Algunas observaciones

I went to Ushuaia this past weekend, but I'm waiting for some photos before I write about it. Instead, I'm going to share some observations of Argentina, Buenos Aires and Latin America.

• Don't tell anyone in Florida but Argentina has tastier orange juice. Baggio Pronto Naranja por favor! 
• Argentines are more politically involved than Americans. Nestor Kirchner, the former president and husband of the current president, died a few days ago. My host family is in total shambles. A friend's host family cracked a bottle of champagne. There is no middle ground. You love or hate politicians. Me parece que el mitad no existe con respeto al gobierno.
• Argentine women either wear make-up like it's cake frosting (not an exaggeration) or nothing at all. 
• Argentine men don't know what tweezers are. Ears, noses and of course eyebrows, well, you know. This gets me in trouble on the bus and subway. Guys think I'm checking them out when I'm really just in awe at the fluidity of their unibrows.
• I think listening to Spanish music has blown my speaking ability through the roof. Too bad I didn't discover this sooner.
• Argentina knows snacks. Argentina has to be the snack capital of the world. Kiosks (little stores about the size of a bathroom that prettttttty much only sell snacks and cigarettes) have impressive shelves of alfajores, alfajores, chocolate bars and alfajores. Finding cheddar cheese singles in a grocery store is next to impossible (and incredibly expensive) but there are aisles and aisles of jams, dulce de leche, cookies, crackers, dips, candies, chocolates, cereals, sodas and alfajores.
• Yogurt comes two ways: firme and cremoso. Cremoso yogurt has the consistency of milk and firme jiggles like Jell-O. 
• A guy told me in Ushuaia that if you understand Argentine Spanish, you can understand it all except maybe not Chilean. I believe it. Or at least I hope he's right. I'd bet my car that any one from back home with no knowledge of Spanish would think they were hearing Italian. A few reasons- they talk with their hands, including the little hand at mouth kiss thing thing; they put -issimo on the end of adjectives for emphasis, buenissimo, riquissimo, lejissimo; and there are as many Italian last names here as there are Spanish. My family's last name is Albergucci. Doesn't get much more Italian than that. 
• Alfajores and orange juice is my new favorite combo. If you've been living a deprived life and have never experienced an alfajor, I'm sorry. If you're family, no worries- I'm bringing back boxes and boxes. Alfajores are a cookie filled with dulce de leche, covered in chocolate and sometimes sprinkled with nuts. I love Terabusi, Milka and Negro/Blanco. Om nom nom nom!
• Pizza here has to be eaten with a fork. Hands not an option. 
• E M P A N A D A S.
• I think food is here a bit overrated but I will be living a sad life without empanadas, medialunas, milanesa napolitana, alfajores and queso untable. Luckily all but the last two can be recreated at home.
• Argentina is Latin America but the coffee sho ain't. I think good Latin American coffee ends in Venezuela. Triste. Por lo menos tenemos maté!
• Argentines get the most out of their things. This is one life lesson I'm super happy to have learned. They wear clothes over and over and over before washing. They reuse bags- paper and plastic- over and over again. They take care of the things they have and make everything last. My host mom's Fiat has 900,000 kilometers on it. That's about 600,000 miles. Yeah.
• After studying Spanish for a few years, I've come to realize that my Spanish speaking world is dominated by a 3-letter word. Que. It means what and that and sometimes how. It also triggers the subjunctive- a linguistic mood that doesn't exist in English. Que importante!

Ushuaia blog coming soooon!

Beautiful Boca

This weekend we went to La Boca. La Boca has a very unique reputation. It is known as one of the more dangerous areas of Buenos Aires but it is a crucial part of tango, art and futbol history. La Boca is located on the river where many factories and lots of poverty are found. But when tango music and dance were thriving among the city's lower classes and growing into the seductive dance it has become, neighborhoods like Boca were crucial to the dance's development. 

There are also several famous artists that found inspiration in the area's river society. There is a group of artists from the area collectively known as 'pintores de la Boca'. Among them is Abraham Vigo and Facio Hebequer but  the most famous is Benito Quinquela Martin.

 

Barcas en el Riachuelo by B. Q. Martin

 

Lastly, La Boca is home to the Boca Juniors. In Argentina, especially in Buenos Aires, you are either a River Plate fan or Boca Juniors fan. Even those who swear allegiance to Tigre, Estudiantes or other teams will have a Boca or River Plate preference. Boca and River Plate are the equivalent of Yankees or Red Sox in the United States. Most will tell you that Boca Juniors is the team of the lower classes while River Plate is for the upper classes. River fans says Boca fans are riding the bandwagon while Boca claims their superiority because Diego Maradona repped the blue and yellow during his youth. As you may or may not know, Diego Maradona is the infamous former Argentina national coach some say lead  Argentina to their embarrassing performances in the 2010 World Cup and played on the World Cup Champion team of the 1980's. The rivalry is so strong that until a year ago, there was NO red (River's color) advertising in Estadio de la Boca Juniors. Even today the Coca-Cola marquee around the stadium is black and white.

Click the link to see Maradona in one the sport world's most controversial moments:

The hand of God? 

 Katherine and I practicing goal celebrations

La Boca, though filled with glowing murals, is polluted, poverty-stricken, prone to crime and was especially devastated when the peso crashed in 2001. We went to an alfajor bakery that was started by a few families who refused to let the slaughtered economy ruin their lives and the futures of their children. They have been a profitable alfajor company for 8 years now and use their rags to riches story to inspire tourists and neighbors. 

