Coming soon! I promise!

Hey all,

I arrived in Argentina 151 days ago, and now I have less than 48 hours left before I head to the airport. Crazy!

So the blog is coming to an end...but not quite yet! I still plan to post my final reflections, a post about my family's visit, how I've been spending these last couple of weeks, and my personal guide to the city :) Most of that won't be up until I'm home, so stay tuned!! The blog's not over until I say it's over!! Which will be sometime before 2011...I think.

Anyway, thank you all so much for reading, and I apologize for the lack of updates lately. I've just been living the life, cramming in some final cultural experiences/Christmas shopping, and lazing in the heat.

I'll be writing to you soon!

Love,

Isabella

Here I am!!

Well hello readers!!

Sorry I've been so incredibly m.i.a. lately. As several people (well, one person, whose voice surely speaks to the desires of many) recently pointed out, I got a little lazy in November. 3 posts? Pathetic!! I've got just shy of two weeks to make up for that and then it's blognomore. BuenosAiresnomore. Let's not even talk about it.

So here come a few little blogposts about what I've been up to lately. One right after the other. Ready?

Reflection at 80%

The Batts clan is here! They arrived Saturday morning and are settling in nicely. Family fun times have caused me to neglect my blog (and my homework*), so I’m actually a few days late for 80%. This means that I have a few days shy of a month left in Argentina. Freakout, as my dad would say.

These reflections were a good idea, and I’ll surely appreciate them someday, but they’re getting more and more difficult to write. I guess I really don’t feel like reflecting right now, at 80%.

With all of the pretension I can muster, I’ll declare that my reluctance to reflect is a perfect reflection of my current state of mind. It’s summertime and the livin’ is easy. November has brought some great adventures so far, and I’m ready for more! Soon, I’ll be THERE, not HERE, so I’m just trying to be here now.**

Coming soon:

-my fabulous yet (somewhat accidentally) substance-free 21^st

-The Wild Battsberrys discover Argentina

-Thanksgiving in Colonia, Uruguay with the entire herd of yanquis

-leaving, probable reverse-culture-shock-related trauma, the end of this blog.

SAD! I promise I’ll do some fun final entries, with lots of amusing photos. Suggestions are welcome!

Thanks for reading, it’s been a pleasure ;) And continues to be!! Because it’s NOT OVER YET.

Besos,

Isa

*I still have homework for Spanish class, as there is still (and always will be) Spanish to be learned. But I’m writing this first, of course – my priorities lie with you, dear readers.

**I have not read this book. Have you?

The Blog Must Go On!

I've loved keeping this blog, but lately I've found that posting isn't coming as naturally to me as it did before. As reflected in my previous entry, life feels more ordinary now, and therefore somehow less blog-able. I'm still having great adventures as a wannabe porteña, but now my life feels like real life as opposed to some imaginary version of life abroad. Also, that to-do list I posted is messing with me. It makes me feel super un-accomplished, even though I plan to do many of those things when classes are out and when my family visits, AND most of my little adventures aren't really to-do-listy. Blah, blah.

BUT I want to keep on trekking with the blog and staying connected to my beloved readers! My camera got stolen this weekend (UGH. I won't dwell on this, but WHAT A PAIN), but luckily I didn't lose any pictures. So here are some glimpses of recent life:

Valentín and I had a farewell photo shoot with Irma before she returned to El Salvador. We miss her :(

Bailee, Gwen, Jamie, Zoé, and I wandered around the beautiful Recoleta Cemetery the other day:

Next to Eva Peron's tomb:

I look way too giddy to be in a cemetery. The sun was shining, I went stocking-less for the first time while in this country...and I STILL HAD MY CAMERA (note my left hand)

Bailee admiring our strange and beautiful surroundings.

Goofy girls :)

We then ventured to the park next to the planetarium, where I shared a dramatic moment with Galileo...

...and the other girlies climbed a tree!

This is becoming long! How about that!

Some more tidbits:

I bought this journal in the States before leaving, and filled it up recently! It's mostly in Spanish. I am proud.

My new journal, front and back (I'm using the girly shoe as the front, even though the shoes I wear every day are identical to the manly one)

To complete the healthy dose of TMI you're getting in this post, here's a fruit salad I ate the other day. Because you're statistically about eight times more likely (no joke) to read/comment if I post a picture of food. I know you too well, dear readers ;)

Besos :)

Isa

Word of the day: la cana - n. Police. (also means, but doesn't have anything to do with, "white hair")

Within the near future: boliche-style Halloween, census-inspired picnics, and (surprise!) belated play reviews. Stay tuned!

Estamos en OCTUBRE

Happy first of October, everyone. I can't believe this month has arrived! It's especially surreal because I'm officially having my first year without an Autumn. I hear it's hot in Boston right now, but it'll cool down, while here it's warming up - no complaints, but it feels strange nonetheless.

So my school week diary is over. I hope you guys enjoyed the peak into my especially chilled-out week. I'll keep going with the play reviews and travel tales - I bought a camera today so I'll be able to add photos for real! - but I welcome any suggestions for upcoming blogposts. If you haven't already guessed, this is fun for me.

