Which was nothing as I'd expected...

... because I didn't have any expectations! The only housing information was given to me two days before leaving: "you'll be staying at the secretary's house."

Gustavo pulled up to a fenced-in front courtyard and the first greeting came from the hyperactive Scottish sheep dog named Boni, who goes nuts barking and bounding off the ledge only to jump back up again. 

(Boni, the lookout)

I hear "HOLA! Hi!" coming from the windows and suddenly my new family appears through the door to help me with my luggage: Vero, a very warm and spunky lady with her twin teenage daughters Chachi and Jemi (pronounced Jamie), who have the prettiest red hair and fair skin. All are bilingual in British English and Argentine Spanish, including the dog and the cat Jack. 

(Boni's butt, Chachi, Jemi, and Vero-- this picture was taken the next day but shh)

We thanked Gustavo then headed inside. Vero showed me around the house and laid down the law. There's one rule: no food upstairs. Other than that, they give me free reign of the house-- my own room and everything. But they save the best part for last... A POOL! For anyone who doesn't know me well, I live for water. So this was a lucky catch.

(heaven)

Aside from all the amenities, the family alone makes me feel at home. Or actually, more like that I'm on a tropical vacation. BAICA staff keeps welcoming me, saying they've been counting down the days till I arrive... it all feels better than I could've imagined.

Before Vero Chachi and Jemi left for a wedding in the afternoon, I unpacked and then Chachi walked me around the neighborhood to show me the Verdulería and Frutería (fresh veggies and fruit grocery) and the Coto (supermarket) nearby. While we walked, she told me about her recent mission trip. Already I can see how complex these girls are, and how distinct they are from each other in the little details.

After they left, I checked in with the family back home over wifi -- shoutout to Callaghan and Jake! iPod Touch was such a good purchase! <3 -- and then I decided to wander. I was also wicked hungry at this point, so I left with the good ol'Argentine llaves (keys) and headed the way we'd gone before. 

Only problem was that I turned left instead of right at the end of the street.

Call me directionally challenged, but I always figure that roads will meet up eventually. Parallel lines intersect, right? They don't, but eventually, after buying uvas (grapes) at the fruit grocery, I made it to Coto from the back way.

Shopping was a shocker.

Prices have more than doubled since the last time I was here. To be specific, inflation has increased 30% in the last month alone! I've also caught wind that they're releasing the US Dollar-- 2 years ago when I was here they banned it, developing the "blue market" for buying dollars at a much higher exchange rate than the official. In other words, this whole situation should be good for US Americans, but it's not when you're earning your pay in pesos... Since I'm on a budget and a gluten-free diet, my choices were limited. I had to put back the 50-peso cheese and the coffee, seeing as teacher salaries don't allow for much luxury in the indulgence department, but was able to buy the staples: salami, olives, yogurt, frozen veggies, and rice. 

And then again, I made a wrong turn somewhere.

I had no address, no phone, and no map. In my defense, the street we live on is a ghost street-- shorter than those parallel, so it doesn't meet with most of the cross streets. Also, at this point, I'm running off plane slumber so my memory's shot. Oh and not to mention that the provincias all reuse the street names I'm used to from la Capital Federal-- they all sound familiar even when they're not. Add all that to the fact I'm directionally challenged.

After an hour an a half of circling the 12-or-so-block radius in different directions, I made it home! 

It was good for me though-- nice exercise and I lost myself until I was found. Metaphorical connection to the spiritual life starts here.

No, but I'm not being sarcastic. I think walking is a very natural and spiritually rich practice-- we end up moving to the rhythm of our own pulse, which does wonders in clearing the mind.

Anyways eventually I cook dinner, skype, and get ready for bed. Just then, Vero returns with the girls and the ESL primary teacher named Candy from BAICA who came along to meet me-- we drink tea and chat until I can't stay awake any longer.

All in all, the day passed like a dream-- nice but doesn't feel real. It wasn't strongly plot-driven, as I didn't do much, but it was filled with new sights and a calmness that surrounded me all day. God's got me where he wants me, I'm pretty sure!

And now I leave you with the sunset view from my bedroom window...

Recap, part II

We landed and customs were quick. Too quick. When I reached the lobby with my luggage cart (free in EZE airport), miscellaneous items repacked into the large checked bag, i saw bunches of people. Clumps of tourists, gaggles of families, herds of companies asking "Taxi, señorita?"

The BAICA email said the man coming to pick me up would be tall with gray hair, carrying a sign saying "Cheryl." Well,, I wandered that room about four times, trying not to look worried. I didn't feel it, but exhaustion and not knowing can morph your expression into something less desirable. I felt like a walking target: lost American girl with blonde hair and too much luggage. Bingo! I'd rob me too.