 Amigos at the alfajor bakery

We also went to a book cooperative that uses cardboard to bind journals, poetry books and books for kids. The cooperatives pays cartoneras 25 centavos for each box they bring in. Then, they make and decorate books that are sold on site and in several bookstores in Buenos Aires. Cartoneras are people who earn their living by sorting through the city's trash for cardboard. Buenos Aires does not have an all-inclusive recycling system and though many mayor's have tried, they simply cannot create one because it would take away the livelihood of so many people. 

 Our visit to Boca was so much fun and I must applaud our co-director Gaby (who also works for an eco-friendly/off the beaten path tour company) for leading us on a tour of Boca that showed us how residents brighten their neighborhood by working to overcome economic and social crises. 

Here are a few of my favorite shots from the trip:

Feliz dia

Hoy es Dia de la Madre en Argentina. Se ha anunciado por semanas y las florerias alrededor de la ciudad explotaron ayer! Este Dia de la Madre es un poco mas especial para mi familia argentina. Este ano es el primer ano que Luz es una mama y Lily una abuela entonces estan preparando un gran almuerzo para todo!

Entonces, ¡Feliz dia de la madre a todas las mujeres que han sido una influencia en mi vida!

Granny, Nana, Betty, Mel, Gretchen, Pegeen- ellas amo!

Un gran abrazo y beso para Mandy y Olive.

Y lo mas importante de todo- te amo a Mom!

Nuestros vecinos

Last weekend the group went to a city just outside of BsAs called Tigre.  Tigre's location on the Rio Parana (no worries, there are no piranha!) makes it a delta. Part of the city has roads but many residents live on the river and depend on boats for transportation. There's a boat bus, a grocery boat, a police boat, a fire boat, a trash boat- boats for everything! We arrived at the boat station, boarded and set off cruising down the river dropping off and picking up people along the way. It was so  neat! I'm sure there are places like this in the U.S. but I've never been so this was a new experience.

Collectivo (bus) boat

Grocery boat

When we arrived at our destination, everyone went straight for the coffee, maté and of course the hammock! One thing that I love about my program is that when we go on these excursions, we don't take the typical tourist approach. Having only 13 kids, our group is small enough to be accommodated and entertained by families. Our trip to Tigre was no exception. We spent the day with a family that one of our directors has been friends with for years. They taught us about life on the delta, fed us delicious milanesa sandwichitos, filled us with pasta frola and made us a part of the family for the day. 

We also went rowing! Many people in Tigre row for exercise as well as transportation. Rowing is such a great work out! We spent an hour singing and racing down the river which ultimately led to sore backs, buff biceps and a few blisters!

Then we had a few hours of absolute nothingness. And it was GREAT! We sunbathed, swam, read, played chess, practiced Spanish and enjoyed maté. I've said it before and I'll say it again- nature takes on a new level of amazingness when you live in a concrete jungle! There were bugs! And dirt! And fresh air! And more bugs! And flowers! And a day with no schedule is beautiful! No racing to catch the subway, fighting for a taxi, dividing everything by 4 (peso to dollar conversion), hustling to university or dodging dodgy sidewalks and doggie gifts.

After rowing, we all learned a lesson about the importance of being prepared and why we should have paid more attention to those geography terms from third grade. In our pre-Tigre e-mail, we were given a list of things to bring that included long pants and water proof shoes. But what exactly qualifies as water proof? Flip flops are water proof. So are rain boots and my choice- Chacos. No, no, no. By water proof they meant mud boots. What we thought was going to be a walk through the woods and maybe splashing in creeks turned into mud up to our knees, blade grass battle wounds and a now-hysterical mix of paranoia, whining and giggles. How did none of us hit up Google before this adventure? When I think of delta, I think of foot-deep water that is neither ocean nor river (c'mon Ellen, this ain't Brunswick!) Not blade grass over my head, mysterious depths of mud and fighting for the life of my adidas. When we arrived back in civilization 45 minutes later, several people and most of our clothes went straight to the river for a bath. For every complaint there were at least 73 laughs- one of those, 'this will be funny one day' kind of experiences. Lesson = learned.

This is the BEST picture that has been taken so far on this trip. Danielle shrieked when here foot sank into a foot of mud and almost lost her shoe when she tried to pull her foot out. This IS teamwork!

Dressing in layers = always a good idea

This weekend we did an API sponsored service project. We went to a home for abused and abandoned teenage girls and painted the dining room, staff office and laundry room. The walls definitely needed paint and the girls were really happy to have our help and company. They loved the boys in our group the most but made sure the ladies always had music blaring to pass the monotony of painting!

It was hard work painting so many walls with so many corners and doors but there was plenty of choripan and alfajores to keep us happy! And of course, just knowing that we were brightening their day was enough! When we left, the girls screamed te amos and I love yous to the boys and when I kissed the house mother goodbye she looked at me with the sweetest expression and said 'muchissimas gracias mi amor!'

My time here in Buenos Aires is winding down. The reality of returning is starting to set in. It's a bizarre mix of roller coaster-like emotions. I've gotten everything I ever wanted out of Buenos Aires but I know there's more. So much more. I'm motivated to hustle through my last semesters, work hard, save hard, practice more Spanish and do whatever it takes to move on to wherever life may lead. I know the first couple of months back home is going to be hard. There will depressed days and separation anxiety. I know there are only a few people that can even remotely understand this experience. But I also know Buenos Aires will be as much a part of my future as it will be of my past.

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.