Wrinkles? What Wrinkles

I LOVE BIRTHDAYS!!!! And luckily tomorrow we celebrate one!! Don't worry, Lauren, I won't tell your age :) You're BEAUTIFUL inside and out and I see zero wrinkles. Oh and did I say that you were amazing and I probably wouldn't be alive in Argentina without you. Cannot wait to celebrate with you and your daddy tomorrow touring around Buenos Aires! Ohhh yeahhhhh :):)

I taught my first lesson today. It actually went really well. No, I'm not teaching a classroom of students. No, they are not kids. I am teaching ESL, to anyone who needs it. #workinggirl Currently at Cinemark, which just so happens to be pretty famous. I mean, I am pretty famous... soooo it kinda works out! It was actually really interesting. I taught... well tried to teach on the differences in "do/make". In Spanish it's one word, so things got tricky. It was a lot of fun though and the man is really nice.

When you go into the corporate offices of Cinemark, the security guard has to authorize you to go to a specific floor. I walked up to him and said, "Necesito ir al cinco piso". That's Spanish, right? It might not be correct, but it's Spanish. His response? "I don't speak English, speak slower". Well, I kinda figured that, hence the reason I spoke Spanish to you. This Southern accent is really killing me. And by Southern I mean, everyone thinks that I live near LA... complete opposite sides of the country (literally). No, I don't live on a plantation.. no I don't milk cows everydays, no we don't ride horses to the grocery store. Yes, I do say "yall", I don't drink moonshine and I hate beer, and I will charm your socks off :) I hope my friends I met on the way to the grocery store see this, they'll appreciate it.

I have another interview in the morning with an institute. Hopefully they will have a few jobs available. After that I am going to go on the city bus tour of Buenos Aires with Lauren and her dad for her birthday. I have my first private lesson tomorrow night. Nothing too formal, just trying to see what level her English is at then go from there.

I am feeling so much better after being sick. I got really upset and just didn't want to be here because I felt so horrible. I'm feeling much better now and am a happy little girl again!

Love you all!

P.S. --> ERIN MONFILS IS GETTING MARRIED NOVEMBER 17!!!!!!!!!!! #AMERICA 

All Finished

What a crazy week this has been! I had to teach 6 classes and watch 6 classes. It was a lot of fun, but a lot of work. I'm really glad it's over. I got my certificate and now can start teaching!!

I will start teaching at a company called Cinemark on Tuesdays and Thursdays. As of right now I am only teaching 5 hours a week (3 at Cinemark and 2 private students). This week my goal is to go out to some more institutes and see what they have to offer! I don't think there will be any trouble.

I'm sick right now. I got to experience my first international doctors office today. Mercedes went with me but couldn't stay because she had to go open up the theater. So it was definitely interesting trying to talk with the doctor. She did speak a little English, which was good. If I am still feeling bad and hurting on Monday, I'm going to go to a doctor that apparently is really good.. and covered by our insurance at home.

Leave it to me to get sick 3 weeks into my trip. Hopefully the medicines will start helping and will make me feel better soon. I'm ready to get back out and explore some!!

Love you all!

#EMPLOYED

Here is one of the Institutes that I will be working for:
http://www.world-connection.com.ar/quienes.html

Here is the company that I will be working for through them:
http://www.cinemark.com.ar/


I know people probably want to know more about this and one day when I can keep my eyes open, I will let you know.  But here are the basics until then!

love you all

Hombre Vertiente

Well, some things definitely never change. I did absolutely NOTHING this weekend. So I'm going to tell you about it, because I'm sure you are dying to know.

Friday: I worked on lesson plans. It really sucked. I am anything BUT creative. Then I went to Spanglish. I met a guy with a Duke shirt on. He actually used to work in Pendleton and tailgate in Clemson. That was pretty cool. Afterwards I just talked with some people and then came home to sleep. Everyone would be so proud... I actually stayed out until 2am. Only here, that is really early so of course it's like me going home at 11pm like normal.

