Potentially My Last Post (That You'll Understand)

So it's 1:30 a.m. and I'm sitting here at my desk on my last night in Argentina, looking at the luggage to my right that is pretty much all packed up. Every "last" thing is starting to feel sentimental now--the last time all 15 of us students were in a group together on Wednesday night, my last time making empanadas for lunch this afternoon at Brett's apartment with the few of us that are left in Rosario (I've made empanadas elsewhere so it was technically just my first time making empanadas in that particular location..but still), my last dinner with Yuppy, my last shower, my last trip to the lavandería, my last visit to the vegetarian place for my favorite dried banana chips, and the list goes on. Basically anything that is ordinarily insignificant begins to have meaning when you know it is nearing the end!

What I mean by the title I chose for this post is that tomorrow before I go, I decided I want to write a final farewell on my blog in the best Spanish I can muster. Who knows about where my future will take me, maybe I'll have the opportunity to improve my language skills even more at some point in my life, but for now I can easily say that I'm at the top of my game in all my history of learning Spanish. Thus, tomorrow I'll be at my smartest (does that even make sense??) for one last day before I go back to the states.

I know when I get back, I'm going to be asked probably a lot, "HOW WAS YOUR TRIP?!" Umm...where in the world do I begin? Do you have a month to sit down and talk about it? I'm not really sure where I'm going to start when I get asked that question because it was about the experience as a whole. As for the memories, I tried to record them here as much as I could, but most of them will be something kept specially for me in my mind, unless something reminds me of it in which case I'm sure I'll be more than happy to share.

For starters, here's a video we made our last week in my conversation class. I'm fully aware of how uncomfortable it is at times but I still love it...definitely going to be something I still laugh at years from now to look back and remember. We are even missing some of the best videos--like a few of us drunk at a boliche singing along to a song we learned about in class--but perhaps it's better it got left out :) It is in no way representative of the majority of things I encountered here in Rosario, Argentina, but it's still a fun project that I had the pleasure of editing and putting together with imovie. The director of the program, Beba, was swooning over it for days and I guess submitted it to the University of Oregon study abroad program to be used to show future students who are considering coming here. Imagine if I had spent more than 45 minutes putting it together--I can't imagine what her reaction would have been then! Regardless, here's the link to the "masterpiece":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AfY7XaYSaM&feature=youtu.be

Final Things I've Noted and Want to Say In One Loooong Sentence Without Elaboration:

My feet may be torn up from walking on uneven streets for 3 months, the people may use different gestures/noises when they communicate, despite inflation they may also think everything is SOOO expensive when in reality an umbrella costs like $5, Yuppy may have struggled with my battery-operated wine opener gift from the USA more often than not but that baby got a lot of laughs/uses of out it, people may proudly walk down the street with bandages on their face from plastic surgery operations, my English vocabulary may have shrank to fit all the Spanish I've learned into my brain, these Italian/Latino families may allow their kids to live with them until they're 30 and that's totally socially acceptable, they may shamelessly spread rumors that all the Chinese grocery store owners shut off electricity to the refrigerators overnight thus spoiling the food and allowing them to price it cheaper, I may have chopped 5 years off my life from inhaling cigarette smoke, pollution, and eating/drinking things that were made from a powdered form, my computer adapter may have the tendency to make my computer shock my skin/shake when I plug it in here, people may also hold each other in a frozen embrace in La Plaza de San Martín for hours on end, they might close every single store in the city on a "holiday" like flag day here, they may also say "whiskey" instead of "cheese" when taking a picture, AND mate may be the greatest thing since sliced bread, I may have been secretly remembered by the other students as the girl who ordered onion rings and bacon for lunch when we found an American restaurant here (they just told me a couple weeks ago about how they still remember that about me and thought it was hilarious), BUT WOW WHAT A RIDE IT HAS BEEN! Whew, what a sentence. Sorry about all that, but I think it was worth it!

Just gotta throw it out there, what would I have done without this lady in the photo below?! Yuppy, my host mother, helped me so much here during my 3-month stay--both with the language and making me feel at home in her home in a foreign country. So happy to have been placed with her :) I went and printed this picture today and framed it in this frame I bought to give to her as my going-away present. She was so happy! I also plan to leave her with a nice written note tomorrow as well before the bus company, Tienda Leon, picks me up at our departamento to bring me to the Buenos Aires airport. At first I thought, "how boring that we are in her kitchen..." but honestly that is where we spent most of our time together watching the news, eating and conversing.

But wow, talk about a cultural experience! I learned so many things about myself...like this...

