Living Through It: August 2010

Just so you know, this blog will contain a lot of writing. This is not a picture-only blog. If you don't want to hear about my life or hate the way I write, you can just excuse yourself now. I probably won't even notice. But seriously, this is a long post. Like Lord of the Rings long. No, longer. Except hopefully not as boring. But seriously. I'm a little bit embarrassed to publish something so long. I apologize in advance. Ok, there. You've been warned. Procedamos. (Oh, and also, if you hate Spanish, you probably shouldn't read either. I'll probably throw it in every once in a while. Can't help it.)

The first adventure to share on a blog about adventures is the greatest adventure of all. Well...of the last month at least. Said adventure: Argentina! Since I returned home (count 'em) two years ago (seriously?!?!) I've wanted to go back. You know, to see the people I loved, to visit places I wasn't allowed to visit, and to strengthen my converts. No. I wanted to go back for the food. If you've ever been to Argentina, or had Argentine food, you're probably wondering why in this beautifully created world I would want to travel halfway across it to eat food that is not that fancy. I have no other answer for you but that it is delicious. And maybe there's a bit of nostalgia thrown in there. I don't know. But one simple fact remains: Argentina food is just. so. dang. good.

My best friend 4-eva (shorten it to BFF, if you'd like), Jaime, and I have been talking about going back forever (we served there together), and last year the plane tickets got down to like 600 bucks. That's cheap. Oh man, I was tempted. BUT. I didn't have the money, and instead of putting it on my credit card and paying interest for a few months, I decided to do the responsible thing: hold off and save for it. So this spring when we were looking at tickets, the prices were, naturally, twice as much as the summer before. I'm pretty sure I could have put the 600 on my card and still paid less in interest than I did with the money I saved up. But I didn't go into debt for it. Go me.

Anyway, so we bought the tickets and started planning. We decided to hit up Chile while we were down there to visit a few missionaries we'd met on the mission. Why not add another country to my passport, right? We had a layover in LA and we thought for a second that we'd get to stay in LA overnight- they overbooked the flight to Chile and offered us an 800 dollar voucher and a hotel in LA to wait a day. Thank you, yes, I will enjoy a night in California for free and then get my next trip for free as well. But it was only if everyone showed up....and they didn't. So we had to come and not get the free money. Lame. But we made it.

If you're ever considering flying on LAN airlines, I would advise you to think carefully. The planes are fantastic--really nice and decently spacious and the food is actually really good! They have a TV at every seat and on every flight you can choose among like 40 movies or 10 TV shows to watch and several games to play. It's really great. BUT. They're terrible at communication and pretty much every flight we had was delayed for some reason or another. Doesn't really matter what the reason was--not like they ever informed us of what it was. You'll hear more about that later. In LA we bought those little neck pillows in the airport and they really were a great investment. So much easier to sleep with those cuz your head's not rolling around waking you up. I didn't even have to take a sleeping pill. I was planning on it because I usually don't sleep well on the plane at all but I was fine. Miracles all around.

When we got to Chile, Fabrizio Castro, an elder from our mission, picked us up from the airport at like 6 am and we went to his house to have breakfast. I wanted so badly to take a shower and sleep but it was the only day he had off work and he wanted to take us around so we left. We visited the temple-it's closed but we got to see the outside. It's pretty small and right there in the middle of Santiago. We had lunch and then went to this hill downtown that's huge. It was really cool. There's a cable car that takes you up to the top where there's a huge statue of the Virgin and an outdoor chapel thing where they have mass every week, I guess. It was cool to see--especially because there was a great view of the city from the top. Except that it's covered in smog so you could barely even see the mountains in the distance. The Virgin cracked us up, though, because it was seriously SO huge. Like...more than 30 feet tall. And they light it at night. And the great part of it was that right next to it--right below it, rather--is a statue of Christ on the cross. Maybe 8 or 10 feet. Ha. Glad to see they have their priorities straight! That day we saw a little bit of the city then went to Stefania Soto's house--another missionary we met in Argentina. We stayed the night there and visited with her and her family. She has a little girl who's a year old that is way cute. Have you ever seen that youtube video of the baby who can put on a mad face and then just starts laughing every time? Well, her baby can do that. It was so funny! We slept there and even though we were sleeping on the floor, we both slept about 14-15 hours. Oh man. We were so tired! I did take a sleeping pill that night and I'm glad I did. Sleeping on the floor sucks.

