Long time, no talk.

I want to truly apologize for being so lax about keeping up my blog. SO MUCH has happened that I have failed to mention to all of you. Anyhow, I have decided to do weekly bites instead of long, detailed blog posts, as I don't have the patience nor silence to sit down and compose something of worth. From now on, you can expect a brief post every week! Hopefully this will help keep everyone informed on my "foreign" life and help me remember everything that happens over the course of the next year.

Monday 01/11/2010:
As you all well know, I am currently attending Colegio Nuestra Senora del Carmen, a private, Roman Catholic, all girls school located in downtown Rio Cuarto. The nun, a robust, gnome-like woman from Salta, teaches two of my sixteen courses. At the beginning of each class, we all rise and the nun leads us in the recitation of a prayer. I, though not Catholic myself, have found that I do believe in some of the teachings of Catholicism. I like to think of religion as a sample platter from Fazoli's--a little bit of each dish is the best way to go. However, today during Bioetica (essentially a class that teaches me how to not have sex, serve my husband and make lots of little Catholic babies---a dish that I prefer to not order with my sample platter), we discussed sexuality and I was absolutely, completely and totally offended. The nun bashed homosexuality for about an hour, calling it an "illness" and a "disability." I wanted to whack-a-nun at that very moment, but decided against it as I'm sure the Church would frown upon that sort of behavior.
After physical education (from 3:00 to 4:00 in the afternoon), I went to Caetano's school to speak to his English class. Basically, a bunch of 6-year-olds asked me how to say such and such a word in English--everything from tooth to cat. It was really cute when Cae introduced me to the class as his foreign exchange cousin from England. The United States, England, what's the difference to a 6-year-old?
After the presentation, Paula (my aunt), Camila (my cousin), Cae and I all went shopping in el centro. Cae bought these bright green, plaid pants that reminded me of something a grandpa would wear to play golf. The entire time we were downtown, Cae held my hand. I think I found my Argentine boyfriend, ladies...too bad he is six! We all drank orange juice at an outdoor cafe in the plaza and got home around 10:00 that night.

Tuesday 02/11/2010:
Today at school, my friend Yamila introduced me to another delicious Argentine specialty called gomitas--basically little fruit-flavored gummy bears covered in sugar.
Almost every day after my siesta, I go on a 6 kilometer walk from my house to the park and back. Today, as I was on my way back to the house, I failed to realize that there was construction going on in front of me. I just kept walking, not thinking much of it, and ended up stepping in freshly poured concrete. Oops! Hoping that no one saw, I switched to the other side of the street and picked up my pace significantly. I guess I made my mark (HA!) in Rio Cuarto.
Papa told me about the Two Year Marathon that happens annually in Rio Cuarto. On New Year's Eve, there in a 10 kilometer marathon through the city. I think I am going to participate in it...or at least try. I have been gaining a whole bunch of weight here (probably weigh about 10 pounds more than when I arrived), so it might not be a bad plan to do something active. They weren't lying when they said AFS stands for "Another Fat Student." Anyhow, the plan is to join a gym and start track with a trainer within the next week. That way I will have about two months to whip my ass into shape before the marathon.

Thursday 04/11/2010:
I went to the AFS reunion today with Rocio and Ayrton tonight. I guess I looked better than usual because before we left for the bus stop, Rofi (my grandmother) said, "Ojo con los chichos, Taylor!" I told her to do the same, which she thought was pretty funny.
After the reunion, we had about an hour to kill before the next bus came. We went to the radio station where Leti, a volunteer with AFS, works. There, she was having a little pre-gathering for her 23rd birthday party. After drinking some Coronas in celebration, we had to run to catch the bus. I lost my shoe while running, which we thought was really funny but the bus driver did not.

Friday 05/11/2010:
Today, I went to el centro to purchase supplies for my trip to the Sierras planned for Sunday. Sunscreen, sunglasses etc...Everything a gringa needs to face the sun. Krypton is to Superman as sun is to gringa. However, my plan to shop failed, as the ATM would not let me take out any money. Let me just tell you, it is very stressful to be in a foreign country without any means to get cash.
Later that day, Rocio and I went downtown again to find fabric to make her dance costume.

Saturday 06/11/2010:
This morning,Patricia (aunt) and I went to the grocery store and then downtown. The ATM worked, thankfully!
Every Saturday from 4:00 to 7:00, I go to Chochi's (grandmother) pottery class. I just finished a really simple starter piece last week and this week started working on a Pre-Columbian piece.
Mama made two cakes today--SO GOOD! One was a Ricotta cheese and orange zest cake (similar to cheesecake but with a distinct texture) and one was a chocolate cake with dulce de leche and rum.
Before having the opportunity to try either one of the cakes during merienda, I went to a cafe in front of the Teatro Municipal to hang out with some friends from AFS. The group consisted of Emiliano (from Rio Cuarto and headed to the US in August), Lisanne (from Belgium), Nina (from Iceland), Sofie (from Austria), Maxi (from Rio Cuarto and Nina's host brother), Elli (from Rio Cuarto and headed to Germany in August) and me. It was a really fun time. Sofie is having a bunch of problems with her host family here, which made me realize how incredibly lucky I am to have such an amazing host family. In a lot of ways, I feel more at home here than in the United States. Don't get me wrong... I love you guys back home, too!
When I got to the bus stop, it was fairly late, so Negra (my dog) met me at the bus stop and walked me home. It always makes me nervous crossing the highway to get to the house---lots of nasty truck drivers think it's cool to honk at the blonde chick. It's nice to have a furry companion by my side to protect me!

Sunday 07/11/2010:
Almost every Sunday, we have an asado with the family. This time, Papa made choripan. So delicious. Basically sausage on bread with tomatoes, lettuce, mayo etc...Never liked meat until I came here.
That night, there was a huge wind storm. As most of the streets in Banda Norte (my neighborhood) are dirt, it was really more of a wind/dirt/trash storm. I felt like I was in that beginning scene of The Wizard of Oz, right before the tornado comes.

Chao until next week!