A taste of home from far away

This weekend was my first adventure outside of the city of Córdoba! I decided to visit the mountain town of La Cumbrecita based on what I had read in my guide book and what I had heard from some locals. It was a long day of traveling and I spent a lot of time on a bus or waiting for a bus but I would say it was totally worth it. First, I took a two hour bus ride to an interesting little city called Villa General Belgrano. It’s an interesting city because it is a mini Germany in the middle of Argentina. Due to a large group of German descendants settling there it is a town full of German food, souvenirs, and architecture. I decided to check it out since it looked so cool when we were driving in.  It is very cool and it was really fun to check out the Oktoberfest plaza, stroll by the river, and check out the local shops and hotels, all of which have a very German flair but are definitely Argentinian which is such an interesting mix! 

It’s also a very touristy place and there were many families strolling around exploring or playing in the hotel pools. This, combined with the knowledge of how much my mom would enjoy this city, triggered an intense bout of homesickness that made me cry and consider altering my trip so that I could come home sooner. 

Fortunately the feeling passed when I arrived in La Cumbrecita, which really is an alpine village. It was so beautiful and reminded me of home, but in a familiar way instead of nostalgic way. It was like a jungle in the mountains and I hiked to watering holes and beautiful waterfalls. It was wonderful to be out in nature and hiking around. I’ve never really thought of myself as an outdoorsy person but I realized that I really love the mountains, hiking and being outside. 

I’m always amazed at how much I learn about myself and about my own culture when I leave my home and begin to experience other cultures. Things that are easily taken for granted at home now become huge sources of comfort, like today I went to see the movie Deadpool, it was in English and I ate popcorn and drank coke. I love experiencing new cultures but sometimes it’s so nice to have a taste of home. Prayers for homesickness and also for learning and gaining appreciation would be greatly appreciated! Thank you all!!

LP                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

I know it's actually Saturday, but here's a post from Thursday!

Well it’s now Thursday and the reason that this blog post is so late is that due to a tremendous thunderstorm my apartment has not had wifi since Monday morning. I last left you on Sunday when I had just arrived and was starting to feel a little less lonely. Things have been going great since then! On Sunday afternoon, my host mom Illi and I took Negrita for a long walk to a nice park. We hung out in the park and chatted about traveling and politics and all sorts of things. It was really pleasant and it was really nice to get to know each other. After our walk I met up with a fellow volunteer who had arrived the same day as me. Her name is Venetia and she is from London. We hit it off right away and we went exploring that night all around downtown Córdoba eventually stopping at an Italian restaurant for dinner. We discovered that the people of Córdoba are definitely people of the night. When we were walking around at 8pm the streets were busy but not crowded, when we left the restaurant at 11pm, the streets were packed!

The next day Venetia and I had our orientation with projects abroad. We learned how to travel to the office, about half an hour bus ride, and we did a kind of tour of the city so that we could see where important things are and find things like ATMS and pharmacies. One thing that I have found that I love about this city is that there are bookstores everywhere! I really enjoy looking at the different selection in each one. That night was the freak thunderstorm. The lightning was constant, the wind was howling and water was pouring in all of the windows of our apartment. As we were mopping up, the power went out! And so did the WiFi. Unfortunately when the power returned 12 hours later, the WiFi did not, and so I have been trying to find time to go to a café and post this. Tuesday was mine and Venetia’s first day out at the equine therapy center. It takes about 30 minutes by bus to get there and we work from 3 to 7pm. Our main task right now is general upkeep of the center so at the moment, we have done a lot of poop scooping. It’s a very dirty and hot task but it needs to be done! Venetia finds it really funny that we are paying to shovel horse poop, haha. The lady in charge of the center, Veronica, is super enthusiastic and very good at what she does. She is so fun to be around and she likes to practice her English and teach us, (mostly Venetia) Spanish. The clients that come to the center for therapy range from a 4 year old with a speech impediment to a 26 year old with a wheelchair and mental disabilities. Our job when they come is to walk next to them and keep them safe while they are riding. We also guide the horse if necessary and always try to keep the clients smiling and entertained (even if that means singing a self-translated and incorrect Spanish version of Let it Go, which it did yesterday). This part of the job is mentally exhausting but very worthwhile when you can tell how much fun they are having.

