Oh The Place's You'll Go!

On this day last year I was putting on my long white dress taking pictures with my friends and heading off to my high school graduation. The theme? Dr Suess' Oh The Places You'll go...
 
It was funny coincidence that it was my graduation theme since it was also my favorite book growing up. I never realized just how appropriate the theme would be this time last year.  Sitting 
 
in that big stadium and receiving my diploma I don't think I could’ve ever guessed where I am now. Instead of gussying up for a big night, I am in a small town in Argentina eating Asasado, drinking Mate, and watching the sun set over the Andes 
 
mountains. So when I think back to that Graduation day I smile because Dr Suess couldn't have been more right, and the graduation theme any less apropriate... Oh the places I'll go...

Viva Argentina!!

My host family is absolutely great as you all already know. I keep boasting about them and really can’t stop. I am so sad to be leaving them so soon! Only after two days I felt close to them and now with only a week or so left I feel like I would be saying goodbye to my real family. Coming home everyday after work, talking about our days, eating a lot of food, making popcorn and sitting down to watch a movie, all of these things make Argentina feel like my true home. After traveling for a few days, it felt great to sit down and converse with my family and sleep in my own bed! It was also nice to come home to my other family: thehhhhhhhhkids. It was sooo nice coming back and being with them again. There huge smiles, simple happiness and warm souls just make me as happy as anyone can be. The girls at the orphanage are literally like my sisters and it will be so sad to say goodbye. This past Friday they had an event at their school for the 200th Anniversary of the revolution and I went like some crazy sibling snapping photos at every moment. Spending 4 days apart was more than enough! We gave each other the biggest hugs after being apart and it was wonderful! Wednesday (5/26) I came back from Buenos Aires and worked at the Dining Hall right after. I played soccer with the kids all night, ended up buying them some Coca-cola and cookies because they beat me in soccer (fyi it was a pretty close game). Just being here is amazing and each and every child has an impact on me. Watching all the crazy boys on the soccer field running around, pushing and shoving trying to get to the same soccer ball is not only hilarious but gives me the biggest smile. There are so many different moments with each kid that make me smile when I think back on them. I honestly could go on writing about all of this forever so I guess I am just going to leave it as I love Argentina. I love everything about it and it has given me SO much happiness. I just hope I am spreading that out just as equally to those that I encounter here.

The other Saturday the kids at soccer had a match against another team in Cordoba. It was a ton of fun!! They were so cute with their jerseys and goal cheering. : )

Home Again

Home again. It is funny to me how comfortable I have gotten with this family in such a short period of time. After traveling for the past 4 days or so during the long weekend, it was nice coming back home to Rio Ceballos. I knew I would be greeted with hugs and besos followed by a good amount of food (I was right!). My travels were absolutely amazing and added a total different element to my trip here in Argentina. Traveling and being a total hippie is a whole different experience in itself. Planning your schedule, going out by yourself, discovering new people and places, it is a journey any nineteen year old could dream of. It pushed me out of my comfort zone, forced me to try new things and most of all, put my spanish to the test! I feel incredibly fortunate to have experienced everything I have within the past 3 weeks, let alone the past year. The adventures, the people and places I have encountered have been branded into my heart and soul forever. I will carry the lessons that they taught me and be sure to hold onto them forever for losing it all would just be a sin. I wish I had the time and dinero to revisit all my host families and tell them how I still think about them all the time. To the one host family in the middle of no where Bolivia, with no phone or source of communication, that even though my stay was brief, their impact on me will never fade. I still see the faces and hear the voices of all the kids running in the street screaming, “A la Cancha!!” or the faces with tears rolling down their cheeks as my companions and I say goodbye for possibly forever. All these little moments from this one big year is truly what makes a Gap Year. But really, it shouldn’t be called that because there are no gaps left in my body or soul. It is complete, hearty and ready to conquer anything that comes my way. It was a very FULL year.

Travels!

WOW!!! I had an AMAZING weekend full of travels. I went to Santiago, Valparaiso, Mendoza and Buenos Aires...I don't know how it all worked out but it was incredible!

In Santiago we walked around the city and went to the top of the mountain San Cristobol. It was a gorgeous day and we saw a lot of the city! Chile is full of color and for me was a mix between Peru/Bolivia and Argentina. Ps- got the bEST ice cream. It was with real fruit blended with natural chocolate frozen yogurt. YUM!!

Valparaiso is GORGEOUS and I loved it there. It is only a 2 hour bus ride away so on Sunday we woke up early and hopped on a bus and spent the day there. Valpo is cool because it is split between two different parts, new and old. One part is Old Valparaiso and the other Vino del Mar-- very posh and new. I did a city tour since I only had a day-- it was great because I got to see everything. It would have been hard to walk around myself because Valpo is on a hill so it would be a lot of trekking up the steep streets. Valparaiso is full of awesome colors and is just charming--The beach is awesome as well. I really liked Valpo and wish I had more time there! After the tour was over I hoped back on a bus just as the sun was setting. I was on the beach for the first part of the sunset in Valpo (it was perfect earlier when the sun was coming down and hitting the buildings perfectly). I got to see the sun set over the Andes and it was absolutely amazing. When you see something as pretty and magnificent as that it is truly breath taking. It is one of those moments where you have to sit back and enjoy the moment and take in life. My day in Valpo was just great and I hope I make it back there one time.

When I returned to Santiago we had dinner with friends who we met on the tour. They were all super nice: two from Nebraska, 1 from Colombia but living in Buenos Aires, and one from Quito Ecuador.
Luckily they all spoke English!

Bus to MENDOZA--Wine Capital!

