So here are my entries from the last week of my life. Every night before I went to bed I wrote about my day, which wont be the case now that I have started school, but it was fun while it lasted.
Day 1 and 2 of 98
It has surely been a long couple of days. Thankfully it began with a group of people that I love alongside me at the airport.
I began traveling at noon on Tuesday and didn’t land in Buenos Aires until 4 in the morning on Wednesday. On the 10 and a half hour stretch I was accompanied by a woman by the name of Liliana who was originally from Argentina, but now lives in LA. She was very nice and rather comforting to have along because she looked out for me as if I was her child. Once I reached Buenos Aires, after paying the $140 US dollar tax for being a tourist in their country, I was able to call home and let Mom and Dad know that I made it there safely and I even met about 5 other Americans that were traveling with the same program. Us Americans quickly joined together and although I am a little disappointed, it was nice to hear some English. From the airport we traveled to Rosario via Manuel Tienda Leon, which is a very convenient bus service; they took us directly to our hotel. It was from this ride that I learned the name Harnish is pronounced “Are-neesh.” Every time they were taking attendance I couldn’t understand them until I picked up on this pronunciation. In all honesty it hasn’t really hit me that I am in a different country at all. Up until this point I have been surrounded by Americans. I am rooming with a girl names Mercedes who is a very cool person! This is the view from our hotel room:
The hotel we are staying at is called the Ariston Hotel.
The only real problem we have run into so far is our outlet converters… the ones that are made to actually convert the voltage from 220 V to 120 V don’t have the third prong that is on many American devices such as computer cords. Luckily my computer doesn’t need one, but it is still a hassle. The outlets also are sideways and our converters tend to fall out because they are heavier on one side. Mercedes, being as smart as she is, came up with contraptions to help hold them in place:
One of our other hotel adventures came about in the bathroom. I went to take a shower first thing when I got here, only to discover that by pulling on the shower curtain the entire contraption would fall to the bottom of the tub and the piece that connects it to the wall fell off as well. I came out of the bathroom just laughing and I was very thankful that Mercedes could be smarter than the shower curtain. The only catch was that we couldn’t really touch it while trying to get in and out of the shower. The other trick I learned while in the bathroom was that the “c” which we naturally interpret for the word cold translates to caliente-which means hot in Spanish. Thank goodness this was an easy fix when I realized that the other letter was “f”, standing for frio (cold). Yet another surprise in the bathroom was the toilet, which I believe is called a bidet, but this is what it looked like:
All in all, today has been a long and draining day, but only the beginning of my adventures in Argentina. I’m stoked to meet my host family tomorrow and to become fully immersed in the Argentine culture and language. Downside of tomorrow is that I have to take my placement test to see which level of Spanish I will get in to. I pray that the Lord will continue to guide me and keep me safe in His hands. I already miss you all back home and remember that I love you dearly!
Estoy en las manos de Dios. :)
Thursday, September 2, 2010
¡Bienvenidos a tu casa!
The morning began with packing up and eating breakfast. Breakfast in Argentina is definitely not the same breakfast you would hope to have here. I have a croissant and some grapes. The croissant was delicious, but the grapes were gross if you ask me. I’m not sure what makes them different than the ones in the United States, but they were not the same. After breakfast we had our onsite orientation, which consisted of the site director, Beba, welcoming us and laying out some ground roles when it comes to our home stays and then having each teacher introduce themselves. After the introductions we had our 10 minutes for a coffee break, which will never intrigue me, but I better get used to it. The dreadful placement test came after the break and I was one of the last people to finish mine. (Yippee for being a fabulous test taker.) Thankfully I was placed into level three conversation and grammar. Just the level I needed in order for this trip to make progress on my Spanish minor.