Though not a monumental moment, I took it as a little faith-check. It had been about an hour. While I waited, I stood my back to the wall, wore my backpack backwards, and kept prayerfully calm. I reminded myself that I was in Argentina. In other words, maybe he'd be "late," but he certainly wouldn't leave without me.

A minute later, I saw him walk through the doors. Immediately, we recognized each other as if we'd met before.
Turns out I really flew through customs and arrived earlier than planned.

There's nothing like leaving a winter wonderland and then 24 hours later, walking outside into a perfect summer day. I'd expected too hot, but the weather was perfect-- exactly 20 degrees Celcius to ease me into the season. The ride to San Isidro with Gustavo was comfortable and welled up many emotions in me. We spoke in Castellano and Gustavo helped me review Spanish vocab. He also told me a little about his family and BAICA while I stared out the window.The countryside was painted gorgeous: green, trees, and even more green.  Like the first time I flew in two years ago, I noted the couples picnicking in the shade in the parks off the highway. I was cat-nap happy. Sleepy in the sunshine.

But maybe because I'd already seen the lovely before, the other side of things showed itself too. For example, in the long drive with thousands of cars passing, out of all of them, I could count the number of female drivers on one hand. Additionally, not one man rode passenger to a woman. Coincidence perhaps, patriarchy probably. And that's the way it is for now.

Just like, for now, I didn't catch any drivers texting behind the wheel! Culture shock! However, there was a man reading a book while he drove in traffic...

There were also all-ages playgrounds: while the children played, the adults exercised on the fixed machines. I will make it a point to partake in the genius.

After snaking through the residential areas of Buenos Aires unlike most zones in la Capital Federal, Gustavo stopped the car on the street and helped me unload my bags. We'd reached my new home, which was nothing like I'd expected....

(to be continued)

The recap, part I

First off, I can feel the prayers. Keep doing what you're doing, friends and family! Really, I feel so much support and ecouragement from back home as well as from the people here.

Here we go!

Wednesday night, Mom made a special family dinner-- Korean and a few cheese/cracker combos. My favorites! Tried bulgogi beef (not tofu!) for the first time ever since I was vegetarian every time previous. Then Mom and Dad spent hours repacking my two checked bags. Problem was the Medium bag was full, but it weighed under 50 lb. The large bag had space but was at least ten lb over the limit. Not matter how I tried, I couldn't balance them. Eventually, they got them perfect-- one bag almost ripping at the seams, thile the other tempting me to take more -- just one more pair of shoes? You'll need a bath towel! How about some face wash?-- Well, I resisted, but we'll come back to that...

Next day was my last in Maine-- the highlights were visiting with my old piano teacher and dear family friend Marita Gould. She turned 100 on Jan 18th (my mom's 60th birthday) and is still in great health all over. I got to play a piano piece for her, which she recorded, and then went out for coffee before walking Scarborough Beach with my mom and Kairi. 

Later, I went out for dinner at my favorite restaurant, which doubles as my place of work for the past few months-- Pat's Cafe. After eating, some friends came in for a drink and the night ended with dancing and karaoke at Old Port Tavern. It was such a fun night, but I was sad to say goodbye. Crystal drove me home and slept over, just like old times.

The morning of my flight, Jake came by and Mom made breakfast, complete with Gluten Free toast!! J and C helped me finish my last minute tasks, another friend stopped by, and then I got in the car with my parents with C following behind us. We remembered last minute to pick up Ellie from school on the way and arrived at the airport just on time.

So at this point, everything's smooth. Too smooth... Remember that perfect 50-50 pound balance I swore not to upset? Apparently I gave into temptation at some point because, after paying the $70 extra for checking a second bag, they tell me I still owe $200 in overweight charges. I look at the scale and my second bag is over the limit by eight pounds. No way I'm paying $270 on top of my ticket! We push but United won't budge. So my dad and I dissect the 8 lb out of the bag one sweatshirt at a time which means I've gotta figure out how to carry-on 8 more pounds of stuff.

The whole crew helps adorn me like a packrat's Christmas tree, clipping hiking boots to backpack and stuffing umbrella in the side pocket. Ellie's speaking words of wisdom like, "you can buy scissors there! Why do you need TWO purses? You have too much stuff."

In my defense, last time scarred me when I tried the "buy it when you get there" method. Remember the umbrella incident? When it turned inside out during the rain storm and my purse flooded? Argentina, please don't take offense, but most of your products are bad quality.
Also, if I already own something, I might as well use it or give it away, not inherit a cheap replica.

That being said, I did over-pack. 
I panicked. I bogged myself down with baggage, making the trip pretty uncomfortable-- physically and emotionally. I won Most Obnoxious Traveller that day, but the point is I made it. The bumbling American who bought an expensive airport dinner and then promptly spilled said airport dinner in the plastic carrying bag when transporting it onto the plane even got to see the Empire State building and the Statue of Liberty before leaving the country. It gave me a taste of nostalgia that lasted me the rest of the trip. A card from my parents, the original bucket list from Crystal, and a hilarious quiz from Emy and Onycha didn't help either..

I think this was the first time flying where I was pulled almost equally between old home and new home. Departure and Destination held equal weight for me because I've grown to see the beauty of home. I love Maine and the people in it. It's a beautiful state and I appreciate it much more as an adult. I also love and already MISS my friends and family there. But the great thing is that they won't be taken away.

And actually, God forbid some part of home be taken away, I've learned that the end of somehting doesn't take away from the beginning or middle of it in any way. All time is all time. In other words, something good that's existed will continue to exist.

(yay for you, ex-boyfriends! Kidding, kind of.)

My computer is dead and I've no way to charge it so... To be continued..

BACK TO BUENOS AIRES

Instead of starting a brand new blog, I've decided to add on to this one! It may be interesting to compare what I end up writing about. One thing I'm going to try to do is write at least once a week. No promises, but I think it's only fair, seeing as so many people from home, church, Maine, and Michigan have been so supportive. In any case, it should be better than bombarding all my Facebook friends with scatter-brained status updates all day.

So here's the overview: I'm the new long-term substitute 2nd grade teacher at Buenos Aires International Christian Academy (BAICA for short). I will be heading up 2nd grade from February to June, and then we'll see what happens from there!

General thanks for this opportunity go to:

Stephen, who put me in touch with the school
Mom + Dad, for being patient, encouraging, and practical
Missy, for the awesome Lesson Plan Binder
Mrs. Fillmore, for resources and advice
Mrs. Strout, for Snuggly and teaching tips
Karen and Pastor Mark, for helping me with travel
everyone praying and sending positive energy

back in your arms

Hi internet,
I'd like to thank you for reminding me that I hardly follow through with the things I start. Take this blog for example... it's been a while and I did not keep it up in the least.
No importa. I am now home: safe, sound, and enjoying my month of summer. One more week and I'll have been home one day short of a month. One month to swallow the culture shock, or maybe to soak in it.. I've been nodding yes to a lot of "so, you liked it?"s and shaking my head no to many "and you're fluent now?"s. I think one of the main truths we learned was how distant fluency lingers out of reach. It is like Venus in that I can see it when my sky is quiet, but I highly doubt that the lovely planet will concern herself with me. However, more positively, I am very pleased with my improvements! I can now say with confidence that I speak Castellano and understand Spanish. Before leaving I would not have had the audacity or ignorance to claim so high. For me this means that I can say and explain whatever I'd like, and for the most part be understood. It's just that instead of saying things like "she's got curly hair" I say "she has hair like this *curly finger motions*" with a sheep's face pulled over mine.

In my first few months in BsAs I couldn't imagine missing those strange sounds forced uncomfortably from my mouth. They left me with a stiff jaw, disappointed ears, and burning eyes. Frustration, in a word. In fact, last night while sleeping an hour with my sister before driving her to the bus station at 2 in the morning, I was reminded of the feeling. We'd left the music on and, disrupted in my sleep, I began speaking my dream aloud into the waking world. As in I was trying to talk. Sleep talkers, maybe you're practiced enough to execute with ease, but for those of you occasionals like me, you know the struggle of forming words with a dead-mouth. Some was in Spanish, some in English, but the point is that's how it feels to shift a second language into first gear and drive on the highway with it.

Sin embargo, since I've been home, I've been yearning to hear and speak Spanish. My friends from the program and I text and chat in Spanish, I skype with my Argentine friends when I can, email my host mom, walk across Portland to La Bodega Latina to buy a gaseosa and yerba mate, and interrupt any tourist with a Spanish tongue to ask where they're from.

I've also been driving everyone nuts I'm sure, talking only of the past 5 months.. but there's just so much! And besides, what else are friends and family for? They have to listen.

