This month has been pretty full of stuff for me.
First of all, I have moved families. A little over a week ago, on a Friday, I was told by Rotary that I was moving families...the next day. They did not tell me, however, where I was going or who I was going to be living with. The next day I got in the car of my Rotary counselor still not knowing where I was going. He explained on the way that I was going to a family who lived on the other side of the city. When we got there, I noticed the proximity of the house to a very nice sports club with tennis courts. Also, the house is literally in between a hair cutting place, bakery, and video rental store. As I walked in a greeted my host dad and one of my host brothers for the first time, there was that inevitable few moments of slightly uncomfortable conversation as I met for the first time the people who I would spend the next four months with in their house. My counselor left, and there I was in the kitchen with all my bags. They showed me around...kitchen, living room, my room (which I share with my 20 year old host brother Pablo and 15 year old host brother Mariano), parents room, bathroom, and the bedroom of nine year old Julieta and 13 year old Marcos. That makes seven of us in this house. A little crowded, but I like it here.
After a few days I started to get a better feel for the family. The parents are both very nice, and the kids are all cool. The family is very fun and engaging and they really enjoy having me here, so I am happy. Also, I was able to start tennis classes at the local club. Tennis being my favorite activity, I am now really happy with my schedule because I am doing a sport that I love.
Everyday for school I wake up at 6 to take a bus with Mariano. He goes to school very near my school, so we bus together and hang out a bit before school starts. Then when I get out of school, I walk 7 blocks along a very cool canal to my bus stop, and take a bus home. At home, I usually sleep a little siesta, and then eat something. Then its off to tennis most days. After tennis I work on college stuff or hang out with my family.
Yesterday was a day to remember, unfortunately. I got home from tennis, and went to a cyber cafe to check my email and work (they have a computer here but the atmoshpere at the house is too hyper to do work in). I saw an email from my father that was sent 16 hours ago. My Uncle was in the hospital and wasn't going to make it this time. My uncle broke his neck at 17 and has lived with many medical problems for many years. This time, he couldn't recover and choose to pass in peace. I ran out of the cyber cafe after buying some phone cards and started calling my family to try and talk to my Uncle before he passed away. Because of the time difference and the fact I didn't get a chance to check my email until later in the day, I found out that he had already passed away. They told me it was very peaceful and he had all his family with him, but I am very sad I couldn't have at least talked to him one last time over the phone. My Dad gave him my love and told him all about my adventures here in Argentina. I know he liked that because he too was an exchange student in South Africa, and I grew up hearing stories from my dad (exchange to Thailand) and my Uncle. Dealing with this situation is hard, but having a fun schedule and lots of people I like here in Argentina helps. I will continue having a good time and making the most of my experience here, because I know that is what my Uncle always wanted for me.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
South Trip
I just got back to Còrdoba from the Rotary South trip, and it was amazing. I will try to comment on a few of the more memorable experiences.
First of all, we travelled in a pretty nice double decker bus for the entire trip, logging more than 5,000 kilometers (about the same as going from the west coast to the east coast of the States, roughly). There were 49 exchange students, 2 coordinadors, 2 drivers, a Rotary counselor, and the counselor´`s wife and daughter. I thought it was BS that the counselor got to bring his wife and daughter FOR FREE on the trip and do everything we got to do while 2 more rotary students had to stay home because the trip was too expensive. But thats how it goes.
After a couple days of traveling by bus and staying one night in cabins in route, we arrived in Puerto Madryn, a nice ocean front town. We had the day off, so Joseph from New Zealand, Hans from Germany and I all walked around the city and found a pool hall to have some fun. We all played each other, and we all won exactly once. Joseph beat me, then Hans beat Joseph, then I beat Hans. That was a lot of fun.
During our time there, we took a day trip to a national park on the coast where we got to see Sea Lions, Sea Elephants, and lots of penguins. We went to a special penguin park where we walked on a walkway directly through a penguin colony with penguins all around us. It was very cool because I had never been that close to penguins in the wild before. Also, the sea elephants where massive and we had fun watching them fight each other in the water.
