Day 27 •• June 22

     Yes, I know I've skipping quite a few days... but there's only a week left. I've done pretty well, right? But still, sorry! Friday was a chill out day. I slept in till lunch and then did nothing for the rest of the day. It was the beginning of a long weekend, so a bunch of students went home. Sabbath I woke feeling blahhh. So I skipped Sabbath School & Church to sleep. Also, I read most of Have A Little Faith by Mitch Albom which I was borrowing from Carolina. What a great book. By lunch I was feeling better. We chilled for the rest of the afternoon. Today, I was able to sleep in till 11. I'm feeling better, but still kinda blah. After lunch we gathered at the the biblioteca to head to Termas de la Selva, a spa fed by a natural hot spring. The place was pretty great. There are three pools (hot, medium, warm). The medium temperature was nice for a while, but we ended up spending most of our time in the warm pool. (Also, we were treating it more as a pool than a spa.) The hot pool was too much for me, but by alternating between the medium pool and the cold shower, I felt quite alive. My congestion went away, thankful. We had a really nice time! 

     Unfortunately, the internet once again won't let me upload pictures to here, so check out my Instagram (www.instagram.com/autumnmott) for photos. 

    After supper, we gathered across the street at the restaurant to watch USA vs. POR ... and SVA provided us with the gift of an all-you-can-eat ice cream buffet. Heck yeah! Even though Portugal got that last goal (sigh), we still had a pretty nice time. Tomorrow, a few of us will join Uncle Andy as he goes to Posadas, the capital of Misiones, Argentina. That should be fun.

Day 24 •• June 19

     The dean turned the lights on in my room at 5:30am. We international students (and Carolina) ate breakfast at 6:15 and were at the library by 6:35. Then came the 4½ hour bus ride up to Iguazú Falls. We also picked up Nicole in L.N. Alem. (Which is the town near us.) We stopped a few times for bathroom breaks, and also to buy some food for lunch. When we arrived at the national park, it was close to noon. After getting our tickets from Arturo, we proceeded to the falls. A week ago, they had record flooding, so only a portion of the walkways were open. But it was still incredible, nevertheless! It's hard to explain how majestic the falls were. We walked around for a few hours ... we were supposed to view the falls for around 5 hours, but due to the lack of open trails, we only stayed for 3 hours. After buying souvenirs, we drove to a nearby town to buy supper. It was nice to have a day to just hang out with *English speaking* friends. That's probably the hardest thing at this point: not being able to fully communicate with our friends.

Day 23 •• June 18

     Sorry for skipping yesterday, but nothing really happened. It was just one of those days. So was today. Most of it, at least. Get up, eat breakfast, go to classes. Eat lunch, do whatever in the afternoon ... blah, blah, blah. However, today I was in the computer lab for 6 of my 8 classes. Yeah! Unfortunately, my computer was like the only one that had Facebook blocked. But I was able to work on my online Algebra class ... and add 90+ YouTube videos to my Watch Later playlist. No joke. I subscribe to a bunch of channels. However, YouTube doesn't load well here, so I have a ton to catch up on when I get home. After lunch, I hung out in the Rivera's apartment while Sofia slept. Watched part of a movie and read a little.

     At 3:45 she awoke, so I handed her off to Uncle Andy (who had just returned from teaching) and went to get ready. We were supposed to head into town at 4, but the bus didn't arrive till 4:45. (Typical Argentinian schedule.) In town, we bought some souvenirs, but mainly walked around with Nicole. When Arturo met us outside a shop, he informed us that we were going to be on TV. ¡¿Qué?! (I doubt I used the correct punctuation...) Anyhow, Nicole led us to the studio where we were introduced to the crew. It's a local show for youth called In Connect. First, Nicole was interviewed, then we students (and Julia) we brought in to be recorded. We were all asked some questions, then filmed seperately stating our names, ages, where we were from, etc... It was cool, except for the whole last-minuteness of it all.

     Afterwards, we students were dropped off at the restaurant across the street for supper. The Riveras were eating at Nicole's. We had a great time; each ordered a pizza, and we shared Sprint and Fanta. The wifi there is good, so we were all able to connect with home. It was nice to spend time as a group. We're all homesick at this point, but at the same time, we're disappointed that our time here is coming to its end.

