Adulam

     On saturday we got to go to Adulam. Its an orphanage/community/safe house for kids and families that were previously living on the streets, in dangerous neighborhoods, and in precarious and dangerous situations. There were a bunch of houses, some shops, a soccer field, some gardens, a field or two with horses and ponies, a large dining and kitchen structure, and a central courtyard. As we pulled in, kids were yelling in joy and hopping up and down as the buses began to pull in. You woulda thought we were Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny to them. We were quickly divided up and put on different projects throughout the complex. Some of the jobs included: digging out a foundation for a house, digging latrines, organizing/cleaning out buildings, weeding gardens, making mulch, busting up old tvs/computers/typewriters/monitors and salvaging their precious metals, and playing with kids.
    These people live such simple lives, and are also some of the most gracious and happy and loving people I've ever met. There seems to be a correlation with that. The less you have, the happier you are. Hmmm, maybe us Americans should adopt that way of thinking.
   They lavished us with a feast at lunch. The food literally would not stop coming. With the little the had, they kept on and kept on giving. Even when we were about to leave, they made us get off the buses so they could give us one more precious treat- chocolate milk. We also got to see Pepperdine's Microfinance Club's hard work in effect. A year or two ago, the microfinance club was able to provide a man at Adulam with a Microfinance Loan to open up a leather goods shop. In there he sold mate gourds, monedo pouches, belts, little purses, and more. I got a monedo pouch.  We also got to play soccer with the kids, but with so many people it was kind of dysfunctional. It was still a ton of fun though. I would love to go back for a whole weekend sometime.
    On sunday i did my own lil church deal, went to the casa to eat Pizza Bum with everybody, went to San Telermo by myself and bought a mate gourde, studied and did hw at McDonalds, did one of my fields trips at Catedral-the catholic church, and then did more hw. Monday I had my first test here-spanish, sent a letter, exchanged fishing gear, worked out, had convo dinner at La Stampa, and packed for menBROza.
  I'm so stoked for our long weekend. BA is awesome, but i know i was meant to live more in nature rather than in urban sprawl. In nature is where i get renewed, refreshed, fulfilled, and in-tune with God. It'll also be a great time to get closer with the guys and have some real man-talk.
  Tomorrow, I venture forth.

Fishing, kissing, exploring

Today I had some class, convinced the staff here to buy us fishing poles for mendoza, bought butane for my stove, wrote a letter, explored a mate(mah-te) and pipe shop, had a bomb dinner and actual conversation with mi familia and then went to our game night. We played mafia 3.0 but had waayyy too many people, but kissing rugby afterwards was a blast.

My Backyard

    With every passing day I'm growing to love this place and these people more and more. It's funny to see to where I was on the first couple days-wanting to be leave and go back to malibu- and where I am now.  The conversations, the dinners, the shared laughs, the adventures are all starting to weave together a beautiful, resilient, strong bond. We came as individuals, but we're starting to make it a family.
    Today I slept in a lil, everyone's een going too hard and is on the verge of getting sick so sleep is needed. It's nice not having any 8ams and only one 9am. I don't have class til 2pm tomorrow! Anyways, that all leaves some good time to hang with Jesus everyday and that's been great. Classes are pretty good. I think I'll enjoy them. It's still weird getting used to not having a science or math class, i feel very unstructured and disorganized without them. I guess figuring out how to hw and study in this new environment will come in time too.  
   Between classes i went to workout, but as i was walking out the door i thoguht to myself "I should go on a bike ride and get lost." So i did, and i did get lost. I've felt somewhat gringo in multiple situations everyday, but this was gringo to the extreme. From hopping curbs, cutting through traffic, zooming through crowds on the sidewalk, getting chased down by a cop, going the wrong direction on roads, racing cars, and getting stared at constantly, i felt i earned the gringo label. It was fun. I found some useful places and learned a new part of the city. Slowly but surely its beginning to feel like my backyard, never thought I'd say that in this spraaaaawling urban jungle. I'm also getting all sorts of connections from NYU hot sauce-making students to Hawaii PhD students to travel agents to government agencies and some locals.
    Today was Rafa's birthday so we had California Burrito at the casa for convo dinner, followed by the ice cream from the super dope place Persiccio (or something like that) again. We had worship afterwards that included Liz's and Chad's awesome testimonies. After worship i walked Liz home and then went and had "cigars and settlers" with the guys. I was too lazy and tired and cheap to actually smoke with them but it was a great time just hanging with the guys and playing settlers of catan.
   This is the good life.
  

