BASP '09!

All the Clemson people on BASP in the Plaza de Mayo, a very historical spot in front of the Casa Rosada! (aka Argentina's White House)

Mariela and I enjoying delicious smoothies and milkshakes!

Hey everyone! I hope this very-late post finds you well and enjoying the nice warm South Carolina summer while I suffer in this 40 degree rainy winter weather! (Haha, look back a few posts and you can see I warned you this was coming!) Well, I've been pretty busy lately with all of my professors piling on the work at the VERY LAST MINUTE (this obviously is a favorite pasttime of professors all around the world) so I haven't been doing much lately except attempting to keep my head above water (or above the pile of projects and papers)! However, this last weekend was a WONDERFUL break from it all when I got to go to Buenos Aires once more and visit the Buenos Aires Summer Project (BASP) '09! There are 7 people in BA from Clemson this year and 3 in La Plata! I was the only Clemson Tiger in BA last summer and there were none in La Plata, so the number of Tigers in Argentina this year is really exciting for me!

I even had the opportunity to stay with Mariela, an argentine friend I made last summer, and her family for free! God really worked it all out because, since I was staying with her, I just brought her with me to the weekly Crusade meeting and introduced her to all of my friends on project this year! I'm praying God will do some amazing things as the girls on SP this year build a relationship with her! :)

I stayed really busy the whole weekend! While I was with SP, I got to go to the weekly Crusade meeting (which has grown a lot since last year, praise the Lord!), go on a tour of BA with the team, stop by the local Starbucks with some Clemson girlfriends (last year during project they built the first Starbucks in BA, now there's 10! It's gonna be like the US soon with one on every corner!), go to the STINTers' church Sunday night with the team (I'll explain what STINT is in a sec), and even go to the SP bible study led by my Bible study leader in Clemson! She and another staff guy from Clemson are the directors of the BA project. Also, with Mariela, I got to go on a tour of the Pink House (aka Argentina's White House, except the President doesn't live there), go out with some of her friends, have dinner with her family and friends to celebrate her birthday, have a picnic lunch for her birthday on her campus (the Ag campus--where I did ministry last summer), and do some serious shopping! Sometime during the weekend, I got a little sick because I wasn't getting enough sleep, and I'm still battling a cold, so please pray I'll get over it soon!

So, now, the DL on STINT:

STINT team stands for Short Term International team, which basically is one of the levels of leadership that exists in the ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ International. In each country where there is a Crusade movement, there are national staff (people who are from there, live there, and head up the movement) and then there are STINT teams. Usually, the STINT teams are made up of 3 to 6 recent college graduates from the States who raise their own support and commit 1 to 2 years of there lives to help the Crusade ministry in another country around the world. For example, in BA there are 6 STINTers: All of them are 07 graduates--three from NC State, two from UNC, and one from USC. They basically just help out the national staff run and grow the movement by starting up and maintaining English clubs on different college campuses, going out to the campuses to talk with students about Christ, organize the weekly meetings, do outreaches, etc. The reason I'm telling you all this is because I'm considering this after graduating from Clemson. Nothing is for sure of course, but I've just been immensely blessed with so many spiritual mentors in my life and I feel like giving my life 100% to the mission field for at least a year or two after graduation would be a great way to show my appreciation for those gifts, if God so calls me. Again, no one freak out, haha because this is still something I'm just considering and praying about, but I just wanted to let you all know so you can keep me in your prayers as well.

Well, thanks for reading and I'll see you all in 1 month and 2 days!!

The grand tour of the amazing downtown Cordoba

Family reunion Cordoba-style

Eating italian with friends from church!

Introducing my Argentine family to the amazingness of smores!

The parents relaxing after having lunch at my Argentine family's house in the country

Yes, we visited the local Walmart and McDonalds: Cordoba's own US corner :)

Eating an asado (BBQ) for Sunday lunch with the whole fam

Dad showing off his amazing marshmellow-cooking skills when we made smores haha

Eating at "El Arrabal" with both sets of parents!

Me and dad overlooking downtown Cordoba

At one of the beautiful parks downtown

Eating mom's homemade spaghetti the first night

My sisters and I enjoying smores

Mom and Dad come to visit!

