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