Our walking tour came next, which was accompanied by way too much rain and not a rain proof pair of shoes. We were taken to “Zona 36”, which is one of the three restaurants that we will get lunch at every day. To my dismay, we were served fish, and sorry Mom, but I didn’t eat it. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. With more rain, we continued in to “the center”, which is literally the center of the city. There is a park here that we were told to remember because that will help us get around. Not far from the park is the gym where we have a free membership with the program. My first attempt to speak with some real Argentines was here and I simply asked where the pool was. They told me and I understood, politely saying thank you I turned away and they quickly hollered, “¡Chica!” Of course I turned around to be bombarded with more Spanish then I could comprehend so I told them that I didn’t understand and they laughed at me, sending me on my way. Next, we went saw the café where we can get free wireless internet, but thankfully we are given that at the school as well so I don’t plan on going to the café much. We were then taken to the school (Which is so gorgeous, pictures to come!) The school is literally right alongside the park and our section of the school consists of about 5 classrooms, all equipped for about ten students. I guess I can’t complain when I cant here to learn Spanish. Upon arriving back at the hotel our host parents were all gathered. I became extremely nervous and excited all at the same time! While they were calling out student’s names and parent’s names to pair them up, this lady walked across the room and asked me if I was Kimberly. We greeted with a kiss, which is the norm here, without question you kiss every person you meet (on the cheek of course!). Instantly my host mom, Sandra, made me feel welcome by holding my hand and escorting me to my luggage. She reminds me of Mom and I can’t thank God enough for that.
Communication has definitely been a struggle from that first meeting, but we have managed. We rode a taxi to my new house; new experience being that I have never ridden in a taxi before. When we arrived at our “house” or flat I think it is called I was taken aback in that fact that I have never lived this much in the city nor have I ever lived in something besides a house. Boy have I been blessed! This little flat is absolutely adorable though. Here are a couple pictures:
This is what you see right when you walk in.
Initially, my host mom and I sat down for some tea and I was blessed to try my first glass of “mate” and although I am not a tea drinker I must say that it was fairly good. I was able to show her some pictures and tell her about my family and my home. It was nice to be able to communicate, but I definitely have a lot to learn. After tea we walked to pick up my little sister, Sofia, from school. Some things that I have learned with all the walking today is that Argentines walk fast and cars don’t stop for you; a very important lesson. Once I saw my sister I bent down to hug her only I definitely think I scared her. The woman who worked at the school knew some English and really wanted to talk to me and I was very pleased to do so. She told me that next Thursday I could come to the school because the kids would love to meet me and she would love to talk. I can’t wait and I am only hoping that this can work in with my class schedule. I’m definitely going to find a day that I can go visit though, possibly even every other week because I love kids and it will give me a chance to practice some more.
Most of the rest of the night was fairly uneventful. I met my grandma and grandpa who live one floor above us, I learned how to use the elevator (which is one that you open both doors, another new experience), and I learned how to use my keys for the house. I now understand how all the exchange students who came to my house back home felt. You honestly don’t know what to do with yourself. You want to be out in the living room with the family, but you have nothing to say or do and they have stuff to do. I eventually unpacked my stuff. Everything I own here fits on this one shelf:
My room consists of a bed, my shelf and a little table.
And this is all that is on the walls.
I’m in the process of trying to hang up some pictures, but I don’t want to ruin the wall at all and it’s very hard to communicate sometimes. It is even harder with my grandparents because they speak a lot faster. I was able to eat dinner at their house tonight. We had a slab of meat, some potato-egg thing, and some carrots. I wouldn’t say it is a favorite, but I could eat it and that is a plus. I told them that I don’t like fish tonight, so I’m hoping they never make it for me. :) Before dinner I was left at home alone because my sister was at the grandparents house and my host mom was at a meeting. It was definitely strange because I have nothing to do really and I was burnt out on Spanish so I couldn’t force myself to read any more. Finally, my host mom came home and we went to eat. I was starving by this time because it was 8, but the funny thing is, is that 8 is early for Argentine dinner. It is very typical for dinner to be at 10, and then you go out for drinks around 12 and the clubs open at 2. It is crazy for me to think, but most people stay out until 6 or 7 in the morning. Of course families with children don’t follow up after dinner, but my host mom did say that I can expect dinner around 8 every night. She was shocked when I told her that we eat dinner around 5:30 because to her that is tea-time. I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to this, then again it is only the first day on this schedule.
I’m excited for tomorrow because my host mom told me to sleep in, and then she is coming home from work early, around 11:30 to go out to lunch with me. She wants to walk there so that I can site see. Hopefully it isn’t raining as hard tomorrow as it was today. Sandra told me that the rain should only last a couple more days and then we will be back to sun, so I hope that is the case if she expects me to walk to school (10 blocks) every day. Otherwise I might just stick to the bus. After lunch I will have a walking tour with my group so that should be fun as well. With my plans for tomorrow I’m definitely going to get some more sleep so that I can get used to this routine. Sorry for such a long message today! I love you all!