Tomorrow we head to Iguazú Falls at 6:30am. I can't wait!

Day 21 •• June 16

    Waking up to Paulina's alarm has because normal, now. Her phone goes off at 6, the dean comes in a few minutes later... we all go back to sleep. Around 6:20, Pauline will get up and get dressed. When she leaves to brush her teeth, I get up. Usually, we're both leaving before Lucia gets out of bed. Most of the time, breakfast consists of cereal, and bread with jam. Every so often, we'll get a pastry. From breakfast we head straight to school. If you arrived on time, you'll stake your desk with your backpack, then head back out to the courtyard for flag raising. After the flags are raised (sometimes accompanied by the national anthem), we'll have prayer and a few announcements. Then classes start. Due to the light breakfast, by time 12:30 rolls around, everyone stampedes to the cafe. Lunch tends to be mediocre ... but still better than cafe food back in the states. To be clear, Argentinian food is not Mexican food. Yes, we'll have rice beans a few times, but on the whole it's just different from US food. What sorely is missed is hot sauce. While the food normally isn't bland, it definitely could use some Siracha. 

     As today was Monday, we exchange students had work in the afternoon. But after helping with Inglés class, Sarah and I hung out at the Rivera's apartment. I watched Sofia, and Sarah washed some clothes. I just chilled for the rest of the afternoon ... but after supper us American gathered and went across the road to the restaurant to watch USA vs. GHA. We had a great time. There was plenty of pizza, ice cream and coke to go around. And the US won... that's a plus.

Day 20 •• June 15

     Thankfully, we were allowed to sleep in until 9, when breakfast was brought up to the gym. After we ate and packed up our stuff, we cleaned the gym. I went to the biblioteca after throwing my stuff in my room. There, I was able to connect with the rest of the world via wifi. The internet connection is weird... the best way to connect is by using one of the 6 school computers, but those are usually always in use. (So please excuse the condition of this blog!)

     Before Master Guide class, myself, Sarah & two other girls went across the road to the ice cream shop. They have some really good ice cream for cheap. $1.20 USD for two scoops. Now, it's not Kimball's quality, or quantity ... but it was good, non the less. For Master Guide, we worked on First Aid. We're preparing for our expedition. Afterwards, our leader talked with us each to make sure we were prepared for the trip. 

     When I went back to the dorm, some of the girls were watching Mission Impossible. The Spanish dubbing was horrible. Then they voted and started watching Hansel and Gretal: Witch Hunters. Unfortunately, the USB that the movie was on somehow reformatted 2/3 through the movie. (Basically all their movies are illegally downloaded.) That was actually kinda good, because apparently supper had been moved up to 6pm from 6:30, so everyone could watch the game at 7. They separated the guys and the girls, so Sarah and I watched the game squished in the girl's dorm. But it was fun. Most everyone had face paint and there were snacks passing around. But the noise, though! After the game finished (Argentina won) we ran through the halls shouting and singing. The atmosphere was so hype!

Day 19 •• June 14

     We were awaken at 8 by our Bible teacher turning on all the lights in the gym. After eating our personal breakfast, we gathered on the stage for Sabbath School. According to Carolina, SS consisted of 10 minutes lesson study and an hour of a "how to help your friends through difficult times" session. We had a 5 minute break before our church service started. After running around like the crazy teenagers we are, we were grouped into groups of 12. Six girls, six guys. When the PowerPoint flashed onto the wall, we discovered that we were the only survivors after a catastrophic wipeout of humanity. Basically the zombie apocalypse, except that everyone else died of an illness. Each group was given some food, weapons, and building material. We then had to figure out how we'd survive and procreate. Yeah. Just slightly awkward. But it didn't stop there. ISAM's school principal is a psychological, so he took everything to the next level. Unfortunately, by this point I couldn't understand anything, and it was too confusing for Carolina to translated. So James and I fell asleep. When lunch rolled around, I could feel the tension in the air. Carolina explained that the principal had been asking probing questions to the students about their life and history... then explaining how that would impact their survival. It got to a point when no one wanted to ask any questions. 

