Hasta Luego Buenos Aires…Nos Vemos

I cannot believe I will be in the United States tomorrow. After living in Buenos Aires, I have definitely made some self-discoveries.

Here is a list:

1.     I am not supposed to live in a big city.
Buenos Aires has 3 million people. It was just too big for me. There was many times where I did not feel in control of the city, in fact the city had control of me. But I think it is important to learn that now than after college when I am deciding where to live. I can honestly say I will never live in New York City.

2.     Ann Arbor is the right place for me.
I always felt at home at Michigan’s campus, but I took Ann Arbor for granted. Now that I have lived in a huge city I am so glad I chose University of Michigan because it is a college town. At one point when I visited Pittsburgh, I asked myself how come I never explored the idea of a city campus? Now I feel like a city will be a better experience post-grad. I think its especially important to be 21.

3.     Patience with someone learning a language.
Before study abroad I was definitely less tolerant of someone who did not know English when they lived in the United States. Now that I have experienced this feeling I cannot believe I was so impatient. Learning a language is extremely hard! I also enjoy hearing people speak English the way they speak Spanish because I KNOW I do that with my Spanish. For example, someone will ask how are yours fathers because padres = parents in Spanish.
Adding on to that I realized I never understood cliques of students at Michigan that would just stick together because they were from the same home country. Now I completely understand wanting to stick with your comfort zone and your first language. I made some local friends, but overall the majority of the friends I made were American. Something really bonds you about experiencing a new place together. We also experienced the same challenges with the language barrier.

4.     I am not a fan of the Latin American lackadaisical lifestyle.
In the beginning some of the students really enjoyed how everyone was late and argentines have no sense of time. There was less pressure to be somewhere. But this is not for me. While I agree Americans can be extremely type A, they are extremely efficient. As my professor would always say – “This is NOT IES Switzerland.” I do not enjoy waiting 20 minutes in the grocery line for 15 items or less. I do not enjoy when the bus I need just doesn’t show up for 20 minutes and when it does it is too full to stop for new riders. I hate having to hassle a waiter to bring me a check.

5.     Argentina has some of the coolest places to visit in the world. Between Patagonia, Iguazu Falls, Salta, and Mendoza, I would definitely say Argentina is worth a visit. I can honestly say I want to go back to Patagonia in my life. I never made it Bariloche. I also wouldn’t mind seeing the Chilean Patagonia.

6.    If I can navigate Buenos Aires, I can get around anywhere. For some who has NO sense of direction, going to a new, big city is extremely hard. By the end I successfully used the subway, buses, and could pretty much get home from anywhere if I knew where Santa Fe Ave was (my north star). I even started to pick up when cab drivers were taking me for a ride.

My last weekend in Buenos Aires was very nice. I went to a parilla with my host family. I wanted authentic Argentine cuisine before leaving and what better food to eat then MEAT. I will miss that food. 

It was extremely hard to see goodbye to my host family. I could not have asked for a better family. We had a tearful goodbye. The main reason I am upset is because I honestly have no idea when I will see them again. Mariana and I promised we would invite each other to our weddings.

For my last night out, Celine, Megan, Sam, and I went to Terrazas – our favorite boliche. I will definitely miss the insane nightlife. I have a feeling bars in Ann Arbor are going to feel a little lame after experiencing one of the most notable night life’s in the world.

On Sunday I spent the day with Pochochi. For some reason I really wanted to go La Boca for my last day. I have already been but I just love the colored houses. I feel like La Boca is the quintessential image of Buenos Aires. I bought Blancanieves also known as Snowhite. The book is in both Spanish and English. We also ate choripans because heaven forbid I leave Buenos Aires without one more choripan. They were also only 6 pesos  ($1.50) and kind of hard to turn down. Any meat that cheap should be questionable. 

Goodbye Argentina…nos vemos.

El desierto de Argentina

Right now I am sitting at the airport waiting for my flight back to the United States. I cannot believe my study abroad is finally over. To kill time, I decided to wrap up my blog with two more entries.

First of all, I wanted to recap my last trip to Salta, which is located in Northern Argentina. I heard from many different people that Salta was as amazing as Patagonia. I had to see for myself.

The first day Celine and I met up with Ali and Liz to take a tour of Salta, Cafayette, and all of the towns in between. We had a hilarious tour guide who showed us amazing rocks and mountains. I felt like we were guessing shapes in the clouds with images like the Titanic, King Kong, and a woman lying down.

Can you see the woman? The head is on the right and the feet are on the left.

The Titanic

We also saw the Garganta del Diablo (Devil’s throat). I swear Argentine’s just use this name for everything.

The next day Celine and I headed to a smaller town called Humahuaca in Jujuy. We explored the mountains and even created our own pathway through the dessert.

