Wednesday, I had my horribly boring COPA class. It’s about grammar, but the teacher is terrible. We get nothing done. We spent two hours talking about two cases of the subjunctive (verb form that doesn’t exist in English). Then I went to Retiro bus station to buy bus tickets with Blythe to go to Paraná and Santa Fe (two cities in the Mesopotamia region up north). After that I walked to Borges class and tried to read in a park on the way (it was too cold).
Thursday I had History of the US in the morning. I really like that class, too bad I don’t need the credit from it. The Argentine students decided when they wanted to take the midterm (its next week). It’s a very democratic/adult system at times. The teacher says to the students we should discuss the midterm and the students respond, how about the 28th? Then the teacher says ok, but lets wait to see if more students come to class today to see if the date is ok with them. This would never happen in the US. The teacher picks the day and only changes it if enough students won’t be in class (which rarely happens unless you have something like Hilary Clinton speaking on campus). Then I had my Art History of Argentina/America class. It was hilarious, I was with this Argentine girl and we could not find the class. Most of the class was in our 5th floor classroom about 15 minutes early, so I went to the bathroom. When I came back, there was an Argentine girl talking to the director of the department and everyone else had left. So we went down to our 2nd floor classroom (one has a computer, the other slides...thats why we need two). There was another class in there, so we went back up to the 5th floor where we saw our professor talking to some other adult. We went into our classroom and were joined by a bunch of other students. We hung around for about 10 minutes and when we went out into the hall our prof wasn’t there anymore. So we asked the head of the department where we should go and she sent us down to the entrance floor to an auditorium-like room. We got to class 15 minutes and there was the prof sitting and waiting for the students. Typical Argentina.
Friday, I went to Retiro (another time) to buy tickets with Sierra for the upcoming weekend. They we ran some errands in microcentro and then went to lunch with Amy, Meagan, and Sandra. Another two hour lunch in their favorite restaurant. Then to Amy’s house so they could consume 1 kilo of ice cream while I ate an orange (they were actually pretty disgusting to watch). I went home a few hours later, showered, ate gnocci (yum) and left to find Blythe before going to Retiro another time. Our bus left at ½ past midnight. We slept as much as possible, which was difficult with the guy in front of us snoring and sounding like a horse.
We got to Paraná at 6:30 AM Saturday morning and walked around a little. We finally found a café that was open (Paraná doesn’t function on the same 24 hour all the time schedule as BsAs.) and had the most amazing breakfast in Argentina. They don’t really eat breakfast, so this was really incredible. For 10 pesos: omelet with ham, coffee, fresh squeezed orange juice, toast and marmalade. It was fantastic. We hung out there until 10 ish and then began to explore the town. We walked to the water and along the river’s edge. We tried to find a mate museum, which had moved to the center of town (we were pretty far our by the river). Instead, Blythe bought a mate and then we went to lunch where I had an empanada of river fish and fish meatballs (yum-yum). Then we went to find out if there were river excursions. We wound up going to this hotel which organized trips. We went in a group of 8 for a little more than an hour. It was great to be on the river and see the city. After that we went back to the center of town and saw the church. Then we left for Santa Fe (across the river, through a tunnel).
When we got to Santa Fe, we found a hotel for the night. We crashed for an hour and watched C-Span because we didn’t get BBC world. Then we went into the center of town, which was not as charming as Paraná. We ate at a sidewalk café which had incredibly cheap food (we’re used to BsAs prices). Then we got some ice cream and went back to the hotel to go to bed.
Sunday, I got up really early and stayed in bed doing nothing. We left the hotel at 11ish and went in search of breakfast. More omelets, this time not as good. We walked to the town plaza and tried to go to a museum and a convent, which were both closed. We just chilled in the plaza and then walked around a little bit before going to a zoo/experimental farm/family park thing. We saw a bunch of animals and sat at the park’s café enjoying the lack of dust/colectivo noise. Then we went back to town, walked around a little more. None of the store opened for the day every. Apparently in Santa Fe, everyone spends the day at home on Sundays. We picked up our stuff at the hotel and went to the bus station. We had hamburgers and sat around for two hours completely exhausted. Our bus left a little before 1AM.
Monday, we arrived at retiro at 6:35AM really tired, took the subte and went home and went to bed.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Buenos Aires nights 12-9-06
Wednesday: nothing special happened. I went to grammar class. It was boring, although somewhat more helpful than the past few. I went home and ate meat loaf and read for my Borges class. Then, I went to Borges and found out I didn’t have to read and we were watching a movie. After class was the birthday dinner at Mario’s house (he’s the director of COPA). A bunch of us gathered to celebrate our birthdays but I left pretty early because I wanted to take the subte home with another girl because Mario lives in a sketchy area.
Thursday: more classes. I think I went home for lunch again…and don’t really remember what else I did. Nothing special.
Friday: I went to the “post office” to mail a card to the US (who knows when its going to arrive; hopefully before Christmas). The post office is a large room with a counter, a bunch of plastic chairs, some lockers (I’ve never seen them being used) and a ridiculous amount of unused space. It also serves many functions, for instance it’s a “rapipago,” a place where you can go to pay all of your utility bills at once (they’re all over the city). Something to keep in mind: never go Fridays at noon…ever. When I got there, I took a deli number (a lot of business function with deli numbers here, for instance the hardware store…). I was 3 and they were on 23. Forty, yes 40, minutes later it was finally my turn. My friend had come to find me because I was ridiculously late for lunch. While I was finally being helped, this really pushy woman (who arrived before me, but somehow neglected to get a deli number) started talking to her. She was actually really hysterical; she told my friend that Argentina isn’t a third world country. It’s a forth, fifth or sixth world country because all of the craziness at the post office. Basically, everything here is bureaucratic and unorganized.
So we went and had lunch with our friends. Then we walked around my neighborhood and bought some cakes/pastries. We went back to my apartment so they could eat them (this is their Friday tradition)…I had my leftover fruit salad.
We spent a bunch of time at my apartment. Then some of us headed over to the Rural (a large exposition center with multiple buildings; I went to an event of the same name in August). Friday was the last day of fashion week here in BsAs. We never actually made it inside the exposition because we got distracted by the see-saws outside. I don’t understand how little kids aren’t terrified of see-saws because I really was. I nearly fell off so many times, which might have had something to do with Blythe’s really long legs and attempts to propel me into the air.
Friday night, Blythe, Sandra and I decided to go out and have a “true” BsAs night, which I still hadn’t done. We met at midnight and went to Blythe’s “cousin’s” music show. His rock band was actually really good for a couple of university aged kids. Then we went to a bar called the Alamo to get tickets to a boliche (club). To get into the bar, we were supposed to pay or something but we told them we were Americans (one girl had to show a US college ID) and apparently that’s the free ticket in. that’s the first time anything has been free for Americans but porteños have to pay… we got the tickets, saw more COPA kids that I ever want to see in one place again and left. To get into the upstairs part of the bar, all I had to do was tell them that we had been downstairs (after I helped some really confused Americans get into the downstairs one with their college ids). I think we got to the club, called Mint, at about 3ish (which means we’re cool…because its unheard of to arrive before 2). We danced and hung out there until 6:15. It was insanely large with a ton of people, but also located on the river which was really cool because we went outside and down to the beach (which we weren’t really allowed to do because we weren’t supposed to be able to re-enter the club). When we left, Sandra and Blythe decided they wanted empanadas, which meant we had to find a place that was open at that hour. That wasn’t really as hard as you might think. We actually found a lot of people walking around BsAs. Finally we went to a rather crowded restaurant in Recoleta. There were people having breakfast (after spending a night out or because it was really early in the morning) and people having full meals (the guys next to us were having meal and veggies). When we left, it was 7:30 or so and my feet were hurting a bit, so Blythe and I decided to take the Subte (which we didn’t have to pay for because the ticket woman didn’t feel like selling us tickets…I’m not joking). I went home, said good morning to my host mom and went to bed.
