Cupcakes

This week marked the 20th anniversary of the English school where I am teaching here in Argentina. To celebrate, there was a big party here yesterday morning complete with clowns, face painting, and cupcakes (200+/-). I started the baking with an initial 150 on Thursday, and my co-workers finished up yesterday morning while I was teaching, as the anticipated attendance numbers continued to increase. Despite the vague oven temperature settings (1 flame vs. 2 flames?) and lack of traditional cookware (i.e. cupcake pans), the 'magdalenas' turned out pretty well, albeit a bit lopsided. :)
Apparently their misshapen figures did not effect taste, as all 200 vanished immediately upon being served to the young masses.

I also painted faces, which was definitely interesting, considering my general lack of artistic ability, but everyone had a lot of fun.

Teaching is going well and I have some very sweet students. I also have Spanish classes twice each week and am continuing to work to improve my communication skills. I hope to be able to travel a little more during my final 2 months here, and look forward to a visit from an American friend next month!

This week, my Monroe grandparents celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary! What an incredible accomplishment - I really wish I had some great old pictures to post, but all exist in America. My brother Zach and his fiancee Rebecca are getting married this year in December, as well as my great friend Stephanie on New Year's Eve! Lots of love and excitement is in the air for 2012, and I am so happy to have such wonderful people in my life.

Thankful on this Easter Sunday

Today is Easter Sunday the world over (one of my favorite times of the year), as well as Masters Sunday in America. This is the first year in many that I have not been charged to plan tremendous Easter weekend events, & honestly, it is bittersweet. While I cannot say I miss dressing in a gigantic bunny suit, I have always enjoyed the mass chaos of organizing an egg hunt, & especially love early Easter morning church service.

I have returned to Argentina following a much-needed week back in the United States with family & friends. Today provides an opportunity for me to reflect & give thanks - I am blessed to have so much love in my life. One of the most enjoyable & important things to me in this world is spending time with the people I care about. I have always known this & I realize how fortunate I am. Family & friends – people who have done incredible things for me & continue to support me throughout (& sometimes despite of) my accomplishments, mishaps, & well-intended, albeit, ill-advised adventures in life.

Leaving again was tough, to say the least, but I look forward to completing my commitment & successfully finishing out the last 2+ months of my teaching here in South America.

Today, whether you are inspired by Easter, or simply by the light-hearted sentiments of spring, take a moment to meditate on the processes by which you will renew & be inspired. Go out & do good things in the world. Better days are ahead.

Embrace the spirit of rebirth & renewal that this holiday brings...
Praise be to the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3

I love Sundays!

Today has been wonderfully relaxing - & much needed after a busy week. Teaching & Spanish classes are going well, but I had the misfortune of coming down with a virus earlier in the week, so I spent a couple of days feeling very under the weather. I am so fortunate to have a wonderful family group here, as they have taken care of me & a trip to the hospital without a translator would have been a complete disaster.

Feeling much better now & looking forward to a big week of travel. I leave Buenos Aires Thursday evening to travel back to the U.S. for a week-long holiday.

I have included some pictures below from recent travel with friends & other Argentine adventures. Cheers & much love to you all!

St. Patrick's Day Love

Somehow the time has completely slipped away from me, as it has been almost 2 weeks since my last post. There seems to be a bit of a time warp here, as the days seem long, but time passes quickly.

I have successfully survived my first 2 weeks of teaching and things are going really well! I enjoy my classes, and the transition has been interesting/exciting. The most unique dynamic thus far has been adjusting to the wide range of language comprehension levels, as I am teaching 24 different classes, from beginner-level preschool students all the way up to adult-level classes. WOW is definitely an understatement, but planning for and adapting to such a broad scope of knowledge is keeping me on my toes! Of course there are days that are easier/more fun than others, but I am very happy and enjoying the experience. God bless teachers in America who claim this profession and dedicate their lives to educating the youth of our nation for virtually no money and very little recognition!

I am so thankful to have a wonderful host family, as well as a great group of teachers who have also become my friends. My Spanish is progressing, very slowly, but surely, and I have been exceptionally fortunate thus far, as I have not encountered any illness or travel-related travesty (knock on wood!!!). I have come to love and very much look forward to Skype time with family/boyfriend/friends, but am also happy that things in my life here are beginning to feel a bit more settled.

Today I introduced St. Patrick's Day celebrations to my group and hosted a small gathering this evening, complete with snacks, very American desserts, and of course plenty of cerveza! While we did not have corned beef, cabbage, or Irish car bombs, it was a nice night with friends.

Tomorrow morning we are heading just south of Buenos Aires to San Pedro for some quality Sunday Funday rest and relaxation. Of course I have been avidly following NCAA basketball, as well as teaching students about this exciting sports showcase in some of my higher-level classes. I am hopeful that tomorrow while sitting by the river enjoying mimosas we will be able to celebrate and 'Cheers' to another Wolfpack victory!

Much love from Argentina!

Life in Argentina thus far...

Argentina has been an interesting adventure thus far. The experience has been full sensory overload on many occasions, but I am slowly beginning to adjust and develop a routine. I was able to join the gym in my town on Saturday, and I feel this will be great for me physically and emotionally.

RANDOM SEQUE -
Cars and traffic patterns in Argentina are borderline terrifying, as there are no stop/yield/right-of-way signs at 95% of the intersections. While on a walk yesterday, I passed a 5-way intersection with NO SIGNAGE. Miraculously there do not seem to a tremendous number of traffic accidents (that I have seen), despite the fact that most people drive as if they were being pursued in a high speed chase. It is also common to see 3+ people on a motorcycle/moped (usually without helmets). Personally, I will not be operating anything more substantial than a bicycle, and even that seems like a questionable decision.

The town where I am living (Moreno) is technically considered a suburb of Buenos Aires, but this is fairly synonymous with saying West End is a suburb of Greensboro, as the timing/distance is about the same.

The Spanish language has been difficult for me thus far, as I am nowhere near fluent, and what I do comprehend is minimal, as people speak so quickly. I have Spanish lessons for 4 hours each week in addition to my teaching schedule, which has been helpful, but brutal at times. The teachers at my school are nice, but because of the language barrier, communication is often difficult. My host mother Stella is very kind and I am so fortunate that my school placement worked out the way that it did. I begin teaching English this afternoon and have not had a 'first day of school' in a long time -exciting!

Hopefully this week will prove to be a positive experience! Please continue to keep me in your prayers. Lots of love to you all!

Today is the Day!

Leaving Buenos Aires for Moreno today and I am so excited! I have enjoyed my time in BA, but look forward to getting settled and meeting my host family. I begin teaching on Monday and hope to have a little bit of down time this weekend.

I have included a link to Aubrey's blog because I think she does a great job of summing up some of our program transitions thus far. The experience has definitely been an adventure...
http://aubreychasesit.tumblr.com

Pictures from recent adventures:

Much love to you all!

Sunday Funday in Buenos Aires

The weather has been absolutely beautiful in Buenos Aires this week! We finished classes on Friday and have had time to travel throughout the city and explore.

Everyone received their teaching location assignments mid week and I will be traveling to Moreno Thursday morning to settle in prior to starting school. Moreno is located about 40 minutes from central Buenos Aires, so I am definitely looking forward to getting their and meeting everyone!
Sightseeing around town

Other awesome things this week:
On Wednesday evening we took tango lessons and stayed for the show. Learning the basic steps of the dance was great, but of course much harder than the professionals make it look. :) My favorite part of the show was the tango line - a really unique and beautiful part of the dance/tradition.

Today we're all enjoying relaxing and soaking up some sunshine! Very thankful - happy Sunday!