PS. here's some summer music in case you need some surf in your brain: Best Coast / Beat Connection / Local Natives / Surfer Blood / The Drums / Washed Out / Talk Talk / Future Islands / Devendra Banhart / The Notwist

today I wore a hat and hand warmers... Autumn is here

Necesito un casco. I need a helmet. If for no other reason than a placebo to relax me a little bit on my bike... What I thought was a fun challenge my first week or so on the bike now is giving me stress headaches. I'm really paranoid after seeing that accident, and for good reason too! A bus almost sandwiched me between a parked car on the left-hand side this morning on my way to school. Seriously, what is that? I dislike. And the fact that everyone tells me "you're gonna get hit!" isn't making things better.... but hey, I guess it strengthens my faith? I did ningun amount of tarea today... decided to watch the Barca vs. Chelsey game with a group. After class, my new friend walked me to a tango class! We met my first day of class when I muttered a feeble prayer that shows how pathetic I can be.. "please let me meet someone..." and then I took a picture of his notebook with all the notes I'd missed. Now, I can take my own notes, YAY! and we actually converse :] The tango class was interesting, but difficult.. kinda frustrating. But not as frustrating as Migrations. Visa has me in a clench. I was supposed to get it about a month ago.. I went, with my photocopies of EVERY page of my passport, my 300 pesos, and my photos. But. my photos were not the right size. So that day, I missed part of a class for nothing. Then Roche rescheduled me. But then I went on vacation and when I came back, completely missed the email with my turn. So then I finally had another turn, for today. I went, got there on time, stood in the line, etc. etc. had everything I needed and did my part. However, it looks like I'm kindof illegally here, as there is no record on file of me returning from Uruguay the 8th of April. Even though I have a stamp on my passport to prove it. SOOO after talking with many (very friendly and helpful) workers, I now have to return on Thursday. I mean, it's not like I'm actually trying to go to my classes or do homework or anything like that, don't worry, it's fine. Retiro should be my 2nd home by now. Hopefully it works out and I can find my ticket info etc etc and turn that into them. Also, cannot find my FLACSO key card. problem... Monday and Tuesday are feriado! yayy! But I'm not gonna travel anywhere, I've decided. I need to settle here and also have un monton de tarea. But I'm excited! I'm going to something on Saturday with an Argentine friend, meeting up friday to do a project with a girl from my class, and went on Sunday to cook and play cards and music with a group, so it looks like I'm starting to get more involved! PS I made bomb mac n cheese today and was actually able to eat it! allllright digestive system, vamos! SI SE PUEDE!

ESTOY VIVA! reflections on culture shock and getting back in the swing of things

This week has been testing. A week ago today at noon is when I woke up from my unintentional nap on the terrace in the sun asking why am I so tired? and then realizing, oh hey, I don't feel so good... I thought it was the heat. Now, a LONG week later, the good news is I'm much better! The bad news is that my digestive system is still a wreck, but as long as I stick to my arroz (rice) y galletitas de agua (water crackers), I now feel fine. It's been a good bonding time for me and Vale! Lots of tea time, constant emailing when she was at work, and she made soup for me!
But guess what? The past couple days I was able to leave the house and be social!
On Friday, still feeling very drained, I made it to FLACSO to meet with a tutor and then research in the library for my paper. On the way home I went into one of the tango shoe stores that Vale recommended and tried on some gorgeous pairs! They're expensive, and I'm still hunting, but I met a friend. The worker and I are now friends on facebook and planning to go tango sometime! After that I continued my walk home at a leisurely pace. Went into a bookstore and bought Martin Fierro that I have to read for my Folk y Lit class as well as another folklore book for fun. When I stopped in to buy some gatorade (apple flavor..?!), I had a nice conversation with the cashier girl who's studying tourism and thus took an interest in my thoughts on Argentina. I also bought a skirt that I'm not sure I love yet but will be good for my folk dance class. This shopping-walk home revealed again what I love most about Buenos Aires: even though it's a big European-type city, the people maintain a bit of the South American warmth. Which means that it's possible to have really good conversations with strangers.
I'm glad that I'm in Stage 3 of my Culture Shock.
A ver (let me explain): according to CIEE, there are 5 Stages of Culture Shock. At first, when they gave us this sheet, I rolled my eyes and put it directly in my scrap paper pile. (ps, no se recicla mucho aca- when I've asked why they don't recycle I've received the same response: there isn't the custom here.) I have since removed it because it is humorously accurate.
So here it goes.
Stage 1: Excitement. The "honeymoon" period... everything's new, exciting, fascinating.
I thought that stage would last forever! But then came (and hopefully left for good!)

