Junin de los Andes

Our awesome week in Rosario has finally come to an end. I have made many close friends that I will miss dearly, but we may get the opportunity to meet again at later stages of our exchange. And so begins the next stage of my adventure! I quite enjoyed the travel from Beunos Aires to Junin de los Andes. I slept most of the way to the airport at Neuquen, however upon arrival I was immediately struck by the beauty of the landscape. For the first time, amongst the tall trees and the mountains, I felt a sense of truly being away from home and the familiar.  This feeling was to remain - the landscape that we travelled through was like nothing I had ever seen before.

I was overwhelmed with a feeling of anticipation as we neared Junin, the landscape beginning to resemble that which I had seen in pictures on the internet. Meeting the family was far less stressful than I had anticipated. My coordinator's daughter is fluent in English so she acted as a translator. Thankfully the males of the family (especially the older brother) also speak some English so one way or another we are always able to convey meaning and communicate. The family is really lovely - they have wonderful personalities, and are very accepting, understanding and patient when it comes to my Spanish (or lack thereof). We get along very well with many similar interests. We have passed the time going for walks in the town, teaching each other card games and playing and listening to music which has been really lovely. Unlike in Rosario, here I do not live in constant fear of being run down by a crazy motorist, so life is far more relaxing. Yesterday we went for a bike ride out of town and I was able to get a spectacular view of  the  Andes and the volcano. I spent the majority of the bike ride staring in awe at the beauty of my surroundings. 

Everything about Junin is simply amazing. The people are super friendly and although far fewer people live in the luxury that we consider normality in Australia, it does not seem to have affected their quality or enjoyment of life in any way. I've fallen in love with the Argentinian cuisine  - I had the opportunity to attend my first asado today and was very impressed.  Sorry Australia, but our BBQs have nothing on the Argentinian BBQs! The meat was delicious!!

My Spanish is coming along slowly, however I am improving every day. I am finding that I understand far more than I am able to express in words so that can be frustrating however I'm sure I will improve with time. I am also being introduced to the local 'jerga' or slang, which is always very amusing.  And when the language barrier becomes too much, we can always resort to playing card games and music and eating. Tomorrow will be my first day at school - quite a daunting prospect but I am prepared to give it a real go and try something new.

That's probably all I have to say for now. I hope you are all doing well at home in Australia and best wishes to all of my new friends spread around Argentina!