We successfully MADE IT TO CHILE!! :) I love it here! It was soo beautiful flying over the moutians, and the dive from Sanitago to Viña del Mar was even better! There were vineyards all over and driving down the mountain towards the sea and the city was GREAT!! :)
Its about 5:30... am here, and Sarah, Kelsey and I have made an escape upstairs. We are just sitting here chatting listening to the Chilean's sing "Te Vas, Te Vas, Te Vas, Te Vas" and other reggie songs, and the occasional glass break.... apparently going out here is EXACTLY the SAME as in ARGENTINA!! :) They start the night around 10:00 or 11:00 go untill 5 or 6 am...! We have an amazing view from our room, so maybe we will get to see the sun come up!! :)
We call ourselves "the ninas" / the children. HAHA!! We just cant take these late nights, and last night we left the family birthday party at 12:00am. The real little kids were playing out front while the 19-21 year olds/ "the ninas" were calling it a night. :)
Sarah met a fun friend ;) HAHA, Miguel is his name, and he is a hoot! He told her when he met her yesterday he could tell by her eyes that she liked to dance. :) Of course Kelsey and I, insisted on her dancing... it was a joyus time and is the reason we escaped upstairs :)HAHA!
We also meet a girl named Jessica from CANADA!! :) She was staying with on of Leo's friends, and came to the party with the friend! It was fun to talk to someone in English! She is 29 years old and had set a goal to travel to 30 countries by the time she was 30! Chile was her 30th country!! :) I loved hearing all her stories, and she really makes me want to find a way to keep traveling after school!
Well... Ill upload somemore pics and write more Chilean later :) Chau!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
CENA/ Supper!
Hola!
I just completed making DINNER HERE!! :) The cheesy potatoes and Meatloaf are cooking in the oven as we speak!! But I will say cooking is a bit different here, but I think grandma would be proud ... if it all turns out alright... that did it all by scratch!
I seem to forget how tiny items make our lives sooo much simpler! For instance... peelers to take the skin off of potatoes...my family doesnt have one. I had to cut off the skin with a steak knife! Also they did not have hash-brown potatoes, so after peeling the potatoes, I had to cut them up in hashbrown like pieces! Needless to say, all of that took me a good 45 mins! :) It was good though because it gave lucia and I a little time to talk as I cut potatoes and she made dessert. :)
Camblles Soup(Sp?) doesn't exist here either, so I made the cream of chicken soup from a little package. The cheddar cheese had to be grated, which was pretty normal.
They dont have a temperature "thing" on the oven so we just had to guess... :/ lol!
They all said it smells "rico" which translates to tasty / delicious / yummy / good .... tons of things really. You can use rico and linda/o for just about anything that is good. :)
We never drink milk, that seems to be reserved for café. Instead we usually drink juice or water, and Edgardo drink beer or wine. But I think we are all even drinking beer for this joyous occasion! :)
We shall see how it goes...
I just completed making DINNER HERE!! :) The cheesy potatoes and Meatloaf are cooking in the oven as we speak!! But I will say cooking is a bit different here, but I think grandma would be proud ... if it all turns out alright... that did it all by scratch!
I seem to forget how tiny items make our lives sooo much simpler! For instance... peelers to take the skin off of potatoes...my family doesnt have one. I had to cut off the skin with a steak knife! Also they did not have hash-brown potatoes, so after peeling the potatoes, I had to cut them up in hashbrown like pieces! Needless to say, all of that took me a good 45 mins! :) It was good though because it gave lucia and I a little time to talk as I cut potatoes and she made dessert. :)
Camblles Soup(Sp?) doesn't exist here either, so I made the cream of chicken soup from a little package. The cheddar cheese had to be grated, which was pretty normal.
They dont have a temperature "thing" on the oven so we just had to guess... :/ lol!
They all said it smells "rico" which translates to tasty / delicious / yummy / good .... tons of things really. You can use rico and linda/o for just about anything that is good. :)
We never drink milk, that seems to be reserved for café. Instead we usually drink juice or water, and Edgardo drink beer or wine. But I think we are all even drinking beer for this joyous occasion! :)
We shall see how it goes...
"Family Resturante"
On Saturday after lunch, and a nice nap, Norma, Lucia and I were supposed to go shopping at 5. I got up around 4:30 to get ready and Lucia was in the hallway doing her hair. She told me she forgot about a mate date she had with her friends and was headed to the park instead. She said we would go shopping afterwards around 7 ish. It was fine with me! I worked on some homework then around 6 Norma and I went to the Resturant/ Bar that their Aunt owns! Noel works there on Saturdays and it wasnt too far away!
We sat down and had some café con leche with some media lunas! It was delicious!! I had to laugh because I could tell Norma was a bit upset at something when we left the house, but she put on a smile for me. Later at the restaurant I figured out she was upset because of Lucia! HAHA!! She was upset because as she said Lucia is in 20 different places at the same time! She is always going going going, and has tons of plans, which like today mess up other plans! I just had to laugh because ... it kinda reminded me of home and our mothers. :) It was good.
Before we ate our Media Lunas and Café, Norma and Noel told me ALL about the RESTURANTE! It was such a cool place and had a lot of history! I feel like most places here are very unique and have a lot of history. Its different from our Fast Food Franchizes and "Big Name" Resturants (I know there is a word of "Big Name", but I cant think of it... see my English is digressing!)....
Now I can't remember the name of the resturant, but I took a ton of Pictures and I'll explain through them!! :).....
Here is a picture looking into the resturant from the door way! The bar is on the right and there is seating long the whole wall and then more above the bar! Lots of resturants have balcony seating.
FERNET!! Its the drink of the Argentines! Its just like whiskey and they drink it with coca, or coke. There was a HUGE HUGE bottle on the bar, so I had to take a picture of course :)
Noel then said I needed a real life comparison so she jumped in the picture :) I feel like this was a typical "Do family occurrence" of mine. They are just soo friendly and love joking around and having little laughs here and there :)
This telephone booth is really antique! Norma told me just last month, or VERY recently, a scene from a movie was made using this EXACT Booth!! She said they were there ALL day! I thought it was pretty cool.
To the right of the telephone booth, and just as we walked in, there was this HUGE wall with all sorts of antique bottles! I know my mom would have LOVED IT!! Many of the bottles are antique "soda" bottles. Soda is just carbonated water and the bottles, now and back then, have this "jazzy" spout on them!
