Chile/Mendoza- the end of an era.

So, I know it’s a bit belated, but posting/writing this blog has been the last thing that I have wanted to do since I have been back. However, here I am in route to Bishop, and as Ryan and Spence jam out to Saosin in the front, I find that my reflective side wants to come out. I have written most of this already- so that is posted below. Regarding my trip to Mendoza and Chile-


So, this could quite possibly by my last blog of Buenos Aires...maybe this is not entirely true, but my travels around south american are surely over and all I have left in front of me are finals and the horrible heat. In any case, I had an amazing final excursion, and after a 26 hour bus ride from coast to coast, exited the bus to see the headline on La Nacion say "¡Obama ganó!" How amazing is that? Anyways. Let's start from the beginning, shall we? Bus ride to Mendoza, same as normal, catch the bus on one of these twenty terminals and hope it's the right one. Did the bus ride on a thursday night and then arrived in Mendoza Friday morning. We found the hostel and got all that business figured out and then found the bus to go to the next town over where we could take the wine tours. For twenty pesos (I think?) we got a bike rental for the day, a map, and a bottle of water. I biked probably about 7 miles this day! Which was alot longer than I thought it would be, but still was amazing. In our tour of the wineries, we hit two wine places, one for olive oil and one for chocolate. I bought no wine, but olive oil and vinagre and chocolate, which will make for excellent christmas presents. (:)) but the chocolate was for me, aha. At the chocolate place they also had a bunch of different sauces to try, which was fun, but some were spicy hot! In any case, after this day I was sure that my bike riding muscles (ahem) would never recover, and sitting down hurt for what seemed like days. I slept very soundly that night and although the hostel was nice and we had a private bath (yes!) there were ten million kids there...this was the halloween, so combine that with ten million children and you will just about get an idea of what I did. The next day we did White water rafting (picture here) AND ziplining! Which was super fun. I mean, there really isn't that much to say about it besides I thought we were going to die at one point, and also that it was amazing. I had a blast, and it wasn't too pricey. That night, after much confusion and deciding and booking a last minute bus out of Mendoza, we did a night trip to Viña del Mar. We arrived to the bus station super early and nothing was open and we did not feel to comfortable wandering around by ourselves at 5 in the morning, so we hung out at the bus station and met a crazy little old man who found us a hostel. The woman there said she didn't have room for three just then, but we could sleep in a bed until the room for three checked out. So we took the most glorious nap, and the hostel was literally right behind the bus station. Ah, what I failed to mention is that only Katlyn, Jess, and I took the night bus to Viña--Jaclyn was going to come in the next morning, but we had no idea what time, and our phones did not work. This was a disaster with in itself. But it gets better, later. Anyways we slept for awhile, then switched rooms and then tromped over to the beach and had a picnic. This was beautiful and amazing. We stayed the night at the hostel but decided to change hostels when we realized that our woman was a little crazy and wouldn't let us shower when we wanted and we had no access to the kitchen. Which is a small problem when you have college students traveling on a tight budget. Anyways, we woke up the next morning and attempted to find another hostel. We walked all the way across town and found the one we were looking for, finally, and also we found Jaclyn! She had been wandering around on her own for ages and we just happened to meet up at the same place that morning! So that day we went to Valparaiso, and walked around...it was much more city like than Viña, which is weird because it is only like ten minutes away. But we tried to find Pablo Neruda's house, and when we finally did it was closed. Those towns also have elevators that take you up the hills, something we were supposed to do, but instead we managed to find the TOP of an elevator and rode it just down instead. Which was also fun. After the day in Valparaiso, (the houses looked like they were just stacked on top of each other...so picturesque.) we decided to have a bottle of wine on the beach and watch the sun set, and then have a nice dinner on the beach at a restaurant. I also bought a pair of amazingly comfortable pants.



Finally, a few days before I actually left, I had the chance to go to the Zoo de Lujan, where you can, believe it or not, actually touch the tigres. Which was excellent. Although it was mostly sad. But who can say they have touched a tiger? Me, that’s who. Pictures here.

