Sensory Overload

If you could overdose on emotions, I'm pretty sure I'm cutting it close.

Excited, sad, competitive, relaxed, humbled, proud, lonely, surrounded...I am feeling way too much at once.

I guess I'll start off with my weekend, but there's a lot more on my mind.  Yeah, retelling the details of my day is fine, but hopefully what I'm thinking is somewhat halfway interesting too.

Anyways, we started off the weekend by waking up early (for once) Friday morning to visit the Recoleta Cemetery.  By early I mean 9:30 am.  It's the good life, right? We're really fortunate that we live on the corner of the cemetery, so I plan to go back again for a tour to learn who the important people are.  Friday we just walked around, and I didn't even get any pictures because my camera was dead.  Fear not, I'm a Facebook picture thief from my friends.  It's one of the largest mausoleums in the world with room for over 4800 vaults above ground.  The mausoleums cost more than a house and entire families are kept in them.  It is incredible how intricate and stunning they are.  Most have glass doors that you can see inside.  I'm not gonna lie, it creeped me out. A lot.  Inside there are pictures of the family, flowers, gifts, stained glass, etc.  It would be a really nice memorial to visit a loved one, but I felt very intrusive peering in on dead strangers.  Not to mention, I've been trying to come to terms with being away from home for the 1 year anniversary of my friend's death.  It's been on my mind almost every day and being in a cemetery definitely didn't help. Anyways, lots of important people are buried there including scientists, presidents, but most importantly, Eva Peron.  She was the first lady of Argentina during one of it's most volatile and influential political eras, as well as worked hard to earn many more political rights for women.  The line to see her gravesite was very long even in the 90 degree weather.  

After the cemetery was Spanish class as usual, but it was my last day!! Alejandro, our profe, took us on a "field trip" for the second half of class.  We read a story in class about Don Pedro de Mendoza, the founder of Buenos Aires, so Alejandro took us to the site where the city founding took place.  It's a beautiful park now where old men play chess, and there are monuments to honor the excursion that founded the city.  It's astonishing that in the heart of the city is where the coast used to be! There are several hills in that area because it was the old sea level.  Afterward, we went to a museum that housed several of the original documents laying out the first government of Buenos Aires.  I'm a total geek, so it was really cool.  Alejandro knows EVERYTHING about EVERYTHING.  He is working on his doctorate in literature, so I understand he does a lot of reading, but he puts us to shame.  He knows more about the history and important people in all of South America and Europe than I know about my own country.  I guess I never really paid attention in History, but I think it's a fundamental difference in the education systems.  We memorize some names and dates to get a decent grade on a test and then never more than vaguely remember them ever again, let alone learn about other countries.  I mean, we have the show "Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?" Really, we can't remember facts so simple and important we learned them in elementary school? Yikes!

Later that night, we had our first red meat dinner, much to the excitement of Kylie who loooooves meat. I'm not much of a meat eater, but Argentina is world-known for it's steaks.  Of course, I played it safe and ended up getting Chicken Florentine instead.

And now, for the night we've all been waiting for...

CROBAR!

Since we got here, we have been looking forward to attending Funny Fridays at a well-reviewed club Crobar.  It's advertised as being free for girls and having ridiculously cheap specials for their Happy Hour (until 2 a.m.). Being the tightwad skeptic that I am, we checked their Web site in advance to make sure there were no * we missed in the free part.  Arriving in style, (on a bus, of course) we got there plenty early, around 1 a.m., to make sure we could take advantage of the specials.  It was not free at all; it was an outrageous 50 pesos cover.  It's really only about 12 bucks, but in Buenos Aires and especially so early, this is unheard of.  We weren't going to let that ruin our fun though because we've heard amazing things about this club, arrived early for once, and were ready to get dowwwn. Plus, the cover included a drink.  Once inside, there were absolutely no specials and drinks were ridiculously priced too!!! I could hear the ja ja ja's of their owners in my head as I shelled out my money to the tourist trap.  Slightly misleading ads are accepted and expected; however, nothing on the ad or Web site was true at all!!  Either way, we shook our hips to the electronic remixes of the live DJ until we could barely stand.  That is, before Kylie got pickpocketed.  Without noticing at all, someone had lifted the flap of her purse, unzipped it, reached it, unzipped the wallet inside, and stolen 200 pesos and her brand new camera.  I guess all we can say is lesson learned and be thankful it wasn't worse.  We thought nothing of it then, but we ran into a boy who "was visiting from New Jersey and had been separated from his friends."  Looking back now, we think he was working with his "roommate" to distract her while they stole it.  It's disappointing we can't even dance with people without having to be paranoid.  