Saturday: I woke up at 3:30 and had some cereal. I spent the rest of the day reading and went to pilates…it was the bad class again…the boring one- no peppy/yelling teacher; no hand weights – no work out :( I went out to dinner with Blythe, Meagan, and Briana at 10ish. We went to this cute little restaurant three blocks away from where I live. We actually closed the place; we stayed until 1AM. Then, Briana and I went to go meet up with her friend from her volleyball team. We were supposed to meet them at Plaza Serrano (this hang-out area near my house). They told us they were near there…which meant that they were a colectivo (bus) ride away (porteños have a very skewed definition of directions). We would up going to there apartment (we didn’t get there until 3ish) and playing an argentine card game, which I think I understand…sort of. Its kind of like poker in that cards have values, which don’t match the numbers (where in poker you have group cards in a fashion that forms values). Also, you sort of bet each round (and can raise/change the bet like in poker). Otherwise, I have no way of comparing it…I’ll learn it better so I can teach other people when I get home. We wound up staying there until 6:30ish and then taking the colectivo back to Santa Fe (my street) and going to the 24 hour café for tea and medialunas (croissants). Another day of getting home when my host mom was getting up…two Buenos Aires nights in a row!! Oh my!! Never again…
Sunday: I woke up at noon and spent some time in bed reading. Then Meagan texted me saying she and Steve wanted to get together to study for history of America 1. I said they could come over and we wound up spending 5 hours studying. We found rather helpful encyclopedias in my room.
Monday: I went out to the suburbs to volunteer. Amy, Meagan, and I went with a group called LIFE (in Spanish, the letters stand for fighting for education and happiness for all children) and group which teaches children English, visits sick children in the hospital, and organizes activities like games for them. We went to Esteban Echeverría, a southern suburb near the airport. The woman in charge is a 30 year old Brit who basically had a midlife crisis and decided to leave London to go to South America to volunteer. One problem, she doesn’t speak Spanish. There was another girl our age who was here to volunteer also and who also doesn’t speak Spanish. This meant that Amy, Meagan and I had to do most of the work. So we took an hour long sketchy train ride out into the suburbs. The room we were teaching in is basically a large shack-like structure with an attached fútbol field. Many kids weren’t there because Monday was Teacher’s day and primario (little kid school) was canceled. Many of those that arrived really only wanted to color, which was unfortunate because we couldn’t get them to do anything. I’m not even sure it was worth it because it takes more time to get there and back then the two hours we are there teaching. It was also kind of annoying to be in a group of 5 speaking English. Both British women have had trouble here with taxi cabs and stuff. They have been given fake bills and tricked into paying more than they have to. I’m really glad I speak the language and tell cabs where we are so they know not to mess with me (oh, of course we’re on saramiento and the next intersection is libertador near the monumento a los españoles).
Tuesday: Didn’t do much. Walked around microcentro. Went to awesome pilates!! (I spend most of the week waiting for Tuesday because I love this pilates class…its so painful).
Thursday: more classes. I think I went home for lunch again…and don’t really remember what else I did. Nothing special.
Friday: I went to the “post office” to mail a card to the US (who knows when its going to arrive; hopefully before Christmas). The post office is a large room with a counter, a bunch of plastic chairs, some lockers (I’ve never seen them being used) and a ridiculous amount of unused space. It also serves many functions, for instance it’s a “rapipago,” a place where you can go to pay all of your utility bills at once (they’re all over the city). Something to keep in mind: never go Fridays at noon…ever. When I got there, I took a deli number (a lot of business function with deli numbers here, for instance the hardware store…). I was 3 and they were on 23. Forty, yes 40, minutes later it was finally my turn. My friend had come to find me because I was ridiculously late for lunch. While I was finally being helped, this really pushy woman (who arrived before me, but somehow neglected to get a deli number) started talking to her. She was actually really hysterical; she told my friend that Argentina isn’t a third world country. It’s a forth, fifth or sixth world country because all of the craziness at the post office. Basically, everything here is bureaucratic and unorganized.
So we went and had lunch with our friends. Then we walked around my neighborhood and bought some cakes/pastries. We went back to my apartment so they could eat them (this is their Friday tradition)…I had my leftover fruit salad.
We spent a bunch of time at my apartment. Then some of us headed over to the Rural (a large exposition center with multiple buildings; I went to an event of the same name in August). Friday was the last day of fashion week here in BsAs. We never actually made it inside the exposition because we got distracted by the see-saws outside. I don’t understand how little kids aren’t terrified of see-saws because I really was. I nearly fell off so many times, which might have had something to do with Blythe’s really long legs and attempts to propel me into the air.
Friday night, Blythe, Sandra and I decided to go out and have a “true” BsAs night, which I still hadn’t done. We met at midnight and went to Blythe’s “cousin’s” music show. His rock band was actually really good for a couple of university aged kids. Then we went to a bar called the Alamo to get tickets to a boliche (club). To get into the bar, we were supposed to pay or something but we told them we were Americans (one girl had to show a US college ID) and apparently that’s the free ticket in. that’s the first time anything has been free for Americans but porteños have to pay… we got the tickets, saw more COPA kids that I ever want to see in one place again and left. To get into the upstairs part of the bar, all I had to do was tell them that we had been downstairs (after I helped some really confused Americans get into the downstairs one with their college ids). I think we got to the club, called Mint, at about 3ish (which means we’re cool…because its unheard of to arrive before 2). We danced and hung out there until 6:15. It was insanely large with a ton of people, but also located on the river which was really cool because we went outside and down to the beach (which we weren’t really allowed to do because we weren’t supposed to be able to re-enter the club). When we left, Sandra and Blythe decided they wanted empanadas, which meant we had to find a place that was open at that hour. That wasn’t really as hard as you might think. We actually found a lot of people walking around BsAs. Finally we went to a rather crowded restaurant in Recoleta. There were people having breakfast (after spending a night out or because it was really early in the morning) and people having full meals (the guys next to us were having meal and veggies). When we left, it was 7:30 or so and my feet were hurting a bit, so Blythe and I decided to take the Subte (which we didn’t have to pay for because the ticket woman didn’t feel like selling us tickets…I’m not joking). I went home, said good morning to my host mom and went to bed.
Saturday: I woke up at 3:30 and had some cereal. I spent the rest of the day reading and went to pilates…it was the bad class again…the boring one- no peppy/yelling teacher; no hand weights – no work out :( I went out to dinner with Blythe, Meagan, and Briana at 10ish. We went to this cute little restaurant three blocks away from where I live. We actually closed the place; we stayed until 1AM. Then, Briana and I went to go meet up with her friend from her volleyball team. We were supposed to meet them at Plaza Serrano (this hang-out area near my house). They told us they were near there…which meant that they were a colectivo (bus) ride away (porteños have a very skewed definition of directions). We would up going to there apartment (we didn’t get there until 3ish) and playing an argentine card game, which I think I understand…sort of. Its kind of like poker in that cards have values, which don’t match the numbers (where in poker you have group cards in a fashion that forms values). Also, you sort of bet each round (and can raise/change the bet like in poker). Otherwise, I have no way of comparing it…I’ll learn it better so I can teach other people when I get home. We wound up staying there until 6:30ish and then taking the colectivo back to Santa Fe (my street) and going to the 24 hour café for tea and medialunas (croissants). Another day of getting home when my host mom was getting up…two Buenos Aires nights in a row!! Oh my!! Never again…
Sunday: I woke up at noon and spent some time in bed reading. Then Meagan texted me saying she and Steve wanted to get together to study for history of America 1. I said they could come over and we wound up spending 5 hours studying. We found rather helpful encyclopedias in my room.