Mendoza was incredibly gorgeous. Since it is Fall here all the leaves were changing colors and the vineyards were outstanding. The colors were just incredible and the mountains in the backdrop made it even more breathtaking. I arrived to Mendoza around 6 am after taking a 6 hour overnight bus, which are pretty comfortable actually. During the day we went on a bike vineyard tour because that is the thing to do in Mendoza. The sun was out, the colors were spectacular, the mountains were glowing and the wine well, was good? Haha I felt a little silly becasue frankly I don't like wine and don't know annyything about it so I would only take really small sips. I had to experience it though because how could I be in a wine capital and not try any wine? Biking was amazing in itself--just being outside and chilling was awesome.

I had a suppper great day in Mendoza and didn't have too much else to do unless I spent a lot of money doing adventure stuff that I have already done in Australia and New Zealand. This is when I thought about flying to Buenos Aires to meet up with another good friend/volunteer. The flights were cheap so I thought, heck why not! It May 25th as well which was Argentina's 200th Anniversary of the revolution: Bicentenario!!! There was festivals, parades and concerts going on --- a once in a lifetime opportunity!

TO BUENOS AIRES!!

I decided to go for it. I hoped on a plane and met my friend in Buenos Aires. It was just crazy there with so many people but it was soooo awesome to experience. The whole city was decorated with blue and white and was so vibrant. We wondered the streets watching all the festivities and ate some yummy empanadas. It was a great night/afternoon!!

The next day was gorgeous out, yet again, so I toured the city and it was fabulous. The city is really super gorgeous and different than any other South American country I have been to.

HOME! I flew home later that afternoon because I had work in the Dining Hall. I went straight to from the airport to the Dining Hall and played there for a long time. We had a really intense soccer match that night haha it was a ton of fun. The cherry on top of all of my travels. It was amazing coming home and playing with the kids again and coming home to a homemade family dinner!

I just had an amazzzing few days! I love Argentina.

Argentina Update: May 23

HOLA from Santiago, Chile!

This weekend was a long weekend in Argentina because of the 200th anniversary of their revolution. My friends (other volunteers) decided to go to Santiago Chile and then to Mendoza for the 4 day weekend. Santiago is a gorgeous city surrounded by the Andes mountains. Today we climbed to the top of San Cristobal which was a mountain and overlooked the whole city and the mountainous backdrop. We walked around and I enjoyed the Fall weather that I missed at home while in Bolivia. The leaves are changing, the sun was out, and the air was nice and crisp (but a little chilly). Tomorrow we are taking a 2 hour bus ride to Valparaiso and will spend the day there. After that it is back to Argentina for Mendoza for two days. Being able to travel around and see different things has been awesome.

Everything is going very well back in Rio Ceballos Cordoba. My family is AWESOME and I really enjoy hanging out with them. We have become so close so fast... it will be hard leaving them so soon. You really don´t realize how short a month truly is until your down here and the days are flying by! My volunteer placements are also going great. Saturday morning I had soccer with the kids. Every other Saturday they get to play another soccer program. It was really fun watching them play and fun helping coach!!

The dining hall is also going really well and I love it. Playing soccer is so much fun and a great end to my day. The kids are also adorable and so much fun to be with. The orphanage is going well and I am really close with everyone there especially the younger girls.

Honestly everything is just fantastic down here and I love being back in South America. The culture people everything excites and fascinates me. I really enjoy living this life! Especially because Siestas are the best thing ever invented (long lunch breaks for naps).

Anyway, I will upload pictures very soon! I cant wait to share with you the Santiago pictures as well as my family, sports, dining hall and orphanage photos.

Take care, UN BESO!

Argentina!!!

Right now I am in Rio Ceballos, Cordoba, Argentina for the last part of my Gap Year. I am staying with a host family and working in an orphanage, dining hall for low income families, and coaching soccer for disadvantaged kids... and on weekends I get to travel!

My homestay family is GREAT! My mom is so sweet and my siblings are great. I have two sisters and a brother all in their twenties and one of them has a daughter who is 6 months old . They are so welcoming and I already feel like I have been living in their house for 5 months, not 5 days.

Cordoba is such a gorgeous place with a lot to see and do. The city itself is great, a university city, and the landscape around it is amazing. This past weekend I went with some volunteers to a National Park 2 hours away. Unfortunately it was a little cold and cloudy but it was still nice being up in the mountains going for a hike! Although I loved Australia and New Zealand, I love being back in South America talking spanish and learning a new culture. The Cordoba accent, however, is VERY hard for me to understand and they talk SO fast!! It is hard to keep up. Mate is a huge part of my life now as well....oh, and beef oF COURSE! I am force fed a ton of food: beef, bread, empanadas.... everything. I can't complain because it is pretty delicious! The Mate is good and the Argentineans literally bring it everywhere they go. I am doing my best to fit in and drink it whenever offered!

Today I went to a Folklorico Festival with my mom, dad, and baby sister Maia (Maya). It was a lot of fun and I enjoy doing stuff with my family.

Futbol, soccer, is funny here because ONLY the boys play it. I am the only girl at soccer practices and I love it jaja (haha). All the boys stare curiously as I show them my amazing moves.... they haven't really seen a girl play! The parents especially get a laugh out of it. I really enjoy it because even though I can't communicate that well (my spanish went down the drain while I was away and I cant understand them) we share a bond through both of our passion for soccer. It is probably my favorite part of the day besides coming home to my family, sitting down at the table and discussing our days (to the best of my ability).

Anyway, I will keep you updated on my adventures! Here are some pictures so far:

Un Beso!