That just meant that we left early to get plenty of sleep before today: a trip to El Tigre.

We paid about 50 cents for a round trip train ride to El Tigre, which is about an hour from Buenos Aires.  It's a small town at the delta of 5 different rivers.  It was absolutely divine.  There are always people selling things on all the busses and trains, but today we got a special surprise.  A man played us songs on the ukelele and some sort of wind pipe instrument.  The music was tropical and a perfect way to start the morning.  We had lunch in a small local restaurant before renting a private boat to take us on a ride.  There were huge catamarans taking tourists, but we managed to find a company that took just our group of five to a recreational area.  They dropped us off and just said to call whenever we were ready to be picked up.  That sure sounded a lot better than having to stay on a boat with 100 other people.  It was exactly like being on the Osage at home!!  Houses lined the banks and people barbequed and played games.  Our boat dropped us off at a little campsite-type area where we walked up to the familiar stares.  It's strange, but we prefer to be the only tourists wherever we're at.  We may stand out more, but it means we're getting a more authentic experience.  Anywho, we swam in the VERY dirty river, sunbathed, and played several games of sand volleyball with the locals.  It was so fun!  I haven't played volleyball in forever, and it was a great way to meet people.  While we were talking to one of the locals, we found out that very rich people in Argentina dye their hair blonde and wear blue-colored contacts as a sign of status.  He said since mine are so light, they look like contacts.  Maybe that explains some of the stares I've been getting.  Like pretty much everywhere in Argentina we had fresh squeezed smoothies (with rum for the weekend, of course).  My new favorite way to order is to tell the waitress or bartender to make me their favorite choice.  I have yet to be disappointed;  today's drink was a melon and peach combo.  After hanging out a few hours, we exchanged kisses with everyone and returned back to the main port.  

Well, this brings up part of Argentine culture I haven't talked about: kisses.  Instead of shaking hands, whenever you meet someone, you kiss them on the cheek.  People also kiss when the say hello or goodbye, oftentimes with a hand on the neck or lower back.  As we have learned, Argentines kiss once, Brazilians once on each cheek.  It took a day or so to get used to, but I think it's a wonderful tradition.  Ok, so I have a kiss a bunch of strangers and some people are a tad too touchy feely, but why not show everyone you meet/see how genuinely interested and happy you are to see them?!  Americans' idea of personal space is really dumb.  Argentines are very intimate, even among friends and men with men; but all you need is love!!  Kisses, sun, and fresh fruit amount to much more satisfaction than anything we could possibly define as happiness in the United States.  

Once we got back, we walked through another street fair, Puerto de Frutos where we ate churros filled with dulce de leche.  Dulce de leche is a caramel like treat eaten with almost every dessert in Buenos Aires.  Dulce de leche flavored ice cream is one of the most heavenly foods I've ever tried.  I also finally got a bombilla (straw) to drink my mate with!  We also saw a group of boys riding low rider bicycles with radios attached playing rap music.  How funny.  

The train home seemed a lot longer after being in the sun all day and not eating any dinner before we left.  Once we got back, we cooked ravioli filled with ricotta and mate and decided to relax at home.

It was un día perfecto all for 30 American dollars.

Speaking of the adjective "American"...we are trying to break our habit of using it.  All the people that live here are American too!  South American.  It is a conceited, ethnocentric tendency for people from the United States to refer to only themselves as American. People from Canada are American; people from Mexico are American; and people from Argentina are American.  The Spanish language has an adjective for "Unitedstatesian."  Not surprisingly, the United States does not.  The Spanish language is also currently undergoing change to become less gender biased.  Go Español!!