Monday: I went out to the suburbs to volunteer. Amy, Meagan, and I went with a group called LIFE (in Spanish, the letters stand for fighting for education and happiness for all children) and group which teaches children English, visits sick children in the hospital, and organizes activities like games for them. We went to Esteban Echeverría, a southern suburb near the airport. The woman in charge is a 30 year old Brit who basically had a midlife crisis and decided to leave London to go to South America to volunteer. One problem, she doesn’t speak Spanish. There was another girl our age who was here to volunteer also and who also doesn’t speak Spanish. This meant that Amy, Meagan and I had to do most of the work. So we took an hour long sketchy train ride out into the suburbs. The room we were teaching in is basically a large shack-like structure with an attached fútbol field. Many kids weren’t there because Monday was Teacher’s day and primario (little kid school) was canceled. Many of those that arrived really only wanted to color, which was unfortunate because we couldn’t get them to do anything. I’m not even sure it was worth it because it takes more time to get there and back then the two hours we are there teaching. It was also kind of annoying to be in a group of 5 speaking English. Both British women have had trouble here with taxi cabs and stuff. They have been given fake bills and tricked into paying more than they have to. I’m really glad I speak the language and tell cabs where we are so they know not to mess with me (oh, of course we’re on saramiento and the next intersection is libertador near the monumento a los españoles).
Tuesday: Didn’t do much. Walked around microcentro. Went to awesome pilates!! (I spend most of the week waiting for Tuesday because I love this pilates class…its so painful).
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
My first winter birthday
Wednesday I had class at COPA and USAL. During the day I went to the bus station with my friend and spend a lot of time at COPA using the internet (which is what I do every Wednesday and why you really only get emails from me on Wednesdays).
Thursday was my 20th birthday. It was also my first birthday with classes and my first birthday in “winter” (I still wore a skirt). My host mom took me out to dinner. We had some Argentine beef. Later, I went to my friend’s apartment where a bunch of people had gathered to throw me a party. We hung out and listened to music and stuff.
Friday, we went out to lunch. I also bought challah at a Jewish food store. It was really yummy. I also found marshmallows at that food store, imported of course. We walked around shopping/wandering for the rest of the day. Then I walked home in the rain and did nothing Friday night.
Saturday I went to San Antonio de Areco with a bunch of COPA people, Amy, Meagan, Sierra, Sandra, and Tony (the only guy!). We took a bus from Buenos Aires (its less than 2 hours away) and pretty soon were on a country route where there was nothing but trees and flat land. First, we walked around the town, with a stray dog which decided to attach itself to us (Meagan and Sierra made this very easy for the dog). We went to a chocolate shop that my host mom had recommended. The alfajores (sandwich cookies with dulce de leche) were fantastic. Then we found this huge tree thing (it was a cross between a tree and a bush) and everyone climbed it and took pictures. We ate lunch near the “river,” more like a stream. Amy bought a sausage to give to the dog, which had disappeared when we were in the restaurant, then reappeared, but didn’t want to follow us any more. We crossed the river and went to the museum Ricardo Güiraldes’s house. He was a writer from the same time as Borges, but he wrote about gauchos. After that, we went to the farm of a family friend of Amy’s Argentine family. We played with there dogs (a mutt, a cocker spaniel, a yellow lab, and a golden retriever). We went back to town because Sierra and Amy wanted to ride horses and we couldn’t use the family horses on Saturday (the daughter in charge of the horses was working). While they were riding, the rest of us explored the town some more and walked around a lot. We found some orange trees near the plaza and I tried, unsuccessfully, to climb them (or use my umbrella to pick the oranges). We went to a café so Meagan could try some mate, a tea-like drink. The rest of us had already tried it. Then we met up with Amy and Sierra, who had both fallen off their horses, had dinner and went back to the farm. At the farm we tried to meet the family, but only 2 or 3 of the 9 brothers and sisters were around and the parents had gone out also. We hung out with the youngest, Ignacio, age 11. We went to sleep early, like midnightish. Our rooms were adorable, but the heat didn’t really work and it was only 3 or 4 degrees out. We slept in pretty much all of our clothing and blankets and stuff. It was fine for one night.
Sunday, I woke up to the sound of my phone talking to me. Apparently my alarm clock talks. It was telling me to walk up and that it was 7:50 in the morning. We had breakfast in the main house next to a roaring fire. Then it was time for horses. I went first. Nearly cried it was so terrifying. Then Sandra road around a little. Then Tony, Sierra, and Amy went on a long ride with one of the daughters (and the 7-month old yellow lab and golden retriever). Sandra, Meagan and I went for a walk up the road with Inga (the cocker spaniel). We walked around the industrial area of town near the old, overgrown railroad tracks. We left for Buenos Aires around noon. Meagan and I met Steve at the Feria de Recoleta (big fair-like thing). Meagan and I bought mates (so we can make our own now) and shared a pastry-like thing. I left the fair at 4ish because I was exhausted. Came home, showered, and did nothing the rest of the day.
Monday, I went to the gym and then a cooking class. It was pretty boring. I don’t like cooking classes where you watch someone cook. I want to cook. The woman made whole wheat croissants, which I’m going to try with regular floor rather than whole wheat. Then Meagan came over for dinner because her family doesn’t eat dinner together, or talk to her and they’re never home. I made fajitas (which were not at all spicy, so I had to keep adding cayenne and stuff to them). They were really yummy. My host mom had never had them before. The spice packet was imported from the US. We walked our telenovela and went to bed.
Tuesday I went to the center of the city to buy some stuff for my camera and walk around. Then I went to pilates. My host my and I made another meat loaf; she really likes it.
Thursday was my 20th birthday. It was also my first birthday with classes and my first birthday in “winter” (I still wore a skirt). My host mom took me out to dinner. We had some Argentine beef. Later, I went to my friend’s apartment where a bunch of people had gathered to throw me a party. We hung out and listened to music and stuff.
Friday, we went out to lunch. I also bought challah at a Jewish food store. It was really yummy. I also found marshmallows at that food store, imported of course. We walked around shopping/wandering for the rest of the day. Then I walked home in the rain and did nothing Friday night.
Saturday I went to San Antonio de Areco with a bunch of COPA people, Amy, Meagan, Sierra, Sandra, and Tony (the only guy!). We took a bus from Buenos Aires (its less than 2 hours away) and pretty soon were on a country route where there was nothing but trees and flat land. First, we walked around the town, with a stray dog which decided to attach itself to us (Meagan and Sierra made this very easy for the dog). We went to a chocolate shop that my host mom had recommended. The alfajores (sandwich cookies with dulce de leche) were fantastic. Then we found this huge tree thing (it was a cross between a tree and a bush) and everyone climbed it and took pictures. We ate lunch near the “river,” more like a stream. Amy bought a sausage to give to the dog, which had disappeared when we were in the restaurant, then reappeared, but didn’t want to follow us any more. We crossed the river and went to the museum Ricardo Güiraldes’s house. He was a writer from the same time as Borges, but he wrote about gauchos. After that, we went to the farm of a family friend of Amy’s Argentine family. We played with there dogs (a mutt, a cocker spaniel, a yellow lab, and a golden retriever). We went back to town because Sierra and Amy wanted to ride horses and we couldn’t use the family horses on Saturday (the daughter in charge of the horses was working). While they were riding, the rest of us explored the town some more and walked around a lot. We found some orange trees near the plaza and I tried, unsuccessfully, to climb them (or use my umbrella to pick the oranges). We went to a café so Meagan could try some mate, a tea-like drink. The rest of us had already tried it. Then we met up with Amy and Sierra, who had both fallen off their horses, had dinner and went back to the farm. At the farm we tried to meet the family, but only 2 or 3 of the 9 brothers and sisters were around and the parents had gone out also. We hung out with the youngest, Ignacio, age 11. We went to sleep early, like midnightish. Our rooms were adorable, but the heat didn’t really work and it was only 3 or 4 degrees out. We slept in pretty much all of our clothing and blankets and stuff. It was fine for one night.
