Life in Argentina!

hey hey hey.
so the first three days have been pretty awesome. i have been in buenos aires with florencia, staying in her apartment that she shares with her brother. she made me pancakes the first morning for breakfast. it was awesome! and we just spent the past couple days walking around, looking at art fairs, eating outside in the cafes, listening to live reggae music, enjoying the sun. ahhh good times. tonight i am off to monte buey to see everyone again! im soooo excited. the only thing that sucks is that its a 8 hour bus ride, and i arrive at 3am. ugh. but im sure it will be worth it in the end.

love you

well. i made it! :) nothing overly exciting to write about the trip. all three flights went smoothly. the only thing that really sucked was the 3 hour layover in washington! it was really boring. and i finished my novel in about half the time i was there. so i just got to stare for a bit. fun stuff.
my friend flor came and picked me up from the airport and now i am just chilling in her apartment. we are getting ready to go out and about. excitment!
you guys will be happy to know that it is not sunny and hot and perfect here. it is cloudy and windy, but still a balmy +24 degrees. :)
i must go. love you all.
enjoy your snow ;)

went out for supper sunday night to the Pizzera. which is one of basically 2 reasturants we have in town. haha almost 9 months here an i had never been! so me and eli, her sister and one of her sisters friends all went an ate there. it was nice. kinda a goodbye thing i suppose. sadness. then after eating we went cruising for a bit. then we went to the plaza and started taking random pictures! haha it was so fun. people were kinda looking at us funny but it was good. we were climbing trees and sitting by rose bushes, just being silly. definately a good time!

an this week a lot of the kids who are studying have semaña de mayo. which is may week, which is basically like spring break i guess. so most of my friends are here! which is so awesome. we went and had mate in the center tonight. haha its been a long time since we've got to hang out. plus the weather has been so friggen nice here! its like summer again, yet its almost winter. crazyness!

ok i am trying to write my update about my north trip, but i dont have my pictures accesable right now so its really hard to remember what we did and on what night. haha so i will ate least update you about my birthday! sorry! i'm trying haha

so my birthday rocked.
friday night the girls came over to my house and we pigged out on all this awesome food. empanadas, sandwiches, cake, muffins (that we made), champange (which audrey spilled all over the floor trying to get the cork off... haha good times). it was really good. and the girls sang to me and we danced an they tried to push me into the pool but they didnt succeed. thankfully. cause the water was so dirty! then saturday night me and audrey went over to my old house to eat supper with that family. they cooked an amazing asado! so we enjoyed that then came home and got ready for our big night out. we all went to chavela, there was about 10 of us on the bus! it was such a fun night. we just danced and danced and danced! I wore a crown all night. haha an the girls all had glow sticks and stuff. we're so cool. when we got back to the house (around 7:30) me and audrey stayed up and had some toast with peanut butter for breakfast. it was the perfect end to a perfect night!
i got so many nice presents too. the girls all got together and bought me a necklace, my parents and brothers got me a necklace too, my grandma got me a ring, and my old family got me a bracelet. everything is just so nice! an the morning of my birthday the girls came and hung a huge banner in front of my house saying happy birthday and that they love me. it was so awesome.

yesterday was actually quite busy for me! haha i loved it!

first in the morning I went and mailed a letter to a friend, then i went and visited with my old maid and had some mate. then came home and had lunch and at 4 i went with my friend eli to her english class. they were people about my age so they had decent english so we just talked an they asked me questions about canada and such. it was nice. I was there for about an hour an a half, then after i came home and helped claudia in the pharmacy! that was exciting. haha i didnt deal with people but i helped unpack the supplies and check to see if she had recieved everything she orderd. i was happy to help her an i think she really appreciated it too.  so i helped for about an hour there and then i had gym at 7:30! so i came home, showered, ate and basically went to bed. it was a long day an i was dead by the end. but it was really nice to be busy like that.

tomorrow my friend audrey is coming to visit for the weekend to celebrate my birthday with me, then we're going on the north trip. so that should be exciting. so if i dont write for about 15 days thats why! i'm excited. but once i get back i have about 2 weeks and then my trip is done! it went so fast i can hardly believe it!

besos

 wow. that week went fast. 

Not much happened during the week really. Wednesday I helped Nona (grandma) cook lunch - because we always eat at her house on wednesdays, but because it was being painted she came to our house and cooked so i helped - it was nice, nothing to hard just some mashed potatoes and squash -together!- and some beef type thing with onions and red peppers. it was actually reallly good. Tuesday and Thursday the gym teacher didnt show up. so that was a little frusturating! Also surprised that people can just not show up to stuff like that. apparently he had a course, or was on a trip or something. hopefully he's here this week. haha i'm trying to lose the evidence of how great the food is here!