To the right of the Telephone Booth there was another "back" room and just before the room on the wall was this! The sign in the background used to be the name of a street in this Barrio, or neighborhood. The sign says "Pinaicha," but our Barrio is named "Barrio Pichinca" which, from what i can gather, came from this street name. The bottles infront of the sign are old water bottles.... notice that they are blue Paula! :)
Finally, there is a doctor in the neighborhood who is ALSO a painter! He likes to paint typical Argentine / Rosarioan things such as tango dancers, women, and famous ppl... So that is what the pictures above are from :)
We sat down and had some café con leche with some media lunas! It was delicious!! I had to laugh because I could tell Norma was a bit upset at something when we left the house, but she put on a smile for me. Later at the restaurant I figured out she was upset because of Lucia! HAHA!! She was upset because as she said Lucia is in 20 different places at the same time! She is always going going going, and has tons of plans, which like today mess up other plans! I just had to laugh because ... it kinda reminded me of home and our mothers. :) It was good.
Before we ate our Media Lunas and Café, Norma and Noel told me ALL about the RESTURANTE! It was such a cool place and had a lot of history! I feel like most places here are very unique and have a lot of history. Its different from our Fast Food Franchizes and "Big Name" Resturants (I know there is a word of "Big Name", but I cant think of it... see my English is digressing!)....
Now I can't remember the name of the resturant, but I took a ton of Pictures and I'll explain through them!! :).....
Here is a picture looking into the resturant from the door way! The bar is on the right and there is seating long the whole wall and then more above the bar! Lots of resturants have balcony seating.
FERNET!! Its the drink of the Argentines! Its just like whiskey and they drink it with coca, or coke. There was a HUGE HUGE bottle on the bar, so I had to take a picture of course :)
Noel then said I needed a real life comparison so she jumped in the picture :) I feel like this was a typical "Do family occurrence" of mine. They are just soo friendly and love joking around and having little laughs here and there :)
This telephone booth is really antique! Norma told me just last month, or VERY recently, a scene from a movie was made using this EXACT Booth!! She said they were there ALL day! I thought it was pretty cool.
To the right of the telephone booth, and just as we walked in, there was this HUGE wall with all sorts of antique bottles! I know my mom would have LOVED IT!! Many of the bottles are antique "soda" bottles. Soda is just carbonated water and the bottles, now and back then, have this "jazzy" spout on them!
To the right of the Telephone Booth there was another "back" room and just before the room on the wall was this! The sign in the background used to be the name of a street in this Barrio, or neighborhood. The sign says "Pinaicha," but our Barrio is named "Barrio Pichinca" which, from what i can gather, came from this street name. The bottles infront of the sign are old water bottles.... notice that they are blue Paula! :)
Finally, there is a doctor in the neighborhood who is ALSO a painter! He likes to paint typical Argentine / Rosarioan things such as tango dancers, women, and famous ppl... So that is what the pictures above are from :)
A Teachers Life in Argentina
I've haven't blogged for quite some time, but I have SOOO MUCH to talk about!!
I must say I have the BEST schedule ever as far as classes go! Not to brag, but I only have class on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thrusday. Then Tutoring if I want on Monday Morning, and class every other Friday! :) Its great!
Today I got up around 8:30 and had some coffee and bread with dulce de leche for breakfast... Edgardo told me again to eat some cookies for breakfast! I just can't help but laugh in shock when he tells me that!
It was SUCH a BEAUTIFUL morning!! I neglected to buy another bus pass this weekend, so I just walked to tutoring at the school. It took me 45mins! But it was worth it!! I just find myself lost in thought and awe about city life, and the differences here... I LOVE IT! I did wear the chucks to school, so by the time I got there I was ready to sit down!
Tutoring went REALLY well!! I finally cleared up the "pronouns" of my, yours, his, hers, thiers, ours, and all thier different uses in Spanish! It was great! Mariana, our teacher, knew with out me asking that I REALLY REALLY REALLY needed help with them! HAHA!! :)
So just before tutoring ended we were talking to Mariana about teaching in Arg. IT IS SOO DIFFERENT!! I'm not sure if I explained before, but even elementary and highschool are different. And there is no such thing as middle school here. From what I GATHER... students go to school at one time durning the day... either from 8-12 or 2-6 or something like that. I think younger kids are ususally in the morning and older kids are in the afternoon??
College is different too. In Argentina, there is no such thing as a "liberal arts core / general education classes," and they do not have majors or minors here. Instead they study only what they are going into... they graduate with a "certificate" in abagato, or lawers, or can have a job in economics like Lucia.... It is like they go to a "specialized" school... I cant think of what we call them in the U.S.... but on that note i will say my English has definately Declined since I have been here espically my spelling and grammmer, which was NEVER that good in the first place.
Back to schools:
I didnt have my camera, but on Thrusday of last week i saw the STRANGEST THING!!.... I had just gotten to school and out front there were a ton to ppl., mostly girls (hence my last post on girl-guy friendships), gathered around two girls. These girls were COVERED in food and water, and soda/water with carbonation, and more food... like flour and mate, and JUST TONS OF stuff!! Every one was yelling and laughing and throwing food at theses girls... they were laughing too of course... I just stood and watching...
THEN SOMEONE PULLED OUT SCISSORS! And she started CUTTING off one of the girl's shirts, that was being sprayed!! I COULDNT BELIVE IT!! So of course I had to ask... Apparently this happens when one graduates from school!! This is how they celebrate!! LOL!! I dont feel like I would ever want my friends or family members back home to do this to me :) It was just crazy!
So now on to teachers....
Like I knew, and Mariana was telling us as tutoring today, teachers often work at more than one school! As in two or three or four elementaries, highschools, and colleges!! I just couldn't believe it! At each school they may teach for 4 hours, but then of course they need to find another job/ school, to teach at as well in order to make enough money! I can't imagine working at one univeristy one day and two others the next! TALK ABOUT A CRAZY SCHEDULE!!!
Also, because of this, I asked about being in a Union and going on strike. Teachers can be in more than one union and go on strike in one school but not in another... SOO CONFUSING! (that sounds like a Sarah Kenney quote)
thats all i really have for now :) Lucia and I are heading to the supermarcado to buy stuff for dinner tonight! Im making MEATLOAF AND CHEESY HASHBROWN POATOES!! we will see how it goes as they dont have all the same ingrediants and I think im going to have to cut up potatoes old school style ;)
I must say I have the BEST schedule ever as far as classes go! Not to brag, but I only have class on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thrusday. Then Tutoring if I want on Monday Morning, and class every other Friday! :) Its great!
Today I got up around 8:30 and had some coffee and bread with dulce de leche for breakfast... Edgardo told me again to eat some cookies for breakfast! I just can't help but laugh in shock when he tells me that!
It was SUCH a BEAUTIFUL morning!! I neglected to buy another bus pass this weekend, so I just walked to tutoring at the school. It took me 45mins! But it was worth it!! I just find myself lost in thought and awe about city life, and the differences here... I LOVE IT! I did wear the chucks to school, so by the time I got there I was ready to sit down!
