A Pool Party, a Downtown Adventure, and a...FINAL

Well folks, it's been a while since my last update, but I thought I should get another one in before I leave for the beach tomorrow - yes, the beach! We're going to the beach with the church here for the next five days! But more on that...well, more on that when I've actually gone to the beach.

But let's pick up where I left off...last week ended well with Thursday and Friday being a couple of chill days with not too much to do other than class and homework. Saturday, the youth group had an event that was kind of like a scavenger hunt/Amazing Race except we weren't hunting for anything and it wasn't a race. Let me explain. Basically, we walked several blocks from the church then on our way back we had to do something ridiculous every couple of blocks: do 100 crunches on the sidewalk, pick up and carry two ants, sing a song to a storeowner, have bat races (spin around a bat 5 times then try to run), take pictures with five strangers, wrap group members in toilet paper and carry them down the street, and climb a tree and scream like Tarzan (which Krystal and I did with glee). Let me just say, it was absolutely hilarious and Elisabeth Balasa definitely got some good blackmail material with her pictures and videos.

That night, we had a short youth group time with a message, then we went over to one of the guys' houses to swim and grill out some hamburgers. Once again I experienced the high context culture when the leaders just said, "Oh, lets meet at Marcos's house at ten, see you there," assuming everyone automatically knew where his house was and how to get there. Once we asked for directions, they were very helpful, but responded with statements that conveyed "Oh yeah, I guess that does make sense that you need help getting there." When we arrived, I almost felt like I was back in the States - burgers on the grill, bottles of CocaCola on the table, people splashing and yelling in the pool - the only difference was that little thing people like to call a "language".

Overall, we had an absolute blast that night!! With some of the girls, we played the "Ha, haha, hahaha" game which involves laying our heads on each others' stomachs, making a laughing noise, and trying not to laugh for real. We never once made it through without laughing but it was absolutely hilarious and a fun way to connect with the girls. Then, the guys took it upon themselves to make sure everyone enjoyed the pool - a.k.a. they tossed in everyone standing outside, even if those people were in their streetclothes - like I was. Yup, no matter what hemisphere you're in, guys will still be guys.

Sunday, Vic came to church with me in the morning, and after the service we encountered another humorous point of the culture. Miguel, a friend of Ana and Cacho's, was talking to us for a bit saying we could come over for dinner if we wanted and that he would love to help if we ever needed anything. But, about two minutes into the conversation, he asked, "So, do you have boyfriends?" I said yes but Vic said nope, so about a minute later he unashamedly left and brought back his oldest son, Federico. Let me just say, people here aren't well know for their subtlety. I thought he would be happy, but he had seemed a little disappointed when I said I had a boyfriend...then he came back with his second son, Nicolas, and I understood - two sons, two American girls - it had seemed like a perfect equation to him! Guess I spoiled that one. As it turns out, though, the brothers seemed extremely nice and sincere, and we chatted with them and one of their friends for several minutes. It's fun to be getting to know more people at that church in addition to the people I know from the other youth group.

Sunday night, the five girls returned to the Bachini's to watch the second River and Boca game (this time accompanied by pizza). Boca lost again, but the good news was that I'm definitely learning how to scream like an Argentine and get offended when people talk smack about my team! I suppose I'm not really Argentine yet, though: I was still happy even after Boca lost because I had learned that the Colts are going to the Superbowl. I guess some things won't ever change!

The past week of classes was fairly routine, with one humorous interruption: one day, a group of Koreans toured the university and burst into our class using all two of their Spanish phrases and all three of their English sentences. We were almost over our surprise at this when, as they were leaving, one said, "Can we take picture of the beautiful face?" referring to the whole class. Laughing, we posed as two or three of them whipped out huge cameras and started snapping so many pictures they could have rivaled any member of the poparrazzi stalking Michael Jackson! In that moment, I thanked God that I am not famous.

Other than Korean comedic relief, class time and afternoons this week were consumed with studying for the final exam which we took Thursday. I am pleased to report that I fared well in my first foreign final and ended up with a good final grade! After we came today to receive our grades, several of the students and two professors went out to a little restaurant/bakery and shared all kinds of delectable sandwiches, cakes, and candies. It was a lot of fun to just chat with our prof about Argentina and the U.S. and get to know her a little more as a person. Once we finished there, Anne, Krystal, and I took a train downtown to walk around and see some sights. We saw the Torre Inglesa (a gift from Great Britain that looks a lot like Big Ben), the Obelisko (which looks a lot like the Washington Monument), and the Casa Rosada (which is the presidential palace). Despite the heat, it was a nice relaxing day just strolling around, snapping pictures of historic sites, and hearing random men profess their love to us or tell us of our exquisite beauty (awkward). My favorite line was a guy who said in rapid succession, "Hello, how are you, I'm fine, I love you," then burst out laughing. Maybe one day we'll get used to the attention that comes from just having slightly lighter skin and hair, but it's still a little strange to Anne and I.

