Metas. fiaca? nada mas!

Ok. 

So, now that I've made my decision to stay. It's time to get busy thinking about how I'm going to really make this worth it.

1. No more boludeces on the internet.

That word translates to bullshit, more or less. In days when I felt sort of gray, my bright white mac would suck me in and I could spend hours upon hours doing absolutely nothing of value while the big, wide world waited for me outside. There's nothing wrong with updating the blog and keeping in touch with friends and e-mail. But that's not really what I was doing. I need to get my head in the game for real. This is part of the reason I really need more time here. Get rid of distractions!!!! 

2. Make the days richer.

I've learned that I'm a sedentary person. It's a tough life, because I'm a homebody but a complete extrovert--I am energized by interactions with people. If I lived alone, I would die. With Ines, we can screw around all night at the house and have a grand time, but I need to be more proactive about seeing and taking advantage of the things I've yet to see in the city. Ines has literally started  calling me (endearingly, I hope) chanchita, or little piggy, because I spend a lot of time lounging. I'll continue to have "recovery" days, especially given the nightlife schedule here, but I can't have those kind of days unless I'm actually recovering from something!! So what does a richer day look like? Well there are a million restaurants I haven't tried, lots of staple cultural centers I've yet to explore, and shopping? I've purchased a dismal amount of souvenirs and virtually nothing for myself. For the amount of freedom I have, I am not taking advantage of the nightlife. Here's to another six months being of legal age!! Time to get social. Oh and tango? I have not even touched that whole dimension. When it comes to music, I've been more into the folkloric stuff and boliche scene (OK i admit, i LIKE reggaeton!) Tango has sort of felt like a big, weird, touristy joke, but we'll see. 

3. Travel!!

I am getting prepped for a trip to Rio de Janeiro (a place I never thought I'd go!!) with Amy. I am really looking forward to it because it will be WARM!!! I have no concept of Portuguese and it will feel incredibly different. A nice change of pace from Buenos Aires. And Sean will be there!!!! There are also a few other friends getting prepped for study abroad. Celine leaves for Chile at the end of July, so I'll have a contact in Valparaiso! And Jenna is getting ready for her semester in Salvador, Brazil. She studied in Buenos Aires her this time last year, so if she is down for visit, it would be great to put our heads together for a "Best of BA" clip show trip. Also, now that I will be here for longer, I can host more of my friends who weren't able to plan something earlier.  Ines and I have plans to see parts of Uruguay that neither of us went to. Also, I skipped out on a lot of the classic travel destinations for lack of momentum/trying to balance the money. The truth is, compared to most of my friends on the program, I have been living extremely cheaply. I only made one trip besides the ones the program paid for, which was to Bariloche. And that one ended up being quite economical after we met a local named Mau whose amazing family fed us on a few occasions. There was one steak lunch that set us back, but it was worth it. And most of our activities were virtually free. In Brazil, I will have free lodging, and plan to live as cheaply as possible (the real is doing better than the peso...wish me luck). So, I think an adventure to Iguazu Falls, Salta/Jujuy, Mar de Plata, Montevideo, or maybe even Tierra del Fuego (there are penguins there!!!) should be reasonable. 

4. Maintain! 

In the grand scheme of things, I think I did a pretty good job with balancing things. I met quite a few south americans and got to enjoy a part of the latin cosmo culture in Buenos Aires (because there are people from aaall over the world here) but I also did decently in school and bonded with kids on the program. I've been very lucky, all things considered. So, I think I need to keep up my good attitude, but put myself out there a little bit more. The fruits of what I've done first semester are getting ripe, so I think this second part is going to be a blast. And my spanish is about to overcome a plateau...I know it. It'll probably be put on hold for a second while I'm in Brazil, but after that...it's going to take off!! Yeah!