I'm off to Rosario for the weekend!

Thanks for reading :)

Love,

Isa

Coming Up: Una Semana Porteña

Check out that etymology!

Queridos lectores,

I've been here for ten splendid weeks and have almost thirteen left! As I said recently, time is moving at a beautiful speed. I feel very much in the middle, at a turning point, in a transition not the most comfortable feeling in the world, but it's positive nonetheless. Coincidentally, Winter is turning to Spring here - oh, come on, EMBRACE THE METAPHOR.

To complement this change that is occurring in my being, I want to try changing a few external things, as well. I'm trying to eat fewer empanadas, for example, and I'm thinking about cutting my hair. I also want to mix it up on the blog. If you have any suggestions, please let me know!!

The first thing that came to mind when trying to come up with something snazzy to blog about was really quite simple and ordinary: posting a diary of sorts for a week. I mostly end up writing about my weekend life, but four out of seven days (Fridays off hehe) I am IN CLASS. It's a pretty cool set up. And sometimes, ridiculous things happen that you all might get a kick out of. SO I'm gonna write my week this week, Monday - Thursday. THRILLING! No, for real I'm excited, I promise to make it good.

In conclusion: stay tuned to follow me step by step for the next few days, and if you have any blogging ideas for me, COMMENT or send me an e-mail :)

Also coming soon: I'll be in Rosario next weekend with IFSA. I'm excited, I've heard it's a beautiful city! I'll make sure to obtain a camera by then so I can share with you all another piece of Argentina outside Bs As.

Thanks for reading!

Besos,

Isa

Word of the day: morfar - vb. To eat. (ex: "Morfé como una bestia" = "I ate like a beast." A useful phrase in my life!)

¡Disculpen!

Hello lovely readers,

It's been over a week since I last posted, and I wanted to take a moment to assure you that my blog is not dead! I've just been busy, I suppose. Also, my camera broke (someone stepped on it. POOP), which puts a damper on things. But here's a quick list of things to look forward to:

• reflection at 40% (agh!)

• loads more plays (surprise, surprise)

• some memorable boliche moments (i.e. your faves)

• epic journey to the waterfalls of Iguazú (next weekend!)

So more of the same, really, with some new adventures. Así es la vida.

Much love and thanks for reading!!

Besitos

Isa

Word of the day: el alfajor - n. A delicious packaged dessert involving two or three layers of cookie with something delicious in between, usually coated in chocolate. I ate one for breakfast this morning, it was a good decision. (Here's a picture - the one I ate today was way more intense, though)

Randomness in a Red Beret

In keeping with my vow to review all of the plays and films I see while down here, I have five reviews to write from the past week. Holy moley. I’d best get started.

But before I bombard you with reviews, I’d like to post some personal snippets that don’t really fit in anywhere:

1) I recently purchased a bright red beret. Those of you who know me well shouldn’t be surprised that I’m counting this as a major, life-changing, blog-worthy event. I’ve been a hat person for a long time now – at times, obsessively so – but I think it’s safe to say that this time I’m in love.

2) Latest step in resolving language frustrations: I’m vowing to stop being such a neuro-case about my accent. The poor Argentines who have imitated my r’s have had to then listen to my long-winded, flustered explanations of how my Finnish-American tongue often produces “grracias” instead of “gracias” and “perdón” comes out sounding an awful lot like “Perón.” From here on out, I promise only to refer to my accent as “utilitarian” and “cute.”

3) A couple of my IFSA pals are keeping blogs as well. I’m going to embarrass them by publicizing on here:

Robyn – beansandfudge.blogspot.com

Alli – alliupsidedown.blogspot.com

Happy reading!

Expect a kajillion reviews super soon!

Besos,

Isa

P.S. I’ll do a photoshoot with the beret soon. It’s pretty epic. I ask you to please support my need for you all to see it on my head.

Word of the day: el boludo – n. This word has many meanings. Technically, it’s a derivation of “balls.” Can be used the way we use “asshole” and “idiot” in English, but it can mean “dude” in a friendly way, too. (I can’t believe this hasn’t been word of the day yet. It’s an essential part of porteño vocabulary.)

Coming soon...

Hello beautiful readers,

Un montón de gracias for the lovely comments in response to my last entry :) It´s just really lovely to know who all is reading. It seems my play reviews and lunfardos are reaching many corners of the world!

Coming soon: 2 more play reviews (I went 4 days in a row), Fuerza Bruta, screaming and pinching as classwork, and MORE.

Stay tuned, thanks for reading!

Love,
Isabella

"A Selfish Plea"

I put the title to this entry entre comillas because it could easily be the name of some heinous theatrical work. But actually, it´s just the title of this entry. So here goes:

PLEASE COMMENT ON MY BLOG
I KNOW YOU´RE OUT THERE
COME ON, COME ON!

That could have been a haiku if I had tried. But really, dear readers, PLEASE COMMENT if you´re reading, I want to know what you think. And that you think. That you exist, really. You say you´re real, but are you?

okthatsall