Well, before I sign off and head off to the beach, I want to share a couple things God is teaching me through the culture and that were particularly evident during youth group time Saturday. First, when we were doing the scavenger hunt, it wasn't for time and we still haven't found out which team one. To me, that's crazy because I know I would have been sprinting around the city and waiting with bated breath to hear the winner announced. But not them. To them, the time spent chatting with their friends along the way was much more important than time or a prize, and there was no need to hurry. The second situation is similar: even though most everyone knows we won't start youth groups events on time (we started an hour and a half late on Saturday) a lot of people still come on time. Why? Because their friends are there and the hour spent talking with their friends before youth group or in between the events at youth group is a big reason why they come - not necessarily the event.

Now for me, this has been both enlightening and difficult. I am very much a schedule-oriented person, and I am almost always trying to get stuff done as fast as possible. As a result, there have been times I have been very impatient with the youth group because I'm feeling like I need to be doing something productive with my time while they are content to sit and talk. But, it's been so good experience this because God is showing me that the relationships within the body of Christ are immensely more important than any certain event or task we set out to accomplish. Instead of living a life of haste and always being ruled by a clock, I can now start to organize my life based more on spending quality time with others and enjoying being able to share life with them. Now my prayer is that I could find a way to bring that changed attitude back with me and that it wouldn't get overwhelmed by a schedule- and time-oriented culture.

Two Types of Football and a Day of Fun

Well, the last few days have certainly been filled with fun and humor here. But for now I'll just stick to one day again - Wednesday  - when we decided to play American football with Pablo and teach him a few things about the game. We left the university, took two colectivos, and walked several blocks to the beautiful Sarmiento park...then we promptly found out it was closed to the general public. Pablo turned to us with a stricken look on his face, lifted his hands to cover his eyes, and exclaimed, "Todos los dias de mi vida vengo aca y el parque esta abierta!" (Every single day of my life that I've come here and the park has been open!) The Grace girls weren't too concerned, but apparently this was a big deal to Pablo, who throughout the rest of the day would burst into the refrain, "Every day of my life!" as he lamented anew the tragic situation. He said it so many times that now, when any of us girls says the word, "Todos" we all chime in to finish it with "los dias de mi vida". Another saying that has stuck is that when someone asks the time, we all say "mosquito", this due to the fact that Elisabeth Balasa had been asked the time right after she had been bit by the insect, so the conversation sounded like, "What time is it?" "Mosquito."

Back to Wednesday - we walked around and eventually found a small park where we could toss the football and play "500" (and found out that the equivalent of "Jackpot" is "Gordo de Navidad" - literally "the fat man of Christmas"). As we were walking, though, we kept laughing at the whistles, comments, and blown kisses from the men who drive past. We're starting to get accustomed to the fact that, just because we have slightly lighter hair and skin (I would be almost considered a blonde here), we will get more attention than we had ever hoped for. Pablo, though, decided to make a joke of it, and when one particularly enamored trucker yelled a compliment at us, Pablo lifted his hands and shouted back, "Gracias! Thank you, I know I'm beautiful." We all cracked up and went along with it: "Pablo, gosh, can't you get them to stop whistling at you?" "Sorry, I just can't help the fact that they love me!" The most hilarious moment, though, was when we were walking on our own and a trucker yelled at the top of his lungs, in perfect English, mind you, "I LOVE YOU!" to all five of us girls. Since we were all expecting Spanish, it took us to few seconds to register the words before we burst out laughing.

After another couple of colectivos and a short walk, we arrived at Chinin, Pablo's favorite heladeria (ice cream shop). Once again, we all effused gratitude to the dairy gods that worked there for providind us with such luscious creations - okay that's a little extreme, and I promise I'm not a pagan, but it was ridiculously delicious. We then returned to Pablo's house where we would watch a soccer game later that night. But first, since we had some time to kill, we looked up a song our professor had played for us in class - Resistire (I will resist), and we started singing to it at the top of our longs. Okay, for you to understand this song, think of a male rock band singing "I Will Survive" but with more rebellious lyrics and a Rocky Balboa "I will take on anyone and everyone" sort of attitude. With that kind of material, we started to get into the song a little bit - and by a little I mean we belted it out at the top of our lungs! Pablo provided us with instruments - spoons for microphones and drumsticks and an electric guitar I pretended to play with my best air band ability. While we were filming our little ditty, German (Pablo's dad) walked into the house and stood in shock to see several gringas shouting out a famous Argentine song. When we finished, Pablo said he would never forget that moment for the rest of his life.

Then, it was time for the game. There are two futbol teams in Buenos Aires - Boca Juniors and River Plate - and it is probably one of the biggest rivalries world wide. The Bachini's were rooting for Boca, but all three Grace soccer girls decided to be Boca fans - partly just to fight with Pablo, but partly because we liked their style of possession futbol better. Despite the fact that Boca lost, it was a great first South American futbol experience - complete with trash talking, complaining to the officials (aka the TV), and screaming "GOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAL!!" at the top of one's lungs and running around the house when the favored team scores. Oh man, it's great to be in a country that appreciates this sport.

