Update!

Well it has been quite a while since I wrote a blog entry. I wish I updated this more, but honestly, there wasn't much to say this last month or so. All February, my day looked somewhat like this:
10am wake up and go for a run. 12pm come home, shower, and eat lunch. 2pm-6pm relax, watch TV, run errands. 7pm (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) ballet. 11pm eat dinner. 2am go to sleep.
My summer days never looked too much different than that. There were little outings here and there with some friends, but since Emilio had to study all summer for school, I was pretty much on my own a lot of the time. I had a gigantic amount of free time when I would watch American TV shows that play here with Spanish subtitles, like Friends, Dr. House, C.S.I, Grey's Anatomy, and some other popular ones. I also picked up the hobby of bracelet making which I got pretty good at. I've made a bunch now, and I actually have some people paying me for them! I never even tried to sell them, so I feel pretty talented. I also read The Hunger Games, and I loved it!
Of course, I also spent the month getting better at Spanish, as I do every day, even if I don't want to. I would say I can officially call myself fluent now. I understand everything without having to process every single word, and I can't think of a situation where I would not be able to explain something to someone in Spanish. The words come to me now without thinking about it, and I can't even imagine now what it was like not to understand when someone talked to me in Spanish. So, with the language now mastered, I am really truly enjoying myself. I feel comfortable being around people, and much more confident. I used to be so tense all the time, dreading the next moment someone would come up to me because it meant I had to really focus on each word they said, and most likely get embarrassed somehow. Now all the tenseness is gone, and I can enjoy being Argentinian:)
What did happen at the end of February is that the new AFS exchanged students arrived. In La Plata there is now a girl from Germany, and Zac, my new friend fom New Zealand! I talked to him a few times on skype and a lot on Facebook before he got here, knowing that if I had had an English speaker that knew the town and the language, it would have helped me a lot in the beginning. I did have Emilio, which I am so extremely thankful for, because without him I would have died the first couple months. I officially consider that boy family, I don't know what I'm going to do when I have to say bye! But anyways, I have been spending a lot of time with Zac, and it's interesting to watch him have the same questions and go through the same struggles that I did when I first got here. Like the food for example. He is super worried about gaining weight and eating unhealthy, so he will come on runs with me sometimes, and I took him to a little place a go to buy trail mix. Also, this Saturday, AFS is getting together to introduce the new kids, and Zac and I get to cook something for dinner and dessert. I'll show him where to get the good fruit and vegetables:) I'm pretty excited, AFS get togethers are always super fun.
School started on Monday. Monday was the craziest first day of school I think I've ever had. First of all, all of the kids in their last year who will be graduating want to celebrate their 'last first day' just like they celebrate everything else possible in my school. So, as the tradition is I guess, all of the kids go to a huge party the Sunday night before school, drink way too much, and party all night until 7:30 in the morning, when they all show up at school with silly string, confetti, and whatever other messy party material. Then they go throuh to all the classrooms turning over desks, screaming, throwing confetti, and just going crazy! Then in the hallways, the music is blasting and everyone dances and makes a mess. This event went on all morning, and after a few hours, we went back to class as if nothing happened. It was definitely something that could never happen at Bend High, which I am somewhat thankful for. I loved the party and all, but what happened next scared me and made me appreciate the strict rules we have in the schools at home. I guess there was a fight at the party before they got to school, and it wasn't resolved, so a few boys (I'm sure they were drunk) started fighting in the hallway, and one was punched in the face, thrown to the ground, and got his head cracked open. I didn't see the fight, but I did see the boy laying down on the floor with a dangerous amount of blood around his head. Everyone was freaking out and crying and yelling at each other. And today, the story was in the newspaper. I heard that the boy went to the hospital, but is doing okay now, and the one who did the punching is suspended for now. So definitely a day to remember. Also, Dilja, my Icelandic friend, didn't like her school, so she transferred and now goes to Bellas Artes with me! She is a year older, so we don't have classes together, but we get to see each other every day, and she thinks Bellas Artes is way more fun. There is also another girl who transferred to my school who is an exchange student from Ontario, Canada. I met her today and she seems super cool! She is with Dilja in seventh year. So I have made some new friends in these first few days, and I can definitely say school is more enjoyable now that I understand everyone. I used to constantly feel like people were talking about me and I didn't realize.
So, the last thing I am going to write about is the most exciting...Tuesday is going to be such a great day, I don't know how to even express my excitement in words! MY FAMILY AND ROBIN AND KATIA ARE COMING TO SEE ME!! Originally it was going to be just the Baney family coming for spring break, and my family was coming in July, but then we decided spring break was a better time because Argentina is much prettier. July is winter and instead of pretty greenness everywhere, it's just grey clouds and freezing coldness. So all 5 of them arrive the morning of the 20th and we are going to stay about 5 days in Buenos Aires, then go for 2 days to the waterfalls in Iguazú that I visited in January. They all fly back home on the 27th of March, which, for me, will be the beginning of another extremely exciting adventure...I get to go spend two weeks in Chile! I have been training the past month for a 10K race in Santiago, Chile that I'm going to run with Sebastian and his dad. Sebastian is the Chilean boy who stayed as an exchange student in my house from August to January this year. Apart from talking to him a lot on Facebook and seeing him on skype when I called home, I also connected with his dad over Facebook. His dad saw that I am a runner, and wanting to return the favor of having Sebastian in our house, he told me he would sign me up for this huge race and let me stay with them in their house for 2 weeks! So, on the 27th, I'll have to say bye to my family and the Baney girls again, but I'll be on my way to Chile until April 9th:)

So this entry doesnt have pictures because to upload pictures I have to borrow Emilio's computer, and it's broken right now...but luckily my parents are bringing me my laptop, and I'll be able to put pictures up and update my blog a LOT more often!

Mom, dad, Will, Robin, Katia...I will see you guys in just a few days! :D