Bueno. The next day we went out again with Castro and his nephew, Felipe, who's pretty much the same age as he is. We saw some other stuff in the city then ate some Chilean empanadas. There's controversy about whether Argentina empanadas or Chilean empanadas are better. I've had both. I'll clear up the confusion. Argentine empanadas are way better. Simple fact. No need to continue on in confusion. We stayed in a hostel in Santiago that night and Friday night. Friday we had some time on our own so we went to a different hill in Santiago that has this cool tower thing on top which is apparently THE premier destination for couples. We could barely even get a spot to take a picture. Geez. We also saw La Moneda which is their version of the White House. That night we went to Castro's house and ate with his family. He even took us to the airport on Saturday. It was way nice of him to take us around the whole time.

Our flight Saturday was supposed to leave at 3:50 pm but instead we left at about 7:15. We still don't know what was wrong-something with the plane I think. So we just hung out in the airport forever and called Argentina to change our plans that night. At least we weren't on the plane waiting! Luciana Monetti (another missionary) and her husband picked us up from the airport in Buenos Aires. We were supposed to go out to Las Heras that night to eat with some members but it was way late when we got in so we just stayed with Monetti. The next day we went to church in Las Heras then had lunch with two families out in a pueblo called Villars and then visited some other people in Las Heras- including the Miguez family, which is pretty much all that branch is made up of. There are a ton of them and they're all really strong members. All married now and starting their families. The mom of all of them taught Relief Society AND Sunday School Sunday. That branch would fall apart without them! It was nice to go with Monetti because she speaks Spanish way better than we do and is very social so it helps to fill the awkward pauses. :)

Sunday night we came into the city more to stay with the Silva family, one of our favorite families from the mission. They're so great. Margarita, the mom, is magic, I swear. She's like the ultimate housewife! She's an amazing cook and she sews--she made two skirts for me in the mission and worked miracles on other stained and torn clothes. She has two daughters who are about my age that are also really great--easy to talk to and a lot of fun--Paula and Laura. Then there are two little girls--Oriana and Victoria who are 7 and 9. When I was in that area, Victoria was pretty little still and she used to say I was her best friend. That's right. I'm that cool. And then Jaime replaced me in that area and she started saying we both were her best friends. Huh. Anyway, they're all pretty recent converts--within the last 5 or 6 years. The dad still isn't a member but is really great and very generous. I love this family. I'm glad we got to spend time with them.

While we stayed with the Silva family we went and visited Hurlingham, another of our areas. I had a little list of people I wanted to see but we only ended up seeing the Familia Iputcha and the Familia Gareca, which is a family that was baptized while I was there. Their kids have gotten so big! It was good to just sit and hang out with them for a little while. That was one of my favorite parts of being there after the mission--no guilt! I could do whatever I wanted without feeling guilty about wasting time or breaking a rule! It was pretty awesome. There were other people I thought I wanted to see but really, once we got there, it was like I didn't really care to see them anymore. I don't know why. Most of them I hadn't even talked to since I left the area so I didn't feel the need to see them. I guess it showed me who I really cared about!

One morning I dried my hair then went to unplug the dryer so I could plug in the straightener (we only had one adaptor) and it totally electrocuted my hand! I mean seriously! I screamed and dropped it and Laura came to check on me and Jaime yelled from the shower to see if I was ok. I was but it really scared me! I don't think I've ever felt electricity that strong. I still have no idea what happened but my hand was pretty numb for like 20 minutes.