Though the time we spent with the Bachini's was simple - watching a futbol game, eating empanadas, and chatting, it was such a blessing to experience the Latin American hospitality and just to feel like we truly have friends here now. It's amazing that, despite continued difficulties with the language and very different cultural backgrounds, God can still bring people together to form relationships, friendships, and families. I have to say, I'm really starting to like it here :)

Forming Friendships and Futbol in the Park

Hola otra vez from Buenos Aires! I have much to say but little time and less energy, so I'll try to make this a "short version" blog...then again, I try that every time and you've seen how well that worked out :)

Let me begin with some highlights from the end of last week. Thursday we went to Anne's home (another Grace student) and chilled in the pool for the afternoon. I would say we swam, but this pool was about the size of a hot tub in the States, so we mostly just sat there and chatted. It was still a great, relaxing afternoon.

Friday after my merienda (usually tea or mate and crackers around 5 pm), Ana and I played SkipBo, and we both won one game. I think it made her quite happy that we tied rather than someone losing - she's so sweet! That night at dinner, she said, "I'd like to invite you to go out for ice cream with me," and I accepted faster than you can say dulce de leche! It was really great to just sit and talk for about an hour - we chatted about movies, vacations, friends, and many other things as I savored my Dulce de Leche and Swiss Chocolate helado. (In case you don't know what dulce de leche is, it's kind of like caramel except that dulce de leche is to caramel what the ocean is to the puddle I stepped in on the way to class. It's kind of delectable.) Anyway, the sweetest part of the night was when I said "Thank you" to Ana for the helado and she said, "No, thank you. You are such great company and it makes me so happy to have someone to go out with. My husband doesn't really like going out, and since my son moved to the U.S., I don't really have anyone to get ice cream with or to just go out and be around people. I'm so glad you're here!" Let me just say that made my night! Here I thought she was just being nice and buying me helado, but in reality just eating ice cream with her was an opportunity God had given me to show her love!

Saturday also brought a very sweet comment from Ana, but let me give you the context first. That morning, I went with Cacho and Ana to the house of a woman whose husband had recently passed away. I didn't really say much because I never know what to say to a person who is grieving. Plus, they started talking about pensions, retirement, and lots of other complicated and legal things that I don't understand in English! Still, I think just the fact that I went meant something to both the woman and the Basalos. As we were leaving, though, I offered to carry a bag for Ana, and she turned to her friend and said, "She is just great. Hosting her for six months is like having the daughter I never had!" That was so great to hear, because I have been so worried about what they think of me, and I keep wondering if I've offended them or if they don't like me. But just through Ana's few words,  I was reminded that God definitely has me in their home for a reason, and I pray that He will accomplish in and through me what He desires for this time and place.

That brings me to youth group Saturday. This Saturday involved small group time, worship, a message, a crazy sandwich competition, makeshift baseball with a Coke bottle (we started that :) and several rounds of Uno that lasted until about two in the morning. The novelty that night was the sandwich making competition, and most of the teams made sandwiches in the shape of something - a cow, Sid the Sloth, Sponge Bob, a house, even a human foot with a flip flop! I was thoroughly impressed. But since we (the Grace girls) had no idea what the competition was actually about, we decided to throw in a twist and make ice cream sandwiches! They thought we had made it up, but we assured them ice cream sandwiches really do exist in the U.S. Pablo (Elisabeth Balasa's host brother) loved them so much he made us promise to make them when we watch the Superbowl at his house. Plus, the craziness of our sandwiches won us the title of "Most Original" and a liter and a half of Coke. The only way it could have been better was if we had had a working freezer...our ice cream sandwiches were melted messes by the time they were judged, but the youth group still loved them!

Beyond the ice cream competition, though, the night brought several little blessings: going to small group with the girls and hearing something God had taught each one through His Word that week; praising God in Spanish and finally having lyrics on a screen so I could better understand and better worship; hearing a great message about the importance of not just reading Scripture but doing what it says (a message accompanied, of course, by a futbol analogy); and feeling more and more a part of the group by continuing to make relationships and spend time with people I hadn't met the previous weeks. I really love this group, and I hope I get to spend plenty more time with them!

Sunday was incredible as well, despite the fact that I only got three hours of sleep Saturday night :/ After some mate cocido and facturas, I was good to go for church. The worship time was incredible and totally Spirit-filled, and the sermon was a great reminder that we are part of a spiritual kingdom, and that we are to "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." (Col 3) Then, after the sermon, one of the pastors asked for those who wanted renewal from the Holy Spirit to stand, then asked the people around them to pray for them. Cacho, Ana, and their friend Ilse all stood and we prayed together as the pastor also led in asking God to pour out His Spirit afresh on this church. It was incredible and I'm so glad to be going to a church that takes seriously seeking after the Lord and being filled by His Spirit!

