Deep, I know

So today I decided to go in a little deeper and come to terms with this emotional roller coaster that I'm on. Here goes:
After a very uncomfortable 3 hour bus ride, finally got to Rosario and met with my AFS contact person Luciana. Either she's really patient or doesn't have a choice but to listen to everything that I've been going through. Doing an exchange to Spain herself she really understands what it is like. So after indulging myself  buying shoes and clothes, I got back home and there was a blackout. Having nothing else to do, I started thinking on what Luciana and I had discussed . In spite of having all the freedom in the world, in spite of all the shopping, in spite of all the amazing parties, in spite of everything being perfect. At the end of the day, you feel hollow from a sense of security. And I didn't think I would be affected by it.
All this while being at home back in India, I loved the freedom that I got, although restricted. And now, I really want familiarity and someone, somewhere just helping me along the way.

Anyway, a new batch of exchangers are arriving in February and apparently we're going to be the "experienced" ones. Can you imagine? Being as lost and clueless as we are and still trying to figure it all out? But I guess we have  to give it to ourselves for surviving the first 3 months with your world tossed upside down

Sol, mi amor

It's been absolutely everything I can ask for from an exchange. It took a while, close to 3 months to be precise, to get comfortable. As of right now, summer has just started and Argentina is absolutely beautiful !
I did not realize how much I love summer (and the gorgeous pool), one of the reasons I miss home this much.

As of  right now, I've settled in. When I wake up every morning, it doesn't feel like a strange place anymore. I mean, what's not to love about the over friendly people, the insane parties, the innumerable holidays and just being laid back? I cringed for the first time last week when I thought of going back home.
It's bitter sweet really, I can't wait to see my friends and family back home. But it scares me that there are a lot of people in Argentina who mean so much to me, who I'll never see again.

My holidays started last week. that's no school for 3 months, YES THREE! It's the yearly holidays for Christmas, New Year, Easter and a bunch of other festivals I don't know how to spell in spanish. I cannot wait for Christmas! It's the first time I'm celebrating with a christian family the typical way. And by the way they're describing it, it sounds just brilliant, with Papa Noel (Santa Clause) and what not.

Last week my host mother, Natalia gave me her cycle that she got for her 15th birthday. So I went out on the cycle and I see cars coming at me in the opposite direction, took me a second to realize now it's keep to your right and not left. Here, I live in a small town so riding the cycle isn't dangerous at all. So I rode, and rode, and rode till I realized I had reached the highway and had been out for about 3 hours. Yesterday again I took the cycle to the river, its unbelievably peaceful over there.

I've been going for Reggae classes lately, not exactly what you'd expect an Indian to be dancing but it's so much fun ! And we're doing a show in December. It's part of a festival in my town! Now, more than the basic problems like food and weather, the "high school" drama has kicked in. Had to come in somewhere I suppose!

List of Argentine things I want to do before leaving:
-Attend a Quince(15th birthdays are big here)
-Attend a wedding
-Go to the glaciers in the south(one of the seven wonders)
-Go to the Iguazu Falls(supposed to make you cry apparantely)
-Try asado(beef barbeque)
-Get accustomed to Mate(traditional drink, bitter as hell)

Thanks for reading! (:

Day 50 something

I started to write this blog when my uncle (host) came by the house with this really deadly bike. So my host brother and I got on it and went for a ride, it looked like one of those sports bikes so I asked how fast it could go and he said 300 KM. So we dropped my host brother off and we went to buy Gatorade. The next 10 minutes was probably the most adrenaline pumping activity I've done in a while. The bike went so fast that I had water on the sides of my eyes, SO EXCITING!

Anyway, back to normality. There was a really powerful storm over here, so strong that the bridge connecting the pueblo I stay in and the city that my school is in, collapsed. How convenient!
So just went I decide to start Tango lessons, all the bus routes get cut. And no exchange student wants to be a burden on the family. So I'll probably go to the cultural centre for an afternoon activity. Don't know how that's going to turn out, but I'll take my chances.