Hmm...I still didn't get to half the topics I wanted to, but it's 3:30 a.m. here, and I'm going to bed, Fred.

Do be excited for a new page in the works about crazy stuff we see in the streets! Hopefully, it's as hilarious for you guys as it is for us.  Pictures to follow soon.

Buenas Noches y Hasta Luego,

Amelia

"I will raise my soul so high no offense can reach it."

Forgetful me

Just wanted to add a couple more things before I forget.  BAh! You guys know how much I love to talk!!!

Today we found an even better bus that shortened our hour commute to school down to like 30 minutes.  Que magnifico!!!

AND! We successfully bought enough groceries to last a while.  Food we like! Food we know how to make! Most importantly, some comfort foods that really make a difference in how much other stuff you can put up with.  Pudding and macaroni and cheese for example.

See? Little by little, one goes far...

Poco a poco, se anda lejos (little by little, one goes far)

Well, once again I have been super lazy and not written for quite some time, so I think I'm just going to summarize that last week.  Sorry! But I figure it's better than writing a novel in one sitting.

It was a great weekend! We started off with a chill night in on Friday to prepare.

Waking up refreshed on Saturday, we started the day off by attending El Museo de Bellas Artes (MALBA), the National Art Museum.  There are so many amazing free museums in our neighborhood, Recoleta, and throughout Buenos Aires.  I am definitely going to have to go back because we spent 2 hours and I still only made it halfway through! I absolutely loved the Buenos Aires abstract painters.  I wish my mom and brother would have been there because they would have absolutely LOVED it.  I think the rest of the group had fun for a minute but then got pretty bored.

Afterward, we spent the rest of the daylight hours in Plaza Francia, which is a huge square of park next to our house.  There are probably 100 or so tents set up with local vendors.  You could find pretty much everything imaginable: clothes, leather goods, jewelry, food, arts and crafts, and all the things needed to drink mate. And sooo cheap at that. I wanted to buy presents for people back home, but I was so overwhelmed.  There was so much to choose from!! I think I'm going to wait until much longer in our stay, so I really know what all my options are.  It was a great place to practice Spanish, and it's there every Saturday and Sunday.  tons of people lay out in the grass, and a lot of bands play also.  It was great.  Oh yeah, we even saw Michael Jackson!! Ok, so maybe just an impersonator, but he/she? was damn good!  Hilarious.

Alyssa, Anna, and I ate at Sottavoce that night thinking it was a nicer coffee shop.  It turned out to be a really expensive upscale restaurant, but it was fantastic.  (Have I mentioned you have to pay for water here?) I had lemon chicken with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables.  Finally, something from home!  That night the group took much too long ('til 3 am) to decide where they wanted to go out, so I just stayed in.   

Sunday was another relaxing day.  Hopefully, you guys are starting to see I was just really tired and grumpy the other day with my complainer post!  Anyways, we spend the day in a different park next to the other girls' house.  I'm pretty sure we could go to a different park every day we're here and still not see the same one twice.  Being the incredibly smart person that I am, I decided I only needed sunscreen on my face and shoulders.  I've never burned anywhere else right? Like most days in Argentina, I was wrong again.  Helloooo, lobster!  I couldn't sit down for 2 days.  Imagine sticking to the hot seats of a bus when you could barely sit down in the first place!  So in addition to being blonde and white, NOW I'm a walking blonde tomato.  Awesome.  People literally stop to take pictures.  Staring understandable, but pictures? C'mon!

Once we were sufficiently crispy, we walked back through Plaza Francia to grab a snack.  The most amazing thing about BA so far is the fruit.  Everything is so fresh and juicy, I remember I'm in paradise every time we eat it; and it's much cheaper that in the U.S.  We had fruit salad filled with a cup of orange juice that was squeezed right in front of us.  I have to be getting more vitamins than ever with all the fresh squeezed orange juice I drink every day.  Mom would be proud.