Monday was a fairly typical day of classes, dinner with the family, and watching an Argentine soap opera with Ana. (and here I thought our soap operas were dramatic!) Yesterday, on the other hand, was a less than typical day because after classes we went with Pablo to a park to play some futbol (soccer for you Yankis) and it was an absolute blast! We started out playing with Pablo and six girls (four of the Gracies, Pablo's sister Ivana, and Allison, a girl from our class who plays for Stanford), and before we began he said, "Don't be surprised if you get an audience. You don't ever see girls playing futbol here, so people might stop and stare." He wasn't kidding. Within the first five minutes, we had probably about ten people watching (some discreetly from a backyard about fifty feet away), and every single person who walked past did a double take when they saw us playing. As Pablo explained later, many Argentines have a machista (male chauvinist) attitude toward futbol, so it really is rare to see girls who play.

After each team had put a few goals through the arco (which consisted of our backpacks laying on the ground), some younger guys started to join the game. Little by little a few more people joined, and we had a decent-sized game going. (This made Pablo a little nervous because - playing protector again - he didn't want any of us to get hurt or any of the guys to say anything innappropriate to us. But in the end there weren't any problems.) I was pleasantly surprised that the guys still passed to us a decent amount, despite the fact that we are females. But needless to say, these guys could trick our socks off like none other - even the kid who was half my size and maybe 9 years old. It seriously looked like they had the ball on the string and they were just pulling it around and changing directions at their slightest whim. Plus, they could put spin on the ball like I've never seen before! As Pablo told me later, though, he liked our style of play better. He said, "Those guys will do a million tricks but never actually go anywhere with the ball. But your style of play is lindo (~pretty) because you have lots of little quick passes and good ball movement that you share among your team." I thought that quite a big compliment coming from an Argentine, and I hope we made Coach Voss proud. Overall, it was an absolute blast and we all thoroughly enjoyed a chance to play a little futbol in the park South American style!

As I mentioned briefly, Allison (one of the girls from our class) played with us, and she spoke Spanish with us almost the whole time! We've been getting a lot more opportunities to interact with the other students even though at times that has meant speaking some English. We ate lunch with another girl from the U.S. one day last week, and we've eaten lunch a couple of times with Roberta, a girl from Germany. Roberta even showed a little interest in our church here, but she leaves at the end of the month and plans to be traveling the rest of the weekends :( But it's been cool to see that God has answered our prayers about wanting to have more interaction with the other students, and I hope He continues to give us opportunities to further build those relationships.

Before I go, I want to tell you a few cultural things I've picked up on during my time here. First, they always wear shoes in the house. Krystal mentioned that part of the reason for this was an old wives tale that you could get electrocuted if you opened the refrigerator while barefoot. Also, when eating bread at dinner, you leave the piece of bread on the table instead of putting it on your plate. Here, stop signs are treated more as gentle suggestions to slow down or maybe just be slightly aware that there is an intersection. Also, we almost always have fruit for dessert after meals, which I am a big fan of! I'm not a fan of the fact that here, it's not fairly culturally acceptable to leave your dog's waste on the sidewalk for any unsuspecting pedestrian to discover - gross! What's also funny is noting a couple things that aren't different here - like Ana telling Cacho to slow down because he drives too fast, using some of the same phrases I've heard from many wives in the U.S. :) Or the fact that watching a TV show like Candid Camera or Punk'd is funny in any language!

Overall, the past few days have been amazing, and though I still have "those days", I'm feeling more settled in and I'm loving the relationships that I've been building here. And as I go from day to day, I'm trying to keep in mind the words of a praise song we sang at youth group - that every day we can look to tomorrow with hope because we know God will be with us and all that truly matters is that He will be faithful to us and continue to grow us as we walk with Him.

A Frustrating Day and a Faithful God

Well, this past week (like any week) has had its ups and downs, and I've certainly learned a lot about the culture - and myself. But I'm going to break my blogging trend and just tell you about one day, Wednesday, which felt like the longest (and in some ways, most frustrating) day of my life. Now to preface this story, the day ended well and nothing really went wrong, it was just a seemingly infinite series of little culture clashes and frustrations.

The day began well with a good day of classes, then I walked back from the university to meet Cacho and go pick up a package my parents had sent me. This is where the culture clashes began, and I soon experienced firsthand the fact that Argentina is a high context culture (that is, a lot of things are assumed from context rather than said explicitly). First, Cacho assumed that when he said "Let's meet at Cabildo and Juramento to take a bus to go get your package", I would understand that to mean "Actually, let's meet two blocks away from that corner where the bus stop is that we'll use." Of course, I had never used that bus stop, so I stood waiting at Cabildo and Juramento until Cacho came and found me 20 minutes later. Second, Cacho assumed that I would know that getting my package involved at least a 30 minute train ride downtown, a possible hour (or longer) wait for my turn to find my package, and hoping my package made it through customs. All the while I had been thinking that I would only have to run to a corner post office and grab the package - I guess that's what I get for assuming.