At night we asked a woman where the supermarket was and she invited us to visit her school to have an exchange with her English class. Well the class did not speak a word of English. It was almost sad to see how little resources this school had. But on the flip side, it was extremely satisfying to know our Spanish was better than their English. When I first got to Argentina, many people would “comfort” me and say “It’s Okay, we can just speak in English.” I always wanted to say – No! I came hear to learn Spanish give me a chance and a little bit of patience. Now we had to speak Spanish because our ability was better than theirs. The class laughed at me when I told them about some of the porteño (Buenos Aires) slang I had picked up on – Che Boludo! Como andas? (This means buddy – jerk, how is it going?). They also died of laughter when I said yo tambien with my Buenos Aires accent. The y and double L have distinct sounds in Buenos Aires. I guess its always-interesting when you hear a double accent. I always find it entertaining when someone whose second language is English has a British accent. Anyway, Celine and I just answered their questions about America and tried to practice a little bit of English with them. They really struggled over questions like what is your name? where are you from? 

We told the students we were heading to Tilcara and this girl from there offered to take us around. She was super sweet and a wonderful tour guide. We explored some ruins of an old indigenous population. 

The next day Celine and I went to Purmamarca. This was definitely my favorite part of the trip. Purmamarca has the seven-colored mountain, which is absolutely gorgeous. We did some hiking because the city had seven different viewpoints. We met this great couple from Tandil. It was interesting because originally they told me they were from Buenos Aires. Afterward I found out they meant a providence of Buenos Aires: Tandil. I guess technically Tandil is a providence… but it is five hours away. Since I have been there I can honestly say it is completely different from Buenos Aires. I just found it interesting because that would be similar to me claiming I was from New York City. It’s pretty much the same distance.

We ended up exploring the Salt flats with them. The salt flats were beautiful but you really only need an hour there to take creative pictures. 

The next day was Celine’s 21^st Birthday and we celebrated with a picnic at the top of the mountain. We explored the mountains and ended up a bit off the trail. This was fine until we had to go down the hill. It was too steep to walk so we ended up sliding on our butts to get down. But it was completely worth the view.

The last day we headed back to Salta and I went bungee jumping. It was definitely the most exhilarating thing I have ever done. There is this moment after you jump and before the cord catches you when your mind is thinking WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST DO? 

We headed back to Buenos Aires for one final weekend in the city.

Madres de Plaza de Mayo

I am on my last week in Buenos Aires. There are still so many things I want to do in the city. I definitely feel like I am at a weird point in the trip. The past couple of weeks I have such a whirl of emotions. Some days I can't wait to get back to the United States where there's no dog poop on the street, customer service, or just plain efficiency. But at the same time, I know once I get back I will miss the city...especially the night life. Bars close at 2am in the states - that seems so lame in comparison! We go out at 2am!

It also doesn't help my weird mood that I sprained my ankle...again. (Yes the same one as last time). This time I was running. I was just furious because I was on my block! I literally was about to finish my run when I crossed my street and stepped on the curb the wrong way.

It took about 5 seconds to swell to that size.

I am just trying to stay positive because I am going to Salta for a week after the program. I figure I will have plenty of time to let it heal this summer in Maryland and Ann Arbor.

Last Thursday I finally went to the Plaza de Mayo for the Mothers protest. Every Thursday mothers of the desaparecidos (disappeared) march in front of the President's house. These women have been protesting every week since the 1970s. It is truly amazing the devotion they have to their children. 

The last picture is from a different organization separate from the mothers. They are also trying to find out answers about their lost children during the 1970s.

On Friday, my history class took a field trip to ESMA (the military school). This is where they took the disappeared people. They would torture them there and then push the majority of them out of airplanes above the ocean. Dead bodies started showing up on the coast of Uruguay and Argentina. The military even took pregnant women and gave their newborns to new families for adoption. My host mom told me her boyfriend was taken for 40 days, but was fortunate enough to return. The majority of people who disappeared did not come back.

ESMA

It is hard to truly wrap my head around what happened in Argentina during this time period. 

On a lighter note, I went to my first rugby game. I literally had no idea what was going on. They would randomly punt the ball or lift one guy up in the air. I'm still pretty confused about the rules. One nice thing about the sport is the men are gorgeous.

Tomorrow I am going to barrio Chino with my intercambio friend (We speak half the time in English and half the time in Spanish). Barrio Chino is their equivalent of Chinatown. 

With that I leave you with a picture of Avenida 9 de Julio. This is one of the longest streets in the world. It literally has 4 stop lights and it normally takes me at least two stoplights to pass through the whole thing. This is a view from my school.

