Another Adventure to Rodeo...But a Lot Different!

Hey Guys! So this last weekend I went to Rodeo again! This trip though was with AFS and was an orientation. Mainly it was designed for the students who are going to be living in July but it was a fun way to get to hang out with the other kids. We left at five thirty on Friday morning (I got to skip school!) and drove the three and a half hours to Rodeo. When we got there, I discovered that there was frost on the ground and my Blue Converse that I love so dearly just weren´t up to the jo of keeping off frost bite. Since I have no other warm shoes here, I resorted to double layering socks and long underwear. My moms (both here and in the States) would be so proud! There are always trying to get me to wear more clothes. :) Our first stop was at the High School where we had "breakfast" which is cookies and chocolate milk with them and gave a presentation about AFS. Then we went to a local Radio Station! At first we thought that only some of the students were going to talk but the interviewer guy wanted to talk to all of us.

As you are probablying think, I kind of went into a miny panic attack right then because this is LIVE radio and I was really scared that I wasn´t going to understand what he asked. But I actually stayed pretty calm. It is one of those things that I am really scared to do but I know that it will be worth it in the end. Even if it is just to say that I did it! So the interview went pretty good. He asked a few basic questions of each of us and I only needed a little help from one of the AFS Volunteers to understand one of the questions. It was actually pretty fun! And the guy was really nice so that made it easier. I can add talking on the Radio to my list of First Things in Life Done in Argentina.

That day we also went to a grade school and did about the same sort of thing that we did at the High School. The next two days were pretty relaxed. We did a whole bunch of AFS activites where we talked about things we like and didn´t like about Argentina and the other students talked about how they were going to go through the process of re-adjusting to their old lives in their home countries. We explored the area around the Dam where we took a million pictures with all of the AFS flags from different countires. It was really funny because everyone wanted to have the picture taken with their camera so the Volunteer would have nine different cameras hanging off her arm and we would all stand their smiling while she shot a photo with each one. We must have spent two hours just taking photos. :) We also visited a local farm where the farmers had a resturaunt and grew all of the food for it. They also had Lamas! Thankfully we didn´t get close enough for them to spit on me.

When you have a group of teenagers in a cabin at night where it is freezing out side so we can´t go partying, we are obviously going to find things to do. :) We found card games. Now you might be thinking that that is clearly a harmless thing to do; and you would be right in most casses. But when we started playing, soon the games started changing to ones where you have to get a tea bag and every round someone is short. Which lead to tackling someone to get the tea bag, which lead to chanting when you won, which lead to us all on the floor in a circle with our playing cards ready to spring the moment someone shouted "Chancho!" when they got four of the same card. It might sound a little confusing or a little crazy but that´s what it was. AFS students now have an inside joke about "Chancho Té" where when ever any one says it we all start pumping our fists in the air and chanting. Yeah, it sounds a little creepy to me too. :) But oh well. I guess that´s why AFS orientation are always so fun.

So on Sunday we left at about four thirty in the afternoon and were going to arrive at about eight in San Juan. But within the next fourty minutes our van suddenly turned off. We were able to get off the high way and thankfully there was a lot of room for us to hang out being in danger of getting hit. I thought it was just something that could be fixed fast with the van but we were there for two hours before somebody showed up. They weren´t able to fix it either so they towed us to a near by rest stop type area that had cabins. We waited there until ten o´clock for another van to show up. At this point I was really feelign sick. I had a sore throat and my head hurt like you wouldn´t believe. To make it worse all we had to eat for dinner was cookies, chocolate milk, bread, and a little bit of this tun fish type dip because we weren´t expectly to have to eat dinner. So I was also starving. We didn´t end up leaving until eleven because then we discovered that the new van didn´t have enough gas so we had to wait until they went and got some more. WE finally arrived in San Juan at two in the morning. My parents also ended up waiting an hour for me in front of the Cathedral because there was confusion about what time we were going to arrive and then I didn´t have coverage and then I fell asleep in the van. All in all it was a long night. But it was a fantastic weekend!