so even though the week wasn't to eventful the weekend was great!
friday night me and the girls went and and visited the boys from our class because they all got togther to eat. so went and visited with them for a bit. then the girls decided that they wanted to show me the club/bar/pub we have in town. we never go to it cause it's not really very hopping. but we had nothing else to do so they wanted to show me. First we went to Janet's house an chatted while she got ready. then we went to Kin's (a reasturant) and had some juice and water and then after that we finally went to the club. around like 4! and it wasn't very full so we just kind of stood around for a bit. ahha but after awhile it got full so we started dancing. I got home around 5:15ish. it was a good night, had fun. then saturday was even better!
Me, Janet, Eli, Leonela and Eugenea all went to Leonela's house. and she lives kinda out in the country. so we made a bonfire! it was so awesome. and we had homemade pizza and cooked it over the fire and everyhting. kinda burnt the crust and the cheese didn't melt to good. but it actually tasted really good in the end. and then after we roasted marshmellows for dessert! old fashioned way. with carved branches and everything. haha it was really great. the girls loved them. and so we were outside almost all night. until like 7am! it was gorgrous out and there was a full moon and a clear sky. such a perfect night. and so much fun. we did karokee too. and danced all night. they tried to teach me more how to dance so that i will be good enough to show your guys! but well not sure how well it worked! haha but it was just a really really great night! and the girls loved it too, something differnet for them. so i'm glad to be sharing little bits of canada with them!

and then sunday was just chill. slept alot and later the girls came over for mate and we went and did laps around the plaza. a ton of people! an now im here, about to eat. haha so yeas. i give the weekend a 10!

the muffins are good!
yup. they turned out great. and we brought them to the grandparents house today where we all eat together on sundays. everyone liked them an said they were really yummy and that i would have to leave the recipe so that they could make them. lol so it was nice. and they were coffee cake ones. so good! i made those because they dont have anything here even close to that kind of taste. so i thought i'd give them something new to try. thankfully it was a hit

as for the rest of my weekend not to much happend. Friday night the girls all came back late from thier citys. so it was just me and erika. and we just watched a movie and then we had some mate, it was really relaxed. but were asleep early, around 4ish. so nothing to exciting. and saturday was just an ugly day in general. no sun and a lot of wind and it was quite cold actually. so no one really wanted to go to the club (me included) so we just hung out at euge's house and played cards then she went to bed early so me and janet and erika went to janet's house and had some more coffee and listen to music an chatted. it was another 4:00 night. which seemed early. haha but oh well. a relaxed weeekend is nice too. 

and today was also pretty cold. it came as a shock all this cold weather! but i guess i better get used to it! so we went and ate at the grandparents then mom and dad an allison called so i had the chance to talk to them, which was really nice. afterwards went over to erika's house where the girls were and we all had some coffee an chatted. an now here i am! im thinkin i'll be going to bed early. gotta keep my immune system up becuase with this cold i dont think it would take much to get sick if i'm run down! 

other then that not much has happend. heard about your guys' nice weather. now im the jealous one! haha hope everything is going good with everyone. love you all
chau chau
besos

holy time goes by quickly! i only have about 45 days left here! wow! and with my birthday coming up soon and my 15 day trip to the north, its going to go by like nothing! crazy crazy crazy!

still nothing to exciting happening. I went and ate lunch with my old family today. It was nice, had some pasta, talked about their son Facundo who is in Canada. He's apparently loving it and doesnt miss home yet. He was put in a home where the mom works at home and so he gets a lot of home-cooked meals. he apparently even helped her make bread the other day! I'm really happy that he is enjoying himself and isn't too bored! hopefully we will be able to get together for a bit while he is in Canada.

On Saturday I am going to teach Claudia to make muffins! She's excited to learn and get the recipe. she said they wont be able to forget me then! there actually is something here similar to muffins but they taste more cakeish i guess. i dont know why but there is a differnece! and well mine are just better, i did learn from the best (mom!)  i also made smores for the girls on saturday! they really liked them. they liked the marshmellows but they loved the graham crackers even more! haha but i dont blame them, i love them too. and i also shared my bag of easter eggies. which they thought were the best things of life. so its been nice to share them. oh and another strange thing. i shared my cherrie blasters with a couple american girls.. and they had never heard of them! i thought everyone had them. ha guess not.
i've been slowly picking up argentinian recipies and i hope to make food for you all when i get home!  so far i have empanadas, capsha (desert) bombones de quaker (dessert) turron de quaker (dessert) haha ok... so maybe they¡re maily desserts, but they¡re still yummy. and i hope to learn how to make tartas.
today we had soup with oats in it! i dont know if thats normal (cause i never really ate soup at home) but i thought it was strange, it was pretty good though actually. there are a lot of strange sounding things that are actually really good. like a spinach, egg an cheese 'tarta' its like a pie i guess. or a corn and cheese one! crazy but delicious! not to mention the salads here are wacky. they don't even all have lettuce in them! tomatoes, carrots and eggs is one example. there are a ton of differnet ones. basically whatever vegetable you have, add canola oil and salt and your good to go! very strange indeed. even after almost 8 months i find myself surprised. so hopefully i will have a chance to cook for you guys! if not, you definately all have to try the mate!!

