rosario

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Admitedly i love chaos. Its not that i encorage anarchy or anything its just that when the tablecloth trips, the curtain rod colapes, the books fall, and the trolley flies down the hill, i´m standing in the middle screaming sugar honey ice tea (we have underage readers on this site). Which is probably why i feel happy in my new host family.

We are, well huge. I live a crumbling, giant old house in the center of town, across the road is a flamico dance school (shame its not tango), and a pizza shop which is mades for an excellent sensual experience standing on the balcony every night. I share a room with my two host sisters, we wear each others clothes as we can´t locate our own, and i tend to be dressed by the two as aparently wearing thermals and shorts just isn´t on. Without complicating it i have 4 host brothers, and friend with a baby, and a girl friend, plus parent, which means there is including me roughly 12 people in the house. The cumbia station is always playing, they football game eargly watched by 10 various amigos in the front room, and fritas cooking in the kitchen. There intresting people, in an intresting house, which is certainly going to make for an, (ok guess the word) great (ha fooled you) 8 months.

You will all be very amused to read that my host father is a butcher. Yep check that out the vego who dreams of wholegrain bread, salads and fruit lives on meat, white bread, dulche de leche and cream. If your worried about weight gain, argentina isn´t the country for you, i was reading the packet of a very populare alfare (snacky biscuit thingy) yesterday to discover that it was 28% fat hmmm.... it could explain why i went up a size in a week, and why its pretty comon for exchange students to gain 10 kg in 2 months. Next week i look for a gym.

I loved the small town nature of Villa Carlos Paz. Everyone would know everything you did, the friendly ways, and the not so friendly ways as you´d get mobbed cause she is from a different country. The thing is I kinda stood out. My hair didn´t look right, my clothes weren´t in fashion, I was some free spirited hippie kinda thing who didn´t know how to dance the cumbia, and had bright red shoes instead of felt boots. People accepted me, and the differences broke down barriers but i was still different, despite the fact i tried not to be. In a big city its kinda harder to be that different, there are the couple of marx reading goths, pot smoking, dreadlocked hippies at my school, even some asians and africans so i tend to stand out less. But there is also a bit of the argentine sterotype (snottiness) attached to it, so i´ve found it a lot harder to make friends and neading to put myself out a lot more than in my old town.

I went to a practise cheer thing for a soccer match, and almost died. In australia people can get kinda out of control, maby with less firecrackers and marching bands but normally its all alcohol induced. Its an amazing thing to be among so many frienzed, fanatical poeple when you know that all of that emotion is pulsating from pure devotion alone. So yer i look foward to my first game.

Am learning how to cook argentine food yay, which is going to be very useful in the future as i am in love with empanadas. One thing i don´t like though is locro. I had my pumkin,bean, pig trotters and tripe soup out in shed in the slums at my host grandparents house. I always eat at least one serving of such food but going in for seconds for both that, and the blood sasuage (when hot) is a little much for me.

AND lots of other stuff, but i´ve got to go and pack for my exchange student trip tomorrow to the north. YAY!!!

lots of love

sally

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Photos

i wanna drive a firetruck
like my hot new car

my host brother
lewis, eldest, fireman

alexis
my host sister

more great clothes
i spent the first week with my new family, at the firestation sorting clothes to go to people who had lost everything in the floods.

rocking at the momument
this mother is good for two things
1. demonstrating how big faccist love. and its big
2. great rock concerts

mi casa
my house is the whole second level. in australia it would be small, but here its huge.

rubbish collection
frankly i don´t understand why there are so many guys on their horse and carridge sorting through the garbage, but the rubbish isn´t part of the girls dream.

i wanna drive a firetruck
like my hot new car

rubbish collection
frankly i don´t understand why there are so many guys on their horse and carridge sorting through the garbage, but the rubbish isn´t part of the girls dream.

mi calle
my leafy green street

Comments

[Sam]

Ooohhh!!
Wow, Sally, all your photos look fantastic! =D I especially like the green leafy street thing but i guess thats just my dream lol. Sounds like ur having a great time with ur new host family and its good that ur learning how to cook Argentinian food. Maybe u can make some of those empanada things for us when u get back to Aust lol. Btw, what exactly are empanadas? =\

[Your one and only AuntieRhonda]

Well Done!
How good is that! have just read your latest blog and sounds like a home away from home. too easy!!!! On a more serious note......No really, We are so very happy to hear such an ecstatic message from you, you deserve the very best and it sure sounds like fun at the moment. Keep up the good times love Rhonda