Alright, well, I probably should have been keeping up to date with this blog since I first got here, but I'm going to be better about it now. What to say, what to say? Really, this is what I was hoping for from this entire experience. It definitely fits all my requirements. I wanted to be in a place that would force me to depend on my Spanish skills and now my English ones, I wanted to make girl friends instead of relying on a Spanish-speaking boyfriend, I wanted to become very close with my host family and have them like me as much as I like them, and I wanted to really live in a real Argentinian city and not always be living the life of a tourist. While my daily life here in Rafaela is nothing particularly exciting or glamorous, its real. This is what life is like here and I am in it, experiencing it, living it. Its a great feeling.

One thing I keep doing, though, while here is comparing everything to Ecuador. However, I shouldn't be doing this. These two countries really have very little in common and it is a stereotype that many Americans have that all countries that speak Spanish are alike. However, because for me these two experiences are similar, I do compare and these are differences I've noticed and things I may like more: 1. I feel like I can connect with Argentinians more than I could with Ecuadorians. This may be because in general Argentinians are able to become more educated, women hold a higher status in society, I am around more people my age than in Ecuador, or it may simply be because my Spanish has somehow improved since then and I am better able to understand what is being said. Whatever the reason may be, though, this is a much better experience for me. I am more able to be myself here, make friends and fit in.

Things, though, that I have noticed about Argentina are:

1. These are incredibly cool people. They know alot about alot, have a ton of friends, like to party, swear, debate and tell jokes. They are good-looking but not overdone. 2. They are honest to a fault. If you are fat, they'll tell you. If you have a zit on your face, they'll ask you about it. If they don't like what you are wearing, they'll let you know. I think this is great, though. It makes you a stronger person. 3. These are the most social people I have ever been around. I have been here in Argentina for a month now and have not been alone for more than the time it takes me to shower since that time. Not even to sleep. There seems to always be someone around wanting to talk with me or do something with me and everything they do is always together. If someone needs to buy a new sweater, they bring friends along. If someone needs to check the bus schedule at the terminal, they bring friends along. This takes some getting used to, especially for me who loves my alone time, but its a wonderful thing and something Americans should work on. 4. Argentinians are extremely nosey people, but of course in a good way. They want to know every detail about everything and will take the time to ask you questions about things you may find very insignificant. They want to really know you, and to do so, they need the details. This is so different from the American culture where people just want you to hurry up and get to the damn point already! Americans act like they are in such a rush, but to where? What is so pressing that they can't take the time to ask a few questions?