Hey! I re-found my blog!

Well, I thought I had lost it!!
So, For all of you guys out there in the US or where ever you are, here´s what´s been happening the past few days.
The travel agent finally got my papers in and booked my flight for this past Thursday, which I was a little conflicted about since I wanted to go to the Dawn Dand which was SO CLOSE, but I think it´s a good thing that I got out of the country, since I was really just in limbo there.
The flight went well; there were really no mishaps. Ma and DAddo dropped me off at the airport and there were some tears, but there was a nice man in the customs line who just kept talking and asking me questions and pretty soon my mind was off missing peopele. The flight to DAllas went well and we even got a movie!!
In Dallas, I met up with another exchange student who was a really cool girl. She is actually doing a bi-weekly travel column for here local newspaper from here in Argentina. The flight to Buenos Aires was really long, but I didn´get some sleep in the teeny tiny seat I was assigned. Those political cartoons about air travel really have it right.
Flying in over BS AS was crazy, the city looks huge from teh air and is accentuated by the fact that, other than in the cities, there really aren´t that many small towns. It´s not like in the states where you can see the lights of one city while you´re flying over another. Here, there are just big streches of land with nothing nothing nothing.
We went through customs, which was terrifying for me simply because I worry irrationally sometimes, BUT I was missing a paper that I was supposed to get from the Embassy that the travel agent hadn´t given me! So I had to wait for probably 10 minutes (it felt like longer) while the officials went into the back room and verufied that I was not an international criminal.
We took the bus to Aeroparque, the domestic airport, which was cool because it gave us a chance to see a little of BS AS. From the airport, the city seems to grow out f the ground. First there are fields and lots of horses, then these ramshakle pueblo esque houses with laudry hanging everywhere and lots of color, then more modern looking buildings, churches, bridges, and finally you get to the center of the city and there is gorgeous architecture and statues and, well, everything that you see in the tour books. The flight to Corrienes was fine and when we got to the airport (which is under cunstruction and currently housed in a two room building) Rosana, Bianca and her friend Elen were waiting for me with a big welcome sign.
We drove though Corrientes to their home in Resistencia which is an absolutely beautiful house. What surprised me though, is that the whole ward and house right up to the sidewalk is walled in. They tell me that there are a lot of robbers in the city. Most of the houses on Monteagudo and the surrounding area are outfitted the same way.
The night I got there, I hung ou with Bianca and here friends and played music and talked and then, at about 11 (2300) when Horacio, my host dad, came home, we went out for dinner. I was so tired by that time that they basically ordered for me and I don´t think I contributed to the conversation at all, but the food was delicious and I think my family understood that I was a little out of it.
It´s coustomary here to stay out until all hours, especially on the weekend. on Saturday night, I went with Bianca and BRuno (my host siblings) to a local concert in the city, then Bianca and I came home and went almost directly back out to a party at a friend´s house where there was an excellent guitarist playing. He played tango and bossa nova (with an excellent Brazillian singer accompanying him) and also sang some Guarani, the native language of this area. It was a great time, but we were out until 3 (0300) and I was so tired that I didn´t really appreciate the last hour of music. I just wanted to sleep.
On Sunday morning, the whole family was over for Sunday lunch. There were counsis and aunts and uncles, and I don´t think I remeber everyone´s name. BUT we ate asado, which was absolutely delicious. I also drank mate with the abuela. Mate is a traditional Rio de la Plata/ Rio Panara herbal drink and I would have to say that it is... interesting. But so many peple drink it here, you seee people with the traditional cup and straw with a thermos of hot water under there arm in the street, in the park, in the supermarket.
Also in all the streets are horses. People cart around old lumber and wire and other materials in horse drawn carts and at night they let the horses graze by the side of the road.
Last night was Bruno´s brithday party and my first exposure to younger people other than Bianca´s friends (who are very sweet and inclusive and generally girls). So, those of you who know me might not be surprised to hear that I was a little shy and a less than super outgoing in a room filled with about 20 young men watching futbol. At the moment, I understand what people say and can respond well when they are talking directly at me, or in a small group of people, but a conversation with a lot of people goes right over my head. So it took quite a bit of time for me to walk into the room and sit down, butluckily, when I did, I sat down next to one of the friendliest, most outgoing boys in the room who immediately turned to me pointed to the boy next to him and said, in Spanish ¨Do you have a boyfriend? Because he has a girlfriend, but he thinks you´re prettier¨an announcement that was hailed by said neighbor with shouts of ¨mentiras! mentiras!¨ and general laughter. After that, the boy next to me, who goes by Leche, and a bunch of others spent most of the night trying to teach me new words (Rosana told them to behave themselves) joking around with each other (generally telling me that one or the other was un maricon) and asking questions about music, and the US. It really turned out to be a lot of fun. And, I don´t know if I mentioned this, but Argentinias go to be really late... I was in bed last night at 4:40 and I don´t think all the guests had left yet.
So generally, things are going great here! It´s really a lot of fun :)