Endings always bring beginnings...

I've officially finished my first semester of my junior year. It's scary to think that I've now finished 5 semesters and only have 3 left to do! What am I going to do with my life?!
The past week of classes was quite uneventful. I had some written exams and an oral exam in Spanish. And on Wednesday and Thursday we had to go to each of our classes and receive our grades, and then hand this formal document into the University. It's just such an antiquated system of doing things, I'm assuming it's really going to slow down the transcript exchange process. I made two 8's, two 7's, and a 6. Normally, at USC, I would panic with those kind of numbers, but they actually are equivalent to a 3.66, 3.33, and a 3.0 (although, really, at USC, I would still probably be a little upset...). Now I'm just worried that the University here reports them as 8, 7, 6, and I won't get credit for the class I got the 6 in because it appears to be a D instead of a B, and I need C's for my pass/fail credit.
I guess I'll just work it all out when I get back on campus, if I have problems.

Saying Chau! to Jen at the Farewell Dinner.

Last night we had our Farewell CEA dinner at this really nice restaurant called Siga La Vaca. It's in Puerto Madero, which is the newest part of the city. It was sad, and at the same time, kind of funny. About 50 of us showed up, but only 5 are leaving in the month. So when December 3rd comes and we have a SECOND farewell dinner (for the intensive Spanish and Latin American/Integrated studies [my program]), I'm sure many more tears will be shed.
It was sad because the great people who are leaving early happen to be Jen, my friend Dan, and Aeri. And I love those three.

But with so much ending in the past few days, so much is beginning too! It's the part that I've looked forward to for so long, and it starts in just a few short hours (when I get my lazy butt into the shower and then to the grocery store).
And this part is: TRAVELING & VISITORS!
I leave tonight and will be taking an overnight bus to Salta province, in northeastern Argentina. There I'll recorrer (to travel through) the Salta and Jujuy provinces. The highlights that I'm looking forward to seeing the most are: El Cerro de Siete Colores and La Garganta del Diablo (not the same as the one in Iguazú Falls, of course). The most exciting part about this trip is that I'm traveling alone! It's a bit scary at the same time, but with the way technology is, you'll probably know if something goes wrong at the same second that I do. Haha. And I'm actually betting that nothing will go wrong because it's an area that's based off of tourism, so they probably try to keep things really safe.
I'll return home on Thursday (the 11th) in the morn', and on the 12th in the morning, my mom and her best friend land! I'm so excited that they are coming to visit. Ever since they've decided to come, I've been thinking about what the greatest things to do are, and what I have to share with them. It's always great to visit someplace new, so I hope they have a great time, but I'm so excited to be able to show them all that I've learned and show them where and how I've been living for the past 4.5 months. I hope they enjoy it here as much as I have!
Then, they will leave on the 20th - the same day as Jen - and a day or two later, I will promptly leave to go to Patagonia! (I do believe I'm saving the best for last!) I plan on glacier hiking on the Perito Moreno glacier in El Calafate, then heading to the town of El Chalten to hike and see Mount Fitz Roy, and after that I will head to Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego -- THE END OF THE WORLD!

It's amazing that I only have a month until I'm back home - actually, in exactly a month, I'll probably be sitting in the car on the way home from the NYC airport, or close to getting in the car. A month is such a long time, but with so much planned, it feels so short...

Anyways, I need to pack and buy some things for my viaje. I'll write when I get back, of course! :)