Viva Argentina: Summer Update

Hello all! Sorry that it's been so long since my last update. I've been doing really great...pretty much just living the life in Argentina on summer vacation! I usually go to bed a little late and wake up a little late, as one cousin claimed "Kerri, you've become nocturnal, I swear!!" I'd say the weather here is just a tad different than the US, it's usually in the mid 90s during the day with a good thunderstorm in the afternoon. At night, it doesn't cool off too much so I sleep in shorts and a tanktop with the fan on full blast and no sheets...and I still wake up in the middle of the night pretty much panting and sweating. I told my parents that if I were at my house with people that I would feel comfortable disrupting when they're asleep, I would take a shower probably 5 times a night to cool off! As the same cousin stated, "It doesn't cool off too much during YOUR night, Ker. Maybe if you slept at nighttime, it might be a little more comfortable!" But, as uncomfortable as this may all sound, everything is going amazingly amazing. During the day, I go out with my friends downtown to shop, eat an ice cream, lay in the sun on the roof and drink terere, or simply meet up in a park to relax and talk. Oh, and of course, don't forget the midday siestas wherever they may happen (on the roof, in the theater, etc.) At night, we go out dancing, meet up to eat pizza, go to the movies, or go on the roof and watch the stars...like I said, it really is the life. This past weekend, I went to an AFS camp in a little town about a hour away from Cordoba. There were about twenty of us and we all met up at the terminal to take a bus there. Our camp was like a little camping site with various cabins full of bunk beds, a dining room, and a big pool. Guess what?! I killed a scorpion!! I was standing in my room changing into my swimsuit and all of the sudden this little thing comes scurrying by my feet. Obviously, I've never seen a scorpion before but when it lifted up it's tail thing (the pincher), I knew what it was!!...so I stomped on it:) The AFS director confirmed it was a scorpion but said they had never seen them at the camp but not to be scared...even though all the girls were absolutely freaking out. My host mom said that you have to be careful of them here in the summer, especially in wet places like the bathroom. I'll be keeping my eye out!! Anyways, it was so so hot both days but also very very fun. At first, I was not very happy that we had to go at 7:30 in the morning and stay overnight but I'm so happy that we went. It was the last camp we'll have together here in Cordoba before the kids who leave in January go home so it was really nice to all be together this last time. We did some really great activities, played in the pool, laid out to watch the stars, etc. but the thing that made it the most special was simply being with the friends that I have made over the past 4 1/2 months. It's so hard to explain-my friendship with these 20 other AFS exchange students. It's almost like these kids who go on exchange all have so much in common-who knows? maybe that's what made them all go in the first place. We're all so similar, we just fall right into place like we've known each other our entire lives. It's the moments like when I'm laying out in the grass with my best friends from Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and the US that I'm really going to remember and miss in a few months, years, decades...it's these moments that make me so scared to leave. Now that's a whole other topic...my departure. We'll leave that for another post...my bipolarness, my yearning desire to see my friends, family, home and my growing fear to abandon the life, family, and friends that I have formed here over the past few months...I don't expect many to understand, but it's how it is-it's how everyone said it would be. Anyways, hope life is going as good in the States as it is here! I love you all lots and will see you soon...only a little over a month!! -Kerri