October 27th

The disparities between U.S. and Argentine school systems are vast. Lets just say I am incredibly grateful for the school systems of the U.S. My first day of school only 2 of my 4 teachers were present. Students were burning papers in the middle of class and throwing crumpled up papers in the fanblades (which were landing on students heads, including mine) for at least a good 20 minutes. The teacher did absolutely nothing.  The students show no respect whatsoever, and the teachers let the students take advantage of them. It was utter chaos.The private school I attended for 2 days (private school should have higher standards,right?) had 10 subjects distributed throughout the week, and instead of students moving to different classrooms, the teachers move. Honestly, there is no way on earth I am going to be able to deal with this 6 hours a day everday. I was quite upset and talked to my host family about this. They were very understanding and I am trying to transfer to the university here to study languages. It's very close to my house and I am going to talk to the teacher and director of the school to see if this is possible.
Today is the national census of Argentina, and no one has to attend school. Also, the previous president Nestor Kirchner (from 2003-2007) passed away today from a heart condition at the age of 60. There will be no school tomorrow in light of this. Kirchner's wife, Cristina Kirchner is the current president. Each presidential term here is 4 years, and the next election is in March. Instead of a White House in Argentina, there is a Casa Rosada (Pink House) which is located in Buenos Aires. I went to a Rotary Club Asado (BBQ) last night and didn't get home until 3.It's difficult for my body to stay up so late and wake up so early, and get almost no sleep on the weekends. I'm constantly tired, but it's worth it. I'm still adjusting to the time change and long days here. I wake up and my mind still thinks I'm in California.
Since I last wrote, I attended a very elegant quinceanera, and learned how to dance southamerican style. The popular music here is reggaeton, cumbia, and american music. Daddy Yankee is well liked. I did some pretty intense hiking in the mountains near my house.Every Sunday, my family has an asado with all different types of meat, including chorizo, morcilla, costilla,vacilo,and lomo en tira. I had the wonderful privilege of accompanying my host parents to the carniceria to purchase the meat, which definitely scarred me a little bit. There is this huge grinder that cuts through the bloody bones of meat, and splatters all over the floor. I am easily grossed out. Argentines eat EVERY part of the cow. We have meat everyday. My iron levels will no longer be low!
I also went 4 wheeling a couple days ago with my host cousin and toured the city that I live in. There are stray dogs everywhere, and some were chasing us.I'm glad I have my rabies shots!
I met the most attractive man in the entire world a couple days ago at a restaurant. He was our waiter, and i kid you not, he has the most beautiful teeth and accent in the entire world.
I am reading my first legitimate book in spanish, "Herede, un fantasma."
I am still loving the plethora of kisses I get everyday. I wish everyone in the world had the affection that Argentines have.
I have been having weird dreams, which is totally normal because I always have super vivid and abnormal dreams.
At night, the wind is SUPER intense. The sounds I hear at night consist of very strong spurts of wind, and dogs barking.

I've been in Catamarca for 3 days

After 15 long hours of being in planes and 6.5 hours of being in a car, I am finally in the beautiful San Fernando del valle de Catamarca. It literally takes ten minutes to walk from my house to the mountains, which are absolutely stunning.I am kind of living in a desert. There's cactus everywhere, and I don't wear makeup because it would just sweat right off (It's only spring!).oh! Theres a salt desert 30 mins away from my house.When I landed in Argentina, I immediately noticed the majority of the males(who are beautiful btw) have longer hair than men in the U.S. The Castellano accent is muy impresionante. It's quite different than the spanish i was taught.The differences are:
the y makes a j sound
the ll makes a j sound
the s's aren't prounced
the vos form is used
and everyone speaks SO fast
But my spanish is coming along quite nice. I haven't met one person that speaks english (which is good) and I literally think in spanish. It's so weird typing in english..I'm honestly forgetting my english-it takes me a second to think of certain words.But whenever someone speaks to me, my heart just flutters with happiness and intrigue at the accent.
I've never recieved so many kisses in my life. I literally get like 20 kisses on my cheek a day. I love how friendly,warm-hearted, and outgoing the Argentines are. They are truly beautiful people. Family is very important in this culture. I've met quite a bit of members of my host family, who by the way are incredibly kind. Every night my host mom "blesses me" and says Dios te bendiga and kisses me goodnight on the cheek. Everyone stays up super late here-till 2 or 3 in the morning. I'm going to a quinceanera tonight that starts at 10pm and ends at 6am.
Differences I've noticed so far include:
Family is of utmost importance here. Meals are important too
Everything is in celcius, kilometers, and military time
There are a greater number of police
There is a siesta from 3-5 where the negocios (businesses) close and the town sleeps
The keys are all gold and really cool looking.They look ancient.
Clothes dryers do not exist.
The cashiers in the grocery stores have chairs that they sit in instead of standing.
There is a bedet in the restroom
Foods I've tried so far:
Lengua de vaca (cow tongue)
Dulce de leche yummmm
pastel de papas (cake of potatoes) It has fried potatoes, olives, eggs, beef
milanesa de vaca-carne de vaca con pan
flan (I've definitely had this in the U.S. though)
Oh! we also have a limited amount of water for the year, so there are certain times of the day where we can't use water. It never rains here, so we have a very limited supply. I start school Monday!

SIX DAYS

I depart October 19th for Catamarca, Argentina. I am enjoying the last bits of Autumn before I leave, as it will be Springtime when I arrive in Argentina. The kaleidoscope of colors of leaves and the brisk fall mornings are just lovely. I purchased a plug converter, new white vans,last minute essentials yesterday, and also applied to CSUS.The excitement is definitely rising, it's so close! I'm stoked to finally meet my host family, the Sotomayors', as I have been conversing with them via skype for months now, and they have been so affectionate and kind-hearted.
I've been under the weather for about three weeks now, so I'm drinking all the green tea I can to get better before I leave.
So I have 3 flights in all. I fly out of sacramento at 11:25 am the 19th to Georgia, Georgia to Buenos Aires, and Buenos Aires to Cordoba (arriving in Cordoba at 3:20 pm the 20th, and have a five hour car ride from Cordoba to Catamarca. Luckily, I am meeting up with an exchange student, jamie, in Georgia, that is also flying to Cordoba.
That's it for now!
Abrazos(hugs) Chau!