Hey everyone! I hope you're enjoying the multiple updates lately as I try to catch up with all the fun details of my adventure. Here comes the next one!
As you've all read, school is coming to a close here in Mendoza and with that lovely thought in the distance also comes the dreadful rush of activities/projects/assignments/exams/ and finals scholastic events as teachers rush to finish the material in time for finals. History has been no exception and with our "history week from hell" beginning on Monday, it would have been rather easy for me to skip out on the last program excursion and simply stay locked in the apartment studying all weekend. However, that is NOT what study abroad is about. For all of you reading this at DU (including my advisors and staff) I do not mean to say that studying is not important or that study abroad is all about playing and not about school. My point, is that with such a wonderful opportunity in our programs, there is no sensible reason why this experience should be completely controlled by classes. That is to say, school is very important and I have no intention of slacking off in my last few weeks of classes, but I also refuse to miss once in al lifetime opportunities in a country I might never see again, with people I might never be with again, to lock myself in a room studying Plato and Aristotle. As a result, I packed my bags and signed up for our weekend escape to San Rafael. I certainly wasn't the only one feeling this way and at least half of the students on the trip had brought some sort of study materials with them.
Friday afternoon I awoke after a very long night of sleep to a message from Louisa asking if I wanted to go back to Brazos Abiertos with her. Of course the answer was yes and so we spent another few hours with the children that I have grown to love. When we got back, I skipped my usual siesta and instead focused some solid energy on other homework that was coming up for the week. My goal was to get as much done as possible so that the only things I would take to San Rafael would be those blasted history notes to study. After achieving success with the other assignments, I began packing for the weekend. Our bus was leaving from Independence Plaza at 6:30am on Saturday morning, so the only thing I wanted to have left for tomorrow was getting dressed and heading out the door. Packed and ready, I had a lovely dinner with Sole and Paola before saying goodbye and heading to bed.
Saturday morning at 5:45am is easily the earliest I have been up in months! And it was not an easy task to drag myself out of bed. However, the excitement of the weekend ahead was a helpful motivator and I soon found myself on a bus with most of the program on our way to San Rafael. If I haven't mentioned this before, the town/province we were going to visit is where our program director grew up and where his family still lives, so it is a nice escape for him too. A little after 10:30 we arrived at the cutest little cabins along the river in Grand Valley. After splitting up into rooms and settling in, we had a few hours until lunch. As a result, we shortly found ourselves lying in the sun poolside, soaking up some rays and enjoying each others company. What a relaxing way to spend a morning! I am convinced that this weekend will be just what we need to rejuvenate our spirits for that extra push to the end of classes and exams. A surprise guest had also joined us for the weekend in the form of an adorable black fluff ball who still didn't have a name. This poor puppy had been found by a few of the boys in the plaza that morning and so they brought her in a backpack to our weekend getaway. She was absolutely adorable! I'm pretty sure all of us took our turns fawning over her before it was time to go to lunch. Lunch was delicious and it was really nice to sit with all these close friends and just laugh and enjoy our time together. After lunch it was time for a quick change before everyone loaded into the bus for our afternoon activities on the lake. We took a catamaran out to the other side where there was an empty 'beach' for us to play on and relax for a few hours. The beach wasn't very wide and sloped STEEPLY upward into a hill pretty fast, but we all found spots to relax and some of the braver ones even went into the FREEZING water. I personally had no intention of getting in, but everyone else had a different idea. I was happily standing on the edge trying to get accustomed to the water, when this crazy bee decided to try and land on me. Being slightly allergic, that was the last thing I wanted, so I dove right into the water. It was awfully cold, but worth getting in with my friends to swim around for a bit. When we were shivering and couldn't take it anymore, we climbed out and went to sit in the last rays of the day on the front of the catamaran. What a wonderful and relaxing way to spend an afternoon. When the sun started to set we all packed up and headed back to the bus and back to the cabins. After hot showers and a change of clothes, I met with Deven and Caroline from my history class to start going over some notes. We studied until dinner and although we didn't bring our notes to the table, we were still discussing back and forth the important political authors of the middle age (much to the annoyance of the others at our table). The rule was quickly pronounced that the second any type of food hit the table all home work and studying had to stop...and we dutifully obeyed when the waiter brought the bread just a few minutes later. After an interesting dinner that was much too large to eat, we headed back to the cabins and resumed studying for another hour or so. Then unanimously deciding it was time for bed we turned in for the night.
