by Ben Munger
Universidad Blas Pascal, Argentina
I've had a few moments in my life where I've woken up and had completely forgotten where I was for a second or two. I can't tell you the reason why it happens—whether it be from sleeping in new places or being extremely tired—but I can tell you that each time it happens there's a small period of chaos and confusion followed by an adjustment period. Maybe you know the feeling, maybe you don't. If you know it, congratulations on being able to understand what stage I'm in on my study abroad trip to Argentina. If you don't know it, leave…
Universidad Blas Pascal, Argentina
I've had a few moments in my life where I've woken up and had completely forgotten where I was for a second or two. I can't tell you the reason why it happens—whether it be from sleeping in new places or being extremely tired—but I can tell you that each time it happens there's a small period of chaos and confusion followed by an adjustment period. Maybe you know the feeling, maybe you don't. If you know it, congratulations on being able to understand what stage I'm in on my study abroad trip to Argentina. If you don't know it, leave…
Alright fine don't leave.
There's obviously a lot more going on here than mountains and birds, but seeing the differences in the nature started my adjustment to the disorientation of being in a new place. There's plenty more blogs to come about things other than nature (I type that hesitantly), but for now it's something to keep you savages* entertained for a bit so that I can try and take some pictures that REALLY show what I'm seeing down here. I'll try to post soon, but taking pictures can be a birden**… especially when time flies** by like this.
The beginning of my trip was the start of the chaos. I left saturday from my house at 6:45 a.m. The overall travel, lack of sleep, and unnecessary fear of being denied at the border was enough to completely drain me. Nonetheless, I arrived to my new home at 2pm the day after I departed.
 |
| I made a cool friend named Carlos on the flight to Buenos Aires. He took this picture of me before we went to Córdoba. Don't get used to seeing me in the picture unless there's some SAWEEET landscapes in the background. I'll give you this one though…. you're welcome mom. |
After being in awe of the initial arrival, I started to feel lack of energy I had from sleeping 3 hours over a span of 28 hours. It's safe to say that there was only one thing I wanted to do in that moment…SLEEP!!!
Not really. I went to the lake. I had been in Argentina for MAYBE 3 hours and the opportunity to go to Lago San Roque in Villa Carloz Paz presented itself. No way I was about to start my trip off by saying no. As you can see from the picture, it turned out pretty well. I already have waaaaay too much to blog about, so I'm pretty determined to focus on the nature side of things in this particular blog; it helped me relax a ton.
 |
| Such a pretty view of Lago San Roque. I've never sailed before and I found it to be super difficult… Mainly because sailing in Spanish requires vocabulary that I hadn't used before BUT now I know it. |
We spent the day sailing on the lake in the best weather ever. I was super psyched about pretty much everything at the time, and then I started seeing the birds… THE BIRDS!!!!!!!!
First, I saw this guy:
 |
| This is my favorite so far I think. Its called a Lechuzita. It's basically a super small owl, but it's around in the DAY. Let that sink in for just a minute. I got this picture off the internet because I'm still trying to figure out a way to NOT have the title "the American with the camera." |
a few minutes later, I saw a bunch of these guys:
 |
| Parakeets, Parrots, Loros.. whatever you want to call them, they're here, they're loud, they're awesome. I got this picture off the internet too. |
Finally, I saw this group of studs TODAY!!
 |
| These guys were super funny. I accidentally spooked em off of a cactus when I was walking home. They're called Carpinteros Blancos (White Woodpeckers). I didn't take this picture either.. I'm SORRY. |
*By savages I mean people who care dearly about me and who enjoy reading about my time in Argentina.. you're not savages. I actually kinda like you guys.
**If you don't understand these then you can't read anymore of my blogs.
¡Nos Vemos!
Benjamín