Probably the weirdest thing about being in Argentina is that it wasn't weird at all! It was so familiar that it really wasn't strange. You know, Chile is a lot like Argentina in a lot of ways. The buildings are similar, the people look similar, the language is similar... But it's not home. Just going to Argentina seemed so familiar and so comfortable that it really did feel like a second home! Bueno, maybe a third home--Indiana, Utah, then Argentina. :)

After our time with the Silva family, we headed up to the mission home to stay with President and Hermana Benton. The mission home is SO nice! Compared to the rest of Argentina, at least. It's like a little piece of the United States right there in Argentina. We had our own room and bathroom up on the 3rd floor and pretty much could come and go as we pleased. We went to Tigre which is out on the coast of the Rio de la Plata and we took a boat ride out to the delta. It was cool to see some of the houses and stuff out there--the only way to get there is by boat so there's a grocery boat that comes...a trash boat... haha. They have everything available by boat! The water's really dirty I guess from all the sediment...or that's what they say...

That night we were able to just sit and talk to President for a while. It was fun to talk to him about the mission and hear about what they're doing now. It sounds like they're doing super well--numbers are skyrocketing--and it's interesting to hear about the mission from the President's perspective. He's super enthusiastic--like crazy enthusiastic, actually--about everything which is fun. Or just funny. For instance, everywhere he goes he does contacts with whoever he can--even a girl who came by the house trying to sell something to him. She was practically running away once he started talking to her. :) We had dinner with them at a really nice restaurant Friday night and he made a contact with three different restaurant employees that came to our table. Jaime and I just laughed because he's so over the top about everything. He told one of the waitresses that they were having a baptism in her hometown that weekend and maybe someday it will be her baptism! I'm just glad I'm not the one doing the contacts anymore! That restaurant, by the way, was SO good. Argentina's famous for their beef and there's good reason for that. Easily the most delicious steak I've ever had. Probably one of the most delicious meals I've ever had. The steak came with mashed potatoes with sliced almonds on top. Holy delicious. If you've never heard of it or thought to try it, do it today. It's good.

One day we met Monetti and Evangelina Barrera (my mini-missionary companion) in Capital (That's the city of Buenos Aires, for those of you who are confused. It's fine. It can be very confusing.) for a little tour of some of the main tourist spots. We saw La Casa Rosada (their version of the white house. It's pink!), a pretty sweet cathedral where San Martin is buried, and an old remodeled port called Puerto Madero where we toured the inside of a retired fleet ship. That was pretty cool. We tried to go to el Teatro Colòn, a really beautiful and old theater downtown, but it wasn't open. That night we met up with a girl named Laura Chamorro, who was Jaime's mini-missionary companion. We had a great time visiting with old friends and hearing about their lives post-mission.

I really liked the city. It's huge and very bustling and very wonderful. Many of you know I'm a city girl at heart so it's not hard to imagine that I would love a giant city full of cement and pigeons. But Buenos Aires is graet because it has a really rich history, too. Saturday Jaime and I actually watched the musical Evita at the mission home because we had some free time. I know it's not completely accurate but it was interesting to learn some of the history of the country. As a people, they've just been through so much--so many rulers, some good but most bad, and so many crises. Argentines are prideful and tough, and I think it's their history that's made them that way.We were excited while watching the movie because we recognized so many of the places! Turns out Evita herself grew up within the boundaries of our mission! One of the scenes had her in a train that I'm pretty sure I, myself, have ridden, since the trains out that way are at least 100 years old. (Listen, I know you all are sore amazed right now at how incredible it is that I walked the same roads as someone famous enough to be portrayed by Madonna in a big screen film. It really is incredible. But I'm still just a normal girl from a small town in Indiana. I eat, sleep, and breathe just like the rest of you. Don't get carried away.)

Now then, I'm done name-dropping so we'll continue. One of the days so we stayed inside all day. We had planned to get out but Jaime wasn't feeling well and we were both exhausted from walking so much anyway so we stayed inside, played games, napped, ordered a pizza (which was DEE-vine), and watched a movie. We were so grateful to have such a comfortable place to rest. The mission home is really great and Hna Benton was a super-accommodating hostess. She went about her business and we went about ours and it was really comfortable. That night we just walked down the street to eat dinner and it was also delicious. Argentine food is just so good!

