Getting adjusted...

Hola mis amigos y familia! I hope you're enjoying your cold winter while I lay out everyday in 90 degree weather down here! (Haha don't worry, it'll change to winter here and I'll be missing SC's beautiful summer and then you'll be the lucky ones)

So, I guess the biggest news I have is that my package arrived! My mom sent it almost 3 weeks ago and the post office here is supposed to tell my family when a package arrives for our house, but they didn't! (thanks a lot!) So I've been worrying that it's lost the whole time and it was just waiting at the post office! The most important thing in there was my computer cord, so now that I have that I can use my computer to talk on skype! My skype name is berkeley.bagwell (the advantages of having a weird name...) so search for me so we can see and hear each other for free! Yesterday our class time changed from 9am-12pm to 2:30pm-6pm, so besides 11:30am-3pm Greenville time, I should be able to talk! Shoot me a message on facebook or send me an email (bbagwel@clemson.edu) and let me know when you can talk!

So the past two Sundays I went to an incredible church called Centro Crecer in downtown Córdoba and I love it! The pastor, Sam Masters, is a missionary from the States, so his sermons in Spanish are a lot easier to understand than if he was a native Spanish speaker. I met the college pastor the first Sunday I went, and this last Sunday I met with him, another guy in my group (Kevan), two girls in another study abroad group here, and an Argentine female student for a prayer and praise & worship time before the service, which doesn't start until 8pm! I loved it! It was so great to hear that these students have a heart for missions like I do. Hopefully it will become a weekly thing! Pray for more college guys to join our group for Kevan!

We had our second tango class yesterday and, pretty much, the boys hate it and the girls love it! Haha...shocker! Also, we have horseback riding lessons every Wednesday and, since I slept through the first lessons two weeks ago, this past week was my first time every riding a horse! I didn't like it at all! My stomach and legs hurt the whole time! We're going horseback riding in the mountains tomorrow, so that should be interesting! But I really like tango--I think I'm going to continue taking tango lessons throughout the rest of the semester and then do some type of volunteer work for my other cultural experience. I'll post some short videos soon of us in the tango class this week! They're pretty funny!

Friday we had our midterm for the intensive Spanish course that we're taking this month and we got them back yesterday. It wasn't very hard, and, overall, the teacher said our class did very well, so that's encouraging! I can definitely hear a progress in my Spanish-speaking abilities, which is exciting! Earlier tonight, I talked with my family about the US education system and I communicated my thoughts a lot easier and more quickly than I would have 3 weeks ago! I can't believe this is the 3rd week! It's going by so fast!

Last night, I skyped with my parents and they got to see and talk with my family here (I had to translate a little)! My Córdobes family said that my parents were welcome to stay here when they come to visit at the beginning of May! My mom said she would fix some meals from the US to thank them! I'm really excited about that!

Saturday, the group from UBP (the university I'm studying at) took a 1 1/2-hour bus ride to Jesús María, where we toured an estancia used by the Jesuits, the group of people we studied last week. At the praise & worship meeting Sunday, the two girls from the group studying in Córdoba's national university told me that it was really cool that on Saturdays we tour the places that we study about the week before. I'm not sure if they get to do that. I feel so fortunate to be in such a great, experienced program and to have Alejandro, the person in charge of the Clemson program, here to help me whenever I need it.

After the tour, we ate hamburgers (with ham on them!) and choripan, a classic Argentine dish. Then we went to a gym and played frisbee, volleyball, and basketball, which was so much fun! I didn't realize how much I missed sports! (Brandon, my brother, would be so proud!)

Thanks so much for reading and remember--look for me on skype now!