As I type this, I am staring at a pile of my things on my bed. Two suitcases sit open and almost full on the floor. And I have friend waiting for my arrival at my favorite club - only 4 blocks from my apartment.
I don't know how to say goodbye because I don't know if I ever will come back again.
When I left my parents, it was tearful, yes, but I knew that I would be returning in 5 and a half short months. And how short those months seem now that they have all passed...
Tonight I went to La Catedral de Tango for the last time and I kissed my instructors and my friends homestay mom goodbye for the last time. I had to thank them for all they had given to me. Because when I think on Argentina, of course I think about tango and all the time that I spent at my friend's house and all the time that I spent at La Catedral. And how excited my friends and I were when we mastered a new move - maybe not complex, but it was still new.
I sit here and I look at my Spanish dictionary. It's been so long since that was a vital part of my belongings, since I had to have it with me for constant reference. I am by no means fluent, but I have found that there are ways to talk around things, to try and describe them with the vocabulary that I do have, and if not that, then my hand gestures and body motions generally can do the trick.
This place. I spent 5 and a half months sleeping in this bed. Singing in that shower over there. Eating at that kitchen table. I took that same bus every day - cold, rainy, windy, sunny - to that University. I sat in boring classes, exciting classes, classes in which I thought the substitute teacher was cute and I put in 110% effort.
How did all these things just come to an end?
When did that happen?
How is it that tomorrow I will board a plane, with people I didn't know 6 months ago, who I now call friends?
14 hours of travel. And then I will be in my father's arms. I will pet my dog. It will be cold.
This will be over.
How does that happen?
How is it that at times it felt sooo long? Like when I was sick from my malaria pills, and all I could do was lay in bed, pray it would pass, and ask for my mom. During those days, all I wanted was to be at home.
Now, I want to be home again. I miss my family - talking to them through the phone isn't the same as seeing them, as sharing events with them personally instead of just recounting the days' activities, as being able to actually hug them and kiss them and tell them I love them.
But I don't want to go away from my home. This apartment. This neighborhood. This city. This country. This feels like home to me now. I'm starting to think that being adaptable isn't always a blessing. Right now, adaptability is a curse. Because I will leave this place and soon it will be just a distant memory of something that once was. And Durham, CT will be home again. And the University of South Carolina will be home again. Walking into an apartment to my best friend, Ashley, will be home again. Pulling into my driveway and seeing my mom or dad will be home again. Home will no longer be Pipa and her family, or my two wonderful roommates.
The path taken means as much as the destination.
At first I would have said that my destination was Buenos Aires. But now I know that my destination was more a sense of awareness; I'm aware of how much my family means to me, how much I love my friends - yet how easily it is to make new ones, especially in strange situations. I arrived at the feeling of being comfortable even when I am alone, more than halfway around the world from everything I had once known.
I may have not ended up being a true porteña, as was my original goal, but there is comfort here. There is a family; there are friends; there is a home. It's just strange that I have two sets of each, and they are one different continents. In a different culture. In a different language.
There are days that I have thought, if I could choose again, I wouldn't have picked Argentina. But there are days, like today, that I walked the street, went to tango, and just sat in a park, and I realized... I wouldn't trade these experiences for the world.
Gracias, Argentina, por todos los recuerdos. Voy a extrañarte - tus calles, tus pueblos, y tu gente. Tuve el tiempo de mi vida. No puedo imaginar un otro país con personas tan lindas, con los brazos tan abiertos, con aventuras tan grandes. Hoy, soy una persona diferente que la persona de seis meses atrás. Ella era ... dependiente, y ahora, soy independiente. Ahora, tengo ojos abiertos y más amor en mi corazón que nunca pensé posible. Pero ahora, yo sé, veo, vivo.
He llegado, he triunfado.
Gracias.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
Flying Solo to Patagonia
Just a day after my mom left, I left Buenos Aires too. But this time I was destined for Patagonia!
I planned a trip with my friends, but they ended up finding the cheapest flight prices were while my mom was in town, and I encouraged them to do what they needed to do to be able to go on their trip. So while they went to Ushuaia and then El Calafate, I started my trip in El Calafate to meet up with them.
El Calafate is well know for it's proximity to the glacier Perito Moreno. Most people go and stay in El Calafate so they can plan their excursions to the glacier. So I arrived in El Calafate at noon, and booked a mini-trekking glacier excursion for the next day. There turned out to be a bit of a hassle because I booked it for my friends (who were arriving a bit later, at like 5 pm) too so that we could definitely be in the same group. But problems turned up when they decided they didn't want to do the trek on the glacier, and we had to cancel their reservation later in the night - as companies were closing. I, however, was not going to give up the experience of slipping on some crampons and walking over one of the only "stable" glaciers left on the planet. (Stable refers to the fact that it loses ice at a rate about equal to it's growth each year - so while the vast majority of glaciers are getting smaller, Perito Moreno and about one other, I believe, in the Patagonian ice field is staying the same size.)
The day of the glacier trek ended up being really nice. I was worried because the forecast called for some rain, and the people staying the hostel the first night with me had gone on the trek that day in rain, and they were pretty miserable. But my day was gorgeous, albeit, rather cold (okay - so it wasn't horrible but honestly it was like 90 the day before in Buenos Aires, and por eso, I thought El Calafate was freezing). On the bus ride to the glacier in the morning I met a nice couple, probably late twenties or very early thirties, and they both had studied abroad. So we talked about how my experience was going and they were really supportive of the fact that I was traveling alone and had decided to to my own thing and not give up such amazing experiences because I didn't have anyone to go with. It was so great to meet people who had done it too and survived to tell the story!
I spent the day with them, ate lunch together, walked around, and we did the glacier trek together. They adopted me as their photographer and they also helped by taking some of me, or holding Cocky for his photos. It was so nice to meet them, it really made the day as awesome as it could have been. On the other hand, I was sitting on this short boat ride back to the bus, and I got separated and couldn't get a seat near my new friends. So I sat near a group of about 8 people, I'm assuming Dutch. They were speaking in English to each other and I was just trying to ignore their conversation/look like I wasn't listening in. So I heard the entire thing. And one very large piece of the conversation is about how they would never travel alone and not only is it depressing to be alone and have to travel alone, but it's just lame, or something along those lines... I prefer to agree with my NY couple instead of these Dutchmen because I had a great time even though I was on my trip alone.
So after one more night in my hostel in El Calafate with my friends, I transferred on the 8am bus to El Chaltén. El Chaltén is the "National Capital for Trekking" and is home to Mt. Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre. It's also really interesting because I didn't realize it beforehand, but El Chaltén is actually a town inside a national park (Parque Nacional los Glaciares), so when the bus pulls into town, it first makes a stop so that we can hear about the rules of being in the park (aka no garbage on the trails, everything comes back to the town and then goes to El Calafate later on) and the trails that we could take and their levels of difficulty. Honestly, I felt like the vast majority of the hikers were really respectful of the rules about no garbage/"leave no trace". I did find like a tissue and a cigarette butt while I was hiking, but I just put them in my garbage baggie and brought them back to town with me. Anyway, I had 3 nights (2.5 days), so the first day I did a short hike to go see Cerro Torre. Which wasn't visible. Of course. There's normally a lot of cloud cover there. On the second day, my hectic month caught up with me. I had finals, then I went to Salta, then my mom was here - my allergies exploded at that time and I was a bit sick, and then I was traveling again. So on the first full day, I laid in bed and read all day, and I went out lunch with a woman from Valencia, Spain and practiced some Spanish. I just didn't feel 100% and figured that hiking in the cold wouldn't help. Of course, that day, Mt. Fitz Roy was visible. That day also was Thanksgiving and I was feeling quite homesick after talking to my Mom, Aunt and Uncle on the phone. I ate a hot dog. Between my family, there were 3 turkeys. That's the life of study abroad. I stayed up pretty late that night talking to a nice guy that I met hiking the day before, who was from Israel. We had the same sense of humor so everything was just really funny to us.
But, to my luck!, Mt. Fitz Roy was also visible the next day. And how spectacular it is! Seeing Mt. Fitz Roy was probably the highlight of my trip. It was so glorious and it was a great way to end 5 spectacular months in Argentina. I started the hike in the drizzle, and ended up hiking mid-day in a t-shirt because I was so hot. I also got a tad bit sunburned on my hike, and quite lost. I knew I wasn't good at reading maps, but one map said - El Chaltén two hours or four hours, so being the lazy child I am (plus I'd already been out for 4.5 hours), I chose the two hour trail. NOPE! I chose the 4 hour trail because I'm illiterate. After 8.5 hours out in the sunshine and fresh air, I was SO tired. At night in the hostel I overcooked my spaghetti because I was busy talking to a young couple from Seattle and a guy from Switzerland, the part that speaks the really strange language. We started making him say everything to us in it. It was really fun and great to sit down with some complete strangers but have traveling and hiking in common.
The following day (Saturday, when I had started my trip on a Monday), I took an afternoon bus to El Calafate airport and hopped on a plane to Ushuaia - the end of the world! I thought Ushuaia would be my favorite part of this trip, so I was a bit disappointed. It looked so amazingly beautiful from the plane, but landing was terrifying because the airport is essentially a little island, so you come down over the water and just land. Scary! On my first full day in Ushuaia (the Sunday), I wandered around the town trying to figure out what excursions I would do. Unfortunately, it was a Sunday, so barely anything was open, and I got nothing planned. So I returned up the giant hill to my hostel, and booked a bus to go to Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego the next day. On the bus in the morning there were a bunch of 20-somethings, and so we decided to stick together and do a nice hike with each other. There were 2 people from Canada, two from Switzerland, and one from Norway (okay, so she was older than 20-something, but really cool none-the-less). We hiked around, got a bit turned around - I didn't read the map this time, so it was not my fault! - and ended up doing a nice hike along the coastline. It was really great to hike with a group after a few days of hiking alone (although I didn't mind that either). By the end of the day, we'd gone from snowing heavily, to sunshine where I was in just a sweatshirt, back to snow/a drizzle, etc. It essentially was 4 seasons in one day. But it was the end of the world, what else could we expect?!
After getting back to town and warming up a bit after about 6 hours of hiking and a bit of lunch, the 28-year old from Switzerland, the lady from Norway, and I went out to dinner. I tried all sorts of new foods (salmon and mussels - haha, nothing exotic, but I'm such a picky eater anyway), and slept like a little baby. The next morning I woke up and went on a tour of the Beagle Chanel, which was nice, but not what I expected. We went to three islands - one with sealions, one with cormoranes, and one with the End of the World Lighthouse, and I paid extra to go to the penguin island thinking that it was like the excursion my friend did where she was allowed to walk amongst the penguins. That's why I was upset. Because we didn't. So it wasn't much different than going to a zoo, but it was still really nice.
After that I got on a plane and headed "home" to Buenos Aires.
Looking back on it, I don't think that traveling alone was scary at all. And it's so strange to hear people say that they're proud of me for being brave and going alone. Don't get me wrong, I'm so glad for all the support I've received to make this trip a reality, but it doesn't feel like I did anything scary or brave. But when I talk with my friends here, and they mention that they never would have dared to go alone, I'm shocked that more people don't.
I guess me feeling comfortable enough to go alone is just a sign that I don't need to depend on other people to figure out my entertainment, or that I'm comfortable enough in knowing that I'm mature enough to go out into this world alone, and I feel so happy that I think that's the real meaning behind all of it.
But I know that if I hadn't gone to Patagonia, if I hadn't seen Mt. Fitz Roy in person, I would look back on this entire study abroad experience and been upset that I hadn't done these things.
I planned a trip with my friends, but they ended up finding the cheapest flight prices were while my mom was in town, and I encouraged them to do what they needed to do to be able to go on their trip. So while they went to Ushuaia and then El Calafate, I started my trip in El Calafate to meet up with them.
El Calafate is well know for it's proximity to the glacier Perito Moreno. Most people go and stay in El Calafate so they can plan their excursions to the glacier. So I arrived in El Calafate at noon, and booked a mini-trekking glacier excursion for the next day. There turned out to be a bit of a hassle because I booked it for my friends (who were arriving a bit later, at like 5 pm) too so that we could definitely be in the same group. But problems turned up when they decided they didn't want to do the trek on the glacier, and we had to cancel their reservation later in the night - as companies were closing. I, however, was not going to give up the experience of slipping on some crampons and walking over one of the only "stable" glaciers left on the planet. (Stable refers to the fact that it loses ice at a rate about equal to it's growth each year - so while the vast majority of glaciers are getting smaller, Perito Moreno and about one other, I believe, in the Patagonian ice field is staying the same size.)
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| Perito Moreno after a giant chunk fell off. |
I spent the day with them, ate lunch together, walked around, and we did the glacier trek together. They adopted me as their photographer and they also helped by taking some of me, or holding Cocky for his photos. It was so nice to meet them, it really made the day as awesome as it could have been. On the other hand, I was sitting on this short boat ride back to the bus, and I got separated and couldn't get a seat near my new friends. So I sat near a group of about 8 people, I'm assuming Dutch. They were speaking in English to each other and I was just trying to ignore their conversation/look like I wasn't listening in. So I heard the entire thing. And one very large piece of the conversation is about how they would never travel alone and not only is it depressing to be alone and have to travel alone, but it's just lame, or something along those lines... I prefer to agree with my NY couple instead of these Dutchmen because I had a great time even though I was on my trip alone.
So after one more night in my hostel in El Calafate with my friends, I transferred on the 8am bus to El Chaltén. El Chaltén is the "National Capital for Trekking" and is home to Mt. Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre. It's also really interesting because I didn't realize it beforehand, but El Chaltén is actually a town inside a national park (Parque Nacional los Glaciares), so when the bus pulls into town, it first makes a stop so that we can hear about the rules of being in the park (aka no garbage on the trails, everything comes back to the town and then goes to El Calafate later on) and the trails that we could take and their levels of difficulty. Honestly, I felt like the vast majority of the hikers were really respectful of the rules about no garbage/"leave no trace". I did find like a tissue and a cigarette butt while I was hiking, but I just put them in my garbage baggie and brought them back to town with me. Anyway, I had 3 nights (2.5 days), so the first day I did a short hike to go see Cerro Torre. Which wasn't visible. Of course. There's normally a lot of cloud cover there. On the second day, my hectic month caught up with me. I had finals, then I went to Salta, then my mom was here - my allergies exploded at that time and I was a bit sick, and then I was traveling again. So on the first full day, I laid in bed and read all day, and I went out lunch with a woman from Valencia, Spain and practiced some Spanish. I just didn't feel 100% and figured that hiking in the cold wouldn't help. Of course, that day, Mt. Fitz Roy was visible. That day also was Thanksgiving and I was feeling quite homesick after talking to my Mom, Aunt and Uncle on the phone. I ate a hot dog. Between my family, there were 3 turkeys. That's the life of study abroad. I stayed up pretty late that night talking to a nice guy that I met hiking the day before, who was from Israel. We had the same sense of humor so everything was just really funny to us.
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| Mt. Fitz Roy during my hike. |
The following day (Saturday, when I had started my trip on a Monday), I took an afternoon bus to El Calafate airport and hopped on a plane to Ushuaia - the end of the world! I thought Ushuaia would be my favorite part of this trip, so I was a bit disappointed. It looked so amazingly beautiful from the plane, but landing was terrifying because the airport is essentially a little island, so you come down over the water and just land. Scary! On my first full day in Ushuaia (the Sunday), I wandered around the town trying to figure out what excursions I would do. Unfortunately, it was a Sunday, so barely anything was open, and I got nothing planned. So I returned up the giant hill to my hostel, and booked a bus to go to Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego the next day. On the bus in the morning there were a bunch of 20-somethings, and so we decided to stick together and do a nice hike with each other. There were 2 people from Canada, two from Switzerland, and one from Norway (okay, so she was older than 20-something, but really cool none-the-less). We hiked around, got a bit turned around - I didn't read the map this time, so it was not my fault! - and ended up doing a nice hike along the coastline. It was really great to hike with a group after a few days of hiking alone (although I didn't mind that either). By the end of the day, we'd gone from snowing heavily, to sunshine where I was in just a sweatshirt, back to snow/a drizzle, etc. It essentially was 4 seasons in one day. But it was the end of the world, what else could we expect?!
After getting back to town and warming up a bit after about 6 hours of hiking and a bit of lunch, the 28-year old from Switzerland, the lady from Norway, and I went out to dinner. I tried all sorts of new foods (salmon and mussels - haha, nothing exotic, but I'm such a picky eater anyway), and slept like a little baby. The next morning I woke up and went on a tour of the Beagle Chanel, which was nice, but not what I expected. We went to three islands - one with sealions, one with cormoranes, and one with the End of the World Lighthouse, and I paid extra to go to the penguin island thinking that it was like the excursion my friend did where she was allowed to walk amongst the penguins. That's why I was upset. Because we didn't. So it wasn't much different than going to a zoo, but it was still really nice.
After that I got on a plane and headed "home" to Buenos Aires.
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| End of the World Lighthouse with Ushuaia (and Chile, to the left) in the background. |
I guess me feeling comfortable enough to go alone is just a sign that I don't need to depend on other people to figure out my entertainment, or that I'm comfortable enough in knowing that I'm mature enough to go out into this world alone, and I feel so happy that I think that's the real meaning behind all of it.
But I know that if I hadn't gone to Patagonia, if I hadn't seen Mt. Fitz Roy in person, I would look back on this entire study abroad experience and been upset that I hadn't done these things.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
A Week with Mom
Sorry that I'm a bit backlogged on the blogging. This last month has been quite hectic with finals, travel, visitors, and more travel. But I wouldn't trade that for anything.
My Mom came to visit me for just a little over a week, and she brought her best friend Miss Val. I was so excited to have her visit and I thought that it would be nice for someone to see what life was like for me here. I'm so glad that she didn't come earlier in my time here in Argentina, though, because saying goodbye to her again was one of the hardest things I've had to do in my time here - and I knew that I would be seeing her in only 2 more weeks, so I can't imagine what it would have been like to say goodbye and have 2 months left!
It's quite funny because I had a plan of exactly what we would be doing every day. Since I realized my mom was coming to see me, I had put a lot of effort in thinking about what would be the best things to show her and how to make it so that she could really experience Buenos Aires like I had. I rented her an apartment for a week. I picked one that was only 5 blocks from my homestay - I know the area so well, and I know that it's safe and we would have nothing to worry about. I'm so glad that I rented an apartment too; my Mom LOVED it, and it was great because she made me dinner one night when she was here (not that I haven't been having homecooked meals the entire time, but Pipa's cooking does not at all compare to my mother's).
When my mom got here, it didn't take me long to realize that not everything was going to happen as I had planned. We had difficulties agreeing on the things I had thought out to do for both of them, and of course, it being spring/summertime, I hadn't planned on there being an influx of tourism and it being difficult to get tickets to certain things. Either way, I think my mom really enjoyed her time here. She got to relax from her stressful job, and honestly, who doesn't love seeing another part of the world?!
I think the best day that we had together was the day that we went to Uruguay! I hadn't gone yet, and it's seriously only a 3 hour ferry boat ride from the city, so we just went as a day trip. When I was trying to explain how simple it was to go to another country, I told my mom that it was like going to Block Island from CT. When we walked on the ferry, which was truly decked out, held a ton of people, and had chairs that even recline!, I realized that going to Uruguay was much classier than going to Block Island. It was such a fun day because we rented a little golf cart and tooled around the town (Colonia del Sacramento - a UNESCO World Heritage Site) for the entire day. We did some shopping, eating, and I climbed a lighthouse (it wasn't that tall...).
I'm a bit disappointed that my mom didn't get to see what a day was really like for me because we didn't eat at the restaurants that I typically eat at and we only took the bus and subte once during the entire week, when I take them each like once a day, but at the same time, it was nice taking a mini-vacation from my own life here in the city.
My Mom did get to meet Pipa and the family that I live with, and the family LOVED my mom; she also got along with Pipa really well. I was so happy that I could introduce them all to each other because my mom always hears about Pipa, and vice versa.
In the end, of course, it was hard to say goodbye to my mom, but I also knew that in just a day I would be traveling to Patagonia - a trip that I did mostly solo. And for that ... look for my next blog post - I'll write it later tonight after I go shopping with my roommates and do some goodbye-saying.
My Mom came to visit me for just a little over a week, and she brought her best friend Miss Val. I was so excited to have her visit and I thought that it would be nice for someone to see what life was like for me here. I'm so glad that she didn't come earlier in my time here in Argentina, though, because saying goodbye to her again was one of the hardest things I've had to do in my time here - and I knew that I would be seeing her in only 2 more weeks, so I can't imagine what it would have been like to say goodbye and have 2 months left!
It's quite funny because I had a plan of exactly what we would be doing every day. Since I realized my mom was coming to see me, I had put a lot of effort in thinking about what would be the best things to show her and how to make it so that she could really experience Buenos Aires like I had. I rented her an apartment for a week. I picked one that was only 5 blocks from my homestay - I know the area so well, and I know that it's safe and we would have nothing to worry about. I'm so glad that I rented an apartment too; my Mom LOVED it, and it was great because she made me dinner one night when she was here (not that I haven't been having homecooked meals the entire time, but Pipa's cooking does not at all compare to my mother's).
When my mom got here, it didn't take me long to realize that not everything was going to happen as I had planned. We had difficulties agreeing on the things I had thought out to do for both of them, and of course, it being spring/summertime, I hadn't planned on there being an influx of tourism and it being difficult to get tickets to certain things. Either way, I think my mom really enjoyed her time here. She got to relax from her stressful job, and honestly, who doesn't love seeing another part of the world?!
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| Mom and I "aqui" in Uruguay! |
I'm a bit disappointed that my mom didn't get to see what a day was really like for me because we didn't eat at the restaurants that I typically eat at and we only took the bus and subte once during the entire week, when I take them each like once a day, but at the same time, it was nice taking a mini-vacation from my own life here in the city.
My Mom did get to meet Pipa and the family that I live with, and the family LOVED my mom; she also got along with Pipa really well. I was so happy that I could introduce them all to each other because my mom always hears about Pipa, and vice versa.
In the end, of course, it was hard to say goodbye to my mom, but I also knew that in just a day I would be traveling to Patagonia - a trip that I did mostly solo. And for that ... look for my next blog post - I'll write it later tonight after I go shopping with my roommates and do some goodbye-saying.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Estoy enamorada con Salta, la linda
Ooh, Salta. Where to begin with trying to describe the beauty I have seen...
I packed up my bags and was ready to venture out on the road alone!
It didn't last long though because as I was waiting in the bus station, I met up with a girl named Ryan who had been in 2 of my classes, and surprise, surprise! She was going to Salta alone too. So we ended up being together the entire time. She wanted to go to Salta and travel around, but instead we stayed in Salta (capital) and did 3 different day excursions.
Day 1: Jujuy - Las Salinas Grandes y Purmamarca
On the first day we started out by following the path of El Tren a las Nubes (Train to the Clouds). We bought coca leaves to chew on to help with the altitude sickness, as we made the ascent to 4,170 meters above sea level. I wasn't much a fan of the coca, so I stuck to chewing gum and drinking a lot of water to keep the sickness away, and I really only noticed that I was slightly dizzy when I was walking around a lot (which didn't happen much because we were in the car). We stopped a few times just to take pictures and other times we stopped to visit specific towns and sights. The highlights were the Ruins in Tastil, which apparently used to house 3,000 people in 14th century AD. From there we stopped in San Antonio de los Cobres to eat lunch, and then we headed to the salt flats. The salt flats are just SO big, I can't even begin to imagine how large they actually are. We visited an area that had mounds of salt that they had dug up, and an area that they were digging the salt and reaching the water - there are rectangular pools, and the water is under the salt in all parts, but it's just so dry above that! After that, we headed to Purmamarca. I was SO excited to see the Mountain of 7 Colors, and we barely saw it! We didn't stop for pictures because it's colors are better in the morning, and then from the town, you can't really get a good view of it.
Instead I bought some gifts for my friends and family!
We got back in the car without the young Germans because they planned on staying in Purmamarca for the night before heading into Boliva the next day.
Day 2: Salta - Cafayate
To go to Cafayate we were picked up bright and early. On this day we shared our car with two girls from Holland and a couple from France. This was just such a spectacular day, I can't even put it into words. We started by seeing a natural amphitheater that the Salta Orchestra actually performs in once a year. Then we headed to Cafayate with minimal stoppage and visited a winery before lunch. On the way back to Salta from lunch we stopped to take pictures at La Garganta del Diablo, Los Castillos, Las Ventanas, and more. Apparently the lighting is better in the afternoon for these specific sights, and so it was very nice of our driver to consider that for us.
Our driver on the second day was definitely the nicest. He remembered all our names and he also spoke English, but he made sure to translate everything that he said so that everyone in the car could understand the entire conversation.
On our way back to Salta we stopped the Cabra Corral lake, which is manmade and used mainly for hydropower (got that, US?). Here I decided to be the entertainment for the afternoon and I BUNGEE JUMPED!
It was 27 meters, almost a dollar per meter, haha. Looking back, it probably wasn't the safest, but I wasn't that worried when I was doing it, and I really enjoyed it. It was probably the fastest 2 minutes of my life... I got a cute little diploma, a little bit of a rope burn on my one ankle, and some abdomen pain (I think maybe I pulled a muscle?). But it was definitely worth it. It's definitely not that big of a deal and my poor roommate, Caitlin, is still nervous for me even thought it's all over!
I got home from Cafayate, talked to my Dad for a few, and then fell asleep about 8pm and didn't wake up until my alarm went on the next morning at 6:15.
Day 3: Salta - Cachi
I thought this day was going to be so spectacular because we were going to Cachi on La Cuesta del Obispo, which you should google image, but it was cloudy! Which is apparently quite common, but that means that the drive was slow and you could barely see any of the scenery until we were at the altitude about the clouds (which is really strange to think about - we were ABOVE the clouds). On the way, we stopped at a little cafe for some tea and coffee to warm us up, and I met people from Connecticut! They are the first Nutmegers that I've met here in Argentina, and of course it happened to be at just some small roadside restaurant in the middle of Salta. That's just the way this world works. Anyway, they were really sweet, and I got to speak some English with them! Haha.
We made our way slowly up the mountain and arrived at Nacional Parque Los Cardones - aka Cactus National Park! Who ever knew there could be so many cactus in one place... I have some very fun pictures for there though.
We continued on our way until we made it to Cachi with occasional photo taking stops. Cachi really is not a big deal, like my friends told me, but it's just a quaint little colonial village. We ate lunch and Ryan and I laid out for a few minute and tried to enjoy the warmth before we made our decent back into the clouds and felt the temperature significantly drop. The ride back to Salta is one that I swear I will never forget because we were driving through the clouds and had seriously, seriously limited visibility. We didn't know cars were in front of us until they were right there!
When we returned to Salta, Ryan and I went out to walk around the city a little bit, and I enjoyed some night photography of Salta's gorgeous Cathedral and Church.
The next morning, I woke up, found out that my amazing friend Stephanie had registered me for my classes (thanks, Steph!), and I got on a bus to come back to Buenos Aires.
It was a long bus ride back, but I passed the time talking to a nice woman who was traveling with her young son, and a man who is full blooded Argentine-Indian. He told me that because I have the cleft in my chin, he knew that I would grow up to be una mujer fina (a 'fine' woman, or something pure, affectionate, true, or excellent, depending on the definition), and a lot of things about living life by what your heart tells you to do - for that is how he became the person that he is today with children and a wife he loves. He was a very nice older man and kept pointing things out to me from the window of the bus and explaining things.
I'm really sorry that this post is actually kind of lame to read. I'm so tired, still, after a long nap. And I know that there's no way that I can adequately describe what I saw these past very days, so I'm annoyed with myself for even trying...
But, it's only a few hours until my Mom's plane touches down! So I'll have a busy next week with her and her friend Miss Valerie!
I packed up my bags and was ready to venture out on the road alone!
It didn't last long though because as I was waiting in the bus station, I met up with a girl named Ryan who had been in 2 of my classes, and surprise, surprise! She was going to Salta alone too. So we ended up being together the entire time. She wanted to go to Salta and travel around, but instead we stayed in Salta (capital) and did 3 different day excursions.
Day 1: Jujuy - Las Salinas Grandes y Purmamarca
 |
| Jumping in the salt flats! |
Instead I bought some gifts for my friends and family!
We got back in the car without the young Germans because they planned on staying in Purmamarca for the night before heading into Boliva the next day.
Day 2: Salta - Cafayate
 |
| Wisdom amongst the mountains. |
Our driver on the second day was definitely the nicest. He remembered all our names and he also spoke English, but he made sure to translate everything that he said so that everyone in the car could understand the entire conversation.
On our way back to Salta we stopped the Cabra Corral lake, which is manmade and used mainly for hydropower (got that, US?). Here I decided to be the entertainment for the afternoon and I BUNGEE JUMPED!
It was 27 meters, almost a dollar per meter, haha. Looking back, it probably wasn't the safest, but I wasn't that worried when I was doing it, and I really enjoyed it. It was probably the fastest 2 minutes of my life... I got a cute little diploma, a little bit of a rope burn on my one ankle, and some abdomen pain (I think maybe I pulled a muscle?). But it was definitely worth it. It's definitely not that big of a deal and my poor roommate, Caitlin, is still nervous for me even thought it's all over!
I got home from Cafayate, talked to my Dad for a few, and then fell asleep about 8pm and didn't wake up until my alarm went on the next morning at 6:15.
Day 3: Salta - Cachi
I thought this day was going to be so spectacular because we were going to Cachi on La Cuesta del Obispo, which you should google image, but it was cloudy! Which is apparently quite common, but that means that the drive was slow and you could barely see any of the scenery until we were at the altitude about the clouds (which is really strange to think about - we were ABOVE the clouds). On the way, we stopped at a little cafe for some tea and coffee to warm us up, and I met people from Connecticut! They are the first Nutmegers that I've met here in Argentina, and of course it happened to be at just some small roadside restaurant in the middle of Salta. That's just the way this world works. Anyway, they were really sweet, and I got to speak some English with them! Haha.
We made our way slowly up the mountain and arrived at Nacional Parque Los Cardones - aka Cactus National Park! Who ever knew there could be so many cactus in one place... I have some very fun pictures for there though.
 |
| Fun fact: Cactus flowers only bloom for a day. |
When we returned to Salta, Ryan and I went out to walk around the city a little bit, and I enjoyed some night photography of Salta's gorgeous Cathedral and Church.
The next morning, I woke up, found out that my amazing friend Stephanie had registered me for my classes (thanks, Steph!), and I got on a bus to come back to Buenos Aires.
It was a long bus ride back, but I passed the time talking to a nice woman who was traveling with her young son, and a man who is full blooded Argentine-Indian. He told me that because I have the cleft in my chin, he knew that I would grow up to be una mujer fina (a 'fine' woman, or something pure, affectionate, true, or excellent, depending on the definition), and a lot of things about living life by what your heart tells you to do - for that is how he became the person that he is today with children and a wife he loves. He was a very nice older man and kept pointing things out to me from the window of the bus and explaining things.
I'm really sorry that this post is actually kind of lame to read. I'm so tired, still, after a long nap. And I know that there's no way that I can adequately describe what I saw these past very days, so I'm annoyed with myself for even trying...
But, it's only a few hours until my Mom's plane touches down! So I'll have a busy next week with her and her friend Miss Valerie!
Friday, November 5, 2010
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.
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! :)
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. |
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! :)
Thursday, November 4, 2010
How much do you understand?
Today I went to watch my homestay sister, Elina, in her tela (which literally means 'fabric') class. It's like Cirque du Soleil acrobatics on the giant pieces of suspended fabric.
Why wasn't that an option when I was growing up? or maybe it was was where I was growing up...
It doesn't really matter, I don't have the upper-body strength for it anyway.
The real point of this was, I was in the car with my homestay family and my roommate. And a DJ on the radio was talking. And I was SO impressed with myself for how much I understood. Sometimes, my Dad jokingly puts on a Spanish station when we're driving in NYC -- like when I was getting dropped off at the airport to come here! -- and asks me how much I understand, which is usually like ... a word here or there.
I can't wait for him to do it when he's picking me up for the airport so I can say, "everything."
Why wasn't that an option when I was growing up? or maybe it was was where I was growing up...
It doesn't really matter, I don't have the upper-body strength for it anyway.
The real point of this was, I was in the car with my homestay family and my roommate. And a DJ on the radio was talking. And I was SO impressed with myself for how much I understood. Sometimes, my Dad jokingly puts on a Spanish station when we're driving in NYC -- like when I was getting dropped off at the airport to come here! -- and asks me how much I understand, which is usually like ... a word here or there.
I can't wait for him to do it when he's picking me up for the airport so I can say, "everything."
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Welcome to Finals Week, where you will perform more work than you have in the past 15 weeks.
I'm an amazing procrastinator and wish I could major in it.
It is currently finals week. Yuck.
I've gone and entire semester without doing any work, or barely any work. And now it all comes crashing down. I guess the majority of professors are making things kind of easy and trying to get us not to stress - probably because they realize we have no work ethic. But just the idea of finals has put me into a semi-panic mode, although I haven't done anything about it yet.
So, I didn't end up going to the Plaza de Mayo to see everyone mourning the death of President Kirchner. I did decide that it would be okay for me to do, especially because I knew I would be respectful about it, but more because I didn't have the time to go unless I went after school which would mean I would be trying to go during the rush hour, and I'm just not a fan of that commute.
However, my presentation in my culture class, on how the Kirchners are view through "modes of communication" (graffiti and newspapers) went SO well. Jen and I changed it a little bit at the end to discuss how the media had changed and was fully supporting Cristina Fernandez now that her husband had died, when originally they had been bashing her. And I mean, the fact that our presentation was well thought out went really well because I feel like the other groups that presented that day didn't put as much thought into theirs. But we had to prove to our teacher that our presentation was worth it because she originally didn't want us to do the Kirchners because she wanted the presentations to be on Argentina's "legends" and the Kirchners aren't really a legend, especially because they're still in power.
So if I have to look back and say, "yes, I did do work this semester" it will be because of this presentation.
Today I bought my bus tickets for my tip to Salta and Jujuy (northwestern provinces of Argentina). I'm so excited for this upcoming trip and month. I'm going to be on the move the entire time, and that's the way I like it! So, I'll post a finalized calendar later, after I book my flights for my second trip.
It is currently finals week. Yuck.
I've gone and entire semester without doing any work, or barely any work. And now it all comes crashing down. I guess the majority of professors are making things kind of easy and trying to get us not to stress - probably because they realize we have no work ethic. But just the idea of finals has put me into a semi-panic mode, although I haven't done anything about it yet.
So, I didn't end up going to the Plaza de Mayo to see everyone mourning the death of President Kirchner. I did decide that it would be okay for me to do, especially because I knew I would be respectful about it, but more because I didn't have the time to go unless I went after school which would mean I would be trying to go during the rush hour, and I'm just not a fan of that commute.
However, my presentation in my culture class, on how the Kirchners are view through "modes of communication" (graffiti and newspapers) went SO well. Jen and I changed it a little bit at the end to discuss how the media had changed and was fully supporting Cristina Fernandez now that her husband had died, when originally they had been bashing her. And I mean, the fact that our presentation was well thought out went really well because I feel like the other groups that presented that day didn't put as much thought into theirs. But we had to prove to our teacher that our presentation was worth it because she originally didn't want us to do the Kirchners because she wanted the presentations to be on Argentina's "legends" and the Kirchners aren't really a legend, especially because they're still in power.
So if I have to look back and say, "yes, I did do work this semester" it will be because of this presentation.
Today I bought my bus tickets for my tip to Salta and Jujuy (northwestern provinces of Argentina). I'm so excited for this upcoming trip and month. I'm going to be on the move the entire time, and that's the way I like it! So, I'll post a finalized calendar later, after I book my flights for my second trip.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Los Kirchner
Today has been quite a strange day in the city of Buenos Aires.
First, the nation was shut down because today was the day of the Census. My roommate, Emily, and I were discussing whether or not the United States or Argentina has a more effective form of taking the Census. In the United States, you're mailed something, and you mail it back. Or they come to your house and ask you the same questions that you could have answered yourself. In Argentina, they shut down everything, all of the trains and buses run infrequently, and almost everything but hospitals and the occasional pharmacy. Someone comes to your house (between 8am-8pm) and they fill out a piece of paper. So Argentina isn't any more environmentally efficient because they still use paper forms like we do in the USA, but they get it all done in one day?
Anyway, I didn't have to wake up early and go to class, but I will have to make my classes up on Friday instead because this was an unexpected, once every ten years, type of a holiday.
Second, the ex-President and current President's husband died this morning. My homestay family, who I know does not like the current President, and many other families were deeply saddened today. The city is in a 3-day period of mourning, but I'm not sure how that will affect anything in the city other than the government. And a lot of people are planning on visiting the Plaza de Mayo and other public areas to mourn together and stand together to help strengthen the President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner as she tries to handle the passing of her husband.
Nestor Kirchner's passing comes at a strange time because I am working on a presentation for my culture class about how the media portrays the Kirchners (especially Cristina), and right now all the media attention is focusing on what a good man President Kirchner was and how much he did to help the nation in a time of suffering (he served for two terms after the 2001 Financial Crisis, also know as just "the Crisis").
It's said that Cristina is just a "placeholder" for Nestor until he could run again (you can serve two consecutive terms, and then take time off, but run again later), and many, many people thought that Nestor was actually more like the real president and Cristina was just a pawn. Especially with economic issues. Now, I wonder, what will happen in the time that I am here? And the time after I leave? Will the economy go back down, perhaps not quite as low as where it had been, but will it drop without Nestor to help out?
I'm trying to decide if it would be severely inappropriate as a visitor to this country to go to the Plaza de Mayo and see the activity that is going on. I clearly have no idea how important Nestor Kirchner was to the nation because I was not here during the financial crisis and didn't have to learn what it was to live with only $1,000 a month/family, or any of the hardships that the people suffered that time. But at the same time, I'm intrigued.
First, the nation was shut down because today was the day of the Census. My roommate, Emily, and I were discussing whether or not the United States or Argentina has a more effective form of taking the Census. In the United States, you're mailed something, and you mail it back. Or they come to your house and ask you the same questions that you could have answered yourself. In Argentina, they shut down everything, all of the trains and buses run infrequently, and almost everything but hospitals and the occasional pharmacy. Someone comes to your house (between 8am-8pm) and they fill out a piece of paper. So Argentina isn't any more environmentally efficient because they still use paper forms like we do in the USA, but they get it all done in one day?
Anyway, I didn't have to wake up early and go to class, but I will have to make my classes up on Friday instead because this was an unexpected, once every ten years, type of a holiday.
Second, the ex-President and current President's husband died this morning. My homestay family, who I know does not like the current President, and many other families were deeply saddened today. The city is in a 3-day period of mourning, but I'm not sure how that will affect anything in the city other than the government. And a lot of people are planning on visiting the Plaza de Mayo and other public areas to mourn together and stand together to help strengthen the President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner as she tries to handle the passing of her husband.
Nestor Kirchner's passing comes at a strange time because I am working on a presentation for my culture class about how the media portrays the Kirchners (especially Cristina), and right now all the media attention is focusing on what a good man President Kirchner was and how much he did to help the nation in a time of suffering (he served for two terms after the 2001 Financial Crisis, also know as just "the Crisis").
It's said that Cristina is just a "placeholder" for Nestor until he could run again (you can serve two consecutive terms, and then take time off, but run again later), and many, many people thought that Nestor was actually more like the real president and Cristina was just a pawn. Especially with economic issues. Now, I wonder, what will happen in the time that I am here? And the time after I leave? Will the economy go back down, perhaps not quite as low as where it had been, but will it drop without Nestor to help out?
I'm trying to decide if it would be severely inappropriate as a visitor to this country to go to the Plaza de Mayo and see the activity that is going on. I clearly have no idea how important Nestor Kirchner was to the nation because I was not here during the financial crisis and didn't have to learn what it was to live with only $1,000 a month/family, or any of the hardships that the people suffered that time. But at the same time, I'm intrigued.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Mendoza la Bonita
My trip to Mendoza, the western "wine province," of Argentina was wonderful! It came at such a good time because I hadn't been out of the city in a month and a half and was starting to get stir crazy from all the concrete. At the same time, it was horrible timing because I arrived back in the city at 7am and had my first part of a final exam at 1pm. That's right, I'm officially finishing my semester (I'll be done on the 4th).
The trip to Mendoza was all paid for and organized by CEA, and they did such a spectacular jobs. We stayed outside of the city of San Rafael in the Valle Grande area of Mendoza. Our cabins were along with Río Atuel in the middle of some lovely desert mountains. We left Thursday evening from Buenos Aires and had our own private bus (another part of our group left before us and had a shared bus). It was going smoothly to begin with, but then our bus broke down. The steward kept many of the students happy though by providing all the wine the bus had to offer.
We arrived in Mendoza in the morning and got to the cabañas in time to eat some breakfast. We had a few short hours before we had to regather to go on a group hike. The hike was pretty easy, yet I still managed to hurt my thigh a little bit (probably from goofing off). I loved the views from the hike though. It's so interesting to look around and see only desert and then a patch of super-green trees along the edge of the river. Also during the hike, the guides pointed upward to white sediment resting on the mountain and asked us what it was. Turns out that it's volcanic ash from a volcano that erupted forever again, and over 200km away!
That afternoon I went around taking some photos and playing with my camera, and along the way I met some new Argentine friends! I'm not quite sure how these things happen to me, but I was called over by a group of 20-somethings who were on a bonding trip before they all finish their University program this year. They were on their last day in Mendoza and having a party that night, which they invited me and my friends to go to. After dinner, I stopped there for a little bit but didn't stay long as I was tired from a night of barely sleeping on our bus ride.
I woke up the next day bright and early! (haha 8:30) to eat breakfast and get ready to go zip-lining and rappelling! This activity was optional, and of course I was going to opt in! It turns out "zip-lining" really isn't anything special in Mendoza, or at least the place we went, because it was seriously one-30-yard-long cable. However, rappelling was interesting! When I've "rappelled" before, it's always been down rock climbing walls, and the rappelling part is just you letting go and bouncing down the wall. Here, it was you stepping your way down 75 ft. of rocks while feeding a rope through a carabiner at your waist. It was difficult to relax enough (and to take short steps), and at one point I lost my control and swung around the side of a rock. Thankfully there was a trusty guide waiting at the bottom of the cliff to pull my rope tight and keep my from plummeting to an untimely death...
That afternoon we had our wine tours! They... were... not very interesting? We went to one bodega (winery) that is large and international and one that is only a family business. I'm not very into wine, so for me the most exciting part was the room in the internationally winery that had some interesting acoustics. If you stood in the center of the room and spoke, it sounded like you were talking into a microphone. But if you stood to the side of the room and talked to the walls, the sound would end up on the other side of the room. People loooved calling my name and seeing my gullible reaction. The family-farm winery also produces organic dried fruit and raises some of the largest pigs (probably) known to man.
That night, I called it quits early and tried to go to bed, but I had a hard time falling asleep, so instead I laid outside on our balcony and took in some fresh mountain air...
The next morning we woke up again, "early," to eat breakfast and get ready for our rafting adventure! The rafting was exciting, but the trip wasn't as long as the two others I have done. The rapids we did were only level 2, so they were pretty relaxing, and it was just fun to be in the boat. The water on Río Atuel was SO cold, but I jumped in anyway. They actually gave us boots, like those for scuba diving, and jackets that kept our body heat in.
After rafting we had some time to lay out in the sunshine and tan before we needed to pack up all our things and head back to Buenos Aires on the buses. I actually got a little tan! After going a year without summer, having some color seems like the best thing in the world!
However, now I'm back in the great city of Buenos Aires. My exam schedule is in full swing and I'm SO ready to be done with my semester and just have free time every day for a month.
I had the written part of my culture exam on Monday and handed in my Tango paper on Tuesday.
We had today (Wednesday) off for the National Census.
I still have my Gender studies, Political and Social Change, and Spanish written exams. And I have a dance practical for Tango, a presentation for Culture, and an oral exam for Spanish. Then I will be completely done with the Universidad de Belgrano and officially *gasp* a second semester junior...
 |
| View from my cabaña |
We arrived in Mendoza in the morning and got to the cabañas in time to eat some breakfast. We had a few short hours before we had to regather to go on a group hike. The hike was pretty easy, yet I still managed to hurt my thigh a little bit (probably from goofing off). I loved the views from the hike though. It's so interesting to look around and see only desert and then a patch of super-green trees along the edge of the river. Also during the hike, the guides pointed upward to white sediment resting on the mountain and asked us what it was. Turns out that it's volcanic ash from a volcano that erupted forever again, and over 200km away!
That afternoon I went around taking some photos and playing with my camera, and along the way I met some new Argentine friends! I'm not quite sure how these things happen to me, but I was called over by a group of 20-somethings who were on a bonding trip before they all finish their University program this year. They were on their last day in Mendoza and having a party that night, which they invited me and my friends to go to. After dinner, I stopped there for a little bit but didn't stay long as I was tired from a night of barely sleeping on our bus ride.
 |
| Just some of my goofy roommates... |
That afternoon we had our wine tours! They... were... not very interesting? We went to one bodega (winery) that is large and international and one that is only a family business. I'm not very into wine, so for me the most exciting part was the room in the internationally winery that had some interesting acoustics. If you stood in the center of the room and spoke, it sounded like you were talking into a microphone. But if you stood to the side of the room and talked to the walls, the sound would end up on the other side of the room. People loooved calling my name and seeing my gullible reaction. The family-farm winery also produces organic dried fruit and raises some of the largest pigs (probably) known to man.
That night, I called it quits early and tried to go to bed, but I had a hard time falling asleep, so instead I laid outside on our balcony and took in some fresh mountain air...
The next morning we woke up again, "early," to eat breakfast and get ready for our rafting adventure! The rafting was exciting, but the trip wasn't as long as the two others I have done. The rapids we did were only level 2, so they were pretty relaxing, and it was just fun to be in the boat. The water on Río Atuel was SO cold, but I jumped in anyway. They actually gave us boots, like those for scuba diving, and jackets that kept our body heat in.
After rafting we had some time to lay out in the sunshine and tan before we needed to pack up all our things and head back to Buenos Aires on the buses. I actually got a little tan! After going a year without summer, having some color seems like the best thing in the world!
However, now I'm back in the great city of Buenos Aires. My exam schedule is in full swing and I'm SO ready to be done with my semester and just have free time every day for a month.
I had the written part of my culture exam on Monday and handed in my Tango paper on Tuesday.
We had today (Wednesday) off for the National Census.
I still have my Gender studies, Political and Social Change, and Spanish written exams. And I have a dance practical for Tango, a presentation for Culture, and an oral exam for Spanish. Then I will be completely done with the Universidad de Belgrano and officially *gasp* a second semester junior...
Thursday, October 21, 2010
A Mother's Love = 3 Hours in Correo Argentino
I received a package from my mom! It's so exciting, and yet, is such a pain to try to get a package here in Argentina. They aren't allowed to deliver international packages to residences or other buildings, so you just get a slip and have to go in between 10-5 (but before 2 or else they won't give you a number...) and wait, and wait, and wait. They call your first number to find out which package you're there to pick up, and then you wait and they call your package number for you to get your actual package. Unfortunately, the package numbers are 6 digits long, and they call about 20 at a time. So with my Spanish level, and they way they didn't consistently call the numbers in the same manner, I missed my package being called! I arrived at Correo Argentino at 10:45 and left at 2. It was an experience to say the least. I know now that I will never dismiss the slowness of mail in Durham anymore. It took 17 days for me to get my package here in Argentina. Nothing takes that long in the United States. Yet, it's all part of the experience. And I would have waited longer if I had to because I love Reese's!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
4 H's, and I don't mean Agriculture.
Before I left for Argentina, I had to go to study abroad orientation at the University of South Carolina. In the orientation they taught us about the "4 H's of Cross-Cultural Adaption" which are: Honeymoon, Hostility, Humor, and Home.
I'm not exactly sure if my H's went in the proper order because I was pretty distressed about leaving my mom behind when she'd just had a surgery, so I'm almost certain that I skipped the "Honeymoon" stage and went straight into Hostility. Although I tried to keep an open mind about my surroundings, I was easily frustrated with the language, especially because of the accent difference, city life, and my class placement at the University of Belgrano. Now, though, that I look at all of my time here, I know that I'm in the 4th and final stage: "Home."
With exactly 7 weeks until I land back in the United States, I'm starting to panic. Yes, 2 months is a long time. It was a long time when I realized I'd been here for two months and I hadn't been half way. It's a long time for my friends back at home because they still have 2 months until they're on winter break. And I know it's a long time for both my Mom and Dad who constantly remind me that they're excited to see me again (and I'm excited to see you too!). But it just doesn't feel like a long time anymore. I think it's probably because I finish school this month and have finals the first few days of November. And then I have a month off, but it doesn't feel like a very long time because MY MOM WILL BE COMING TO VISIT! and there are still so many places for me to try and see before I return to the United States.
At the same time, I'm really excited to come home. I'm so excited to see my family and celebrate Christmas with everyone. It appears that my friends might attempt to make a roadtrip to Connecticut to see me during winterbreak. And, this always gets me excited for the future, I'm planning my classes for my next semester, so I'm excited to be back on campus and taking new classes.
Don't worry. I'm continuing to try and live it up here in Argentina as the time plays tricks on my mind, but I also can't wait to be home where, as my friends and I talk about, things will be "normal" for us. Although, right now, things in Argentina seem "normal," so who's to say what normalcy really is anymore?
 | |
| Okay, well, maybe a little agriculture... |
With exactly 7 weeks until I land back in the United States, I'm starting to panic. Yes, 2 months is a long time. It was a long time when I realized I'd been here for two months and I hadn't been half way. It's a long time for my friends back at home because they still have 2 months until they're on winter break. And I know it's a long time for both my Mom and Dad who constantly remind me that they're excited to see me again (and I'm excited to see you too!). But it just doesn't feel like a long time anymore. I think it's probably because I finish school this month and have finals the first few days of November. And then I have a month off, but it doesn't feel like a very long time because MY MOM WILL BE COMING TO VISIT! and there are still so many places for me to try and see before I return to the United States.
At the same time, I'm really excited to come home. I'm so excited to see my family and celebrate Christmas with everyone. It appears that my friends might attempt to make a roadtrip to Connecticut to see me during winterbreak. And, this always gets me excited for the future, I'm planning my classes for my next semester, so I'm excited to be back on campus and taking new classes.
Don't worry. I'm continuing to try and live it up here in Argentina as the time plays tricks on my mind, but I also can't wait to be home where, as my friends and I talk about, things will be "normal" for us. Although, right now, things in Argentina seem "normal," so who's to say what normalcy really is anymore?
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Diferencias
Hola familia y amigos!
Sorry I haven't written in more than a week! I just started thinking that I was probably boring you to death with my weekly updates about classes and the like, so I had to think about something interesting to write about.
Anyway, I came up with it! I'll write about some of the different things that I've noticed between our culture in the United States and things here. Granted, these are going to be generalizations - not EVERYTHING is going to be as I say it is, but this is just for you all to have a better idea of what some things are like in Argentina.
I guess I'll start with... the mornings and work my way through the day, and then just throw in some extras that don't really have a place? I just need some kind of way to order it. Haha.
1. People around here really don't eat breakfast. To us, it's the most important meal of the day (doesn't mean I usually partake in it), but here they normally have coffee/mate and some toast. Also, they use dulce de leche on their toast. Dulce, if I haven't told you before, is like a more liquidy version of caramel.
2. People have different ideas, than me, probably, of what makes a person "old." On the bus (colectivo) you're supposed to give up your seat for old people, pregnant women, people with disabilities, or women with young children. When I have a seat, I'll give it up for anyone because I don't want them to think that I'm some punk 20-year old. But when there are people who are probably 40-50 and a 60 year old gets on the bus, they don't always give up their seat unless they're asked. I don't know if it's just that they aren't sure of ages or anything, but to me, anyone older gets my seat...
3. There, apparently, is no time where it becomes 'safe' to leave if your professor is late (I found this one out today). We waited for 30 minutes for class to begin, and when a staff member came and locked the classroom door, we thought it was safe to leave. Apparently our teacher had called the school to say he'd be late, and no one bothered to tell us. So when we left as he was walking in, only 7 of us (including me) returned to the class. In the class he informed us that there is never a time when you're allowed to leave without being penalized for it; you have to wait for your professor the entire time. At USC, you're safe to leave after 15-ish minutes, in general, so it was a bit of a different experience. I think, though, that I get extra credit for being there...
4. They eat lunch later than we do. On Mondays and Wednesday, I have a 10am class, so when I get out and am sitting around waiting for my 1pm class, I always eat something. I think it shocks people when I order lunch-like food instead of medialunas (breakfast croissants). And their soda consumption has got to be much less than that of the United States because all their cup sizes are much smaller. Our McDonald's medium (that normally comes with a meal) is their large. When you upgrade to a large, you also get bigger fries, which is also equal to our medium size fries... a curiosity.
5. They eat dinner so late! (I guess I'll just stick to the topic of food because it's what I know best...) Here, in my homestay, we eat dinner at about 11pm each night. It's a struggle for me because I always do my homework after dinner, so I'm generally up late (if/when I do my homework. Other than that, I just watch movies/talk to friends). Lunch, for me, is the biggest meal because if I don't make it that way, I have to have a meal in-between my lunch and dinner.
6. At restaurants, they come and take your order, and then, generally, they deliver you food as it's finished being cooked, so people get food at all different times. Also, someone just told me that it's not really true and it's more appropriate to wait, you're allowed to eat right as you're served without asking the permission of the other people. If my meal's last, I always shoo other people on because they should eat when they're ready, but really? I don't understand the concept of serving one person at a time...
7. Argentinians are really proud of their country. It's not like in the United States where we're proud to be from our country but also have moments where we're a bit ashamed of the Nation's actions (at least I've noticed that with many of my friends). Argentinians all hate their government (which I'm always like, "yeah, but only like 30 years ago, you were living in a dictatorship, so do you really hate it?"), and they will curse politicians up and down, but other than that they all LOVE Argentina (which I can understand; it's quite the exceptional country).
8. Here in Argentina, they don't speak Español, they speak Castellano. As far as I can tell, the only difference is vocabulary, and even that differs from country to country. I was always taught that gasolina was gasoline, but here in Argentina they call it nafta (Nahuel laughs at this because NAFTA - North American Free Trade Agreement was then named after something highly flammable). Also in Argentina they use the vos form instead of tú (for 'you'). It's also interesting because they use the vos for everyone except people like doctors, lawyers, etc. Then they use the formal version usted, but in Bolivia (to the north of Argentina) they refer to everyone as usted and only use tú for friends. This, I guess, is comparable to calling everyone Miss/Mrs. in Connecticut and thinking that ma'am is really formal, but moving to South Carolina where even 40 and 50 year-old's call me ma'am. Also, the vos form, which I love for it's simple present-tense conjugation, is "Río Platanese" Castellano, aka it's only in the "river plate" of South America, which is Argentina and Uruguay. So outside of the city, they don't even necessarily use the vos form.
9. My roommate brought this one up last night when I hugged her goodbye. To greet people here, you kiss them once on the cheek. But you rarely see people hug each other. It's interesting because it's not like they're very conservative about showing feelings (i.e. parks, buses, subtes, the hallways, ANYWHERE is make-out central). You shake hands when you're meeting someone for the first time or when it's a business deal type thing, but other than that, everyone kisses. But friends don't hug. I think it's probably the thing I miss the most, too. Clearly, they aren't conservative people, but they generally dress more conservative. I've worn shorts once and was told that no one wears them in the city, and even now people are wearing layers of clothing. I'm starting to wonder how they aren't all dying from Vitamin D deficiency...
10. According to some, Argentinians are supposed to be very healthy. True, I have not noticed very many obese people, but really, this cannot be true. When I told Argentinians my story about tripping while running, everyone asked me why I was even running in the first place ("estaba corriendo y --" "¿Por qué estabas corriendo?" "...Para hacer ejercicio" OR "estaba corriendo y tropecé en una porta-bicicletas." "¿Estabas corriendo de la policía?" --- Why were you running? ... for exercise. // Oh, were you running from the police?) Then, the late eating hours make me believe that it can't be all it's cracked up to. But my other favorite thing is that EVERYTHING gets doused in oil. I frequently have tomatoes covered in oil at dinner. "Soups" can be cooked noodles with just an oil broth. And, my favorite moment, I was already biting into my pizza when Pipa walked over and dumped oil on the top -- as if pizza isn't fatty enough to begin with?
There are plenty of other different things, but I thought I'd make it a nice round-number list at 10. I'll keep my eyes peeled for other difference to report, or just for other things to write about in general.
I hope you all have a fabulous Columbus Day (it'll be celebrating 'Race Day' here), and good luck to the Gamecocks this weekend as they take on the #1 University of Alabama. My Dad, brother, uncle, and cousins will be at the game along with all of my best friends, I'm sure. So I hope you all have a great time! I won't be traveling this weekend (everyone is going to Cordoba for Oktoberfest), so I'll be watching along with you! :)
Sorry I haven't written in more than a week! I just started thinking that I was probably boring you to death with my weekly updates about classes and the like, so I had to think about something interesting to write about.
Anyway, I came up with it! I'll write about some of the different things that I've noticed between our culture in the United States and things here. Granted, these are going to be generalizations - not EVERYTHING is going to be as I say it is, but this is just for you all to have a better idea of what some things are like in Argentina.
I guess I'll start with... the mornings and work my way through the day, and then just throw in some extras that don't really have a place? I just need some kind of way to order it. Haha.
1. People around here really don't eat breakfast. To us, it's the most important meal of the day (doesn't mean I usually partake in it), but here they normally have coffee/mate and some toast. Also, they use dulce de leche on their toast. Dulce, if I haven't told you before, is like a more liquidy version of caramel.
2. People have different ideas, than me, probably, of what makes a person "old." On the bus (colectivo) you're supposed to give up your seat for old people, pregnant women, people with disabilities, or women with young children. When I have a seat, I'll give it up for anyone because I don't want them to think that I'm some punk 20-year old. But when there are people who are probably 40-50 and a 60 year old gets on the bus, they don't always give up their seat unless they're asked. I don't know if it's just that they aren't sure of ages or anything, but to me, anyone older gets my seat...
3. There, apparently, is no time where it becomes 'safe' to leave if your professor is late (I found this one out today). We waited for 30 minutes for class to begin, and when a staff member came and locked the classroom door, we thought it was safe to leave. Apparently our teacher had called the school to say he'd be late, and no one bothered to tell us. So when we left as he was walking in, only 7 of us (including me) returned to the class. In the class he informed us that there is never a time when you're allowed to leave without being penalized for it; you have to wait for your professor the entire time. At USC, you're safe to leave after 15-ish minutes, in general, so it was a bit of a different experience. I think, though, that I get extra credit for being there...
4. They eat lunch later than we do. On Mondays and Wednesday, I have a 10am class, so when I get out and am sitting around waiting for my 1pm class, I always eat something. I think it shocks people when I order lunch-like food instead of medialunas (breakfast croissants). And their soda consumption has got to be much less than that of the United States because all their cup sizes are much smaller. Our McDonald's medium (that normally comes with a meal) is their large. When you upgrade to a large, you also get bigger fries, which is also equal to our medium size fries... a curiosity.
5. They eat dinner so late! (I guess I'll just stick to the topic of food because it's what I know best...) Here, in my homestay, we eat dinner at about 11pm each night. It's a struggle for me because I always do my homework after dinner, so I'm generally up late (if/when I do my homework. Other than that, I just watch movies/talk to friends). Lunch, for me, is the biggest meal because if I don't make it that way, I have to have a meal in-between my lunch and dinner.
6. At restaurants, they come and take your order, and then, generally, they deliver you food as it's finished being cooked, so people get food at all different times. Also, someone just told me that it's not really true and it's more appropriate to wait, you're allowed to eat right as you're served without asking the permission of the other people. If my meal's last, I always shoo other people on because they should eat when they're ready, but really? I don't understand the concept of serving one person at a time...
7. Argentinians are really proud of their country. It's not like in the United States where we're proud to be from our country but also have moments where we're a bit ashamed of the Nation's actions (at least I've noticed that with many of my friends). Argentinians all hate their government (which I'm always like, "yeah, but only like 30 years ago, you were living in a dictatorship, so do you really hate it?"), and they will curse politicians up and down, but other than that they all LOVE Argentina (which I can understand; it's quite the exceptional country).
8. Here in Argentina, they don't speak Español, they speak Castellano. As far as I can tell, the only difference is vocabulary, and even that differs from country to country. I was always taught that gasolina was gasoline, but here in Argentina they call it nafta (Nahuel laughs at this because NAFTA - North American Free Trade Agreement was then named after something highly flammable). Also in Argentina they use the vos form instead of tú (for 'you'). It's also interesting because they use the vos for everyone except people like doctors, lawyers, etc. Then they use the formal version usted, but in Bolivia (to the north of Argentina) they refer to everyone as usted and only use tú for friends. This, I guess, is comparable to calling everyone Miss/Mrs. in Connecticut and thinking that ma'am is really formal, but moving to South Carolina where even 40 and 50 year-old's call me ma'am. Also, the vos form, which I love for it's simple present-tense conjugation, is "Río Platanese" Castellano, aka it's only in the "river plate" of South America, which is Argentina and Uruguay. So outside of the city, they don't even necessarily use the vos form.
9. My roommate brought this one up last night when I hugged her goodbye. To greet people here, you kiss them once on the cheek. But you rarely see people hug each other. It's interesting because it's not like they're very conservative about showing feelings (i.e. parks, buses, subtes, the hallways, ANYWHERE is make-out central). You shake hands when you're meeting someone for the first time or when it's a business deal type thing, but other than that, everyone kisses. But friends don't hug. I think it's probably the thing I miss the most, too. Clearly, they aren't conservative people, but they generally dress more conservative. I've worn shorts once and was told that no one wears them in the city, and even now people are wearing layers of clothing. I'm starting to wonder how they aren't all dying from Vitamin D deficiency...
 |
There are plenty of other different things, but I thought I'd make it a nice round-number list at 10. I'll keep my eyes peeled for other difference to report, or just for other things to write about in general.
I hope you all have a fabulous Columbus Day (it'll be celebrating 'Race Day' here), and good luck to the Gamecocks this weekend as they take on the #1 University of Alabama. My Dad, brother, uncle, and cousins will be at the game along with all of my best friends, I'm sure. So I hope you all have a great time! I won't be traveling this weekend (everyone is going to Cordoba for Oktoberfest), so I'll be watching along with you! :)
Sunday, September 26, 2010
"Sieze the Day, boys! Make your lives extraordinary!"
I've been trying really hard in the past week to really do everything I can to fill my time here in Argentina. I don't want to miss out on anything and risk the chance of never seeing it again.
I'll just go through the week, as always:
Monday - I went to my classes, which were pretty barren, because we had Tuesday off of school for the First Day of Spring/Student's Day!
Tuesday - We had wanted to go to the Lújan zoo, but a bunch of people ended up not wanting to go that day, and instead wanting to do what all other Argentine students would be doing... sitting in parks drinking beer/coke/mate (mah-tay). So I slept in, like any normal college student would do, and then I called up my friends. Jen and I decided that we would go to our favorite pizza place and then meet up with Michelle and Roxanne at this park later on. When we got to the park, there was a giant concert! I had no idea that it was going to be there, but it was. I missed the first two bands, but I got to hear the last one, so it was fun.
Wednesday - I had my Spanish midterm, and I'm exactly sure how it went. I studied with Jen for it, and I had already been asking the professor a ton of questions and doing my homework with my Argentine friend (he can't explain concepts, but he knows when things are right and wrong), so I thought I would do well. The test wasn't hard, but it wasn't the type of test I had been expecting, which threw me off a little bit.
There was nothing eventful about going to school on Thursday. But I did get 3 midterms back - I got two 6s and a 7. To me, a 6 feels like failing, but here, it's a straight up B (3.0) and a 7 is like a 3.5. So without much effort, lenient grading on the part of the teachers, and a strange grading scale, I am now confident that with my P/F I will not destroy my GPA at USC and have to beg my mother and father to make up for my lost scholarship. Holla!
On Thursday night Jen and Sydney and I decided to go out. We were going to "celebrate the end of midterms" (actually, this was the reason we came up with while we were out). We went to this brewery that I had read about that's really close to my house. The meal was pretty expensive, which is why we're calling it a celebratory meal, and it was annoying because Sydney is vegan, and they were kind of rude to us about her special dietary requests. Anyway, we did this beer sampler and then shared a pitcher of the beer we all agreed on. I didn't really like it that much, but I didn't like any of the ones that Jen or Sydney also had in common, so I just went for it. After dinner we went to a bar in Plaza Serrano and met some Brazilians, and then we went to a club that was actually kind of lame (I'm really not a fan of most clubs). So, all in all, it was a pretty good night.
On Friday we had been planning to this bus tour that is Hop On, Hop Off, but we woke up too late and didn't want it to not be worth the money. Instead we went to the Japanese Garden and got lunch and walked around for a little while. It was so beautiful, but it isn't very "peaceful" because it's in the center of the city, not far from a huge avenue, so you can see the really tall buildings and hear all the cars while you're walking around inside. Also, they have coy fish that are so big, they're creepy. They had like bites out of them, probably because they fight for food with the other fish, and they started like following us around. So if you leaned out to look over the pond water, they would be there looking at you with their overly large mouths...
After the Gardens, we all went our own ways so that we could get ready to go to Tango and onto our respective nightly plans. Normally our nightly plans are the same, but this time I had a date! I went to Tango and learned a new move. I was getting a bit frustrated with the one instructor because she makes it out like it's our fault that there aren't enough men who want to learn tango and it's horrible that she has to have people switching partners. The other instructor, however, told me that I was "muy bien" and I was so happy!
My date went well too. It's funny because we went to a restaurant that I'd been to before, but he had wanted to surprise me with somewhere that has typical Argentine food. Oh well! We also got ice cream, and I out-ate him which I'm not sure is something I should brag about, but I'm pretty much a champion at eating, so I will.
Yesterday I woke up, and I got together with Jen for pizza, again, at our favorite place. They now have our order memorized down to who drinks the Coke and who drinks the Light Coke. Embarrassing or good customer service? After that we had planned on going to a park to lay out and read/do homework, but it was a little bit chillier than we had originally thought, so we tried to go find a movie to see. We went to two theaters and didn't see anything that we wanted to spend money on, so we just went home with plans to meet up later for my nerd-fest. Last night, Jupiter was really close and the Planetarium normally has telescopes set up on weekends for people to use, and they were doing a special thing for Jupiter. I wanted to go and a girl from school, named Abby, said she wanted to go too. When we completed our walk to the Planetarium, and took in the immense line, we decided it wasn't worth it to wait that long and we would go eat instead and just go to the Planetarium for a show some other time. There were literally 1,000+ people in line to use one of like 3 telescopes. I'm sad I missed it, but I also saw Jupiter without a telescope because it's was that close (I say it was that close because it is not physically possible to see a single star in Capital Federal, but I could definitely see this one...). On our walk back to civilization (aka through a park) we realized a bondiola place was open, and we went there to eat instead. It was so delicious and cheap! The owner of the bondiola place was really nice to us, and I'll definitely go back to eat there some other time. After we ate we played on see-saws for a few minutes, and then just walked into the main roads to take our buses home.
I stayed up really late, even though I didn't have to, watching my favorite songs on youtube with Spanish subtitles. It all started thanks to my friend Matias deciding that he liked the Taylor Swift that I played for him the other day, and wanting to know what all the words were. After that I started watching Taylor, Carrie Underwood, John Mayer, etc. It was awesome and I feel like I learned a lot, but it's also a lesson in how there's this gap in translations. You can really lose quite a lot from reading a translation of something than reading the actual thing...
Today we had, again, planned on doing the bus tour, but no one could do it, except me and Sydney, so we decided to wait it out for more people and instead we went back to the Feria de San Telmo and walked around. Sydney bought some things, I wish I bought some things, and we surprisingly found our friend Cameron in the throngs of people. We spent a lot of time there, and I loved it. San Telmo is such a beautiful part of the city, but it's really not safe to wander too far from the area of the Feria (if you're not Argentine). But after being there for a little bit we decided to walk to Plaza de Mayo and sit in the sun. While we were sitting and just talking I decided that I should just take the tour of the Casa Rosada like I'd been wanting to do, and we actually got in the last tour of the day! The building is really pretty and ornate inside, but I don't think it's as impressive as our Capitol building is. It also feels much, much smaller than our federal government buildings, but I'm not sure how they compare in size...
Now I'm just about to call my Mom, eat some dinner, and sleep a good night's sleep before the week starts all over again...
I'll just go through the week, as always:
Monday - I went to my classes, which were pretty barren, because we had Tuesday off of school for the First Day of Spring/Student's Day!
Tuesday - We had wanted to go to the Lújan zoo, but a bunch of people ended up not wanting to go that day, and instead wanting to do what all other Argentine students would be doing... sitting in parks drinking beer/coke/mate (mah-tay). So I slept in, like any normal college student would do, and then I called up my friends. Jen and I decided that we would go to our favorite pizza place and then meet up with Michelle and Roxanne at this park later on. When we got to the park, there was a giant concert! I had no idea that it was going to be there, but it was. I missed the first two bands, but I got to hear the last one, so it was fun.
Wednesday - I had my Spanish midterm, and I'm exactly sure how it went. I studied with Jen for it, and I had already been asking the professor a ton of questions and doing my homework with my Argentine friend (he can't explain concepts, but he knows when things are right and wrong), so I thought I would do well. The test wasn't hard, but it wasn't the type of test I had been expecting, which threw me off a little bit.
There was nothing eventful about going to school on Thursday. But I did get 3 midterms back - I got two 6s and a 7. To me, a 6 feels like failing, but here, it's a straight up B (3.0) and a 7 is like a 3.5. So without much effort, lenient grading on the part of the teachers, and a strange grading scale, I am now confident that with my P/F I will not destroy my GPA at USC and have to beg my mother and father to make up for my lost scholarship. Holla!
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| Our cute little sampler |
On Friday we had been planning to this bus tour that is Hop On, Hop Off, but we woke up too late and didn't want it to not be worth the money. Instead we went to the Japanese Garden and got lunch and walked around for a little while. It was so beautiful, but it isn't very "peaceful" because it's in the center of the city, not far from a huge avenue, so you can see the really tall buildings and hear all the cars while you're walking around inside. Also, they have coy fish that are so big, they're creepy. They had like bites out of them, probably because they fight for food with the other fish, and they started like following us around. So if you leaned out to look over the pond water, they would be there looking at you with their overly large mouths...
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| Jardín Japones |
My date went well too. It's funny because we went to a restaurant that I'd been to before, but he had wanted to surprise me with somewhere that has typical Argentine food. Oh well! We also got ice cream, and I out-ate him which I'm not sure is something I should brag about, but I'm pretty much a champion at eating, so I will.
Yesterday I woke up, and I got together with Jen for pizza, again, at our favorite place. They now have our order memorized down to who drinks the Coke and who drinks the Light Coke. Embarrassing or good customer service? After that we had planned on going to a park to lay out and read/do homework, but it was a little bit chillier than we had originally thought, so we tried to go find a movie to see. We went to two theaters and didn't see anything that we wanted to spend money on, so we just went home with plans to meet up later for my nerd-fest. Last night, Jupiter was really close and the Planetarium normally has telescopes set up on weekends for people to use, and they were doing a special thing for Jupiter. I wanted to go and a girl from school, named Abby, said she wanted to go too. When we completed our walk to the Planetarium, and took in the immense line, we decided it wasn't worth it to wait that long and we would go eat instead and just go to the Planetarium for a show some other time. There were literally 1,000+ people in line to use one of like 3 telescopes. I'm sad I missed it, but I also saw Jupiter without a telescope because it's was that close (I say it was that close because it is not physically possible to see a single star in Capital Federal, but I could definitely see this one...). On our walk back to civilization (aka through a park) we realized a bondiola place was open, and we went there to eat instead. It was so delicious and cheap! The owner of the bondiola place was really nice to us, and I'll definitely go back to eat there some other time. After we ate we played on see-saws for a few minutes, and then just walked into the main roads to take our buses home.
I stayed up really late, even though I didn't have to, watching my favorite songs on youtube with Spanish subtitles. It all started thanks to my friend Matias deciding that he liked the Taylor Swift that I played for him the other day, and wanting to know what all the words were. After that I started watching Taylor, Carrie Underwood, John Mayer, etc. It was awesome and I feel like I learned a lot, but it's also a lesson in how there's this gap in translations. You can really lose quite a lot from reading a translation of something than reading the actual thing...
Today we had, again, planned on doing the bus tour, but no one could do it, except me and Sydney, so we decided to wait it out for more people and instead we went back to the Feria de San Telmo and walked around. Sydney bought some things, I wish I bought some things, and we surprisingly found our friend Cameron in the throngs of people. We spent a lot of time there, and I loved it. San Telmo is such a beautiful part of the city, but it's really not safe to wander too far from the area of the Feria (if you're not Argentine). But after being there for a little bit we decided to walk to Plaza de Mayo and sit in the sun. While we were sitting and just talking I decided that I should just take the tour of the Casa Rosada like I'd been wanting to do, and we actually got in the last tour of the day! The building is really pretty and ornate inside, but I don't think it's as impressive as our Capitol building is. It also feels much, much smaller than our federal government buildings, but I'm not sure how they compare in size...
 |
| From Plaza de Mayo to the Obelisk |
Monday, September 20, 2010
I'm making a list...
Hi everyone! I hope you're all doing well.
This week has been strange, to say the least. I just had almost all my midterms (my most difficult one - I think - will be on Wednesday). They went well, which is good because I was not feeling it and barely studied. Our tango presentation went well; during the class our "professor" (he's really only a dance teacher) was being very critical of everyone's presentations, but at the end of the class he told us he liked ours and wanted to keep it. So, I'm taking that as a good sign. My second one was Social & Political Change. It took me 25 minutes. It was simple: 4 questions and the one that was worth half of the test, I know I got right. So I'm not overly concerned. Then I had my Latin American Cultural Studies test. We really didn't have to study for this one because she told us there wasn't much we could prepare. It was 2 short (20 lines) writings comparing the things that we've done in class.
On Thursday I had my presentation in my Gender class. I think it went alright. I didn't finish putting it all together until the night before, but it's not like a presentation that we have to really prepare for. It's on a reading and you have to summarize it for the class and talk about what it argues and how it relates to what we're learning. Mine was really interesting; it was about Mexico City during the Mexican Revolution and how sexual promiscuity and syphilis were huge problems that the government was facing, and by looking into these problems, the government was able to gain access into homes and family lives. You know me, nerdy.
Anyway, I was in quite a strange mood for the last half of the week, but fortunately for me I have some really awesome friends back in the United States who never mind hearing me out and have helped me out of my funk somewhat. I was just really frustrated because there are so many things I've wanted to do and see, and I thought that all my friends were on the same page with doing them this weekend, and when we weren't I was thrown back. Then I was starting to wonder if I was even spending my time here correctly. Should I be more concerned with my in-the-classroom education here (clearly, it's not that important to me if I didn't even study for my midterms...) or should I even be worrying about seeing everything? What's more important in study abroad: seeing everything or just living day-to-day and seeing where it brings me?
Anyway, I tried to stick my mood aside and have some fun. On Thursday night we went to this bar that has boardgames. I was thinking it would be so much fun to go and play, but the majority of games are (of course) in Spanish and aren't the same games at I grew up with. But the atmosphere of the place was really good, and everyone had fun, so I'm sure we'll go back. On Friday I finally picked up my real visa, and let me tell you ... all that money and time for two pieces of printed paper! Nothing cool for your passport, not even like a notarized bump on it. Just a stamp and a signature. Whatever, it gives me special permission to travel for a cheaper price (and stay in the country for 6 months, and get my transcripts from the Universidad, etc.), so I guess I shouldn't complain too much. After that, Jen and I met up with her roommate Roxanne and we got lunch. We didn't picnic like I had thought we were going to do, but that's okay. I was starving and when I got my food, all I wanted to do was eat - there was no time for waiting. I left them and went home to run a little bit before I had to get ready and go to Tango class.
Tango was really good on Friday! There were a lot of people at our class and Roxanne invited a girl and her friend from her classes at the Universidad. During the class I might not have learned many new moves (well, one), but I got a lot of practice on getting my arms right. I danced with the female instructor who is probably like 5 feet, with heels. And when I have my heels on, I tower over her. She complained to me about my arms being too lose, and that I need to keep them tighter so she can signal moves to me better. Then I danced with Jen's mom, who told me that I was pushing too much on her arms (apparently, I have a problem with trying to lead when I'm supposed to be led - who would have ever guessed?!). But then when I danced with the male instructor (who models on the side, did I mention that before? He's absolutely gorgeous), he told me that he could tell I've been practice and that my arms were really good! (It's important to keep your chests like parallel or something, and mentioned that I'd done a good job.) After that we ate dinner at the milonga - it's vegetarian. Cheap, but it wasn't that good. And I ate ice cream before going home. At home I stayed up really late making a list of all the things I wanted to do and see in the city before I go home. Now I'll have a way to measure my successes of being touristy.
On Saturday I finally got the Arab food I had been craving with a few friends, and then we went to the grocery store to get some things because we had plans to go to dinner at my Argentine friend's house! He had told his parents about us, and they wanted to have us over for dinner. Jen and Roxanne baked chocolate chip cookies and brownies, and I brought over peanut butter (which none of them have ever tried) and Oreos. We stayed at the dinner table talking for 4 hours! It was so sweet, and they've told us that we're always welcome - all we have to do is call Matias and tell him we're coming!, and now that it's getting to be nice every day, they're going to cook asado (Argentine BBQ) for us one night. It was so amazing that in just a few months I've made friends from this country and even their families want to get to know us. Also, their house is really cool because they live in the top floor (Matias, his little brother Nico, his Mom and Dad) and then his Uncle and Grandmother live on the lower floor, so his Uncle came up and hung out with us too. It really was a good time.
After that we intended to go to this club that's supposed to be one of the best in Buenos Aires, and after waiting, and waiting, and waiting ... they closed the doors and weren't going to allow ANYONE else in for the rest of the night. It was our second time trying to go too, so .. third time will be the charm?! Instead we just went to a bar and sat around and talked.
Today (Sunday) none of us woke up into well into the afternoon. So we all gathered to walk to Parque 3 de Febrero and get this sandwich called a bondiola that Michelle and Roxanne had been talking about. After walking for FOREVER (I hadn't eaten yet and it was 4 when we met up, 5 when we got our food), we arrived. At first I was hesitant to try the bondiola, but I figured I'd give it a whirl. It was amazing! We all got "bondiolas completas" which is a pork sandwich with an egg (completa in Argentina always signifies an egg on it, for reasons unbeknownst to me) and ham (jam - haha) on it. Then you can add your own toppings. I added a sauce that kind of resembled Italian dressing, lettuce, tomato, and cucumber. It was deeee-licious! We've decided it will become our Sunday tradition. AND it was so beautiful out today, and we sat and ate in the park, so it was essentially the picnic that I had been looking for on Friday. Things always have a way of working themselves out... After that we each ate a giagantic container of ice cream, and we went our respective ways.
This weekend wasn't everything I had planned on it being, but I guess sometimes we can't plan things and we just have to be open to them happening. I think that's actually the answer to all my questioning about my time here: I should attempt to do everything, and if it doesn't work out exactly like I wanted, it'll work out in some way or another.
Side note: Running. I stopped running after high school and have restarted here. It's not an every day thing, especially on days that I don't wake up until mid-afternoon, but the other day I ran about the same mile time that I had been running during high school when I was in-season running. I was so excited! So we'll see if I can keep it up and get either a) faster or b) go farther. But really, it's a nice way to see the areas around my apartment here.
I hope you all have a great week! Tuesday is the first day of Spring and we don't have school! :)
We intend to go to the most dangerous zoo in the world, where you can pet the tigers and ride camels and elephants! This one really better work out because I really, really, really want my picture with a tiger cub!
This week has been strange, to say the least. I just had almost all my midterms (my most difficult one - I think - will be on Wednesday). They went well, which is good because I was not feeling it and barely studied. Our tango presentation went well; during the class our "professor" (he's really only a dance teacher) was being very critical of everyone's presentations, but at the end of the class he told us he liked ours and wanted to keep it. So, I'm taking that as a good sign. My second one was Social & Political Change. It took me 25 minutes. It was simple: 4 questions and the one that was worth half of the test, I know I got right. So I'm not overly concerned. Then I had my Latin American Cultural Studies test. We really didn't have to study for this one because she told us there wasn't much we could prepare. It was 2 short (20 lines) writings comparing the things that we've done in class.
On Thursday I had my presentation in my Gender class. I think it went alright. I didn't finish putting it all together until the night before, but it's not like a presentation that we have to really prepare for. It's on a reading and you have to summarize it for the class and talk about what it argues and how it relates to what we're learning. Mine was really interesting; it was about Mexico City during the Mexican Revolution and how sexual promiscuity and syphilis were huge problems that the government was facing, and by looking into these problems, the government was able to gain access into homes and family lives. You know me, nerdy.
Anyway, I was in quite a strange mood for the last half of the week, but fortunately for me I have some really awesome friends back in the United States who never mind hearing me out and have helped me out of my funk somewhat. I was just really frustrated because there are so many things I've wanted to do and see, and I thought that all my friends were on the same page with doing them this weekend, and when we weren't I was thrown back. Then I was starting to wonder if I was even spending my time here correctly. Should I be more concerned with my in-the-classroom education here (clearly, it's not that important to me if I didn't even study for my midterms...) or should I even be worrying about seeing everything? What's more important in study abroad: seeing everything or just living day-to-day and seeing where it brings me?
Anyway, I tried to stick my mood aside and have some fun. On Thursday night we went to this bar that has boardgames. I was thinking it would be so much fun to go and play, but the majority of games are (of course) in Spanish and aren't the same games at I grew up with. But the atmosphere of the place was really good, and everyone had fun, so I'm sure we'll go back. On Friday I finally picked up my real visa, and let me tell you ... all that money and time for two pieces of printed paper! Nothing cool for your passport, not even like a notarized bump on it. Just a stamp and a signature. Whatever, it gives me special permission to travel for a cheaper price (and stay in the country for 6 months, and get my transcripts from the Universidad, etc.), so I guess I shouldn't complain too much. After that, Jen and I met up with her roommate Roxanne and we got lunch. We didn't picnic like I had thought we were going to do, but that's okay. I was starving and when I got my food, all I wanted to do was eat - there was no time for waiting. I left them and went home to run a little bit before I had to get ready and go to Tango class.
 |
| Maria (Jen's "Mom") and her BFF/tango instructor. |
On Saturday I finally got the Arab food I had been craving with a few friends, and then we went to the grocery store to get some things because we had plans to go to dinner at my Argentine friend's house! He had told his parents about us, and they wanted to have us over for dinner. Jen and Roxanne baked chocolate chip cookies and brownies, and I brought over peanut butter (which none of them have ever tried) and Oreos. We stayed at the dinner table talking for 4 hours! It was so sweet, and they've told us that we're always welcome - all we have to do is call Matias and tell him we're coming!, and now that it's getting to be nice every day, they're going to cook asado (Argentine BBQ) for us one night. It was so amazing that in just a few months I've made friends from this country and even their families want to get to know us. Also, their house is really cool because they live in the top floor (Matias, his little brother Nico, his Mom and Dad) and then his Uncle and Grandmother live on the lower floor, so his Uncle came up and hung out with us too. It really was a good time.
After that we intended to go to this club that's supposed to be one of the best in Buenos Aires, and after waiting, and waiting, and waiting ... they closed the doors and weren't going to allow ANYONE else in for the rest of the night. It was our second time trying to go too, so .. third time will be the charm?! Instead we just went to a bar and sat around and talked.
 |
| Roxanne and her bondiola. |
Today (Sunday) none of us woke up into well into the afternoon. So we all gathered to walk to Parque 3 de Febrero and get this sandwich called a bondiola that Michelle and Roxanne had been talking about. After walking for FOREVER (I hadn't eaten yet and it was 4 when we met up, 5 when we got our food), we arrived. At first I was hesitant to try the bondiola, but I figured I'd give it a whirl. It was amazing! We all got "bondiolas completas" which is a pork sandwich with an egg (completa in Argentina always signifies an egg on it, for reasons unbeknownst to me) and ham (jam - haha) on it. Then you can add your own toppings. I added a sauce that kind of resembled Italian dressing, lettuce, tomato, and cucumber. It was deeee-licious! We've decided it will become our Sunday tradition. AND it was so beautiful out today, and we sat and ate in the park, so it was essentially the picnic that I had been looking for on Friday. Things always have a way of working themselves out... After that we each ate a giagantic container of ice cream, and we went our respective ways.
This weekend wasn't everything I had planned on it being, but I guess sometimes we can't plan things and we just have to be open to them happening. I think that's actually the answer to all my questioning about my time here: I should attempt to do everything, and if it doesn't work out exactly like I wanted, it'll work out in some way or another.
Side note: Running. I stopped running after high school and have restarted here. It's not an every day thing, especially on days that I don't wake up until mid-afternoon, but the other day I ran about the same mile time that I had been running during high school when I was in-season running. I was so excited! So we'll see if I can keep it up and get either a) faster or b) go farther. But really, it's a nice way to see the areas around my apartment here.
I hope you all have a great week! Tuesday is the first day of Spring and we don't have school! :)
We intend to go to the most dangerous zoo in the world, where you can pet the tigers and ride camels and elephants! This one really better work out because I really, really, really want my picture with a tiger cub!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Guest Blog Entry
Hi everyone!
I just thought I'd share this link with you quickly; I was asked to write a guest-blog piece for the CEA Study Abroad blog, and my piece was published the other day.
If you read it, I hope you enjoy it. And make sure you take a look at all the other cool things CEA posts on their blog, there's a lot of great information in there!
http://www.ceastudyabroadblog.com/2010/09/meeting-argentina-through-wide-eyes.html
I just thought I'd share this link with you quickly; I was asked to write a guest-blog piece for the CEA Study Abroad blog, and my piece was published the other day.
If you read it, I hope you enjoy it. And make sure you take a look at all the other cool things CEA posts on their blog, there's a lot of great information in there!
http://www.ceastudyabroadblog.com/2010/09/meeting-argentina-through-wide-eyes.html
Monday, September 13, 2010
It's finally beginning to feel like Spring!
Well, first, I’ll have to congratulate my Gamecocks on a fantastic victory over the University of Georgia yesterday! I watched the game on TV at an American sport bar called The Alamo. It’s actually only about 10 blocks from my house, so the fact that I forgot my cellphone and had to walk all the way home and back wasn’t too much of an issue. The bar was cool; it was being worked by a bunch of recent college graduates from the USA who needed jobs and loved Argentina when they studied here. Maybe I’ll be back in 2 years, because at least it’s a job…
Anyway, GO GAMECOCKS! I was a little homesick when they would pan to views of Columbia or the Horseshoe, or just showing the student section, but it wasn’t an overwhelming homesickness because I was enjoying where I was too. It was such a beautiful day, and when it’s nice out my mood and love for the city definitely increase.
When I was walking to and from The Alamo on Saturday, I passed by this beautiful park that has the biggest tree. I really want to climb it, and I think on Friday Jen and I are going to buy some food (Arab, yum!) and walk there for a little picnic, as long as the weather is as nice as it’s supposed to be… We also plan on making next weekend a “touristy Buenos Aires” weekend and going out in a large group and just hitting up a lot of tourist spots. I feel like I haven’t done so many things that I was so interested in doing and seeing because I wanted to be more than just a tourist here. But really, I’m going to give in – tourists and travelers alike should see some of the things that Buenos Aires has to offer, and I’m not ashamed to go all out next weekend.
I have finally started carrying my camera on me again. After a theft or two, I think I started getting overly cautious about things, and then I realized that in my day to day type interactions with people (riding the bus to school and home), I don’t feel in danger and I should carry my camera with me so that I can continue to document this trip for myself, friends, and family. Now my goal is: at least a picture a day! That means only like 83 more pictures to take though… Jen told me today that we’ve officially passed our halfway mark, which absolutely blows my mind.
Jen and I have started planning our latest adventure. This time we’re looking into going to Uruguay for a long weekend – it’s only an hour ferry ride away from here! I think we’re going to go the last weekend of September, so it should be a lot fun (and it will keep my mind off the fact that my friends and family get to enjoy the Durham Fair without me!). There’s a town called Colonia del Sacramento that is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so we’d take a ferry there after classes on Thursday, spend the night, explore during the day, and then take a bus to Montevideo and stay there for two nights. It kind of sounds like Montevideo is a lot like Buenos Aires, but much, much smaller. So hopefully our plans work out, and I’ll let you know my perception when I get back.
Until the next time, I’ll be studying! I have to present my Tango midterm on Tuesday, and then I have two exams on Wednesday (Political and Social Change and Latin American Cultural Studies), and, to round out the week, I’ll be making a presentation in my Gender in Latin America class on Thursday. I already can’t wait for next weekend – I have high expectations that it will be amazing, especially after this upcoming week!
Anyway, GO GAMECOCKS! I was a little homesick when they would pan to views of Columbia or the Horseshoe, or just showing the student section, but it wasn’t an overwhelming homesickness because I was enjoying where I was too. It was such a beautiful day, and when it’s nice out my mood and love for the city definitely increase.
When I was walking to and from The Alamo on Saturday, I passed by this beautiful park that has the biggest tree. I really want to climb it, and I think on Friday Jen and I are going to buy some food (Arab, yum!) and walk there for a little picnic, as long as the weather is as nice as it’s supposed to be… We also plan on making next weekend a “touristy Buenos Aires” weekend and going out in a large group and just hitting up a lot of tourist spots. I feel like I haven’t done so many things that I was so interested in doing and seeing because I wanted to be more than just a tourist here. But really, I’m going to give in – tourists and travelers alike should see some of the things that Buenos Aires has to offer, and I’m not ashamed to go all out next weekend.
I have finally started carrying my camera on me again. After a theft or two, I think I started getting overly cautious about things, and then I realized that in my day to day type interactions with people (riding the bus to school and home), I don’t feel in danger and I should carry my camera with me so that I can continue to document this trip for myself, friends, and family. Now my goal is: at least a picture a day! That means only like 83 more pictures to take though… Jen told me today that we’ve officially passed our halfway mark, which absolutely blows my mind.
Jen and I have started planning our latest adventure. This time we’re looking into going to Uruguay for a long weekend – it’s only an hour ferry ride away from here! I think we’re going to go the last weekend of September, so it should be a lot fun (and it will keep my mind off the fact that my friends and family get to enjoy the Durham Fair without me!). There’s a town called Colonia del Sacramento that is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so we’d take a ferry there after classes on Thursday, spend the night, explore during the day, and then take a bus to Montevideo and stay there for two nights. It kind of sounds like Montevideo is a lot like Buenos Aires, but much, much smaller. So hopefully our plans work out, and I’ll let you know my perception when I get back.
Until the next time, I’ll be studying! I have to present my Tango midterm on Tuesday, and then I have two exams on Wednesday (Political and Social Change and Latin American Cultural Studies), and, to round out the week, I’ll be making a presentation in my Gender in Latin America class on Thursday. I already can’t wait for next weekend – I have high expectations that it will be amazing, especially after this upcoming week!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Don't for a Minute Change the Place You're In.
It's strange. I remember finding out I was accepted to CEA's program and starting the countdown of days until I arrived in Argentina. And now, I'm here. It's ending the first week in September, and my countdown is 90 days until I leave and go home.
I've been talking with Jen a lot because she was trying to decide what she could do to make it possible to stay longer here, like an extra semester. She absolutely loves it here, and has since Day 1. I, on the other hand, haven't. I haven't loved every day, and I don't absolutely love it now, but that doesn't mean I don't like it. Like I said, I'm in my routine, and I'm finally comfortable here. I know my way around the areas of this massive city that I need to know, and I feel fine in those areas. What I love is out of the city. And I can't wait to go again, hopefully soon.
With that all being said, every day, especially this weekend it seemed, I'm loving Buenos Aires more. It's strange that it took until half way through my stay here to appreciate it as much as I am, but I think it's a lot of different things adding up into one.
My Spanish, especially spoken, has vastly improved. I can hold conversations with people, especially those who know to speak slower and don't make me feel like an idiot. And I like having English as a cloak when I need to tell someone something without everyone else understanding.
I have a great group of friends, and it seems it only gets bigger and bigger as the time goes on here. There are of course those people who I see at school, but don't really hang out with much, but there are more and more people who I keep in constant contact with so that we can plan whatever we want at the drop of a hat.
I finally have friends who are Argentine. A big part of me choosing this program was to meet Argentinians and be friends with them. Although it's only one or two people, I've made headway.
I also finally, through friends and families, have been given experience that I wouldn't have been given if I had just been here as a tourist and not a student/traveler.
I never would have started taking tango lessons unless I had my friends and their homestay families to push me into it. Also, my family and friends at home who pushed me into taking the tango class at school was beneficial. But I've come to love dancing the tango, even though I know I'm nowhere near good, but I think I'm getting to be reasonably proficient. Last night I went went with Jen, Sydney, Jen's homestay mother (Maria) and Maria's friend to a milonga. I brought my dance shoes, but didn't dance, and that was absolutely fine. The place was incredible! It was actually someone's house, and they had turned it into a milonga like people used to do back in the origins of the dance. I loved the place, it's was beautiful, and there really aren't words to describe it. There were some really old people there, actually, we were definitely the youngest people there, but at least 10 or 15 years. But they had experience, they were impressive. There were times that instead of watching the woman's part, which I normally do because it's the more sultry (which I, sadly, haven't picked up yet) part, but these guys! Whoa! They blew my mind - I found myself watching the men over the women because they could just move.
Nothing will touch the milonga. I really want to go back with my camera, which, for fear of being robbed/lack of space in some purses, I have stopped carrying. This place was not a tourist spot. It was simply Argentine, and I loved it.
It's things like going to that milonga with friends and people who know/are learning (still, after 10 years, Maria considers herself "intermediate") tango that are making this experience absolutely incredible.
There are a lot of people who enjoy the life in clubs, and I'm not saying that they're doing this entire semester wrong, because to each his own. But I would rather watch a milonga like this, or take a tango lesson, any day.
It's like I'm actually starting to understand what Argentina is really about and not just what a normal tourist or traveler would see - this is more about being a student and immersing myself here. And really, there are only 90 days left until I leave, so I'm hoping that these next 90 days are as incredible as the past few have been and then I get to see and experience (and eat) as much as I can handle so that I return to the United States full with a new appreciation for the Porteño way of lie, and a love for this amazingly beautiful country.
I've been talking with Jen a lot because she was trying to decide what she could do to make it possible to stay longer here, like an extra semester. She absolutely loves it here, and has since Day 1. I, on the other hand, haven't. I haven't loved every day, and I don't absolutely love it now, but that doesn't mean I don't like it. Like I said, I'm in my routine, and I'm finally comfortable here. I know my way around the areas of this massive city that I need to know, and I feel fine in those areas. What I love is out of the city. And I can't wait to go again, hopefully soon.
With that all being said, every day, especially this weekend it seemed, I'm loving Buenos Aires more. It's strange that it took until half way through my stay here to appreciate it as much as I am, but I think it's a lot of different things adding up into one.
My Spanish, especially spoken, has vastly improved. I can hold conversations with people, especially those who know to speak slower and don't make me feel like an idiot. And I like having English as a cloak when I need to tell someone something without everyone else understanding.
I have a great group of friends, and it seems it only gets bigger and bigger as the time goes on here. There are of course those people who I see at school, but don't really hang out with much, but there are more and more people who I keep in constant contact with so that we can plan whatever we want at the drop of a hat.
I finally have friends who are Argentine. A big part of me choosing this program was to meet Argentinians and be friends with them. Although it's only one or two people, I've made headway.
I also finally, through friends and families, have been given experience that I wouldn't have been given if I had just been here as a tourist and not a student/traveler.
I never would have started taking tango lessons unless I had my friends and their homestay families to push me into it. Also, my family and friends at home who pushed me into taking the tango class at school was beneficial. But I've come to love dancing the tango, even though I know I'm nowhere near good, but I think I'm getting to be reasonably proficient. Last night I went went with Jen, Sydney, Jen's homestay mother (Maria) and Maria's friend to a milonga. I brought my dance shoes, but didn't dance, and that was absolutely fine. The place was incredible! It was actually someone's house, and they had turned it into a milonga like people used to do back in the origins of the dance. I loved the place, it's was beautiful, and there really aren't words to describe it. There were some really old people there, actually, we were definitely the youngest people there, but at least 10 or 15 years. But they had experience, they were impressive. There were times that instead of watching the woman's part, which I normally do because it's the more sultry (which I, sadly, haven't picked up yet) part, but these guys! Whoa! They blew my mind - I found myself watching the men over the women because they could just move.
Nothing will touch the milonga. I really want to go back with my camera, which, for fear of being robbed/lack of space in some purses, I have stopped carrying. This place was not a tourist spot. It was simply Argentine, and I loved it.
It's things like going to that milonga with friends and people who know/are learning (still, after 10 years, Maria considers herself "intermediate") tango that are making this experience absolutely incredible.
There are a lot of people who enjoy the life in clubs, and I'm not saying that they're doing this entire semester wrong, because to each his own. But I would rather watch a milonga like this, or take a tango lesson, any day.
It's like I'm actually starting to understand what Argentina is really about and not just what a normal tourist or traveler would see - this is more about being a student and immersing myself here. And really, there are only 90 days left until I leave, so I'm hoping that these next 90 days are as incredible as the past few have been and then I get to see and experience (and eat) as much as I can handle so that I return to the United States full with a new appreciation for the Porteño way of lie, and a love for this amazingly beautiful country.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
On Routines
Wow. It's September. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with myself in just a few short months when I'm saying "wow, it's December," and then I pack up my things and go home.
All my friends are back at their respective schools now, which makes it a lot easier to talk to some of them because I know they'll be around at night, like I usually am. It's also weird because they're all just getting their feet in the water, and my first midterm is next week. Then they come crashing down on me, but that'll be alright.
It's really strange though, when I try to talk to my friends about what's going on in my life, and I just shrug. I feel guilty not having something incredible to share every day, but it's true. Right now, I'm in a routine, and there's not much else to say about it. I wake up every morning (at 8:15 or 10:15), and I hit snooze a bunch of times. Then I go to school until 5:30, and I come home after a little while, and I sit on my computer and talk to my Dad or Mom, my friends, or my favorite older brother until it's time to eat - generally around 11, which is even a little bit late for other Porteños, I think, but maybe my friend's families just eat early because they're accommodating their students? I'll never really know, I guess. And then I panic because it's already midnight and I haven't started my homework yet. Then I look at my homework and I generally decide it's not worth doing. Especially because in-between each of my classes, I have an hour and a half gap. So, I just do homework then because it's not really enough time to go out and do something productive, but it's too long to just sit around and waste time.
Lately I've been working a lot on my Spanish, which you would think comes with the territory... but it's much easier to practice a language when you're speaking with someone who speaks only that language and just enough English to get the gist of things across to you, if need be. It's actually a lot of fun trying to figure things out, and when I do it successfully, I feel really good about myself. When I don't, well, I guess I don't really know that I don't get it across that well and my Argentine friends probably just think a bunch of crazy things about me.
The past few days have had miserable weather with lots of rain and strong wind. It's probably like being in South Carolina with Hurricane Earl passing by, but not quite as intense, although it makes me think of that.
Now that I realize how lame my routine sounds, I'm going to try and break it up a little bit. I really feel like I've barely explored the city I'm in because I just keep thinking that some other weekend will be a lot nicer and I'll be able to do things then, yet I haven't. This weekend's forecast looks decent enough, so maybe I'll drag my butt down to Puerto Madero, the most recently developed part of the city, and see La Puente de la Mujer (Bridge of Woman), which is designed by my favorite architect, Santiago Calatrava (sorry that it's not you, Daddy. You're my real favorite person with an architecture degree!)
Until next time, try and stay nice and dry, all you East Coasters, and enjoy your time, everyone who isn't anywhere near Hurricane Earl. I'm sending my love home!
All my friends are back at their respective schools now, which makes it a lot easier to talk to some of them because I know they'll be around at night, like I usually am. It's also weird because they're all just getting their feet in the water, and my first midterm is next week. Then they come crashing down on me, but that'll be alright.
It's really strange though, when I try to talk to my friends about what's going on in my life, and I just shrug. I feel guilty not having something incredible to share every day, but it's true. Right now, I'm in a routine, and there's not much else to say about it. I wake up every morning (at 8:15 or 10:15), and I hit snooze a bunch of times. Then I go to school until 5:30, and I come home after a little while, and I sit on my computer and talk to my Dad or Mom, my friends, or my favorite older brother until it's time to eat - generally around 11, which is even a little bit late for other Porteños, I think, but maybe my friend's families just eat early because they're accommodating their students? I'll never really know, I guess. And then I panic because it's already midnight and I haven't started my homework yet. Then I look at my homework and I generally decide it's not worth doing. Especially because in-between each of my classes, I have an hour and a half gap. So, I just do homework then because it's not really enough time to go out and do something productive, but it's too long to just sit around and waste time.
Lately I've been working a lot on my Spanish, which you would think comes with the territory... but it's much easier to practice a language when you're speaking with someone who speaks only that language and just enough English to get the gist of things across to you, if need be. It's actually a lot of fun trying to figure things out, and when I do it successfully, I feel really good about myself. When I don't, well, I guess I don't really know that I don't get it across that well and my Argentine friends probably just think a bunch of crazy things about me.
The past few days have had miserable weather with lots of rain and strong wind. It's probably like being in South Carolina with Hurricane Earl passing by, but not quite as intense, although it makes me think of that.
Now that I realize how lame my routine sounds, I'm going to try and break it up a little bit. I really feel like I've barely explored the city I'm in because I just keep thinking that some other weekend will be a lot nicer and I'll be able to do things then, yet I haven't. This weekend's forecast looks decent enough, so maybe I'll drag my butt down to Puerto Madero, the most recently developed part of the city, and see La Puente de la Mujer (Bridge of Woman), which is designed by my favorite architect, Santiago Calatrava (sorry that it's not you, Daddy. You're my real favorite person with an architecture degree!)
Until next time, try and stay nice and dry, all you East Coasters, and enjoy your time, everyone who isn't anywhere near Hurricane Earl. I'm sending my love home!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Aquí hay amor
¡Hola chicos! ¿Qué tal?
Haha, I know I just recently updated, but I wanted to let everyone know that I've now had my BEST day in Argentina. So far.
Yesterday was quite simple, I hung around my house, read, ate, got a new roommate, la la la. And I planned to go to tango with Jen, her new roommate Roxanne, and another CEA student, Michelle. Roxanne and Michelle are SO cool, and I think that they are already having a good time in Argentina, and I'm so happy that they've joined us for activities in these first few days.
Anyway, we went to a tango class. Jen and I took the intermediate class instead of beginners, because they always just teach the first few steps, and I had so much fun! I danced with probably 4 or 5 different guys because with each new step, we switched it up! Some were much nicer than others, and some were much better than others, but I had such a good time at this class. It definitely tells me that I need to make a weekly thing again and I can't skip a few weeks like I'd been doing. But I invited my new friend (from International Night at Belgrano) too, but as a typical porteño, he didn't show up on time. He just waited until after the class, and we got in his car (don't worry - it was safe! 4 against 2, haha) and went to find a restaurant because I hadn't eaten much and just really needed a meal in my stomach. Jen and I really wanted to find this Mexican restaurant that we had gone to once with this AMAZING ice cream, but couldn't. Instead we ended up at this smaller "Mexican" restaurant, and I loved it. Haha. I think it's probably that we were all just being a little bit crazy, but I seriously had a good time. And I talked to our waiter after because he wanted to know where we were from, and he's from Colombia, so we talked about the difference in food and accents in language really briefly. It made me feel pretty good about my Spanish that I was comfortable talking to him - probably because he already knew that I was a foreigner here to learn Spanish, but it's experiences like that which will make my trip more enjoyable and worthwhile (especially when I come back and I rock out my Spanish at our Americanized Mexican restaurants or can use to volunteer around Columbia, SC with the Hispanic community).
After that we headed to a club that was "nearby," lies! Haha. We went to a club that's actually only 4 blocks from my homestay, and I was really shocked because I didn't think there was much outside of some bars and a lot of nice restaurants near where I lived. Anyway, this club was SO awesome. It was really nothing special, but it was full of Argentines and we were the only foreigners there! All the other places I've been have been FILLED with foreigners, so this was a more legitimate Argentine experience. It was also funny because we ended up kind of crashing a group who was celebrating a girl's birthday, and after singing to her in Spanish, we sang to her in English and she got to dance on a table an entire second time! Haha. I think she enjoyed that. But I also met a bunch of guys who thought I was just from a different city in Argentina (woo for blending in!) and when I told them I was from the USA it took them a few minutes to believe me. But after that they were all excited and wanted to talk about the US and Argentina. One of the kids had really good English and told me he didn't study it, but he really likes movies, so he learns it by watching movies. I was impressed. Anyway, these guys seemed to really enjoy my presence because anytime that I was near them they would shout (quite loudly) "¡¡CAROLINAAA!!" Haha. It was awesome.
I didn't leave the club until 5:30 and everyone was still going, except us - poor Americans! I was quite exhausted from my Argentine night, and I got home, and fell fast asleep. I woke up this morning smelling like an ashtray, of course, but things could have been worse. Now I'm going to go listen to my new favorite song (Mi Niña Bonita by Chino & Nacho, they played it at the club along with YMCA, Like a Virgin, and other odd assortments of American favorites. Including Argentina's favorite American song.. "I've Got a Feeling" by the Black Eyes Peas. Haha, it came on and everyone cheered).
Really. Homework time!
Chau chau! Besos!
P.S. Less than 100 days until I come home. :( / :) I'm sure you all understand the mood swing thing...
Haha, I know I just recently updated, but I wanted to let everyone know that I've now had my BEST day in Argentina. So far.
Yesterday was quite simple, I hung around my house, read, ate, got a new roommate, la la la. And I planned to go to tango with Jen, her new roommate Roxanne, and another CEA student, Michelle. Roxanne and Michelle are SO cool, and I think that they are already having a good time in Argentina, and I'm so happy that they've joined us for activities in these first few days.
Anyway, we went to a tango class. Jen and I took the intermediate class instead of beginners, because they always just teach the first few steps, and I had so much fun! I danced with probably 4 or 5 different guys because with each new step, we switched it up! Some were much nicer than others, and some were much better than others, but I had such a good time at this class. It definitely tells me that I need to make a weekly thing again and I can't skip a few weeks like I'd been doing. But I invited my new friend (from International Night at Belgrano) too, but as a typical porteño, he didn't show up on time. He just waited until after the class, and we got in his car (don't worry - it was safe! 4 against 2, haha) and went to find a restaurant because I hadn't eaten much and just really needed a meal in my stomach. Jen and I really wanted to find this Mexican restaurant that we had gone to once with this AMAZING ice cream, but couldn't. Instead we ended up at this smaller "Mexican" restaurant, and I loved it. Haha. I think it's probably that we were all just being a little bit crazy, but I seriously had a good time. And I talked to our waiter after because he wanted to know where we were from, and he's from Colombia, so we talked about the difference in food and accents in language really briefly. It made me feel pretty good about my Spanish that I was comfortable talking to him - probably because he already knew that I was a foreigner here to learn Spanish, but it's experiences like that which will make my trip more enjoyable and worthwhile (especially when I come back and I rock out my Spanish at our Americanized Mexican restaurants or can use to volunteer around Columbia, SC with the Hispanic community).
After that we headed to a club that was "nearby," lies! Haha. We went to a club that's actually only 4 blocks from my homestay, and I was really shocked because I didn't think there was much outside of some bars and a lot of nice restaurants near where I lived. Anyway, this club was SO awesome. It was really nothing special, but it was full of Argentines and we were the only foreigners there! All the other places I've been have been FILLED with foreigners, so this was a more legitimate Argentine experience. It was also funny because we ended up kind of crashing a group who was celebrating a girl's birthday, and after singing to her in Spanish, we sang to her in English and she got to dance on a table an entire second time! Haha. I think she enjoyed that. But I also met a bunch of guys who thought I was just from a different city in Argentina (woo for blending in!) and when I told them I was from the USA it took them a few minutes to believe me. But after that they were all excited and wanted to talk about the US and Argentina. One of the kids had really good English and told me he didn't study it, but he really likes movies, so he learns it by watching movies. I was impressed. Anyway, these guys seemed to really enjoy my presence because anytime that I was near them they would shout (quite loudly) "¡¡CAROLINAAA!!" Haha. It was awesome.
I didn't leave the club until 5:30 and everyone was still going, except us - poor Americans! I was quite exhausted from my Argentine night, and I got home, and fell fast asleep. I woke up this morning smelling like an ashtray, of course, but things could have been worse. Now I'm going to go listen to my new favorite song (Mi Niña Bonita by Chino & Nacho, they played it at the club along with YMCA, Like a Virgin, and other odd assortments of American favorites. Including Argentina's favorite American song.. "I've Got a Feeling" by the Black Eyes Peas. Haha, it came on and everyone cheered).
Really. Homework time!
Chau chau! Besos!
P.S. Less than 100 days until I come home. :( / :) I'm sure you all understand the mood swing thing...
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