One Week On

I've been here over a week now, so things are finally settling down and I get a chance to sit back and dwell on the fact that I'm in Argentina! Occasionally this will induce bouts of homesickness, but I'm learning various coping mechanisms for when the 10 000-ish kilometres between me and my home in Australia become daunting.

The primary method for me is exercise. Despite pigging out on the awesome food here, I'm pretty sure I've managed to trim down a bit from the amount of exercise I'm doing.  I've taken part in a couple of spontaneous football (soccer) games with my host brothers and their friends which I've really enjoyed. The style of play is so different to what I'm used to in Australia! My footwork is in dire need of improvement if I'm to hold my own against the Argentinians. On the weekend I went with some of my classmates to watch a local football match in the 'Barrio contra Barrio' competition. Despite being the lowest division in the league, it was still great to watch as the quality of play was on par with our first grade at home. The biggest surprise for me was that they played on a field with no grass at all - just dirt! This meant that any falls were much more painful for the players and that they had to contend with regular onslaughts of dirt stirred up by the wind. It didn't seem to detract from the game in any way though.

I also decided to go for a run in the nearby 'cerro'. This translates to hill, but the cerro far exceeded my expectations of what I consider to fit into the 'hill' category. Geographical classification aside, the scenery (as with every other bit of scenery I've mentioned so far) was simply breath-taking! That lack of breath could also be attributed to the running at a higher altitude than I'm accustomed to..  When I wasn't busy being awe-stricken and out of breath I was also making sure to keep track of which way I had turned in the labyrinth of trees and paths that coat the cerro. The parting words from my host brother were "Don't get lost; my mother will kill me!" so I had to be extra careful. I had the pleasure of being accompanied by a random large black dog, which given the scenery could easily have been Sirius Black. One thing that has really surprised me about Argentina is the sheer number of dogs living on the street here. Hundreds upon hundreds of dogs live on the street without owners, so there is virtually no where you can go without canine presence.

I've had plenty of chances to go down to the river about a block from the house. I still can't get over the water - it's ice cold and crystal clear. At this point I was going to say that I'd happily drink from and bathe in it, however the family has informed me I already do! Apparently the water from the house comes direct from the river! Yesterday the family decided to go fly fishing near the river's source at Lago (Lake)  Huechulafquen. It was lovely just chilling by the river drinking mate (pronounced mah-tay) and practicing my Spanish. I was able to go for a walk with Elsa (my host mother) and get some pictures of the landscape. This reaffirmed my belief that I've found myself in one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

la casa de mis sueños

In retrospect, we managed to fit a fair amount of activity into my first week here; it's no wonder I'm getting so worn out. On top of this, my body is still adjusting to the new sleep pattern and my brain is feeling the effects of learning a new language. However the exhaustion has given me a good reason to try out the Argentinian siesta. So far I've found it quite agreeable, with my midday naps averaging about two hours during the week. My Spanish is making slow but steady progress. I feel that I am able to understand far more of what the teachers are saying. General conversation is a bit more difficult, but I'm slowly getting the hang of it and am happy with the way I am going so far. At first I was only really able to understand when I was being spoken about or to - sentences at home often begin with "can you translate for Ryan" - but I'm now able to answer most questions directed at me and even make the occasional joke. The family finds it very amusing that I answer yes almost every time they ask if I would like something - food in particular. I  can  hold very simple conversation and on rare occasions add to the conversation of others. I enjoy speaking with Elsa, because she is the one member of the family with no English at all and I have no choice but to attempt to express myself in Spanish. I am facing quite a few difficulties with my lack of knowledge in the language, however I remain confident that it will improve with time.

I am quite happy with the way school is going. It is completely different to what I'm used to in Australia. This being said, there is one major similarity in the relaxed nature of the students. Everything about the schooling seems very easy going which suits me just fine! We are permanently with the same group of classmates so I'm getting to know them quite well. The language causes dificulties, but I do my best to socialise with different people outside of my class during the breaks and am slowly gaining a bit of a friendship circle. As I said, I am able to understand some things in class, but not enough for me to be completing much classwork. Instead I've been working on my Spanish, listening to the teachers and building on my vocab which I find to be very productive.

I had some other things that I wanted to mention but they may have to wait until my next post - I don't want to draw this one out too much. Thank you so much for the continued interest, I hope that you are all healthy and happy and reasonable unscathed by the floods back in Australia. Again, good luck to my exchange student amigos scattered around Argentina. A special mention must also go to whoever the stranger is viewing my blog from Russia - I hope you've enjoyed the journey so far.

Anyway, that's all for now. Chao!