Whew! I am so sorry I haven't updated in so long! My life has been crazy! Last week and the week before were midterms, (Priase God, I got 9s and 10s on all of them!) so I was pretty much constantly studying for those, preparing two projects, and getting ready for my mom and dad to come to visit! We had a great time! Read below:



Wednesday I picked them up at the airport at about 12pm. I couldn't believe it was really them when I saw them for the first time! It was like I was dreaming! Right when they got to the house, we had empanadas for lunch--it's safe to say that they are pretty big empanada fans now! That night, my mom made her home-made spaghetti and sweet tea for the whole fam and it was delicious! We also had salad--though that may not sound like a big deal, it was. Here, salads consist of lettuce and tomato with oil on it--pretty different from our salads in the States. My parents brought Ranch and Thousand Island dressing and my Argentine family couldn't get enough of it! They also loved the spaghetti, but weren't too sure about the sweet tea. They couldn't believe it when we told them a lot of people in the southern part of the States drink it every night for dinner! :)

Thursday I had a huge presentation due for my geography class, so a lot of that day was spent hanging out with my parents on campus, introducing them to professors and friends, and leaving them in the computer lab to practice my presentation. :) I think it went pretty well though! Also, I got my midterm back for that class, my hardest one, and I got a 9 out of 10! I was so excited!!

Friday I gave them the grand tour of the city of Córdoba, and man did we do a lot! We went to a café for some delicious Argentine pastries and coffee for breakfast; ate lunch at one of the most famous restaurants in Córdoba to try the famous Argentine dish, locro (basically it's corn chowder with cow intestines--wasn't our favorite, but at least we can say we tried it); and went to all the important monuments, parks, and locations in the city. On our way back home, we even stopped by the one Walmart in Córdoba--it really does feel like you've stepped back into the States when you walk in the door! That night we took my Argentine parents out to El Arrabal for a tango show and dinner! Even though they're from Córdoba, they had never been, so it was a great way to thank them for letting my parents stay in their home and for taking care of me here. My US parents loved it too! It was such a great taste of the tradition of tango, a very important influence in the Argentine culture today!

Saturday was a completely different change of pace as my Argentine parents drove us out to the country surrounding the city, so that my parents could get the feel of that part of the culture as well. We ate lunch at my Argentine family's country home, which was so gorgeous and relaxing. Then we toured around the grounds of a local bed and breakfast that has a gorgeous restaurant and several beautiful log cabins spread out in the woods. We saw horses, donkeys, and even llamas! From there we took a car-tour through the small, but beautiful town of Alta Gracia, somewhere I had already been, and ended our journey in the town of Villa General Belgrano, a small, touristy village started by German immigrants who moved to Argentina after WWII. We ate chocolate and ice cream there and even bought me some new tennis shoes, something I needed very badly, considering I used my other ones to walk 45 min one-way to school almost every day! That night we ordered some good ol' Argentine pizza, which both of my parents loved!

Sunday we had an asado, or an Argentine BBQ, (so delicious!) with my entire extended Argentine family. They went all out--this asado included pork, beef, and chicken! Of course, it was Mother's Day in the States, but Mother's Day in Argentina isn't until October 17th, so my Argentine mom wasn't expecting anything! My mom brought from the States some lotions for my sisters, a card and a present for my Argentine mom, and a web cam for the whole family, so I gave those to them after we ate. My Argentine mom started tearing up when she read the card! (It was funny because Mom just got a Spanish Mother's Day card in the States and had no idea what it said haha, but it eneded up being fine!) I also got to express (in Spanish) my thankfulness to God for my real mom who is such a great example of a true lover of Christ in my life. I told everyone how she is so unselfish, loving everyone with the love of Christ, and that when I am a mom one day, I want to be just like her. My little speech had one of my cousin's crying! :) It was neat to be able to express my love for my mom on Mother's Day while talking about Christ in her life at the same time. Ater lunch, we headed off to go downtown to shop at the feria there. I bought a few gifts for friends as well as a Mother's Day present for mom, and mom got a few things to take back for family as well. Afterwards, my parents got to come with me to my church and meet my pastor and some other people there who have made a difference in my life here. After that, we went out to eat with some of my Christian friends here and with the missionaries who work with Commission International, a group in which I've gotten involved here.

Monday my parents got to come with me to campus and get a taste of that part of my life here. We had lomitos for lunch (which my dad loved, comparing it to some type of burger at Waffle House that also has ham, lettuce, tomato and egg on it) and then they came to my Spanish and tango classes as well. My tango teachers even did a demonstration for them after class. They were just as good as the dancers at El Arrabal for sure! That night my mom made chicken fingers, macaroni & cheese, green beans, and sweet tea--a good ol' southern meal! Everyone loved it! Afterwards we had smores, which was a lot of fun. It was so much fun to see my Argentine family's look of shock as they saw and tasted marshmellows for the first time!

Tuesday morning we went to a shopping mall, with the intent of buying an unofficial Argentine soccer jersey for Brandon, my brother, (as opposed to the official ones that cost 100 US dollars) but we couldn't find one, so we just walked around and enjoyed the last of our time together. My Argentine mom took them to the airport that afternoon and their plane took off around 4pm.

It was hard to say goodbye, but I know I'll see them in 6 weeks! I don't know what I'm going to do when I have to leave my Argentine family, not knowing if I'll ever see them again. At least they have a webcam now, so I'll be able to talk with them that way!

I'll post pictures soon!! Chau!!