I think I'm in love.

I think I'm in love.  And no not with a boy.  With this place.  I think I love it here.  After an amazing weekend filled with seeing the city at it's best and experiencing the best that this culture has to offer, I love it.  For now.  And that's all I need.  I'll take it day by day.

On Friday, we (all of the other students and I) went on a trip to Alta Gracia.  There, we went to la casa de Che y un museo Jesuitico.  I have no idea of any of the background history of any of it, but I guess they were cool to see.  I can say I went!  After we finished at those places, we went to a hotel for lunch as a group.  At lunch is when the cool part happened.  I sat at a table with three other students.  One is a girl from France who is just super awesome and Spanish is the only language we have in common.  How cool right?  The other two, one girl and one boy are both here for a month and are from Louisiana.  I have been in class for the past three weeks with the boy, yet this was the first time we actually had a conversation.  We began talking about politics and religion, and the outcome of this conversation was amazing.  The girl is a Christian, the boy is not, and they were both surprised to find that I am as well.  The boy told me that he has only ever encountered super religious people who come off as judgmental, conservative to the point of narrow-mindedness, or just give off an air that they are better than everyone else.  Therefore, he, and the girl as well, were surprised to meet a pro Obamacare, justice-seeking, Jesus-loving feminist who does not associate with a religion but rather focuses on Jesus himself.  To these two people who have always been turned off or just frustrated by religious people who seem to forget about Jesus, this was a shock, and a relief.  The cool part isn't just that we agreed on every social justice issue, but it's that I was given the opportunity to talk to someone who doesn't know Jesus, or at least doesn't know the real Jesus, about Jesus.  I got to share with him about some of the miracles Jesus preformed.  I told him that the first miracle Jesus preformed was to help a woman- the woman at the well.  I told him that when Jesus fed the crowd of thousands, everyone was fed the same.  The people who worked the hardest to get there or who traveled the longest didn't get to eat more just because of that; Jesus was about equality and love.  When Jesus ate, he ate with the homeless, the prostitutes, the non-believers, the sinners.  He fought for them, loved, them, and died for them. I got to tell him that Jesus was not conservative, not narrow-minded, not judgmental, and He never thought He was too good to associate with another human being.  The girl teared up a little bit, and the boy kept saying over and over again that he had goosebumps.  He kept asking me more and more questions and kept loving my answers (or the best I could come up with), but I just kept referring to the gospels.  We have the best manuscript, the best love story, and the true version of the radical, loving Jesus at our fingertips.  I got to share with him a new way to look at religion (or not look at it, that is), but rather look at who Jesus was and how we can best live like Him.  This conversation blessed me in so many ways and just solidified my existence here.  If I do nothing else amazing here, I can say that Jesus used me to open up the mind of my classmate, for him to view Jesus in a new light and maybe even desire to know Him.

So that was Friday.  Amazing right?  After our trip, I came home and slept before going over to the apartment of my friend and then to a boliche.  It was fun and I love the friends I am making here!

Saturday, I slept a lot and then went out to run errands by myself.  This was the first time that I have done something like this alone.  I really needed to go to the bank and run to the store to grab a few things.  I made myself go.  I took el colectivo to el centro, ran all my errands, and walked around for a while alone to enjoy the day.  It was beautiful and I love that I did here exactly what I would have done at home.  If I need something at home, I would get in the car and go to Target.  Here, I walk to the bus stop, get on the bus, get off the bus, walk to the store, walk to the other store, walk to the bank, walk to the bus stop, get on the bus, get off the bus, walk home.  Same purpose, different ways of doing it, but I did it, without fear.  I then enjoyed the rest of the day and night with my family watching tv, drinking tea, eating sweet things, and enjoying each other's company.

Yesterday, I slept in and then woke up to criollos and dulce de leche again.  Mi abuela for the win, seriously.  Then I studied for a while.  For lunch, we ate empanadas arabes y ensalada.  Empanadas arabaes are similar tasting to sfeeha (for my Lebanese family), but I might have to say that these are a bit better (oops, sorry Aunt Karen).  They are amazing and I will learn how to make them, promise.

After eating I went to my friend's apartment en el centro.  Well let me rephrase that...the trip to her apartment was not smooth at all, I got lost, very lost, like I walked an extra two miles lost.  But I found it eventually and enjoyed the adventure.  While there, we drank mate and talked for a while.  Then we went for a walk through the city and I FELL IN LOVE.  We went to una vendedora de artesanas.  Basically it was a street or two or three full of people selling homemade things.  There was food, clothing, shoes, silverware, plates, bags, antiques, and so many other arts and crafts.  It was amazing and so cool to see all of the local vendors and how many people were there buying things.  I will definitely be returning next weekend to buy some goodies.  After the artesanas, we walked to a huge iglesia.  When I say huge, I mean HUGE.  It is super old, the arcitecture is amazing, and everything is beautiful.  We walked in right before the start of mass and it was packed.  It was super cool to see how many people were there.  The catholic church really brings people together here.  Religion at it's best, really.  Lastly, we stood and watched a bunch of professional dancers do folklore dances.  It was awesome! 

This weekend, to me, this city was beautiful.  The places, the culture, the people, the conversation, the food- beautiful.  All of this beauty is definitely making up for the one scary thing that happened to me here, and I am so thankful for that.  I am also thankful for the love and prayers that are being sent to me from home.  I feel so much peace knowing the power of prayer and I can definitely see God at work here.  Thank you so much.  I love you all and miss you very much.