When the dust settles.

       I've decided to write this article to give a bit of insight to those of you that have never been on an exchange probably don't hear about much, or have never heard about.  My previous posts have been nothing but good fun and good times.  Now, I've decided to write the whole truth.  After the south trip, I've had a pretty damn boring, uneventful, and pretty depressing time in Iguazú.  As some have you may noticed, I've never really written about my daily life here in Iguazu, only the stuff outside, rotary weekends, trips, stuff like that.  Well, that would be because daily life here has, for the most part, let me down incredibly.  In the first few weeks of my exchange, it was ok, because it still kind of cheered me up knowing that I'm some 5,000 miles away from home, in the middle of south america, on a student exchange.  Because everything was new, and different, I mostly just though of it as such.  Nothing good or bad really, just incredibly different.  New language, family, food, climate, hemisphere, everything.  Which was really nice; all the things listed in the last sentence were exactly what I came here looking for.  but after about 2 months, when I started settling in, I became pretty unhappy.  For the first time in my life, I found myself really hating school, and wanting to sleep lots, because I found that there really wasn't anything fun in being awake.  But I think school was/is the worst problem.  Me being completely new to the society of Puerto Iguazú, school is my main social venue, where I can meet and talk to people and so on.  But, they mostly never talk(ed) to me.  The school I go to is incredibly small, being private, and supposedly the 2nd best in Iguazú.  This means that most of the kids there are fairly well off, and as I've found out, pretty douchy.  In the first few days of me going to school, I was asked a lot of questions (what's your favorite food, do you like argentina, when are you here till, etc.), which was nice.  But after that, nothing.  I think so far, in my 3 months in Iguazú, I've been invited to maybe 4 things by people in my grade (of which there are 17).  In class, literally NO ONE takes any actual interest in talking to me; "todo bien, ben?" and nothing more.  In the school itself, I have maybe 3 or 4 friends, but all of them being in different grades, I see them in two 10-minute recesses each day.
       You know, back in the U.S, talking to my south american friends, I was pretty excited to come here, I mean everything they were saying sounded GREAT to me.  Warm, friendly people, nice girls, fun, crazy parties, I mean who doesn't want that?  And they weren't wrong.  In the other places I've been, resistencia and Hernando, I found exactly that.  Some of the kindest people I've ever met, wonderful friends I'll never forget, everything.  But, of course, Iguazú, the place where I was put for my exchange, is a total drag.  The few "parties" that I've been to (in iguazu) outside of the dance clubs have been pretty much a let down (not that I drink, being a rotary exchange student, but 8 guys, sitting outside in the dark sharing a bottle of wine really isn't my idea of fun).  Lately, I know who my real friends are, but I have no way to contact them, being as my cellphone got wet and now doesn't work.  How fortunate that the 4 friends that I have almost never use facebook, and their numbers were on my phone, which conveniently doesn't work.  So, that leaves me with an unfotunate amount of time being at home, by myself, with mostly nothing to do.  I've been playing a little bit with a drummer in the town, and he's not bad, but the other guys that come are for the most part completely boring, uneventful people.  I mean common.
      This whole thing has left me pretty unimpressed with my exchange so far.  I mean I've had some fun, but nothing that's really blown me away, and what fun I've had wasn't from the town where I live.  Don't get me wrong, this doesn't make me want to go home, or miss my home, or anything like that.  Mostly it just makes me frustrated and a bit angry.  In reality, I think the only people who can relate to this are other exchange students who have been through, or are going through, the very same problems.  They say that the best friend's you'll make on an exchange are other exchange students, and they were absolutely right.  I'm writing this in hopes that things turn up soon, and that the future has good friends and good times in store, because god knows I need it.