Getting Lazy

So i'm getting lazier, and the hw is piling up so some of these will be more like bulleted occurrences throughout the days.  Monday-it was Liz's bday so we got some super dope gelatto/ice cream/heavenly goodness at some place called something like Persiccio (BA is a very italian place). Today was my marathon class day- 9 hours of class followed by small groups. When i came home we ate and my padre asked if i wanted to go with him to take his son home, so David and i (the other homestay kid) went with him. After dropping his son off he decided to show us an interesting"tourist attraction." We proceeded to drive through the local park i run through and nothing seemed very special, then all the prostituting transvestites started showing up on the sides of the roads. I saw some things i could have lived my whole life not seeing. I'll leave it at that.

Podcasts, craft fairs, and football

    I'm not sure what my actual "church" experience will look like here over this next year, but today i decided to go with a podcast.  I've been in a  group of people for a solid 2 weeks now and I just needed some alone time (with God). I listen to Tim Chaddick's podcast about the realness of spiritual warfare and the armor of God. It really reminded me that in every aspect of life, especially in my weak points, Satan is constantly working to bring me down There'll be a lot of temptations, and a lot of darkness (amongst all the light) that I need to be aware of and ready for even if it isn't hitting me hard right now.
    After my podcast and hangout time with Jesus, i met up with Alycia and we went to a craft fair down near Plaza de Mayo. It was the biggest fair i have ever seen! It went on longer than we could see. They had a bajillion different trinkets, lots of matte gourds, patagonian alpaca/llama/sheep stuff, leather goods, incenses, food, bracelets/jewelry/headwear. I bought an alpaca hat, leather key chain, and a matte present for a friend. We also got some keesh and roasted peanuts. it was a really fun and neat afternoon. We got to practice our spanish bartering but that usually didn't go too well...
    This was followed by a night spent at the American sports bar in town- Shoeless Joe's Alamo - with a buncha dudes- including Dr. Daugherty. We went to watch the cowboys game, but also ended up watching several other game at the same time. The Dallas game was painful to watch but we pulled it through in the end with a kick as time expired to send the game to overtime and then another field goal to win it. The hours we were there were filled with great conversation from fantasy league players to life stories. I'm really loving getting to know everybody more and more everyday.

Futbol

pretty tired tonight. had a full day that revolved around soccer activities. it was a blast getting everybody together and going down to an indoor facility.

Classes, Bars, and Tacos

   Friday was our official first day of classes. We have been having intensive spanish classes for a week now but, everything technically started on friday. So that included another spanish class, and my religions of the world class. im really excited for religions of the world, it seems like its going to be really interesting, somewhat easy, and we get to go on field trips! so fun.  in between and after classes i got to skype a couple of my favorite girls- shelby and elle. that alone could make my day any day.
   Later that night a handful of us dudes went down to Plaza Cerrano- the bar district - and kicked it for a few hours. it was great to see that there are men mature enough out there that can go to a bar and still have super intentional and deep conversations. Those moments are so much more enjoyable than the drunken binges and dishonoring dancing that most of the world subscribes too. I' really looking forward to more nights like the one we enjoyed. After we left the bar we went to a super bomb taco stand. For the first time in a couple weeks now i finally felt flavor! The food here is great, but theres not much spice or flavor to it. My mouth was on fire for a good amount of time after that.
   Many people expect that studying abroad means crazy adventures and crazy stories EVERY night. Thats not the case. If anyone tells you it is, they're lying. Theres a lot more to it than that. Theres a lot of down time in which you can get real and get to know the people around you more intimately than you ever would have if you were back in the states. Thats what this is about.

First Convo Night

    Tonight was epic. We had our first convo which was cool- it was more like a bunch of announcements, but it was good getting everybody together for that. I also found out that i got the "service, cultural, and sport activities planner" job with my good friend alycia harrah- its gunna be a blast planning stuff with her (and getting paid to do it?! what??)
    This was followed by our convo dinner, at the fabled restaurant of Kansas. Apparently its the nicest in town, my homestay family was drooling when they found out we were going there. It's funny that the nicest restaurant in town would be an Amercian(ish) one. At convo dinners we're allowed to have ANYTHING we want (except any alcoholic drinks b/c pepperdine is paying for it all). At our table we3 appetizers  (Kansas rolls, smoked salmon, chips and artichoke/spinach dip), then i got a frozen lemonade, a full rack of ribs with grilled vegetables, and then our table got 4 desserts to share (chocolate cheesecake, brownie with ice cream, and banana bread covered in chocolate and ice cream with dulche de leche and bananas as toppings). Twas one of the most BOMB dinners ive ever had, and to think i'll get something like that every wednesday night blows my mind!
    After dinner some of us dudes went and got some cigars and posted up outside at a local cafe and kicked it for 3ish hours. I am honored to say that i lost my smoking virginity to a cuban cigar. It was a great time of fellowship, laughter, stories, and learning how to smoke. I'm looking forward to more epic nights like this.