The next day we took a 4 hour bus ride to Puerto Piramedes to watch whales. We went on a nice sized boat out into the ocean and came very close to a pod of small blue whales, sometimes as close as 10 to 15 feet from the boat. Once, I saw the dark shape of a whale pass directly beneath our boat before surfacing on the other side. I had a lot of fun watching the whales and took some cool photos that will be on facebook soon.
After Puerto Madryn, we traveled a day and a half by bus to Calafate, a town on the shore of Argentina´s biggest lake, Lake Argentina. There we all stayed in cute cabins, and out of luck I got put into a nice little shack with another guy, Robert from Germany, so I didn`t have to share with many people. The day we arrived we had free, so Robert, Hans, Mo (also Germany) and I decided to take a run, which turned into the longest run and the most beautiful run I have ever taken. We ran from our cabins around a bend in the lake and up a small hill. At the top, we had a view of the entire town along with the snow capped mountains and the beautiful lake all together. It was very very pretty. In all we ran about 5 miles up and down hills in the freezing cold (at time snowing lightly) but it was a good work out and a lot of fun.
The next day we took our bus to the National Glacier Park, home of the worlds largest growing glacier, Perito Moreno. This glacier we got to take an exclusive hike on, which was amazing. We took a boat ride right along the glacier to a forest encampment, where tour guides helped us put on crampons that help your feet grip the ice. Then we began to hike up on the glacier itself. I have amazing photos of the surface of the glacier and the vistas that we saw. The glacier itself was more than 110 feet tall out of the water and had a completely alien landscape, with deep blue pools and jagged ice teeth everywhere. It was one of the most beautiful and unforgettable experiences I have ever had. After hiking the glacier for an hour and a half, we returned to the lodge to eat, and after that went back to Calafate. There, I bought a nice beanie hat that says Patagonia on it.
After another day and a half of traveling, we arrived in Ushuaia, the southermost city of Argentina. We stayed in a small hotel close to the center, and when we arrived had a day off. I bought a nice necklace with a small metal figure of a dragon head in the artist fair, and later that night we ate at an All You can Eat seafood buffet. Bad idea for me, because I love seafood. That night I got terribly sick, and vomited a lot. It passed the next day, but a large blood spot appeared in my right eye, and while it is going away, it is still there today. I feel fine though. In Ushuaia we had a chance to go to another national park and see a group of amazing lakes and forests. This national park reminded me a lot of Oregon, with pristine lakes and large forests all around me. The normal scenery of that trip was flat grassland and shrubbery, nothing more.
After Ushuaia, we went to Bariloche, a famous town in Argentina for its clubs and its chocolate. It is tradition here that when you graduate high school, your entire class goes to Bariloche to party. In light of this, the tour guides allowed us to go out to a club one night in Bariloche and it was very fun. We met many graduating classes, all of whom were dressed up in costumes of some sort. They had sky dancers performing and live music along with a great space. Earlier that day we had a chance to visit a chocolate factory. I bought some amazingly good chocolate, and I´m sorry I couldn´t save any for my mom and grandmas. It was quite exquisite.
After Bariloche we started making our way back to Còrdoba. We spent many long hours on the bus watching movies and attempting to sleep. On our way back, we stopped for dinner in a town called Cipolletti, where an exchange student from my district in Oregon is staying. Alyssa (my friend from Oregon) was able to meet us for dinner and it was nice seeing her and talking about our experiences.
The next day around 2 in the afternoon we arrived back in the city and I took a taxi to my house and promptly fell asleep because I was so exhausted. In all, the trip was absolutely amazing and the experiences I had in the national parks and the coast of Patagonia are unforgettable and I am so glad I had this opportunity on my exchange.
First of all, we travelled in a pretty nice double decker bus for the entire trip, logging more than 5,000 kilometers (about the same as going from the west coast to the east coast of the States, roughly). There were 49 exchange students, 2 coordinadors, 2 drivers, a Rotary counselor, and the counselor´`s wife and daughter. I thought it was BS that the counselor got to bring his wife and daughter FOR FREE on the trip and do everything we got to do while 2 more rotary students had to stay home because the trip was too expensive. But thats how it goes.
After a couple days of traveling by bus and staying one night in cabins in route, we arrived in Puerto Madryn, a nice ocean front town. We had the day off, so Joseph from New Zealand, Hans from Germany and I all walked around the city and found a pool hall to have some fun. We all played each other, and we all won exactly once. Joseph beat me, then Hans beat Joseph, then I beat Hans. That was a lot of fun.