Saturday: I slept. For once I actually slept in and it was awesome. I was supposed to meet someone to evaluate them to start teaching, but it didn't work out. She was running late and I had to meet someone else right after. Luckily since I don't have a phone, I ran into her on my way out and we were able to schedule another time. After that I went to Starbucks with a friend and worked on some stuff. No I didn't wear green, drink green beer, or do anything that pertained to St. Patrick's Day. I came home and watched Cuevana. Cuevana is the same thing as Hulu since Hulu doesn't work outside of the USofA. I also watched a little bit of the Disney channel in Spanish. Then I went to sleep... again. Such an exciting new and adventurous life I am living, huh?

Today: Once again, I slept. My head was hurting (shocker!) so I didn't do much this morning. I worked on some more lesson plans that of course I am no where close to being done. Then I took Lauren to see Hombre Vertiente for her birthday with Nico and Analia. The only word to describe it is... AWESOME!!!!! It was almost like Cirque de Soleil, but it wasn't. It was so cool. I'm gonna try and post a YouTube video of it, but I don't know how to. So I don't know if it will work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9nKfhbH2ac&feature=share

I teach my first class tomorrow. I'm pretty scared and excited. Luckily it's an advanced class so it's a lot of discussion that I don't really participate in. I think that will definitely help me get used to teaching, but not really teaching. Oh yeah, the place downstairs delivers pizza, beer, and ice cream. #heaven

love and miss you all!
A


"Your birthday in Heaven will be such a grand affair... and I know you'll look so lovely with a halo in your hair."
Happy Birthday, Feepapa. I love and miss you so much. 
RIP - March 18, 1933 - February 6, 2011


^^^yes, I did Clemson colors because I know you like South Carolina. Actually, I don't really think you like South Carolina. I think you just pretended to like them so you could piss me off. But that's why I love you :)

What a Beautiful Life this is :)

Ah, can't believe that I have already been here for 2 weeks. It seriously seems like just yesterday that I got here. Nothing really exciting has happened this week. I went to Spanglish Tuesday night and it was trivia. I'm not gonna lie I wasn't a big fan of it. I was also really tired and didn't know any of the answers. That could have something to do with it. I think I am going to try it out again another time. We have been finishing class this week. Tomorrow we have peer teaching and Monday I teach my first class. I am really nervous. Especially because it is on "Celebrity and Scandals". The only celebrity scandal I know about is Tiger Woods. Haha, unfortunately I'm sure the people I am teaching don't know anything about Tiger.

I'm not sure what I am doing this weekend. I'm sure that it will involve A LOT of lesson planning. Actually, I know it will. I have 6 more lessons to plan. Hopefully after tomorrow, it will become a little more easier and I will know what to do. I am definitely going to Spanglish tomorrow night. One of the people I am teaching will be there and she wants to talk more about me teaching her English lessons. Woohoo, so excited about that! I'm taking Lauren to a show, Hombre Vertiente, for her birthday on Sunday. It's a water show, apparently it's awesome... can't wait!

Like I said, nothing too exciting going on here. Just wanted to let y'all know that I am alive and doing well. love!

Oh and I got married today...

and became a superhero...

and a human chair!! 

When in Buenos Aires

The rest of this week has been awesome! I went to Spanglish on Friday and it was just how I explained it! I met a lot of awesome people. I think that I might start teaching 2 older people before I get my certification.... so excited! I will definitely start going to Spanglish a lot. It's also in different parts of the city, so it will be a good adventure for me to find my way around the city! After Spanglish, a couple of friends and I hung out. We went to Palermo and they had some drinks. In the US, I would have been home at 2:30... but here I didn't get home until 4. Apparently that was early?

Let's see.... Saturday I slept in. Well until 11, so not really. I went to the park for a little bit, but it was really hot. Then of course, I went to the mall and bought cupcake pans!!!!! I am so so so excited about that, if you can imagine :) After that I met up with Mica and we walk around for a couple of hours. She showed me this really cool place. It's a park, but in it there is this metal flower. I guess that's what it is. When the sun is down, the flower is closed. As the sun comes up, the flower opens. It also turns with the sun. It was so cool and there was a really pretty sunset. I also got to meet her friend Jime. She was really nice. She is studying translation and works in a bookstore that they sell books in English... woohoo! I had my first mental break down last night. I really started missing my little babies, Maddie and Arthur! It just makes me sad that Maddie is so old and there is always a chance that I won't see her again. I also really really miss my Saturday night date night with Guy and Liza! I can't believe that next time I see Guy he will be 5. That is just unreal. It seems like just last week I kept texting Anna to see if she had him yet. It makes me feel old that I was 18 when he was born... crazy!! So, Anna if you see this - email me some pictures, please!!

