Difunta Correa

Well, I just finished translating my notes from my Biology class. I feel like in every class I am one day behind everyone else. I sit in class and copy my clasemates notes and answers and then go home and translate them to the best of my ability so I can atleast know what we are going. But before I get into school, let me tell you about an adventure I went on on Monday....

My family has gotten a new red car. For all you car lovers out there, I am sorry but I don´t know what type it is. Anyways, when people get something special brought into their lives whether it be a call, a child, or a wedding, they travel to the Difunta Correa to give thanks. The story is that this woman Difunta went in search of her lost husband in the desert with her baby. But when she ran out of water, she died. Amazingly her baby was found by cowboys (gauchos) days later still alive. We give thanks to her for bringing things into our lives. The city (Vallecito) is about an hour drive away from San Juan and we left for it in the late afternoon. At the memorial site for her, there are buildings filled with gifts. Each building is thanking her for a different miracle. One room was completelly filled with photos of family members, some that were born and some that were found after being missing. Other rooms were filled with replicas of houses or wedding dresses. It was really a beautiful place but in honor of the people visiting, I chose not to take any pictures inside the buildings. On the outside, all of the walls were imbedded with placks thanking her and the name of the family and date. Some dated back to 1927. Each plack cost atleast a thousand dollars to get imbedded and there must have been thousands of them. At the top of a hill, there was a life size replica of Difunta and her baby. All around her were gifts of water to help her survive in the desert. Here, people who came also put up their liscense plates all over the posts holding up the roof. I found ones from Oregon and California! In giving thanks, we each lite a candle for Difunta and put it in this giant pit that was filled with burning candles. The whole thing was trully amazing and I was very happy I got to go.

School is another story. I have finally gotten my schedule figured out and I have a total of eleven classes in one week. Each day is a different mix of classes but each week is the same. I have Math, Law, Economy, SIC (which I would best describe as bookkeeping), Theory and Management, Literature, Religion, English (the language), Biology, Geography, and another class which I think is like Computers but because I was sick last week and we had a holiday on Monday and Tuesday, I have yet to have had it. Over all, it is a lot of classes and it is hard for me to keep up. I understand Math very well and I have a handle on Economy and SIC but all the rest are nearly impossible. Not only is there a HUGE language barrier but I also have never studied a lot of these subjects to begin with. It can be frustrating some times in class when I start to get worried when I really have no idea of what is going on. Thankfully, in most of my classes we have tons of notes and I am able to go home and spend hours translating them. I know that it won´t do me much good when it comes to tests because although I will know the material, I will have very little idea of how to write it in Spanish. I just keep reminding myself that since I am doing all this in another language, I don´t need to hold myself to the high standards I have at home because I have a sinking feeling I won´t be getting all A´s. :) School begins at 7:30 everymorning (Monday thru Friday) and on Mon. Wed. and Fri. I get out at one and on Tues. and Thurs. I get out at two. Right now, I am staying that extra hour because I have English. After today though, I am going to talk with the school teachers and see if I can take a different class or go home early. English is obviously really easy for me :) and that class is the kind of class that nobody gets anything done anyways. Then again, with all these other classes that are really hard for me, I might like to have a class that is easy and I can just relax in. I guess I will have to decide soon because this weekend I need to buy my Total English text book if I am going to keep taking English!

Party Hardy

Hey Guys!

Last night I went to my first party in Argentina! I had been invited to two this weekend but I decided against going to the one on Friday so I could keep resting up. Last night´s party was a brithday party for a girl who was turning 15. I don´t actually know the girl but some friends of mine from school were invited and invited me along with them. At ten p.m. I went over to my friend Maria´s house were we at pizza (They put eggs on their pizza!!!) and got ready for the party. My Paula loaned me a green dress that she had cause I wasn´t sure if my dress would be appropriate. I thought that it might be a little too short. Well once I arrived at the party, I found that most girls here went with the "shorter the better" theory. The dress that I brought would be longer than a lot of them! Anyways, at around 1 a.m. we left Maria´s house with six of her friends and her mom took us to the party. It was at this...hmmm... how will I decribe it? I guess what comes to mind is like a wedding after party outside. It has a gazeebo type building with large grassy areas around and white giant squishy blocks for people to sit on instead of the grass. It also had a police officer at the gate checking everyone´s invitations and corresponding names on his list. At first I got a little nervous that he wouldn´t let me in but Maria explained that I was an exchange student and seeing that I did look a little out of place, he let me in.