As far as reflection goes- for those of you who want to say, “how was it?” It was amazing. I figured out in the last month why I went, which was so I could walk in the city at night listening to bittersweet symphony. As odd as that may sound, the sort of independence that that gives you…is unspeakable. Knowing that I lived in a city of my own choosing, could navigate my way through the bus systems, get around in a language that I spoke none of on my way there….is amazing. This, I will say is the conclusion of Emily’s blog- BA style. Thanks so much for reading. It was hard and terrible and wonderful and everlasting and short all at once, but I can finally say that I did it with no regrets. Too bad I have the best friends in the world and a wonderful boyfriend, or I may have just stayed. As for now, I am getting rather car sick from not looking at the road and sitting in back, so I am going to call it a night, a blog, a trip. Thank you to all who I met, my friends and in my memories and hearts for always. It blows my mind that some of you are still in South America at this point! I feel like I have been back in the states for an eternity! But it has been such a short time. I miss you all so much…and I really owe it to all of you AIFS kids for making my trip amazing. Thank you thank you thank you. Looking at the city lights as we are driving and as I type remind me of the toal and complete normalcy of living in LA and going back to my little po dunk of a town…Although now I come back to being a regular old college kid goin to scool in orange county…I am hoping that the little bit of portena I have in me will outlive the orange county in me. Fuck. Alright. Really calling it done now. Thanks for reading, thanks for being in my life. Buenos Aires will always have a vey much alive and real part in my heart. Ha! That rhymes! Chau, Mi Querida.

I like it when birds hop. Horses are strong.

Okay- just give me un segundo para explicar the title of this blog. Basically, I spent the last week with my mother and it was amazing. I would say something like "I like it when little birds hop." And my mom would laugh. And I would say, "why are you laughing at me?" And she would say, "Horses are strong." A little anecdote to let you see into the life of emily and chris as the Buenos Aries traveling duo. Mom has always been a good travel buddy, but it is rare that we actually *travel* together, if you will- and without other company. My mom probably thought I would drive her insane so brought others along, but regardless- we had a great time, and it really was the first time that we had done a trip- not just a drive from/to San Diego and back- with just the two of us. I could not have asked for a better present. Now, as she waits in the airport to leave from BA and I sit in my room and mope because she is gone, I will just talk about what a great time we had. I have had three weeks in my life that I can remember as the best of them all- and until this past one, it was only two. So thank you mom, for coming, and thank you oh great power of god or jesus or virgin mary or allah- for having the viaje go smoothly and great. On the sidelines, i went to Iguazu falls a few weekends ago- and that was great, but it quite possibly rained more than I have ever been rained on in my life- so...after I went, Mother decided she wanted to go, too. So we did in in a day. But- I digress, I will start at the beginning. She arrived at the airport early morning on Friday- we started the day by going to a bakery that we later christened as our own and made it a regular breakfast place, and then napped for a bit because mom was tired and her poor ankles...well- ask her about that if you really want to know. ha. Anyways, we ended the day with a tango show, which was unlike anything that I have ever seen. It was more of a legitimate *show* than anything else, and the dances were combined with a play like thing...I couldn't always understand it, and half because I couldn't hear, and half because my spanish is shabby- but it was amazing, and mom had a blast. Which is what mattered. Buenisimo. Saturday we went to the Recoleta fair and bought all sorts of little trinkets, and then followed that with Manzana de las Luces. This is a sort of place for "the enlightened" and it takes up a city block- and it even has catacombs! Which quite possibly were the most exciting part. I really couldn't tell you exactly when we went to La Boca- but we did and I got some great pictures, along with going to a museum that my mom really loved because it had this artist that apparently explained how she felt some days. You will have to ask her how she felt about that as well. Funny story here, promise. The door here is from Boca, as well as the first picture of us. We spent a day at La Estancia on Monday- the same from before, but saw lots more animals, including some really funny pigs and baby lambs. Iguazu on Wednesday was gorgeous in the sun, but the humidity we had to swim through, and that was mildly miserable, but the falls are amazing- rain or shine. However, a day trip to Iguazu is not something that I would recommend- for two reasons. One solely because there is too much to see and you cannot possibly do it all in a day, and second that it was purely and utterly exhausting. Regardless- it was great. The falls are mesmerizing and to be in the presence of something that powerful and so natural...and twice in two weeks! Also saw more animals here- tortugas included. Also an alligator, lots of mariposas, cotis (sp?)...and a funny lizard thing. Although the butterflies were a little too plentiful for my liking... they would land on you and hang out and they sort of remind me of moths and thus creep me out just in the slightest. So as long as I didn't have to feel their little legs walking all over me, they were great to take pictures of. Thursday we watched the mothers walk around Plaza de Mayo- and that was powerful and the woman are my heroes. I cannot explain the dedication that they have to their children- although now it is more about agricultural reform than anything else, and they use their fame and their notability to make a difference in modern day issues, for some of them it will always be about their lost children. And they will always be lost...and every week they are reminded of it. Some woman were smiling, greeting each other with the typical argentine kiss on the cheeck, but if you looked closely, it was not difficult to isolate the moments of pain that they still felt. And this, in itself is a type of beauty so rarely found that it was all that I could do to try and capture it. I now wear a pendant of the scarf around my neck as a reminder that if they can be that dedicated and that apt to social change and forever remembering their children, I can keep dedication to anything. Spending the day in Colonia was just as magical as always, I swear that place has some sort of calming element to it. However-little did I know that Uruguayan time is one hour ahead of Argentine time. Good thing my mom is paranoid or we would have missed the boat! Sheesh! Oh well, we made it and *then* I left my wallet on the boat so we went backwards through customs...and no one stopped me...this worries me just in the slightest, and found it. And then bussed it home. Which was great. The apartment we stayed in was perfect for our stay. Just the right size, and even included a wine bottle opener so we didn't have to worry about that. Today- the last day (weepy me), we went over to the San Telmo street fair- I bought some new shoes and a few little other regalos for some people. And that was it. Ya está. It was so great and wonderful to have my mother here I cannot possibly explain it. But I have some excellent pictures and those will probably be the best way to do it.