Today I got to ride a little bit which was fun except that they do not ride western style (which is how I learned) and because of this Veronica thinks I’m doing it wrong and wants me to learn the ‘correct way’...oh well, no harm in learning something new. Overall things are going very well (the power of prayer and good thoughts!) and I think I will be happy here for the next three months. It feels like I have been here for so long already but it hasn’t even been a week yet! However other volunteers have said that the time will start flying by before I know it. As much as I questioned my decision during the homesick beginning phase, so far my trip is everything that I hoped it would be! Of course I still have a lot more journey before I am back home and I am still missing my family, dogs, and friends but I also feel much more assured that this trip is what I was called to be doing right now. I hope all of you are doing well and really appreciate all your support and prayers, please keep them coming! Thanks for following!

LP     

Hola from Córdoba!

 Hola from Córdoba, Argentina! Yes, I made it to my first destination after 20 or so hours of traveling.  During my travel day there were a lot of tears whenever I became overwhelmed or realized how much I already missed my family and my home. Luckily, my best friend Briana, who has been in Thailand for the last five months, assured me that she also had a crying session in an airport bathroom and agreed that the first few days or even weeks are definitely the hardest. On my flight from Miami to Santiago, Chile I got my first taste of living in South America as everyone on the plane, including the flight attendants spoke predominantly Spanish. I did alright speaking and many people assumed I was from Chile so I must not have made too much a fool out of myself. Coming into Santiago we flew over the Andes mountains which, as you can imagine were incredible. Living in the Rockies I usually assume that mountains are my thing and that I won’t be too impressed/shocked/surprised by mountain views but I was wrong. The Andes are huge and at first I thought they were cloud formations since we were still flying pretty high. I experienced my first South American sunrise from the plane and next thing I knew I was on another plane to my final destination of Córdoba. 

My arrival was extremely smooth, no issues at customs and my bag was on the conveyor belt at baggage claim as soon as I walked out. Once I found my Projects Abroad contact I was taken to my host's house. My hosts are a young woman named Illeana and an adorable little dog named Negrita. Our apartment is huge and nice and is right in the middle of downtown Córdoba. Illeana speaks Spanish and English which is great because we speak in Spanish but when my brain fails me, she helps me find the right word or phrase. Little Negrita is my new best friend (don’t tell my dogs) and she loves to sleep on my bed. 

 Since arriving I have mostly stayed in my room as I was exhausted and don’t yet know my way around the city. Tomorrow I will have my orientation with projects abroad when I will learn all about Córdoba and how to live here and I will also meet other volunteers who have just arrived. On Tuesday I will be introduced to  

my placement at the Fundación Cordobesa de equinoterapia. After my first day of work I will probably write another post and let you all know how it went. Thank you again for all of your support and prayers and please keep them coming! These first few days have already been hard as I feel homesick and often wonder why I chose to come on this trip. The beginning is always the hardest which I keep telling myself, but all the same, prayers and good thoughts are definitely appreciated!   

Stay tuned for a post on Tuesday about my orientation and my first thoughts about my volunteer placement. Thanks for reading!!!

LP

The night before the adventure...

Well tomorrow is the big day! It seems very surreal to say that I will be gone for a year starting from tomorrow morning. I have felt the entire gambit of emotions over the past week, from excited to anxious to terrified to sad. Sometimes I feel all of those things at once, actually probably most times that's how I feel. Everyone in my life has been so wonderful in the days leading up to my departure. My friends at work both coworkers and clients have been so great and made me feel so appreciated. My church family had been so supportive and overwhelmed me with prayer which has helped me more than I anticipated and I feel so blessed to have all of them supporting me. My family and friends have been as amazing as they always are and it is hard to leave them but great to know they are all behind me!
In physical terms I am ready. My bag is packed and weighs in 46.7lbs. My devices are charged and my clothes are laid out. Mentally it's hard to say if I am ready, I think I'll only be ready when I land in Argentina on Saturday morning!

Thank you all for the words of support and for expressing such an interest in what I am doing, it really has helped more than I can say!

No exciting pictures yet but I thought I'd share one of my whopper of a bag

Until Córdoba!
LP