Well, this whole time I'm looking anxiously at the time because I had told Victoria I would meet her at 6 o'clock to walk to the movie theater where the youth group was going to see Avatar. After running back to my house and dumping my package, I hastily took a colectivo to where I was meeting Vic, got off at a slightly wrong stop, and showed up about 5 or 10 minutes late. We began to walk (quickly) to a movie theater we had never been to, hoping that the streets we thought we could take didn't randomly stop or go in a wrong direction. After one slightly wrong turn, we  reached the mall that held the theater, asked where it was, and arrived at the theater to find....absolutely no one from the youth group. After much deliberation, we decided we'd try to buy a ticket and hope to find the youth group already inside the theater. Of course, we had to ask where to buy a ticket, at which point we encountered another aspect of the culture - if you ask for help, people won't tell you they don't know, even if they don't. So, an eager-to-help couple told us the wrong line which we stood in for ten minutes until (fortunately) we spotted Pablo and the other Grace girls.

Then it got even better - Pablo told us we were all in the wrong theater. He had assumed (and thus told us) that we would being going to the theater in Dot, when in actuality the youth group was meeting at a different mall - and since it is a high context culture, he hadn't asked and the others hadn't specified. By then it was too late to make it to the other theater or watch the 3D version at our theater, so we decided (after much discussion and indecision) to watch the non-3D, Spanish version of Avatar that started a little later. At this point, I tried to text Cacho to tell him I'd be getting back later...and I found that for some reason, my cell phone currently won't send texts or make calls. Awesome.

In the end, we grabbed some dinner, watched the movie (which was good even with the Spanish dubbing), and got back to our houses with no problem, but by then I was absolutely brain-fried, frustrated, and exhausted. Here's an excerpt from my journal that night: "Today was a really long day and I'm exhausted, in a bad mood, and frustrated. So many little things went wrong today...It's times like this I can't wait to go back. It's times like this I feel like I just want to curl up in a ball and cry or sleep for a few days. It's times like this I'm dying for a hug from someone back home  - or at least just to talk to someone and hear it's all going to be okay. But I know it's times like this I have to depend on God, I have to turn to Him to be my comfort, my energy, my joy. Lord, I've got nothing left. Will You fill me up?"

And He did. He gave me words from Isaiah reminding me of His glory, His light that shines on me, and that my delight is in Him. He gave me rest and opportunities to unwind the next couple of days, and an awesome weekend of worship at youth group and church (more on that in my next blog). And He gave me the encouragement of videochats with my boyfriend and my parents, and both times they prayed for me and pointed me back to His faithfulness, love, and power.

After this day of culture clashes and frustrations, I'm certain of two things. First, my life will never be free of frustrating times - not here in Buenos Aires and not when I return. Second, and so much more important, God is so faithful through all the frustrations, culture clashes, and exhaustion, and He uses those times to draw me closer to Him.

Clases, Colectivo y Comida!

Well, folks, it's been a while since my last entry so I apologize in advance if the length of this entry surpasses that of your local library's largest encyclopedia! But yes, there is much to tell...this past week brought the start of classes. Monday, we took a placement exam to determine which intensive Spanish class we would be taking for the next month. In the end, all five Grace students tested into Intermediate II, the class we needed to be in! Classes began the next day and I entered the routine that will continue for the next few weeks: get up to eat breakfast (toast and tea), meet Victoria for the ~45 minute walk to the university, attend the first couple parts of class, go to "Taller 4" to eat lunch (I usually have a delicious sandwich and apple packed for me by Ana), finish up class, hang out with Vic or return home, do some homework or take a nap, eat merienda, talk about anything and everything with Ana and Cacho, eat whatever deliciousness they have prepared for dinner, read and do devos, go to bed, then get up to start it all over again! Those of you who know me well realize that I am actually quite happy to have a routine now :)

Classes have gone really well so far - I'm learning a ton. I must admit, I love learning Spanish grammar, so this intensive Spanish class is a blast for me! Go ahead, call me a nerd - I take it as a compliment! Class usually starts with a quote that we are to discuss, checking homework, then beginning the day's new grammar topic. After five hours and two breaks, class ends after playing some sort of game that helps us practice the grammar or makes us learn new vocab. I really like our professor - Ines - who is a mere 27 years old but does a great job teaching and explaining the reasoning behind certain grammar rules.

Being in this class is a bit of a new experience for me, and not just because it's in Argentina. Since there are students from several different universities in our class, I am for the first time having daily interaction with a large number of nonbelievers, people with beliefs very different from my own. It's actually been a really cool experience because I really think through my responses before I voice an opinion in class, and I've been introduced to many different points of view. One specific example of this came with our discussion over homework this morning. To practice stating opinions, we discussed whether or not we believed cohabitation before marriage is beneficial. Now, my Christian worldview automatically said no because I believe God created those bonds to be for life (for our own good), but I knew I would need a solid defense in this class. So, when I was doing my homework the night before, I looked up some statistics about the probability of divorce after cohabitation. The crazy thing, though, is that when I shared my opinion against cohabitation, the professor seemed extremely surprise and asked, "Oh, is that a common view in the U.S.?" But the other students quickly showed that such a view is rather uncommon in the U.S. - no students except for those of us from Grace were completely against the idea of cohabitation, and most considered marrying before living toghether almost unthinkable. Like I said, this has been a new experience to me and it has taught me that I need to pack faith, intelligence, and grace into a single statement in hopes that I can well defend the truth I believe without the other students thinking I'm a judgmental and close-minded jerk.