Sunday, I woke up to the sound of my phone talking to me. Apparently my alarm clock talks. It was telling me to walk up and that it was 7:50 in the morning. We had breakfast in the main house next to a roaring fire. Then it was time for horses. I went first. Nearly cried it was so terrifying. Then Sandra road around a little. Then Tony, Sierra, and Amy went on a long ride with one of the daughters (and the 7-month old yellow lab and golden retriever). Sandra, Meagan and I went for a walk up the road with Inga (the cocker spaniel). We walked around the industrial area of town near the old, overgrown railroad tracks. We left for Buenos Aires around noon. Meagan and I met Steve at the Feria de Recoleta (big fair-like thing). Meagan and I bought mates (so we can make our own now) and shared a pastry-like thing. I left the fair at 4ish because I was exhausted. Came home, showered, and did nothing the rest of the day.
Monday, I went to the gym and then a cooking class. It was pretty boring. I don’t like cooking classes where you watch someone cook. I want to cook. The woman made whole wheat croissants, which I’m going to try with regular floor rather than whole wheat. Then Meagan came over for dinner because her family doesn’t eat dinner together, or talk to her and they’re never home. I made fajitas (which were not at all spicy, so I had to keep adding cayenne and stuff to them). They were really yummy. My host mom had never had them before. The spice packet was imported from the US. We walked our telenovela and went to bed.
Tuesday I went to the center of the city to buy some stuff for my camera and walk around. Then I went to pilates. My host my and I made another meat loaf; she really likes it.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Cataratas
Wednesday, I finally had the first class for my Borges writing workshop. It was great and it means that I have a schedule!!! Which is amazing considering I’ve been going to classes for about a month. I only have class on Wednesday and Thursday, which is also great and I really didn’t work hard to make this happen. Actually, pretty much every class I wanted to take was only offered Wednesday or Thursday morning.
Thursday I went to a bunch of classes and had lunch with my friends in the most amazing restaurant. The quantity of food was ridiculous and we got free Champaign and desert and pre-lunch snacky things. It was also great to just chill with my friends and listen to Amy’s weekend in Córdoba with her family and tell her about our trip to San Miguel.
Friday we left for Iguazú! I was on the early flight (thank god, the later flight was cancelled and didn’t arrive until two-three hours later). After repacking our bags in the airport, because we couldn’t take liquids in our carry-ons, we departed. The view from the flight was beautiful; I had a window seat. Iguazú was so warm (yay!!); it was nice to not have to layer sweaters and stuff. Most of the COPA group headed off to Brasil to view the waterfalls (cataratas). I hadn’t gotten the Brasilian visa because I would rather go to all of Brasil in January than see some waterfalls for a few hours. After realizing that entering Brasil illegally was rather expensive, I went on a hike with this guy from COPA. We started by taking the local colectivo to the Tres Fronteras/Puntas (three borders) where you can look across the rivers to Paraguay and Brasil. We decided to hike down the cliff/mountain thing to get to the beach of the river. We asked some locals about getting down to the bottom and this woman told us that she had never gone, but her husband had. He said that its extremely difficult to get back up and took him all day (they were in their 50s), but we were young and shouldn’t have too much difficulty. Along the way, we met some Argentine girls (ages 8-12) who wanted to come with us. So we set off for the river. After climbing down a hard part, I slid down part of the mountain (only like 5 feet, don’t worry mom) and landed on my butt. Unfortunately, I had to look like the dumb American who can’t do anything…it was pretty sucky. I was fine, and we continued on to the bottom. We wandered around on the rocks and I put my toes in the Río Paraná, which was pretty cold. Climbing back up wasn’t that hard, but required a lot of water once we got to the top. A bunch of other COPA kids (who hadn’t gone to Brasil) were at the top when we got there, so we hung around a little more and then took the colectivo back to the Hotel. After showering/de-mudding myself, my friends showed up from their trip to Brasil. We had dinner with all of COPA and then straightened each other’s hair (there is literally nothing to do between 9PM and 12AM ever). Then we went back in to town to go to a disco called Cuba Libre, which was free to enter, yay! We danced with some Argentines, who I still swear were underage (younger than 18), but pretty good dancers anyway.
Saturday was my crazy day with COPA. All 120 of us went to the Argentine side of the cataratas. It was raining pretty much all day. Everything I was wearing, including my underwear, was completely soaked. I managed to keep my camera dry in a plastic bag. The cataratas were really beautiful, even though they aren’t at full capacity at this time of the year (I’ll probably go back on my way in from Brasil in the summer). We spent the whole day walking around and taking pictures. We saw some coatí (really ugly animals that look like raccoons and are super friendly because they want food). Upon arriving at the hotel, I headed straight for the shower to warm up and put my clothing all over the floor to dry off. Then, my roommate and I watched Man on Fire (which had just started when I got out of the shower). It was an intense movie about a girl who gets kidnapped in Mexico City. (it was also really good and highly recommendable). The version we saw was in English and Spanish with Portuguese subtitles, which was interesting reading Portuguese. After dinner, we threw a surprise party for Meagan (who was really surprised, yay!). it was a lot of fun and ended with us bouncing on the bed while singing Shakira (yes, I have a video).
Sunday the rest of the group went back to Brasil to go to a bird park (where birds basically fly around/climb all over you). I set off with three boys and another girl to return to the same park as Friday to hike to the hidden waterfall. It was 3km out and back on flat ground and once we got to the waterfall, we hiked down it and around it (definitely not on the trail). It was a lot of fun, we tried to and then realized we couldn’t hike down another waterfall (there was absolutely no trail). On the trail we saw some little animals (one looked like a pig without a tail), more coatis, and some birds, but no monkeys (very sad). After returning to the park entrance, we ate what were possibly the worst emanadas in the entire country, but it didn’t really matter because we were starving after three hours of hiking. We went back to the hotel and met up with the rest of the group to wait before going to the airport to fly back to Buenos Aires. Again, window seat, but this time next to a guy from Tufts. I fell asleep and woke up to him poking me because we were being fed (it took me about 3 minutes to realize that the poking was reality and not part of my dream/catatonic state). We landed in the city as the sun was setting and went home, completely exhausted.
Monday and Tuesday I spent the day bumming around, went to COPA to use the internet (talked to Steve and Nancy on AIM, which was super exciting) and exchange photos and music with my friends, went to the gym, read for homework, and watched my telenovela.
Thursday I went to a bunch of classes and had lunch with my friends in the most amazing restaurant. The quantity of food was ridiculous and we got free Champaign and desert and pre-lunch snacky things. It was also great to just chill with my friends and listen to Amy’s weekend in Córdoba with her family and tell her about our trip to San Miguel.