Tutoring went REALLY well!! I finally cleared up the "pronouns" of my, yours, his, hers, thiers, ours, and all thier different uses in Spanish! It was great! Mariana, our teacher, knew with out me asking that I REALLY REALLY REALLY needed help with them! HAHA!! :)
So just before tutoring ended we were talking to Mariana about teaching in Arg. IT IS SOO DIFFERENT!! I'm not sure if I explained before, but even elementary and highschool are different. And there is no such thing as middle school here. From what I GATHER... students go to school at one time durning the day... either from 8-12 or 2-6 or something like that. I think younger kids are ususally in the morning and older kids are in the afternoon??
College is different too. In Argentina, there is no such thing as a "liberal arts core / general education classes," and they do not have majors or minors here. Instead they study only what they are going into... they graduate with a "certificate" in abagato, or lawers, or can have a job in economics like Lucia.... It is like they go to a "specialized" school... I cant think of what we call them in the U.S.... but on that note i will say my English has definately Declined since I have been here espically my spelling and grammmer, which was NEVER that good in the first place.
Back to schools:
I didnt have my camera, but on Thrusday of last week i saw the STRANGEST THING!!.... I had just gotten to school and out front there were a ton to ppl., mostly girls (hence my last post on girl-guy friendships), gathered around two girls. These girls were COVERED in food and water, and soda/water with carbonation, and more food... like flour and mate, and JUST TONS OF stuff!! Every one was yelling and laughing and throwing food at theses girls... they were laughing too of course... I just stood and watching...
THEN SOMEONE PULLED OUT SCISSORS! And she started CUTTING off one of the girl's shirts, that was being sprayed!! I COULDNT BELIVE IT!! So of course I had to ask... Apparently this happens when one graduates from school!! This is how they celebrate!! LOL!! I dont feel like I would ever want my friends or family members back home to do this to me :) It was just crazy!
So now on to teachers....
Like I knew, and Mariana was telling us as tutoring today, teachers often work at more than one school! As in two or three or four elementaries, highschools, and colleges!! I just couldn't believe it! At each school they may teach for 4 hours, but then of course they need to find another job/ school, to teach at as well in order to make enough money! I can't imagine working at one univeristy one day and two others the next! TALK ABOUT A CRAZY SCHEDULE!!!
Also, because of this, I asked about being in a Union and going on strike. Teachers can be in more than one union and go on strike in one school but not in another... SOO CONFUSING! (that sounds like a Sarah Kenney quote)
thats all i really have for now :) Lucia and I are heading to the supermarcado to buy stuff for dinner tonight! Im making MEATLOAF AND CHEESY HASHBROWN POATOES!! we will see how it goes as they dont have all the same ingrediants and I think im going to have to cut up potatoes old school style ;)
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Mate and race days
(Photo 3 for Photo Project)
There was a 10K race last weekend, and it was a very interesting experience! I've experienced quite a few races in my day but this race definitely had a hit of Argentina. Much like the man in the picture, everyone brought thermoses and mate to drink! As a runner, I can't say its the best idea to take mate "hits" before a race, but it is very Argentine to do so!
The environment was even a bit different at the race. When everyone finished, there didn't seem to be a rush to get back home to do other things. Many people brought lawn chairs, coolers, and picnic baskets and had another mate hit after the race. I wish it were more like this back home. Some times we pack our days soo full with enjoyable things that we really don't have time to enjoy the day! Here the flow is more simple: mate hit before the run, run, another mate hit and just some chillaxing and chatting over more mate afterwards. If only in the U.S.A did we plan our day around having mate instead of squeezing in that extra activity in the middle of the day.
Its a whole different ball game here
When we first came to Argentina we were told over and over how beautiful the women look, but what about the men?! While, I have a great guy back home (: I cant say I haven't at least taken a glance at these boys. I've decided that besides the men with VERY strange haircuts, the other men have beautiful hair. It just looks very soft and wind blown. Now where am I going with this? Well Id like to talk about this friendship thing between boys and girls.
Here it is practically nonexistent. I was quick to notice that when people have boyfiends or girlfriends, they spend most of their time with them going to parks, and shopping, and eating out... this is not too unusually from the US. But what is different is that Im not sure my sisters have really close guy friends. When we go out to eat or out to socialize we only go with girls.... or with a girl and here boyfriend, but never a big group of guys and girls. Now this isn't a bad thing but its just different.
I've noticed that if we sit at a table with Argentine boys here the boys only talk to the other boys, almost ignoring the girls. If they ask us a question, and even if the girls is the first to answer they instinctively look at the boy for an answer. The idea isn't to ignore the girls, but I think if they take the tiniest interest in a girls, like talk to them, or look at them, it is seen as they are looking to date them.
Even when we are out and about, I don't feel like the guys are "checking us girls out," like they do in the U.S. Most people avoid eye contact, but maybe this is just a "big city thing."
We were asking a student ambassador named Brian about all of this and he said if he saw Devin and I out to eat, and we both have bf and gf back home, that he would assume we were dating. At home I don't know that this is the case. I feel like I can get a bite to eat, go fishing, or go to a store with a guy friend, and maybe some, but not EVERYONE assumes we are dating. It's okay to be just friends with guys back home.
I really like my male friends at home, but I can see how the "system" here is maybe a bit more clear-cut. Here they don't really have to worry about whether this "just friend" is really just a friend or if they really would like something more.
Some of my best memories at home have been in big groups of boys and girls together, and I would never trade my guys friends for anything, but seeing this cultural difference is very interesting to me! :)
Here it is practically nonexistent. I was quick to notice that when people have boyfiends or girlfriends, they spend most of their time with them going to parks, and shopping, and eating out... this is not too unusually from the US. But what is different is that Im not sure my sisters have really close guy friends. When we go out to eat or out to socialize we only go with girls.... or with a girl and here boyfriend, but never a big group of guys and girls. Now this isn't a bad thing but its just different.
I've noticed that if we sit at a table with Argentine boys here the boys only talk to the other boys, almost ignoring the girls. If they ask us a question, and even if the girls is the first to answer they instinctively look at the boy for an answer. The idea isn't to ignore the girls, but I think if they take the tiniest interest in a girls, like talk to them, or look at them, it is seen as they are looking to date them.
Even when we are out and about, I don't feel like the guys are "checking us girls out," like they do in the U.S. Most people avoid eye contact, but maybe this is just a "big city thing."
We were asking a student ambassador named Brian about all of this and he said if he saw Devin and I out to eat, and we both have bf and gf back home, that he would assume we were dating. At home I don't know that this is the case. I feel like I can get a bite to eat, go fishing, or go to a store with a guy friend, and maybe some, but not EVERYONE assumes we are dating. It's okay to be just friends with guys back home.