Estoy en las manos de Dios. :)
Friday, September 3, 2010
I am officially “Keem”
Today there was a lot of miscommunication with my mother. Not in a bad way, but I still have a lot to learn about speaking with someone who doesn’t speak your native language. I thought that we were going to go out to lunch together at 11:30, but then she didn’t come home until 12. I began to think that she had told me to meet her somewhere, instead of her coming back to the house to get me. Luckily she did come back, otherwise I would have stayed in the house all day. Instead of us going out to lunch, she took me to my school and dropped me off, telling me that she would be back around 4:30 to get me.
We went to go buy phones, which I couldn’t decide if I wanted initially, but then decided that it was going to be my only way of contacting other Americans and hopefully Argentines if I ever make friends who are actually from here. Of course I have no idea how to work my phone and although it seems very basic, it is a pre-paid phone and I’ve never had one of those before. After getting our phones we went out to lunch at the same place we went the other day. It was kind of bizarre because they only offer two things each day and you get to choose between the two. I guess it does make things simpler.
We were guided on a walking tour that afternoon throughout the city of Rosario, or at least the downtown. Cordoba is a main road in Rosario and we walked all the way down in to the river. At the end of Cordoba is the famous flag monument.
Because the weather was rather gloomy, it was kind of a bummer, but still a nice sight to see. Tomorrow we will go back there for our boat tour, but if it is raining it isn’t going to happen.
When I got home I was fairly alone, and feeling kind of lame, but once my little sister got home it made me feel ten times better. God definitely knows how to make you feel better when you need it. I was on my computer when she got home, trying to make myself look busy so that I wasn’t feeling like a burden to my host mom, and my sister just came right us and sat next to me. Me being me, I started taking pictures on my computer and eventually it turned in to videos:
Tonight my grandpa brought home dinner for us, which was absolutely delicious! It was a combination of calzone/lasagna, breakfast and pie. That’s the best way I can describe it. There was crust like a pie, only lighter, then layers of ham, eggs, tomatoes and other things that I am unsure of. After dinner we were able to just sit and talk, which I found very beneficial for my learning. I asked Sandra about my rules for when I need to come home at night and other things and all she told me was that I was free. The thing with me is that I am too afraid to go out by myself, so that tends to keep me inside at night. I find it very intriguing that here it is very common to have dinner at 10, and pre-game hang out at a café from 12-2am and then at 2 is when the bars or dance clubs open. Most people stay out until 5 or 6 in the morning. Don’t ask me how they do it. I find myself being tired around 11, which is really 7 at home.
After dinner my host mom, Sofia and I all watched “Camp Rock” (A movie on Disney channel.) Soon after the movie it was definitely time for me to go to bed, so that is my next task.
Estoy en las manos de Dios. :)
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Slowly but Surely
As the days come and go I like to believe that I am already making progress on my Spanish. Although I may still not be able to speak it very well, I am beginning to understand it better. Even just now my sister as talking to me and I was actually able to understand come of the things she was saying to me. It is kind of fun because she is going to a bilingual school where she is learning Spanish, English, and Italian so as she practices her English I get to learn more in Spanish. :)
So Sandra told me to sleep in this morning, but it is always very awkward to get up last. Of course, right when I walked out of my room she was speaking to me, and I definitely didn’t have my Spanish turned on yet. So I began my day with some coffee and small pastries. For those of you who don’t already know, I don’t like coffee and yet she still serves it to me every morning so I continually drown it with milk and sugar. I’m hoping to go to the store tomorrow to buy some hot chocolate so that that can be my morning drink instead.
Sandra, Sofia and I all walked around this morning, which I enjoyed greatly! Almost every store here is specialized in something specific and it is so funny to watch Sandra shop. She stops to look in almost every window, and then compulsively goes into a store and buys what she wants. Something that is different with stores here is that all the doors are locked and you have to catch the eye of the person working there and then they can buzz you in. Another thing that I find different, yet I do enjoy it, is that every person you meet greets you with a kiss on the cheek. Whenever Sandra runs into people that she knows in the street, I am often introduced as “The American that doesn’t understand much.” I’m ok with that because it is true, but they still smile and kiss me.