Speaking of not being judgmental, Vic and I have discussed a dilemma we're encountering in our class. We want to form relationships with and be witnesses to the other students in our class, but almost all of them speak English when we aren't in class. Now, Grace students have to sign a covenant saying we will truly try to speak Spanish only while we are here because we know that if we don't, we won't be forced to use and practice it as much and we won't learn nearly as much. But is that a good enough reason to somewhat cut ourselves off from the other students? We don't want them to have a negative opinion of us (and Christians in general) simply because we are trying to stick to a rule. It's hard to know what to do since we can't know the future consequences of either action, but we are definitely hoping to find discernment to know how we can strike a balance between the two options.

Well, after a week of classes, the five of us Grace girls went to spend the night at Elisabeth Balasa's host home. It was absolutely a blast! The family consists of German, the dad and a pastor who is a little quieter than the rest but hilarious; Maricela the crazy mom who was cracking jokes from the moment we entered the door; Pablo the 20 year old brother who is at once the protective older brother type and the sarcastic brother who will mock you whenever he gets the chance; and Ivana the 16 year old daughter who is great and one of the few females here who actually likes to play soccer! All in all, the weekend was awesome. Friday we went to get helado (ice cream), played cards, had pizza night with the fam (um, I officially LOVE the pizza here), watched a movie, and got made fun of for falling asleep before two or three in the morning. The next day we slept in, made grilled cheese for Pablo and Ivana to try, watched some futbol (soccer), and then another movie before going to youth group. I have to say that the food and the jokes were the highlight (like when Pablo taught us the phrase "Descubriste America" which literally means "You discovered America" but is similar to our "Thank you, Captain Obvious). I definitely hope we get the chance to hang out with them some more.

Saturday night with the youth group was again a lot of fun, but I realized I was absolutely exhausted so I had a hard time interacting with them. Being naturally an introvert (some of you may not believe that), it really takes a lot out of me to constantly be with people, so there have been times here where I get to a level of tiredness that comes right before I snap. Thankfully, I made it through youth group without chewing anyone's head off, so that was good. And I'm also super excited for the first part of youth group which is a small group time. One young woman, Abby (who is actually from Brazil) lead off our time with some generic questions but quickly cut to the chase. She said, "I'm going to be direct: do you girls have devotion time? Every day? What are you reading? What are your prayer needs?" Although it's a bit uncomfortable (especially in another language), I've always had a desire to be part of a group that takes seriously the need to encourage each other in our faith and not be scared to be confrontational (but loving) about it. I really hope that this will continue to grow into a good relationship of people honestly seeking the Lord together.

After youth group ended, I again stayed the night at Vic's house so I wouldn't have to take a bus at night. But Sunday morning, I took the colectivo by myself for the first time ever! And I'm pretty sure all the people on the bus could tell, too, because I was nervously checking every street sign that went past to make sure I didn't miss my stop! I made it, though, which was good. After I got back and showered, we headed to Ana and Cacho's church for the morning service. It was a bit of a frustration, though, because I was still really tired and I could barely understand anything the pastor said because of feedback on the microphone adding to my lack of understanding the language. Plus, they didn't have the words for the songs up, so I couldn't sing along nearly as much as last Sunday. I'm just hoping that I can find a way to go to church not tired and that I understand more and more of the language so I can actually concentrate on what the pastor is saying! The rest of the day was spent eating with Ana and Cacho or working on a presentation for Spanish class.

Before I go, I have to give a little side note to explain all the amazing food I have eaten here. First, helado. If anyone tells you the ice cream in the U.S. is the same as the ice cream in Argentina, slap them in the face and call them a liar! Not really, but seriously the ice cream here is absolutely delicious! I've gone three times in the past week and I am still craving more! My favorite time was when Ana invited me out for ice cream and we kind of just had a "ladies night" sitting outside and eating helado. It was cool to hear stories about her life, stuff from when she was younger, even more personal stuff like her saying, "Yeah, it definitely takes me a long time to make good friends," and me realizing that is exactly how I am! But anyway, back to the food. The second thing is the empanadas. The little cafe across from the university has these delicious carne empanadas that I want to eat everyday! But I don't because I don't have that much money :) Next come the facturas. These kind of take the place of donuts here, but they're definitely very different. The kind I had Sunday morning are called "medialunas" and they are crescent rolls covered with some kind of sugar glaze or something...let me just say I think these will be served instead of bread in heaven! Finally, the asado and other steaks. Steak and beef are more common here than chicken, so I've eaten more good steaks in two weeks than the rest of my life combined! The other day I came to the table to find a steak the size of my head and a couple inches thick sitting on my plate - and let me tell you it was the most delicious morsel of meat that has ever encountered my molars! (Excuse the excessive aliteration). I just know that I will definitely miss the beef when I return to the states.

Well, I should probably go and catch some zzz's before a day of classes then a night at the movies with the youth group. Hasta pronto!