so the local t.v station wants me to do an interview for the town. but im soooo scared. I know my spanish is decent now. but still i dont really want to talk infront of everyone on t.v! how embarassing would it be if i messed up? and i dont even know what type of questions they would ask. i'm sure i will end up doing it cause like... when will i ever see these people again? but still, its nerve wracking!

well thats about all the news i have, hopefully something exciting happens on the weekend! but i will be sure to let you all know how the muffins turn out! yummy!
chau! besos

 yup. the strike ended after 21 days! wow almost a month, crazy. but its all back to normal now so it's all good. eating lots of meat again!

on wednesday i went up to villa maria (a city about an hour away) with eli to visit our friends euge and heber becuase they live there for school. so we spent the day there. it was super nice, walked around the city, had some cake by the river, had homemade pizza (thanks to fer! so good), ate popcorn, had mate, it was great. really nice trip. we walked a ton though an i was basically dead by the end of it (i was also sick with a fever, so that didnt help at all hahha) but it was nice to see where my friends were living. cute little apartments. my friend euge is living with her brother and one of his friends. the strange thing (well for me) is that she and her brother share a room, and bunkbeds! haha its normal here, but it just seems so strange to share a room with a sibling of the opposite sex. but meh. its all good.

yesterday me and the girls went to another 15th birthday party. i still cant get over how impressively huge these parties are! hah i love them. i didnt go for long though becuase i was sore i gues from gym, but my legs were killing me! haha but it was nice anyways. i came home around 4:30 so it was an early night. i think my little brother got home around 6! haha i feel so old.   but its all good. i had a fun time anyways.

i would like to take this chance welcome aunty jo back to the computer world. i have missed her and her comments dearly! for her and everyone else i will try and find a way to get some new pictures uploaded. but because i dont want to overload the business computer with my junk it will have to wait for a little bit. but don't worry there isn't anything to exciting that your missing. mainly just more club pictures and pictures of my new family. hah and my puppy getting a bath! 
well thats all for now. miss you all.
chau! besitos!

we are now up to the 20th day of the strike! things are getting a little more intense. there is very little of anything getting through the roads now, and it doesnt seem like any progress has been made with the president (the whole country kind of hates her..) so there is a lot less food. even the fruit and vegetables (if they manage to get through) are in pretty bad condition. so we have been eating a lot of pastas lately. haha but it's ok.

i went to an english class yesterday, not to teach or anything, just to talk to them and help them improve their conversation skills i gues.. haha everyone was pretty shy at first, even though i had seen most of them before. but its scary trying to speak to someone in their language when you don't really know it! so i don't blame them for being shy. after awhile though they opened up an we had a decent conversation in spanglish! next week i am thinking of making muffins for them! hah just because its something canadaian and something very easy (and yummy!) to make. i like to spread my canadianness around. when i made muffins for the family the other day everyone said that they were awesome and they wanted me to translate the recipie so that they can make them. so thats nice, and i gave the family some maple syrup and explained it was what we used for pancackes and she asked me to show her how to make pancakes too, so thats cool. i will be leaving little bits of canada here once i'm gone. haha i have some peanut butter here and my brother tried it and really likes it. it's ironic though, they have a ton of peanuts here, yet they dont have peanut butter. they just export them all. crazy. 

this weekend was kind of relaxed, friday was pretty gross, all rainy and miserable so the girls all came here (euge, janet, leo, erika, an eli) and we watched a movie. we ate like 4 bags of microwave popcorn they really like it, so that was nice. they left around like 3:30 an after i finished cleaning and organizing i was in bed around 4. fairly early night...
saturday we went to the club. it was a good time. danced the night away. i really just love the dancing here, its so lively and energetic. people just dance to have fun, they dont care how they look. they all look amazing anyways but they dont try. we all just goof off and be crazy and dont care if other people look at us. its really awesome, im going to miss the music! haha i will definately be bringing back some c.ds with the music from here.

well the heat is finally dying off. i actually find it cold in the mornings! (i know, im hardly canadian anymore haha) but i supposed its a nice change from the intense heat. i hear that home was hit with a nasty snow storm agian. maybe if i am lucky there will still be some snow on the ground when i get home! that would be awesome!
but i really do the weather warms up a bit and treats you guys right. i'm thinkin of you!
love you
besos.chau.

well i'm a little late, but here is the update anyways.
so easter wasn't really anything special. we all got together and ate like a family with the uncles and aunts and cousins etc. so that was a lot like home. sadly i didn't have an easter hunt (i expect one when i get back! haha j.k) but everyone did give each other big chocolate easter eggs. so there was still a lot of chocolate to be eaten. and as for the meal it wasnt anything special, some baby pig and chicken. as well as some cold cuts and salads an such. but on the good friday no one ate meat. well all had fish. so that was differnet. 
an that was my easter. haha nothing to exciting, but some things were a little differnet so it was a nice experience.