That night, we went to Parque Rosedal to watch a movie in the park.   They're free every weekend (like almost everything here), and there were vendors with ice cream and snacks, too.  The movie was really strange; it was about a woman who was obsessed with doing puzzles.  The word for puzzles is rompecabezas which literally translated means head breakers, so we thought it was a gangster movie. Ha! What a surprise.  We all understood it though which was comforting.  I guess it's kind of like reading a children's book because the pictures help you understand what the words are saying.

It was incredibly beautiful outside so we decided to walk the 30 minutes back to our house instead of take the bus.  Along the way, we stopped for dinner at a very American sports bar across the street from our house.  It was one of the few things open at midnight on a Sunday, but we wanted to celebrate Kylie's 21st birthday at 12!! There was American football too, so Max enjoyed it.  I had fajitas, which was amazing because there is absolutely NO Mexican food here.  It's strangely one of the things I miss the most.

Monday was our first successful day taking the bus! You have NO IDEA what this means here.  There are 17 THOUSAND busses in the city of Buenos Aires.  There are 3 different ones that go from our house to school.  The one we're used to taking stops in the middle of the route, and everyone is forced off.  Then, instead of changing busses, which would make sense, you get right back on the same number you just were forced to get off of ten minutes ago.  Frustrating at first, Monday it was a nice pause to grab a quick lunch from one of the street vendors.  We then got off at the right stop for class and walked there without getting lost!! This relatively minor accomplishment gave me the most fulfilling satisfaction and hope that I'm going to not only survive, but thrive and grow over the next four months.

Monday was also my first day running since I've been here.  It was hot and grossly humid, but it felt great.  Nothing can explain the high I get from running.  I eat more, sleep better, concentrate better; nothing makes me feel better (except maybe a kiss from my boy :) )  I can't wait to make it a daily, well, nightly, habit.

That night we celebrated Kylie's 21st birthday.  I really wanted to make it special for here, because people here could care less that 1) it's an American's birthday and 2) it's her 21st.  I can't imagine how hard it must be to have your most important birthday away from your friends and family.  I remembered how special my roommate, Anna, from Columbia made me feel for my 21st.  It meant so much to me, and wanted to do the same for Kylie.  She's obsessed with owls, so we got her an owl carved from an orange and filled it with alcohol-filled chocolates.  She signed us up for a very touristy pub crawl (It was free for her birthday!) that turned out to be the most fun night since we've been here.  This seems to be a trend that every day is getting better and better.  There were people from all over the world: England, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Portugal, Brasil, everywhere! Actually, I think we were some of the only Americans.

The night began with free beer and pizza before arriving at the first bar where a shot was waiting for us.  It was like speed dating.  We mingled with everyone, then switched bars.  It was great.  At the second bar, there were a couple of porteños that we ended up being friends with and hanging out the rest of the night.  They got Kylie on the bar to recognize her birthday along with another boy celebrating his 21st.  They were joined at the hip all night.  The night ended at a club where we danced until 5 am.  Seeing the sunrise is another growing trend here.

That made for a very rough Tuesday.  I woke up late completely forgetting I had a meeting with my advisor before class.  As I headed out the door in a rush five minutes before my meeting, I completely forgot there was no money in my purse.  So I'm on my way, stressed and late and crying by this point, when I realize this.  Now I have to try to explain to the taxi driver shaking and crying in Spanish that he has to take me home so I can pay him.  I finally got to the meeting 20 minutes late and paid 3x the normal rate for a cab.

Luckily, my advisor is a very patient, kind, understanding person.  In our meeting, she gave me a bunch of information to prep me for my two internships which start next week.  Since this post is already the length of an encyclopedia, I'll explain the internships a different day.

We've had Spanish class 2:30-4:45 every day, and I couldn't ask for a better teacher.  I'm actually really sad I'm not taking the class anymore.  I don't need it for school, and I think the tuition money could be spent in much better ways.  Plaza Franzia, for example.  Ha! Kidding, Mom and Dad.  Anyways, my teacher is the most genuine, sweet person I have ever known.  He's very curious to know about us and the U.S. but he always thinks he's being nosy.  And when we don't understand something, instead of making us feel like stupid Americans, he apologizes that his first explanation wasn't clear enough.  Today, he told me I could come and go to his class as I please, without paying for it.  See?  What a nice guy.