3 Days, 2 Churches, 1 Transportation Dilemma

Hello again from Buenos Aires! The adventures here continue...on Friday, Cacho and Ana drove me to see the university, then we went to a park where there were lakes, running paths, palm trees, and small green parrots everywhere. It was beautiful! I think I'm going to have to go back there to take a million pictures and take a nice walk all the way around the lake. After we left there, we drove past the River Plate soccer stadium, which is one of the two rival teams here in Buenos Aires...but my family is a Boca Juniors family, so we just glared at the stadium as we drove past :)

Saturday, I started the day with at short run in the plaza - it was short for several reasons. First, the plaza is just a square with side lengths of one city block, so there's not too much space to run. Apparently, though, plenty of people run and walk laps around it and through it. I'll have to get used to that. It was also short because it is hot and humid here! And apparently it's only going to get hotter...but really I can't complain since in Indianapolis it was 2 degrees Fahrenheit when my parents woke up - I'll take 80s and 90s, thank you!

After lunch that day (which was some delicious beef and potatoes cooked in a white wine sauce!) I went over to the house where Victoria (one of my roommates at Grace) is staying. It was soo good to see a familiar face and to talk honestly about how we were feeling! We had both felt completely overwhelmed and isolated our first night here, so it was good to be able to talk and share. From Vic's house, we went to the youth group of one church here.

Before I talk about the youth group, let me explain two things: first, youth groups here are a little different. It's not just junior high and high school - the term "jovenes" (young people) includes people in their twenties, so those people still come to youth group. Some ease into more of a leadership role, but they're still there.

Second, I have to explain how we tried to get there. Here there is plenty of public transportation, and the one I will probably use most is the colectivo (what we would call a city bus). But, neither Vic nor I know how to use a city bus in the states, let alone here! So, Ricky (the son of the woman Vic lives with) came with us and we took the colectivo. But apparently, you have to know what bus line to take, where your stop is, what your stop looks like, and how much it will cost to get there - all before you get on the bus. Ricky even said some magic word to the bus driver to explain how much it would cost, but I have no idea what he said! To top it all off, you have to figure this all out in a language you don't know all that well and coins you've never seen in your life! So, along the way we have asked several people how to use a colectivo, but they all explain it as if we kind of already know how to use it! I think I will be searching the Internet for some help later tonight.

The most frustrating part of the transportation dilemma was that I had to get back to my house somehow...but I didn't know how to use the colectivo, and youth group didn't end until 1:30 or 2 in the morning, so it wasn't exactly the safest time to figure it out. I ended up going back to Vic's house (which was closer) and I slept there, thinking I could figure out how to take a colectivo in the morning. In the end, Vic's host mom called my host dad and he just came and picked me up in his car [he didn't pick me up the night before because he doesn't drive at night]. So, in the end, I got back safely, but I still have no idea how to use public transportation!

But let’s return to more interesting news. Saturday night, Vic and I went to youth group (as did Anne, another Grace student) and we had a blast! At first it was pretty awkward – just as it would be going to a new youth group in the States. We were “interviewed” in front of the youth group, but it only consisted of three questions: “What’s your name?”; “How old are you?”; and “Are you single?” When I said I had a boyfriend but Anne and Vic said they didn’t, the guy interviewing us said the equivalent of, “Well, boys, two out of three!!” and all the guys cheered. The evening continued with singing and some of the songs were ones I know in English. It’s always so amazing to me to worship God in another language – it gives me chills to think about how that is just a glimpse of heaven, when people from all nations will join to worship the King!

After singing, there was a short message, then they began a tournament of games as the night had been designated as a game night. Fortunately, with the game night, we got to mix it up with some of the youth, and we found that they are hilarious! I could talk about the night for a while, but I’ll just give a few highlights: playing SkipBo (which they love!) and realizing it’s much more complex than I remembered; playing “soccer tennis” with Vic and losing valiantly almost every time; poking fun at Felipe, the guy Vic and I decided is like the fun younger brother who likes to tease you; eating pigs in a blanket (and teaching them that name for the food); singing “Party in the U.S.A.” with one of the girls; and finding out that many of the girls absolutely LOVE Reik, one of our favorite Mexican bands!! Overall, it was a great night, and I’m excited to get to know the youth even better.

Sunday came fairly early after that late night, but I had the opportunity to go to a different church with Ana and Cacho. As soon as I walked in, I was introduced to “los jovenes” (the young people) and one of the young women had me come sit with them rather than with my host family. We sang a lot of songs I knew in English, and it was apparent that a lot of people at that church are on fire for the Lord!