While at the mission home, we also went to the cemetery at La Recoleta--where Evita (I know, it's like we're practically related. I feel so close to her...), and many other famous and influential Argentines are buried. Well, not buried, really. More like stowed. In Argentina they don't bury their dead. They put the coffins inside tombs. So a cemetery is more like a very elaborately decorated, smaller, cement city. It's pretty incredible to see, really. Or creepy when you think about how there are dead people lying all around you. Whichever term you prefer is fine.

That afternoon we went over to La Boca--the other end of the city--to El Caminito which is a very touristy shopping place. The neighborhood is famous for its brightly colored buildings. I think the story is that sometime....maybe early 1900s....immigrants from Italy and...somewhere else I think (I know, my memory is astounding) poured into BA into this neighborhood and lived in corrugated metal houses. They couldn't afford paint, though, so they just used the leftover paint from the ships I think, and thus, a very colorful neighborhood came to be! Afterwards I think they just liked the look of it so they kept doing it. Now it's a tourist hot spot with lots of little shops and tango dancers performing in the street. That was cool. Tango's fun to watch. We had hoped to go to a Tango show while we were there but it just didn't work out. Most of them are really late and really expensive. The ones we could afford were just late and we didn't feel comfortable being in the city that late and trying to travel back in areas we weren't familiar with. So we didn't get to see one. The street performers will just have to represent Tango in my mind!

That Saturday we ate breakfast with the Bentons (President made us french toast. Isn't that nice?) and then they took us back to Tigre because on the weekends there's a huge market there. I really enjoy shopping there--there's cool stuff to see and it's all pretty cheap! When we were on the mission, the Argentina peso was 3 to 1 US dollar. Now it's 4 to 1! Prices have gone up too, though, so it wasn't as exciting as I initially believed. They had to go to a baptism that evening, though, so we went back to their house, explored their neighborhood a little bit, and watched Evita. It was sad to leave their house. It felt so homey!

Sunday we went to church in Haedo because we could see members from both Haedo I and Haedo II because they share a chapel. We both served in Haedo I (That was my very last area), but just Jaime served in Haedo II. I got to see Lucia, who's a young girl we were teaching my last transfer. She wasn't old enough to get baptized without permission and her parents wouldn't let her. She ended up getting baptized after I left, though, and she's still going strong. It was fun to see her there and doing so well. It's really frustrating to hear about these converts that get baptized and are just amazing and are Stake Presidents like 6 months after getting baptized. Most of my converts are inactive. It's just really hard to find the good ones. So it's very rewarding to see Lucia so strong and committed to the church, especially being so young. She's my golden baptism--even if she wasn't baptized when I was there. After church we went to visit a convert of Jaime's then went back to Ituziango to spend the afternoon and evening with the Silvas. We taught them how to play Phase 10. They really liked it! We also taught them how to play 21 because it's pretty easy and Maria Victoria, the youngest, really liked it. She took over teaching it to her mom when she came to play. Haha. She was very authoritative. We had great weather for so much of the time but the whole final weekend it was just freezing. Not enjoyable to be outside. Monday was better, though. We went with Laura and Paula, the Silva daughters, to a neighborhood in Capital called Palermo, and went for a little paddleboat ride and walked around a nice park there. On the way home we stopped by another member Jaime knows in Palomar, then back to the Silvas for dinner. Margarita made me chicken milanesa with oven-roasted sweet potatoes. My favorite! It's what I asked for when I left the area the first time and she remembered and made it for me again. It was so good! She's really a miracle worker. She can make or do anything.

