A Small Fish Bowl

The library.

I hope I haven't worried any of you by not posting, like I have my poor mom. After a whole day of Spanish, my brain just doesn't feel like writing in the end. We arrived to La UAP (Universidad Adventista del Plata) late Monday evening. There are about 56 ACA students who came from all over the United States - Oakwood, La Sierra, Andrews, PUC, Union, Southern and WWU. Tuesday we spent the day working on forms for student visas: from 9:30 to 11, then again after the siesta from 2:30 to 4. Today, we took our placement test in the morning and toured the school and la villa de Libertador San Martin in the afternoon. I believe there are approximately 2,000 students studying at La UAP this includes the School of Medicine and the School of Theology.

It's not what I had expected, but in many ways it is exactly what my friends told me it would be - slow, easy going, maté (tea), helado (ice cream), cool mornings and evenings, fútbol, different foods, besos (kisses), but still very conservative. But nobody told me I would feel like a fish trapped inside a very small fish bowl. It's cramped in here. When I can't speak I feel like I can't do anything. There's so much you learn about yourself when you travel abroad. Like: It's important for me to have a place to unpack and settle down for more than a week, let's try 3 months. Having one close confidant seems to fill just enough, so the cup is half full and not half empty. Finding routine helps the feeling of not having purpose. Just play games, then there's no need for speaking and it's not such a trapped feeling. Tonight we played volleyball in the gym. And Friday, there's a group playing frisbee. Who needs language when you can have competition? Even if it's a small bowl, this fish has some fight.