Today I went to the pool at one of my friends houses. It was kind of, not really, far away. It was the farthest I have been away from Recoleta, where I am staying since I have been here. I met a bunch of people who did the TEFL program at the same place I am. That was really good. Also, at Nico's house, where we went to swim I got to see his dogs. That made me really happy. Still sad that I can't see Maddie or Arthur, but it was good to be able to play with them. After that we went to San Telmo and walked around and had some lunch. Well, in the US not really lunch. It will be my dinner. I still haven't gotten used to the whole eating late thing yet. I know mom and dad trained me for this my whole life, by eating at 8pm. But eating at 10pm is a little too late for me.

San Telmo 

Overall a good weekend, hopefully I'll do something interesting this week to post about! Hope everyone back home is doing well! Miss you all!!

Finally getting Acquainted

Ya know I've never really understood why people got so happy about "hump day" well goodness gracious NOW I know. Only 2 days left until the weekend!!!! Hopefully they go by fast! I actually have things to do with FRIENDS! hahaha, geez it only took me a week to get some!

Classes have been good. They are long, not really.... I think I just haven't completely gotten over the jet lag and  the heat so after class this week I've been exhausted and came home and laid down. London we got to meet everybody and do some "ice breakers". Lauren is from Kentucky but went to College of Charleston, Nico is from Argentina, but moved to Minnesota and basically grew up there. Nicola is from London and Analia is from Bahia Blanca which is South of Buenos Aires. Instead of Michelle teaching us stuff in English and making it very very repetitive we started Afrikaans. Afrikaans is a language spoken in South America. It was so difficult and frustrating, but at the same time when I came back to class the next day, everything had soaked in and I understood it. So now I understand all the repetition. 

I've been talking to Micaela more and her friend Jimena. Micaela is the girl I met on the plane. I think the 3 of us are going to try and do something this weekend. I think also that our class is going to get together one day and do something just so we can get to know each other better. There is something called Spanglish that is described as speed dating but it really isn't. You are paired up with someone who speaks Spanish and you talk in only Spanish for 5 minutes and only English for 5 minutes and then switch people. I think it will be a great way to make friends and learn some more Spanish.

 I'm pretty excited! Other than getting lost for 2 hours today, everything is finally falling into place! I can't tell you the last time I was this happy! :) And like I told you before.... this blog isn't going to be very exciting!!!

A

Adventuring Alone

Well today was my first day by myself. I woke up really late, but it felt good to get some sleep! I went to the park and layed out for a while. It was so nice out, but hot. And when I say hot I mean really really hot. The park is only about a 10 minute walk from where I am staying. There were a bunch of people there. I only stayed out there for a little over an hour. It was REALLY hot and I didn't want to get burnt on my first day.

Not a cloud in the sky.. how beautiful :)

I went to the supermarket by myself too! I wanted a cold water after laying out so I figured I might as well stop in. I got a 2 liter bottle of water, a big thing of strawberry marmalade, RAMEN, saran wrap, crackers, and some snack packs for about $10... can't complain. I obviously didn't plan to buy ramen. I saw it and figured it was a safe go to for my first meal to cook. I don't think anybody can mess up ramen, so I decided to test out the kitchen with it. Everything went smoothly and nothing was burnt down! They don't have plastic baggies here, at least at the place that I went. That's why I got saran wrap, so I can make a sandwich for lunch tomorrow. 

Looks the same and tastes the same!!

 After I went to the supermarket, I came home and showered and ventured back out. I didn't go too far because I was scared I would get lost. I walked down the street and went to the Farmacity. They have all the same brands (Pantene, Herbal Essence, Maybelline, L'oreal) and the shampoos smelled the same too. I grabbed some lunch after that. Apparently there is a really good sandwich shop right down the road, but I couldn't find it today! I ended up eating pasta. It was pretty good... I would probably compare it to a fettuccine alfredo. The sauce wasn't exactly an alfredo sauce, but close! It wasn't the best food I've ever had, but it wasn't the worse! Luckily none of the food has hurt my stomach either, which is pretty awesome!!

