Argentina and School!

Wow...I stink at this blog during the school year. I'll just do a short recap I guess. Things have been a little crazy. I lived through finals week...it was rather painful- no joke but I made it through with a 4.0. I was excited with it. One of the tests that I had put a lot of time into studying for (meats) actually turned out to be an optional final. We showed up to the classroom all ready to take the test and she told us we didn't have to if we didn't want to! Although I had put lots of extra study hours in I was still happy I didn't have to take it.

So on to Christmas break. I had a few days at home down in Sioux Falls with Mom and John and family. Well, we spent a day or two there, then went to Charlene's for Christmas eve supper. It was Virginia and I, Charlene, and our aunt and uncle Tom and LeAnn. We were supposed to go back to Mom's for Christmas day, but that didn't happen. We actually stayed at Charlene's for four days before we got plowed out. What a storm! Lots of snow...we lucked out and didn't have as bad of winds as expected, but there were plenty of them at that. The snow is still hangin' aroudn from that crazy storm. After we got back to Sioux Falls we celebrated with Grandma, Grandpa, Mom, John, and John's daughter Ann. We had some pizza and and a pretty good time. I was also able to catch up with a couple friends over those next few days while packing for Argentina. The night before we left (the 2nd) my friend Megan came down from Phillip. We did some last minute shopping and geared up for the big day. We got up on the third, Mom and John sent us off at the airport, and off we went to Argentina!

The trip down there actually wasn't too bad. We made all of our connections and had a pretty good time. The worst part was the 8 hour flight- but we survived jsut fine. A day later, with lots of jet lag, we managed to make it to Buenos Airies! I can't possibly begin to describe the entire trip- perhaps I will make a slide show sometime when I actually have the time to do so! Some of my favorite spots to see were Linears (a huge livestock auction market), a meat packing plant that we toured, a 57,000 acre farm/ranch, a nature conservancy, the ocean, and a ton more! I would have to say one of the most memorable things I did was ride horses on the ocean beach. Three of us went out and it was quite amazing! I loved pretty much everything we went and saw, down to the tourist trap towns! I came back with a few souveniers and gifts and lots of stories and pictures. Currently, I am having trouble getting my pictures from my camera to the computer. I'm not sure what exactly is wrong- but it's not good. I at least know that I can see them on the camera if nothing else. But ther is still hope! Perhaps my more technological savy friends and family can fix it!

Anyway, the trip was the experience of a lifetime. Heres to sunburns in January! It was beautiful and I didn't want to come home right away to the cold! In fact, we didn't. Becuase of the stupid Chilean airlines and their flights being overbooked a few of us actually stayed in Chile. Shawn Mohr, Jared Sanderson, Brianna Sandager, Me, Ken Olson (a chaperone), and Kevin or transualator watched our plane fly away with everyone else on it. So, we went back to our hotel- ate out, and tried again the next day. We were finally able to make it to the states, but every flight connection was a nighmare in itself. We were able to argue our way through it though- and managed to get home jsut a day or so late. The group that actually got out on our plane didn't get home to much earlier than we did anyway because they got stuck overnight in Chicago! It was crazy, and the people who set up our flights at SDSU should probably consider new employment... but we are all here now and jsut fine.

Since I've made it back I've pretty much spent my days catching up and doing homework. I was able to take some time to put my room back together and go out to dinner for my friend Lauren's birthday tonight. It's been ok- I just know that it's going to be a super long semester with 21 credits and two jobs. I got a crappy weekend schedule at the desk and will be working every other Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Horray. Guess I'll live though.

Well it's about that time. I need to do some more reading about Ed Psych and perhaps catch some zzzs early tonight!