My group was supposed to go sailing for our water tour today, but it was cancelled because it was too windy. On the first day where there are no clouds and it is actually sunny, of course the cancellation would be due to the wind. Sandra had dropped me off there and told me to walk home when we were done so I was glad that I didn’t have a strict time frame. Because the tour was cancelled about 8 of us decided to go find a place to eat lunch. To our amusement, we were looking for places to eat right around the time that most places close down for the siesta. There was one café that we did find open, luckily, but I can’t say I really enjoyed the food. Afterwards most people split up and went home, but Ryan and I decided to wander around to get a better feel for the city. As of now whenever I’m with Americans we always speak in English, but I can’t wait for the day that we all speak in Spanish together. Especially because I feel like when we are in smaller groups, the only thing really giving it away that we aren’t from Argentina is the fact that we don’t speak Spanish.
On that note, to no surprise I’m sure, I’m actually looking forward to classes. Not necessarily to actually be in class, but more so that I have something to do, a routine to follow and specific things that I am trying to learn. Plus, when I am at school I will have Internet on my computer and might actually be able to speak to people with skype, or actually have time to write people. And on a side note, the gym is really close to school so with my 3 to 5 hour gaps between classes I can go work out. If you are curious, my class schedule goes as follows: (Argentine time)
Monday- 10-11:30 and 3:30-5:30
Tuesday- 11-12:30 and 1-3
Wednesday- 9:30-11 and 4:30-6
Thursday- 9-12 and 3-5
This is a picture of my school:
Also, if you are wondering, my address is:
Kimberly Harnish
9 de Julio 1673 2° ‘A’
CP2000 Rosario
Santa Fe
Argentina
Well it is about 10:45 here and I got a text message about an hour ago telling me that people are meeting at the statue of San Martin around midnight, but I don’t think I’m going to last that long. Plus, there is no way I am walking there alone. So am much as I feel like I am being lame, it is only my first weekend in Rosario and there are many more to come.
I love and miss you all!
Estoy en las manos de Dios :)
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Walking, Walking, Everywhere
I’m pretty sure that getting up in the morning in a house this small is one of they most awkward things to do. I never know if I should get ready in my room before I go out, or head straight across the hall into the bathroom to shower. If I haven’t mentioned it already, all three of us share one bathroom. Which I know isn’t a horrible thing, at Charis I did share with a ton of people, but then again we had more then one toilet and more than one shower. Thankfully, during the week, both Madre and my little sister will be getting up before I do and it wont be something that I have to worry about. Since we all got up at the same time we had breakfast together, which was probably the most Americanized breakfast I have had yet- cereal. Of course Sandra was shocked when I wanted cold milk to put on my cereal, don’t ask me why that is weird. Later in the afternoon we had hot dogs for lunch, one of the few English words Sandra actually knows. Surprisingly they were much better then when I have them at home and I plan on trying to copy the recipe when I get back. After lunch we went to “la feria”- translates to the fair, but was much more like our typical Saturday Market. It was about 22 blocks away, which may not sound far, but let me tell you, it was a tiring walk. We walked down Blvd. Otoño, which is absolutely gorgeous, a walk way lined with palm trees:
It was really hot today, quite different then when we first got here, but I’m hoping the weather stays like this. I noticed today that not a single sole was wearing flip flops though, so I’m sure I will stand out as a foreigner. The market was right along the Parana River and there was a building there that I had read about in one of my other Spanish classes so I took a picture:
I believe it is now an art museum.
Here is my little sister, Sofia, and I next to the riverside. The water doesn’t look very pretty, but contradicting to Portland, on the other side of the river there are no buildings or anything really that symbolizes civilization.
On the way back home from the market we rode the bus for the first time. I was so turned around at that point that I had no idea which direction we were heading, so I think I am going to stick to walking. I was able to take a nap and do some reading when I got home, trying to keep myself busy. Madre made delicious pasta for dinner and afterwards I watched “Camp Rock 2” with my Sofia. Now it is time to turn in because I start school tomorrow and I will venture there alone so I want to be wide awake and keen to my surroundings. As I’ve said before, I love you all!!
Estoy en las manos de Dios. :)
