have realized the meaning of the word pacience and have been practicing it alot. Since when you are an exchange student patience is a key aspect to have. I have learned that i need to be patient with myself, others and most importantly God. Last friday i experienced the first session of homesickness and i was getting frustrated with myself and everyone else. But the word that kept poping into my head was patience. I felt like God was telling me to be patient to wait, because everything comes with time. So today everything came into place, i was remembered of the amazing opportunity i was given. To be honest this is the best gift anyone could have given me. I get to see the world in a bigger way, to be able to see how blessed i am. I havent felt this much happiness in awhile and what i am feeling words cant descirbe. By being here, away from everything that was distracting me I have felt Gods love. I want to share this feeling with everyone here. I want to live my life like there is no tommorow because you never know I could die right now or a week from now but thats why we need to live up everyday. I prolly would have never realized this unless i was taken away from all the distractions in my life. The other day my friend told me something that will stick with me forever.I dont like you because of what you have but because of the person you are. How cool would it be if everyone thought this way. What i love most about argentina is that the people here are real, they speak exactly what they are thinking they dont like you because of what you have but because of the person you are. These people are teaching me more then i would ever learn back in bend. They are teaching me RESPECT! Which is so important to have. wednessday i get to go to the english school and teach young kids english which im so excited to do! because i love young kids and the kids here are soooooo cute. haha the last part was kinda random. 

that is all for now! besos :)

Realizing im alone

When you are all alone you have a lot of time to think about the good and bad. I have come to realize many things and one of them being that I am so blessed. I always thought to be honest that I needed more of this or more of that but when i came here and took a step backwards i realized i have more then i need. for example my family here does not have a dishwasher, dryer, a heater etc... But the thing is they dont even realize they need it. which is so cool to see because whear i come from we are all conssumed with needing more of everything. I have also realized the meaning of the word ¨Home" you know the saying home is whear the heart is well thats exactly it. I now have 2 homes one here in argentina with my family and my other in bend. But i am so lucky to get to have 2 loving familys.

Now the update on my life here.

So last Thursday was my first day of school and i couldent understand one thing, literally. All of the teachers would talk really fast and everyone would ask me tons of questions that i got overwhelmed and a massive headache. oh and to top it off the principal introduced me in front of the whole school and they asked me to talk in spanish and i forgot everything i learned haha it was pretty bad. I so far have gone to the boliche(a club) twice and they are crazy fun. It is really hot and smoky in them and everyone is drinking, im sure you get the point.You go to them at 3 in the morning and leave them at 7 in the morning. I also have hungout with my friend johanna another exchange student from Iceland. She has introduced me to her friends which is nice. I love it here and everyone is so friendly. It gets very hot during the day but i could not tell you the actual number because its different. So we go swimming alot or drink cold mate which is amazingly good haha. The food here is way better then anything in the US IN N OUT being the only exception. Every day and Every meal accept breakfast we have carne or meat. Also every sunday for lunch we go to family friends houses and pass time or eat lunch with them. But on wed i am going to Santa Fe a really big city to visit my brother who goes to college there. He left on monday for school. But i am pretty excited to see a different city. Also last friday i had a AFS family dinner to welcome all the new people. It is hard to remember everything i do but that is the big stuff.  That is it for now. Miss you all more then you know. I think about everyone everyday.

First week here in Argentina!! :)

So today will be the first week of being far away from my friends and family and of course my little town bend! I will start off by talking about my adventure to Argentina. First I had an orientation in Miami which was fun in the way I got to meet new people but boring since I learned pretty much the same thing I already knew but oh well guess they really want the information drilled into your head! Second we had our flight to argentina from Miami oh and btw the Miami international airport is huge!! As soon as we got on the plane I realized there was no turning back that this was soon going to be my new life! I sat next to my new friend Stevie which was good because it was a 9 hr flight. The plane was really big but it was nice. I have never gone on a international flight so it was exciting! The flight attendants were dressed very nice and they offered so much food haha! On the plane you could choose many different movies which was nice and I got to watch my favorite movie Ever the notebook :) during the whole flight everyone on exchange to Argentina slept maybe 2 hrs at the most so we were all very tired! Then finally I looked out the window and realized we were landing! We all got super excited and anxious to get off the plane. We arrived in Buenos Aries and then took a bus to our next orientation at this place with a bunch of rooms and an auditorium it was cute! We stayed there for 2 days. Next I had to take a 10 hr bus ride on a bus called felchabus haha to reconquista. The bus was big and the seats would fold out like a bed with pillows and blankets! The bus even had a lady who would serve you food or get you anything you need but remember everyone only knows Spanish so to ask for something was kind of hard. I rode the bus with a boy from brazil and a girl from Thailand. So it was interesting trying to communicate with them :) the next thing I knew I was awoken by alenna the gril from Thailand saying that we were here! I woke up fast and started getting so nervous not knowing what to say to my family. We arrived at the bus station and outside was a sign with kids saying welcome it was so cute! My family was standing there with a sign and they were so excited to see me that everything I was nervous about went away! We then had to drive to calchaqui! I then finally arrived at my families house and it was perfect! They are so sweet and caring! Anyways so far since I have been here I have met many new people since im the first exchange student from the united states to ever come here. Everyone stares at me and asks so many questions! I have had mate a lot of mate we have it ever afternoon with friends. I watched the Argentina football or soccer team play against Sweeden and we won 3 to 1 :) me and my host brother Franco went running the other day which was nice so I could get my mind of everything! I have done so many things it's hard to remember everything but my sister claudi has shown me around and we walk everywhere! The people who drive here are crazy they don't stop ever and drive how they want it's pretty dangerous. But tonight I'm going to take my first dance class!! Oh and the times for everything here is way different like for dinner we eat at 1030 and then go hangout with friends haha it's fun but I get tired! But anyways its very nice here and my Spanish is getting better but it gets frustrating not knowing what people are saying! I start school this Monday and I'm soo nervous :/ wish me luck :)

Time To Say Goodbye!!!!

Last time I wrote was when I had 36 days left and all thought, talked and dreamed about was Argentina! Now this Sunday I am going to drive to Portland and my journey begins! I have to leave everybody behind everything I have ever known and I have to say Goodbye to the most important person in my life my mom. It really has been just my mom sister and I my whole life. So it is going to be extremely hard to say goodbye. But that is what makes us stronger, more independent. We need to learn how to handle challenges on our own. This opportunity will not only help me grow as a person but also my relationship with God. That is the most exciting part of it! I have to rely on him to help me overcome everything because I cant do it alone.

I have started packing and im the type of person who wants to bring her whole room with her. but obviously that will not be possible at all! since we can only bring one bag that weighs 44 pounds and a carry on. yeaa it sucks i know!

My journey- Bend to portland on sunday for my dance competition! (yay) then i drive to california for a day or two then my next flight to miami for my orientation and boom off to Argentina!
so i guess the next time i will write will be when im in Argentina! I cant believe it! wow.:) I have been waiting for this moment and i finally get to leave! Talk to you all soon :)

A New Adventure In The Making!!

Time is flying by and i cant believe that in a month i will be in Argentina. Sharing my life with strangers that will soon be some of the most important people in my life. Right now i have a host family, a sister and a brother! My sister Claudi told me that i will be a senior with her in school and that we dont start school till 1:30, how crazy is that!! I live in Santa Fe, Calchaqui which is not a huge town. I hope that i will get to take dance lessons i have always wanted to be able to dance in another country. It has not hit me yet that i am leaving but im sure it will! I Only have 36 days left here in Bend! Estoy muy emocionada!! :)