After such a hectic Monday, we spent Tuesday night speaking English and doing nothing.  We hated cheating, but it did wonders for our "family" morale.  You could never guess how mentally exhausting it is to limit all of your thoughts to the words you know how to use.  Anna jokes that down here, she only has three emotions because they're the only ones she knows how to express.  But really, it's mentally tiring on top of our already mounting physical exhaustion.  A percentage of a normal conversation takes ten times longer.  Anyways, English was great.  We had a lot of heart to hearts and really got to know one another.

This has been another unimaginable change.  Think for a moment that someone drew five names from a list of people in your city and told you that you were going to live with them and spend your entire day with them for the next four months.  Crazy, right?

Today was pretty uneventful.  However, we did learn that we can send laundry out from our house and have it washed, dried, folded, and delivered back to our house.  People deliver our groceries to our house after we buy them at the store too.  Jealous yet?  Oh, and we have a maid.  This is also an invaluable service.  Who wants to spend time abroad cleaning?  She came the day after our crazy birthday night though, and the house was a mess.  I know her job is to clean, but we were still pretty embarrassed because she wasn't supposed to come until the next day.

I promise I'll try to keep up more often, add pictures, and start on my reviews of the places we visit.  So stay tuned, the best is yet to come.

Hasta luego,
Amelia

P.S.  I bought tickets to see Shakira while I'm here, and I couldn't be more excited.

Thought of the day: "God lives in me, as me."

the dirty honest truth

I hate to even say this because I know this is the opportunity of a lifetime, and I'm not only lucky but eternally grateful. I get mad at myself for thinking badly because I know it's all about your attitude.  But if you want to know the dirty honest truth? I'm sooo ready to go home.  Ok, so maybe I don't want to go home, but I'm ready to not have to figure things out anymore.  I didn't realize quite how uncomfortable it is to be out of your comfort zone.  Pretty obvious, but I didn't know I even had a comfort zone.  I mean, I've experienced quite a bit in my life considering I'm only 21.  Padres, you have know idea.  Not to mention the countless hours I spent researching Buenos Aires and studying Spanish.  I don't want to dwell on the negative, so I'm not going to say anything else, but please pray for me.  I need all the love and support I can get.  I'm sick of being in a group, getting lost, and NEVER sleeping.  The clubs outside my window along with tons of traffic and people screaming keep me awake until 6 am.  I'm really freaking sick of seeing the sun rise.  There's tons more on my mind, and I think it's important that this blog includes not only the fun parts that everyone knows and expects for study abroad but how hard it is too.  But for now, I just keep thinking how damn good it's going to feel when I get home and can say I made it.  I survived. And I'm a million times better, stronger version of myself for having done so.

Hasta luego,
Amelia

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."  When I let what is be and have faith that where I'm at is where I'm supposed to be, serenity flows over me."

Made it through the first week alive

To be quite honest, I'm not really looking forward to writing this today since I have a few days to catch up on, but here goes...

Tuesday we started off with a tour of the city with our guide Juliana.  It was fun, but waaay to fast! Most of it was from inside the van so we will definitely have to go back to pretty much every place we saw.  It was sort of an overview of the days to come.

(Ps. It feels like I'm cheating to be thinking/writing in English write now since 90% of the time we're speaking Spanish, even in our house and amongst ourselves.)

That night we had dinner at Sanjuanina, a local hole in the wall that was fantastic.  Our waiter was very friendly and the food was great.  I shared empanadas con pollo y verduras (vegetables) and sweet tamales with Kylie accompanied with a pitcher of Sangria and followed by a dessert.  We've found that ordering is quite an adventure because a lot of the menus are a mixture of regional Spanish, Italian, and English so you're never really quite sure of what your going to get.  Nevertheless, it was delicious and we felt right at home so we might end up being regulars there.  A new trend we've started is to order dessert at pretty much every place we eat.  So while the rest of the world has New Year's resolutions fresh in their mind, we're throwing them out the window! But hey, we walk everywhere right?