I wrote the above the night my mom left but for some reason decided not to post it. So here it is, finally and a picture of a cotee.? And here are the links to some more pictures via facebook- wonderful week with Mom and also some more pictures from Plaza de Mayo. Chau, todos. Un beso grande.

Tenés un elefante, me parece que es grande...

The title of this blog translates to: "You have an elephant. It seems to me that it is large."  However, if you sing it...in spanish...it's sort of fun. Okay- done with that. It's been awhile since my last update but truth be told- life has been pretty normal. Normal, you ask? At least as normal as walking around in a city bumbling through a language you can't quite speak or understand and being able to drink legally and taking a forty minute bus to school can be.  Yes, all is well in the life of Emily.  This is the scary part- remember that 12 days into this blog? I am now over 70 days in, and my time here is half over! This, I do not like one bit. But the idea of seeing my friends and family again...well - lets just say I don't like to think about them that much because if I did I would constantly be in tears.  Regardless- here are some of the things I have been doing.  During the olympics, a few of us went to a bar and watched the game- Argentina won. Of course we did- we are amazing. Here is dana sporting the Argentine flag.  Also as an outing we visited the botanical gardens, which are close to Plaza Italia, not to far from home, and the showed little skits as we walked through the gardens. There, you can almost imagine life without the constant sirens and honking and pigeons and trash, but not quite. Cigarette butts still litter the ground and you can still hear the car alarms that permeate my life and the city.  Here is part of a skit- the character was convinced that the trees could talk. I would hug them too, if they talked. Wouldn't you?  Oh yeah! I went to Mar Del Plata! That was fun, but I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked, but I was so cold, I doubt I could have even pressed the button as many times as I would have liked if I had had it on me.  Even when I did have it, the house was so full of smoke from a fire that we could not light that my poor little Sony Cyber shot could not handle it.  Anyways- It went something like this.  "Hey, so my host brother- he has this friend. Who has a Mansion in Mar Del Plata. And they want us to go and stay with them for the weekend. They will drive us. It's free."  So I went. Missed my first class ever and it was totally worth it! It was basically just a weekend of good times, good booze, and (soon to be) good friends. I met alot of people and watched some horrible horror movies, but had a blast and lived the rock star life style, even if it was just for a few days.  Here is a bunch of the crowd on the peer on the nastiest beach ever, haha.  Que mas? Brooke, Katyln and I left Mar del Plata early to do the outing that weekend- which was La Estancia. It was a TOTAL tourist trap but I loved it. The day started out with a variety of things to do. The first being riding a horse around a little field, you could take a tractor ride...but really- I drove a tractor before I drove a car, so where is the fun in that? Anyways, I opted for taking pictures of people in this really neat tree that looked like a hand. And I rode the horses. Which was fun. Hadn't done it since...lordie know when. Anyways, after that, we had lunch with unlimited EVERYTHING. Water. Wine. Meat. Chicken. Chorizo. Blood Sausage (which i tried!). Potatoes. Ensalada. It was excellent and then there was some cultural singing, dancing, and despues we watched a gaucho show. And I got un besito on the cheeck from a gaucho. It was great. I also got to see Carpinchos, which are creepy dog rabbit things. And I caught a baby pig. And it hated me- as you can see from the picture here. A few more things, just to go through the motions. School: I am taking four classes. Spanish, which is good and fun, Latin American Nobel Prize Winners- the teacher is native porteño but speaks English with an english accent. It is funny as all hell. Latin American Short Story Writers- Too early in the morning but the class is okay and the material isn't bad, and the teacher is cool. Last, and certainly least: Impacts of Globalization. The three hours of torture in my week. I have plenty of amazing friends here- the group of girls is cooler than I ever could have expected. Jaclyn, who often offers insight on the strangest subjects and is usually down for anything and everything, Rachel, my movie popcorn gym twilight fan buddy. Oh, I want to explain all of them but it will take too long. Linda, Jen, Melissa, Cristina, Katelyn, Dana, Brooke...alot of good ones that I love and cherish already and can't imagine leaving. We are going to Iguazu in a few weeks, and I am so excited!!!! And then...drum roll please! On October 10th Ms. Christine Nelson will be making an appearance at the EZE international airport and I will be there waiting for her. I can't wait. Matt and Tricia are in town now with Wyatt- date with them on Friday. Roree Phillips is also tucked away somewhere in this crazy country...it's a jungle out there kiddies!!!! Have a very fruitful day.