in other news. i am in my new family and im sooo happy here!
There is my mom Claudia - she owns and works in the pharmacy. which is attached to the house
The dad Javier - who is a part time teacher and president of one of the sports clubs here
Oldest brother Nicolas - is about 13 and goes to secondary school
Youngest brother Mateo - about 7 and is still in primery school
The dog Ducky - ha i dont even like dogs, but wow this is the cutest puppy ever. he is like a poodle kind of, but not ugly. ahha an he is playful but he doenst really like to jump over everyone. so i like him. he is my buddy. hah
they are just a nice family in general. they like to goof around and tease each other. so thats nice. and we eat as a family and watch t.v. and afterwards me and claudia sit and watch 'Vidas Robadas' haha its a Sotlen Lives, its a soap òpera- lol its good. addicting. haha

there is a big strike here in argentina. the farm people have been on strike for about 15 days now. and they arn't just on strike they are blocking roads all over the country! there are a lot of people carrying products that they wont let pass by. im not exactly sure why but they are fighting with the goverment and such. so its pretty intense. my town has no meat! and people here dont have big freezers, they generally just buy fresh meat. so no one has meat now, and the fruits and vegetables are running low. its crazy. but its kinda cool to be a part of it. apparently its a historic event, nothing like this has happened before. so i feel kinda special that i will be able to say of yah i lived in argentina that year of the strike. there was no meat for 3 days. or however long it will be.
but not to worry people of canada. i am still eating good, and well i have saved up enough extra fat throughout the 7 months that i don't think there is anything to worry about. and if worse comes to worse we can live off the chocolate and food that mom and dad brought me! haha

well thats all thats new with me, sorry for being behind. love you all!
chau chau

well. to say i have slacked off is an understatment!
but i shall start from the top.
so mom and dad's trip was basically amazing! well besides almost constant rain and flash flood! but that didnt stop us from walking to basically every tourist sight in Buenos Aires! it was really nice to spend the quality time with them, plus i got to show off my spanish. Mendoza was amazing! we got there and it was a beautiful day and the B and B was gorgeous, and it just so happend that there was a big italian festival right outside our door. so that night we walked out our door and into italy! there was music and dancing and food and deserts and wine (of course) and it was just really nice.
then the next day in mendoza me and daddy went on a white water rafting and zip gliding excurison! first was the zip gliding. and holy wow did we think we were gonna die! we went so high and the cable seemed so small, and well we thought we had lost our minds. but it turned out to be really great and really fun. i would definately recommende it. and do it again!
after that we went white water rafting. also super amazing! haha it was just awesome to sit in the boat and see all that intense water around you. unfortunately both me and dad fell out! which was defiantely scary for me. but nothing happend so it was all good. it ended up being quite a long day though, so that night we went back to the italian party for a quick supper and we all went to bed early. then the next day we had a wine tour, but well it didnt start off to good as we discovered that my parents camera had been stolen. so that was really to bad, but despite that we all quite enjoyed the wine tour. we went to 4 differnet wineries, started drinking at 11 in the morning and got fed a great mean, haha really, who wouldn't have enjoyed it? 
then back in BA we had some more crappy weather, but we managed to squeeze out a good day to get to the zoo and down to La Boca. which were both really nice. we also got to walk down through the art fairs all over the city and we saw the oblisque, ate in one of the many Macdonalds, went shopping, really we did everything possible. it was nice. and they even brought me food from home! i had grilled cheese, and spagetti with cheese whiz, fried eggs and toast, just everything yummy. not to mention all the great people at home who sent food with them. the chocolate bars, mini eggs, gum, banana marshmellows. totally amazing and thanks out to all of you!
so that was my parents trip in a really really small nutshell. sorry for not elaborating but its been so long i'm sure you have heard most of it by now. soooo.... onto my current life
so i have finally moved into my new house! and i really really like it (will get pics up as soon as possible) the family is great and i feel really at home here. the house is also gorgeous. my room is so cool! i have an upstairs loft thing where there is a computer, but its not connected to the internet. and i can open my windows adn walk out onto the roof and look out over the town and such. really really nice! plus my brothers are so cute. they are 13 and 7 and both seem quite happy that i am here. the little one always shows me his toys and books and asks questions about canada and such. its cute.
and what else? oh! this weekend i went to a rotary function! it was for another district, but oh well. my distrcit got invited too, so we went but it was slightly awkward because everyone in the other district were already friends and they all knew each other and we were kind of outcasts. haha plus nothing in the whole weekend had anyhting to do with us. but thats fine. there was a costume dance party! that kind of rocked. me and two of my friends dressed up as cats. we wore black and made little cat ears to put on and drew on whiskers and such. it was fun. there were quite a few people who participated, so that always makes it better. but other then that there was nothing really noteable about the weekend, which is unfortunate, pero todo bien!
and other then that not much is happening in my life i guess. i started small spanish lesson-things. so hopefully that will help me improve my spanish within my last couple months. I am also hoping to go to english class with my friend and help the teacher in some way there. Basically just going to keep myself busy! I have another 15 day Rotary trip to the North of Argentina starting April 27th, so thats coming up soon (as is my 19th birthday!!! man do i feel old! haha)
well that basically sums up the news over here. i hope that everything is good back home and that the weather stays nice!
Miss you all!