On our way home, there were a couple cute boys sitting on the steps to our apartment so Kylie, Alyssa, and I decided to have a drink at the reggae bar across the street.  It was interesting because they spoke so fast we couldn't understand their Spanish, but we REALLY didn't want to speak English so the conversation was a mixture of both. When it came to ordering drinks, wait! What kind of alcohol do they even have here? Crap, now we look stupid in front of these guys. We tried an Argentine liquor Fernet (drank with Coke). I guess it was sort of like a spicy (think cinnamon) vodka? I don't know, the other girls have completely different explanations of it, but either way, it wasn't our favorite.

Another fun part of the night was meeting Aleca (a nickname for Alexa) who was 18 and insisted she wasn't drunk but was DEFINITELY drunk.  She insisted on speaking English and shed new light on the lyrics of "Come Together" by the Beatles.  Actually, pretty much all of her conversation was sexual, something we're coming to find out is normal here.  I just smile and laugh because I never know how to respond.  I'm by no means sheltered, but what the heck do you say back to stuff like that?!

A very tired trio, we decided to return home around 2:30 am after being called grandmas by everyone at our table.  At least we got some takeaway lessons. "Hecha la ley, hecha la trampa." Literally, it translates "For laws that are made, so are trap doors." It means that there are always exceptions.  This was in response to having boys back home.  Apparently, it's impossible to think their going to remember us when we get back and they're definitely not going to be faithful.  Hecha la ley, hecha la trampa.

Wednesday

I headed out early in the morning by myself to learn my neighborhood and get some things done before class.  Feeling much more comfortable solo than in a big group, I successfully found a bookstore for school supplies, went to the bank, bought minutes for my cell phone, and even had breakfast! It's gonna be a good day.

Our first day of school. YAAAYYY!! No. The day before, Juliana showed us the bus stop and told us where to get off for school.  Sounds simple, right? Wrong. It was POURING down rain and half the road were rivers, but spirits still up, we walked to the bus stop.  A couple of them passed us before we figured out you have to hail busses like cabs.  THEN, we couldn't see the stops so we got off somewhere we thought was close.  We trudged what was actually 10 blocks through the rain as fast as we could and still ended up being late to class.

Spanish was good! Our teacher is really sweet, and afterwards I felt confident that my Spanish was pretty good.

Going home turned out to be another adventure.  It turns out you don't take the same bus home as you do on your way somewhere.  Does this seem logical? Not at all.  And of course, we didn't figure it out until walking a couple miles through the hood.  Prostitutes on the corner in broad daylight and shady people everywhere.  The group couldn't decide what to do so I got frustrated and had the bright idea to just walk by myself thinking it'd be quicker.  I have some street smarts; I could figure it out! No.  I ended up taking a taxi after the pit in my stomach told me I was about to be abducted.  Don't worry family, no one approached me, and it only took a couple blocks to realize I was being dumb.

For the next adventure of the night: grocery shopping.  Walking to what we thought was the closest grocery store, we thought we'd just scan the aisles and find what we wanted.  Wrong again.  Nothing looked familiar, and we'd never heard of half the food in there.  Ok, the store's about to close...we'll just get the staples for now and come back later for the rest.  Milk...milk...up and down the aisles...where the heck is the milk? Oh, of course! It's in a bag on the bottom shelf of the yogurt aisle! Milk in a bag? Alright, how about eggs? Well duh, they're not refrigerated.  Cheese only comes in blocks of mysterious types.  I consider myself somewhat of a cheese afficionado but still decided to play it safe with good ole mozzarella.  Waiting in line to check out, I wonder if I even have enough to make dinner which was the plan in the first place.

Finally making it home, we ended up having a wonderful dinner.  Another girl of the group, Anna, came over since her internet was broken, and we exchanged girl talk getting to know each other over pasta con espinaca, mozzarella, y tomates.  Not too shabby.

