Mendoza

The last two weeks have been super busy! I went to Mendoza for the long weekend and had a BLAST! The bus ride from BsAs to Mendoza was about 14 hours. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The seats reclined just enough to almost be comfortable, there was a bathroom, food service and I won a bottle of chardonnay for winning on-board bingo! It was my first time on a double decker and I hated the swaying and nearness of passing rigs next to my face all night but there was plenty of good company and maté to keep it enjoyable.

We arrived in Mendoza and headed to Hostel Empedrado. I have only stayed in a few hostels, but Empedrado was the best so far. The bed was comfortable, the kitchen was large and conducive to socializing, the bathrooms were nice and there was a ridiculous free breakfast every morning- panqueques con dulce de leche, naranjas, medialunas, café, cereal and bananas! I could wake up to maté and panqueques con dulce de leche for the rest of my life! The hostel also hosted an asado that was amazing.  All you can eat/drink vino, various cuts of beef and pork for 35 pesos (US$8.75)! Add in the good company and it was perfect! Oh, and there was a free wine tasting!

Our first day in Mendoza we met three girls from New Zealand, a girl from Finland and her Swedish boyfriend and a guy from New York City. I could not have asked for a better people with whom to enjoy Mendoza. There was never a lull in the conversation and we made sure to cook up some tasty meals between the seven of us! The three Kiwis actually met my friend Dylan (a friend of a friend I hung out with while in Costa Rica earlier this year) while traveling through Colombia. The world IS shrinking all around me!

 Johan, Ida, Claire, Stacey, Nicola, me and Agustin enjoying dinner

We spent two days biking betwixt (I LOVE that word!) vineyards. We made stops at La Rural, Lagarde, Luigi Bosca and di Tommaso. They were all nice, but Lagarde and di Tommaso were my favorites.  I thought Lagarde had the most informative tour, super tasty champagne (not much of a champagne fan) and an awesome guide who cut us a deal on a few bottles of wine. Di Tommaso was the most picturesque.  We opted out of the tour there (but still drank the wine) but did enjoy lunch and the scenery. Luigi Bosca was the swankest of all and La Rural was the only one that allowed us to venture into the vines. 

 Antique wine tools at La Rural

Lunch at di Tommaso and the view from the table

 Wine tasting room at Luigi Bosca

Fermentation tanks, 108 year old grapes in the vineyards and enjoying the champagne at Lagarde

The winery tours were a great way to spend our days. The idea is that you hop on a bus to the wine region of your choice, rent a bike (US$4-6) and set off. The bike rental companies give you a map, vouchers and recommendations then guarantee victory wine when you return in one piece.

Even though it seems like you would be too drunk to ride a bike, the truth is that you don't get endless wine at each winery. You do the tour, enjoy a sample or two then head on to the next. We did enjoy a bit of wine at di Tommaso but we also ate lunch there and biked 4ish kilometers to get there. Riding the bike is half the fun! The scenery is amazing- Andes on one side, desert on the other and vineyards sprinkled all around. Also, the wineries in Mendoza are a good distance outside of Mendoza city. And with so many places to choose from, it's rare that tourists cluster at any particular place.  Mendoza felt authentic. Not to say Buenos Aires isn't authentic, but 8 of 10 people here speak functional English- not the case in Mendoza. Also, Mendoza's proximity to Chile and Bolivia means a higher indigenous population.  No plastic surgery, no honking cabs, no sky scrapers.

Another day, we went up into the mountains for an asado with some fellow Argentineans Agustin met while traveling where else but New Zealand. That was the day I fell in love with maté. Agustin and his friends spent all of the hour long car ride catching up so I just slurped maté and tried hard to contain the 5-year-old side of me from slapping the windows every time we cleared a curve and the Andes burst onto the scene.  Oooh, the food was so good and the weather was ideal! I was wide-eyed the entire day- in a state of shock that my life landed me in the Andes with eight Argentines, speaking Spanish (okay, more listening than speaking), drinking wine, passing around maté and soaking up sol. 