Inside the gazeebo was the dancing. They had all these crazy colored lights and would at times switch to a strobe light so everything looked like it was moving in that weird way. It was very disorientating dancing in that light but I started to get used to it. I don´t know how most people celebrate there birthdays in the U.S. but I have a feeling that most aren´t like this. There was a smoothie bar, icecream bar, and a juice bar. There were waiters going around picking up people´s glasses and a camera man who was filming everything. It was all really fancy but yet really laid back. I never actually got to meet the girl who´s birthday it was. It really seemed more like party than celebrating someone specific.

The music was really different from what we dance to at home and at first I didn´t like it. After a while though, I got into it and really started to have fun. I danced with Maria and her friends and some other girls who I met there. I also danced with this guy who knew Maria. It was pretty fun and I think I will enjoy them more and more as I get used to the late start times. The party was supposed to end around five or six in the morning but at three I asked Maria to call Elsa to come pick me up. I didn´t want to push my luck and wake up that day being horribally sick again. Thankfully, after waking up at twelve thirty, I found that I am not any more sick than before and excited about going to more parties.

The AFS kids that are in San Juan are going to meet in the park in a little bit so we can all get to know eachother. There are quite a few girls who have been here for six months already and I am interested in hearing how they ajusted and if they also got sick when they first arrived.

Eventhough you probably think that nothing new is going on in your life, I really enjoy getting the messages about what is up back in the States. Just small little updates are fun and it makes me not miss home as much. Thanks for reading!!

Hanging With My Groupies :)

Hola!

Yesterday, I went to my first day of school. Surprisingly, although you would think wearing two shirts, high socks, and a wool skirt would kill me, I am alive! Many people had told me that when I went to Argentina, everyone would treat you like you are a rockstar. Well, until yesterday, I didn´t really believe them. Everyone in my class wanted to talk with me. Many of them knew English well enough to ask questions so they would ask me in English and then I would answer in Spanish. I must have answered the same questions atleast ten times! But still, it was kind of exciting to have that much attention on me. From what I understand, I have four classes Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. As the week as played out, I have yet to make it to my classes on Tuesday and Thursday (last night I only slept for three hours and had tons of cramps this morning so I couldn´t go to school) so I don´t know what I have then. But I do know I have P.E.! Anyways, I have math, economy 1, ecomony 2, and geography one day and whatever classes the next. I understood the math review worksheet almost completely so it was exciting not to feel behind in atleast on of my classes. In Economy 1 and 2, I understood nothing. It didn´t seem like something that difficult but the language barrier was too much. The teacher told me that Ecomony 1 is a very hard class and I could switch out of it if I wanted. I told her (through the translation of a girl who spoke English) that at this point no matter what class I am in, I am not going to understand it. She chuckled and wished me luck. For the most part, the teachers seemed very nice. It wasn´t all that different from the class room interactions back in the states. The one gigantic difference was when we were working on a worksheet, EVERYONE is talking REALLY loud. Think of the loudest class you have and then times that level of noise by atleast three. It was like I couldn´t even think!

My class has about twenty students so it isn´t that small of a class. The difference is, I have EVERY class with them. The teachers move class rooms but we stay in one spot. It makes it really easy not to get lost! :)

After classes ended about one (I am not sure because I really need to get a watch and there isn´t a clock in the class room) six other girls, I, and one boy all went to McDonalds at the mall. It was really funny because they were really excited to go because there is only one McDonalds in all of San Juan. I got to experience riding on a bus. Let me tell you, hold on tight! Right when I got on it started to move and I fell right over in my seat. It was really pretty funny. I really like this girls(and one boy) and they were really easy to talk to. The boy and another girl spoke pretty good English so when I didn´t understand something or needed to say something in English, they translated. It woked out pretty well because I didn´t get frustrated but at the same time, I was learning Spanish like crazy. From that one afternoon with them, I have learned more Spanish then I would in three weeks at school. It is incredible!