Small Groups

Today we had our first small group sesh. I'm really excited to see where this goes, what relationships are formed (and to what depth they grow), to share life with a solid group of men, to be open and vulnerable to one another, and to grow alongside each other in our stages of brokenness.

God, exploration, and friends

It's late so I'll keep this one short.

    Yesterday we went to a Church of Christ in the area. They loved having us. They made us some kind of bread and coffee stuff for breakfast, we went to the service (which was heavy tailored to accommodate us) and then they made a huge Columbian-style lunch for us. There were also a couple birthdays so we had cake afterwards. We got back from that at 4, and as tired as i was, i just wanted to get away and go explore. So i hopped on the subway for the first time, not knowing exactly where it went. When i got out i found myself in the midst of a huge Brazilian festival- it was pretty bumpin. Then i went to Puerto Medero, found an American sports bar -bulldog-, met some guys from NYU who live here selling hot sauce, and then went home. I got to skype with Sarah and that was great, exactly what i needed at the time.
    Today i was very efficient: i swapped out my American money for Argentine money, bought a cell phone and loaded it with minutes, went to the correo and mailed my letters and got a sube card, did my hw, worked out, and went to Cafe Tornitino with some friends. We also had our first student-led worship  service, i'm really looking forward to the future ones. It's so cool that i'm praising the same God that I praised back at home-- half a world away.

Exploration

   After a great first night of sleep (after a sleepless 30 hours of travel) i was not looking froward to breakfast. From what i had heard, breakfast essentially didn't exist in Argentina. This was no bueno. My favorite meal of the day is breakfast. Much to my surprise though, it was more of a feast. Mi madre literally put all she could on the table and then some. It was great.
    Once breakfast was over, we all met up at the casa and went on a city tour. We saw a bunch of neighborhoods, and stopped at a couple different places. Boca was my favorite. The tour was followed by our first asado at the casa, so bomb. After our asado and some chill time we had our academic orientation, then started our intensive spanish week. When class was over, i went to Megetlon (or something like that) which is our gym. Its really more like a club. At dinner i gave my homestay family the present my mom gave me to give to them and they totally loved it. Can't wait to use the Texas cookbook with them. That night we went out, but the whole group tried to go together and it didnt quite work out as planned. It was still a lot of fun just walking and talking with people though.
 Today we started working on our scavenger hunt assignment by going to the zoo, the japanese garden,  the planetarium, and some museum. LOTS of walking but again it was great simply exploring and being with people.

Boca

Plantarium

  

First Day in BA

      after flying to miami from LA, it was a straight shot from miami to BA. i landed at 930, not knowing the girls flight info i was supposed to meet up with for a taxi cab ride (i gave her mine but wasnt able to check my fb in time to see her flight info). long story short i waited 3 hours and then took my own taxi to find her waiting there.
     once i got to the casa, i did a little bit of solo exploring and then kicked it for a while in a pizza parlor with our traveling faculty and a few other students who weren't on the group flight. this was followed by hanging out in the casa, waiting for the group to come in. they eventually did and seeing all the friendly faces and remember how solid of a group we have was really reassuring. we all had a little intro with rafa, followed by an empanada dinner.
     as dinner was winding down, the home stay families started showing up to pick us up. i was one of the last one left and i started to feel like an orphan.  i was hoping i was cute enough that one of these argentine families would come choose me, and eventually i was plucked out and brought onto the streets of BA, carrying around my 4 bags of luggage like a kook. my momma talked the whole way home and i maybe understood 5% of it, if that.
     i walked into a separate section of the house to find that it doubles as a veterinarian clinic for my father. he was operating on a cat i think. my room was a bit janky looking but after some re-organizing, cleaning up, and unpacking it has started to feel more home-y.