Life is so good. So, so good. 

We packed up and got back on the bus to BsAs. The return trip was 17 hours because we stopped at what seemed like every bus station between Mendoza and Cordoba. If you're not familiar with the geography of Argentina- just know that that's a long way! But we were exhausted and the bus was nice enough to play a variety of movies. 

(Warning: Ranting ahead!)

The first movie was 'Shooter' AKA the biggest blow to American cinema since the beginning of time.  I was embarrassed through the whole movie and hoped no one on the bus would notice the gringa on board. The main character's name is Bob Lee Swagger. Really?! It was painful to hear several minutes of Spanish then a name like that. Like a dagger to my heart every time. "Muchachos, lo importante es que encontramos a los espies! Ahora vayan al edificio y le maten el hombre que se llaman BOB LEE SWAGGER." Throw that in with the fact that the subtitles were half Portuguese and my brain was crying for 1.5 hours. Although I did have quite a few giggles thinking about how much fun the movie would have been if Daniel were there. Daniel loves Mark Wahlberg. NOT! A few years ago we had a couple hours of gutbusting laughter while watching the second worst movie ever made: 'Rockstar' which also stars Mark Wahlberg.  The other two movies were okay.  I threw up thanks to God when the last movie was NOT dubbed. We were right under the monitor and this bus was not equipped with headphone capabilities. You either watched the movie or...watched the movie.

We finally arrived back in the city at 8 a.m.and if I could drop everything and go back right now, I would! Luckily the friends we made in Mendoza are all heading to BsAs this week so maybe the fun will continue here!

I'm going, I'm going where the water tastes like wine

El fin de semana esta aca por fin!

Belgrano doesn't have classes on Friday so every weekend is 3 days. Add to that 'dia de las estudiantes' Tuesday and I have a 5 day break! Dia de las estudiantes is a holiday for university students in Argentina that typically coincides with the end of midterms and the beginning of la primavera. We have classes Monday but I only know 2 kids that aren't traveling this weekend so classrooms will be empty.

After much deliberation and uncertainty, I have decided to go Mendoza this weekend. I received another grant (muchissimas gracias Auburn!) so I felt that was my cue to hop on a bus to wine country! I leave tonight at 9 and will arrive around 10 a.m. I'll have 4 full days of relaxation then Tuesday will be spent on a bus back to BsAs cramming for my grammar midterm.

I am beyond excited for this trip. Four days outside of the concrete jungle, speaking Spanish, taking bike tours through vineyards that hug los Andes- my life is a dream! 

Cute story. Mi amiga Kelsie has been going crazy for the last few weeks counting down until the day her dad would arrive for a week long visit. Every time I've spoken with her recently all she can talk about it how excited she is to show her dad around and have family around. So, this morning, she went al aeropuerto to pick him up. He told her he had to exchange some money so they walked to the cambio counter and SURPRISE! her little sister and mom came also! She had no idea. Everyone else back home knew about the surprise and, of course, Kelsie went nuts. I got a text from her at 7 this morning that said 'MY WHOLE FAMILY IS HERE!' Isn't that awesome!?

One thing that I enjoy observing is how parenting is the same all over the world.  Recently, Francisco came to our house for a visit. Diego and Florencia were playing peek-a-boo and for about 20 minutes, all I heard was "Fran! Donde estaaa? Hay estaaaa!" (Fran! Where are you? There he is!) And it's funny to see parents delight in their kids' clumsiness. I saw a little boy running down the sidewalk with his dog a few weeks ago. The dog was really excited and accidentally ran over the kid who ended up tumbling a few feet and crashing into a wall. It was followed by a horrific scream (he hit his head pretty hard) and the poor dog stuck his tail between his legs fearing punishment. But before all the mayhem set in, the dad- who was about 15 feet behind the kid- couldn't help but laugh at the tackle and tumbling that ensued. And just now, a little boy- maybe 5- didn't want to leave the cafe. Clearly the mom was ready to go. So, she packs up their stuff and says 'Estoy saliendote' (I'm leaving you!) The little boy persisted and when the mom walked out the door, he followed yelling 'Sos mala!' (You're mean!) She laughed, everyone near the door laughed and the kid pouted around the corner. We really are all the same!