only one more sleep!
then mom and dad are here. i am so excited!
like, i enjoy my family here, but there is just something about being with real family. im so excited for my family and friends here to finally meet my parents. and im excited to impress my parents with my new spanish skills and my new life!
everything is just going to be dandy. haha would be better with my sister too, but hey. im not complaining... to much. lol
so we will take lots of pictures, have lots of fun, and think of you all.
an i will update soon about our adventures!
love you
p.s. try not to be to jealous that mom and dad will be soaking up the sun instead of shoveling snow. haha

ok. i've decided to just do weekly updates. cause this way you will have more then 3 lines to read. So until lots of exciting things start happening in my life, you will have to survive on one update a week! haha it will be tough i know, but i have faith.

so lets see, what did i do this week.. well monday and tuesday i didn't do anything, but that was ok i enjoyed the peace. tanned a little, read, wrote in my journal, all that good stuff. 
wednesday - fabianna invited me to her house( the daughter of one of diana's friends) and we visited, drank some mate and made facturas (little crissont type things. very yum) i was there from like 5 until around 9 chatting with fabi and some of her friends, as well as her sister lucianna and her friend. lol it was a good day, made lots of new aquantainces.
thursday - i was bored and in a baking mood so i made cinnamon rolls! i thought of aunty jo the whole time... i think she would of been proud. they ended up being kind of ugly, but the pastery breadish part was really good an i was proud. since i didnt really want to eat them, i just wanted to make somethin i invited the girls over for mate and they ate them for me. ahha they liked them but said it was a flavor really different then what they have here, so it was nice to be able to bake something new for them.
friday - eli came over and together we made a ton of sweets for felipe`s (my little brother) birthday on saturday. we cooked literally all afternoon! we made a ridiculous amount of things haha but oh well. it passed the time. then at night we went to Flavia's house and ate together, cause most of the girls had come back from their studies for the weekend. so we all chilled there for a bit then after eating we drove around and such then went home. haha and i was talkin to my parents, allison and pascal online on the web cam..... it was a good time. nice to see them all together and happy and getting along. definately made my night!!
saturday - whoa. what a day! first we got everything set up for the birthday party. the kids started coming around 6 and after they all arrived there was probably 15 kids around the age of 6 running around. haha so we spent the next two hours dishing out food and entertaining kids, taking pictures and calling parents to bring swim suits. it was pretty crazy. and there was soooo much food. i ate so much this weekend, but it was just all so yummy! haha so then later on around 11 me and eli went and visited with leonela for a bit, because she didn't want to come to the club with us so we went and chatted with her for a bit then went and got ready and caught the bus around 130 with fabianna and a couple of her friends. we got there around 3 and the club was just empty! haah there was l ike no one there at all, but its ok.it ended up getting pretty full and we had a really awesome night. a lot of dancing, i think im finally getting better! PLUS... i danced the whole night in heels! im so proud! i have a couple blisters, but thats from the shoes, an other then that i had no problems at all. so thats exciting. especially since i never used to even be able to walk in heels! haha so that was awesome. go me! anyway, then once we got back to monte buey a couple of us went out for breakfast at the gas station and then caught a taxi to our houses. i got home at like 8:15am! haha i was dead!
sunday - slept until three then was woken up for lunch, ate, helped diana clean up from the party then eli came over for a bit, had some mate and such. then for supper my family and eli, fabiannas  family, and at least 4 others all went out to this country house. it was really nice. we rode horses a bit and there was a river near by and a ton of little animals, puppies, piglets (so adorable!), a couple kittens, sheep, a little of everything. it was really nice. very relaxing. and so we were all out there until about 12 and well now i am here. haha 

so it was a good week, went by pretty fast, which is nice because there is basically only a week left until my parents come! i am so excited! but i know that once they are gone my trip is going to go by super fast. so i gotta really enjoy my moments!
so hopefully this was a better update and you guys arn't bored of me yet! haha 
love you all!
take care
besos

hey.
to lazy to actually update, but here are the pictures of facu's going away party
i will warn you. they are slightly procotive. but entertaining none the less
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=90711&l=7131f&id=804330541

an here are photos from my sleepover. haha good good times.
although try to ignore the chubbiness of me! haha i guess i really shouldn't of been baking all those sweets...
but now i have learned and i will cook them for you all when i get home.
an you can all get chubby too! muwhahah *evil laugh*
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=90782&l=ff397&id=804330541