To wrap things up, that last few days I have been super sick and haven´t gone to school. Thankfully, I am a little better today so I think I will make it to school tomorrow. Just in time for my giant Business test. Yay! (not) This weekend my family is also hoping to drive up to Tucum which is twelve hours from here and spend Sunday with family. I really want to be well by then so I am doing all I can like drinking tea, resting, taking cough drops, and staying warm. Wish me luck! Oh! And enjoy summer break up in the U.S.! I will be jealous down here in the cold winter weather. :)

100 Days From Washington

Today, June 2nd, is the 100th day I have been away from my family in Washington, the 97th day outside the U.S., and my 95th day living in San Juan! In honor of this amazing accomplishment I have made a list of the most interesting little things that are either different from back home or something that is just silly to share:

1. I LOVE tomateos. (I used to hate them)
2. I have mayonaise on everything.
3. I always wear shoes in the house (because my parents don´t like it when I don´t)
4. We don´t have a bath tub.
5. People drive on both sides of the road whether it is a one way street or not.
6. There isn´t recycling.
7. People don´t get in trouble for throwing trash on the side walks (A girl even asked me why I put my wrapper in my backpack instead of just tossing it).
8. In little shops instead of being able to just take things off the shelves, you have to take a number and wait for someone to help you.
9. I wear a uniform to school.
10. We only have one computer.
11. We watch TV during every meal.
12. My mama wakes me up every morning.
13. We use commas for periods and periods for commas in Math. For example, one thousand is 1.000 and one half is 0,5!
14. There is never a moment when you can not see alteast five dogs on the street.
15. My classmate was shocked to learn that we have Oreos in the U.S.
16. My classmate thought that since so many people have very light hair in the U.S. that we don´t shave our legs.
17. I don´t go to bed until 11:30 on school nights.
18. High waisted shorts are considered popular for girls when going to clubs at night.
19. People here have no idea what Enchiladas and Salsa are!
20. My most common name here is Jeni although pronouced like Yenny, Shenny, Jenny, or Henny depending on the person.
21. I have to unlock the door, lock the door, unlock the gate, and then lock the gate when going to school every morning.
22. I have my own set of keys.
23. My new favorite TV show is "Friends".
24. Everyone calls Facebook just "Face".
25. I can´t drive.
26. There is always soda and cookies in my house.
27. I am the youngest sister.
28. P.E. is my easiest class.
29. I can walk to my friends house!
30. I am supposed to answer the phone even if my parents aren´t home.
31. Random strangers talk to me just because they know I am not from Argentina.
32. You can´t change the temperature on our oven.
33. My parents often stay up later than I do!
34. Milk is sold in bags.
35. I forgot how to say "15th" and "Report Card" (it took me several hours to remember) and many times I am able to explain things better in Spanish than in English.

And finally, I now have TWO wonderful families that I always know will love me, TWO sets of best friends and classmates that can make me laugh, and TWO countries that both have a place in my heart. I love Argentina and I can´t believe how fast time is passing by.... :)

Frying Potatoes...Without the Flying Pan!