Time for me to get la cuenta and head to the subte. Then packing for Mendoza!

Home of the free, land of the idiots

Dear World,

WHAT IS HAPPENING TO YOU?!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39180275/ns/us_news-immigration_a_nation_divided/

REALLY?! This story is ridiculous on a level I didn't think existed. We put a man on the MOON but somehow deporting an AMERICAN CITIZEN is easier than using all that fancy technology to verify the authenticity of a birth certificate? It's called a TELEPHONE, did they even use it?

Being out of the country and seeing the news makes me not want to return. It's way past time that America stop thinking it's better than everyone else. It's not. We're not. The world is a groovy place and Americans need to take their silver spoons out of their cups at their tea parties and GET OVER THEMSELVES.

I am appalled. Sometimes I read the news, go out with friends here and hope and pray they didn't read the same articles I did. Because there is no way I could or would want to defend my country for some of the things that it does. There are millions of wonderful things about my country but they're beginning to be lost among stories of hate and blatant stupidity.

Since when is not being fluent in English a crime? Can we pat the kid on the back for having basic knowledge of a language other than his native tongue? There are two people in my family that know more than 30 or so words in Spanish. So, really, can we move on to more important things than fueling Mexiphobia and trying to establish an official language for a place that is supposed to be a melting pot?

But it's okay, France is making a fool of themselves also.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39175408/ns/world_news-europe/

In other news, I may be going to Mendoza this weekend.

What a week!

Ready for rambling? Bueno!

This week has been awesome! Kelsie and I went to the Argentina v. España exhibition game Tuesday. It was so much fun! People were packed in and I only saw two España fans. On the way in I saw a group of guys that I met when I first got here but haven't seen or spoken to since. THE WORLD IS SHRINKING. Seeing faces your recognize in a metropolis like BsAs is shocking. And, more importantly, Argentina won 4-1! It was intense- chanting, cheering, niños cussing like sailors (in Spanish, of course!), police wearing riot gear, German shepherds protecting the field- but since it was only an exhibition game, it was more like soccer match light. The passion was as intense but everyone kept their inner soccer hooligan under control. At one point, someone in the upper deck behind us needed a medic. After a few minutes of yelling 'med-i-co!' to the medics standing on the field, our entire section started chanting MED-I-CO, MED-I-CO and the day was saved. I think. I hope. It was a great experience and I am so grateful I had the opportunity to go!

Midterms are next week. Yikes. Sunday and Monday are going to be living hell, but I suppose I can take school seriously for a few days.

This past Saturday, mi amiga Maria y yo participated in the Universidad de Belgrano 4k (2.5 miles) run. It was a lot of fun. The course was in and around the park district in Palermo which also includes the Hipodrome where they have horse racing every day. It was neat-o to be running and see horses (caballos) taking their morning laps. Here are before and after shots:

Saturday our group is going to an estancia. An estancia is a like a cattle farm out in la pampa- the grasslands of Argentina were all that world class beef is harvested? cultured? raised? Dad, what's the word for that? I don't know if the one we're visiting will have cattle, but there will be horses and it's supposed to be hot while we're there. Oh, and, there's gonna be FRESH AIRRRRR! El cuerpo necesita mucho aire fresco!

Yesterday I learned two new Spanish words that I think are vital- crocante (crunchy) and carcajada (big smile, burst of laughter). Cosquillas (tickles) was also a word we learned yesterday but I, being a victim of high-tickle-sensitivity have known this word for quite some time!

Also, earlier this week Diego gave me an old maté gourd. I'm so happy to have it! Not only is that several pesos saved, but I have a hand-me-down maté gourd (I don't think that's the proper name) from one awesome porteño!

