After three flights, a 12-hour bus ride and three long days of traveling, I finally arrived in my new home for the next five months – Resistencia, Argentina – where I’m participating in a foreign exchange program through AFS. I was welcomed by my host parents and their kids, Naiara, 13; Dylan, 15; and Michael, 19. They quickly helped me to feel at home here and involved me in their daily activities.

One of my new pastimes is playing squash. My host family loves squash, which is similar to racquetball, and they taught me how to play right away. Dylan is really good at squash and he’s even coming to the U.S. next year to train to be a professional. I enjoy playing, but it is difficult being a beginner at anything and especially when you’re being taught in another language.

Another new thing I’ve been introduced to is cinematography through a class Naiara is taking. She wants to be an actress, so once a week we spend an hour and a half practicing acting, filming and editing videos. I’ve also been included in Naiara’s hip-hop dance classes twice a week. The classes are fun and not uncommon for tween and teenage girls because dancing is such a big part of their culture.

I also recently went to a quinceañera celebration of a family friend. It was a very similar to a wedding, except that everyone is a lot more serious about dancing. We stayed at the party talking to friends and dancing to Cumbia, a Latin-American music style, until 5 a.m., which is typical for most teens and adults to do every weekend.

Though I haven’t been here for very long, there have been a few things that jump out at me as being very different from our life in Omaha. As soon as I stepped off my bus, I was shocked to be greeted with kisses and hugs from my host family. However, I quickly learned that a kiss on each cheek is the proper or normal way to greet people or introduce yourself to someone new. People in Argentina are more likely to stand close to you and hug you more often. At first, it really surprised me how touchy everyone was, but the longer I’m here the more normal it seems and the more I see it as being warm and welcoming.

Another huge difference that I noticed right away was the driving. The drivers here are a lot more aggressive than the drivers we know in Omaha. Every traffic rule I know seems to be violated here. I have never seen so many people run red lights or completely ignore the lanes in the road. On top of this, you have lots of drivers on mopeds and occasionally someone riding a horse or a horse-drawn wagon. What’s more, is that nobody wears a seatbelt. When my family sees me instinctively putting mine on, they tell me I don’t need it and that I should take it off – even though I REALLY need it here!

At the moment I’m sitting at a picnic table in my backyard in 85 degree weather. Sometimes it’s still hard for me to believe I’m actually here but it’s starting to sink in and become more normal. I’m getting to know the family a lot better and don’t feel like a guest as much anymore. I’m having a great time here but there are certain differences that make me homesick for my friends and family and at times it can also be really frustrating learning a language and not being able to communicate the way you want to. Overall I’ve had an amazing first few of weeks and I can’t wait to see what the next few months will bring.

Ciao (which is said here instead of adios because of major Italian immigration and influence),

Katrina