 

Iguazú Falls

Last weekend I finally made the trip to Iguazú Falls. It is the quintessential tourist destination in Argentina. It feels like just yesterday I created my blog and made Jake include the picture of Iguazú as my background.
The first time I tried to go with my family but our flight was cancelled. This time I went with Alana and Alexa, two girls from my program.

The trip could not have gone smoother. Alexa kept telling me it was good karma for my first attempt to the cataratas (waterfalls).

I knew we were in for a treat with this view from the plane.

Alana, Alexa, and I were able to use our Argentine citizens and receive a 60 pesos ($15) discount on our park tickets. I always love the reaction we receive when we tell people we are citizens of Argentina.  

Las chicas en Iguazú

We went to the Garganta del Diablo (Devil’s throat) first. 

Alexa told me back in the 1950s they allowed tourists to take a raft to the edge of the falls to get a picture. Finally, one day the current was too strong and a group of German tourists plunged to their death in la Garganta del Diablo. I guess that’s a cool way to go out…

Now I can technically say I saw Brazil and Paraguay. Too bad both countries require a visa to visit.

I will say I was very guilty of taking as many pictures as possible with rainbows and waterfalls.

 I have never been to Niagara Falls but according to Eleanor Roosevelt they are not as amazing. Apparently when she saw Iguazú Falls she said "poor Niagara." 

And with that I have two weeks left to enjoy Buenos Aires and then one week in Salta. The past semester has gone by incredibly fast.

Lujan

Last Thursday I spotted my first robbery. I was running to meet up with Lawrence and Megan when I had to wait at the stoplight. Then I heard a glass break, a woman scream, and a man with a motorcycle helmet casually hop on his getaway and speed through the recently turned green stoplight. Cars around the crime honked, but for the most part all the pedestrians were just watching with their mouths open wide (me included). There was really nothing we could do; his friend was waiting with the motorcycle. It was definitely one of the most interesting things I have ever seen...and scariest.     Last weekend IES provided a free field trip to Lujan. 

Our itinerary broke down to 10 minutes inside the church, 10 minutes at the museum, and a 3 hour lunch. They really know how to plan a day. I have never been so full in my life. We were given empanadas, appetizers, salads, pasta dish, meat dish, and every type of dessert. 

After lunch we went to the farm to look at the animals we just ate. I really could have done without seeing the rabbit bunnies I just tried at lunch :( 

After the farm we went to a mushroom farm. In case we were still hungry they served us mushrooms. How could I resist? I literally could not eat dinner that night. 

Also last weekend my host family had a huge family dinner. We had so much funny listening to the beatles, queen, creedence clearwater revival, and many other favorites. One of the cousins made everyone at the table sing a solo. It was great practice for my spanish (minus the singing in english). 

My host mom and her beautiful artwork.

 I also decided I want to put a couple more pictures of my host family up since they are such a large part of my abroad experience.

Ronnie is so fascinated by the the shower tile.

 And finally my favorite t-shirts. They obviously do not make any sense but they are wonderful.

"The Love, Girls Only, We Love Heart"

One Month Left

Today is May 24th, which means I have exactly one month left in Argentina. Where have the past three months gone? Now I really feel the pressure to do everything in the city. It is easy to forget you are still partially a tourist when you are living here for such a long time.

My flight is July 3rd...I will be home just in time for July 4th. I plan on taking one last trip at the end of the program. I am either going to Salta or Chile. Everyday I change my mind. I really wish I could go to both, but they are a 20 hour bus ride from each other. I also would love to go to Bariloche, but there is just not enough time. I will definitely have to return to Patagonia one day. Its funny... a year ago, I thought Patagonia was just a brand like North Face.

Last weekend I stayed in Buenos Aires. I really like the weekends I stay in the city because there is so much to do. We finally went to this new club called Bahrein. There were two floors so when we got bored of one scene we just went upstairs to try something new. We also got in for free with these coupons. Now that I only have one month I want to try new bars and boliches.

On Friday, I went to the free cooking class provided by IES. It was awesome to see this chef make empanadas, dulce de leche dessert, steak, and other delicious food. At the end of the class we all got to try some of everything. I plan on using the empanada recipe in the United States and cooking for my friends. I really do miss cooking here. 

The carne for the empanadas.

They let us fill the empanadas.

Dulce de Leche dessert

I finally ventured to the Salon for the first time. Waxing is incredibly cheap here. I have always wanted to get my legs waxed, but I never wanted to pay for it. It was only $7 here! They also do not use paper here, but honey wax. It was quite the surprise when she yanked the wax off. I think it hurt a lot less than the American method.