This has basically been the slowest week of my life! and it's only Wednesday night! yikes!
but well here are the couple things that have happend
Friday was facundo's going away party (he leaves on Feb. 8th for Canada as a Rotary Exchange) and wow are going away parties different here! all the friends got together and we ate an asado and the girls chatted, the boys played ping pong and drank. then around 1:30 or 2 the boys took facu and literally threw him in the pool, and afterwards they were prepared to bombard him with flour, yerba, sugar, eggs! it was so gross! but he had a good time. then after we all hopped into the back of our friends truck and drove around town singing and screaming. all while facu is covered in this mess and in his underwear! it was pretty wild. i have some pictures that i will post later on. then afterwards when we came back to the house all the boys went swimming. in their underwear, or naked. haha it was crazy. i definatley saw a lot of full moons out! so that was friday night
saturday was the last night that the girls who were leaving for school were going to be here because everyone left sunday afternoon. so we had a little get together thing at leonelas house and we played some cards, ate some chocolate, drank a little champange (just to make a toast) then we listened to music and the girls tried to teach me to dance, but i still dont quite have the hang of it, im getting there. Janet and Euge (the two girls who were leaving) left early, around 2 but me and eli stayed with leo until like 730am! it was a late night but a lot of fun.
Then the rest of this week has been very uneventful. helping Diana and Facu get things ready for the trip. turns out i make a decent translator! Diana has really appreciated the help, and it gave me somethings to do for a bit. I think everything is ready to go now. But she is so nervous! Not that I blame her at all though, i saw how my mom was, haha but she was a little less stressed out cause she'd already been through it once. Facu is going to a small little town called Watrous in Saskatchewan. there is about 2000 people! hopefully he isn't bored and keeps himself busy
Other then those, the only thing i have done this week is finally see my first argentinian soccer game! although... it was my 5yr old brother, so for some reason i don't think it's quite the same. but they were still pretty intense anyways. it was cute, they all had cattle syndrom though (move in herds around the ball!) i am hoping to go to Rosario one weekend to watch my brother play. he is apparently really good and plays in a big stadium and everything, so i am excited for that.
Generally this week my days have consisted of sleeping, eating, tanning, helping Diana and Facu, watching t.v, tanning.... nothing overly productive. but i do have a pretty nice color now! i just wish i would be going home in time for you to see it before it fades!
this friday my family is all going to Buenos Aires to take Facu to the airport, but im not going because i dont fit in the car. i think its better this way anyways. it is a family event, i dont need to be there for it.  but im excited because the girls are going to come over and we will make some popcorn and watch movies and have a good ol' fashioned sleep over! it has been a long time since i've had one so i'm super excited!
so i shall let you all know how the weekend plays out
love you

i've been putting off writing this update because i know its gonna be a big one. haha but here it is.... finally!

so on Jan 19th. Audrey came from her town (Isla Verde) to meet me and take a bus together to Cordoba. We ate here and then planned on taking the 3:30 bus to Cordoba. Well... around 3 we called for a taxi to come get us. 3:15, still not there, 3:25, still not there. and well it actually never came! so needless to say we missed the first bus. The second one left at 5:20 (so we thought) so we called another taxi and it got us to the station around 5:10 just to be informed that the last bus direct to Cordoba left at 4:50. Fantastic.
so we had to take a bus at 5:20 to Bell Ville and catch a bus from there to Cordoba. So we got to Bell Ville around 6 and the bus to Cordoba was leaving around 6:30 so we waited around for a bit then once we got on the bus we were very excited to finally be on our way! haha and like true Argentinians we had our mate supplies. Just incase you don't know what i am talking about i shall explain...

so mate is the national Argentinian drink. Its basically crushed herbs (yerba) and usually dranken from a cup-type thing (called a mate) with really hot water. most people like to drink it amargo (plain) but many also drink it sweet with sugar. Now, this isn't just something they drink now and then. At least once a day they will drink it. And when you go on trips you bring your thermos and yerba with you. Most people have a carrying case designed especially for this. And there are even hot-water stations at almost every gas station. you can pay 25 cents and fill your thermos. it really is a big deal here. but most foreigners hate it because it is quite strong and bitter.
In the summer when its really hot some of the younger people like to drink it from a cup with ice in it and with cold juice. It is really good and very very refreshing.