In the middle of the service, though, I had a bit of an embarrassing moment. The pastor all of the first time visitors stand up, and I was the only one! He had me come up on stage in front of the whole church to introduce myself. When I got on stage, I didn’t realize he intended to give me the traditional kiss on the cheek, so he had to remind me in front of everyone! He then asked me what church I went to in the U.S., but I was rather flustered so I’m not sure what I said. Let me just say I was SO glad to return to my seat!
After the service, Sofia (the young woman I sat with) traded telephone numbers with me and told me she would give me a call if she and the other youth were going to meet up or go out. They seem extremely nice, but I would still be kind of nervous to go out with them without anybody I know! I suppose we’ll see what happens with that. The rest of the day consisted of two meals (one being meat, potatoes and ravioli, the other being pizza – both delicious!), more SkipBo (I won twice), and a nice long nap :) I think I could get used to taking a siesta!
In just the past few days, I’ve learned a lot about the language, the culture, and about faith. First, I’ve learned that generalizations are just that – generalizations. For example, even though most Argentines (and Latin Americans for that matter) are known for their perpetual lateness and lack of rigid schedule, my host family loves punctuality! Also, Ilse said that she wishes the youth groups here would do more planning and less spontaneous excursions!

The second major thing I learned was from the church I went to Sunday morning. Many of the songs they sang had lines such as “I will proclaim Your glory forever” and “my life is filled with Your love, Your presence, and praise for You.” For me, it was a little hard to sing those things because I know how weak I am and I know that I do not always proclaim God’s glory, demonstrate His love, or praise Him with my life. But as the others sang, I began to think that maybe they sing those songs because they believe wholly in the power of God to enable them to do these things. Maybe they are more fixated on His ability, power, and glory than on their own inability, weakness, and fallen nature. In the end, I realized that is something I desire in my own life, and I pray that God can continue to stretch me in that area throughout this trip and beyond.

Well, I could tell you all much more, but my fingers are getting tired and you’ve probably already fallen asleep at your computer! Entonces, hasta luego!

New Country, New Year

Well, after many travel complications and a night in the airport, we made it!! Carlos and Adrian (two men from the church that many of the host families attend) were waiting at the airport to pick us up, then we all made it to our host homes around 11 o’clock Argentina time, 9 Indiana time. There I met my host family, Ana and Rogelio (or Cacho), who are two of the nicest people in the world! They kept telling me “Esta es tu casa, hacete tus cosas. Tranquila.” (This is your home, do whatever you need to do to be comfortable/at peace). Granted, I can only understand about half or less of what Rogelio says and a little bit more of what Ana says, but I think I’m already understanding a little bit more.

Yesterday, Ana and I took a little walk around the neighborhood, which is beautiful! There are two plazas within a three minute walk, where I plan to go and read or even go on runs through the area. Rogelio showed me on a map how to get to the university, which is about 23 blocks away. Later today, we are going to drive there, but I plan on walking most days.

Last night, for New Year’s Eve, we went to a restaurant with a couple from their church. The restaurant was a buffet with an open grill, and I ate all kinds of interesting foods – sushi, tongue, blood sausage, and a few things I didn’t recognize. The tongue was actually pretty tasty, and the blood sausage wasn’t bad, it just had an interesting texture. When it was getting close to midnight, Obaldo had us all tell about the best memory we had from the past year, then we toasted each of those. Then, about five minutes before midnight, a mariachi band burst into the restaurant and began to serenade us. Apparently, many Argentine people LOVE Mexican music, so many of them were singing along with the band at the top of their voices. At one point, both couples I was with got up and started dancing amongst the tables. It was great, certainly a New Year’s to remember! Upon returning to the house we turned on the TV to watch the ball drop in Times Square, which is what I would have watched were I at home :)

Over the course of the last couple of days, I have been exhausted, excited, overwhelmed, sad, and peaceful. Throughout this barrage of emotions, though, God has given me peace and has sustained me through it all. I have also been grateful for many little things that have put me at ease.

First, when I went through security at the Indianapolis Airport, my bag was special searched because there was a trace of some chemical (I still don’t know where it came from). Despite the fact that I knew I had nothing dangerous in my bag, I was still ridiculously nervous, and the guy searching my bag wasn’t really talking to me which made me more nervous. But then he looked up and, seeing my Grace College t-shirt, said, “Winona Lake, right?” It turns out he was a huge Billy Sunday fan, so we began to chat about Winona Lake, what I was studying at Grace, even lessons that we should learn from Billy Sunday’s life. Needless to say, I was much calmer after that, and he sent me on my way with no problem.

There have been countless other things, too. Like waking up to hear Rogelio listening to some Frank Sinatra – one of my favorite old-school singers from the U.S. Like eating breakfast listening to a country singer from the states singing gospel songs about God’s goodness. Like having a conversation with Obaldo about not taking Bible verses out of context, something that reminded me of a long-standing inside joke at my high school (you Covenant people will know what I’m talking about). Like flipping through my Bible looking for a certain passage but stumbling across Psalms saying, “When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who know my way,” or being reminded of the Psalm my parents designated as the theme verse of my trip, “if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” Like Obaldo telling me (in perfect English), “You have a job to do while you’re here, and God brought you hear for a reason. Take good care of them (Ana and Cacho). You are a huge blessing to them.”

I could go on, but I’m about to go out exploring with Rogelio. But first I have to say that these last few days have been crazy at times, overwhelming at times, but I am constantly reminded that God is sovereign over my time here and that He is the same God that has guided my steps so faithfully back in the States.