A few more pictures- because that's how I roll. Me and Rachel being great, and also one day i decided to give out free hugs. I even got some. :)

For more photos: Facebook albums here: La Estancia, More Estancia, and some more random photographs.

La Falda=Spontaneity

Well well well! who knew I had it in me. It was after class around 4:30 when I was approached by Jessica, and Memo, saying "We're going to Cordoba to go hiking tomorrow night. Want to come? Give me 90 pesos and I will buy your bus ticket." So I did it. And I went. And it was great. Right before there was sort of a joint birthday party for me and my host brother augustine- the day went something like this: class at 8:30, siesta afterwards, shopping for snack food, pack up all my stuff, eat empanadas and cake, and then get on a bus to go get on another bus. Pictures here are my host mom and dad on the ends, and extended host family, and also Rachel, me and Jacyln who came over for cake and food. We hopped on the bus at midnight in the Retiro station, and our tickets said something like this
"Your bus should come in between terminals 35-45, it might be yellow or orange, and it could be either one of these companies." Welcome to South America. Anyways, we got on the bus, tried to go to sleep after singing happy birthday to Jess and sharing some Champagne and cake that Katie brought along, and hopped off the bus in Cordoba ten hours later. We spent the day there just sort of wandering around and buying things. 

This was when we still were nine- we ended with five. We started out with Dustin, Nick, Jaclyn, Matt, Jess, Katie, Dana, Memo, and myself. Jaclyn and Matt decided to go to Salta from Cordoba- and so we left them there and I haven't heard from them yet...haha. Anyways, so we spent the day us nine wandering around cordoba and we went into the catacombs and did some other things, but mostly just wandered and waited around for our bus which left in the evening. Pictures from Cordoba include some graffiti i find enlightening-"rocks here, rocks there, to trip is inevitable." Also jess talking about something- although i am not quite sure what. Continuing on, we got to La Falda, a nice woman showed us the way to a tourist information place, and we found a hostel. It was 22 pesos per person per night? Cheap beans is what that means. 

Anyways, we wake up the next morning, and poor dana didn't sleep because she was allergic to something in the hostel and sniffling away all night, decided to go home that day, so we went to go see the waterfalls (7 cascadas), which was an easy hike and very beautiful. We also ran into some ponies and they were cute. We checked out a cemetery up there too, it's amazing what you will find if you only start looking. Pictures here: beautiful argentine boy at the falls, and nick making friends with a pony.

