Blurppppp.

Yawn.

Today was my third day of school. I´m exhausted. I haven´t had my siesta today, and apparently I´ve gotten really used to them, because I feel like I´m about to fall over. Whatever.

Usually I´d just go to bed early, but they eat dinner somewhere between 11 and midnight, so that´s not gonna happen.

Anyways. I need to blog. So, here is the lowdown - IN OUTLINE FORM - on what´s up in Argentinaland.

1. School.

School is FUN. After ten years at Catholic school in D.C., I never thought I´d end up back there. But lo and behold, I attend el colegio Santa Dorotea. We pray every morning. On my first day, a nun ran up to me and engulfed me in a bear hug while saying "GRACIAAAAAAS". I was.. a little taken aback.

The kids are insanely nice, open, and friendly. I never spend a minute alone. My weekend is packed with plans with school friends. (On my first day of school, I went out with my friends Bere and Noe, as well as Bere´s boyfriend, who is certifiably insane behind the wheel. All exaggerations aside, he was tailgating bicycles and going 120 km/hr on tiny packed little city streets, all while chowing down on an enormous footlong sub. Fabulous.)

So school is good. Easy, but we do more work than many other schools in the city, so my brain is getting a little bit of exercise (besides the whole learning Spanish thing).

2. Family.

I like my family a lot. The house is comfortable, they cook great food, they speak absolutely zero English, etc. etc. etc. My mom works as a phys ed teacher for handicapped adults (autism, Down´s Syndrome, etc.), so that´s tight. My dad doesn´t work. Entonces, I hang out with my dad a lot, and he forreal forreal knows what´s up. We have excellent conversations, all in Spanish, ranging from racism in America to a detailed analysis of the weather to teen pregnancy in Argentina vs. the US. No biggie.

It bothers me a bit that my ten-year-old sister has taken over all of my belongings (laptop, shoes, etc.) but I´m trying not to let it get to me. It´s more of a cultural thing. There is less of a sense of privacy/personal space here, so it´s only natural to her. Plus, the family is sharing everything with me, so why should I be a crankmeister about my stuff?

3. Santiago del Estero.

I love this city. It´s a great place to spend a year. It´s dry and hot, in the north, with absolutely zero tourists besides the eleven AFS students spending the year here. I get stared at on the street constantly, which bothers me like no other, but it´s not like I´m gonnna stop looking like a white girl anytime soon. Hopefully I´ll get used to it.

There is no such thing as "pedestrian´s rights" here (WHAT A RIDICULOUS CONCEPT!). I´m horrible at crossing the street; I always feel like death is an imminent possibility. If you do get in front of a car, they will not stop.

When it´s not the siesta (because here in Santiago, we love our siestas), people are always out on the street, buzzing about. They all ride around on little motos/mopeds. Like, you´ll see an entire family with a three month old baby on one tiny little moto. My friend Phoebe said that she saw somebody riding on a moto, straight up carrying an entire bicycle... on top of it. Hahaha.

Also, they have mad parties here. Hehehehe. And they´re really fun.



So, yeah, that´s pretty much it for now. I´m going to go have my evening tea and banana (my family ridicules this combination... haters). xoxo Molly