After such a crazy day, we DEFINITELY needed a drink.  Luckily, we have the blogs from students who have gone before us to learn from and picked out a bar in a different neighborhood that we wanted to explore, Palermo.  Our cab driver was a hilarious old man probably in his 80s and told us to go to the club next door instead, Kika.  Not really in the mood to get crazy, we started at Congo, the bar we'd chosen from home.  We started talking to some guys there who were way too old, but everyone was friendly and we needed to practice our Spanish.  After acquiring a group of 11 (a soccer team!) we finished our drinks (fondo blanco aka chug it) headed to Kika VIP style.  It was a blast! We danced our butts off on one side which played reggaeton and a mix of American songs and then went to another room which played all techno.  It was a rave; sunglasses and strobelights galore.  By the time we went to bed, the sun was already up.  Finally! We're beginning to fit in.

Thursday

It's a beautiful sunny day of 80 degrees and we think we have the bus thing figured out, so all is well.  Until they force us to get off the bus at the same place we did yesterday.  It's the last stop for that bus.  Crap! Now what are we supposed to do?  Luckily, most of the portenos (people from Buenos Aires) are very friendly so after asking around, we figured out that we have to change busses in the middle of the route.  Maybe today we'll actually get it right on the first try.  Class went well and we met with our advisor, Carolina, for an orientation afterwards.  She gave us a lot of good places to go and things to see for our upcoming weekend as well as let us try mate (mah-tay), the popular local drink.  It's a lot like tea, but the leaves aren't in a bag and it's stronger in flavor and caffeine.  I'll put pictures up soon.  Many times, people drink it in a circle and pass it around.  Carolina told us that when someone takes too long, there's a joke: Hey, it's not a microphone!! : )

Having gained some confidence in finding our way around, we took the subte (subterraneo=subway) to Palermo, had a merienda (snack), and successfully found our way home for a family night in with card games and wine.  It was the best day so far.

Today is another sunny beautiful day and the beginning of our first weekend.  Wish me luck!

Hasta luego,
Amelia

"Gratitude is an action."

Bienvenidos a Buenos Aires!

Man, I’m really tired, so hopefully this will be short.  We landed in Buenos Aires around 7:30 am (10:30 am in BA) after not getting much sleep last night.  At least the person I sat next to on the plane, Steve, was really cool.  I really wanted to just look out my window and listen to music, but I figured if I was going to be proactive on this trip, the plane is a perfectly good place to start.  He wasn’t from BA but had lived here for the last four years.  He gave me lots of good music to listen to.  It was mainly folk, indie, and electronica: my favorites!!! Crazy coincidence right? He also wrote down the names of some good bars and cafes.  We had lots of great conversation for most of the plane ride and  felt really rewarded for deciding to be brave! We got to talking about people’s exercise habits in BA because I would love to keep running while I’m here; it’s very popular in all the parks he said, and he just happens to have a friend that teaches yoga in my neighborhood.  I plan on giving her a call this week to get started!

After leaving the airport, a taxi took us to our apartments.  I was in shock. I couldn’t have asked for a better place to live.  We are in a great location in Recoleta, a ritzy part of town, on the corner of the national cemetery where the beloved Evita Peron is buried.  Even the cemetery is beautiful.  And there are trees growing in the middle of sidewalks. HUGE ones that arch over the street making you feel as though you’re in French quarters and a forest or park at the same time.  We just spend the day unpacking and getting settled into the new house, which by the way has a balcony the length of the apartment with a fantastic view.  We did manage to make a quick trip to the supermercado (supermarket) to grab a couple things for lunch tomorrow.  It’s still taking time to register that prices are in pesos, not dollars.

Tonight the whole group went to dinner with our advisors Carolina and Kipat a nicer restaurant called Regaletto where I had a delicious pasta that tasted so fresh and rich. It was the perfect end to our first day here.  A full belly, a glass of wine, and I was ready for bed.  Yet here I am, at 1:30 am still awake. Ha! It’s hard to sleep with so much excitement!

Once we got back home, I was surprised to see that the neighborhood was completely vivacious.  There is awesome techno music blaring from a club across the street.  Blaring, but still enjoyable when our patio door is open. I can’t wait to have the energy to go party. 