View at night looking over the park

Mercedes went to a friends house for dinner so I have just been hanging out! I started getting all of my stuff ready for school in the morning. I think I have everything I need... at least I hope. I'm excited to see what the "hustle and bustle" is like here when the work week starts. I'm glad I don't have to be at school until 10 tomorrow! That gives me a little more time to sleep :) Which is exactly what I am about to do now!

This will probably be my last post for a few days since class starts tomorrow. I have a feeling I'm going to be pretty busy... at least I hope so!! :) Here goes nothin.....

Bienvenido a Argentina :)

I made it to Argentina all in once piece! The flight wasn't too bad. Excuse me, the flight from Charlotte to Atlanta was horrible. Tons of turbulence. The flight from Atlanta to Buenos Aires wasn't bad at all, it could have been worse. I made a lot of friends on the way! There was one girl and guy who were traveling back to Texas after working in Charlotte. A man who is from Washington state who just got back from India and was coming to BA and then at the end of the week heading to Germany. Three guys from Montana coming down to dove hunt. Two girls who work for Edward Jones coming down for work. And another girl who had been in the USofA almost 2 months on vacation and was coming back home. She sat beside me on the plane and was really nice. She gave me a bunch of places to go while in Argentina.

The lady I'm staying with is really cool. She does something with theater, so she is there now until 6 or 7. When she gets home we are going to eat dinner then go walk around so I'm familiar with the area! I'm excited to be here... I can't wait to see what this adventure has in store for me! I'll post pictures later!

A

This is LIFE... and I decided to LIVE it.

Well, this is it. In 12 hours. I will be checking in at the airport. In 24 hours, I will be in the air on my flight from Atlanta to Buenos Aires. It's Delta flight 101... I think. Don't get mad if for some off reason you get bored tomorrow night and go to track my flight and that's not it. Unfortunately, it's not in front of me and I'm too lazy to get up and look.

Like I said before, I am so scared/nervous/excited/anxious about this. I can promise you that nothing has changed since then. I am all packed with both suit cases in the car! I had thought about waking up in the morning and straightening my hair and putting on mascara. I mean come on, for all I know I might run into my future husband when I land in Buenos Aires. And let's be real, after going to see The Vow the other night with mom... my love life is definitely lacking. Then I realized a few things. 1. I am not waking up 40 minutes early to get ready 2. If I do see the love of my life, it better be love at first sight. I will not have showered for 24 hours, and that is a normal occurrence 3. I'm going to smell like straight PLANE when we land at 7:55am Saturday morning. And let me tell you... that ain't my usual juicy smell.

I could not have asked for a better full day in the states. I woke up and got to hang out with the cutest 2 year old I know, which just so happens to be my best friend... Liza!!! We came to my house and played dress up, played with Arthur, and with her new squishy toy! Then we ventured out to Target so I could get a couple of last minute things. After that, we were going to go to another store, but Liza wanted to go to Earth Fare!! We got a little "Customer in Training" buggy and walked around the store a couple times. Then we ate lunch with my grandma and came back to my house and played. That was the first of many goodbyes. I finally got my hair cut today too! I got about 2 1/2 inches cut off! I'll put up some pictures in a few days. After that the Holmes came over to say bye, and we ate dinner as a family. I'm such a lucky girl... my brother who is on a strict diet went in to Cupcrazed Cakery and got cupcakes for after dinner! What an awesome big brother :)! This is the same one who thinks I shouldn't go to Argentina and we should just ship a bunch of Rosetta Stones in the morning! hahaha I had to say bye to my other jody half too! That was sad! Thank goodness she finally got on the iPhone train and we can skype and facetime!!!

I can barely keep my eyes open right now. I'm forcing myself to stay up, but I think I have to give in. I will try and give ya'll an update as soon as possible when I get to Argentina and get settled in!!

Love you all! See you in a year :)
A

Our delicious cupcakes!!!