They wanted to know all about the United States. They thought it was crazy that I normally eat dinner at six. Here at the earliest they have it at ten! I always have to either eat dinner early and then go to sleep when they have dinner, or (like today) have two lunches and snack around five-ish.

It was a really fun day and I am looking forward to being able to go back to school tomorrow. With so little sleep last night and still feeling sick, I just wasn´t able to go to school this morning. Thankfully, I believe I have found the reason for my unwillingness to sleep. Did it ever occure to me that drinking caffinated beverages probably wasn´t a good idea a couple hours before I wanted to sleep? Well no. It didn´t. Thankfully, when talking to my mom (I am going to call my mom in the U.S. "mom" and my mama here either "mama" or "host mom") and telling her what I had for my late lunch, she pointed out that I am not used to drinking caffiene and that was probably why I couldn´t sleep. Let me tell you, I am not touching that stuff again for a LONG TIME. Last night was miserable. I was able to sleep from ten to one but then from then until six thirty in the morning all I could do was toss and turn and generally feel uncomfortable. I was also suffering from cramping so that didn´t help.

Today is Sofia´s 20th and Paula´s 22nd Birthday! They were both born on the same day just two years apart. Like Argentinians do, their friends didn´t show up until seven and they are just leaving now at nine. I think their family is supposed to show up for dinner at around ten. Right before I left, I looked up when their birthdays were just to see if I might need to bring a gift from the states and I am glad I did. I made them both my signature Scrabble Neclaces. They liked them very much.

The last couple days at about this time I would be taking a really cold shower and then getting ready for bed. Fortunetelly and unfortunetelly, my family saw how hot I was at night and has bought and airconditioner for Sofia´s and my room. They are currently installing it so even if I wanted to sleep, I couldn´t. Also, I have had dinner yet. I have a HUGE lunch and have snacked a bit so I think I am okay. Anyways, keep it cool over in Washington. I heard you guys have tons of snow. Man would I kill to go boarding right now! I love all of you so much and love hearing your comments about my blog. Feel free to ask any question as well. If I don´t know the answer, I will find out! Adios!

P.S. I am tring to post a picture of me with my friends on this post but I can´t tell if it is working or not. If it isn´t, you can visit my facebook page at Jenica Bee and see them there as well.

My School and My Stomach

Hola my friends. It is wonderful to write to you again. Hopefully, you are all dedicated to checking my blog every single minute. :) It is fun to think about you reading this from all the way accross the world. Any ways, since I wrote yesterday a lot (well really a little) has happened. Yesterday I felt fine until I went to bed. Then, with all the changes from Washington (86 degrees, don´t eat dinner until 10, the water, the food, and the language) I guess my body just didn´t like it very much. It would be imposible to pin point what excactly caused me to be sick, I just hope that it continues to go away as it is doing now. So last night I got very little sleep because my stomach hurt, but eventually I did fall asleep and slept for a couple hours very well. Then, this morning was my first day of school. Elsa (my mama) told me that if I wanted to I could just go for the ceremony that was like a welcoming every one back. I still felt horrible but I really wanted to go so I did. From what I have seen of the school, I love it. The teachers are nice and some girls who are in my class invited me to come talk with them and stand with them until the ceremony started. Although I couldn´t talk much because of the language barrier, it was the thought that counted. After the ceremony was over, Sophia took me back home. There I did the wonderful and got to experience throwing up in another country. Let me tell you, it isn´t any better than when I was back home. Since then, I have been trying to keep up my liquids. They bought me bottled water because at first many kids can get sick because it is a slight change in water. I am feeling better, but I am still not comfortable to the stability of my stomach. This evening we are supposed to go shopping for parts of my uniform that I am missing but I am not sure I am ready for the walking and standing that intales. I guess I will just have to feel it out. Depending on how I feel tonight, I might also choose not to go to school tommorow. It is hard for me to miss school but then again, I won´t understand hardly anything even if I do go!! If I understood correctly (remember that I am told all this in Spanish) my classes begin at 8 and end at 1. Then I come home and my family eats lunch together. Right now, I am enrolled as some one who is going to go into economics. That means that half of my 10 (?) clases are based on economy. I don´t know much about economy but I guess this is as good a time to learn as any!