Went to the mini-grocery store next to my house a minute ago. It's increible how inexpensive groceries are here. For US$8 I got a big bag of chips, a bag of pepas (little cookies with a jelly-type topping drizzled in chocolate), coke, apple juice, 1/2 gallon (more or less) of milk, bag of M&M's (peanut, duh!) and a pack of vanilla cookies. That would cost double at home! Face stuffing begins now! I lied. It began 20 minutes ago.

The weekend is here and I am so happy!  Date tonight, visa office and shopping tomorrow, dancing tomorrow night, estancia Saturday, maté and naps in the grass at Recoleta Sunday then mid-terms! Tengo una vida increible!

Besitos!

Beso = kiss, besito = smooch - just for you Dad!

Looking forward

Every day I wake up and am super excited for whatever the day will bring. It seems like just when I think things here cannot get any better, they do!

I've settled in and have a hit list of places that I visit every week. Fruit salads at Madeleine's, Heinekens at Casa Bar, ham and cheese empanadas at Gourmet, pitchers at El Alamo, coffee at Piacere, Sunday afternoons on the grass at Recoleta, laps at Floralis Generica, Caesar salads at Amelia's, white girl dance moves in Plaza Serrano, 2 OJ's at the Ollero station kiosko every morning and on and on!

School is going well. I like my classes, well, I actually loathe tango on Tuesdays. Tuesday is theory day, Thursday is dance day. Tango theory is incredibly boring and it doesn't help that I have a hard time understanding the teacher. And the view from the classroom is amazing so it takes all I have just to face the front.

I really like my cine latinoamericano class. We watch a variety of movies then have discussions. It'd be nice if I could get over my timidness, but it's coming along. Also in this class there is an unbelievable span of Spanish abilities. There are a couple of kids who never bothered to learn the Spanish alphabet or what sound an 'n' with a tilde makes. Then there are 3 Mexicanas who should be taking classes with Argentines but passed on that option. It's frustrating at times for those of us who fall in the middle but at least I know that '-cion' is pronounced see-own and not shun!

Arte argentino is a little snoozy, but I am actually learning a lot and it's easy to apply since this city is covered in statues and neat architecture. It's a lecture class but we have projects every few weeks that send us all over town researching museums and works of art. Not bad!

And, believe it or not, my grammatica class is enjoyable. It's a little daunting at times, but I always leave feeling like my brain has turned to jell-o from thinking so hard! And it's an interesting atmosphere. The class consists of 3 Americans, 3 Germans, 2 Italians and 1 French girl. So, we have to speak Spanish! Even though (of course)the Europeans speak English as well, some of them go deer-in-headlights if you throw in English. It's like you can see their wheels processing 3 languages at once.


Yesterday I bought my ticket for the Argentina v. Spain match. I'm so excited for this game I can hardly stand it! That's River Plate Stadium and my beautiful city in the photo! Not only have I never been to a pro or even semi-pro futbol match, but my first match is between the best teams in the world. Messi, Mascherano and Tevez are on the Argentina line-up and I'm hoping Villa will be playing for Spain. Viva Argentinaaaa! I have 8 days to learn the national anthem and some futbol chants. I've already chosen my outfit and will be doing extra homework all week so I can skip class that day! Libertad, libertad, libertad!

I've also been running since I arrived. I haven't done it consistently until this week, but now I have a running partner and tomorrow we're registering for the Belgrano 4K! I'm super excited for this too! Running here is so much fun. Not only is the scenery completely different, but there are hundreds of parks and paths that cut through the city and there are people running from the crack of dawn until dinner time (10 p.m.!). And in this futbol country, everyone runs. Marathons, ultra marathons, mini marathons, half marathons, 10 k's, 4 k's, 13 k's...everyone runs!


