Just some general stuff...

So once again my family is pestering me to write a blog post (yes, you know who you are), so here we go. It's been just over one month, and so everything is falling into a routine. I started field hockey, I don't know if I already mentioned that. It's been going well, it's at a club a little ways away and we practice twice a week and have a game on the weekend. So far I've only been to two practices because I've been sick, but more details on that to come. It's really fun though, it's a nice way to meet some new people and get exercise. I started because another exchange student mentioned it, so we are doing it together. And being the two foreign girls that people assume don't speak Spanish, we miss out on a lot of the news, like games being cancelled. So we arrive at the field only to see nobody but our taxi driving away. And an example of Argentine lifestyle: we arrived at a 9:15pm practice at 9:00. And it was pitch black. Nobody was there, no lights were on, the building was dark... so we sat on the bench for a minute and then decided we might as well run a few laps just to say we did something, and then we would call a taxi or try to walk the 3 mile walk home. And so we ran, and as we were leaving the field (9:17ish) another team mate got there, and turned on the lights, and before long everyone was there. I guess getting to things early isn't really a thing here.
So I also got sick this past week, starting on Saturday. Your classic cough, fever, sore throat (I really need to remember how to spell throat, I've been having issues with that word). It was pretty bad on Saturday, which meant I missed out on going to a quinceañera, and I was home sick through Wednesday. So it was pretty boring, just sitting on my bed reading or on the computer. I was grateful to go to school on Thursday. I went to the doctor on Monday. I never intended on going, but I was with the other USA girl, who was also sick, so we went together with her family. Because it was a holiday, all of the public places were closed, so we went to the nearest private clinic, which happened to be a maternity clinic. So we got some looks. But oh well. We got some medicine and now it's a week later and I feel much better, although I still have a cough.
And as far as my birthday goes.Wednesday, my birthday, I went out with the exchange students and some volunteers for hot dogs (pretty deluxe hot dogs), then Friday I celebrated with my host family, seeing as it was my host father and my birthday that week. There were about forty people there that night for dinner, dancing, and a really sweet video that my host family made with clips from my family and classmates.
Besides that, life is pretty normal. Everything has settled into a routine, and every day I can tell that my Spanish is getting better!

A Day in the Life

So, after some requests for a blog update, here we go. My typical day here. Granted, I've only been here for two weeks, but I do have a basic routine.

Asado at a campo (not really related to this post)

Monday through Friday, I wake up at about nine for school. Get into my uniform (white polo, white skirt), sit at the kitchen table and eat some crackers or chipa (a type of bread) and have a cup of mate cocido. Here, breakfast isn't big, and a lot of people I know don't eat anything in the morning. Depending on the morning, I either go with my host mom to one of her English classes, or straight to school. Every day but Tuesday we drive, Tuesday I take the city bus (aka collectivo/bondi). School starts at 11:00. I have ten-ish classes, two or three per day. Because I go to a technical school, a lot of them are science related. I have math, chemistry, electrical engineering, technical drawing, history, geography, language arts, English, and physics. And at least one other thing, but I can't remember at the moment. Like I said before, the class is kind of crazy, but that's ok. I understand most of what goes on in my classes, especially chemistry and math. And English, obviously. I do most of the homework, which is more than I can say for a good number of my classmates hahaha. Once school ends, we all go out to the bus stop and take the bus to our houses. It's a city bus, and costs 1.25 pesos a ride, which is about 25 cents. I get home between 2:30 and 3:00, depending on when the bus comes. When I get home, my host parents are taking a siesta, so I heat up my lunch on the stove and eat, then either go to my room to do homework/take a siesta, or I go hang out with some of my friends. Between 2:00 and 5:00 there isn't much to do, most shops shut down until five. Dinner is at 10:00 more or less, so between 3:00 and 10:00 I'm really free to do whatever I want. I already know the city well, and from most areas I can find my way home easily. I walk a LOT here, some days as many as 40 blocks, which translates to 4 kilometers from walking to run errands, go eat, etc. Speaking of eating, I do a lot of that here to. All the food is so inexpensive and so good! But on Monday I start field hockey, which will be three days a week. Once the pools open, I'll start swimming on my own. Anyway, after dinner, I usually read, go online, whatever until about midnight when I go to sleep.

Before a party: nations represented:
Italy, USA, France, Japan, Germany, Argentina, Thailand, Denmark

Friday Night through Sunday, there is always too much to do. This is the time of year where there is la eleccion de la reina in every school, which is kind of a prom queen type election that is really a chance for the schools to show off and have parties. Each school has a theme (Tangled, Burlesque, Party Rock are a few examples) and the kids from each school dance and then all the girls that are contestants walk down the runway while they are scored. I went to one last weekend for a school called Don Bosco, and it went till about 4 in the morning. The one I went to last night was for San Martin, and tonight there is one for Santa Isabel. Most of the schools rent out giant athletic clubs or something similar to hold the parties, and between 500 and 1000 people go to the popular ones. The one at San Martin was not as good, so at 1:30 we all left to go out to eat and then walked to our houses at 4:30. I'm not going to the one for my school because it isn't supposed to be very good haha. Tonight is supposed to be the best one. I've been going with a group of exchange students/volunteers. It's really cool, because whenever we hang out the conversations are some mix of English, Spanish, and maybe Italian or German. So a general schedule for weekends: meeting up to go to parties around 10:00, leaving for the party at 11:00, go home and to sleep at 4:30, wake up at 10:00, hang around, take a siesta from 3:00 to 6:00, head out again at 10:00. It's been really fun, and a good balance between school and a social life.