Doubts and a trips mortality.

Greetings Readers,
I write to you today in the morning before school, because it is the only time I am really sure I have the computer. This week has been a very strange week indeed, with some strange feelings. As June completes its first weeks, I am staring the trips mortality in the face, all the while reaizing that the trip still does go on. Right after I wrote to you last week, a friend called me to say that at a local (and very beatiful church) there was a choral concert (the YALE chior). There I met many of my friends and quickly got their emails to contact them later on. We then enjoyed a nice choral concert.
The next day I found out that a trip was available to Iguazú in July (4 through 9) and I quickly withdrew money to make the deposit for the trip. On Friday I had a meeting with Marcella, the chapter president, in which I reflected on my trip thus far. Saturday I tried to find the soup kitchen where the evangilists work and it did not exist (at least at that address), but that failure did not keep me down, because Manuella called to save the day saying that there was a beatiful Mass at the Seminary (with group discussion beforehand), so I went. During the group discussion I managed in Spanish to theologically explain the meaning of hope in Scripture quoting from Genesis to Revelation. The religous aspect was not as important (in this case) as my ability to quote long (and quite complicated) literary passages and give commentary. A sign that finally I can say although there are still words (some simple some not) that I do not know, I am bilingual in that I can explain almost any IDEA completely in Spanish and not use 15 minutes to say it. The Mass was beautiful and I met 8 kids afterward who had many questions about the states. One of these kids has a mother who is an English teacher, which is good and bad, good because with EXTREMELY complicated phrases (or phrases in English that do not exist in Spanish) he was able to help, but sometimes he was TOO willing to ask things in English thinking that I did not understand a question, when really I just needed a word repeated OR was thinking before I answered. For anyone in this position, please just be patient and inform the person you are talking to that you UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION.

I got the email of a Seminary student as well (he speaks only Spanish, but we had a very detailed discussion. YEAH, a month of go it would have been impossible) and sent an email to him to confirm the address and it works!

However with all of the contacts there remains a problem similar to the US, where no matter how hard I try to organize things people sometimes do not respond. Many texts respond "Oh I will text YOU when it is a good day". Basically I have the reverse problem of many other foreign exchange students. I TRY to be outgoing and organize and ask around, and the fish do not seem to bite so to speak, which is a little sad because I only have a limited time here (I would feel the same frustration if this were a year program). Also the lack of planning here and the NON attention to detail makes me lose the opportunities that I have (for example I declined coffee because of a prior promise to attend a University class with an extended host family member, but it turns out she did NOT tell me exams were this week, luckily the person who invited me to chat is also in my Tango class so it could be worse). These are the frustrations I face as I see the light at the end of the tunnel, never knowing if I have completed my mission here, not knowing if it is me or them, and not knowing whether I will have brought enough memories back to the states. Perhaps I am too much of a perfectionsit.
The goal was to live a normal life in another country.
I guess this is part of that life.
Sincerely,
Fellow Citizen of the world,
Travis Knoll

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Part of trip: AFS Foreign Exchange

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