Mi amiga buena Bebi.  Taking time to stop and smell the roses... 

A little alley way within one of the small streets of Libertador... 

One of the little alleys in Libertador San Martín just a few blocks from the entrance of the Universidad...
A common looking drive way in Libertador

One of the little alleys in Libertador San Martín...

Went to Paraná on Friday and saw many things.  The city is fairly big and is full of people.  Restaurants on every block and tiny appartments wedged in every place possible... very busy but beautiful.

Cement telephone poles...

Group of amigos posing under a very pink tree.

Here's one for my dad... I finally found a motorcycle that he has to claim is his! Moto-Mel. Ha. 

The main gate to la Universidad Adventista del Plata in all its glory.

Me drinking maté which is the drink of Argentina.  It's like a strong tea but kinda bitter! They use a cup full of grinded maté and pour hot water on top and drink it through a filtered straw. I'm actually drinking Tereré here which is pretty much the same thing but with cool refreshing juice of your choice instead of hot water.  It seems to quench the thirst better on a boiling hot day...

Sunday was the Día del Estudiante or day of the students and the university held a fiesta or party for all the students.  It was super fun, but exhausting.  So we snatched up the chance to have our own little ciesta at the casa of an amiga.   Left to right: Sheshe, Jason, Gabi, Yo (me), Michael, Erika, y Romina. 

So if I want to play basketball, soccer or just hang out with people, all I have to do is simply walk out the front door of the boys dorm!  At nights there are a lot of people just hanging out on the steps and relaxing.  

So here's something probably only a person like me would notice or at least care about; the locks have two sets of pins inside that run on either side of the key instead of one set running on the top of the key.  Also, if you feel like twisting the key an extra time, the lock will pop out an extra little bit. Don't ask my what the point is, 'cause a lock's a lock. It took me a quite some time of standing in front of my door twisting the key to figure that one out... pero muy interestante, no? =) 

So far we have had plenty of down time to walk the small streets and orient ourselves a little...

Here's one of the meetings all the ACA kids had the other day.  This is still minus about 20 kids... it's the biggest ACA group in history!  I've met about half of them and forgotten about all of their names.  Most of the kids are from PUC and a handful are from Walla Walla.   

So, let's just say if your running fast, make sure you look where you're going!  Good thing the hospital is next door! 

So the cars here are pretty small... most run on diesel.  I want one. =)  

Mi dormitorio, duermo abajo (here's my huge room. I sleep on the bottom bunk.) 

360˚ view of a part of the campus.  Don't ask me which way is north because the shadows fall on the opposite side of the trees down here... gets a little confusing!  (Couldn't find the guys dorm the other night...) haha 

Here's my compañeros y yo!  Of course with the crisp gafas del sol (sunglasses.) They are both studying Fisioterapia or Physical Therapy as my dad calls it!  Left is Daniel, Me, and Misael.  They are Peruvian.

Llegada - Arrival

Hola mis familias y amigos!  After too much time sitting down I finally arrived to the beautiful campus of the UAP - Universidad Adventista del Plata and greeted by my two very nice roomates who happen to be brothers.  Getting settled was a little hard since neither speak any english, but with broken spanish I got to know them pretty well.  The campus is pretty diverse; lots of people from all over Sud America as well as Germany and other places.  This first week is only orientation and after a placement test, we begin classes next week.  Even though in the surrounding village where the "supermarkets" are "super" small, it's still possible to find most everything necessary to survive; although the first have of the pack of ACA kids wiped all the "supermarkets" clean of clothes hangers...  Oh, and the other major detail is, there are tons of dogs and pidgins... keep a constant eye on the sky, of course with your mouth shut tight.  

In the beginning...

Well with just two weeks till departure from the United States, I have yet to pack, buy appropriate clothing, move my belongings from my college dwelling to the folks house, and mentally prepare myself for a year of ESPAÑOL!!