    this day has been in the making for literally nearly a year now. i've had all year to prepare myself, but today i realized theres really nothing i can do, question i can ask, advice i can receive, or experience to hear that could truly get me ready for this day. at times i was scared, nervous, and wanted to go back to the pepperdine i knew in malibu. at other times i was excited beyond belief and didn't want to be anywhere else in the world. its a weird balance and one i hope to get a better grasp of in the weeks to come. sometimes God takes a while to answer prayers and when he does, its not always clear how he does. not too long ago i prayed for discomfort, because i find that it is in discomfort where i grow most. discomfort hit me like a train today, and honest i hope it keeps running over me because i know God will have me come out only stronger.
  i can't stand stagnation, or simply being content with staying the way i am. being content with being and being content with staying are two different things. in the trials, discomforts, uncertainties, and experiences to come, i pray that i am content with being in discomfort.

my desk

  

my bed

my dresser

And so it begins...

I’m now on my flight to Miami, by myself-no group flight- and things are starting to settle in. During these past ten days, I honestly haven’t been thinking about Argentina all that much. Yeah it’s been on the horizon, but I’ve been so present in the moments I’ve been living in that I haven’t had the time of day to think, plan, or create expectations. There was a point where I had butterflies, but as uncomfortable as they can be, I know I’m in a good place when I have them. Nervousness isn’t a bad thing if its channeled in the right way. Nervousness keeps me on my feet, alert and ready to act. I’m still not sure what to feel. If I could describe it, it’d be curious adventurous anticipatory excitement.

My time back in the Bu was probably the greatest ten days I’ve had in a long time, if not ever. Not having any obligations, classes, homework, or meetings was one of the most freeing feelings I’ve ever had. Being able to simply be, and be completely present in every moment with whomever I was with, wherever I was, doing whatever we were doing was something really special. School has programmed me into thinking that there’s always something else to do, somewhere else to be, or someone else to see. This freeing experience in the Bu gave me a taste of what life is really meant to be like, and I intend to keep living the life of simply being from here on out.

I could write chapters on all the things I did while I was back in the Bu, but for your sake and mine I’ll just list some of them: got picked up 3 hours late by Elle who had obviously been crying in frustration (she pretty much took a tour of the entirety of SoCal in trying to get to the airport to pick me up) but I had a great time just chillin at the airport so it was all good, went for a run on the beach during high tide during the biggest swell Malibu has seen in years and got hit by some rogue waves which eventually caused my ipod to short out,  made sushi (with Trav’s and Colter’s catch from mexico) at the Gardner’s house and kicked it out their property, went to Grom after sushi for the greatest gelato in the world, spent some nights outside under the stars at The Eagles Nest (making more sushi, playing in the pool, killing rats with golf clubs), going for a walk down the beach with Elle at sunset(finding purple starfish),  spending the night on the beach and talking and playing til 4am with 15 super solid people, hanging in towers with the girls, going to The Gathering for an amazing time of worship and community (taking down the tent), having an epic family day with Jack, Elle and Sarah (westward beach, horseback riding, cranking country during the car ride, Woodranch BBQ, linedancing/two stepping at Borderline), going to Trader Joes with the girls and making a bomb dinner at their place (BBQ sliders, garlic fries, salad, grilled asparagus, and Graham’s super bomb chocolate chip pound cake with homemade chocolate syrup), baking goodies with Sarah up at her apartment, snuggling with Giff and Tom, playing N64 with Josh, Tyler, and the Flemmings, playing mafia 3.0 in miller, meeting up with the Ba alum in the caf, having quesadillas with the Flemmings in Shelby’s room, meeting up with a couple of my sports med professors, going to taco Tuesday with Trav and Jonathan and then hanging out with Jonathan down at Little Dume, hiking to the cross with Elle, having chapter at The Cabana, catching a seagull with Trav on Zuma beach, hearing about how Trav shot a deer off his back porch but couldn’t find it, walking on Zuma beach with Court,  walking to alumni park with Jack, bumming in the caf a lot, hanging with jack on my last night, going to celebration chapel and hearing bailey speak,  and going on another beach walk at night with Elle and hanging in the hammock.  To top it all off Sarah and Elle took me to the airport (kissing hand). That’s all I can remember for now, might be more to come later.

            I know not what God has in store for this year, all I can hope to do is hang on to him tight, listen., be guided, and do. Funny how simple it can be.

zuma

the cross hike

horseback riding

surrounded by angels

seagull!

jack and i at the horse ranch

the pose of the year