Now I have had to go through some hard things in my life but let me introduce you to one I never saw coming. The difficulty of frying food....but without the flying pans! This last Sunday I had the wonderful oppurtunity to cook United States type food for my family for lunch. I chose omelets and my favorite poppy seed cake for dessert. So to start this story off right, I should tell you that I was planning on baking the cake Saturday because it is much better when it is cooled and that way I could have more time on Sunday so I could do everything before lunch. Unfortuntelly, I lost the recipe. Not that you should be surprised by that or anything because I often do that. What was shocking was that even with everyone looking all over the house, in my room, under my bed, in the trash, for over an hour, we still couldn´t find it. And since my mom had mailed it to me, I didn´t have a copy of it on the computer. I that point I was starting to feel really disapointed but I sent an emergency help request to my sister and mom to scan the recipe and email it to me before the next morning. Then, I was invited to a party that night. I was already going to be crunched for time the next morning but there was no way I could turn down a party. :) So I got home at two in the morning and slept until 11. I started cooking at about twelve and theoretically it should have only took twenty minutes at MAX to get the cake into the oven. But then I had a panic attack. :) When I opened the looked closely at the poppy seeds I had bought (on my own), I noticed that the black seeds were mixed with a lot of grey ones. I didn´t remember any grey ones being in our cakes at home. I quickly began researching on the internet and freaked out when I learned that there is a difference between baking poppy seeds and ones for planting. And one source said (which I have now found to be inaccurate) that planting poppy seeds can be poisonous to humans. Oh crap! I was going to poison my family! So as you can guess, that was when my panic attack set it. Thankfully, after talking to my family about it they assured me that these were the poppy seeds my sister had cooked with before and since I purchased them at a food store, I was sure to be fine. Not only did my panic attack tick down the minutes but the fact that my recipe used cups and the only measuring stuff here is in grams. I had to research the converstion for each ingredient and then measure it out. Taking notes to make sure that I wouldn´t have to do it over again next time. I finally finished the cake and got the chocolate ganache frosting cooling at two o´clock. I think two hours baking a cake must be some kind of record because it should have never taken that long.

Normally we eat lunch at about two ish but there was no way I could make omelets and fry potatoes in zero seconds. Now matter how awesome I am at a lot of things, I just haven´t mastered pulling that one off yet. So Elsa ended up helping me with peeling the potatoes and chopping up the vegetables. Now I have to thank my Dad at this point for raising me with such a good collection of frying pans because when I went to put the potatoes on the stove, I only found one. Yep, that´s right. I was supposed to fry potatoes, fry vegetables, and cook the omelets all with only one frying pan. I figured I was best off using the pan for the omelets because I didn´t want to try to cook those in a soup pot. That wouldn´t work out to well. So that left my potatoes pilled up in a soup pot and my vegetables dumped into what I can best describe as a container to heat water in on the stove. Quickly my potatoes began sticking to the pan, my vegetables turned into soup, and I was running out of time. Thankfully, at about three o´clock I was able to finish everything and we were able to sit down to lunch. I have to say, it all turned out well in the end. The omelets were filled with ham, cheese, onions, mushrooms, with potatoes and tomatoes on top and for dessert we had a fantastic poppy seed cake. All of which my family loved very much.

All in all, it was a wonderful experience although next time I am going to start a lot earlier. I would also advise anyone trying to fry food - make sure they have got a frying pan first! It was a blast to share a little bit of my home with my family here and I can´t wait to do it again!

P.S. The Sunday before I had my friend Charlotte over, who is from Canada, and we made Brownies!! Here are some photos of that cooking adventure!

P.P.S. Also, here are some photos of Vero, Ivan, and I making brownies (and eating lots of them) yesterday.

"25 De Mayo" - Late Party, Hot Coco, and No School!

This last Wednesday we celebrated "25 De Mayo" which is a holiday that celebrates The May Revolution which is inderectly referred to the point when Argentina began its war for freedom. Because of this, we didn´t have school on Wednesday. Now normally, my holidays start at about nine in the morning when I first wake up, but I really want to talk about where I was when the clock struck twelve and it technically came "25 De Mayo". My friend Juli B. turned 16 on Tuesday and she was planning on having all the girls over in my class for tea and cookies in the afternoon. But after the boys hassled her about not having a party that they could go to, she decided that her party would begin at 10:30 that night and include all of our class and more. I have had a blast at the birthday parties in the past that I had gone to and so I was super excited for this one. Juli´s house is only three blocks from mine but since I am not allowed to walk alone during the night, a group of my friends showed up at my house around 10 and we walked over together. Generally, the party was like the other parties I have been to. Loud music, great food, and all of my friends just hanging out outside until the wee hours of the morning. But I swear, I could go to hundreds of this same kind of party and I would never get bored. There is just something so awesome about chatting away in Spanish with your best friends while freezing outside under the stars. I finally got home at about four in the morning and I am proud to say, I wasn´t even tired! I have become accustomed to the strange hours here and have actually begun to enjoy them. Yes, I know that you are probably cracking up reading this because every one knows that I am always the one to want to go to bed first, turn out the light, and tell everyone to shut their eyes. But not anymore! Be prepared folks, cause I am coming back ready to party! :)