I really like my male friends at home, but I can see how the "system" here is maybe a bit more clear-cut. Here they don't really have to worry about whether this "just friend" is really just a friend or if they really would like something more.
Some of my best memories at home have been in big groups of boys and girls together, and I would never trade my guys friends for anything, but seeing this cultural difference is very interesting to me! :)
Bus Rides and St. Patrick's day
I've come to the conclusion that this bus riding stuff can really make or break your day. I can tell if I miss the bus its going to be a stressful day, but if Im right on time its usually a good day! For example, the other day I litteraly had one step to take to be around the corner, and guess what happens... that bus just flies on by.. ugh! This was also the day that the bus had to take a different route because of the strike.
We were coming up on a rode and I saw a bunch of tires in the rode. It looked like we were by a car store so I just assumed the tires fell off the back of a truck or something. Wrong. As we got closer, there was a man actually placing the tires in the road! He had closed off half of every street and one street was completely blocked! The street that was blocked completely was full of ppl with signs protesting something. Also, they had two tires in the middle of the intersection and were burning things in it! It was ridiculous!
I finally made it to school, but it took a half hour!
Classes were fine, but Im still not used to having class for 1.5 to 2 hours. After class, Sarah Kennedy and I meet my host mom and sister, norma and Lucia, at a liberia... or a book store.
This book store was really neat! You could sit down and order coffee and read their used books at the same time. Lucia helped me "successfully" find a book about Gauchos.
After coffe, Lucia and Norma went looking for a birthday gift for Leo. Sara and I ventured out for a new cafe to do some home work at. We ended up a Cafe Vicotoria! It was really neat. It was like pub and cafe in one. The ceiling was really high and all the walls were brick. It was on the corner of the street so the the seating was curved like the corner and then on the inside corner / the back corner of the resturant there was a place to eat outside! Sara and I ate some media lunas dulce (kind of like sweet croissants (sp?)) and we had coffee.
In honor of St. Patricks day Sara got café con baileys! It was REALLY REALLY strong though and she couldn't finish it.
We went home around nine and I finished my Gaucho project!! I only got 3hrs of sleep that night, but I think the project went pretty well the next day!
We were coming up on a rode and I saw a bunch of tires in the rode. It looked like we were by a car store so I just assumed the tires fell off the back of a truck or something. Wrong. As we got closer, there was a man actually placing the tires in the road! He had closed off half of every street and one street was completely blocked! The street that was blocked completely was full of ppl with signs protesting something. Also, they had two tires in the middle of the intersection and were burning things in it! It was ridiculous!
I finally made it to school, but it took a half hour!
Classes were fine, but Im still not used to having class for 1.5 to 2 hours. After class, Sarah Kennedy and I meet my host mom and sister, norma and Lucia, at a liberia... or a book store.
This book store was really neat! You could sit down and order coffee and read their used books at the same time. Lucia helped me "successfully" find a book about Gauchos.
After coffe, Lucia and Norma went looking for a birthday gift for Leo. Sara and I ventured out for a new cafe to do some home work at. We ended up a Cafe Vicotoria! It was really neat. It was like pub and cafe in one. The ceiling was really high and all the walls were brick. It was on the corner of the street so the the seating was curved like the corner and then on the inside corner / the back corner of the resturant there was a place to eat outside! Sara and I ate some media lunas dulce (kind of like sweet croissants (sp?)) and we had coffee.
In honor of St. Patricks day Sara got café con baileys! It was REALLY REALLY strong though and she couldn't finish it.
We went home around nine and I finished my Gaucho project!! I only got 3hrs of sleep that night, but I think the project went pretty well the next day!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
AHHH!! Stressed
Hello. Im procrastinating... why do I do this? I couldn't really tell you, but I do. I have a presentation to give on Thursday about Gauchos. They are VERY similar to cowboys in the U.S. Needless to say I have yet to start ... :/ but who's to say I have never written a paper the night before it was due? :)
But really. I think, or hope a least, that today was the day I realized how bad the procrastinating stuff gets. I think I usually pull through in the end, but Im not sure the quality of work is as good as I want it to be.. :( I sometimes feel like I dont learn as much as I could have...
Had I not procrastinated I could tell you about how there are no screens on any windows, how ALL restaurants seem to sell the same stuff: they dont specalize in pizza or pasta or Mexican food like at home. I could tell you about the strike this morning that took place in the middle of the road and consisted of burning tires and forced the bus to take a different route. I could tell you about how the language here is sooo different than other Latin American Countries, and how I feel that all those things I learned in spanish class were some how not EXACTLY correct. I could tell you about how much I have grown to LOVE COFFEE!! Or I could talk about how the elderly are much more respected here, and how they REALLY enjoy their alcohol: its in EVERYTHING... for example, the cake I ate a few nights ago tasted like a shot of whiskey! I could tell you about the fair I went to this weekend with Norma and Edgardo, but I don't have time now... and Im still procrastinating... or i feel like this is more like venting... and I feel better now. Thank you for you time!
I hope everyone is ENJOYING THE NICE WEATHER AT HOME!! :)
But really. I think, or hope a least, that today was the day I realized how bad the procrastinating stuff gets. I think I usually pull through in the end, but Im not sure the quality of work is as good as I want it to be.. :( I sometimes feel like I dont learn as much as I could have...
Had I not procrastinated I could tell you about how there are no screens on any windows, how ALL restaurants seem to sell the same stuff: they dont specalize in pizza or pasta or Mexican food like at home. I could tell you about the strike this morning that took place in the middle of the road and consisted of burning tires and forced the bus to take a different route. I could tell you about how the language here is sooo different than other Latin American Countries, and how I feel that all those things I learned in spanish class were some how not EXACTLY correct. I could tell you about how much I have grown to LOVE COFFEE!! Or I could talk about how the elderly are much more respected here, and how they REALLY enjoy their alcohol: its in EVERYTHING... for example, the cake I ate a few nights ago tasted like a shot of whiskey! I could tell you about the fair I went to this weekend with Norma and Edgardo, but I don't have time now... and Im still procrastinating... or i feel like this is more like venting... and I feel better now. Thank you for you time!
I hope everyone is ENJOYING THE NICE WEATHER AT HOME!! :)
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Weekend and RACE!!
On Friday I went with Anna, Nick and Devin to a park. We did a little shopping before, and Devin bought a soccer ball and Anna and I bought some running shoes. Afterwards we headed towards the river, and sat in a park right next to the national flag monument, Devin showed us all his sweet futból skills, and tried to teach Nick some too. :)
We just sat and talked... like true Argentines.