Friday we left for Iguazú! I was on the early flight (thank god, the later flight was cancelled and didn’t arrive until two-three hours later). After repacking our bags in the airport, because we couldn’t take liquids in our carry-ons, we departed. The view from the flight was beautiful; I had a window seat. Iguazú was so warm (yay!!); it was nice to not have to layer sweaters and stuff. Most of the COPA group headed off to Brasil to view the waterfalls (cataratas). I hadn’t gotten the Brasilian visa because I would rather go to all of Brasil in January than see some waterfalls for a few hours. After realizing that entering Brasil illegally was rather expensive, I went on a hike with this guy from COPA. We started by taking the local colectivo to the Tres Fronteras/Puntas (three borders) where you can look across the rivers to Paraguay and Brasil. We decided to hike down the cliff/mountain thing to get to the beach of the river. We asked some locals about getting down to the bottom and this woman told us that she had never gone, but her husband had. He said that its extremely difficult to get back up and took him all day (they were in their 50s), but we were young and shouldn’t have too much difficulty. Along the way, we met some Argentine girls (ages 8-12) who wanted to come with us. So we set off for the river. After climbing down a hard part, I slid down part of the mountain (only like 5 feet, don’t worry mom) and landed on my butt. Unfortunately, I had to look like the dumb American who can’t do anything…it was pretty sucky. I was fine, and we continued on to the bottom. We wandered around on the rocks and I put my toes in the Río Paraná, which was pretty cold. Climbing back up wasn’t that hard, but required a lot of water once we got to the top. A bunch of other COPA kids (who hadn’t gone to Brasil) were at the top when we got there, so we hung around a little more and then took the colectivo back to the Hotel. After showering/de-mudding myself, my friends showed up from their trip to Brasil. We had dinner with all of COPA and then straightened each other’s hair (there is literally nothing to do between 9PM and 12AM ever). Then we went back in to town to go to a disco called Cuba Libre, which was free to enter, yay! We danced with some Argentines, who I still swear were underage (younger than 18), but pretty good dancers anyway.
Saturday was my crazy day with COPA. All 120 of us went to the Argentine side of the cataratas. It was raining pretty much all day. Everything I was wearing, including my underwear, was completely soaked. I managed to keep my camera dry in a plastic bag. The cataratas were really beautiful, even though they aren’t at full capacity at this time of the year (I’ll probably go back on my way in from Brasil in the summer). We spent the whole day walking around and taking pictures. We saw some coatí (really ugly animals that look like raccoons and are super friendly because they want food). Upon arriving at the hotel, I headed straight for the shower to warm up and put my clothing all over the floor to dry off. Then, my roommate and I watched Man on Fire (which had just started when I got out of the shower). It was an intense movie about a girl who gets kidnapped in Mexico City. (it was also really good and highly recommendable). The version we saw was in English and Spanish with Portuguese subtitles, which was interesting reading Portuguese. After dinner, we threw a surprise party for Meagan (who was really surprised, yay!). it was a lot of fun and ended with us bouncing on the bed while singing Shakira (yes, I have a video).
Sunday the rest of the group went back to Brasil to go to a bird park (where birds basically fly around/climb all over you). I set off with three boys and another girl to return to the same park as Friday to hike to the hidden waterfall. It was 3km out and back on flat ground and once we got to the waterfall, we hiked down it and around it (definitely not on the trail). It was a lot of fun, we tried to and then realized we couldn’t hike down another waterfall (there was absolutely no trail). On the trail we saw some little animals (one looked like a pig without a tail), more coatis, and some birds, but no monkeys (very sad). After returning to the park entrance, we ate what were possibly the worst emanadas in the entire country, but it didn’t really matter because we were starving after three hours of hiking. We went back to the hotel and met up with the rest of the group to wait before going to the airport to fly back to Buenos Aires. Again, window seat, but this time next to a guy from Tufts. I fell asleep and woke up to him poking me because we were being fed (it took me about 3 minutes to realize that the poking was reality and not part of my dream/catatonic state). We landed in the city as the sun was setting and went home, completely exhausted.
Monday and Tuesday I spent the day bumming around, went to COPA to use the internet (talked to Steve and Nancy on AIM, which was super exciting) and exchange photos and music with my friends, went to the gym, read for homework, and watched my telenovela.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
San Miguel, Tango, Tierra Santa
Thursday, I went to some classes at USAL: History of the US, History of Art/Culture of America/Argentina, History of America. I think I might take all of them. I spent the day figuring out how to work my new cell phone and realizing that the 24 hours I had to wait, was for the battery to charge (that took about 6 hours). I had to wait an additional 24 hours for the line to actually be set up. That was the info I encountered after going to three Movistars (cell phone company).
Friday, I haven’t got the slightest idea what I did during the morning. I walked to COPA (it took over an hour), passing through a Jewish neighborhood, where I went to a Kosher foodstore and bough imported Israeli pretzels (they don’t make pretzels in Argentina). I later discovered that in the supermarket near my house they have the same pretzels (more expensive), which is nice to know. The foodstore near my house has an imported food section, 1/3 of which is beer (Heineken, Stella, Corona), 1/3 is tea, and 1/3 is a random mix of pickles, pretzels and Pringles. I had the last Argentine history class at COPA in the afternoon and spent the rest of the evening at my friend’s apartment just hanging out.
Saturday, a bunch of us tried to go to Luján, which is this town about 1.5 hours away with a huge basilica and museum. The legend is that a Brazilian was trying to move a statue of the virgin mary in the 1600s (I think), but his cart got stuck in the mud. He took this as a sign from god that the virgin was to remain in this town and built a basilica for her. Every year, porteños walk to Luján to celebrate the statue (we were not planning on walking). Saturday morning we gathered at my friend’s apartment to go to Luján. We had a porteño with us (who arrived 2.5 hours late). My guide books said that to get to Luján, you can take colectivo 57 from plaza Italia (near my house) or two trains from once. The porteño said you could take a train from retiro. However, this was not the case. Some nice/helpful policemen told us to take the train to Nogués (Malvinas) and take a colectivo from there to Luján. So we paid our 30 cents, took an hour long train ride and wound up in this tiny town, which was actually kind of cute in a run-down-this-feels-like-a-third-world-country kinda way. It looked a lot like Kosovo (yes I have pictures). We found out that the colectivo to Luján only runs on Sunday (we’re not really sure if this is true or not, it’s the consensus after asking 5 other colectivo drivers and a bunch of locals). So, we took a colectivo to San Miguel (apparently there is a colectivo for Luján from San Miguel). When we got to San Miguel, we found out that the collective was the same one from Buenos Aires (the 57) and cost a lot (you have to pay with coins/moneda which is hard to do when you need 4 pesos worth). Also, Luján was anywhere between 1-1.5 hours away, no one could really give us a straight answer. So, we spent the day in San Miguel. We were clearly the only tourists there. It was a really cute town, we went to the main plaza and the cathedral (which like every single other town in South America, was on the main plaza – yay Spanish city planners). We ate outside because it was warm enough. I bought two rings for one peso (yes that 15 cents each) which are going to break before I get home, but for 15 cents, who cares? When it was time to leave we found out that San Miguel has a fabulous 30 cent train to get back to Buenos Aires (which actually stops right near my house). We went to Recoleta and had ice cream outside, by this time, it was pretty cold. Then we watched Down with Love (Rachel you might like this movie) in Spanish with Spanish subtitles…which didn’t actually match up. Then we had dinner at like 11 PM (yay Argentine time!). When I finally got home and told my mom about my day her only remark was San Miguel?, What an ugly town.
Sunday, we went to the World Championship of Tango exhibition. It was great. Wow, tango is really hard to dance and there were about a million people there watch (because its free!). after that, we walked around the botánico and then came back to my apartment for tea. Then, I made meatloaf for dinner. It was great, we still have left overs. I figured out the entire recipe, remembered it all and converted quantities in my head. It wasn’t really like the meatloaf at home because we didn’t have the same soup mix, so we used real onions….and we had actually argentine beef…and I mean really, you can’t beat that. And, on my 45 minute tour of the supermarket, I found fajita mix (imported from the US)! So, I’m gonna make fajitas!! I also found salsa (the “Mexican” kind, imported from the US) and tortilla chips. Every time I go to the supermarket, its always a huge test. Like breadcrums, which would logically be with the other carbs such as mashed potato mix and rice and instant polenta, are actually in the meat section. Hello, what are these people thinking!!! I have to ask a million people where the heck I can find certain things and its sooo complicated.