ok so now that you know the history of mate, i shall continue.  So we had our supplies and drank some mate with juice on the bus and we felt very argentinian! We eventually arrived in Cordoba around 10 (about 4 hours later then planed lol) and we called our friend to get directions to her house and had to wait until 11 to catch a bus to her house! Turns out we got on the wrong bus! It was going the same place, just a differnet way. So we were kinda nervous sitting on this bus we didnt know where it was going. And we saw a sign for our friends village (she lives just outside Cordoba) so we relaxed a little... and then we passed it! and we were like omg. where are we going? an we started to freak out a little but then the bus stopped and we saw Sarah (our friend from California) waving to us to get off we had finally made it! So we went to Sarahs house and had something to eat but we were kinda wiped so we decided to watch a movie instead of going out. Then we had an old-school sleep over and stayed up until 5am talking! it was a lot of fun.
Then on Saturday we went over to Laurens (from South Africa) house and dropped off our bags then her mom took us into town and we went to the mall and then to the art fair. It was huge, and people were selling everything from cake, to flavored wine, keychains to jewlery. basically anything you could imagine was there. and the best part was that it was all homemade! really awesome! While we were there we met up with Tina (from South Africa) and around 9 we all went back to Lauren's house to get ready to go out! 
so we ate and then all went and got prettied up. We decided to go to Carlos Pas because it is a big tourist town and the clubs are great! So it was about an hour drive and we got there early, around 1:30 so we walked around the town for a bit and went to the center, ate some ice cream and such. Then around 3:30 we headed to the club, and while we were in line we ran into all the guys from the grade under me! Talk about small world eh? so we chatted for a bit but when we got to the club we all kind of went our own ways. And the club... wow was it HUGE! and there was so many people inside, very little breathing room. it was pretty hot in there too, but we still had a great time. of course we were talking mainly english so we had tons of people asking us questions. it was great. then we around 6 we decided to go, so we left the club and started the walk back to the bus station (which was very very far away haha) and we got to the bus station around 7 and caught the bus and we all kind of dozed off so we missed our stop. but we just had to walk a little farther. We got back to lauren's and were in bed by around 8:30am! it was definately a good night.
Sunday we were obviously all tired so we just chilled at Lauren's for most of the day. swimming and eating, tanning and eating some more! then her mom took us into town so me and Audrey could check into our hostel. So we checked in and got settled then we went and met up with the girls at the mall (got a little lost, but we made it!) we went and saw some crappy ben sitller movie, but oh well. then afterwards we walked back to the hostel and slept. didnt have a chance to meet anyone though, haha no one else was there so that is to bad, but oh well.
Monday. We had to be out of the Hostel by 10, and couldnt check into our hotel until 12, so we went and chilled in a nearby plaza and drank some mate and juice until it was time to catch a cab to the hotel. The hotel was really nice, but we just dumped our stuff, had a little map then went out on the town. we stopped for a quick lunch then we walked around the city (i had my lonely planet book with me at all times. it came it VERY helpful when we got lost!) we walked all day, down to the center, shopped a bit then went and got supper and ate in the plaza. it was nice. then we walked back to the hotel and relaxed in there, watched a movie then went to sleep.
Tuesday was pretty much the same thing, we walked around, ate and chilled in the plaza. It was really relaxing. Well we got lost a couple times, but always found our way back. we decided that we wanted to get all dolled up and go out somewhere nice for supper, but well we couldnt find anywhere to go so we just ended up getting some ice cream being all dolled up. Then around 2 we went back to the hotel, but we wern't tired so we got some hot water and the thermos and went and drank mate down by the Cañada (the Canal that goes through the whole city) it was also nice and relaxing.
Wednesday we had checkout at 11 so we were up early and right away we caught a taxi to the bus station where we managed to be right on time, we only had to wait 5 minutes for the bus to leave! Once we got back to Monte Buey it was super hot out so we threw on our swimsuits and went and drake mate by the pool. The night was kind of rainy so we just stayed in and watched a movie (we are both movie fanatics in case you haven't noticed lol)
Thursday was much the same, we sat by the pool, tanned a bit with Janet, but it got pretty cloudy and ugly so we decided it would be a good day to learn how to make empanadas! so we went to the grocery store and bought all the supplies and on the way back it started to spit, and then rain, and then it pour! we were soaked by the time we got back to my house! So we dried off and watched some t.v while we wiated for the rain to stop. once it did Janet went home an we all showered and changed out of our swim suits. Jani came back later and taught us how to make both meat and corn empanadas. they were surprisingly easy, and turned out quite well. haha me and audrey were proud.
Friday was a crappy day too, it rained for most of the day so (yup you guessed it) we watched movies. and played a lot of cards. and when we got bored of that we decided to bake some good ol' fashioned chocolate chip cookies. they turned out pretty good too. then that night we went over to Euge's house and ate together with all the girls, drank some mate, chatted, ect. haha
Saturday was good, kinda rainy but we went to the club and had an awesome time! there were a lot of people, and good music, we danced all night and went and bought breakfast from the bakery around 6 and got home around 7:30, yup it was a good night. except i wore some new shoes and they gave me such bad blisters. like i have 7! haha but the shoes are so cute...
sunday, well we were very tired so we slept quite a bit. but we also went to the circus! that was cool, even thought it was 15 pesos to get in, and it wasnt that great. but they had a monkey, so i guess that made it worth it. lol then after supper we watched another movie. but this one was special because we had a special snack to eat with it... S'MORES! they were soooo good. mom and dad sent me some marshmellows and graham crackers for christmas. so we had some chocolate and tin foil and we fired up the gas element, and cooked us some of the best smores i've ever eaten! it was a nice piece of home.
then monday morning audrey left and well here i am, back to being the only girl. haha but its ok, we spent a lot of time together and it was quite nice. but well gotta go back to our lives. i'm sure we will get together again soon.
so there it is folks, my vacation and audrey's visit. hope it wasn't to long and boring to read. an that it will keep you entertained until something else exciting happens here.
love you all!
oh. here are photos. enjoy.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=87324&l=0ca06&id=804330541
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=87338&l=099ec&id=804330541

again, the lack of update indicates the total excitment in my life right now. haha aka nothing.
unfortunately my friends grandpa died the other day, so that was sad and we went and visited the funeral home, with the open casket., ya a little creepy but i wanted to show my support.
in exciting news... i am most definately going to cordoba tomorrow! YES FINALLY! my friend is coming from isla verde (audrey) and we are taking a bus together to cordoba where we will meet with a couple of our friends who live there. and we will be staying with them for about 5 days. i'm really excited. im going to do a lot of shopping (things are cheaper in the big cities) and i want to get a massage (my back is killing me! haha im not sure why) and we are going to make smores, and likely cook a lot more americanish food. haha it will be a nice break. and afterwards she is going to come here and stay for a couple days. im pretty excited for that too, although i don't know how Felipe will feel about her. it will definately be interesting.
so in the next couple of weeks i will have more to write about!
hope you are all doing good an keeping warm
if i could share my heat i would!
love you all!

