Time FLIES here. I'm not sure if it's because of the fast pace of the city or because I'm in school mode (coffee, class, coffee, homework, eat, sleep, repeat). Either way, somedays it's like I've been here forever and others it's like I just arrived. I've had a few moments of panic when I've questioned whether I'm doing enough while I "have the opportunity" and then I shift back to the reality that this is just life and I don't have to fill every second of every day with visits to museums and new experiences. I have this internal struggle between whether this is a "semester" or a "vacation". A lot of students here openly acknowledge that this will probably be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for them, they'll probably never come back so they "might as well see it all now!" But I can't feel that way (or maybe just can't admit it to myself). I've learned so much about myself in just a month and a few weeks, and I know, deeply, that I want to live in a spanish-speaking country. All of us here love the language and went abroad to improve our ability to use it. And we've all had our dreams of fluency crushed in a mere month. There have been times when I've been so frustrated with the entire language -- what do you mean you "just know" to use that form?! -- but ultimately, realizing that my expansive vocabulary is actually equivalent to that of a 6 year old has just strengthened my resolve to learn more. I've been making the mistake of relegating my educational opportunities to class (and don't get me wrong, my comprehension has improved a TON) but I should be more observant everyday. We speak way too much english here and we all know it. Part of it is because we think we can't learn from each other, that we're only going to really learn from speaking to Argentines, but I don't think that's true. We all have different words and phrases and colloquialisms to teach each other. I've noticed that every estadounidense here (I'm making a concerted effort not to say "Americans" - more on that later) will speak spanish back to you if you initiate it... you just have to be proactive. Of course, there's really nothing better than having a successful conversation all in spanish with a porteno and their corrections seem to stick with me more. But if I'm around my peers 90% of the time, that shouldn't be an escape route! Like I started out saying, time is flying by. I'm probably going to continue living like a college student - weekend to weekend - but maybe I'll take a little extra time to listen to the sidewalk conversations instead of the country music on my iPod. I can indulge my love for Miranda Lambert when I'm back in Texas!