"Blogs" and "Personal Bits and Pieces"

"Blogs"

This is my friend Becca's blog. She was the other ACA girl who's flight was also delayed on our trip here. If you would like another perspective on life here, check it out.

Read: Becca's Blog

THIS beautiful link will take you to my amazing roommate's blog. She is spending the year in Tchad (country in Africa) as a student missionary and has already had some crazy stuff happen to her. The Bere Hospital in Tchad is an incredibly difficult mission field (as you may gather from her blogs) and prayers are always appreciated. Click on this link and please, take a moment to read about her adventures already! It's only been two weeks.

Read: Shannice's Blog about Tchad

"Personal Bits and Pieces"

After reading the stories on Shannice's blog about her incredible time in Tchad, I can't help but feel a little useless here in Argentina. I was originally planning to be a student missionary as well, and completed the process before I decided to study abroad here in Argentina instead. Tonight, while planning a weekend trip to a town to relax and appreciate the culture, I caught up on Shannice's blog posts. My entire day has been one frustration after another, planning wise, and honestly, I'm happy just to stay here at the school for the long weekend. But while all the frustrating nit-picking over finding the cheapest hostels and earliest buses has been occuring, Shannice and the other two SM's are struggling to stay positive and be lights to the people in their village.

I know that we are all to live our lives in ways that represent God wherever we are, not only making us good people, but also bringing love and acceptance to others. However, because my focus while I'm here is to learn Spanish, I've been finding it a little difficult to keep in sight what my ultimate life goal really is.

In spite of this confusion, my devotionals in the morning have become quite, well, good. It's been a while since I've taken time not only for myself, but also for God, and actually enjoyed it. The little notebook I've been carrying around has really helped me not only write a little more, but also think more about what I read.

With all this in mind, I remind myself that though I'm not battling cockroaches, goats, the military, and exploding car batteries, I still have my own battles that I fight everyday. Whether they are figuring out how to pronounce new words, choosing between one table to sit at or another, whether or not to exercise, or how to react to people who I don't always get along with.

This year I've been reading through the devotional book "Jesus Calling." Today's thought, in brief, was that the problems and challenges that are big to us seem small to others and vice versa. During class today, some students were struggling with understanding a concept that appeared obvious to me. Before I got impatient with them, I realized that there are aspects of Spanish that I really struggle in, and I know are a piece of cake from their point of view. It's been a while since what I've read in the morning has carried over into my life during the day, and actually helped me with my perspective. It was a good feeling to have.

So, I will go to sleep tonight, without knowing where I am going, but knowing that for today, I am here. This may seem like a large problem to others, but it is a small problem to me, and I am content with that. Though my water is so full of sodium that I feel like an elephant, I am content because I actually have water. Even though getting ready for bed takes twice as long and is twice as inconvenient, I am content. Because I am still alive, and still have a purpose. It's just a little more difficult to keep track of.

A couple of photos for y'all

Enter my abode!

 A little house.

Sidewalk along the front of the campus.

 Street view

The little cyber cafe where I skype you alllllllll for 4 pesos an hour.

That name though . . .

Origins of this blog and other things

For those of you who have only recently begun reading my blog, refer back to the original post as to why this blog is named "The Veggie Loco Moco."


Last night I listened to music for the first time since arriving here. I'd almost forgotten about it because I've been so busy being busy. I'm not really humming anything in particular right now, but it has been nice to catch myself making up a tune once in a while again. That is the signal of me feeling a little more comfortable in a world that I can barely understand.

I've finally caught the lack-of-sleep, jet-lag, different-climate but that has been going around lately. I thought I would escape from it unscathed, but it has attacked with full force and won. Even though my roommate thought I was crying the other night as I attempted to stifle the waterfalls from my nariz, I have conquered, and the cold is leaving.Yesterday, I invested in a little mug and some mint tea at the supermarket next to our campus. I've already put it to use multiple times and it has already paid for its 22 peso self. It really is the simple things in life that we treasure.

Another "simple" thing that I treasure so much I decided to construct from scratch. A day planner. I came to Argentina without one, intending to purchase one here so I could practice my Spanish. But alas, upon going to the closest thing to a stationary store here, I only found January-December calendars for 2014. So, a blank notebook and some markers later, I now have myself a planner. I'm actually quite proud of it. I counted all the lines so it would be evenly spaced, kept my colors consistent, and all the lines are straight. I definitely needed a little bit of a craft outlet anyway, and this has proven to be quite the stress-reliever. I've only made it up until November, so it will be an ongoing project.

Sitting in class yesterday I realized how many little things about being here in Argentina would be really useful for new students to know, just as a heads up. So, I've started carrying around a little notebook with me. It's becoming a journal of sorts, where I write down whatever I want throughout the day; whether it is random lyrics to a song or new words or advice or quotes. At the end of the year, I can compile all the bits that apply to new students, and voilà, Elena's Handbook for the ACA Student-Argentina version.

Also, I got my free Spanish bible today! It's purple, hardcover, and in Spanish. Aka, it's beautiful and I love it and it was free.

I know you want pictures, they are coming! Eventually.

Fue . . .

This was a pretty great Sabbath.

I read my Bible.

I made new friends.

I walked across a suspended railroad track bridge.

I sang with other ACA students for an afternoon music program. (This picture is actually from vespers last night, but I wanted you to see the church. )

I went to a friend's house and drank lots of tea, and we all ate spaghetti out of the same bowl.

I forgot to put my SD card back in my camera yesterday, so all these photos are from my phone. The quality of these blog photos has seriously gone down, but I have come to terms with the fact that life isn't perfect.

Enjoy it anyway!