Saturday:
UCEL had a big meeting with all the professors, some alumi, and the exchange students on Saturday morning at 9am
There is nothing worse than going to boring meetings about curriculum changes and new teachers on a SATURDAY MORNING! Add in that this meeting was in another language and its REALLY BORING!! ;) It really wasn't that bad, but it was a bit tiring. :)
Kelsey Tulon and I in front of an UCEL sign in the hall way.
UCEL made this sign with all our names on it to welcome us!! Jesse Kuttler is posing with me!
After the meeting we went out for some cáfe while we waited for lunch!
From the left Amy, Sarah, Exchange Student from Germany, Taylor, Myself, and Jesse
From the left: Cassie, Kelsey, Robyn , and Eric
After our coffee break we headed back inside UCEL for LUNCH!! We at Choripan! ITS MY NEW FAVORITE MEAL HERE!! It's short for chorizo, which is like sausage, and pan is bread. So it's just like sausage in a bun, but its DELICIOUS!! :) At this lunch, they just had tons of tables lined up with glasses and pop, napkins, and orderves set on them. There was no seating, but instead everyone just stood while eating and talking.
Jim, our professor, introduced me to some professors at UCEL. The picture below is of Angel, a management professor at UCEL, and me! He's been teaching for 34 years!
After the UCEL meeting and lunch, Eric and I walked to "Mini Iowa" and I did my homework while he listened to music. We sat for about 1.5 hours then Sarah, Taylor, and Jessie came and we all went shopping at the Alto Shopping Mall just across the street from "Mini Iowa."
I left around 8 to go home for dinner, and Anna called to ask if I wanted to come to Nick's house for Dinner! His house was very nice! It reminded me of my house in Rosario,because of the place we ate in but the kitchen reminded me of home! :)
Here is a picture of Devin and one of Nick's dogs! Devin Loved them! The brick little structure to the left is the "la parrilla" or in English is the grill, however the chimney of this grill goes outside, and there is no roof over this part of the house. The wall beside the parrilla was covered in vines. My house has the same grill and wall, but there is a garden instead of vines. I think this is fairly typical of most houses here.
Dinner was great! Nick cooked us pasta for our big race on Sunday, and afterwards we played two games and one was Spanish Bingo :)
Sunday: RACE DAY!!
Today, Nick, Anna, Efran (a professor at UCEL), and I participated in a 10K. It was across that HUGE BRIDGE that connects Rosario and Argentina. It was the first time they had ever had this race, so that was pretty cool to be a part of.
We could see the city in the distance and the cost of the river was Beautiful! You can kind of make out two REALLY tall white buildings in the skyline of the city... those two building are REALLY close to my house and "Mini Iowa" :)
Efram picked us up around 7:30 am and the race started at 9:00? I think? We started "shuffeling"/ jogging at a fast walk pace, at 9:00am, butI dont ever remember walking over the starting line. Now this could have been because to get on the bridge we were supposed to walk on the street, but as you can see in the picture below, everyone scratched the road (and order) idea and just started climbing up the hill! It reminded me of Living History Farms and their STEEP Hills!
There were OVER 3000 people in this RACE!!! (This is OVER double the size of Living History Farms) I looked at results, and through my broken spanish "I THINK" I got 1809th overall place, 49th in the 20-29 age group, and I was 231st of the Women.
It was rediculious though!! My splits were all over the place as at times I could barely walk! I took me 10 mins to get to the first 1k!! This is like .62 of a mile. It was totally worth it though! The view was BEAUTIFUL!!
These pictures were my attempts to show JUST HOW MANY PEOPLE were running. In the picture with the bridge the line goes ALL the way up to the arch of the bridge!
Anna and I midrace:) Taking pictures while on the go is quite an art! HAHA!
The sun was really bright, but the picture is kind of cool :)
Another difference in races here and at home, here EVERYONE wore the green shirt we received in the Entry Fee. This made it VERY difficult/ IMPOSSIBLE to spot anyone in our small group.
No one really walked during the race, which kind of surprised me, but everyone cheered for everyone. I've decided that Asics shoes are NONEXISTANT, and Nike, and Adidas are the shoes of choice.
Even after and before the race everyone was really relaxed and "chill." What is not more Argentine than drinking MATE before the race!! In the picture below, the little cup in the guy's hand is mate ...
Mate is basically like tea that is drank from a special cup and straw. The tea sits in hot water and it littarly looks like pot. My host parents told me they went to a wedding of an England Man and and Argentine Woman, and the Father of the Groom came up to them asking what they thought they were doing bringing pot to the wedding! :) Haha!
But even after the race, everyone brought mate and chairs and just sat and talked. It wasnt like at home were after races we hurry home to finish or start our next activity for the day... :)
We just sat and talked... like true Argentines.
Saturday:
UCEL had a big meeting with all the professors, some alumi, and the exchange students on Saturday morning at 9am
There is nothing worse than going to boring meetings about curriculum changes and new teachers on a SATURDAY MORNING! Add in that this meeting was in another language and its REALLY BORING!! ;) It really wasn't that bad, but it was a bit tiring. :)
Kelsey Tulon and I in front of an UCEL sign in the hall way.
UCEL made this sign with all our names on it to welcome us!! Jesse Kuttler is posing with me!
After the meeting we went out for some cáfe while we waited for lunch!
From the left Amy, Sarah, Exchange Student from Germany, Taylor, Myself, and Jesse
From the left: Cassie, Kelsey, Robyn , and Eric
After our coffee break we headed back inside UCEL for LUNCH!! We at Choripan! ITS MY NEW FAVORITE MEAL HERE!! It's short for chorizo, which is like sausage, and pan is bread. So it's just like sausage in a bun, but its DELICIOUS!! :) At this lunch, they just had tons of tables lined up with glasses and pop, napkins, and orderves set on them. There was no seating, but instead everyone just stood while eating and talking.
Jim, our professor, introduced me to some professors at UCEL. The picture below is of Angel, a management professor at UCEL, and me! He's been teaching for 34 years!
After the UCEL meeting and lunch, Eric and I walked to "Mini Iowa" and I did my homework while he listened to music. We sat for about 1.5 hours then Sarah, Taylor, and Jessie came and we all went shopping at the Alto Shopping Mall just across the street from "Mini Iowa."
I left around 8 to go home for dinner, and Anna called to ask if I wanted to come to Nick's house for Dinner! His house was very nice! It reminded me of my house in Rosario,because of the place we ate in but the kitchen reminded me of home! :)
Here is a picture of Devin and one of Nick's dogs! Devin Loved them! The brick little structure to the left is the "la parrilla" or in English is the grill, however the chimney of this grill goes outside, and there is no roof over this part of the house. The wall beside the parrilla was covered in vines. My house has the same grill and wall, but there is a garden instead of vines. I think this is fairly typical of most houses here.