So eight hours later at about noon I awoke to the sweet smell of homemade hot coco. Yumm....! It is a tradition here that we drink hot coco on "25 De Mayo". If you are curious why, don´t ask - because I don´t know! :) My sister baked a chocolate cake that we have been eating the last few days and my mama had her friend over for tea. All in all it was a fantastic day. No school, late night party, and yummy treats to fill my tummy!

Peanut Butter Package

WARNING: This post is highly packed with praise for Peanut Butter. If you are a Peanut Butter hater, I highly suggest you skip this post write now before you torchure yourself by reading this.

I am so lucky to have two wonderfuly groups of family and friends. Not only am I surrounded by loving people here but I still have my friends and family back home cheering me on the whole way. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I needed an emergency shipment of winter clothing from Mom. Thankfully, it showed up in an incredible 10 days! I had no idea that was even possible! Now I was under the impression that I was to find sweaters and my favorite shirts in that package and although those were included like promised, I also found something more. In there was practically a year supply of Reese´s Peanut Butter Cups and a jar of organic Peanut Butter. For many people, although that would be a wonderful gift, it wouldn´t have any signifacant meaning, but when I opened up that package, I burst out laughing. It is hard to explain exactly way I thought it was to funny but I will do my best. Earlier in the month I had jokingly hinted that Mom should mail me a jar of PB but later admitted that it would probably be the most expensive jar she ever bought given that it would cost all of my college fund just to send it. :) My intention by mentioning that, if I am being completelly honest, was that I was hoping she would take a hint and send me one or two Reese´s since I was going through Peanut Butter withdrawl. :) Here I have only had one taste of Peanut Butter in the last three months and it was just a cookie flavored like it. Argentinians have yet to realize the incredible invention of Peanut Butter and are ingnorantly avoiding selling it in stores. :) Anyways, when I saw that jar of Peanut Butter and that family size pack of fifty miny Reese´s, I just couldn´t seem to get over how funny it all was! Thankfully after talking to my mom, she let me know that it didn´t cost ALL of my college fund. :) Good thing too because I was looking forward to getting that degree.

So of course I shared some of the Reese´s with my family right away. I had originally brought one big one for them to try when I first arrived, so they already new they liked them. And since I had so many little ones, I figured they were perfect for sharing with my classmates. Nobody here seems to have ever even heard of these things and keeps trying to compare them to treats from Argentina. As I have patiently explained many times, in my hunble opinion Reese´s are in a category all to themselves. Somewhere between heavenly awesome and addictively dangerous and should not be shoved into a group with anything less tasty. After trying them, they all agreed that they were very good and diffinetelly different from things here. Unfortunetelly, some of them seem to be affected with the same addiction I have recently contracted and wanted to eat all of mine. I will have to watch my stash very carefully from now on. :) But the best story of all happened just seconds ago when Federico tried Reese´s for the first time. We got on the subject because he saw me writing this and I then asked him if he wanted to try one. After peeling of the completelly unique wrapping and seeing the heavenly insides he said "Oh, it has chocolate!". Now I thought nothing of this an agreed that the outside was covered in chocolate and inside was the delicious Peanut Butter. But when Paula started laughing, I quickly learned of his mistake. In the dim light in our living room, he had mistaken the dark brown wrapping around the candy for the chocolate and attempeted to eat it just like that. Well let me tell you, it took a while for us all to finally stop laughing and for him to eventually actually try it. He also agreed that he liked it very much even though he normally isn´t a fan of chocolate. But like any actual Peanut Butter lover would know, Peanut Butter can make everything taste better. :)