That night we lost another one, Dana headed home, and that was that. We were down to 6. (9 students. One trip. Dirty hostels. Who will make it? Who will not? Can YOU handle LA FALDA? Tuesdays at 9. ::to be said in the voice of Don LaFontaine::) The next night Katie's friends came and took her out- and we simply went to bed. The next morning, Katie was not feeling well at all, so she did not climb up the mountain, and that is how we got down to 5. Her friends picked her up at the hostel and drove her back to BA. So- the climb. We decided it would be a good idea to walk around the mountain before we walked up it- and that made for a nice warm up that killed my legs. Then we went up. And it was hard but I did it and I have SO much respect for my mom for climbing the mountains of nepal holy moly. This incline was like a 45 degree angle the whole way and 2.5 hour hike, but we had wine and cheese at the top, and two dogs followed us all the way up! We named them laddy and old blue. Three more pictures here: Memo giving laddie some water, the crew celebrating the incline, and the view from the top, where everything was a bit lighter. Then, we hurried back on down the mountain, packed up our stuff from the hostel, and did the 12 hour bus ride home through the night. All in all I learned that spontaneity has its perks, especially when you're with a good crowd.

For a more complete look at pictures check out my facebook album. There's actually two. There you go.

Un Mes Despues

Translation: a month later. It also rhymes, just in case you didn't know.Let's see, what have I been doing lately? Well, Point number 1: Buenos Aires Pub Crawl. Probably the most borracha I have ever been in my life but also fun as all hell. We went around to four bars, and ended at a bariloche called LOST where we got to jump the line. Which was also very cool. However, I got lost at lost, and subsequently walked home. Probably better too, because I doubt I could have stayed on my feet for much longer. Before we started bar hopping we were promised "unlimited wine, beer, and pizza!" what this really meant is that we gathered in a plaza and had to fight tooth and nail for all of the above. Mostly pizza though, there was enough wine and beer to go around. At each bar we went to we got a free shooter, and somehow I managed to drink three shooters at each bar...and ended the night with a tequila shot...but it was a total blast...lots of dancing and plenty of good friends and good times. So: Buenos Aires Pub Crawl: highly recommended.



Traveling: I went to El Tigre, which is this little town where people live in stilt houses on the river. I love it. I positively adore getting out of the city. Who knew such a big place could be claustrophobic? Tigre was nice, but just a day trip- we took a boat tour around the river and saw all sorts of things. But in all reality I couldn't tell you much about it because the tour guide spoke in spanish and I understand nothing. Well, that's not true- but I find that listening and understanding spanish is actually physically exhausting. Listening to someone speak for an hour and a half and having to translate it in your head, is positively tiring. Entonces, I have to space out every now and then. And I was enjoying the river, so I didn't want to spoil it with being too tired. Pictures here are a little dock on the river and my friend Nick enjoying Mate on the boat ride, which is not, despite what you may believe, yogurt, crushed up bugs, drugs, or even slightly hallucinogenic. It's just funny tea.





Also: We went to Colonia for a day (which is in Uruguay by the way), and it was so beautiful and quiet and wonderful and I loved it. The end. I want to move there and have children there. I took some of my favorite pictures yet on this trip, and I felt like I was in a dream the entire time I was there. We started out the day with a walk around town, and them met up again to have lunch, and afterwards we went to the beach (a beach on the biggest river in the world, mind you), and relaxed there for awhile, and then walked back to town and had wine and cheese on the pier. Love Ruby's...but it had nothing in comparison to this. I also bought my mother's birthday present and an ashtray that looks like a foot that I adore. My host brother's girlfriend, Ro, also adores it and we both ash it in as a bonding activity. Wow, look at me making friends with ashtrays. Now that's talent. Pictures here: Me in front of a lighthouse-it was one of the first things I saw there and seemed like a good tourist opportunity. Also, a man on the rocky side of the beach...one of my favorites...the sandy beach, and sharing wine on the pier watching the sunset.

Here's a few more because I love them

I swear guys, I'll figure out html soon, or at least find a good template so my pictures are better organized for your viewing.

I love you all so much!  Thanks for reading and leaving love, makes my day.

MUAH.

Tengo Tango!