So that was my trip. That brings us to the day we left--the longest day of my life. No, the longest day of anyone's life. We got up at 5 to be at the airport at 7. HAHA! How unnecessary was that? Sometimes I just really wish they could find out about delays ahead of time so I could've slept in instead of sitting in the airport for 5 hours! Our flight was supposed to take off from Buenos Aires at 8:45 but because of fog, the one coming in was diverted to Montevideo, Uruguay. So we didn't board in BA until about 1. Good 5 hour delay there. There was another flight bound for Lima that was supposed to leave at 8:10 and finally at about noon got canceled. I guess I should be grateful that we even left at all. What kills me, though, is that they don't tell you any of this directly. For some reason, which I'm still trying to figure out, they don't do announcements over the loud speaker in BA. I guess that'd make too much sense or be too orderly and let's be serious, Argentina is just not orderly. So instead, everyone ends up crowding around the gate desk asking questions and trying to figure out what's going on. Our flight actually fell off of the departure screen after a couple of hours and never went back up so it's a miracle we were even at the right gate at the right time to board. It was absolute chaos and absolutely ridiculous.

So when we left Argentina, I had a pretty basic knowledge of what I thought was going to happen. From what I understood of our ticket, we were supposed to go from BA to LA on one flight--one plane--that stopped in Lima for refueling and exchange of some passengers. When we finally got to Peru, we had to get off the plane. And then we heard we'd be waiting 6 hours, which apparently everyone but us already knew. I guess we weren't aggressive enough in BA to push our way to the front of the crowd to get information. We found out everyone else had been given new boarding passes so we had to go find a ticket agent (which, of course, is nearly impossible. That'd just be too convenient if they were where they should be when they should be there.) and get our flight switched and get new boarding passes. Fortunately, they did give us a voucher in BA for free breakfast (which were two pastries and some chocolate milk) and a voucher in Peru for dinner which was actually very filling and delicious. I told Jaime that Peru is the most consistent country I've ever been in as far as food goes. The only other Peruvian food I've had was with the Diaz family in the mission and it was so good every time. I've never had Peruvian food I didn't like! Anyway, they also let us into this VIP room where there are comfortable chairs, internet, TV, and snacks. Doesn't make up for the trouble completely but it does help. So we finally left Peru at midnight. 7 hours later.

So we board the plane and find out that in all the mess we're not even sitting together. Shocker. By that time, though, I was too done to even care. I just wanted to go to sleep. We both took sleeping pills and let me tell you, they were strong. Don't take those before driving because you will die. I had to wake up when the flight attendants brought us food, and I just laid my head against the seat in front of me while I barely lifted the sandwich to my mouth. Jaime didn't even stay awake long enough to eat hers. Powerful stuff!

We had a scheduled 12-hour overnight layover in LA. You'd think with that kind of layover, you'd have plenty of breathing room no matter the delay. You'd be wrong. We landed at 6:25 and our flight to Salt Lake was supposed to leave at 7:32 so we decided to at least give it a try. So we pretty much ran off the plane. We were the first ones through immigration and the first ones to the carousel to get our bags. In Lima, they made us check Jaime's carry-on because it was apparently too big to fit on the plane even though we'd taken it on every flight before that. So in LA, we were waiting on that bag and a bigger one we'd checked. The big one came first so I, in an attempt to save time, went through customs with those because they're the ones that had food in them. I was the first one through customs so I was just going to wait for her on the other side, but in LA it's apparently against the divine law to wait anywhere convenient. I had to pass 4 other guards--maybe a 7-8 minute walk--before I was allowed to stop and stand. So I stood. For about 30 minutes. I had no idea what was taking Jaime so long. I was afraid they'd lost the bag or she was having trouble in customs. She had her phone but it wasn't on, and I didn't have mine because I'd left it in Utah, so I also had no way to know what was going on. When she finally came, she told me our bag was the very last one. That is a 0 percent exaggeration. She was actually in the middle of talking to someone about our lost bag when it finally came down all by its teensy not-really-too-big-for-the-plane self. So by this time is was probably about 7:15. No way we're making it. But we hurried anyway. We had to go to a completely different terminal and wait in a 45-minute line to get new tickets. We got to the desk and the lady says there are no more flight to Salt Lake until 9:20. PM. It's 8:00. AM. Not happening. I will NOT wait 13 more hours in an airport. So she re-routed us through San Francisco. A 1/2 hour-long security line and some much-needed breakfast later, we were sitting happily at our gate playing cards. I was just grateful to be in the US where nothing ever goes wrong. Our flight was supposed to leave at 10:35. Jaime looked at her watch, then looked at me, and said, "It's 10:15. Shouldn't we be boarding or something?" I went over to the gate...no one. To the departure screen...our flight is now departing from gate 66. We're at gate 75. That's a different terminal, if you were wondering. So off we go, sprinting through the airport, laughing at how it would be just so darn silly for this flight to have gone off without a hitch. We always need some kind of problem, right? (At this point you're probably dying of suspense. Will these poor girls ever make it home? Will they ever be able to sleep in a bed again? You're probably really tired and worn out just from reading this. Rest easy. We make it. Just not yet. And I can assure you, we were more worn out than you are now.) We made the plane. With time to spare. But our flight out of San Fran was also delayed. For the record, every single flight that we had on the way home (which was a total of 4 flights) came at a price. We either had to run for it or were delayed. We worked for our that trip, dang it! When we finally got on that plane, we waited for 30 minutes on the runway. We got to Salt Lake 30 minutes late but we got there! Yay! Now you probably think the story's over, don't you? Well, it's not. There's just one more cherry on top.