All in all, it was a wonderful reminder of home and at the same time, a wonderful way to share my home with people here. And I haven´t even opened the jar yet! I think I am going to need to have a Peanut Butter Party where I have my friends try everything from plain PB- PB with Vanilla Icecream- PB with apples- to PB and J sandwhiches (which I am sad to say seems to be an appauling thought to everyone here). I should probably go to bed and dream sweat dreams of Peanut Butter. It is getting a little late. Love you all so much! Thanks for reading!

P.S. I uploaded a new photo album online so make sure to click on the link to the right of this post. Also, I will be adding more photos to some of my previous albums as I have begun collecting them from friends. I will let you know when you should go back and look at the old ones again.

P.P.S. I think I have broken the world record for say "Peanut Butter" the most times in one blog post. :)

Barn Yard Classmates

Now it might seem slightly offensive to compare my classmates to Farm Animals, but really, I mean it in the nicest way possible. :) The other day I was sitting in class (as standing would be just to exhausting :) ) when I heard these bird sounds coming from the back of the class. In any other situation when the teacher was reading and I heard something like that I would have thought it awfully rude or atleast tried to figure out who it was but not here. I didn´t even bat an eye lash. My classmates have often made strange bird sounds when ever the teachers were trying to get us to listen so it wasn´t anything new. The thing was, that day, they didn´t just make  a bird sound. Soon I heard a wolf start howling and the most realistic owl coo I had ever heard. A goat joined in and that was when I lost it with most of the rest of the class. We just cracked up laughing. Here we were listening to things about Business and Economy and you could have sworn that our classroom was actually in a animal barn and not in a Catholic Private School. Now although my classmates might act like barn animals at times, they are actually pretty smart. They have learned to only make sounds really quietly in order for the teacher not to stop them. It is that fine line between making them loud enough so everyone can hear but keeping them quiet enough so the teacher doesn´t get upset. As soon as we started cracking up, all the guys who were crowing and mooing instantly started yelling at everyone to shut up because they were disturbing the teacher. Which just got us all laughing even harder because we all knew (including the teacher) that they were the ones practicing their animal sounds. :) Eventually, we all quieted down and continued on reading. But for the rest of the class there was that constant cooing and baaing and howling coming from all over the class. It put a smile on my face for the rest of the day. :)

Here are some photos that my friends took during class (although techinically we aren´t supposed to use your cell phones). Sorry about the bad quality.

Some of the various culprets:



Mauro, Agusto, Emiliano, Pigna, and Nicolas

Facundo and Emiliano

Luciano and Nicolas

All the Advertising

Recently I acompanied my sister and parents to vote on a...hmmm... well I can´t remember the word for it but I think you will understand what it is. Techinically the age for voting here is 18 but this vote said that only people who have voted for the past four years can vote so my sister Sofia was left out. One thing I had noticed around San Juan was all the posters for who should be governor. Now this vote wasn´t about the governor directly but the important part is the difference between all the posters. There isn´t any. I hate to say this, but I think Argentinians are lacking creativity in the propaganda and advertising department. :) Not that I normally care about that stuff because usually I think of it as spending a lot of money that could be going somewhere else, but these guys have got nothing going for them. Take a look at these two handouts about the proposed change that my family was voting on. Notice the difference?

Yep, you got it. It is the giant "si" and "no" in the middle. Other than that, they are the same down to the last period. Argentinians are filled with passion about soccer, pride for their country, and protection over their families, but not an ounce of it seems to be included in their advertising campaigns. But in one way, I guess that gives people more oportunity to vote the way their gut tells them and not by many of the misleading things the comercials tell you. So in the end, maybe they thought that and purposefully left them really quite boring. I guess I might never know...