Sunday morning I was a nervous bundle of indecision. We had a day full of optional activities and I still hadn't decided what I wanted to do with my day or if I would rather spend it studying poolside... Remember that the purpose of this trip was to relax, but I also had to be responsible too. I hadn't missed the entire trip, but I also wasn't going to completely forget about studying for this exam. Eventually I decided that I would go on the hike after breakfast and then decide in the afternoon what I wanted to do then. Play the day by ear I suppose. After breakfast a decent group of us met at the entrance to our little hideaway and waited for the bus to take us to our hike. With a vast majority of us being from CO or of the outdoor nature, we were all expecting a decent hike in the nearby mountains before lunch and had come prepared with water and decent shoes. That was our first mistake...having expectations. After an hour in the bus, we stopped at a scenic overlook to take pictures of the lake below and mountains around. It reminded me SO much of CO at the end of a summer when things are starting to go brown. After some lovely photos, we piled back onto the bus (many of us wondering if we had misunderstood and that this was a bus ride adventure instead of a hike). 30 minutes later we 'arrived' at a pullout spot on the road surrounded by peaks and valleys with, as Argentinean style would have it, no trails. While we waited on our 'guides' to scout a short hike for us since we were quickly running out of time, we snapped more pictures and enjoyed our time together. About 10 minutes later we began our adventure behind our guides and started hiking down into a canyon nearby. It wasn't very long before they realized that hiking through the canyon was impossible for a couple reason. 1) it got super skinny between the walls rather fast and 2) right after that it dropped sharply into the valley below. As a result, we all turned around and started to follow them up and over the left wall instead. This too turned out to be a disaster as we got up onto the ledge and found ourselves scrambling over loose rocks and shale on a rock that sloped steeply into the valley as well... Hmm...so much for a "hike" we all turned around and headed back to the bus. Shaking our heads at what had turned into a very sad excuse for a hike and laughing about how common things like this were. Then as we waited for the stragglers and sat around outside by the bus. A large group of friends sat near the sloping edge of the road that dropped into the valley. Ironically enough, it was at this point that the guides got protective and started telling us to "be safe" and "get away from the ledge". After the more than dangerous hike we had just been on, sitting on a sloping hill was an issue? I just continued to shake my head at the irony of this morning's adventure. After every student had been gathered, we loaded back onto the bus for our 90 minute ride back into camp. There it was time for lunch and time for me to make a decision about the afternoon. Reluctantly, I decided to skip the afternoon activities and instead stay put at the cabins studying and relaxing. I figured I would feel better about that decision afterwards and would enjoy the time to breathe rather than going rafting and stressing that I wasn't studying. Relieved to have made the decision, I happily put on my suite, slathered on the sunscreen and planted myself by the pool to continue studying. As the hours passed, I began to feel much more comfortable with the material and was really thankful I had stayed to relax. It was nice to spend some time with the others who had stayed behind as well and we all enjoyed the time to relax and talk. By the time everyone got back from their adventures, it was time to pack up and load the busses for the drive home. Deven and I snagged seats next to each other and spent the majority of the drive studying. Labeling people and all their famous facts or tossing ideas back and forth about the specific ages and time periods. We took a short break from studying to eat dinner (provided on the bus) and then resumed for another hour or so listening to podcasts about the authors (courtesy of Caitlin). At some point, we both decided we'd had enough and put the notes away in favor of a nap. Pretty soon we were both out and slept the rest of the way back to Mendoza.
I arrived back at the apartment rejuvenated, relaxed, and tanned from the weekend away and was happy to sit down for a snack with Sole and Paola before heading to bed. I wanted to make sure I got plenty of sleep for my exam the next day and for the beginning of this crazy week to come. However, when I checked my mail, I had some seemingly urgent messages from my mother and called her on Skype. Of course the one night we have to talk the internet decided to keep cutting out. Eventually I got the news Mom had been holding for me. While I was away on my relaxation weekend, my family back home had been suffering with a hard decision. Our dog, Sasha, whom we have had for more than 8 years had spent the past few weeks struggling with what appeared to be cancer and over the weekend it started to get the best of her. The decision simply couldn't wait, and my parents had taken away her pain and put her down on Saturday. I was so upset. After such a lovely weekend I had to come home to this news. I broke down in sobs over the video chat and it was all I could do to say goodnight. I went to bed torn and crying. I would have felt just as helpless at home, but at least then I would have been with others for comfort and we could have all been helpless together. Instead, I find myself half way around the world with absolutely NOTHING that I can do. I fell asleep thinking about my beloved puppy and dreading the week that was coming in the morning.
Unfortunately these things happen and the unfortunate news by no means ruined my weekend. It just put a damper on my mood and brought me sharply back to reality. However, I am confident that I can face this next week with my head up and before I know it it'll all be over and I will have survived.
Thanks everyone for reading, and for listening. I hope you're all doing well and I can't wait to see you very soon upon my return!!
Besos and all my love from Argentina!
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