Cheee

It's midterm week!!?? What??? Well I guess I only have three midterms- one with the IUNA class and two with my study abroad program. The UMSA classes have a different schedule. But I still feel like I just got here!

Last weekend I went to Iguazu with some friends from the program. The mosquitos really seemed to enjoy my blood, and the 20 hour bus ride wasn't exactly thrilling. But the waterfalls were incredible! It was absolutely a spiritual experience. The next day we went rapelling, ziplining, and "trekking" and we also went to Tres Fronteras (three borders) where Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay meet.

This is not a green screen:

Tres Fronteras

This is only half!

Sarah taking the leap of faith (I'm the light blue dot at the bottom):

I had a little friend in the hostel when I rolled over to fall asleep:

There has been a whirlwind of birthdays! I went to our new favorite bar/restaurant to celebrate Emily's birthday. I love that place because it's in a neighborhood farther away from the microcentro and there are absolutely no tourists or other exchange students. I also went to a porteno friend's house for a birthday asado. He's on my frisbee team, and it was fun to be with the team off the field. I bought a torta (birthday cake) with chocolate cake, chocolate mouse, chocolate fudge, chocolate icing, and chocolate shavings on top. It was a hit!

Feliz Cumple!

Reflection:

Going to school in North Carolina forced me to open up to new people and new experiences. There was certainly culture shock at first, but going to school in Argentina is just a whole different level of newness. Whenever the oh-so-chatty taxi drivers ask if I like their city, of course I tell them yes. But actually, Buenos Aires and I have a love hate relationship. I hate struggling every day to express myself, not understanding jokes, not having deep meaningful conversations because I don’t have the vocabulary for it, unreliable public transportation, the moneda crisis (there’s a bizarre shortage of coins that you need to use the buses), playing frisbee in 80 degree weather one day and in 45 degree freezing rain the next, Argentine girls who ignore me in their classes, etc. I really lose a part of my personality due to the language/culture barrier. But what I’ve been posting in this blog is everything I love. To me, this city is like a relative that you absolutely love to death but it drives you crazy at the same time!

That’s where Iguazu comes in. You can’t stand in front of something so giant and majestic and not feel something. It sounds silly, but it was reassuring to see something constant because it was such a contrast to the city. Calming, like those sound machines people use to sleep but you can’t turn off the water! I remember standing next to the edge of the falls thinking, this never stops. I could barely hear my own breathing from climbing all the stairs against the roaring falls! It was just an experience that commands attention. After living among concrete and pavement, walking around in that forest reminded me that we're a part of something bigger than ourselves.