Well, so much for this being short, but I HAVE to get to bed.

Hasta luego,

Amelia

‘Nothing is neither good nor bad; thinking makes it so. “ –William Shakespeare

Here I go again on my own...

*This was actually written Mon. January 16

As I sit on the plane headed for Buenos Aires, I try to remain calm and composed like a well travelled cosmopolitan (especially since I’m a blonde American) but the truth is that inside I’m a little kid on Christmas morning screaming like I just found out my parents are taking me to Disneyworld.  Having never been out of the country, I am truly blessed and grateful to have been given this incredible opportunity.  Even being on an airplane, something common to many college students, is a rare luxury for me! I become giddy seeing clouds.  I feel like an astronaut looking at the Earth from far away, you know the picture we’re always shown of the Earth from far away, with a thin layer of clouds hiding parts of the blue and green mass.  Heck, even the mere fact that I’m flying amazes me.  I know you’re probably thinking I’m childish or sheltered or whatever, but I’d like to think that it’s a wonderful thing to still be so grateful and childlike in my curiosity of the world.  It kills me when people get mad at technology, when really we should step back and think, “Holy crap! My grandparents didn’t even have color tv and I’m typing on my laptop, listening to my “phone” that also does everything else you could think of, all while flying thousands of feet above  land in an aircraft that weighs a ton. And I can cross the world less than a day!” That’s not sheltered; that’s knowing your infinitely small presence in the scope of the universe.  I am humbled experiencing God’s gifts first hand.  All day, I have been relatively calm, but now, actually being on the plane to Buenos Aires and not another airport, it’s really starting to hit me.  I am breathless (but apparently not speechless) thinking that my lifelong dream is becoming a reality. When I get off the plane, it’s going to be 80 degrees and I’m not coming home for 4 months.  It still sort of feels like a week-long vacation.  As much as I know I need to sleep to be well-rested for tomorrow’s arrival, I want to stay up to feel this tidal wave of emotions.  My head is spinning, vertigo sinks in, and my stomach has relocated to my throat.  What I foresee as my biggest challenge is not having a cell phone.  Already, I’m feeling as though my excitement is more enjoyable when shared.  I want to spread my happiness to my friends and family who have been so supportive and delight in my successes just as much as I do.  On the other hand, I’m liberated, broken free from the responsibility of returning phone calls, checking in, and having my face permanently buried in my phone.  Even in the States I take random hiatuses where I go days without replying anyone.  It drives my family nuts.  “We wouldn’t even know if something happened to you because you never answer your phone,” my mother explains in her frustration.  “What’s the point in even having voicemail?” wonders my dad.  Speaking of family, that’s another big concern.  I already feel so out of touch with my family when I don’t see or hear from them for a week.  Unlike most of my friends who have to fly home, I’m a mere 30 minutes away, free to see my family whenever I please.  I know everyone has a dysfunctional family, but I think mine might be a top contender for one of the craziest.  All I can do is give my fear to God and trust that He will take care of the rest, because my shoulders aren’t big enough and this trip is to soak up Argentina, not have my head and heart still back home.  This entry is sounding pretty negative so far, but believe me, I’m stoked.  I just want to address my concerns, get them all out on paper so my thoughts no longer dwell on them.  That said, my last major concern is finding an internship for fall.  I have just assumed for the last few months that I didn’t need to worry about anything while I was in Bunoes Aires except for Buenos Aires.  After more careful thinking, I realized I will need an internship in the fall and that means applying this semester, as in more applications, more essays, and more interviews, all while being halfway across the world.  When am I going to find time to research jobs I want?! Plus homework, plus Gilman follow-up project. Oh yeah, and taxes.  Who’s gonna do those? Ugh. Well, now my brain is full of negative energy and that’s no way to end the night. So once again, I give my worries to God because my shoulders aren’t big enough.  Think. Feel. Receive.  Back to focusing on all the amazing times I’m going to have, the friends I will meet, and the stories I will have to tell to my children.  

Hasta Luego, Amelia.