When I was 8 or 9, I went to Colorado with my dad and my brothers for a ski trip. It was my first time on a plane other than when I was a baby. I threw up all over my dad, poor guy. Since then, I sometimes get nauseous, but I've never thrown up. I usually prepare myself and do some deep breathing to keep myself under control. I just don't like planes. Even when I'm not nauseous, it does make me feel yucky inside. On this trip, we had 9 different flights. 9 departures and 9 landings. I did awesome. Even on this trip home, I held it together even though I felt like crap for the majority of the trip. Except for that #9 landing. It was cloudy and a little stormy in Salt Lake so we had some turbulence on the way down. Both Jaime and I started feeling nauseous but we were holding it together. I was breathing the crap out of that recycled plane air. Except it wasn't getting better. I started feeling it pretty badly. So I told Jaime, and she gets me a bag. I closed my eyes and tried to breathe the nausea away. She rubbed my back, telling me how close we were to the ground. And then I threw up. I THREW UP. And then about 5 seconds later we touched the ground. Fortunately, I had a bag. Unfortunately, I didn't get it all in there. I'm sorry; you're probably grossed out. I just wanted to paint this picture for you. We've been traveling now for almost 40 hours. We've had delay after delay and problem after problem. I'm exhausted. I'm dirty. I'm so. freakin. sick. of being on a plane or in an airport. Finally! We're home! And I throw up all over myself. Now you will understand why I turned to Jaime and just started crying. I was absolutely mortified. She assured me that only about 4 people even realized what had happened, but that didn't matter. I was so embarrassed and so tired and I could not believe that this is the way it was going to end. Fortunately, I had extra clothes in my carry-on so I changed in the airport, but I was still scarred. That shower 40 minutes later was the best thing that ever happened to me. At least in the 40 hours prior to it.

Probably the greatest part of this trip was that Jaime was with me! We had so much fun together, and she's just a wonderfully patient friend. She didn't even make fun of me when I couldn't control my stomach as well as a 6 month-old baby can. She's pretty great. Just so you know.

I have lots of pictures, but I'm not exactly sure how to get them on here yet. So that post will have to come tomorrow. I'm sure you're pretty over reading this by now anyway.

So what has this trip taught me? Except that the US should really look into producing alfajors, milanesa, and empanadas? It has taught me that I LOVE the United States! I love air conditioning and central heating. I love carpet. I love heated bathrooms. I love my bed. I love good customer service. I love order. I love solid ground. I love safe cities and reliable law enforcement. I love clean restaurants. I love clean bathrooms. I love my own car. I am so grateful to have been born here and to be able to live here. God Bless the USA.

Living Through It

Monday, August 30, 2010

Debt Free

Friday, August 27, 2010

I'll Be Your Teenage Dream

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

First Things First

The Beginning