I was awarded a grant from Auburn this week and I made money at my family's annual yardsale. This extra money makes it possible for me to start planning a trip! I'm looking into Iguazu Falls, Mendoza and Cordoba. Iguazu Falls looks amazing but it's a 20+ hour bus ride and I'm not sure who I would go with. Mendoza also sounds really nice but it's a long bus ride and I think I would end up spending more than I should. Cordoba would be cool because it's the educational center of Argentina and the second largest city. I also potentially have a free place to stay there but it's another big city and my lungs need fresh air!

Okay, time for homework. Reading 15 pages of my cine book is going to take hours! I'd read it on the subte but then I wouldn't be able to people watch!

Besitos y abrazitos!

Estoy enamorada

Welcome to my first blog post from a coffee shop. < Insert jokes and namecalling here. > But it's perfect. I have an hour to kill before class, I'm situated in the corner with my medialunas, pasta frola bites, shot of water (no, really, they serve shots of water w/ coffee)and a bowl of coffee. Yes, a bowl of coffee.

This past weekend was the first time I really felt like I was HERE. Totally, all the way here. Cabeza, cuerpo, corazon. Friday morning the group went to the immigration office. And, of course, immigration offices are hell no matter where you are. I ended up at the window of the guy who was feeling particularly- to put it vaguely- snarky. With such a large group (15 or so) it was obvious that the Americans had entered the building. So, this guy decides to speak Spanglish to me. But, I head into every social situation with the mindset that I don't know a damn word of English so his Spanglish threw me for a loop and from there he branded me as an idiot and finished the process like we were playing Pictionary. For you Spanish speakers out there, he told me 'toma un seat.' But I was not expecting 'seat' so I just looked at him confused trying to figure out what I was supposed to be taking. So he stood up, rolled his eyes, sat down in his chair and said 'A seat! Me entiendes now?' Jesus. Pick a language. But whatever, he's still working his miserable job in public administration and I am now an official resident de la Republica de Argentina!

Friday night, I went to a cookout with some new Argentine friends. It was a lot of fun to be in that setting with those people. Just me, just them, just having fun and me beaming in my newfound niche.

Saturday I slept in then met my girlfriends for a coffee date. Friday tends to be our big night out so we're beginning to find ourselves at the same cafe, at the same table every Saturday afternoon catching up. Even though I see Kelsie and Katherine nearly every day, so many new and funny things happen every day that 6 hours apart makes for an hour of entertainment over coffee and medialunas. I look forward to Saturday coffee dates with these girls as much as I look forward to getting dressed up and dancing on the weekends.

Saturday night we went to our friend's apartment near Palermo to have a few beers and see where we the night took us. What was going to be beers, some cereal and a cab ride to our favorite little bar turned into a three course meal and us all falling asleep watching 'Life: Jungles'.

Sunday I met with Kelsie for coffee, worked on our project for a bit, hit up the park for a nice run, enjoyed pizza with my family and met Katherine to finish our project. My family and I eat pizza from del Pilar every Sunday night. I don't want to think about life without del Pilar pizza. So good. So, so, so good. And Francisco (the 5 month old- and only- grandbaby) was there too. I think Luz, her husband, Fran and Diego spent all day with Lili celebrating 'dia del nino' (day of the baby)- one of many Argentine holidays.

I love going for runs here. The air pollution here is horrific despite the city's name. But I get to run in El Parque de las Naciones Unidades (United Nations Park). There's a large track around the perimeter and it's always filled with people kicking soccer balls, making out- very, very passionately, drinking yerba mate and making funny pictures with the Floralis Generica.

This is the park...

http://www.intertechargentina.com.ar/html/images/floralis2.jpg

Esta semana pasada, enamoraba con vida otra vez. Entonces, la sola cosa que quiero decir es que mi vida aca es increible. Despertaba cada dia con los sentimientos que no quiero salir nunca. Esto ciudad es mi sueno, mi corazon y no hay bastante horas en el dia para disfrutarla.

Hola, me llamo Asian.

Day 15!