Dinner was great! Nick cooked us pasta for our big race on Sunday, and afterwards we played two games and one was Spanish Bingo :)
Sunday: RACE DAY!!
Today, Nick, Anna, Efran (a professor at UCEL), and I participated in a 10K. It was across that HUGE BRIDGE that connects Rosario and Argentina. It was the first time they had ever had this race, so that was pretty cool to be a part of.
We could see the city in the distance and the cost of the river was Beautiful! You can kind of make out two REALLY tall white buildings in the skyline of the city... those two building are REALLY close to my house and "Mini Iowa" :)
Efram picked us up around 7:30 am and the race started at 9:00? I think? We started "shuffeling"/ jogging at a fast walk pace, at 9:00am, butI dont ever remember walking over the starting line. Now this could have been because to get on the bridge we were supposed to walk on the street, but as you can see in the picture below, everyone scratched the road (and order) idea and just started climbing up the hill! It reminded me of Living History Farms and their STEEP Hills!
There were OVER 3000 people in this RACE!!! (This is OVER double the size of Living History Farms) I looked at results, and through my broken spanish "I THINK" I got 1809th overall place, 49th in the 20-29 age group, and I was 231st of the Women.
It was rediculious though!! My splits were all over the place as at times I could barely walk! I took me 10 mins to get to the first 1k!! This is like .62 of a mile. It was totally worth it though! The view was BEAUTIFUL!!
These pictures were my attempts to show JUST HOW MANY PEOPLE were running. In the picture with the bridge the line goes ALL the way up to the arch of the bridge!
Anna and I midrace:) Taking pictures while on the go is quite an art! HAHA!
The sun was really bright, but the picture is kind of cool :)
Another difference in races here and at home, here EVERYONE wore the green shirt we received in the Entry Fee. This made it VERY difficult/ IMPOSSIBLE to spot anyone in our small group.
No one really walked during the race, which kind of surprised me, but everyone cheered for everyone. I've decided that Asics shoes are NONEXISTANT, and Nike, and Adidas are the shoes of choice.
Even after and before the race everyone was really relaxed and "chill." What is not more Argentine than drinking MATE before the race!! In the picture below, the little cup in the guy's hand is mate ...
Mate is basically like tea that is drank from a special cup and straw. The tea sits in hot water and it littarly looks like pot. My host parents told me they went to a wedding of an England Man and and Argentine Woman, and the Father of the Groom came up to them asking what they thought they were doing bringing pot to the wedding! :) Haha!
But even after the race, everyone brought mate and chairs and just sat and talked. It wasnt like at home were after races we hurry home to finish or start our next activity for the day... :)
Thursday, March 11, 2010
STRIKES!!
Today in class, Amy was telling us how her host sister was really mad yesterday. She was mad because she goes to a University and all the professors are on strike! She was supposed to take her final exams the first day of the strikes, but because of them the exams got canceled. This means she cannot retake them and must take the WHOLE CLASS over in June.
I don't think this would EVER happen in the U.S. I just think things are more organized back home, more stable, and predictable. I don't know quite how to explain it but I think I miss it. I miss knowing that the bus will come at EXACTLY 8:00am on the dot, and that stores open up EXACTLY when they say, and when you pay for a candy bar or a taxi ride you will ALWAYS get your EXACT change back instead of being yelled at for not giving them exact change and then not getting anything back at all... At the same time I think this is part of the laid back culture, if everything were on time and all organized it just wouldnt be the same and as stress-free...
So anyway about these STRIKES!
Amy told us how the teachers were on strike. And last night at dinner, Noel was telling me if I went on Cordoba street (the main shopping area) today there would be ALL SORTS of vendors out because of the strike. I understood, but I didnt get why they thought they would sell more with teachers on strike. Especially since those on strike were asking for more money! On our way to the radio station they were ALL OVER the place!! I asked Jim if he knew why and told him i thought it was because of the Teachers on strike.... I still didnt get it though.
Tonight while eating my "afternoon snack" at 8:00pm, the vendors in the street were on the news. So I attempted to ask why they came out to sell things when the teachers were on strike.. It turned into a 20 or 25 min conversation... and we had to pull out the dictionary a few times, but after asking if the Vendors were the teachers, or if they were selling stuff because the teachers were shopping because they didnt have to work.... I FINALLY GOT IT!!!....
The teachers are NOT the only ones on strike... there are MANY ppl on strike including the "inspectors." There is a law in Rosario that says the vendors can not sell in the streets. The inspectors enforce this, but since they are on strike also no one is stoping the street vendors! AHH!! It was just a crazy converstation and kind of taught me how things work around here... like we say. "When the cat is away the mouse will play." ( i think that is how it goes at least)
This strike is causing many other problems as well... i think some doctors are on strike leaving sick patients in the hospitals with no one to care for them... or only a FEW ppl. (Remember this is my interpurtation of the headlines on the new and what my host family told me in spanish)
I think the mayor may be on strike too and people cant get married and what not... idk it just seems soo chaotic...
thats all for now friends,
Chau!
I don't think this would EVER happen in the U.S. I just think things are more organized back home, more stable, and predictable. I don't know quite how to explain it but I think I miss it. I miss knowing that the bus will come at EXACTLY 8:00am on the dot, and that stores open up EXACTLY when they say, and when you pay for a candy bar or a taxi ride you will ALWAYS get your EXACT change back instead of being yelled at for not giving them exact change and then not getting anything back at all... At the same time I think this is part of the laid back culture, if everything were on time and all organized it just wouldnt be the same and as stress-free...
So anyway about these STRIKES!
Amy told us how the teachers were on strike. And last night at dinner, Noel was telling me if I went on Cordoba street (the main shopping area) today there would be ALL SORTS of vendors out because of the strike. I understood, but I didnt get why they thought they would sell more with teachers on strike. Especially since those on strike were asking for more money! On our way to the radio station they were ALL OVER the place!! I asked Jim if he knew why and told him i thought it was because of the Teachers on strike.... I still didnt get it though.
Tonight while eating my "afternoon snack" at 8:00pm, the vendors in the street were on the news. So I attempted to ask why they came out to sell things when the teachers were on strike.. It turned into a 20 or 25 min conversation... and we had to pull out the dictionary a few times, but after asking if the Vendors were the teachers, or if they were selling stuff because the teachers were shopping because they didnt have to work.... I FINALLY GOT IT!!!....
