my mind is spinning

Evita

I think I am currently on the way of developing ADD.  This past week I feel like my mind has been all over the place.  Half of the time I am thinking, talking and reading in Spanish and then the other times in English.  So much has happened in the past few days that I just have not been able to slow down and think (in either language).  I actually was on the phone the other day with my mom and I ended up asking her the same question several times because I was listening but I guess it just was not registering.  I mean...it is very distracting here.  Constantly I am dreaming of these frozen chocolate bananas that I buy at a little corner shop, or I am focused on not stepping in dog poop (which is literally everywhere), or I am making a mental list of everything I have to do that day.  Wow geeezzz my mind is spinning.  Did I mention that we are going to Iguazu Falls on Thursday and for the weekend!!! I seriously can't wait! If you have not heard of these, then I don't know where you have been and you better be googling them right now!

I'm going to try and be a little organized and give you a list of some cool experiences that I have had lately:

1. Saturday night was the celebration of one of the guys's birthdays in my group.  We all went out to dinner and then hit the night life in Buenos Aires.  So here is the down low on the boliches (clubs): it is so much better to be a girl! It costs less to get in and you get to cut the forever ending line waiting to pay.  So anyways if you like to dance and if you like to dance to Spanish pop music, the boliches are for you! The whole night I found myself trying to imitate the dance moves of the locals and I was moving my lips a little to pretend like I knew the lyrics.  I am sure they all thought I was a true Portena (A girl born in Buenos Aires).

YUMMY CHEESE FRIES

2. REY DE REYS! This means King of Kings.  This is the name of the church I went to on Sunday with some of my friends.  A few things you need to know about attending church here: a) you must wait in line outside the church until the indicated time it starts (good time to make new friends!) b) be prepared for a 3 hour service c) as I have said, dancing and singing are very popular here.  Get ready to move and shake! d) Don't be shy! This is by far one of the coolest experiences I have had while I have been here in Buenos Aires.  They played sounds by Hillsong and many other popular artists, but they were in Spanish! It was amazing to see how the people are so outspoken about their love for Christ.  This is exactly how we should be! While Argentina is dominantly Catholic, I couldn't believe the amount of people that were at the 1 of 4 church services that are held.  The energy in the room was something that is indescribable and something that someone must experience in order to fully comprehend what I am saying.

3. Well folks, it is week 2 of school.  Yesterday started off with a bang, as I had a new teacher in my Latin America and U.S. Relations class.  She is a spunky, blunt, and is an engaging Portena that is very interested in her students.  Our discussion began with her telling us about her experience.  She was born in Buenos Aires, but has taught school in the U.S. for many years.  She grew up in the 60's and 70's and explained to us that she was brought up to think that the U.S. was the imperial evil.  This is because it appeared as if the U.S. was flourishing and that no one was poor.  It was considered close to heaven because it had Hollywood and money.  Boyyy, was she surprised when she arrived to see for herself.  While the U.S. did live up to many of her pre-concieved thoughts, it also did not in many ways. As time has passed, the Argentineans view the United States in a different light, but for those that have not visited the "land of the home and the free," they still believe much like my teacher did.

4. My new favorite corner shop = Crazy Chips.  Don't ask me why the name is in English, but all you need to know is the empanadas rock and the frozen chocolate banana will change your life.

5. I went to the Ronald McDonald House yesterday.  I spent the majority of my time playing with an 8 year old girl.  We were outside and pretended that the treehouse was a boat in which we sailed to many different countries.  We first started out in Argentina (duh!), then I showed her my home in Texas  (we rode a few horses), then we went to England and met the Queen, and we finally ended up in Australia and swam with a few sharks.  It was so much fun playing this pretend game and I had forgotten what large imaginations children have.  Tomorrow is another one of the kids birthdays, so my friends and I are going to celebrate with him!

6. The temperature is on the rise. Hallelujah!

7.  Watched the second to last Episode of "Missing" with my host mother last night.  You better believe there were tons of gasps, shouts and groans!  I have to admit, I am really getting into the show.  Next week is the finale and you know where Susana and I will be at 9 PM!