Since my arrival, I've been trying to delete the word 'weird' from my vocabulary. It's very easy to say things are weird when what I mean is that they are just not what I am used to.

I'm finally getting my bearings! I know the subte system, I can direct taxis and tell them when I know they're trying to rip me off, I haven't forgotten to close both elevator doors since my first day in my apartment, I'm not confused when people go for the cheek kisses (but only on one side, Mel!), and I feel like the metric system is beginning to make a little more sense!

Mom does that 'mom thing' even though I'm 8,000 miles away. The last few times she has called have been when I'm dog tired, hacking up a lung and suffering a 10 hour migraine (note: never drink Quilmes beer unless it's free or you've spontaneously combusted and it's the nearest liquid). Somehow she just knows when I'm operating below 70%. But it's important to understand that moving to another country is more than adjusting. It's a process, an evolution if you will.

So, here are some things that are prolonging the process.

Weather. Weather in Buenos Aires is as erratic as spring weather in Alabama. Two days ago it reached almost 70 and I had to carry my pea coat all day and stuff my scarf in my purse. Last night it hit about 40. Today, at 6 p.m., it stopped raining for the first time in at least 14 hours. If our apartment were on the first floor, I'm convinced we would have floated to Patagonia by now.

Language. Argentines don't speak Spanish. They speak Castellano. It's a beautiful blend of Spanish language and Italian inflection with a major pronunciation difference that I can't explain in words because it doesn't have a letter. The other night at tango and salsa lessons, my heart skipped a beat when I heard our salsa instructors speak the Spanish of the Caribbean. I understood everything they said. I went from freezing cold in South America to almost feeling a frosty Medalla in my hand and sand between my toes.

Time. Lili doesn't leave for work until at least 10 every morning and doesn't return until at least 7. We eat dinner at 10 every night (sometimes later) and no one even thinks about heading to the discos and bars until at least midnight. I don't have class until 1 every day and I never have class on Friday. Mix all that in with the copious amounts of free time I have already and my body clock is just now adjusting. Also, I have 2 windows in my room but one looks into the hallway and the other one looks into the 'courtyard' of my building. But the building has 10 floors and I'm on the 3rd floor so I never get sunlight in my room so my brain thinks it's night time all the time.

But I am madly, hopelessly, completely, unbelievably in love with Buenos Aires. Life here is a beautiful challenge. I've been explaining to friends back home that I'm having to learn some of the seemingly most basic parts of life. For example, where in the hell does one go to buy sliced cheese in this city?! I've clearly been taking Kraft singles (okay, Kroger brand) for granted for the last 22 years.

School started this week. Luckily they didn't take attendance this week. I spent one whole school day with a migraine (I swear Natty Light is better than Quilmes.) and then one day I missed my turn and ended up near a highway at least 6 blocks away from my school. But the classes I made it to were fun. Riding the subte to school and sitting in a classroom in a high rise is surreal. How am I supposed to fully concentrate on the history of tango when there is an incredible view of the city behind me and my professor is the epitome of suave?!

My family here is wonderful. The apartment always smells like cinnamon and Lili cranks what I assume to be like NPR (86 opera, sub tango) night and day. Diego works a lot but he's super cute (he has a little purse for his yerba mate for Pete's sake) and, like everyone else in Argentina, is extremely helpful. They like me too from what I can tell. Then again they've told me that their last exchange student was a nightmare. They've told me stories of this girl being passed out in front of the elevator and peeing on herself, losing her keys (major no-no when one of your 2 house keys is the one that lets you into the building), wearing 'layers of make-up' and laughing like Fran Drescher. Lili doesn't speak English but she knows the Fran Drescher laugh. Obviously, an annoying laugh is understood universally.

Side note: people here don't call me Elena even though it is a direct translation and popular Spanish name. They call me Ellen, Asian (that's my name with the Castellano accent, no joke!), Hellen, Helena, Ellie and very rarely Elena. Weird, huh? No, not weird. Just different.

Ciao!