Stage 2: Withdrawal. Frustration and Critique... This came on drastically for me and I was shocked by my thoughts. I was suddenly generalizing. Things I'd previously found comical, endearing, or fun were suddenly so dumb to me! I was sick of the old men making kissing noises. I was angry at the absence of spicy food. I was annoyed at everyone and annoyed at myself for feeling that way. And I was more than frustrated with my inability to speak. I realized what was happening a little later and was able to sort out my thoughts. I realized that my friend Annie experienced it at roughly the same time frame because at the end of a hard week we went to get a quick empanada which turned into the most hilarious conversation that lasted 2 hours in the cafe and spilled out onto the street where we stood (backpacks in front) doubled-over laughing and complaining in English. I shared my horrible moments of "I'm better than you" thoughts and she confessed hers, while we laughed about how ridiculous the timing was. Such as "You dont know anything! I'm smarter than you!" in class... when we can't even answer a simple question and we sit there with stunned faces and everyone wonders how we ever made it into college. We laughed at ourselves and we laughed at Buenos Aires in all its glory of broken sidewalks and plethora of dog poop.

Stage 3: Adjustment. "Understanding and accepting the behavior of the people, Feeling less isolated, Regaining the lost sense of humor". I certainly feel adjusted. Now that doesn't mean that the annoyances have disappeared, but I'm able to sort things into little compartments for the most part: this I like, this I don't, this I am indifferent to.
Next up: Stage 4 (Adaptation: feeling at home) and Stage 5 (Re-entry Shock).

Anyways, I was absolutely exhausted when I got home, so I napped for an hour and then headed out to Annie's birthday celebration. We went to see the musical Por Amor a Sandro at the Teatro Broadway. Sandro was a famous singer, dancer, actor.. think the Elvis of South America, and this musical was based on the life of a diehard Sandro-fanatic. It was so much fun! The dancing and the singing were amazing!
Here's a song from the musical

After that we met up with the rest and went out to dinner to an Indian place (hard to find here!) which was nice, but of course I could only eat the naan bread and rice, which was jut torture!
That night coming back was a shock.. I took a taxi and just as I was about home, I witnessed a man on his bike get hit by a car from behind. I pray he's okay but I don't know how he would be. It was pretty horrible and I was shaken up, so Vale got out of bed to make me tea and we talked about the musical. It took a very long time to get to sleep...
The next morning (yesterday) I woke up early to go to this zoo where you can go into the cages with the lions and tigers and bears (OH MY AMAZING!) and kiss them and love on these amazing creatures!!! I was so looking forward to it, and even though I decided not to go that morning, I was planning to go later. However.. I then started thinking. It's called Zoo Lujan. Maybe that rings a bell for the justice-system savvy, but for me it didn't. But looking online in exuberance at the tourists'photos, I realized that in all of them, the animals look the same- sleepy and out of it. I knew the zoo was controversial, but only because of humans being in the same cage. I then asked Vale about it and we discussed it.. I found out that the animals are extremely drugged. Maybe that's obvious to others, but I didn't realize. They are also in chain-link cages with nothing but dirt and benches. No grass, nothing to create any sort of natural-habitat atmosphere. They are constantly paraded around and played with like stuffed-animals (one image that really made me mad was of a man spinning a bear around by its feet).. which I am not okay with, no matter HOW BAD I would love love love to kiss a tiger and touch a lion paw-pad!!

So anyways, I did homework. Then Simone came over for a bit because her house is being fumigated, and then it was time to get ready for the party for Marcelo's dad's 80th birthday. It was like a wedding, the amount of preparation and the formality. Vale picked which of my dresses to wear and I wore her red tango shoes (we wear the same size!) and off we went together in taxi.

It was so much fun! Even though any social gathering where you don't know the people is bound to be a bit awkward. Luckily Clay was there and we stuck together. But it turned out to be a lot of fun and I was so glad to be included. Also very fortunate that I was well enough to make it! I wasn't able to eat all the yummy appetizers (sneaked a few) or the main course or drink any wine, but still enjoyed myself. We got there at 9 and didn't get home till 4 in the morning! Lots of dancing and lots of meeting people, since in Argentina it is custom to greet everyone and say bye to everyone individually. I was told multiple times that I could pass as an Argentine, until I spoke haha. And Vale and Marcelo decided that from this day forward, I'm no longer a gringa-- just because supposedly I "dance like a Latina" :]] Vale said I can be her Argentine daughter now, she just needs to paint over my mouth! Unfortunately, I came here to speak and not to move my hips.

Tomorrow: 2 full months since arriving in Bs As!

PS: I just realized on friday when I filled out my course registration (finally!) that I am actually in fact taking 20 credits. in addition to the volunteering. So, to all those teasing me about partying all the time (which I don't), I am indeed a student through and through. :]