The title of my blog is my first spanish pun- for those of you who speak nadie, it means "I have tango!" Because, I went to a tango dance and dinner. Thus, I have it. The place we went served dinner, which was appetizers, drinks, a main course, and postre (dessert). There were two singers, one a man and a woman, and they always were singing about buenos aires...I feel like the pride people have living here outdoes anything in the US. People who were born and raised are called "porteños." Sort of exotic...I am a fan. My favorite picture here. I ALSO went and saw the black knight tonight...and it was basically the best thing I've seen in my life. Heath Ledger's last performance was indeed one to remember. 
In other news, I also visted "la museo de la ciudad" which was less of a museum than a toilet exhibit. Really, there were all sorts of toilets! There were old toilets, new toilets, painted toilets, holes in the ground. However, there was also a really old record player which we got to listen to. And that was neat. I had to miss class for it, and for a literal shit hole I would say that it wasn't worth it. We celebrated my friend Jacqlen's birthday the other night (sam birthday as my mom), and she picked out a very suave wine bar. So cool, right? Bla bla, no, but the IRONIC part of it all is that my mother's friend Jim visited her recently and he told my mom about this place that she absolutely had to go to. Turns out it's the same place! How ironic! I love it. AND I was going to take her there anyways. As of right now, I have no had dinner, because no one is home to cook, so an apple and a cereal bar will have to do.

Or I could always just go to the McDonald's across the street, although the thought is making me sort of nauseated. I guess Sunday night will be a night in, which I don't mind too much. There is a cafe right next to my house with wonderful postres, but I think I will have to pass on postre for ever. That's okay. Well, except for my host mom's bread pudding.
As far as al campo vs. la ciudad goes, there's some heavy drama! The president's husband is the past president, and also the current vice president. The congress was up all night voting, and when the last ballot was dropped it was his, and he voted against his wife for al campo. At about four in the morning I heard pots banging and people screaming and honking horns. Although I am not sure why I was so surprised...I hear that every night. School: took my midterm exam on friday and I think that it went quite well. Just one more week of intensive spanish, and then school starts for real! I am excited to meet the rest of the student in the university, and at least try to communicate with them. I felt like I had so much news, but now that I write this I realized I really only wanted to post pictures. 

One more: from the tango bar. Okay two...I fell in love with the accordian player. He was so cute!!

Day 12 and it seems like a lifetime

hellooooo Buenos Aires. This picture is my view from the balcony outside my room...this was the first day that I was here. It seems like forever ago that I got on a place to fly to the otherside of the world! But, alas, it has only been twelve days. However, those twelve days are better than I expected...it's hard being here, not knowing how to speak the language, the most simple things seem impossible. Phone calls are about the price of a pair of prada shoes, so you can imagine how many of those I make. Regardess, I am doing well.

Besides the first incident I had with the subway where it bit me...Meaning I didn't mind the gap and fell in between the subway and the platform, and the night I walked about a mile in heels and bled all over my shoes- physically i am fine. Although, already getting a little fat. The food here is all carbs, and all fried. But it's good, getting home cooked meals every night has its pros and it's cons, I think I will just have to stop eating all together...besides dinner that is. Right now I am in a basic level spanish class, for three weeks, and then school starts for real. My host family is great, my host mother is very loving and all the fears that I had about staying in a homestay are quelled. She has nine children! (Catholic, much?) But only two of them live at home, and a third is visiting with her own children as well. I love eating dinner and listening to the conversations that my family has, I am understanding more spanish every day, and I remind myself that I am here to become fluent in the language. My room is small, but nice. It is less than a quarter of the size of a room in Braden...remember that funny old dorm guys? It's okay though, i have a door to the outside, and besides the city constantly radiating sirens and horns and god knows what else, it is a prime location. Yesterday, I went to a demonstration of the people "del campo." Of the country. Right now there is alot of tension regarding agricultural taxes and the like...it seems like this new president of theirs is making things much worse...although she is a woman. The demonstration allegedly had over one million people! I took my camera and took pictures-- my favorite below.

This boy was standing on top of this statue for about half an hour, waving the argentine flag like his life depended on it. The vibe was great as well, venders wandered around selling ice cream and these funny sweet nuts they sell on the streets. People bought flags....I did! and waved it around (que claro). I also found that although i was told to be very careful with my personal belongings, watch out for people trying to rob me, the people of the country were very good natured. Whenever I stopped to ask someone if I could take their picture, they asked me where I was from, and were never cruel because I couldn't speak spanish too well. More pictures to come...more words too. I find that my english is depleting and I cannot write nearly as well. I have also started thinking in a bad spanish accent, because that is they only way I ever hear english spoken! I also tend to substitute words in english for spanish...maybe it's a blessing in disguise, but I am worried about how my essays will sound when I get back! Missing every one of you.....

besos.