it is cold as isonza here

greeting from 1.7 miles above sea level!!! appologies in advanced, still havent figured out the english spell check or certain symbols on this computer

today is our second day at Isonza and so far it has been quite the adventure. we arrived yesterday around 10 30 am after what might have been a three hour drive through the most beautiful landscape i have ever seen. we were introduced to all the kids, broke into groups to make name tags, and were given a tour of the school.

basically isonza is a plot of land with two classrooms, a kitchen, living space for the students, a church, farm animals, and the house we are staying in. In previous years robertsons have lived in a room at the school house but becuase there are six of us this year we are living in a separate cabin. we dont have heat but do have about three hours of electricity every night from about 7 30 to 10 30 and apparently tonight... some hot water!! we eat breakfast and lunch on our own in the house and then walk over the the school where we spend the day with the kids. the cold is taking some getting used to but over all its very comofortable here

more importantly, the kids are adorable! we had our first day of teaching today and I think the English classes went pretty well. emma, tess, and i taught english to two groups, one older and one younger. the younger group was especially excited to be learning english and ran around afterwards repeating the numbers and saying my name is blank, what is your name

must get back to the kids but will post again soon, assuming the school doesnt lose internet. phone doesnt work here but will be back in the city thursday night so speak to everyone then!

Survived the bike ride!

Hola from Salta!!

Internet has been difficult to come by the past few days but Salta is beautiful. When we arrived we were taken to a bed and breakfast type hostel deal (not really sure what it was) outside the city of Salta. Even flying in, it was beautiful; while everyone else was sleeping i took pictures of the mountains above the clouds from outside the window! We spent two days in the first town (cant remember the name but will add when I do) visiting some schools, making instruments out of bamboo, and yes- bike riding which i actually really enjoyed!! I was given the option of riding in the van instead of a bike but decided to try out the bike ride and warned everyone to steer clear of me because i could not control my bike, held on to the handle bar very, very tightly and actually had a lot of fun. On the way back i decided to ride in the back on the pick up truck with Emma and Tess after realizing I was so focussed on not falling that I was missing out on just how beautiful everything around me was. Lots of big meals later we moved onto our home stays inside the city of Salta

I have been living with a young architect named Mercedes and her two roommates. They are all very, very sweet and have made me so comfortable. The best part about my home stay is that I am ten blocks away from city center, La plaza nueve de julio. Unlike Buenos Aires where there were many neighborhoods worth exploring, mostly everything in Salta is situated around the main plaza and on one street, Balcarce. I was able to meet up with Ronald, Emma, and their host siblings yesterday which was really fun. We went on a cable car up above the city at sunset and drank mate. It was sooo pretty and I got some great pictures!!

Last night after a very good dinner with Mercedes and her roommate I met up with Ronald, Emma, their host siblings, and some if their friends and went to a boliche on Balcarce. All the friends know each other from an English class they are taking together and told the bouncer they were from the US so no one had to show any ID (the legal age here is 18 so it didn't matter for us anyway but I thought it was so crazy that just because they were able to say they were from "Miami, Florida" they were let right in!)

Overall, Salta has been a nice change from all the craziness of Buenos Aires. While there is plenty to do, it is definitely more of a small city feel and some peace and quiet is not hard to find. Tomorrow we head up to Isonza, which I am so so excited for!! Details to follow as soon as possible

And the month of curly hair begins...

I am an awful blogger (please forgive me Jane). To be fair, I am pretty sure all two of you reading this were warned before I left that this would be the case

Most importantly, special birthday shout out to LAR.

Tonight is bittersweet. As of a week ago, or even two, I was very ready to leave Buenos Aires and move onto Salta. Now that it is my last night here, I am kind of sad to leave this city and little hotel with hot pink lettering that we have (embarrassingly) come to call "home." (Picture to follow as soon as I upload)

So after a month of museums, spanish lessons, tango, cafes, more Spanish, more tango, markets, an opera, and more cafes I am leaving Hotel Reina (at 4:45 am mind you) and starting the second part of my Argentine experience: Isonza.

For the next four weeks we will spend Monday- Friday living at a school (Isonza) in the Province of Salta, team teaching English & physical education, developing a micro finance project & a garden and best of all: wait for it, wait for it.... building a pig pen.

GOALS FOR SALTA:

1. do not let the kids find out that i am the lazies person... EVER, while teaching PE

2. continue to improve my Spanish

3. teach English that will be useful and do it in a fun way

4. spend as much time as possible learning from the students

5. name every pig

6. never lose a game of apple scrabble

7. blog frequently

8. take pictures

9. not fall off a mountain during tomorrow's group bike ride

10. try to enjoy every moment

not sure what the internet situation will be for the next month. one night in a hostel tomorrow, then 4 in a home-stay before my first week at Isonza. send good luck vibes for the bike ride pleaseeeeee.

oh, did i mention that electricity goes off at 10pm every night at Isonza? Something tells me this and my sleeping habits are not exactly going to mesh.

adios buenos aires. "see you next time"