When we arrived in the other part of town I was able to meet with kids that were learning English at a school in BA.  There we learned about how they live and what they do everyday and how much it differs from our daily lives.  For example: they stay up till 2AM on school nights and 4-5AM on normal days.  Its a crazy life that doesn’t seem to end… Although I think I could get used to it…

The next morning I went for a run along the river in BA (Rio de la Plata) and it was absolutely beautiful (although it was pretty cold).  When I returned I showered, had a large breakfast, and set off for a river delta called El Tigre.  There we ate and shopped and when we finished we took a 2 hour boat ride around the beautiful delta.  I want a house there when I´m older because everything is green and open with beautiful water surrounding it… We took the train back into BA and went out for our last dinner in the huge city.  We ate amazing Argentinian hamburgers and returned to the hotel to pack and watch the Argentina vs. Bolivia Copa America game.  It was about this time that we learned that our plane had been pushed back from 6AM to 10AM so we got to sleep some more… It was the icing on the cake and we watched the game and hung out till 1AM.  It was a great night before one of the most nervous days of my life… Meeting my new Argentinian family…

We woke up around 7AM went down and had breakfast and headed to the airport.  It took us 3 and a half hours to get through security and finally board the plane late… It was hectic.  Once we got on we were all able to relax but it soon hit us all that we would be seperated from everyone in our group in about another three hours…  We started getting more and more nervous and finally when the plane landed we were all freaking out a little.  We went and got our baggage… and there our families were.  Waiting.  It was a little spooky.  I finally spotted someone with my name on a piece of paper and met who I thought was my young mother… It wasn´t.  It was a friend of the family named Rut however I didn´t learn this until about an hour after she took me to my home… Awkward…  Anyway I met my brothers and sister and we got off to a good start playing soccer and hanging out.  My American friend Phil was a block away so we were able to hang out with the kids for the day but at the end of the day I found out that this wasn´t my parent`s house but my mother´s parent`s house.  My house was in the middle of Salta and we were heading there now.  I was excited to sleep and the minute that I got there I passed out.  Day one.  Done.

Day two arrived faster than I would have thought.  However it was the same as day one.  We hung out at the house in the subberbs and played some soccer and relaxed.  Nothing special happened.  My parents were still at a religious retreat and Rut was still taking care of me.  I found out after a few hours of hanging out with her that Rut is very good at english and with her help she has been teaching me Spanish.  One of the biggest differences that I have found with the families here is that they eat.  A lot.  (Except breakfast, its rather small)  They have a midmorning tea, Lunch (which is huge), mirenda (afternoon tea), and dinner.  Lots of food for me.  =)  I´m a happy boy here.  After the day ended we went back to the house in the city to prepare for the dinner that I was going to have with the families of the rest of the members of my group.  Dinner was wonderful and I have come to find that I love Argentinian food (especially Beef).  We came home and I fell asleep quickly once again but this time I had to get up early for classes… I was finally slightly oriented in Salta.

What I did during the week:

• Monday

Woke up around 630 to get to class at 8 so we could have a proper tour of the city

Came home and relaxed still nervous to talk to anyone much…

Slept nervously because in the morning my parents were coming home from  the retreat.

• Tuesday

Met my parents for the first time in the morning… They seemed really nice (and they were)

Went to class at nine and just practiced our spanish and learned some of  the tradicions that we would be expected to know in the household (there are a lot)

Returned home and had my first lunch with my entire family.  I talked with  my mother and father and they seemed really nice and I finally got over my  nervousness.  I was a pretty good feeling.

Relaxed most of the day and went out with my brother to a small shop later to buy a nice pair of gloves and a warm hat.  

Came home, ate dinner, and slept only to be woken by my alarm for class  the next day

• Wednesday

On Wednesday we went to class but instead of learning anything we went  to a museum of Argentinan history.  It was very intersting and I took a ton  of pictures.  My friend Mason and I decided to meet up later around three  and after we were going to head to Zoe`s house.

When I returned from classes I told my parents that I was heading out later  and they were fine with it.  After a delish lunch I left to meet Mason.

We met at ELITE and walked to his house.  His house is amazing.  It is set in the side of the mountain and its warm.  Which was a nice change of pace.   Afterwards we went to meet Zoe, Tayna, and Maggie at ELITE where we  walked to Zoe`s house.  She also has and amazing house and we went to  her room and hung out there for a while.  It is good having friends that I can talk to here and understand the dificulties that we are all facing.  I returned to the house around 8 and had dinner and went to sleep after a long day.   It was around this time that I finally began to get settled into the rhythem  here in Salta.