In my defense, it was 5 am

My host family went on holiday for a couple of weeks, and I didn't think I would feel this strongly about my baby host brother. He's 3 years old and honesty the most happy child in the world. It feels weird being attached to him this much, back home I have an older sister but I've ALWAYS wanted a younger sibling. Communication is not a problem, (just this time) gibberish works just fine!

During psychology :D

I finally feel comfortable here and it took longer than expected. But now I feel at home with my friends and we actually have inside jokes which I didn't think was possible because of the language barrier. But that's what makes it all funnier.
 I went for a walk the other day and couldn't find my way back but I just kept walking till I found my house, it tooK a while. I put on the A/C for the first time here a few days ago. Yes, it was a proud moment for me!
I'm going to get back to LEGO with my brother, thanks for reading!

A month in Argentina!

Today, it's been exactly a month since I left India to Argentina. A little hard to believe. The goodbye was not easy but not as hard as I expected, I was pretty excited about leaving! But the journey? I honestly hated it and I'm not being negative! You'd understand if you were to travel 4 hours to Dubai, then a 9 hour transit and then a 19 hour flight to Rio de Janeiro, 1 hour transit and then an hour flight to Buenos Aires, a bus from BA to Rosario. I reached at about 3 AM where I met a few AFS volunteers.

Rio de Janeiro

 The first week was pretty hard, getting acclimatized from the spicy Indian food to completely bland omelette wasn't easy. Going from 30 something Celsius to 3 celcius definitely isn't easy on your body. I guess that's when I really starting missing home. All those late night conversations with friends and having your best friend always next to you was hard to let go. But my host mother is so extremely childish and it's nice having a young family compared to back home! My 2 year old brother has now come up with an adorable nick name for me "Peebee". Next was my first day of school, I waited at the head office while 2 girls came to accompany me to my class. I was really surprised when I saw "Bienvenida Pallavi" charts everywhere and on the class door.  I waited for a bit and then went in, and there was the whole class screaming. It was really overwhelming because I expected none of this, in India we just stare at the exchange student and hardly make conversation especially if there's a language barrier. And then there were 50 something people introducing themselves to me and honestly I don't remember any of their names because they're pretty hard to pronounce. And the introduction comes with a peck on the cheek, which is way different from a wave back at India. The excitement continued for a looong time. And what's not love about that?

First day of school

 A week ago I went with a few friends including my english speaking one to the next city where my school is at to visit some places of historic significance. I felt pretty badass because we were dancing and having all this fun in the church. I also went to this world's 2nd widest river called Parana, also famous because Vasco Da Gama when searching for India found America thinking the Parana was an ocean. The nightlife is unbelievable over here, the partying goes on till about 7AM !

At Coyote!

 Yesterday I had orientation with the other AFSers, and I truly believe that what one exchange student goes through can only be understood by another. Anyway, today is  just another lazy Sunday afternoon and I need my routine siesta. Thanks for reading (:

Flying from India to Argentina!

The journey begins in precisely 15 days, 23 hours, 55 minutes and 40 seconds. The day is nearing waay closer than expected. My feelings right now? I'm confused! Why? Because I'm absolutely excited but it's making me so anxious! Which I shouldn't be cuz I think of myself as an outgoing person. Anyway, I'm scared out of my wits because of the language barrier. I'm not completely unprepared, I've done a course in Spanish a couple of months ago, but ,I left it at that. I occasionally go online and work on my pronunciations but that's only because I get a sudden panic attack about being practically clueless when I get to Argentina.

And well, the most exciting part is living in a country for a year which is nothing close to the country I come from, India.

 

 A different family, my host family seems pretty awesome. The most exciting part, I have a 4 year old little brother. Yes, I love kids! Their house looks gorgeous! With a pool :D I think it's perfect! Although I did want a sibling my age, I'm not complaining!

My host house

When people ask me about leaving, they think it's an amazing experience! But the reaction I get when I tell people I'm missing a year of school and repeating it when I get back, makes me doubt myself sometimes. But I'm lucky enough to have a set of parents who are assuring when they need to be.

The packing lists have been made and the visa application submitted, hoping for the best!
That's it for now, thanks for reading! :D