i'll admit it. i've been lazy.
but there hasn't been to much to write about anyways. It has been a very dull week. with terrible weather. The days have started off really humid and raining, and then the rain stop and the sun comes out and it is so hot! i know you guys might think i'm crazy for complaining about the heat but it is really unbearable for me. think the hottest day last year... well that is average here. not including humidity! So it's hard to anything from 11-5 so i have a lot of time on my hands to read, watch t.v, and sleep. I have also been trying to find a good website that will help me improve my spanish but so far i havent had any luck.
the nights (from about 11pm-4am) are usually gorgeous though, alot like what a summer day would be like in canada, in the middle of the day. So it is quite warm and you can wear a tank top and shorts without feeling the slightest cold. So me and my friends usually go to the plaza, or someone's house and we sit outside and watch the people as we drink mate. it's really relaxing and one of my favorite things about Argentina, everyone just sits outside for hours on end just enjoying the fresh air and people watching. If there isn't anything special going on I am usually home early around 2 or 3 but if there are a lot of people in the center, or we watch a movie, go to an asado, or if we just dont feel like sleeping we stay up until around 5:30, 6:00!  now it seems strange to go to sleep before 2, and i am hardly ever tired before then anymore!
my plans for cordoba this weekend haven't worked out... again. so that really sucks, pretty dissapointed. but Lauren (the girl we were going to visit) is out of town on vacation so we will have to go another time. bummer. but hopefully we will be able to go to the club this weekend. i haven't been out dancing in so long!
my brother fernando is moving back to Rosario on January 20th, and Facu is leaving for Canada at the end of January so it will be just me and Felipe. and i'm pretty sure i am changing families soon, so it will be just Felipe. Poor Diana! haha she will go from having 4 kids to only 1! she won't know what to do with all the space in the house!
well i really dont have any more news so i hope you all are doing good and enojoying the new year. (and your unusually warm winter!)
i hope to have some photos from my vacation up soon so you can all see!
lots of love
Tiffany

I just got back from vacations yesterday. A week at the beach, haha can't say i have ever done that before. we were in Villa Gesell. It's a really nice city. We stayed in an apartment/hotel for the week and were only 2 blocks from the beach so that was really nice! Nothing overly exciting happend really. It was just a really relaxed vacation. New Years wasn't really anything that special. I was pretty bored, but i don't blame that on Argentina, i blame it on being with family. We went out and ate at a nice resturant with another family (who also had 2 sons!) and it was nice but well with 5 boys i was kind of out-numbered and i wouldnt know what to talk about in english in that situation let alone spanish! So i sat with the parents, and also didn't have much to say. But i practised my listening skills. then at 12 the parents had champange (and me - bonus!) and we cheered and kissed everyone and wished them a happy new year. then we went outside and watched the fieworks, which were amazing and beat any Canada Day fireworks i've ever seen. They lasted easily for 10 minutes and everyone was setting off their own so they were all around and that was awesome. Then after that the resturant was playing music and so the parents went to dance and i was just kind of sitting there with the boys, then the boys went somewhere an it was just me and felipe watchin the parents dance, and then he left to so it was just me. haha not my best new years but it's alright. Then the rest of the week we were just at the beach. Relaxing, tanning, playing in the water, walking on the beach. It was nice. I definately have a bit of color now! haha it's exciting. We also went to a beach in Pinamar for a day to visis another family, then they took be to Carilo to see the little town. it is so nice! Its basically in a forest and all the houses are new and beautiful and everything there was just really tranquil. Oh and the beach... well i have never seen so many butts in my life! literally everyone here wears bikini's. literally. like people were looking at me funny because i had a tankini! and the bottoms are a lot smaller. A LOT. i actually saw some thongs, and i definately have underwear that covers more then most of the swim suits here, but hey it's all good. I'm in argentina!
My favorite part of the vacation was when i went walking on the beach one night. It was so beautiful. It was warm out with a little breeze and the sky was perfectly clear and the stars were shining bright. and the moon just lit up the beach and reflected off the sea. It was just amazing. I walked with my feet in the water and listened to the sounds of the beach, it was really like i was in a movie. It was just really peaceful.
Other then that not much is new. I think i am finally off to cordoba on the 12th with my friend Audrey for a week. we have a couple other exchangers there that we want to visit. We don't really have much planned except we want to hit up a spa, shop, and visit all the touristy sights and take lots of pictures! It will be a nice change of pace of me, plus i love being with other exchangers so whoot!
well i guess thats all for now
Happy New Years!