Today I explored the wool district in Palermo. I was so proud of myself for getting home from Palermo. For someone without a sense of direction, it is amazing how far I have come from the first couple of weeks. I did not have a map or my guia t (the guide of all the bus routes) and I managed to find the subway. Anyway I bought some wool to start making a scarf. This girl knits every spanish class and I have been extremely envious. I really miss knitting.

 Time to celebrate the feriado (holiday) - no class manana!!

Tandil

This past weekend I took my first IES field trip to Tandil. It was a nice relaxing weekend away from the city. Tandil is only five hours from Buenos Aires. Apparently the name Tan dil mean falling rock in Mapuche.

We left early on Friday morning. We stopped for lunch at an Asado (Barbecue). I ate so much I was still full for dinner. We literally ate every type of meat. It was one of the most delicious meals I have had in Argentina.

Afterward we drove to see a view of the city. 

I was not expecting a real city when I signed up for a hiking trip. It was interesting to see a pretty large city right next to farmlands and hills.

The next day we woke up and hiked all day. It was a great opportunity to spend time with other students I haven't met before. I also finally got a chance to talk to some of the staff and practice Spanish.

At night we went to a cheese fondue restaurant for dinner. Naturally we had to order wine.

The next day we visited the famous "moving rock." Well it turns out there used to be a famous rock that would rock back and forth. It finally fell in 1912 and split into two pieces. In 2007 the city decided to recreate the rock and glue it into place.

Here is a picture of the fake rock.

The idea is cool in theory - but it seemed kind of silly to visit a fake rock.

On Sunday we went to an ecological park and walked around. 

 

 

 

Adorable

At the top of the mountain we saw another view of the city and horses. 

When we came down from the mountain we had one last amazing meal. We had guiso (stew) and plenty of meat. They love their meat here in Argentina.

For dessert I splurged on some chocolate ice cream.

After lunch we took a ski lift up to the top of the mountain for more walking and picture time. It was kind of the theme of the trip.

Overall it was a nice, relaxing trip. But now I am ready to spend some time in Buenos Aires. I feel like I am always traveling.

Sunday night I went to plaza Serrano with some friends to celebrate my 21st birthday! It was exactly how I imagined a 21st birthday to be. After the plaza we found a club (even on a Sunday night - this city really does not sleep). We finished the night off with pizza at Molinos. I did not go to bed until 7am. Mariana (my host sister) went straight to her Monday class the next day. 

Thanks to everyone for who made it an amazing birthday!

Also congratulations Rachel and Dan on their engagement...mazel tov!

Machu Picchu: One of the seven wonders of the world

Yesterday I came home from my Spring Break in Peru. I feel I have been gone from Buenos Aires forever. I was way overdue for a blog entry.

I guess I will start with my Inca Jungle Trek. We left for Cusco on Friday morning and started our trek Saturday morning.

The first day we rode bicycles down the mountain. Puder successfully rode a bike by herself!

The second day our guide Jimmy John (yes his name was Jimmy John) offered us the option to go white water rafting.

The day after they they offered us a chance to go zip lining. Naturally we could not say no once they kept offering us these wonderful deals.

We did a lot of hiking and trekking through the mountain. We were able to walk to same path as the Incas. Our tour guide taught us about the chasquis or runners who would send messages for the Inca civilization. Basically one chasqui would run a long distance and then pass the message to the next chasqui. 

The last day we finally went to Machu Picchu. In 2007 Machu Picchu was voted a new addition to the seven wonders of the world. 
We woke up at 3 in the morning because the first 400 people to climb Machu Picchu are given a permit to climb Wayna Picchu. It was pitch black and I had to use peoples surrounding lights to see up the mountain.

The six of us made it to the top of the mountain.

Machu Picchu was so amazing. I literally could not put my camera down.

We climbed on the back side of the mountain and the view was incredible. We were literally sitting in the clouds.

After our tour of Machu Picchu we hiked to the top of Wayna Picchu. We were able to see the top of Machu Picchu from a birds eye view.

We took a lovely nap at the top of Wayna Picchu. We were pretty tired. They literally asked us to leave because apparently everyone must leave by 2pm. Machu Picchu closes at 5pm. We spent almost 12 hours there.

My feet dangling on top of Wayna Picchu.

My favorite picture of Machu Picchu.

Overall Machu Picchu lived up to its expectation and in reality was more than I could imagine.


The next three days were a low of my trip. I finally got super sick after the intense hike, elevation, and water in Peru. One day I slept 18 hours in Cusco. I wish I hadn't missed the city, but I needed to rest.


We headed to Lima for the end of our trip. We took a free walking tour of the city and learned a lot about the history of the Incas and the Spanish. We also went on a shopping spree. Apparently llamas are a big hit in Peru and I bought a warm, comfy llama sweater. 


The last night we celebrated Alana aka slani's 21st birthday in Lima. 
6 more days until my 21st!