Monday was feriado!!! Which means no work or school and most businesses aren’t open. We went to Tierra Santa (literally, the Holy Land), a religious theme park in western Buenos Aires. It was really hysterical, like 40’ tall plastic Jesus rises every ½ hour to the tune of Hallelulah (spelling?). the whole place was supposed to be Jerusalem (the sign outside says you can go to Jerusalem every day of the year without having to leave Bs.As.), which included plastic palm trees, mountains and lots of dusty gravel. There were animatronic shows of creation, the birth of jesus, and the last supper. In addition, there were statue/figures of many religious icons, like ghandi and martin luther side by side. Needless to say, we have many very comical pictures of ourselves and these statues. Really, words cannot do Tierra Santa justice; it is just too funny. The theme park is actually right on the river, so we went and looked out on the brown water. After, we went to Chinatown (all very calm two blocks of it) and ate yummy Chinese food. The porteño we were with had never had Chinese food and could not figure out why we didn’t have bread. The only thing he really liked were the meat spring rolls (hello Chinese empanadas!!).
Tuesday, I finally did my laundry and went to the gym to run and went to pilates. The first song was Madonna, hung up (yes steve, I thought of you and your tdc-obsessiveness with music). My mom and I went to pick up her grandson from school for lunch and we had gnocchi which she spent all morning making. And, the maid came, which meant we spent half the morning quizzing the maid as to where our stuff was…like the bra I left on my closet door to wear... I had dinner at the program director’s house which was a lot of fun because he and his boyfriend are awesome and really really funny. It was also really good to see some of the people from COPA that I hadn’t seen in a while.
Friday, I haven’t got the slightest idea what I did during the morning. I walked to COPA (it took over an hour), passing through a Jewish neighborhood, where I went to a Kosher foodstore and bough imported Israeli pretzels (they don’t make pretzels in Argentina). I later discovered that in the supermarket near my house they have the same pretzels (more expensive), which is nice to know. The foodstore near my house has an imported food section, 1/3 of which is beer (Heineken, Stella, Corona), 1/3 is tea, and 1/3 is a random mix of pickles, pretzels and Pringles. I had the last Argentine history class at COPA in the afternoon and spent the rest of the evening at my friend’s apartment just hanging out.
Saturday, a bunch of us tried to go to Luján, which is this town about 1.5 hours away with a huge basilica and museum. The legend is that a Brazilian was trying to move a statue of the virgin mary in the 1600s (I think), but his cart got stuck in the mud. He took this as a sign from god that the virgin was to remain in this town and built a basilica for her. Every year, porteños walk to Luján to celebrate the statue (we were not planning on walking). Saturday morning we gathered at my friend’s apartment to go to Luján. We had a porteño with us (who arrived 2.5 hours late). My guide books said that to get to Luján, you can take colectivo 57 from plaza Italia (near my house) or two trains from once. The porteño said you could take a train from retiro. However, this was not the case. Some nice/helpful policemen told us to take the train to Nogués (Malvinas) and take a colectivo from there to Luján. So we paid our 30 cents, took an hour long train ride and wound up in this tiny town, which was actually kind of cute in a run-down-this-feels-like-a-third-world-country kinda way. It looked a lot like Kosovo (yes I have pictures). We found out that the colectivo to Luján only runs on Sunday (we’re not really sure if this is true or not, it’s the consensus after asking 5 other colectivo drivers and a bunch of locals). So, we took a colectivo to San Miguel (apparently there is a colectivo for Luján from San Miguel). When we got to San Miguel, we found out that the collective was the same one from Buenos Aires (the 57) and cost a lot (you have to pay with coins/moneda which is hard to do when you need 4 pesos worth). Also, Luján was anywhere between 1-1.5 hours away, no one could really give us a straight answer. So, we spent the day in San Miguel. We were clearly the only tourists there. It was a really cute town, we went to the main plaza and the cathedral (which like every single other town in South America, was on the main plaza – yay Spanish city planners). We ate outside because it was warm enough. I bought two rings for one peso (yes that 15 cents each) which are going to break before I get home, but for 15 cents, who cares? When it was time to leave we found out that San Miguel has a fabulous 30 cent train to get back to Buenos Aires (which actually stops right near my house). We went to Recoleta and had ice cream outside, by this time, it was pretty cold. Then we watched Down with Love (Rachel you might like this movie) in Spanish with Spanish subtitles…which didn’t actually match up. Then we had dinner at like 11 PM (yay Argentine time!). When I finally got home and told my mom about my day her only remark was San Miguel?, What an ugly town.
Sunday, we went to the World Championship of Tango exhibition. It was great. Wow, tango is really hard to dance and there were about a million people there watch (because its free!). after that, we walked around the botánico and then came back to my apartment for tea. Then, I made meatloaf for dinner. It was great, we still have left overs. I figured out the entire recipe, remembered it all and converted quantities in my head. It wasn’t really like the meatloaf at home because we didn’t have the same soup mix, so we used real onions….and we had actually argentine beef…and I mean really, you can’t beat that. And, on my 45 minute tour of the supermarket, I found fajita mix (imported from the US)! So, I’m gonna make fajitas!! I also found salsa (the “Mexican” kind, imported from the US) and tortilla chips. Every time I go to the supermarket, its always a huge test. Like breadcrums, which would logically be with the other carbs such as mashed potato mix and rice and instant polenta, are actually in the meat section. Hello, what are these people thinking!!! I have to ask a million people where the heck I can find certain things and its sooo complicated.
Monday was feriado!!! Which means no work or school and most businesses aren’t open. We went to Tierra Santa (literally, the Holy Land), a religious theme park in western Buenos Aires. It was really hysterical, like 40’ tall plastic Jesus rises every ½ hour to the tune of Hallelulah (spelling?). the whole place was supposed to be Jerusalem (the sign outside says you can go to Jerusalem every day of the year without having to leave Bs.As.), which included plastic palm trees, mountains and lots of dusty gravel. There were animatronic shows of creation, the birth of jesus, and the last supper. In addition, there were statue/figures of many religious icons, like ghandi and martin luther side by side. Needless to say, we have many very comical pictures of ourselves and these statues. Really, words cannot do Tierra Santa justice; it is just too funny. The theme park is actually right on the river, so we went and looked out on the brown water. After, we went to Chinatown (all very calm two blocks of it) and ate yummy Chinese food. The porteño we were with had never had Chinese food and could not figure out why we didn’t have bread. The only thing he really liked were the meat spring rolls (hello Chinese empanadas!!).
Tuesday, I finally did my laundry and went to the gym to run and went to pilates. The first song was Madonna, hung up (yes steve, I thought of you and your tdc-obsessiveness with music). My mom and I went to pick up her grandson from school for lunch and we had gnocchi which she spent all morning making. And, the maid came, which meant we spent half the morning quizzing the maid as to where our stuff was…like the bra I left on my closet door to wear... I had dinner at the program director’s house which was a lot of fun because he and his boyfriend are awesome and really really funny. It was also really good to see some of the people from COPA that I hadn’t seen in a while.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
La Plata
Thursday, I finally went to some classes that I liked. First, I was supposed to go to a class called the history of the US, but I overslept, and the class wound up being cancelled anyway (it might happen this week, we’ll see). Then I went to an art history class, which I really liked, we’re learning about modernismo in Brazil in the 20s. I spent the rest of the day running errands and stuff. At night I went to the History of America I (for which I already know Tufts will give me credit, yay!!), which is a really funny class. The classroom is probably the size of a Carmichael single (aka not big at all) and isn’t square. It’s a bizarre five-sided room, where the chalkboard is on the slanted wall. The professor was very responsive to the foreigners in the class and very helpful. We taught him how to say our names, forget Geylin, he was completely stumped on that one. We’re learning about the introduction of religion in Argentina and the rest of South America. The prof asked if we were all Protestants, because we’re from the US. When he got to me, I explained that I was ½ Jewish ½ Catholic. Even though this isn’t that rare here, he was really surprised.
