This is for you, Randy Luck.

My dear friend, Randy, wants me to post everyday. I tried to tell him that I go to school every day, so there aren't many interesting things that go on during the week. He wouldn't give up, so I decided to start writing a high, low, and funny part of the day.
However, I cannot guarantee that this will happen every day. But for you, Randy, I will try my best.

Here it goes.

High: I finished two papers that are due this week and skyped with some of my best friends who are in Heidelberg, Germany!

this was yesterday, but I'm still so happy that I got to see Sean and Par!

(I also skyped my friend, Tia, but her picture won't upload :/ )

Low: This happened about two days ago (nothing bad has happened today... yet). I was sitting on my bed when I discovered a cockroach sitting right next to me. Surprisingly, I managed to kill it without screaming bloody murder. I got on facebook and changed my status to "found a cockroach on my bed. now I can't sleep. this is not okay." Well, my oldest hermana saw that and I'm guessing Google translated it because when I got home the next day, my room reeked of chemicals. I asked my madre what the smell was and she said that Jesi (my hermana), showed her my status and she felt so bad that she had an exterminator come! Needless to say, I felt horrible! But at least there are no more roaches.

Funny moment: Went to the gym today and couldn't figure out how to work this ab machine. This hot Argentine instructor came over to help me but I didn't know how to ask him to fix it in spanish, so I said, "Hablas ingles?" He laughed and said (in spanish, I just can't remember what it was word for word/how to spell it), "Yes, but I want to hear you speak spanish." Just so you know, my spanish is horrible. 

Happy, Randy? :)

Apology

I just wanted to take the time to apologize for my blog design ADD. I can't seem to figure out how I want this thing to look. Please bear with me.

:)

The Casa, chocolate, and dulce de leche.

Not a lot has happened this week, so I have decided to finally post some long overdue pictures of Casa Holden... and some yummy desserts.

The following pictures of Casa Holden are courtesy of Kat Kharitonova. Thank you for being the only person in our program to take pictures of the things we forget to take pictures of. We love you :)

Casa Holden!!

front entrance

auditorium

backyard patio, preparing for Asado! 

Casa Holden pool (there's one on Casa Olleros's side, too)

I love Casa!

classrooms in Casa Olleros

Abuelo and Rafa (our program director)!!

Thursday Asado... yummy.

The Boom Boom Room! (aka nap room)

Now for some pictures of amazing desserts, consisting of chocolate and dulce de leche. I may never leave this country.

heavenly. 

delicioso! 

On a side note: We leave for our EFT (Educational Field Trip) in exactly ONE WEEK! We are going to Puerto Madryn and... somewhere else that I can't remember at the moment. We are all so excited!

Besos y abrazoz para todos! xoxo

Adulam take 2!

This weekend, 8 of us went back to Adulam to play with the kids and help out in any way that we could. We ended up constructing a volleyball court and playing A LOT with the kids. It was really neat going back to Adulam with a smaller group of people. It gave us a chance not only to play with the kids on a more individual basis, but I also got to know a few of the parents that were around. Two mothers in particular, Alexandra and Isabella, were very helpful and hospitable to us staying there. After the first 5 hours of playing non-stop with the kids, they came and rescued us with cookies and dulce de leche! We were able to get to know them better which was really neat. Alexandra told us that she came to Adulam over 12 years ago, when her husband was addicted to drugs. They wanted to get out of the city but didn't have a place to go, so they found Pastor Omar (the founder/creator of Adulam) and have lived there ever since. Their love for the Lord shines brightly through them and it is so inspiring.

In my last post about Adulam, I didn't really know much about the place. After this weekend, I learned that families go there if they have no where else to go, and they learn to sell leather goods and plants and food from their garden, in order to receive money to pay for food and other necessities. The also receive donations that goes toward helping the community as a whole.

me and my friend Cameron with some of the kids!

They have also taken in some children who have parents that can't take care of them. My friend Blaire and I stayed in a house with 15 other people, and at least two of the kids didn't have parents, so the other parents at Adulam have taken them in as their own. Being there in with a smaller group also showed me that while Adulam is indeed a place with lots of joy and happiness despite what little they have, there still is a lot of poverty and sadness that lingers around. One of the mothers in particular made me realize that. I didn't get a chance to talk to her at all, but she was clearly a recovering drug addict that had come there to escape her addiction. It was so sad to watch her struggle with the stress of living with her 2 children in a tiny room, while also trying to stray away from drugs. It was comforting to know that she was able to come to a place where other people could support and encourage her.

