Argentina

Alas, like all good things, my irresponsibly free voyage has come to a close. I'd like to summarize the last two weeks of my trip, as they were without a doubt the best.
While I was in France, I learned that my grandparents in Buenos Aires aren't doing so well, and I felt like I needed to go visit them. After my week in Rome I took a flight from Rome to Madrid, then to Argentina. My uncle Walter and my cousin Brenda picked me up from the airport, and took me to my grandparent's house. It was SO good and so needed to spend those two weeks together with family that I love so much but don't get to see very often. My abuela Neli and abuelo Juan Carlos are both getting very old, but they were both SO excited to see me. They really missed me a lot, and I'm so glad that I was able to make the trip to see them again. My aunt Mabel, who is one of the most Christlike and pure people I've ever met. My uncle Walter, who is so thoughtful and dropped everything he was doing and devoted two entire weeks to making my trip as memorable as possible. My cousin Brenda, who has such a big heart and is growing up to be such a good person. My aunt Marina, who is so devoted to trying to do the right thing and to showing her love for those that she cares about. And, my cousins Nahuel and Kevin, who are both fun guys to hang out with.
Some of the highlights of my trip:
Going to the Teatro Colón to see an orchestra concert.
Seeing all the touristic sites of the city like the Obelisk and the Pink House.
Exploring the awesome zone called La Boca
Going with Brenda to her English school and pretending like I didn't speak Spanish so that her friends could practice their English with me.
Going out dancing with Nahuel in the city all night long until 8 in the morning.
Drinking mate in a random plaza with friends.
Discussing politics and history with Walter and Nahuel
Watching Zorro and Super Hijitus with Walter and Brenda
Stuffing myself full of choripan, milanesas, chimichurri, empanadas, dulce de leche, terma, helado, asado, alfajores, facturas, and every other delicious thing that I can't get in the States.
Learning to play the Chacarera from a friend of Walter's who's a professional master musician and performs Chacarera shows.
Playing the bombo and singing chacareras with a group of old people in La Plata.
Drinking mate con leche with my abuela and looking at pictures of our past visits to Argentina when I was a little kid.
Hanging out with some old friends that I haven't seen in a while, including Amiel, Ale, and Pedreira (an old mission companion who lives in Uruguay and came to visit me while I was there.)
Taking my aunt to church with me for the first time.
Going to the Mataderos fair to see all sorts of Gaucho stuff, artisan hand-made mates, bombillas, and cool stuff made out of leather.
All in all, I am so grateful that I was able to go on this trip, and I enjoyed absolutely every second of every day. Even though I just came back, I already can't wait to go back.