The teachers are NOT the only ones on strike... there are MANY ppl on strike including the "inspectors." There is a law in Rosario that says the vendors can not sell in the streets. The inspectors enforce this, but since they are on strike also no one is stoping the street vendors! AHH!! It was just a crazy converstation and kind of taught me how things work around here... like we say. "When the cat is away the mouse will play." ( i think that is how it goes at least)
This strike is causing many other problems as well... i think some doctors are on strike leaving sick patients in the hospitals with no one to care for them... or only a FEW ppl. (Remember this is my interpurtation of the headlines on the new and what my host family told me in spanish)
I think the mayor may be on strike too and people cant get married and what not... idk it just seems soo chaotic...
thats all for now friends,
Chau!
Radio Talk Show: 'Its not the experience that changes your perspective, it is the other way around"
So to day was a fairly normal day!! It started off okay... I was up pretty late and had to get up early to do my homework that I procrastinated on... BUTTT today, I caught the bus right when it came!! I walk a block and a half to the bus stop, and I ALWAYS walk around my corner and see Bus 107 drive past!! UGH!! Then, I have to wait for who knows how long!!
So I got to school early, and did some more homework. I had class from 10:30-1:15(LONGEST CLASS OF MY LIFE!) Its on the history of Argentina. It is actually pretty interesting, and Argentine history is VERY similar to the history of the U.S.
After class I went with Devin and Eric to eat at the buffet... it cost us each 32 pesos! At first we thought that was a TON! We are only alloted about 19 a day for food. But then upon thinking about it that is really only like 9 dollars or so, and at the buffet YOU CAN EAT STEAK!! OHHHH IT WAS SOOO GOOD! This is when I decided, I REALLY REALLY REALLY miss eating beef at home. They are supposed to have a lot of it here, but I think it is very expensive and that is why we dont eat it a lot.
After clas, I went to a radio station in Rosario, and 6 of us were INTERVIEWED!! It was an English radio station and the lady who was on the air was soooo COOL! She has traveled ALL OVER the world!! She has lived in California and Texas? Europe for 3 years! She's kinda hippy or indy like. She is really positive and only shares positive things on the radio unlike all our other stations. It is the only English speaking in Rosario! It was my FIRST TIME ON AIR!!
She had this quote, "Its not the experience that changes your perspective, it is the other way around." I like it...
After the talk show we all went our seperate ways after CHAUing the Argentine way (Kissing noise on the cheek). I rode the bus home, and that is getting more and more usual. Im starting to "drift" off and think of other things now as I ride it.
I came home and talked to Ben for a bit, then it was time for our "afternoon" snack. at 8:00pm!! HAHA!! We had toast and dulce de leche, and jelly and butter!
While we ate, it was just Norma, Edgardo and me, we watched the news. They always tell me what is going on.. Im really starting to be able to understand things. Like I dont comprehend EVERYTHING but it doesn't sound like they are talking soo fast now....
So I got to school early, and did some more homework. I had class from 10:30-1:15(LONGEST CLASS OF MY LIFE!) Its on the history of Argentina. It is actually pretty interesting, and Argentine history is VERY similar to the history of the U.S.
After class I went with Devin and Eric to eat at the buffet... it cost us each 32 pesos! At first we thought that was a TON! We are only alloted about 19 a day for food. But then upon thinking about it that is really only like 9 dollars or so, and at the buffet YOU CAN EAT STEAK!! OHHHH IT WAS SOOO GOOD! This is when I decided, I REALLY REALLY REALLY miss eating beef at home. They are supposed to have a lot of it here, but I think it is very expensive and that is why we dont eat it a lot.
After clas, I went to a radio station in Rosario, and 6 of us were INTERVIEWED!! It was an English radio station and the lady who was on the air was soooo COOL! She has traveled ALL OVER the world!! She has lived in California and Texas? Europe for 3 years! She's kinda hippy or indy like. She is really positive and only shares positive things on the radio unlike all our other stations. It is the only English speaking in Rosario! It was my FIRST TIME ON AIR!!
She had this quote, "Its not the experience that changes your perspective, it is the other way around." I like it...
After the talk show we all went our seperate ways after CHAUing the Argentine way (Kissing noise on the cheek). I rode the bus home, and that is getting more and more usual. Im starting to "drift" off and think of other things now as I ride it.
I came home and talked to Ben for a bit, then it was time for our "afternoon" snack. at 8:00pm!! HAHA!! We had toast and dulce de leche, and jelly and butter!
While we ate, it was just Norma, Edgardo and me, we watched the news. They always tell me what is going on.. Im really starting to be able to understand things. Like I dont comprehend EVERYTHING but it doesn't sound like they are talking soo fast now....
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Dinners
So I came to bed tonight at 12:30!! We finished dinner at 12:15!! AHHH!! Im soooo tired, and I dont think this is good for me. HOWEVER TONIGHT WE HAD HAMBURGUASAS!!! OH how i miss my ground beef!!! It was soo delicious, not quite the same as home, but still amazing!
So this is how dinner usually goes here....
I help Norma set the table and most of the time Lucia helps cook things like the vegetables and what not...
(For you tomato lovers try this: Cut up a tomato, put some oil on it (I dont know what kind) then add some oregano and salt!! Its deliciouls)
Back to supper... So Lucia usually helps Norma cook, and Edgardo either cooks the meat on the grill or watches Futbol while supper is being prepared. When it is time to eat we all sit down, and Norma serves us. NO ONE waits for others to get their food we all just dig in. When someone is done or needs something Norma always gets up and takes their plate to get more food. My first few weeks here I felt really bad about this. At home if I want more, yes Paula can get it, but we are kind of expected to get our own food! But then at Taylor's birthday party we talked to an English professor, and she explained to us that is part of the culture. It is the woman's kitchen and she feels it is her duty to "serve" us. I dont know if that was the best explanation, but after she told us that I could really see how this is true. Its like they take pride in it being their kitchen and their home cooked food and they enjoy serving us. I guess its just different from the U.S. I think at home we have gotten away from our "the kitchen is a woman's room and place to show off her talents." I do feel like we need equality as far a gender roles, but there is something special here about how the women take pride in what they do. Im not saying either way is right or wrong; Im just saying it is different in each place... here some things are more "traditional" or "ways of the past, but does this mean they are not equal? Can women still claim the kitchen as theirs yet not be discriminated against or thought of only as cooks and servers? Are we women at home in Iowa "loosing" this part of us. I dont really think so. But I dont know that we can have it both ways... we cant have this "equality" and "pride in our kitchen" at the same time. I think our two cultures clash a bit....and now I feel like im rambling.
Back to dinner... Edgardo always drinks beer or wine and the rest of us drink water or juice. Sometimes Norma drinks with him. We NEVER drink milk, and I not SURE why. It may be because it is soo expensive. So after we all eat, Lucia or Noel takes our plates to the sink and we finish off the meal with ICE CREAM!! Its the BEST icecream I have ever had!! I dont really like it that much back in the States but here it is DELICIOUS!!... Maybe its the heat.
