by becrach
Another fun and exciting trip… am I really in school??
Wednesday afternoon, we all ran around town shopping, packing, and preparing for our trip. We got on the bus at 7pm and sat for 20 hours. We arrived at Puerto Iguazú on Thursday afternoon and enjoyed the day at our campsite. The weather was beautiful with the sun shining on the endless greenery. Palm trees, grass, and other tropical plants all around us and our little tent. (very little…). We cooked hot dogs, went swimming, hung out, cooked pasta, made a campfire, relaxed, and went to bed. Friday morning we woke up and headed for the Parque Nacional del Iguazú. We were able to enter the park as Argentine residents (because we live here) which saved us a bunch of pesos! Then we went on this awesome “safari”/ boat ride through the jungle and the falls. We got super soaked and then laid out on a little beach right next to the falls. I’m pretty sure under the top ten most relaxing things someone can do; lying in the sun on the sand next to giant waterfalls, in the middle of the tropics, is up there. After that, we walked around the park some more, saw the devil’s throat (la garganta del Diablo) and took in as much sol y agua as we could. That night, we were able to enjoy a nice meal from the restaurant on our camp ground, relax some more, and hit the hay. At about 6:30am Saturday morning, I felt a rain drop on my forehead. I proceeded to get out of the tent, run to the front desk and beg for a cabin. Haha. We spent have the rainy day inside our cabin sleeping. After the rain died down, our hero hombres came to rescue us. They made us go to the falls again, and I am glad we did. The waterfalls (if possible) practically doubled in size from the rain. We hiked some more, took more pics from different views, and enjoyed las cataratas. My favorite part of the trip was standing on a ledge right in front of the waterfall. We were all there screaming and shouting, getting splashed, with our hands in the air, so glad we chose
On another note, it’s the half way point and I need to take a moment to reflect on the time I’ve had here from all aspects…
My Spanish: I maybe know 50 more words, and can tell my madre what I did and ate each day, but have not advanced much more than that
My health: I haven’t been sick once, besides the normal Becca stomach aches. And of course, I’ve been very tired – but I’m enjoying my awake time!
My friends: the people here are great. We all think it’s funny that even though the students here are from all over the country, we are all so similar. Humor translates.
My classes: oh I’m in school?
Home and PSU: I miss you every day
My feelings/ emotions: I’m on an emotional roller coaster every day. I love life, I don’t want to wake up, I love life. But some recent events have made me wonder what’s so great about life. And then I saw some pretty waterfalls, and now I know the answer to that – life is what’s great about life.
Thoughts on the present: I am grateful every day I walk down the dirty BA streets. I’m grateful for this opportunity and grateful for life. I thank God for putting me here, teaching me things, and introducing me to new people and experiences. I’m grateful for Argentine culture and American culture. Sometimes when you travel, you realize how much else there is out there in the world that is possibly much better than where you came from. Here, I just feel like, BA is okay and
Thoughts on the future: I don’t really want to go back to school. I want to visit my friends and family, but being back in a class environment doesn’t really strike me as a good time anymore. I also feel like I don’t have a lot to look forward to anymore being in PA. I know that’s not true, but it’s how I feel. I want to drop out and be a nomad, but since I can’t do that, I’ve decided that when I graduate, I’m taking a year off before the real world.
All in all, todo bien. This is a growing experience in more ways than I’ll ever know. This week: midterms. Next week: spring break!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment