Don't Cry For Me Argentina....Even Though I Know You'll Miss Me :)

*Written July 23^rd 2011.  My last night in Argentina.  Some awesome experiences that I never took the time to publish.  Crazy what a different life I was living so recently! (if you're only going to read part, at least read about Un Techo Para Mi Pais) =D

“Hello world!  This is will be my last post in Argentina.  Tonight is my last night in Argentina, as terrifying as that is.  Tomorrow night I fly out to the U.S. and have almost a week there before heading off to Spain for 3 ½ weeks. 

Right now I am definitely feeling bombarded with emotions.  I know that I have a lot ahead of me.  I still have to go home and see everyone, and then whisp off to Spain and then straight to moving into my apt. in Mt Pleasant after classes have already started for the semester.  I’m trying not to freak out and I’m just taking this one day at a time, trying to enjoy it tranquilo. 

Since my trip to Salta and then Iguazu [read last post.  It’s worth it!!!], I have had just 3 weeks here in the city.  During this time, I have spent it trying to cram in a lot and take advantage of my life here. 

Un Techo Para Mi Pais (building houses in poor barrios)

 I went back to one of the barrios in the province (outside La Capital, the actual city limits) where I had volunteered building houses with the organization “Un Techo Para Mi Pais” or “A Roof for my Country”.  I don’t think I had really written too much about my experience there during my weekend of construction, so I’ll give a quick summary now. 

I showed up one night to some military place with 2,500 other volunteers.  I didn’t know a single person and was really intimidated.  I am now SOO glad that I had pushed myself out of my comfort zone, because those were some of my best 4 days here in South America. 

We slept very few hours a night on the floor, I was in a group with 3 other volunteers, and we built a house for the family - an incredible woman named Angeles who has 3 sons (the youngest 2 yrs old).  They were living in a "house" with dirt floors, no bathroom or running water, with gaps so wide between the boards of the walls and roof that rain and wind would enter.  These are their conditions every single day, even in the cold of winter.  The house we built is a very small 1-roomed house.  And still, it has no running water, kitchen, or bathroom.  One of the families that I had worked with has 13 kids.  Even though the houses don’t have carpet and are rather simple, the families are oh so grateful for their new home.   Angeles (the mom) showed her gratitud to us by serving mate without mercy for about 14 hours a day.  I think it was the only thing that she could think of to thank us.  By the end of the 4^th day, I had zero feeling in my burnt tongue.  :)  After the days of construction were done, I was able to take the train home.  My host mom took one look at me covered from head to toe in mud and saw dust and said, "oh poor thing you are!"  Yet this really opened my eyes.  I was able to shower and sleep in a bed that night.  That little boy right this minute still has no bed to sleep in.  

Not only did I have fun and learn a lot of Spanish, but I was slapped in the face of how blessed I am (more like "spoiled"), how much "stuff" I have and don't need, and I now understand a new level of gratefulness.  We just take so much for granted.

Also, I know for a fact that there are countries that I don't know exist.  However, it was humbling to meet kids who had never heard of the United States and didn't even know it was a country.

Anyways, so almost every Saturday I had been going with this organization to a different poor barrio to volunteer and talk with the people about their family, income, education, and health, to see who is in the most need of a home.  Then, this weekend of actually constructing was maybe about a month or two ago.  Last week, it was the Birthday of the mom (Angeles) so I went back and brought cake and spent a beautiful day outside of the city in her new little house that actually has walls and a roof so the rain and wind stay out and finally a floor that is not made of mud.   We gave her a little book with pictures we had taken during construction.  She could not have loved it more because they were the only pictures now that she has of her sons.  I can't tell you how many albums capturing my childhood we have in my basement.  Long story short – an incredible growing experience for me.

Cottolengo (volunteered at home for women with mental disabilities),

Since my trip to Salta and Iguazu Falls, I also went back to Cotolengo with friends that I met through San Benito, the Catholic Church here.  This is a home where women with different disabilities live and are taken care of by nuns.  I went to chat, sing songs, dance, and hang out.  Loved it and it made me miss Camp Huntington, in New York even more.

Exams

Also in my few weeks here since the trip I have had two final exams – my two classes with Argentines.  The University system here is set up where your entire grade is based off of a written midterm and a 30 minute oral exam where you sit in front of all the professors and they can ask you whichever question they desire.  My sociology class was most definitely the hardest class I’ve taken in my life.  Learning about the concepts of Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Hegel, Comte, and Spencer aren’t exactly easy in English.  Taught in Spanish was another world for me, especially in a class where everyone else already knows the language.  And they had assumed that it is common sense to know everything about European history.  I felt very ignorant at times, but in the U.S. [at least in my experience] I hadn’t learned hardly anything about these concepts, even though I have already taken Sociology at CMU.  That is one rather big cultural difference I have noticed.  Our educational system puts so much extra focus on our own history, and less of the world’s.  On my exam I got a 5 out of 10.  Which sounds horrible, but it transfers as a B-.  I passed!!!

In my Social Psychology class, I am the only foreigner.  The class is set up the same way.  I studied my butt of and got an 8 which transfers as an A-!!! 

Leaving my “Home of 6 months”

I have spent some time here just spending time talking with Silvia and Nelly and Silvia’s daughter Ceci just enjoying their company while it lasts.  I have been so blessed to live here.  I have gotten really really close with them and leaving them is a topic that I’m not even going to talk about.

I have just spent the rest of my time running around the city cramming in last minute experiences and saying goodbye to many people.  I am feeling pretty numb from goodbyes.  It is really hard to leave my life here.  I'm not just here on vacation.  After 6 months I have friends.  I have a family.  I have a home.  I have brought my clothes to same laundry lady for 27 weeks straight!  I have so many of the bus and subway routes memorized.  I have experienced SO SO much during my 6 months here.  Some days were really really hard.  I definitely struggled as each day had its challenges (especially in the beginning).  But my goal was to get through each day so that by the end I could pull a Legally Blonde and say, “I DID IT!!!”.  And in the process, I’ve learned to love it here and while looking back to my time here in February, I think it’s definitely safe to say I’ve changed as well. 

Tomorrow I leave and it is quite a bittersweet thing.  So, yes I am terribly sad to leave.  Yes I am rather excited to go home.  But more than anything I am afraid go home.  Culture shock, a different life, and mixed emotions, here we come!!!

From the Land of the Llamas to the Rainforest of the Toucan birds..... Salta/Jujuy to Iguazu Falls to Buenos Aires!

So for eleven days I peaced out of Buenos Aires and went on a grand adventure that was well needed.  First, I went to the desert-land of Salta and Jujuy in the very northwestern tip of Argentina (close to Bolivia) and then I took a bus over to the Cataratas de Iguazu (Iguazu Falls right on the boarder of Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina). 

I’ll try my best to describe the trip, but really neither words nor pictures will do justice.

I spent the first 6 days of the trip with my friend Emily. 

First, I spent 22 hrs on a bus.  I made friends with a couple ladies that sat near me on the bus.  One of these ladies, not only did I heard all about her son and see pictures of her nephews and grandchildren, but I can also tell you what she had for lunch last Tuesday and her social security number.  [if social security numbers actually even existed here haha.  …at least I think they don’t...] 

So 22 hrs later we arrived Saturday afternoon to Salta, Argentina.  Being in Salta gave me a great desire to grow dredlocks.  A man approached us at the bus station and offered us a cheap hostel.  I actually really really loved my experience at this hostel!  It definitely wasn’t a five star hotel, but I had the opportunity to meet people from ALL OVER THE WORLD!  I made friends from France, Dubois, Israel, Germany, Armenia, you name it!  All week I had a blast just talking to different people, learning what it’s like where they’re from.  Most of these travelers could speak at least 3-5 languages fluently.  I felt really ignorant and stupid not knowing much about their countries and only knowing 2 languages.  I was really impressed.  We’d sit in the kitchen with a bottle of regional wine and talk until all hours of the night swapping stories and switching languages.  So long story short – It was fun!  If my career in social work is a flop, I’m working at a hostel for the rest of my life – it’s been decided. 

The climate here was HOLY COLD!!! BRRRR BRRR BRRR.  Especially at night.  I bought more sweaters made of llamas…with pictures of llamas on it…and gloves made of llama…with pictures of llamas….and a hat made of llama…with pictures of llamas…you get the point J  “me llamo llama”.  Yes that was a dumb joke.  Yet, it was the desert so mainly just really cold in the morning and at night.  Yet, standing in the sun, at one point I wore a tank top…

During the week, I woke up at 6 a.m. three days for different excursions. 

1)      The first was Calfayate.  For these excursions, we sit in a bus most of the day and continuously jump out and hop in to take fotos and sightsee.  The mountains were ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!  Talk about desert!  I felt like I was in a movie.  Millions of giant cacti just covering the mountains almost as far as you can see.  I can’t tell you how many times the bus had to stop for wild llamas, alpacas, goats, sheep, cows, or bulls to cross.  I pet a llama!  And I ate llama!  (I don’t really like meat, but it was actually really really good!  Like really tender steak.)  This day, we also stopped at a vineyard and did some wine testing.  And I rode a bicycle built for 3!

2)      The second excursion was to Las Salinas (or salt flats).  These were INCREDIBLE.  They are huge, completely flat areas in a valley between the mountains.  There were a few strips of bright blue water, but mostly solid white.  It looked like snow, but don’t be fooled!  I was.  Until I licked the ground.  Definitley salt.  Actually, it looked like giant 2ft cells or dry snake scales.  I bought a salt figure in the shape of a llama from a man on the side of the road.

3)      Third excursion was to Humahuaca.  Another mountain-filled journey.  There is one spot where the rock literally has 7 colors.  I saw a man pretty much work a miracle as he sculpted pots in every shape possible.  Also, I went a place that was a little town of rocks on the side of a mountain set up to look like how the indigenous towns had been.  Red and cactuses for as far as you could see.

Also, we stopped in many tiny towns in the mountains that have a culture unlike any place I have been.  The buildings and streets were all pretty much a tannish color – like dust.  Friendly country folk with a much more relaxed pace of life.  Quite the opposite of Buenos Aires.  I feel like Buenos Aires has a certain flair, but then once you leave the huge city it’s like a different world.  The rest of the country is pretty much countryland. 

·         Next day: Hiked up 1,070 stairs to a lookout point to see the whole city of Salta.  Emily had flirted a little with the tour guide the day before and so today he came with us and could give us random facts, which was fun.  Then, Emily and I took a colectivo outside the city to do some hiking through the greenery.  Finally through green!  We saw wild bulls, cows, and goats. 

I’ve decided that my future husband better really like backpacking and mountains and hiking.  If he’s in a wheelchair, he has to at least let me push him up a path. 

·         I went to a museum where I saw two mummy children that were human sacrifices 500 yrs ago by the Incan tribes.  It was so real! My heart had never beat so fast. 

IGUAZU, Missiones!!!!  (Northeastern tip of Argentina at the boarder of Brazil and Paraguay).  I had been planning on just going alone since one of my friends from Bs As had backed out, but thankfully I had met a guy at the hostel from Australia who decided to go too.  So we bought our bus tickets, and an hour later took off for another 24 hr bus ride. 

We spent an entire day at the National Park.  Rainforest!  Waterfall after waterfall.  Random fact: This is the biggest waterfall in the world [in terms of width.  It’s about 2 miles long].  The amount of water was just unreal.  So powerful!  Words do not describe.  Pictures do not describe.  Not having a camera wasn’t even bad because it forced me to just soak it all up with my own eyes!  If you’re curious and/or bored, maybe it would be a good idea to google image these places….  Seriously do it! 

This day at the park we saw a wild otter and a bunch of racoonish looking creatures which don’t exist in North America.  Normally you can see hundreds of rainbows, but sadly the day we went the sun wasn't out at all so we didn't.

My friend from Australia left early Sunday morning, so I then I was alone in Iguazu for my last day.  It turned out to be actually one of my favorite days.  I spent a while trying to find the lookout point where you can see Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina all at the same time.  I wandered around some random country roads with just me and my backpack, saw a couple donkeys, and then after asking for directions a few times finally found the spot.  Cool to see!  Then, I had still another 4 hours to kill before my bus back to Bs As so I approached an empty colectivo and started talking to the bus driver and explained that I wanted to see a toucan bird.  He told me to come with him.  He took me to a wild life reserve.  It was just outdoors in the trees and I saw toucan birds, monkeys, and then some endangered species animals – one of which looked like a giant ostrich.  It was like an ostrich, except without the long neck.  And without the long legs.  So actually not so much like an ostrich.  Just a fat bird I guess…  It was almost a private little tour through the jungle.  We road on a tractor.  I like tractors.  There were just 2 other small families.  They looked at me as if I’m lame and pathetic and without friends as they repeated 8 times, “you’re alone?” haha  I didn’t care because I saw a toucan bird and a monkey. 

Small world coincidences:  a guy from Barcelona that I had met at the next hostel was on my same bus back to Bs As.  And a woman from Turkey that I had met in Salta (24 hrs away) was on my bus from Iguazu to Bs As also!  Crazy small world we live in.

18 hr bus ride later.  I passed through Retiro tired and alone and with all my crap and I wasn’t robbed!  I had my death face on.  Yay for not being robbed!

I find it so Crazy to go from the desert/llama/cactus land ----à to the green rainforest of Iguazu with the world’s widest waterfall ----à back to a huge busy South American city with a European twist filled with billboards, taxis, subways, colectivos and colorful graffiti.  I think soon my brain might explode due to culture shock!  (especially after I’m in North Dorr, Michigan in 2 weeks and then Madrid, Spain the following week!)  However, I find it really impressive that you can have such a variety of different environments all within the same country. 

Now my time left in the city is very very scarily short!  16 days to be exact.  Two of my classes are done.  I got straight As in both.  Two more exams left – one next week and the other the following.  The exams I lack are my two classes with Argentines so wish me luck! 

Argentinean Adventures - Winter Wonderland of June

I’m back!  Okay so I know these posts are annoyingly long.  I will try my 100% best to keep it short, to the point, and only share highlights.  Don’t yell at me if I’m wrong, I tend to fail a lot in life.

**Outdated.  This was all written a week ago:

Classes=   I have 4.  Two with all Argentines and two with people from all over the world, yet still taught in Spanish.  The whole University system feels completely different to me.  It’s like a different world.  The whole grade is based off of a midterm and a final.  So much pressure!  ONLY ONE MORE WEEK OF CLASSES!!!!  And then 2 Finals for my classes with Argentines on random days in July, so that we have a month to study for them.

Life = 100% super busy.  Each day.  I’m definitely making the best of each day of my 6 months here, although it’s hard to keep track of what I do…

For example one day:

Class

Rented a bicycle to ride in the ecological reserve.  THERE WERE FIELDS!  Beautiful.  I felt a little at home. 

Then, I went to another museum by myself.  Yes, I am an old retired woman. 

Went to the huge cathedral by Plaza de Mayo.   

Saw a Socialist Demonstration in Plaza De Mayo.  Loud drums and yelling and flags…

Spent the evening talking politics with Siliva (host mom) which is always super interesting.  I’m learning more about politics, economics, and the history of both South America and Europe more than I could have ever guessed.

I’ve been doing a lot of things with the groups of Jovenes (young people) at San Benito (the Catholic Church that I attend).  

COTTOLENGO!!!  I took the train to Tigre to volunteer at Cottolengo, which is a place for women to live who have different disabilities and can’t live on their own.  It is a house run by nuns.  Oh my gosh- I can’t even describe!!! It was marvelous.  You walk in the door and these women don’t even know your name, but after 3 seconds they just embrace you and cling to you as if you’re their best friend without letting go.  We just hung out: danced, sang songs, games, hoola hooped… I felt like I was right back at Camp Huntington in New York where I belong!  I was LOVING it.  Even though I felt a little stupid because of the language barrier and a little bummed I couldn’t sing the songs because I didn’t know the words, I tried to teach everyone the Chicken Dance because it’s the only song with motions that I know where it’s not necessary to know English.  I am so grateful for the opportunity to have gone there!  Then, we prayed in the chapel and left to sit in the sunshine and have a picnic by the river.  I want to go back and am bummed that I won’t be here this weekend to go again.  Because………………..!!!!!!!!!!!!

UN TECHO PARA MI PAIS!!!!!!! [A roof for my country].  This is an organization that I found that builds homes for barrios living in poverty.  I only heard about it from people on the street outside my Universtiy passing out flyers on the sidewalk.  I’ve been going every Saturday this month.  This was a “holy cow” type of experience.  !  Typing an explanation here won’t even begin to do justice.  I don’t even mind now getting up at 6:30 every Saturday to go, now that I’ve seen the conditions in which some families live.  What an incredible experience! 

I was super nervous beforehand that first week.  I was afraid they’d say, “Your Spanish sucks, you can’t help anyways, so why are you here?”  I awkwardly approached the group that met by the bus stop, then jumped on a bus with them and we went! - almost an hour on the expressway, outside of the city of Buenos Aires.

I thought it’d be similar to Habitat for Humanity – boy was I mistaken!!!  The houses that the organization builds are let’s just say quite simple.  One rectangular room, all wood, elevated on 15 stubs with metal sheet roofs.  The homes are not much bigger than my bedroom.  I have seen families with 13 people (11 kids) living inside.  And they are so grateful for their new home. 

“Detection” is what I’ve been doing so far, where we split into groups of 2 or 3 and walk around to interview families – more or less to talk with them.  Two things:  1) talk with different families to evaluate their necessity of a home and if they qualify (their economic situation, health, etc).  Some need assistance more than others.  2) We talk with families that already have a home constructed by the organization to see if there are problems with it (rain coming in for example is pretty common.  Another house was almost split in two).  I’m already starting to see some of the same families week after week, going back.  3) Also, to collect money.  The family pays for 10% of the house so that they are not gifts, but rather the family can say that it is theirs and they worked for it.

This is a great thing for me.  I was terrified the first week, but am so glad I went.  I feel stupid at times (with my language) but I just tell myself I don’t care if they judge me because I’m leaving next month anyways.  My majors are Spanish and Social Work.  This experience is quite ideal I would say and I’m learning loads – leaving the city and seeing other barrios and other lifestyles.  These are neigborhoods in the country with many families with practically nothing. 

I signed up to go for a full Friday – Monday night CONSTRUCTION WEEKEND.  I don’t know anybody.  I have no idea what barrio I’ll be in or where I’m sleeping or eating.  But I’m going!  I’m just going to study construction vocab before I go [like hammer, saw, board, duck!].  I just picture, “oh Karen, hold that board or else the house will fall down on the children” and I’ll be like “huh? Que? No entiendo!”  And then I’ll ruin everything and they’ll make me go home, no big deal.  I leave in an hour.  WISH ME LUCK! J

One night I went to the birthday party at the apartment of a friend from San Benito that I met here.  A lot of dancing and a lot of fun!  Very different than parties in the U.S!  The dancing for one is a lot more fun here, in my opinion.  There were some crazy jumping and yelling parts that I was a bit lost at, but it was a really really fun night.

HIPODROMO en San Isidro!!!!!!!!!!!!!  This is where they race horses. 

• There was folklore dancing outside by young kids what was super impressive!  I was submersed into so many cultural things this day!  Then, I finally ate MEXICAN FOOD! A meat taco and taco chips and guacamole!!!!!!! First time in 5 months.  [Argentina’s food is quite opposite of Mexican food.  Never spicy].  And sat on a hay bale.  I like hay.  HORSE RACING! It was the first horse race I had ever been.  I felt like I was in the movie Pretty Woman. 
• Inside the building, the environment was like a different world.  Everyone was sitting around in front of the screens, drinking, making bets... chaotic, crazy, and a ton of fun! 

·         On the dirt track outside, there was a show with folkoric traditional dancing, tango dancers, milegna dancers, and gaucho dancers.  The best was the gauchos that did ridiculously crazy tricks on horses!  Seriously, it was awesome.  As a horse was running, a man would jump from one side of the horse to the other, without sitting on top at all!  Can’t describe.  Awesome.

Went back to San Telmo, the street fair with the hundreds of sellers of their hand-made artsy stuff.  Many souvenigers and gifts! 

I go to the gym.  I take a dance class with old ladies and the man that yells “Foxy! Sexy!”  We get our groove on.

Saturdays after Un Techo Para Mi Pais I try to go to the Jovenes en Accion group at the church.

One random day after mass, for the priest’s birthday there was a celebration/event downstairs for him.  Downstairs there was a whole scene set up when we walked in with leaves and old fashioned stuff and a back drop of an old store.  It was a play!  About 10 adults from the church put on a play wearing gaucho clothes, and did folklore dancing!  I never know what’s going on in my life.  I just show up to things…

I’ve decided I want to be an actor on the subway. 

My mood a lot of times depends on my Spanish.  Some days, I feel like I understand almost everything, and I’m on top of the world.  Then I buy alfajores to celebrate J  Other days I feel almost embarrassed to say that I’ve been here 5 months already, and still can’t talk. 

HILLSONG CONCERT!!!! J  & Lily Goodman.  I hadn’t even heard of her until that night, but incredible voice!!!  Look her up.  Three hours of all in Spanish.  I LOVED it.  Hillsong is from Australia and they sing in English, but you couldn’t even hear them singing because the thousands of people in the crowd that knew the versions to every song in Castellano and overpowered the band!!!  The two languages at the same time was incredibly powerful!  I understood every word of both languages, and could sing changing languages every 2 words!  Then we took a taxi home. 

(This night was after a few hours of sleep, out of the house from 7:30am till 3:30 am.  My days are becoming longer and longer and I sleep less and less, trying to cram in everything that I can before I have to leave!…)

Another day: Thursday. 

woke up at 7 to take subway to Catedral.  Picked up fingerprints for Megan's visa.  Went to theatre colon so I could buy a ticket for a tour next Monday.  Ate café con leche y 2 medialunas.  Homework and subte back to class.    Left for  SALSA CLASS! with Megan.  [Here’s where the day starts to get exciting.....] 

Walking 7 blocks from my house, there on the sidewalk stands RICKY MARTIN.  No big deal.  I touched his hair.  Some days I reeeally wish I had a camera!  But nope.  Cuz robbers are super.  When I reached my hand out to touch his hair, a girl looked at me like I was a freak and/or rude.  Eh? Perhaps I’m both J  But: can YOU say you touched the hair of Ricky Martin on the sidewalk a few blocks from your house while walking to Salsa Dance Lessons?  That’s what I thought.  Haha  It something that I’m safe to say doesn’t happen every day in North Dorr or Mt. Pleasant.  And yes.  His hair was connected to his body. 

Salsa dancing:  Love it.  Always.  I went to a new place.  Less creepy men here.

At midnight went to dinner, veggie milanesa and liquado. 

Then 2 different bars!  Oh what a night! 

That’s an example of a Thursday.    Megan and I tend to be together from 7 am until 3 am (almost fact.).  Sleep is not a necessity.

Vigil of the Pentecost:  This was a service waaayyy more fun than I had been expecting.  After a chat, music, video, the eating of alfajores, a drama, and a thing with candles to show how love spreads, there was a giant bonfire outside on the patio where a palm tree was burnt.  Everyone started running around in circles singing and yelling and running into each other.  It was almost a bit terrifying – funny and scary.  I had no idea what was going on.  Welcome to my life.  Then, we sang little kids camp songs.  When it ended at 1:00 a.m., a group of 30 of us went to Burger King for dinner (because they seriously eat dinner a million hours after they should).  On the way to Burger King, we walked down the street singing and dancing with tambourines.  When we got there, everyone was chanting something and singing Happy Birthday, even though it was no one’s Birthday?  I thought we would get kicked out for being too obnoxious, but really everyone else just joined in.  What an energy!  I am so thankful to have met these friends here. 

Funny Story:  So of course the church is literally 3 blocks from my house and took me over 50 minutes to get there because I am stupid and even though I’ve lived here 5 months already, I apparently forgot how to use my Guia-T (book of maps and bus routes).  It is 3 blocks from my apartment and I got lost.  I wandered around the streets for over 50 mintues in the opposite direction in the dark and asking random people for directions.  Trying to wear heels was a bad idea.   

Guided tour at Teatro Colon.  What a beautiful theatre!  It has the 5^th best acoustics in the world.  Then, the following night I went to see an orchestra /opera show there.  Superb!   Our cheap tickets were standing on the very top- 7^th floor.  However while standing and looking down and seeing all the gold and red, I remember thinking, “this is another one of those moments I want to remember!’  I would love that view from my bedroom.  Not as good as nature, but still impressive.

One night I sat watching like 10 “Pure Michigan” Youtube videos.  A little pathetically nostalgic, I know. 

I’m really gonna miss my dog here.  She climbs up on my bed with me J  She’s pretty much on drugs when it rains.  She won’t leave the bathtub. 

My life I do many things very differently than 5 months ago:

I’ve learned that “on time” means show up 45 minutes late.  It’s okay for professors to use cell phones in class.  I’m now numb to little kids asking me for money.  I’ve learned how to cross streets.  I’m no longer weirded out by people setting socks on my lap on the subway.  I am safe to say that my touristy feeling wore off a long time ago.  English is getting harder and harder to speak.  I would mess up phrases and mix words even before I came here.  Now, both languages are a nightmare.  I can finally talk with my host mom without stumbling through every sentence!  I’ve learned a little how to cook.  I’ve learned to dance salsa.  Not such a fan of tango.  Now I’m planning a trip to Salta and then Iguazu Falls ( the huge waterfall where Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay touch)!  Right now I can’t find anyone who wants to go to Iguazu with me so I think I might go solo.  Looking into hostels and bus tickets.  Three full days on a bus should be superb!  Can’t wait!!! I leave this Friday. 

Welcome to the past month of life... Palm trees and winter jackets...

So I have not updated since Easter.  WHOOPSIE DAISIES!  Now there is so much to say, I apologize again for the length.  If you have a life, feel free to go live it.  If not and you’re sitting on facebook or stumbleupon, feel free to read on - - -enjoy! 

After spraining my ankle, I was told to “take it easy” for a while.  Unfortunately, my personality .doesn‘t allow myself to do that without anxiety.  I can never sit still.  True, I opted to not run a marathon afterwards (I didn’t do that when I felt fine either), but I didn’t exactly sit on my butt with my foot in the air.  I started doing stuff.  This blog post will summarize my month of doing stuff. 

Ankle:   Living in a city this huge when you can’t walk is a challenge.  Lie.  It’s impossible.  Transportation is impossible.  I couldn’t take the subway because it requires going down a flight of stairs to enter and up a flight to exit.  I tried taking colectivos a few times, but in order to get off you have to jump down about 2 feet.  This jump is no problem to any normal person, but for me, clearly I forgot my foot was the size of Texas and I leaped off in a hurry as the colectivo started to take off again.  Let’s just say I didn’t help the healing process.  So, eventually I gave in and sat on my couch eating dulce de leche.  J It’s a rough life we live.

It’s autumn here, it has been for the past month.  I find it rather odd and mis-fitting to watch the leaves turn yellow, then orange, and fall to the ground.  Fall here lacks pumpkins, apple cider, doughnuts, and Halloween.  It’s just a weird/unexplainable feeling.  I’m walking, crunching on the leaves, underneath a palm tree.  Bizarre!

Nelly, my host Grandma who lives next door on my floor (we have dinner at her apartment every night) went to Australia for 3 weeks.  During this time, I spent more time getting to know Silvia (my host mom) and her daughters which was great.  I am feeling more and more comfortable living here and I love it.

I spend less time trying to cram in as much as I can.  Now, it’s more of just living here like a normal person, rather than a tourist.  I’m just living in the city and getting to know people of the city, rather than just getting to know the city itself.  Enjoying spending time with my host family too!  And I could be wrong, but I feel like my Spanish is getting much better.  :D

My random Observations:

·    Water is so expensive!  I’m used to it being free at restaurants in the U.S.  Here, ordering water at restaurants is often more expensive than beer.  And it’s never from a pitcher.  Or bottled water.  It’s in the green glass bottles.  Gosh sometimes I just want a swig, don’t get all fancy on me now! 

·    Carbonated water.  Is sick.  But they drink it.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made that mistake.  I’ll be parched and dying of thirst so I go to a kiosko or supermarcado to buy a big nice cold fresh bottle of nature’s finest.  Then, the bubbles hit and start eating my esophagus.  I’m not a fan.

·    PDA (Public Display of Affection) is brought to a whole new level here.  No one cares.  Make-out sha-bangs goin on all over.

·    I have a confession.  I am often SO tempted to eat off people’s plates while walking on the sidewalk by cafes or restaurants that have outdoor seating.  For example, people will order a café con leche and it is served with a cookie.  They drink their coffee but leave the cookie and leave.  Then I come along and you have NO idea how hard it is to resist the temptation to eat their left-over cookie… I mean I know that it’s 100% socially unacceptable to eat leftovers off the plates of strangers, but at the same time, this city is HUGE.  Nobody knows me.  Nobody will ever see me again.  You know what;  I probably won’t even get caught if I’m quick enough!  Yes.  These thoughts punch each other in my mind every day while I walk down Cabildo on my way to class. 

·    True fact: I bet if you totaled it up, there are more square feet of dog poop in this city than grass.

·    Going to the doctor is freakishly more common here.  After I sprained my ankle, of course I wasn’t going to go to the doctor.  It was a sprain.  I wasn’t dying.  However my host family, history professor, friends here, people at church…everyone told me that I’m an idiot for not going to the hospital.  Now, I realize that hospitals here are free!!!  (Public Universities too).  Crazy.

·    I’m getting better at using Celcius and kilos.  I am definitely coming home with a few extra kilos cushioning my belly.

·    Dogs.  There’s a ridiculously unreal amount of dogs in this city.  Streets are flooding with them.  Both strays and with owners.  But dog-walkers= a concept that I just don’t understand.  Each dog-walker has sometimes over 10 dogs to one walker!  What kind of ratio is that!  There’s hardly enough room for the dogs to fit just standing within leash span, let alone walk or move!  I LOVE dogs, but that’s a job I don’t think I could ever do.  They fight with the stray dogs, pee on your feet, run,… it’s all a bit overwhelming to me.  I get stressed out watching.

·    One thing I have definitely taken note of here is how it seems everyone values family so much.  It seems like it's moreso than in the states.  When meeting someone new, that is always one of the first questions they ask me – If I have any siblings.  Also, for example, Silvia lives right next door (practically with) her mom.  Her daughters are older and don’t live here, but they come over maybe 5 nights out of the week to visit and have dinner or just mate or tea or coffee during the day.  Her brother and niece come over and join us for dinner often as well.  I have been blessed with a family here that is really close (and really welcoming).  I am guessing that part of this reason that families here are so close is because most "kids" live at home until they are much older.  In the U.S., most kids move out at 18 to go to college because the University is a campus rather than a building of classes.  Just different.

·    Once in a while people finally mistake me for an Argentine!  People always talk to me, assuming I’m from here.  If I stay silent for a while they don’t even know!...until I utter a sound haha.  However do do feel pretty cool when people who are from here ask me for directions and I actually know how to give them!
    

Things I’ve been up to:

After a looooooooong and horrible process, I FINALLY HAVE MY STUDENT VISA!!!!!!!!!!!! That means that eventually I can come home J and go to Spain J.

I have joined 2 groups at a Catholic Church here, San Benito, which is about a 30 minute walk away.  One group is called Grupo Universitarios and the other is Jovenes en Accion [young people in action].  I am so blessed and have met some really great and fun people! 

Uruguay!!!!!!!!!!!  Oh yea, I went to Uruguay.  It was only a one-day trip, but it was superb and wonderful and an escape from the busy city which was exactly what I needed.  Transportation round trip cost $50 U.S!!  Awesome.  We took Boquebus – a bus on the water.  I don’t remember exactly, but it was maybe a 3 hour trip across the Rio de La Plata.  Paranoid that of course there wouldn’t be a bathroom on the boat, I made sure to go ahead of time.  HA!  I entered the boat to find that it literally had a mall!, shops, food, live music, etc.  So yes, it had a bathroom.  I loved getting to see the city of Buenos Aires from a distance too as we were pulling away.  Enormous.  Our destination was Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay.  It is a quaint and historical little pueblo right on the water.  A perfect day spent on the little quiet streets.  I went to play at a park in the morning [which was the coolest park of my life with play things that don’t exist in the U.S!  there was a giant maze, Mario-like tunnels, and these construction barrels to run through!  Actually, I can guarantee that this park would fail any safety regulations test.  Still fun!]  Then, I ran down to the beach to put my feet in the river- Ocean water!  That was a moment I remember just trying to absorb and wishing I had a camera here.  [I was reminded how huge and small the world is at the same time and how crazy it is that God controls it all!]  There were a couple small artisan street fairs with hand-made crafts.  Then, we climbed to the top of a light house with an incredible view of the pueblo and the water.   The whole day, I felt a little at home.  It was a small town and autumn so with yellow leaves – I felt like I was in Mount Pleasant with a Latin American twist. 

Friends from Peru – This month, I have hung out a few times with a group of 3 friends from Peru that I have met here.  They don’t know a single word of English.  They are the friends who invited me to their place for lunch on Easter!  Then, two of them had Birthdays the same week, so I was invited over again for more Peruvian food and cake!  Then, another time for a pijamada (sleepover!) with a few other friends from here as well.  We played Charadas (charades) and watched movies and ate cake!  One of the girls (who is 27, mind you) brought paint and a brush for the face of whoever fell asleep first.  I seriously haven’t done that in like 6 years, but I was loving it =D 

Then, there are the many people I have met from the Catholic Church.  A couple girls have invited me over for mate and I went to a surprise Birthday party too.  Everyone is super friendly and welcoming. 

Last Sunday, I spent the day with another girl I met there.  We walked with her dog to a BEAUTIFUL park (Bosque de Palermo) to sit on a blanket and drink mate talking.  Then we walked through the city for a few hours to a part I had never been.  Then, at her apartment she insisted that I try on her wedding dress!  So much fun.  However, I’m not gonna lie, when looked in the mirror, the thought of myself married terrified me!  Haha.  But I spent the whole day with this friend – she knows not a single word of English.

Cine!!! Since I have been here, I have gone to the movies 3 times.  It is only 20 pesos (5 bucks).  All cartoons in Spanish.  First I saw Hop.  It started at 11pm.  We were literally the only 3 people in the theatre.  At first I figured it was because all the kids who would normally see a movie such as Hop were in bed.  Then I remembered that I am in Argentina and they are probably all at home eating dinner still.  The movie was fabulous.  In English, the movie might have sucked, but from what I got of the jokes, it was a hoot.  The best part was being the only ones and getting to dance up on the stage in front of the screen during the credits.  I think we gave the guy up in the projection window a show.  Then, I saw Rio.  That was cool to see, just because it takes place here in South America.  After going to the Carnival in Gualyguachu I could relate a tiny bit, even though the movie had the real deal Carnival from Brasil.  Today, I just saw Winnie the Pooh en Castellano [Castellano is the dialect of Spanish spoken here in Argentina].  I had invited a friend from here to join and she brought a guy friend as well.  When she found out we were seeing Winnie the Pooh, she said she wanted to kill me.  I thought it was a joy.

I’ve seen a little bit more of the night life.  I went to Plaza Serrano with some friends – a little plaza surrounded with a bunch of bars and cute lights and such.  I think there’s something wrong with me;  I enjoyed the peanuts that they serve probably more than my drink.

Mini Concerts:  One night I went with 2 girls from my University to a tiny little hole-in-the-wall place (bar) with seating for about 8 people, yet 2 live bands.  People were packed in this tiny little room and there was art all over the walls.  Really cool place.  And people were sitting up on the roof drinking too.

General thoughts of my life here:

Living in the city is getting SO MUCH easier.  Many prayers have been answered.  Not only is my Spanish a lot better, but I know how to get around the city alone to wherever I might need to go.  That makes life SO much less stressful.  I know there’s still a million things that I still don’t know and I do wrong, but not gonna lie, sometimes I just look in the mirror and give myself a pat on the back.  I came here having zero knowledge of how to live in an enormous city and I’m managing pretty alright.  Each day has its own challenges and adventures.  Literally.  As much as I miss the cornfields some days, I wonder if once I return, if I will be soon bored of life there and will miss the challenges.  With each challenge each day, I learn loads.

As much as I love my friends here who are also exchange students, I am so blessed to have Porteno friends (from BsAs).  I get to practice my Spanish and see how people really live here, learning more about the culture.  I like how so many people here are so proud of their city/country.  The first half of my time here was spent getting to know the city.  Now, it’s more getting to know people in their normal, everyday life.  For example, I love even little things like the man who does maintenance in the building who sings in the stairwell while taking out the trash.  Or the lady at the laundry place who knows me because for the first 2 months I made her think that she lost the match of every single pair of socks I have.  And then there’s the friendly old ladies at the gym.  I feel like the city isn’t quite so big anymore.  I mean, it’s still huge, but I’m so much less overwhelmed.

Being in awkward situations.  I’m learning to not have anxiety and to not make a big deal dwelling over little things – mistakes.  If I wasn't an expert at looking stupid before, I sure am pro now! When I am confused and have no idea what's going on, I've learned to embrace it.

These weeks are seriously FLYING by!  I only have 2 MONTHS LEFT HERE IN ARGENTINA!  I probably wouldn't notice how fast these weeks just fly, but I am obliged to give that credit to Rebecca Black.  It's serioulsy how I keep tabs on the number of weeks that pass, I take note of the rush of facebook statuses screaming her name every seven days...

I have learned that EVERYTHING in life is based on perspective.  This can be taken a million different ways and I’m starting to learn all of them.  Anything that you think is “normal” or “socially acceptable” may only be true where you currently are and who you’re with.  Going to different places, your views on what is “normal” may change 180 degrees.  Same with Attitude.  It’s all about perspective.  The world will be exactly how you want to see it.  It all just depends on what you’re comparing it to.  For example, when I feel like I’m having a bad day, I compare it to the man who sleeps outside our building every night on the sidewalk.  Then I am reminded how blessed I am again.

“Travel often. Getting lost will help you find yourself.”

Okay, and I am stopping.  I have yet to write about this past week which has been ABSOLUTELY AMAZING and I have done crazy awesome things.  I will save those fun stories for my next entry because I have no time or energy to write about it now, so….

TUNE IN NEXT TIME TO HEAR LARRY SING……………. “Don’t cry for me Argentina…”  =D 

Wow.  If you actually read all that, you must reeeally love me! ;) Thanks.

Livin the Vida Loca! (Semana Santa. Things up until Easter)

Some cultural differences that I have observed:

(***Disclaimer:  I haven’t been here forever and these are just things that I have observed.  I don’t want to group the whole culture into categories and I could be way off.  Que se yo!  Haha what do I know!)

Lateness:  If you’re told that something is at 10:30, that means just any time before noon.  For example, the first week of classes, I arrived very early to my classes, with fear of being late.  After sitting there for 45 minutes being the only one in the room, I assumed I had the wrong floor, room, day, or year.  Then, one by one the classmates casually trickle on in.  After an hour sitting there like a nervous dork for over an hour, the professor finally meandered into the classroom and asked, “Are we missing people?”  “Oh they’re downstairs smoking still?”  “No big deal.  We’ll just wait.”  Crazy!   

This exact situation has happened in every one of my classes.  My classes with Argentines are the most ridiculous.  I don’t even see the need of showing up within the first hour, except to swipe my ID card for attendance.  Some days, I swipe my card for attendance and then go and grab myself some lunch and show up when I feel like it, knowing that class hasn’t started yet anyways.  I realize that part of the reason that they are just so laid back with time is because you pretty much have to be.  Some days you wait 50 minutes for a colectivo (bus) and some days you can just hop on.  Some days (many days) the subway and train stations are shut down because the people here apparently love to have strikes, demonstrations, and protests.  Churches for example, I was told that if it says it starts at 9, that means sometime within an hour and a half of the said time.  

The whole classroom dynamic is so different!  Literally every one of my professors have talked on their cell phone during class on several occasions.  In the middle of a lecture, a student will just say “I want coffee” and will get up and leave and come back 15 minutes later with café con leche.  And some students are just flat out rude to the professors.  I’m not used to seeing that in the U.S.  Not only disrespectful with the eye-rolling, but sometimes they just straight up argue with the profs and don’t hold back!  It’s hilarious.  Just today, a woman to the prof said, “I’m not even gonna tell you what I think about you” and he replied, “Well that’s fine I won’t speak of you either.  Instead, I will talk of Marx” and then continued on lecturing about Sociology. 

·         Crazy how expensive anything to do with technology is here!  I have a very very crappy phone here and I’m surprised how many argentines have the same one.  One argentine told me that it’s because it’s so likely to have your phone stolen that it’s best if it’s cheap.  Welp, seeing how after 3 months here I’m already on my phone #2, I can totally understand! 

·         You can buy illegal movies almost anywhere on the street.  Usually they just have like 80 movies in paper sleeves lying out on a blanket on the sidewalk every couple blocks.  If you go to a magazine stand and ask, they’ll whip out a cardboard box where you can purchase pretty much any movie (including ones before they’re in theaters) for $2.50 (U.S). 

·         The mate (pronounced “mah-te”) is a HUGE part of life here.  If you don’t know, it is a drink/event.  It’s in a cup made of what I always thought was wood, sometimes metal, but really I now think it’s a hollowed out gourd type thing(?) filled to the top with green herb shreddings inside that look like weed.  Also inside is a straw (usually metal, sometimes with fun designs) called a bombilla (“bom-bi-sha”).  It is filled with hot water.  They try to make the water as close to boiling as they can without it actually be boiling.  There are actually social rules to drinking mate.  It is passed around the group in a circle and between each person, is given back to the distributer to refill.  You are never supposed to touch the bombilla(straw).  When you don’t want any more, you say “gracias” when you hand it back to them.  I don't know, there are so many rules, I feel like I probably do it wrong, if that's possible.  Drinking mate is done all day.  Every Day.  In every location.  Seriously.  I have seen people in class, on the street, on buses, on the train, in their office, at the park, while driving, and of course at home.  Instead of a pop machine at the university or a junk food machine, there is a mate machine.  People always walk around with thermos in hand.  Even on hot summer days!  I really don’t understand it.  It’s even more popular en Uruguay.  When I went there, my friend described it as “the people had an indent in their hip where they always walked with their thermos under their arm”.  When someone invites you to share a mate, it means that you’re “in” or accepted.  A friend of mine even shared a mate with her bus driver!  Inviting someone over for mate is a really common social thing to do.  Almost every morning my host mom goes over to her mom’s to “tomar mate” with her mom and sometimes her daughters.  It tastes like tea.  Really bitter.  Most North Americans don’t like it unless it’s with sugar.  I love it!  One thing funny I heard is that if you don’t really like someone, you can offer them mate, but you make the water boiling and then they have to drink it to be polite J  Mate poop is everywhere.  This is what I call the left over herbs when you’re done re-filling and re-filling with water.  It is a common thing to find in bathroom sinks and trash cans.

·         I feel like smoking is 20x more common here.  I don’t know many people here at all who don’t smoke.  Everyone.  Sometimes, I feel like it’s a social disadvantage to not be a smoker here.  I stand awkwardly outside and am the only one that doesn’t have something to do with their hands.  [This is when I whip out my ancient phone which doesn’t text and pretend to text so the world doesn’t know I’m just standing with nothing better to do…].  Smoking is also part of the reasons why professors start class late and give us breaks half-way through.  Walking down the streets, I feel like half the people I pass are smoking.  This doesn’t come from a legit source, but my friend gave me her theory.  I was told that Argentina is the #1 place in the world for eating disorders.  I haven’t seen the statistic, but I would believe it.  Women everywhere are tall, tan, and stick thin.  My friend’s theory was that maybe instead of doing what I do and buy a bag of Oreos and/or Cheetos and eat my feelings when I’m stressed, here it’s more common to smoke to relieve your stress.  With the skinniness: I was also told that a big contributor to that is the fact that it is super hard to find clothes in larger sized here.  If you can’t fit into what they sell at all the little personally owned businesses, it’s much harder and more expensive to find clothes.  I really don’t understand how people are so skinny.  They have alfajores (2 soft cookies with dulce de leche in the middle dipped in chocolate) at kiosks every half a block!  At the rate I’m goin, they’re gonna have to roll me onto the plane and give me a whole row to myself when July comes around!  Part of the reason they stay so thin though, is because of the mate.  They drink it all day every day.  When their stomach is full of hot water, they’re less likely to snack on alfajores and empenandas like me. 

Many Many things I won’t miss about public transportation:   

·         When the subte is so packed that it takes longer at each stop to wait for the doors to shut because people’s body parts are always hanging out.  When you are squished from all sides between countless sweaty and smelly old men who are eyeing your purse.  When it’s really really hot.  When it’s really really hot and you can’t breathe.  Then, when the train is a little bit less full but you can’t reach the germ-filled metal bars so instead are just falling over and toppling into people.

·         When you have the exact amount of change to take a colectivo and the machine eats your monedas without registering it and you’re awkwardly standing there, short 10 centavos. 

·         When you accidentally get off the colectivos 15 blocks to early late at night.  (Or… when you are telling a friend stories about your favorite campers from Camp Huntington and get too into it and miss your stop… and then comes the many more blocks of walking…at night…on a sprained ankle.  [yea lesson learned]).

Many many things I won’t miss about public bathrooms: 

·         The fact that in many public places, toilet paper doesn’t exist. 

·         The fact that where toilet paper does exist (wax paper), it is accompanied with a woman sitting there, staring at you and expecting you to pay her.  Even if you don’t need paper towels, she makes you feel guilty for drying your hands on your pants. 

·         The fact that you’re not supposed to flush toilet paper down the toilet.  I feel like a heap on the floor next to the toilet isn’t the most sanitary thing…

While walking down the street:

·         I won’t miss being whistled at on the streets every day by creepy old men.

·         I was going to say that I can’t wait to actually be able to wear my backpack on my back, however the new style of it on my belly is starting to grow on me. 

·         About 1/6 of the tiles that make up the sidewalks are missing, broken, or wobbly.  Normally no big deal, but you have a sprained ankle, it becomes quite the concern. 

One bummer is that it’s hard to hang out with friends without spending money and without eating.  We can’t always just go to someone’s apartment to hang out and talk or watch movies like back at home.  Now that it’s getting too cold to go to parks, we have to go to places like restaurants or cafes.

Now for things I’ve been doing here in the city!

A few weeks ago (the week before Easter) is called Semana Santa [Holy Week]:  this is a Catholic country, so we had a 5 day weekend from school to celebrate Easter!  A couple weeks ago I went to museum called La MALBA .  I saw artwork from Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, etc..  Awesome!

That week on Thursday at 15:00 I went to the Plaza de Mayo.  I saw Las Madres y Abuelas marching around the plaza circle.  History of course always has many sides to any story.  I have been told many different things and as of right now don't know what to believe exactly.  It's all really complicated and senstive for a lot of people to talk about.  It has been 35 years since the dictatorship which is pretty recent.  Some say that 30,000 people have “disappeared” or been taken by the government for their communist ideas.  Many of the women who were taken were pregnant.  The babies of the women were given to other adoptive families (usually military families).  Now, those babies are about 30 yrs old and are now doing DNA tests and discovering that they were adopted and their real parents were “disappeared”.  Also, I was corrected and should add that there is another side of the history.  I still didn't understand completely and don't want to mis-inform on a subject so important, but just know that many don't believe that the statistic is 30,000 and instead that the government did what it had to do to protect itself from Communism.  However, the moms and now grandmothers of many of the desaparecidos(disappeared) have marched in the Plaza de Mayo in front of the Casa Rosada [Pink House = equivilant to our White House] every Thursday at 3 for all these years.  I hope I understood the history right… it was explained to me in Spanish and so perhaps don’t take me word for word.  The Thursday that I went was I think a little bigger than most Thursdays too because of Semana Santa.  The crowd was holding pictures of their loved ones and all yelling.  It was really powerful to witness.  There are two groups.  I was told that one is still demanding for an answer of what happened and where their family members are.  The other group just marches to bring awareness in memory of their loved ones. 

Then, we took a free tour of the Casa Rosada or the “Pink House”.  (equivalent of the White House).  It was AWESOME.  We went in Cristina Kirchner’s office and everything!

Then, right there in the plaza we checked out the main Cathedral of the Capital.  It was huge and beautiful and busy because it was Holy Thursday.  This is where San Martin’s body is buried.

Then, we went to check out the International Book Fair (La Feria de Libros Internacional) in Plaza Italia.  The line was super long so I came home instead.  As I walked in the door, Silvia (my host mom) was sitting in the living room watching Vargas Llosa speaking live on TV from the book fair that I had just been at.  No wonder the line was so long!

A few nights later, I returned to the Feria de Libros and toughed out the line.  To my surprise, it was absolutely HUGE event.  I was shocked at the amount of young people there on a Friday night. 

Later that night, I went to one of the thousands of Catholic Churches within a mile of my block.  It is called San Benito.  For Good Friday, the group of Jovenes (college age ppl) did sort of a drama in the church.  There were loads of people.  They literally acted out the story of the Passion and it was actually really cool.  I'm not used to people yelling and shouting in church (pretending to be the crowd and such).  Really powerful! 

SATURDAY:  I went to Tigre!!!!  I went with my friend Megan and another girl from here in BsAs that we met in one of our classes with Argentines.  It is an hour train ride, so across the city.  There was sunshine, the fruit port, the river, we checked out the casino (so I could use the bathroom, of course!), and finally we took a boat ride down the river to a place where we laid on the dock together in the sunshine.  Train back to Belgrano.  Perfect day. 

One night, I met three people from Peru through my friend Megan and a church.  They are seriously some of the nicest people I have ever met!  I was super excited to finally have friends that don’t know English!  They had their first ever taco and then we walked super far to go ice-skating.  This place seriously made me laugh out loud when we entered and I first saw it.  There were 50 people skating in a square about the size of my living room.  Instead of a wall all the way around, there was just a railing, so people constantly kept sliding into the bar and sliding underneath.  It was possibly one of the funniest things I’ve seen in my life.  I was loving it.  Never seen so many grown tall men fall.  Unreal.  Like a movie.  I would laugh and clap and they looked at me like I was mean or something.  But it was probably because instead of ice, it was pretty much snow.  You could hardly see the ice under the 6 inches of shreddings!  We didn’t want to pay for skating, so we just watched people fall.

Our 3 new Peruvian friends invited Megan and me to their place the next day for lunch, Easter Sunday.  I was so grateful!  So Easter was good.  It was my first Easter away from home, so different, but turned out good.  My host mom doesn’t do anything to celebrate Easter, but I went to church in the morning by myself and then treated myself to the holiday by purchasing a giant hunk of chocolate which was gone entirely by the time I reached my apartment.  Good day!