mucho vino en Mendoza

So I just checked weather.com for the weather report. When I saw 30 degrees, I thought maybe the website automatically switched from Fahrenheit to Celsius. Well I looked again, the city was still Ann Arbor, Michigan. That sounds about right. All I could think was thank god I live in Buenos Aires. This weekend: 70 degrees Fahrenheit all week!

This past weekend I took my long weekend in Mendoza. While riding back in the taxi, I just couldn’t wait to get home and by home I meant my Buenos Aires home. After a 15 hour bus ride all I wanted to do was take a shower and sleep in a proper bed. But this was the first time I remember calling this city my home. After a month of living here, I finally feel at home. It was definitely a cool feeling.

People in Argentina will take a bus anywhere. A 15 hour bus ride does not phase them. I don't even know how far a 15 hour car ride would take me in the United States because I would never consider driving such a far distance. The buses were pretty comfortable and we took it overnight both directions. By the end of the trip I was so sleep deprived that I slept the majority of the way back...Except for the moments when I was practicing my Spanish with the portena sitting next me. 

It is amazing how far my Spanish has come in the past month, but then again there is still so much room for improvement. I was still pretty proud of myself for pushing myself to hold a conversation with this girl. Sometimes I just wanted to shut down and return to my English cave. Luckily I was stuck next to her and she refused to speak English (even though she knew it). I need more people to push me like that. The good thing is I have three more months to practice!

Mendoza was absolutely wonderful. Our hostel gave us a free complimentary glass of wine (or two) every day. The first night Lawrence and Tony grilled the whole group of girls some delicious steak, sausage, and vegetables. It was kind of funny having 20 girls sitting around the table sipping their wine while the men went to work. Kudos to Larry and Tony for a delicious dinner.

The first full day we rented bicycles and went to the vineyards. We went to five different places throughout the day. My favorite place was 15 pesos (almost $4) to try all of their products. We were given bread and olive oil, different types of jam, olives, cheese spread, etc, pieces of chocolate, and a shot of liquor. They even offered absente, which they set the sugar on fire. I opted for a different option. I didn't think I could handle an entire shot considering it is illegal in the United States. I bought my parents authentic olive oil from Mendoza because they are not wine drinkers. I also want them to share with me because it was so delicious.

The vineyards

At the end of the day we attempted to teach Christina how to bike ( somehow she has gone 20 years without learning how to ride a bicycle). She did master the tandem with Alana during the day, but we felt it was time she graduated to a real bike. I also took my first ride on the backseat of the tandem and I think it is way scarier than a solo bicycle. Anyway Christina is about 5 minutes away from mastering the art of bicycling. Next time… there was just no safe piece of gravel to teach her.

The next day we went paragliding. We had the most amazing view of the Andes Mountains. The whole experience is surreal and hard to imagine that you are actually flying. It was a little chilly up there. If i could go again I would definitely bring gloves.

I was pretty bumped that I did not have my camera for that ride, but this weekend my parents are coming with their camera. I am just going to borrow theirs for the rest of the semester since there is not much going on in Fulton Maryland.

Time to go to bed. I need to be productive this entire week since I will be entertaining Ellen, Michael, and Rachel for the next ten days (starting Saturday). I am pretty excited to see my mother’s reaction to Argentine culture. This is really not the place to go if you do not like being touched. Even when I return from a run, dripping in sweat, everyone greets me with a kiss.