Friday, I went shopping. I went to a street which has a ton of leather stores, yet none had a bag big enough for me. All the bags were super tiny and the sales people swore they were large. Then, I found the bag I wanted in Polermo Soho, a small neighborhood on the border of/part of my neighborhood (there are a million Polermos, all part of actual Polermo, in which I live). Friday afternoon, I had an Argentine history lesson at COPA. I don’t think I did anything Friday night, generally by the time Friday comes around, all I can do is crash.
Saturday, I went to La Plata, the capital of the Buenos Aires province. It’s a small city about an hour away by bus. It was nice to get out of Buenos Aires and go to a super quiet, small city. I went to the natural history museum and saw the dinosaurs and stuffed animals (gross!). Then I went to the Cathedral which was fabulous because it’s a gothic, European cathedral, but you can go up one of the towers and be above the entire town with a fantastic view. After that, I went to the Disney world of Argentina, called La Republica de los Niños (the republic of the children). Evita built it for working class children to visit, and to brainwash them into becoming Peronistas. It was interesting and they had an international doll museum. The dolls for the US were American girls (Molly, Addy, Josefina, and Felicity), which was really funny.
Sunday, I finally went to Recoleta, which is where the huge cemetery is (Evita is buried there). Her tomb is really anticlimactic, but the rest of the cemetery is really interesting because its all above ground tombs, many of which are really opulently built/decorated. Some look like small churches with towers, statues all over them and all kinds of really expensive marble decorations. I also went to the national library, which is really hard to get into, both physically and figuratively. The building itself is really hard to enter because you have to walk up this humongous, long ramp and go around a corner and then the entrance is this small part (most of the building is 60 feet or so above the entrance and you have to take an elevator to get to it). Then to get in, you can only go to certain floors if you aren’t a resident (I think, I couldn’t really figure it out). I couldn’t’ figure out how you enter to just look at books, because I actually never saw any books inside. However, because the building is so high up, it has a fantastic view and you can actually see the river (my first time, except for the locks near La Boca). Buenos Aires isn’t really designed to view the river.
Monday, I didn’t really do much but go to a café with my friend. I also joined a gym. Its completely a no-frills gym but everyone is really nice. I think I’m the only yanqui there, at least this has been the norm so far (for my grand total of two visits). I used the treadmill, yay!, but I think I was the only female in there who actually worked out. The woman on the treadmill next to me was walking at the pace of a small child, while wearing a jacket and super trendy stretch pants.
Tuesday, I went to class at the UBA and left during the halfway break. The class was about Spanish theater and its influences on Argentine theater, but it was soooo boring and kind of difficult to understand the professors. I’ve also basically decided that I really don’t like literature, so I’m not taking any lit classes at the UBA (they’re all super difficult and the people there are super into literature, we’re talking obsessed with it). Then I went to a café to read for art history and my cell phone was stolen. A man dropped moneda (coins) on the floor, I though accidentally and when I was picking them up, he or the guy at the other table, I’m not sure, took my phone. So, now I have to go buy a phone, which hopefully I’ll get to tomorrow. After that, I went to Pilates and now I’m in a lot of pain because it was a work out.
I've already bought a new cell phone, which cost me about $25 US and is not at all flashy. It was the cheapest phone here, no one would want to steal it.
Friday, I went shopping. I went to a street which has a ton of leather stores, yet none had a bag big enough for me. All the bags were super tiny and the sales people swore they were large. Then, I found the bag I wanted in Polermo Soho, a small neighborhood on the border of/part of my neighborhood (there are a million Polermos, all part of actual Polermo, in which I live). Friday afternoon, I had an Argentine history lesson at COPA. I don’t think I did anything Friday night, generally by the time Friday comes around, all I can do is crash.
Saturday, I went to La Plata, the capital of the Buenos Aires province. It’s a small city about an hour away by bus. It was nice to get out of Buenos Aires and go to a super quiet, small city. I went to the natural history museum and saw the dinosaurs and stuffed animals (gross!). Then I went to the Cathedral which was fabulous because it’s a gothic, European cathedral, but you can go up one of the towers and be above the entire town with a fantastic view. After that, I went to the Disney world of Argentina, called La Republica de los Niños (the republic of the children). Evita built it for working class children to visit, and to brainwash them into becoming Peronistas. It was interesting and they had an international doll museum. The dolls for the US were American girls (Molly, Addy, Josefina, and Felicity), which was really funny.
Sunday, I finally went to Recoleta, which is where the huge cemetery is (Evita is buried there). Her tomb is really anticlimactic, but the rest of the cemetery is really interesting because its all above ground tombs, many of which are really opulently built/decorated. Some look like small churches with towers, statues all over them and all kinds of really expensive marble decorations. I also went to the national library, which is really hard to get into, both physically and figuratively. The building itself is really hard to enter because you have to walk up this humongous, long ramp and go around a corner and then the entrance is this small part (most of the building is 60 feet or so above the entrance and you have to take an elevator to get to it). Then to get in, you can only go to certain floors if you aren’t a resident (I think, I couldn’t really figure it out). I couldn’t’ figure out how you enter to just look at books, because I actually never saw any books inside. However, because the building is so high up, it has a fantastic view and you can actually see the river (my first time, except for the locks near La Boca). Buenos Aires isn’t really designed to view the river.
Monday, I didn’t really do much but go to a café with my friend. I also joined a gym. Its completely a no-frills gym but everyone is really nice. I think I’m the only yanqui there, at least this has been the norm so far (for my grand total of two visits). I used the treadmill, yay!, but I think I was the only female in there who actually worked out. The woman on the treadmill next to me was walking at the pace of a small child, while wearing a jacket and super trendy stretch pants.
Tuesday, I went to class at the UBA and left during the halfway break. The class was about Spanish theater and its influences on Argentine theater, but it was soooo boring and kind of difficult to understand the professors. I’ve also basically decided that I really don’t like literature, so I’m not taking any lit classes at the UBA (they’re all super difficult and the people there are super into literature, we’re talking obsessed with it). Then I went to a café to read for art history and my cell phone was stolen. A man dropped moneda (coins) on the floor, I though accidentally and when I was picking them up, he or the guy at the other table, I’m not sure, took my phone. So, now I have to go buy a phone, which hopefully I’ll get to tomorrow. After that, I went to Pilates and now I’m in a lot of pain because it was a work out.
I've already bought a new cell phone, which cost me about $25 US and is not at all flashy. It was the cheapest phone here, no one would want to steal it.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Azúcar
Friday we had a history lesson at COPA, all about Peron. It was interesting, but pretty much repetitive for me because I took Latin American politics and I’ve read books on Argentine history. When I got home, we had no power. The man from downstairs, Marcelo, was in the apartment connecting the power from the hallway to our living space. We needed power because we had an entire cow’s worth and an entire pig’s worth of meat in the fridge. Friday night I didn’t do anything. By the time I left COPA, got home and had dinner, I was basically asleep at the table anyway.
Saturday morning I woke up and pealed beans. We were making stew, which included beans that had to be pealed – one by one. So, I pealed while Gil (mi mamá acá) cut the meat into little pieces. The stew is called locro. Its corn-based, with beans which are mashed and basically become sauce, meat, more meat, bacon, salami, more meat, and squash which is mashed into the sauce as well. We made enough for 10 people and probably 10 more servings of leftovers. Gil only makes it once a year, so it was a special occasion. We made me a small pot without beans, which means I wasn’t really eating locro, but hey, I don’t know the difference. After pealing beans, and running out to buy frutillas (strawberries, Gil swears they’re different from ours, but they’re not), I went to a café with my friends. We sat outside for the first time in over a week. It was pretty chilly, around 16ºC I think.