     After lunch, some of the girls went to take showers. Then at 2, some of us met at the flagpoles with the Pathfinders to head into town. We were to knock on doors to try and recruit more Pathfinders. Before and after the kids went out, we gathered at the church to sing songs and listen to a message. Once we got back to ISAM, us Seniors returned to the gym. We kinda hurried through the last bit of the apocalypse thing... nobody seem that interested in getting back into it. Then supper was served. After supper, everyone just hung out for a while. I joined the group of girls hanging out by the sound system. We started playing Truth or Dare ... with the mic. Delightful. Anyhow, soon we were all called out onto the gym floor. Then one of the teachers (I think) started calling out group formations. Groups of 3. So we'd group up in 3s. Groups of 6 .... groups of 8 ... groups of 2 ... if you didn't have the correct amount of people in your group, you guys were eliminated and watched from the sidelines. It's simple, yet so much fun. Then, once they got down to 3 people (started with 40) we were split into two groups. Relay races. Those were fun. Run around a chair with a volleyball pressed between two people's foreheads ... between their backs ... find candy in a bowl of flour with your mouth. Yuck. That last one was messy... and kinda gross. But my team won, 2-1. Sarah told me she could hear us all screaming down in her dorm room. 

     Then we all went down and took showers, as the dean was leaving the bathroom lights on for us. Once everyone was all changed and ready for bed, the movie started. It was Nonstop. By the end I swore I was taking a bus home ... or walking. But it was a good movie. Lights were turned off at 2am.

Day 18 •• June 13

     So, first things first, I know that today is my parent's anniversary, but I had no access to wifi today. Got it, Hannah? Good. I'm just hoping you got them a nice card and/or present and you forged my signature.

     Okay, now about today. This weekend is essentially Senior Survival. Today we were told to dress in clothes that you wouldn't mind getting dirty. Then we met in the parque and split into groups. Us girls hiked out to the abandoned building behind the school and started to remove the graffiti covering it. We went from using sandpaper, to water and brushes. But with water came flooding, so we swept the water out the doors. Naturally, that caused mud ... which brought on mud war paint. Then a group of us decided to ambush the guys who were working nearby. But when we got there, there were only a few guys. We covered them in mud, anyway. They were burning brush and starting work on a amphitheater of sorts. They were using rocks and clay to construct the seating. Soon, a load of rocks were delivered by a group of guys. We helped to unload and then myself and another girl joined the group of guys to head back for more. After wrestling a couple dozen 75lb rocks onto a farm wagon, we were all significantly covered in red clay. But on the 15 minutes tractor ride back from the query, the guys decided to have a mud fight. So by time we returned to the school, all 9 of us were coated in clay. We then decided that our classmates were too clean ... full. out. mud. fight. Before we were allowed back in the dorms, we were made to wash off the majority of clay with a hose. Even after that, I still walked into the shower fully dressed. It took an unearthly amount of shampoo and soap to removed the clay that had been inflicted on me. It felt so nice to be clean and dry. But that didn't last. 

     After lunch we met to continue work. It was misting out, but that didn't stop a group of us from progressing on with the amphitheatre. However, we are in the rainforest. And it isn't call "rainforest" for nothing. How bout a thunderstorm? That might make life difficult. I was getting to the point were I thought I might be best if I returned to the dorm, when the sky opened up. It's hard to move and arrange rocks when the water pouring down your face makes it almost impossible to see. So we called it quits. By that time, we were thoroughly soaked. Again. It this rate, I'm going to run out of dry clothes. After changing, I took a nap until supper. 

     Once supper finished, us Seniors gathered our sleeping bags and headed up to the large gym. (Which I've been incorrectly referring to as the parque; Parque, however, is what they call hanging out on Saturday night playing sports. My bad.) We chilled for a while, then had worship. At the end of worship, we were encouraged to pledge to end something in our life that was weighing us down. It got wicked emotional. I wish I could've understood more. Then everyone went to bed... or got into their sleeping bags and proceeded to talk for the next hour.