There at Last

I am in Argentina! Yep, that about sums it up but for your sake, I will explain in more detail. Over the last the last five days, I have taken two red eye plane rides, one red eye bus ride, and spent more hours than you could imagine listening to AFS personel tell me important facts. It was all very tiring and I developed a sore throught to top it off. Even with all this, I am still pretty excited. During the orientation, we never spoke Spanish. That was hard because I wanted to prepare for when I finally met my host family. Oh well...

This morning, after riding on a bus for 12 hours (which I am happy to tell you had seats that reclined back into a full bed) I met my host family. They were waiting at the bus stop with a big flag that said "Jenica Bienvenidos" meaning Welcome Jenica! They are very nice, and although it must be frustrating talking to me cause I can´t understand a lot, they are being very patient. They let me call my parents and I am planning on Skyping they later this afternoon.

They city is very beautiful and filled with colors. There are tons of stray dogs everywear and my papa drives really fast. It is all very different from Washington but I love it. My school is just a block away so I will walk there everymorning. I share a bedroom with my sister Sophia so it is not that different from my room at home. I like their house very much.

It is hot here but I am surprised at how well I am doing. Then again, I am not in the direct sun either. I am going to take a shower (but one of my sisters will have to explain how it works, I don´t understand it) but I am thinking about everyone all the time. Don´t be afraid to send me a little email. You can even try out your Spanish if you feel so inclinded!! Love you all so much!

Mi Familia y País Nuevos

Hola!

Ya queda poco tiempo para yo viajo! There is so little time left before I leave! With the count down remaining with eight days, I have begun to say my goodbyes. Until you have to, it is impossible to imagine how hard it is to say goodbye to people for a whole year. But even with the emotions of departing, I am extremely excited to head off on my adventure!

Over the last month, I have gotten to email with my family a lot. It is so exciting to learn about the place I am going to. I have a mother, father, an older sister Sofia, and an older sister Paula. I am staying in the city San Juan which is about the size of Bellingham. I am going to a Catholic school that is close to my house so I will walk there every morning. It will be hot and I am stacking up on sunblock!

Once I leave for Miami on the 22nd, I will have an orientation there. I will arrive in Argentina on the 25th; have another orientation (only this time in Spanish); take a 15 hour bus on the 26th to San Juan; and then finally arrive and meet my family on the 27th!! It is a long way to travel and it will be so hard to wait to meet my family for that long.

Even though I am leaving, it doesn't mean I will lose touch with all you guys. Make sure to keep checking my blog for I will be posting exciting updates about my adventures abroad (and even some pictures)!!!

Adios!

Wiggle Room

As this last year came to an end, my goal for $13,400 was also completed! I have now officially raised my whole budget. I want to thank all of my relatives and community members that have helped me get here by either donating time, money, or just your support. I am very grateful to all of you.

During all this, I have also realized that my original budget was slightly inaccurate. Thankfully, my last fundraiser has pushed me over my original budget and gives me some wiggle room. Did you have any idea that you had to translate you birth certificate into Spanish to get a VISA? Let me tell, I am glad I have a little extra money because that is not the cheapest thing to do. Little things like that just seem to be creeping up on my lately. Whether it is for my VISA, background check, or just the new camera I need, I never thought of any of those things for my original budget. A word for the wise: always give yourself some wiggle room. Thanks to the generous people around my and my hard work, I got that without even planning to!

My official departure date from the United States in the 24th of February. Can you believe how quickly that seems to be coming up? This weekend I have my first orientation that my mom will also be attending with me. I am excited to get to meet other AFS students that are going to be traveling with me. I hear there is actually a boy from Bellingham going to Argentina too!

Buenas noches America!