Just kidding, but actually--an Argentine pointed out that Americans only dance with their upper body and don't move their legs. It's true...just overall awkward. It's okay though, I kinda love that about us.

Also, who would have thought that I could meet someone who doesn't know who Oprah is (it was Yuppy...I tried not to lose my shit and look at her like she was an alien. Now that I think of it, it is kind of refreshing that someone doesn't know who she is. We are not the center of the universe!)

Going along with feeling like the center of the universe, the other night my other two friends/blondes from the group and I were reflecting that this is the last time that we will ever feel special for being "rubia" again together...when we return, we'll just be yet another one in a million!

GETTING THE BAD OUT OF THE WAY: AT THE BOTTOM OF MY LIST/WHAT I'LL MISS LEAST

• Too. Much. Bread. I could probably do without it for a year.
• The kissy noise/hoots and hollers on the streets from the nasty men...self-explanatory.
• Corruption in the government. It's just sad to see for all the people here, honestly. The US government keeps a lot of stuff from us, but at least they probably aren't hoarding vaults of cash in their houses, then refusing to comment on it, and then after a remodel claiming the vault is for a wine cellar. That would be the presidenta, Cristina.
• The dirty streets/littering/dodging dog poop piles
• Losing money in the exchange rate...re: corrupt government refusing to admit there is inflation
• Insecurity/robbers
• Having about 8 hours between lunch and dinner. Here, they normally have a snack between lunch/dinner like how we do after dinner before we go to bed...it sounds silly writing it down right now but it was a difficult adjustment the whole time I was here!

AT THE TOP OF MY LIST...WHAT I'LL MISS MOST

• Ok, I'll be the first to admit I bashed the food quite a bit here. But this particular product deserves some sort of recognition or an applause or something:
  

--To give you the idea of their significance, my friend Joe once left a bag of 3D's and his wallet with us while he went to the bathroom at a gas station while we were traveling. His command? "Watch my 3D's!" I think that gives you an idea of the level of importance they hold with us. They are painful to share, then again I'm a bad sharer in general when it comes to food :) I think doritos had a product long ago that sort of resembles these, but I really stand by my claim that there is no comparison. But if that's what you want, I'd compare to doritos 3Ds that used to exist or perhaps a less oily bugle that is topped off with a delicious cheese flavor. I'd probably pack 50 bags of these to bring home with me if it weren't for the absurd amount of air, and thus wasted space, that is blown into these chip bags :(

• Hacer sobremesa- I've mentioned it in a previous post, but there's no direct translation so it's a tough one to explain. It means the time that you spend with a friend in a cafe, drinking coffee and eating and catching up. No wonder that expression doesn't exist in the U.S.--we're too busy that we don't have time to do things like that! I really wish that this is something I could implement into our culture...the slowness of life can really open your eyes sometimes. Not to be cheesy, but you only have one life, so I see no other way to live it other than enjoying the company you have in front of you while you can.
• The panaderías, which is essentially a bakery. I hope it's not too obvious when I return just how much I've enjoyed the sweets here, but let me tell you it has been a treat. Dulce de leche took some getting used to, but now I think it's going to be weird going back and not having it in everything sweet that I eat! I have missed our chocolate though, just like a good ole' fashioned hershey bar. 
• It sounds sad and like it wouldn't fit in this category, but I've learned to love the street dogs here. When I think about it, they never really ever bothered me. Probably because they keep to themselves for the most part and seem pretty happy. I do worry for them though as today is technically the first day of winter. Poor little pups get cold during the night, I'm sure. 
• How lucky I've been to have had a group of 15 students as special as ours. We had very minor problems together and can't wait to see when/where I see everyone down the line in our lives.

Soo, I guess this is this it?? Until tomorrow that is. But, I'm curious, how did I do with this blog? I only know for sure of a few of you who told me you were along on the adventure with me by reading about what I've been up to. I am studying journalism after all, so I hope I have at least mediocre talent in my writing. I made an attempt to keep it exciting while also being able to document for myself what I felt this experience embodied.

Ok, this feels super weird ending this. But I'll leave you with this: Un besito grande ("a big, yet little, kiss." It's gotta be one of my favorite expressions from here...), and to all my peeps who feel they may be worthy--get ready for alfajores and fernet. But really, I feel so lucky to have had all your support and kind words throughout the whole journey. Can't wait to report back IN PERSON, and I hope you all really felt it was "Like America...But South" as you rode along with me the last 3 months in Argentina. Now, please send some REAL good luck my way as I stressfully travel tomorrow, not whatever bullshit you guys sent on my way here when I temporarily lost my purse with my passport and all my money in New York ;)

Much love, Mackenzie