Dreams Come True

...there is no other way to describe this new country that I've entered into, especially with so few words. Argentina is everything I dreamed it would be, with a few unexpected realities thrown in too. My host family is unbelievably warm and loving, as is their home, where many extended family members gather to talk, eat and enjoy each other's company. I arrived yesterday around 3PM, I think... my internal clock is very confused since my family eats on a very different schedule than what I am used to, and since it is winter the sun sets around 7:30. After being awake for a full day and a half it is a good thing today is Argentina's Independence Day and I didn't have to wake up early or go anywhere quickly.

I now have two younger brothers, Sebastián (known as Seba) and Nicolás (Nico), and two older sisters, Gabriela (Gabi) and Verónica. Gabi and Verónica are married and have moved out of the house but they visit often with their husbands, Fernando (Fer) and Jorge. Verónica has two children of her own, a girl who is five (Valentina) and a baby boy. I say all this now because I know I will refer to them later and I don't want confuse everyone... jaja.

Anyway, I've spent most of my time around the house so far except for one short trip to the panadería (a bakery) and to "shopping". That is the name of Córoba's mall and everyone calls it that (i.e. Querés ir a shopping?) I've also been doing a lot of eating. Today I woke up very late and had a breakfast of café con leche and tartas de manzana (like apple pastries). At 3PM we had lunch. I don't remember what the exact name of the dish we had but it was similar to enchiladas made with crepe-like wraps served with spinach, corn and cheese inside. At 6 we drank mate (a type of loose tea) and ate more tartas de manzana. Dinner is served around 9 or 9:30.

So far I've really loved everything about my stay here and I have to continually pinch myself (figuratively speaking) to remind myself that I'm actually here, in this foreign country, with these people I have known for not much more than 24 hours. It actually surprises me when I think about that because I already feel so comfortable here, like I've always lived in this house and been a part of this family (and not spoken a word of English all day long :).

Forgive my awkward sentences... speaking and thinking Spanish all day has actually made it difficult to speak and write in English (which actually makes me very happy). That's probably enough for now... I could go on for hours but I'll save the rest for another post. Thank you all again for your thoughts and prayers! I can already tell they are working :)

¡Hasta luego!