15/3

So it appears I haven't written in a while! That's because the academic side of the semester is finally underway. Aka, hours upon hours of reading in Spanish. They LOVE to read here. However, it's not at its fullest yet, which is why Jon, Clay, Lauren, and I acted fast to get out of town whil still possible. I'm currently on LAN airlines on my way to.... USHUAIA!
The southernmost city in the world. We have about maybe an hour left, and I'll probably try to sleep a bit. Thanks to Nammy for the amazing travel pillow and thanks to Mom for the awesome cover! I haven't gotten much rest this past week.. 1.5 hours tonight (left at 2:30 am), 3 hours last night, 4 hours the night before. I don't know why... I'm comfortable here-- I love my house, room, bed; I have a fan and window, nights are cool enough to use my blanket.. but I cannot keep my eyes closed. I'm subconsciously over-stressed and anxious most of the time. I think it's especially strong because I had a 3 month break without exercising my mind much, and now all the sudden it's gotta be full blast throughout the day. Going to my direct enrollment class honestly feels like I'm taking a final every time. But I have noticed an improvement in my listening abilities! On my hell day (Tuesday), I had my first really noticeable speaking breakthrough, where I stayed talking at the table with Vale and Marcelo after dessert for a few hours. Normally they talk to me and every time I want to contribute, they've gotta fill in blanks or correct my conjugations or I forget what I'm trying to say. But that night, I was able to semi-rapidly word exactly how I wanted or else describe in alternate ways. Vale said she loved being able to hear my thoughts and getting to know me better through that. This experience is definitely a lot of up and down in everything.
BUt anyways, this is just the trip I need. I brought some reading homework, but so far I've been distracted by the incredible sunrise out the window.
My academic schedule so far is
Martes (tues): Literatura Argentina en UCA a 745-915
Seminario de Aprendizaje-Servicio 10-11:30
Gramatical 1:15-3:15
Tango 5-7

Miercoles (Wed): Lit Arg 745-1015
Lenguaje en accion 1-4
Oral 5:30-7:30
Afro Dance 8

Then on Mondays and Thursdays 3-5, I'll hopefully be working with Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo. Really exciting, but I dont wanna talk it up until it's confirmed..

Anyways, heartbreaking news from home.. pray for Tina's family.

And I need to catch up on
1. dance shows
2. Tango
3. Tigre
4. Cancha
5. San Telmo
but I don't have time right now...
ps. Astor is my favorite beyond favorite cat!! I love him.