My Little List of Fun Things

It's been a while since I wrote anything, and the reason for that is because I have been having way too much fun! The homesickness is fading and the happiness is growing. For the longest time I felt like I was in another country, but not experiencing anything very 'amazing'. People would ask me what cool things I have done or seen, and I really couldn't come up with any sort of list of anything. It felt really lame, until I realized something. I realized that I am not here for a year long vacation. Im not going to go see all the possible tourist attractions in the country. I'm here to learn a new culture, and I'm here to meet new people, and I'm here to learn how to live as an Argentine teenager. Of course I will travel and see the amazing things the country has to offer, but for now, I am accomplishing all that I want to, and more!

So, for all of you that want to know all the 'amazing' things I have seen, I will begin the list with JUSTIN BIEBER :)
Honestly, before I left, I was not a big fan of that kid, but I also didn't hate him. I was just neutral. I thought of him as one of those Disney Channel types that will just come and go. I also didn't really 'love' his music. Of course I knew the songs that were overly popular, but it wasn't like I would go buy the CD, or choose to play it in the car. So anyways, Emilio, my brother, informed me before I got here that he had a ticket for me to go see Justin Bieber in concert. And honestly, I was pretty dang excited. Haha who wouldn't be? It's a concert!

 So on October 12, Emilio, Facundo, Ivan, Renzo, and I drove to Buenos Aires,

 ran about 30 blocks in the rain and mud, ran up 6 flights of stairs, and saw the coolest concert ever! 

Yes, I know, we are exremely far away. This picture was taken with full zoom...but thats okay, it was still AmAzInG!
I also really enjoyed the screaming competitions with Facundo each time a song ended. He was actually tough competition! Haha :)

The way everything was lit up and put together made Justin seem so much more amazing than he actually is. Ha :)

Okay, the next cool thing to add to my list is eating Asado! For some families here, it is something they do every Sunday! I can't imagine eating that much food every week, even though everything was super delicious! Asado is just a barbeque, but they cook a lot of different types of meat, and it's all really good quality. Argentina is known for it's meat :) 

 My host dad was the chef, and he was very proud of the meat :) As he should be, because it was all amazing! I would write all the different kinds, but honestly I don't remember...

Other than the meat, there was all kinds of salads, like a salad with apples and celery, a salad with rice, corn, and peppers, a salad with beets and something else, and a few others. They mix the best vegetables here, they are so delicious! And all the fruit and vegetables are always so fresh tasting. Then after eating, we had ice cream! The ice cream is also SO good, and there are ice cream places everywhere! Ice cream and pastries...good thing I run down here :)

The next awesome thing I did was spend another day in the city of Buenos Aires! It was different this time because I actually got out of the car and walked aroud the streets. I had my Icelandic friend with me which made it super fun! She is another exchange student living in my city, and we do a lot together lately. I love having someone to really talk to that is physically close to me :) I was also with an AFS volunteer, Ignacio, and he took us to the coolest places. 

First, we walked down a street with no cars, just a bunch of people. There were stores lining the street, and street vendors here and there. The vibe was so uplifting and fun!

CHICAS <3

Then, we went to the first mall, which was really big, and everything was so beautifully designed!

 I felt like we were in the lobby of a really nice hotel. Everything in the malls here
is really expensive, but it is always fun to go just to walk around.

Then, after being amazed by the size of that mall, we went to a different one, and I was blown away!

Yes, a ferris wheel INSIDE!!!!!

 And if you think the ferris wheel is cool.......There was a little THEME PARK too! INSIDE! It was so cool:)

So there you go...my little list of fun things I have done. When I'm not doing those things, I am going to school, running like crazy, and going to dance. I just bought pointe shoes for ballet and tonight I will be trying those for the first time. Yikes! 

I feel like a happier person, like I am getting the hang of things...

:)

Cooking Adventures and Running Race

I have now learned to cook Cheesecake and Bagels from scratch, thanks to Renzo :) 

Cooking has been a hobby I think I might take up here...and continue when I go home. Baking is something that almost everyone does and I don't think I have seen so many pastry shops in one city before! Mmmm...

 Cream cream and more cream... :) 

The cake turned out great, and tasted even better than it looks! We also made a sugary strawberry sauce to put on top. And because the fruit here tastes so good without sugar, the sauce was like heaven...

Then, the next cooking project was bagels! With the help of a Martha Stewart Cookbook, we made the dough, and the best part was playing with it!

Then, we boiled to dough in water, and cooked them for about thirty minutes, and they were golden brown and delicious! They have Philidelphia Cream Cheese here, but it is actually really expensive. We decided to buy it for the occasion. It was sorf of interesting that I was eating cream cheese for a special occasion. Usually I throw it on a bagel when I'm in a hurry. 

 

  

So aside from eating a ton, I have been getting ready for the 5K run! My little cross country team got together and went into town for the race! It was so much fun and we even wrote on our arms to add to the spirit. My friends were so much fun to run with, and I ran the race in 21:40! Afterwards, they signed my t-shirt so I can always remember:)

Thank you everyone that ran the race and made it so enjoyable! I can't wait for the next one!

The update with dance is that I am doing ballet for 4 hours a week, and I stopped doing contemporary because I kind of like the idea of having a more easy going life. The past month I was trying really hard to add things to my scheldule because I had so much on my plate back home, but then I realized that that wasn't really what I wanted. One of the reasons I left my old life was to get away for all the busyness, so it really is okay if I dont have 10 hours of dance and 20 miles of running a week. I can calm down, and it is okay. But anyways, I am continuing with ballet, and my performance is on December 17th! Ah!

Now, I am on my way to get ready to 'go out' for the first time...late! Meeting my friends at 12 o'clock! At home, that was definitely when I had to be home, and here, that is when I am leaving. I don't plan on making this a habit, but you never know. We'll see! Until next time!