This weekend was yet another reminder of how blessed I am to be an American studying in Buenos Aires. I too often take that for granted, but Adulam has taught me to count my blessings and to know that no matter how rich or poor you are, God is present in each and everyones lives. How cool is that? :)



Besos y abrazos para todos!

Time flies when you're having fun!

Yesterday marked the first month anniversary since arriving in Buenos Aires. I can't believe it has only been a month, but at the same time, I feel like I've been here forever. The other day, I went to Starbucks with a friend and stayed there for about two hours. By the time we left, it had taken me to walk about 2 blocks before I realized I was in Argentina! I guess being in an American coffee shop makes you think you're back in the states. So far, living abroad has been an incredible experience and I know it will only get better!

Highlights of the week
Convo dinner at Madero Tango : The group when to a restaurant and tango show called Madero Tango. We had amazing food and I got to watch my first tango show! (Pictures soon to come)

Hospital de los niños:  Last night, we went back to the hospital and passed out sandwiches to the patients and their families. This time, we all decided to say "estamos orando para ti" (we are praying for you) while we walked from room to room. My friend Veronica and I also had the opportunity to pray over a family whose daughter is battling cancer. It was kind of awkward asking them in spanish if we could pray for them in english. Luckily, they said yes and while it was kind of uncomfortable, it was so neat to be able to pray over them. Next week we're hoping to be able to pray a simple prayer in spanish!

Random pictures I just found:

drowning in the waterfall... haha

girls bible study!

Besos y abrazos para todos!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Shout-out to Grandmom!

Happy (belated) birthday, Grandmom!! If I wasn't in another country I would have called you, but I know you read my blog so this will have to do! I love you and miss you very much! :)

IGUAZU FALLS!!!!

Long weekend in Iguazu Falls

I just returned to Buenos Aires from a 5 day trip to Iguazu Falls! The Falls are located in the northeast corner of Argentina, so we left Tuesday night, drove 16 hours in a fairly comfortable bus, and got to Puerto Iguazu on Wednesday late morning. I was pretty nervous about the bus ride, considering that it's so long and I can't really sleep well if I'm not in a bed. Via Bariloche, however, is an awesome bus company that offers completely reclining seats! I got about 4 hours of sleep but felt pretty rested by the time we got there.

We got lost trying to find our hotel but once we did, we couldn't believe how nice it was. We stayed in a place called Los Troncos and it was awesome!

View from the balcony

beds with a queen upstairs!

We paid 360 pesos for 3 nights there (less than $100 dollars)! The owners were so nice and helped us with things we wanted to do while we were there and we got free (delicious) breakfast every morning. 

On Thursday, we took a bus to the Falls and walked down a trail that took us right next to the waterfalls. 

the group (minus Ben) at the start of the trail

I bet God had so much fun creating this.

When Eleanor Roosevelt saw the Falls, she said, "Poor Niagra". She was right. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, and the pictures don't even do it justice. On your right, you see waterfalls coming in from Argentina, and on your left, you see them coming in from Brazil. It was SO cool!!

After we walked around for a bit, we went on a little jungle safari ride that took us down a bunch of stairs to get on a boat that took us UNDER the waterfalls! It was crazy. We went through rapids and then approached a huge waterfall, our driver took us under, and we got SOAKED.  There was a man who recorded the whole thing so we all bought a video of it afterwards. 

me and Hayley wet after the boat ride

terrified haha

After drying off and getting some lunch, we went to the "Devil's Throat" part of Iguazu Falls. This is a place where water pours in from three sides. It's absolutely beautiful and we got to stand right above the waterfalls! 

me and my friend April at Devil's Throat!

On Friday, after a wonderful day at the Falls, an awesome safari bus came and picked us up at the hotel to take us deep into the jungle to zip-line and repel down a waterfall. It was SO much fun! I had never zip-lined before so getting to "fly" through the jungle was an awesome experience. Repelling down a waterfall was terrifying but SO exhilarating! Loved every minute of it. 

We finished at around noon, just in time for a thunderstorm to come and put us all to sleep for the next 4 hours :) 

On Saturday, before we boarded our bus back to BA, we walked over to the point where Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay are connected by a river. Standing on the Argentina side, you can see Brazil on your right and Paraguay on your left. 

It was so nice to get out of the city with my friends and explore another part of Argentina. If any of you ever get a change to go to Iguazu Falls, take the boat ride (it's only 50 pesos, which is less than $12), and zip-line through the jungle! Oh, and stay at Los Troncos because it was SO worth the money! 

Besos y abrazoz para todos!