Then I went shopping and got a shirt, sweater, and pair of black flats because I realized I didn’t have clothing to wear out. I got home at 7 and basically passed out on my bed. I woke up at 10, really hungry and got empanadas delivered – so dangerous. They’re fantastic and they came in like 15-20 minutes from across the street….its going to be a bad year….j/k.
Then, in loser-Argentine fashion I went out at 1 AM (that’s too early to be cool – cool is going out at 2 AM). I met a bunch of people at Azúcar, a salsa bar/club. We danced for hours, and I figured out that I’m pretty bad. It took me about an hour to figure out the 3 steps needed to salsa. By 3:30, I basically had it down.
Sunday morning, I woke up early because my body thinks 9 is the perfect time to wake up every day (thanks crazy COPA programs). I helped Gil with the locro and preparations for having the family come, which included buying more stuff because she was busy cooking. I figured out that the panadería around the corner has the most fantastic pastries…which is also really bad.
The family came at 1 PM, Gil’s adorable grandson, age 7, thinks he’s Jack Sparrow, errr Capitan Jack Sparrow. His mom managed to get him out of her thigh-high boots, rings, and handkerchief, but he arrived with his eye make-up still on. I had printed info on baseball from the internet because the grandson was interested it. He tried to play with Gil in his apartment; I think they had 5 bases in all the different rooms- the kitchen, bathroom, his room. I don’t think he actually has a baseball, either. I’m pretty sure they were using a wiffle-ball bat and one of the dog’s tennis balls.
Then Gil’s cousin, his wife, daughter, son-in-law, and 14 year-old grandson arrived for lunch. We ate and it was fantastic; everyone had seconds. After we ate, we played this game called Buraco. It involves putting tiles with numbers down in arrangements, with the goal being getting rid of all of your tiles. I won twice. It was pretty sweet. The boys tried speaking in English, which was hilarious. They kept messing up blue and red (the tiles are colored). They also kept eating, all afternoon. Every couple of minutes Gil would be offering more ice cream, frutilla, apples, bananas, chocolate.
I think everyone finally left at 7ish, which meant it was time to start the dishes, which took about an hour. Afterwards, I translated an article (English to Spanish) about Gil’s friend who had died. Her friend was one of the principle editors of the Buenos Aires Herald (the English-language paper here). Gil can read English, but the friend’s daughters cannot.
Monday, I went to some classes, but I’m not going to take either of those. The first was supposed to be about poetry and its function in society. What the title failed to mention was that it was German romantic and classic poetry and philosophers like Kant. Thankfully, the class was only two hours, because I would have died if it was the normal four hours (all classes at UBA are four hours, or two hours twice a week).
After my class at the UBA, Universidad de Buenos Aires, I met my friend Jen and we went to the oldest café in Buenos Aires. It near the Plaza de Mayo and a major tourist trap. The next class I went to was one I wasn’t planning on taking anyway. It was pre-colombian art history of Argentina and the Americas at USAL – Universidad del Salvador. I want to take the fourth time period because it’s the 20th century. That class will be on Thursday. Tuesday, I went to the UBA again for 8 hours of classes. The first one was pretty terrible. It was mainly theory based and the function of “markets” and literature, whether literature and authors exist inside markets, or outside. The first thing we have to read is Karl Marx. So, that class is not going to happen. Luckily, we have all this time to try out classes. After a cold empanada for lunch, which only cost 1 peso, my cheapest one yet!, I went to a class on Spanish short theater and its influences in Latin American. I didn’t love the class, but it’s the best UBA one yet.
Saturday morning I woke up and pealed beans. We were making stew, which included beans that had to be pealed – one by one. So, I pealed while Gil (mi mamá acá) cut the meat into little pieces. The stew is called locro. Its corn-based, with beans which are mashed and basically become sauce, meat, more meat, bacon, salami, more meat, and squash which is mashed into the sauce as well. We made enough for 10 people and probably 10 more servings of leftovers. Gil only makes it once a year, so it was a special occasion. We made me a small pot without beans, which means I wasn’t really eating locro, but hey, I don’t know the difference. After pealing beans, and running out to buy frutillas (strawberries, Gil swears they’re different from ours, but they’re not), I went to a café with my friends. We sat outside for the first time in over a week. It was pretty chilly, around 16ºC I think.
Then I went shopping and got a shirt, sweater, and pair of black flats because I realized I didn’t have clothing to wear out. I got home at 7 and basically passed out on my bed. I woke up at 10, really hungry and got empanadas delivered – so dangerous. They’re fantastic and they came in like 15-20 minutes from across the street….its going to be a bad year….j/k.
Then, in loser-Argentine fashion I went out at 1 AM (that’s too early to be cool – cool is going out at 2 AM). I met a bunch of people at Azúcar, a salsa bar/club. We danced for hours, and I figured out that I’m pretty bad. It took me about an hour to figure out the 3 steps needed to salsa. By 3:30, I basically had it down.
Sunday morning, I woke up early because my body thinks 9 is the perfect time to wake up every day (thanks crazy COPA programs). I helped Gil with the locro and preparations for having the family come, which included buying more stuff because she was busy cooking. I figured out that the panadería around the corner has the most fantastic pastries…which is also really bad.
The family came at 1 PM, Gil’s adorable grandson, age 7, thinks he’s Jack Sparrow, errr Capitan Jack Sparrow. His mom managed to get him out of her thigh-high boots, rings, and handkerchief, but he arrived with his eye make-up still on. I had printed info on baseball from the internet because the grandson was interested it. He tried to play with Gil in his apartment; I think they had 5 bases in all the different rooms- the kitchen, bathroom, his room. I don’t think he actually has a baseball, either. I’m pretty sure they were using a wiffle-ball bat and one of the dog’s tennis balls.
Then Gil’s cousin, his wife, daughter, son-in-law, and 14 year-old grandson arrived for lunch. We ate and it was fantastic; everyone had seconds. After we ate, we played this game called Buraco. It involves putting tiles with numbers down in arrangements, with the goal being getting rid of all of your tiles. I won twice. It was pretty sweet. The boys tried speaking in English, which was hilarious. They kept messing up blue and red (the tiles are colored). They also kept eating, all afternoon. Every couple of minutes Gil would be offering more ice cream, frutilla, apples, bananas, chocolate.
I think everyone finally left at 7ish, which meant it was time to start the dishes, which took about an hour. Afterwards, I translated an article (English to Spanish) about Gil’s friend who had died. Her friend was one of the principle editors of the Buenos Aires Herald (the English-language paper here). Gil can read English, but the friend’s daughters cannot.
Monday, I went to some classes, but I’m not going to take either of those. The first was supposed to be about poetry and its function in society. What the title failed to mention was that it was German romantic and classic poetry and philosophers like Kant. Thankfully, the class was only two hours, because I would have died if it was the normal four hours (all classes at UBA are four hours, or two hours twice a week).
After my class at the UBA, Universidad de Buenos Aires, I met my friend Jen and we went to the oldest café in Buenos Aires. It near the Plaza de Mayo and a major tourist trap. The next class I went to was one I wasn’t planning on taking anyway. It was pre-colombian art history of Argentina and the Americas at USAL – Universidad del Salvador. I want to take the fourth time period because it’s the 20th century. That class will be on Thursday. Tuesday, I went to the UBA again for 8 hours of classes. The first one was pretty terrible. It was mainly theory based and the function of “markets” and literature, whether literature and authors exist inside markets, or outside. The first thing we have to read is Karl Marx. So, that class is not going to happen. Luckily, we have all this time to try out classes. After a cold empanada for lunch, which only cost 1 peso, my cheapest one yet!, I went to a class on Spanish short theater and its influences in Latin American. I didn’t love the class, but it’s the best UBA one yet.
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