Six Weeks

I've been in Argentina almost six weeks now, and I'm starting to catch myself settling in. Here are six things that have changed, that I've accepted, or that have become normal for me in the past six weeks.

1. I no longer have to repeat "toilet paper, trashcan" over and over to myself to get things right en el baño. It's now automatic.
2. I don't have to re-explore the Villa (this lil' town) every day.
3. I've purchased soaps and lotions here (living where I am) and know what I'm buying.
4. I've got the hang of doing laundry now.
5. All my pictures are up on my walls.
6. I'm an active part of the missionary group that I go with each Sabbath afternoon. That's right, I'm making the little memory verse cards to give to the kids. #crafttime #feelinguseful. (I know, I'm sorry, I promise I'll never use hashtags here again.)

I've come to realize a little bit about myself too. Things about my personality and how I relate to people that I like, and things that I don't. Most interesting of all however, is that my determination to learn Spanish has not yet waned. This is a surprise to me, and may be a bit of a surprise to those who know me quite well. See, I'll get excited about a project, an idea, a job, and pound out some work for it for a decent amount of time. But soon, my excitement and determination to complete the job, or complete it well, ends. I'll become lazy and just finish up quickly to say that I got it done and move on. Here, I haven't gotten bored of studying yet. I haven't become tired of trying and trying to learn. I'm still going strong. This is something that I haven't really experienced before so I don't know how it will turn out. Will I be annoyed with trying to learn a new language by tomorrow? Will I burn myself out?

What I do know is why I haven't lost interest yet. I'm still motivated to learn Spanish because it is the one thing in my life that I am sure I want to do. Being in college is a big enough challenge for people, but being in college without knowing what you want to do after you graduate is another. Visits home require a lot of stamina, positivity, and self-given pep talks. Everyone wants to know what you're going to do, why you're going to do it, and how you're going to get there. Last year, school was difficult because I had no goal for when I graduate. Honestly, I still don't quite have a goal. But right now, for this year, I do have something I am working towards. It is something I want to do, and I guess I'm willing to put in the work for it, because I'm still trying.

Last week I purchased "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" in paperback . Every time I open that little book to scribble translations and memorize words, I'm not reluctant or annoyed. I want to struggle through it. Just like Don Quixote (which I never finished. It needed to be returned!), I have been finding the headaches I get from struggling through my homework and reading in Spanish to be satisfying. That's how I know I'm trying. And I'm going to keep trying until I can speak without hesitating, understand without translating, and laugh at all the jokes that everyone else gets except me. I've got seven more months. I think I can do it.