During our time there, we took a day trip to a national park on the coast where we got to see Sea Lions, Sea Elephants, and lots of penguins. We went to a special penguin park where we walked on a walkway directly through a penguin colony with penguins all around us. It was very cool because I had never been that close to penguins in the wild before. Also, the sea elephants where massive and we had fun watching them fight each other in the water.
The next day we took a 4 hour bus ride to Puerto Piramedes to watch whales. We went on a nice sized boat out into the ocean and came very close to a pod of small blue whales, sometimes as close as 10 to 15 feet from the boat. Once, I saw the dark shape of a whale pass directly beneath our boat before surfacing on the other side. I had a lot of fun watching the whales and took some cool photos that will be on facebook soon.
After Puerto Madryn, we traveled a day and a half by bus to Calafate, a town on the shore of Argentina´s biggest lake, Lake Argentina. There we all stayed in cute cabins, and out of luck I got put into a nice little shack with another guy, Robert from Germany, so I didn`t have to share with many people. The day we arrived we had free, so Robert, Hans, Mo (also Germany) and I decided to take a run, which turned into the longest run and the most beautiful run I have ever taken. We ran from our cabins around a bend in the lake and up a small hill. At the top, we had a view of the entire town along with the snow capped mountains and the beautiful lake all together. It was very very pretty. In all we ran about 5 miles up and down hills in the freezing cold (at time snowing lightly) but it was a good work out and a lot of fun.
The next day we took our bus to the National Glacier Park, home of the worlds largest growing glacier, Perito Moreno. This glacier we got to take an exclusive hike on, which was amazing. We took a boat ride right along the glacier to a forest encampment, where tour guides helped us put on crampons that help your feet grip the ice. Then we began to hike up on the glacier itself. I have amazing photos of the surface of the glacier and the vistas that we saw. The glacier itself was more than 110 feet tall out of the water and had a completely alien landscape, with deep blue pools and jagged ice teeth everywhere. It was one of the most beautiful and unforgettable experiences I have ever had. After hiking the glacier for an hour and a half, we returned to the lodge to eat, and after that went back to Calafate. There, I bought a nice beanie hat that says Patagonia on it.
After another day and a half of traveling, we arrived in Ushuaia, the southermost city of Argentina. We stayed in a small hotel close to the center, and when we arrived had a day off. I bought a nice necklace with a small metal figure of a dragon head in the artist fair, and later that night we ate at an All You can Eat seafood buffet. Bad idea for me, because I love seafood. That night I got terribly sick, and vomited a lot. It passed the next day, but a large blood spot appeared in my right eye, and while it is going away, it is still there today. I feel fine though. In Ushuaia we had a chance to go to another national park and see a group of amazing lakes and forests. This national park reminded me a lot of Oregon, with pristine lakes and large forests all around me. The normal scenery of that trip was flat grassland and shrubbery, nothing more.
After Ushuaia, we went to Bariloche, a famous town in Argentina for its clubs and its chocolate. It is tradition here that when you graduate high school, your entire class goes to Bariloche to party. In light of this, the tour guides allowed us to go out to a club one night in Bariloche and it was very fun. We met many graduating classes, all of whom were dressed up in costumes of some sort. They had sky dancers performing and live music along with a great space. Earlier that day we had a chance to visit a chocolate factory. I bought some amazingly good chocolate, and I´m sorry I couldn´t save any for my mom and grandmas. It was quite exquisite.
After Bariloche we started making our way back to Còrdoba. We spent many long hours on the bus watching movies and attempting to sleep. On our way back, we stopped for dinner in a town called Cipolletti, where an exchange student from my district in Oregon is staying. Alyssa (my friend from Oregon) was able to meet us for dinner and it was nice seeing her and talking about our experiences.
The next day around 2 in the afternoon we arrived back in the city and I took a taxi to my house and promptly fell asleep because I was so exhausted. In all, the trip was absolutely amazing and the experiences I had in the national parks and the coast of Patagonia are unforgettable and I am so glad I had this opportunity on my exchange.
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