Final Exams, Winter Break...in JULY

The weeks here pass so quickly, its hard to believe that today marks the one month mark of my trip here.
This past week was interesting because it truly felt like I was living my normal life...but in BA. I didn't do anything touristy, or really go visit any new parts of the city. This was because I had something looming over me all week: my final exam for my intensive month classes.
So, the days were spent at Universidad de Belgrano, and afternoons were split between time our or program office trying to plan our upcoming trip (more about that in a second) and meeting in cafes, etc. to get some studying in.
Our exam was Thursday morning, two hours for the written part, and a five minute oral exam. It was a little tricky, and I was pretty concerned because the final exam was our one and only grade in the class. The night before the exam, I even had an anxiety dream in which I got a '29' on the exam- this doesn't even make sense because the Argentina grading scale is 1-10! However, it was good to know that I can have test anxiety dreams on any continent!
The exam went pretty well, I ended up getting a 9 in the class (remember, out of 10), and I am not sure what that will translate back as once I return to OSU, but I am pretty sure it will be an A or A-.
Now that our intensive month of classes is over (and I am fluent in Spanish, haha not yet), we have a week long break! This is equivalent to winter break, which is very hard to wrap my head around, being that its July...
Anyhow, some friends and I are going to spend the next week traveling to Mendoza and Santiago de Chile. Mendoza is Argentina's wine country, equivalent more or less to Napa Valley. Its a 14 hour bus ride to Mendoza and then a short bus ride to Chile, and then it will be about 20 hours on a bus to get back to Buenos Aires. I'm so excited for my first real travel adventure!
I splurged on a backpacking backpack so that I can fit a week's worth of gear into one bag. Of course, this probably only means bringing two pairs of pants and a sweatshirt, but I felt I needed something a little bit bigger than my regular backpack.
Last night, I went to yet another synagogue...this time a Chabad! This past Wednesday, I had met up with Miriam's sister (Miriam is our Solon Chabad Rebbetzin) who lives 8 hours south of BA, in a very small town called Bahia Blanca. I spent a couple hours with her, viewing the religious part of BA (the neighborhood of Once) and even got some kosher cold cuts! She also put me in contact with Rivka Lipinski, the Rebbetzin of the Chabad that is 10 minutes walking distance from my home here!
So last night, Ruthie and I braved the cold and went to Chabad, and had an absolutely lovely time! It was very reminiscent of Chabad at home, with the set up of the building and the population of people that attended. Ruthie and I spoke to a woman from Córdoba (another city in Argentina) for a while, and I felt especially welcomed by the Rabbi and his wife.
There was a dinner after services, good to know that even in Argentina, I can eat a Shabbos meal of gefilte fish, chicken, and kugel!! The population of people there were mostly young married couples, but I spent a while talking with one of the Rabbi's daughters, hearing about her impressions of the US compared to Argentina. After dinner, everyone even went around the table introducing themselves and saying why they were at chabad (let me tell you, I love speaking Spanish to a roomful of natives, not. i mean, its great practice, but its stressful.)
All in all, it was a great evening!
Tonght I embark on my trip, and I am not sure if I will have time for a blog post while traveling...
So, for the time being, CHAU!