2 Weekends ago I met a bunch of Americans that are here in the same program as my roommate/hostbrother, Mike. On Friday we had about 15 people over our house to hang out (pregame) before we went out to Rafael Nunez. It was cool to meet some Americans but I didn’t like talking in English because it doesn’t help my progress at all! I love his friends though. We went out to some club HillRose and saw a band play for a bit then danced till 5am as usual…I met a couple more argentines too. I’m really starting to like the local drink – Fernet & Coke. Here they sell it in pitchers in the club haha it’s like walking around with a huge scorpion bowl with tons of straws sticking out of it… on Saturday I went out with Mike and his friends again, and we ended up going downtown to Studio Theatro again which was fun but I could tell I was starting to get sick…ughh.
Hill Rose with some Clemson people & Fernet of course.
On Sunday it hit me full blown. The whole following week I was pretty much bed-ridden because I had strep throat…I think (it’s called Agina Roja here). I was too stubborn to go see a doctor all week so I thought I’d try to tough it out…finally by Thursday (I had been sick since Sunday) my host mom dragged me to the doctor because I couldn’t even move my neck… the doctor scolded me for waiting so long to get antibiotics. I was feeling much better after the medication! On Friday (yes the day after getting on the medication… I couldn’t help it, I was so restless from not doing anything all week) we went out to a club downtown called “Room”. It was really small but the crowd was really chill and “tranquillo” as they say here. I met up with some of my argentine friends from before, including this kid Matias who looks just like someone I know from home which is really bizarre (except for the fact that Matias doesn't speak ANY English whatsoever). They were attempting to teach me salsa but it is muyyy dificil para mi… Saturday we went out to a club in the Chateau which is this area pretty close to my house (in the sticks, remember?). It’s really weird, we were driving in a cab and there isn’t much around…then all of a sudden there is a huge lit up sign for the Chateau, and there’s a whole strip of clubs. It’s nuts! We went to a club called Trip Club and we got free entrance because Mike’s school had some passes. It had an awesome deck section where you could hang out outside and enjoy the summer night :)
Mike & I and our host parents - Adriana & Pepe <3
So this week I had my last days of spanish classes. At first I wasn’t a big fan of my Spanish teacher because she seemed like a really negative person, but when I got to know her and I was able to speak more Spanish and understand her, I realized she just has a lot of issues. Once we got to be friends she opened up to me and told me about her issues going on at home with her husband and a bunch of stuff… so on our last day I was really sad to say goodbye :( I also wish I could take more lessons, but I think it will be good for me to learn some on my own (verbs, vocab etc) and then if I have more questions maybe I can take more lessons in Peru. It was difficult learning some grammar with Soley because she didn’t speak English so I had to ask questions in Spanish which in itself is difficult…oh well.
Things are the orphanage are looking up for me. I’ve started to spend more time with the younger kids, because they seem to enjoy playing with me. The older kids (not all) love to tease me and make fun of me so I’m not going to give them the attention until they stop. One day I helped Stefi (another volunteer from Germany) sort through old toys to throw out ones that were filthy or broken. I couldn’t believe some of the stuff that people had donated…it was seriously trash! Oh well… later I was asked to change one of the toddlers, and I was told that they don’t have wipes (or toothbrushes or anything for that matter) so I should just put the baby in the shower to wash her off. I couldn’t believe it! The girl had diarrhea (yes I’m going to be descriptive so you can all feel like you were there with me) and I literally had to wipe her clean with my HANDS in a shower/sink in the orphanage. My mom sent me to Argentina with a few packets of wipes/tissues so I think I’m going to bring those in so they at least can have some wipes… the girl was screaming the whole time because the water in the shower is cold and I was just trying to get her clean ASAP. Ahh man… the only TV in the orphanage was also stolen this week during the middle of the night. It was pretty much the only thing these kids had for entertainment :/
Cookie, Axel, & Lucia :)
Milly, Valentina, Axel, and I don't know...
Now that I don’t have class, I have been going to the orphanage in the morning. The kids have started school, so the afternoons are pretty uneventful, and I can’t really help the kids with their homework so it is pointless for me to be there. Therefore, I come around 8 or 9am in the morning so I can help get the kids ready for school (they all go at different times…I still haven’t figure that out yet), play with them, help prepare lunch, and then serve food to 3 huge groups of people. One good thing is I’m allowed to eat with them too. The kitchen at the orphanage is huge, and when we eat I feel like I’m in the movie Annie (Spanish version of course). They have 10 huge long tables where the kids sit, and we pass out the plates with some kind of mush on it usually (either potatoes or noodles of some sort) and sometimes meat. The food actually isn’t as bad as I expected, and I’m used to usually skipping lunch so it’s not bad for me. It’s still difficult for me to understand instructions when the other adults tell me to do things…but I am learning. I feel stupid because many of the other volunteers from other countries (“extranjeros”) are majoring in Spanish or have worked in other locations where they learned Spanish. So basically I look like the idiot American once again…oh well all I can do is try I guess! I’m having too good of a time here to get discouraged too often.
my favorite...Santiago, "Santi" <3
On Wednesday my friend Matias invited Mike and I to have dinner at his house with his sister and some friends… it was a really good time! We weren’t able to speak any English, but it was really good practice and they were all so hospitable. They treated us to dinner, wine and beer. In return, we taught them to play Kings (describing the rules in Spanish ahah) . That was interesting and sort of difficult but so worth it! It was a good night, and I’m really glad we have more friends that are locals now. On Thursday Mike and I were lucky enough to have dinner alone with Pepe and receive a hilarious sex lecture... seriously I think it went out for over 45 minutes. Mike and I tried not to laugh and everytime we did Pepe would say "EN SERIO!!! siempre usar protecion..." It was hilarious. He told us that because we were his "hijos" (children) he felt as though we should have the conversation... oh Pepe. He has 4 daughters so he had no problem talking to us about it, no embarrasment whatsoever.
Okay I can’t think of what else to write right now…it’s time for my daily siesta before the typical Friday so hasta luego…
Chau, besos! <3
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