bienvenidos a argentina

Hey Everyone! First of all i would like to apologize for how late this blog is. There is no excuse, except for the fact that it is very rare these days that i have more than five minutes to sit, breathe, and talk about my day.
Well, I'M IN ARGENTINA! All my flights to Argentina were fast, nice, and exciting. Saying goodbye to my mom at the airport and walking away onto the plane was one of the hardest things i have ever done. I sat in my seat, with my sunglasses on, trying not to cry. Fortunatly, i was seated next to a Mom and Daughter who immeditatly asked me if i was okay, and offered support. I kept reminding myself (and do EVERYDAY) that soon enough, i will be back in my mom and dads arms, and life will be back to normal, and boring, soon enough :)
I spent 4 days in Buenos Aires with 80 other students from 20 different countries bonding, laughing, and offering support as well as receiving it with other people in the same place as me. My orientation was fun, although everyone was really anxious to get to their familes and sick of hearing, "its not bad, its not good, its just different" over and over again.
At 8:30 PM on August 22nd i got on my 10 hour bus ride from Buenos Aires to Santo Tome, Corrientes completly alone. I was seated next to an older woman who spoke no english, but she smiled at my often because im sure it didnt take any words for people to figure out how terrified and nervous i was.
I arrived in Santo Tome at 6:30 AM and my Papi and Mami were there waiting for me. We gave eachother big hugs, got into the car, and drove to my new house. No one said anything because it was clear we could not understand eachother. We drove through the downtown, and teenagers were just heading home from the saturday night disco. Wow. When i got home, i went straight to bed, and woke up the next morning to my Mami, Papi, and brother starting to prepare for the BBQ they were having for me with lots of their friends. I was SO tried, and didnt understand one thing they said, but nevertheless, it was so nice of them!
My house is beautiful with two cars, a patio, pool, garden, and... MONKEYS IN THE TREE! The monkeys live in the tree in the summer, because of the fruit growing. I think it is the coolest thing in the world, where as my family is so used to it, they think its funny how crazy i think it is! I share a room with my 5 year old sister, which is hard... but an experience. My brother is really nice and in the begining he was the one who helped us communicate. My Papi and Mami are really sweet, and great parents to Milagro and Marco. But of course, they are very different then my mom and dad at home. They dont hug the same, laugh the same, or obviously, know everything about me. BUT, i really like them, and appreciate things about them that my parents at home dont have!
My school is literally 30 steps from my house, and is very small, but cute! It has about 10 classrooms and about 150 students. My class consists of about 15 students, that have all been together since kindergarten, and will be together until they graduate, all day, everyday of the week. I have classes from 7-11:30 and gym at 5 in the afternoon. I REALLY like my classmates, and have made friends with all of them! I do not understand much of ANYTHING that the teachers say, but talk so much with my friends, and they explain alot to me :) I have 8 really good friends that i hang out with everyday, and one of them is my neighbor, i love them!
Each day i have had a different struggle, as well as something great happen. Each day i have thought of every one from home, and about 3/4 of them, i have cried, which is an accomplishment. I have been in Santo Tome for 15 days now, and feel like i have improved SO much from last week. I am speaking the language better and better each day, and even joked with my family about how awful my spanish was my first day!
I PROMISE i will update my blog telling about so much more, but now it is dinner time, and my fingers hurt from typing so much :)
I'm doing okay, but struggling everyday. I like argentina a lot, and remember to keep telling myself to breathe. Write again soon! Enjoy the photos :)
Amor,
Abigail
PS. Sorry about the typos :( the spell check isnt working! I fixed all the ones i noticed :)