Sometimes we have fruit for dessert, which is weird for me, but I like it none the less.
Another thing I find interesting is thy types of vegetables that people eat here. At home, I know a few picky eaters myself.... *Joel*.... I think at home if kids or people do like vegetables the ONLY ones those picky eaters eat are potatoes and corn. Here I think the vegetables of choice are tomatoes, potatoes, and green OLIVES!! Olives are served on EVERYTHING!! ugh... ;)
So this is how dinner usually goes here....
I help Norma set the table and most of the time Lucia helps cook things like the vegetables and what not...
(For you tomato lovers try this: Cut up a tomato, put some oil on it (I dont know what kind) then add some oregano and salt!! Its deliciouls)
Back to supper... So Lucia usually helps Norma cook, and Edgardo either cooks the meat on the grill or watches Futbol while supper is being prepared. When it is time to eat we all sit down, and Norma serves us. NO ONE waits for others to get their food we all just dig in. When someone is done or needs something Norma always gets up and takes their plate to get more food. My first few weeks here I felt really bad about this. At home if I want more, yes Paula can get it, but we are kind of expected to get our own food! But then at Taylor's birthday party we talked to an English professor, and she explained to us that is part of the culture. It is the woman's kitchen and she feels it is her duty to "serve" us. I dont know if that was the best explanation, but after she told us that I could really see how this is true. Its like they take pride in it being their kitchen and their home cooked food and they enjoy serving us. I guess its just different from the U.S. I think at home we have gotten away from our "the kitchen is a woman's room and place to show off her talents." I do feel like we need equality as far a gender roles, but there is something special here about how the women take pride in what they do. Im not saying either way is right or wrong; Im just saying it is different in each place... here some things are more "traditional" or "ways of the past, but does this mean they are not equal? Can women still claim the kitchen as theirs yet not be discriminated against or thought of only as cooks and servers? Are we women at home in Iowa "loosing" this part of us. I dont really think so. But I dont know that we can have it both ways... we cant have this "equality" and "pride in our kitchen" at the same time. I think our two cultures clash a bit....and now I feel like im rambling.
Back to dinner... Edgardo always drinks beer or wine and the rest of us drink water or juice. Sometimes Norma drinks with him. We NEVER drink milk, and I not SURE why. It may be because it is soo expensive. So after we all eat, Lucia or Noel takes our plates to the sink and we finish off the meal with ICE CREAM!! Its the BEST icecream I have ever had!! I dont really like it that much back in the States but here it is DELICIOUS!!... Maybe its the heat.
Sometimes we have fruit for dessert, which is weird for me, but I like it none the less.
Another thing I find interesting is thy types of vegetables that people eat here. At home, I know a few picky eaters myself.... *Joel*.... I think at home if kids or people do like vegetables the ONLY ones those picky eaters eat are potatoes and corn. Here I think the vegetables of choice are tomatoes, potatoes, and green OLIVES!! Olives are served on EVERYTHING!! ugh... ;)
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Anoche... a sight in the Life of Sarah Kennedy
Some pictures of the Ladies present at the Birthday... From the left: Me, Kelsey, Sarah and Taylor
Anoche (Last night), we (Sarah, Kelsey, Jesse, Eric and I) went over to Taylor Reis's apartment to celebrate her 21st birthday!! I ATE SOO MUCH!!! Her host mom was GREAT to us!! I think I had two hot dogs, 2 slices of pizza, some potatoes, potatoe chips, and OF COURSE BIRTHDAY CAKE!!
It was a really good fooD, and as much as I dont like "cliques" this small group of us is really getting to know each other. We ate and talked ALLL NIGHT!! I felt like I was at home with my friends...
besides the birthday festivities... i got some valuable insight into the lives of others...
I am VERY FORTUNATE and live with a family where the kids all speak a pretty good English. This is NOT the case for others such as Miss Sarah Kennedy... her host mom speaks no English and we always can tell when she is stressed from trying to communicate with her. LAST NIGHT I finally understood this!
I was getting ready to leave the house, so I went to tell Edgardo where I was going and why, and ask him how to pronounce the name of Taylor's street.... IT WAS JUST A HUGE FIASCO....
First, my parents here are GREAT!! They always want to know where Im going and who is going with me. Is there a professor there with you? What is the Name of the place? What is the number? What is the address? Make sure someone waits for a taxi with you. Dont walk alone at night.... ect. :)
However, Edgardo speaks pretty much no English and explaining this to him was quite a challenge. I didnt understand why I had to call the taxi instead of just going out on the street and waiving for one. He was trying to tell me what to tell the driver, which somehow included a story about school he went to as a child? Or that is what I understood atleast... I had to call Taylor twice to ask for the address and phone number so I could call the taxi there when I left her house too...
Calling the taxi to come was a huge ordeal too... OF COURSE I HAD NO IDEA what the guy on the phone was telling me. Finally I just told him the house number... and he kept saying "Listo" which means ready... but I did know if he was ready or if he was asking if I was... I just said yes a bunch of times, and good a few times. Then tried to make a sentence, but I failed miserably. He was still talking, so finally I just said, okay chau... and hung up and hoped the taxi would come....
OH I WAS JUST SOOO STRESSED at this point. So the taxi finally came. I still wasnt sure what Edgardo wanted me to tell him for directions, and I didnt know how to pronounce the name of the street. BUT I knew where I needed to go. So I got in the cab and proceeded to tell the driver where I needed to go. Edgardo was watching me at the door to make sure I left safely, I knew where I wanted to go, so after I KILLED the name of the street I proceeded to show him my map. Edgardo saw this and came over to the taxi to just tell the driver himself... OOOOHHHH I felt like I was 10 years old!! AHHH!!
It was all soo stressfull, and needless to say I was happy to see my new friends sitting on the stoop when the taxi drove up! They made me feel better and in then end we took some pictures like the one above :) Me, Kelsey, and Sarah
It was another small lessson that you can never FULLY understand some untill you have been in their shoes for a bit. :)
Eating by Candle light
Picture 2: (Again this is for my Photo project) One is with a flash and the other is how it actually looked while we ate.
This is a photo of part of my family (From the Left Maria Noel, Norma, and Egardo) while we ate "outside" or on the "backporch" tonight by candle light. We called it a Romantic Dinner, and as romantic as candle light is it sometimes is not quite as good as artificial lights. However, tonight we had no choice. The electricty went out around 6:30. It was still light out, but by the time supper rolled around at 9:30.
I had my refelcetion class today and we talked alot about how laied back their culture is. While I haven't quite formulated a good blog about this yet there is one thing i can say... when the Unexpected happens the routine in the United States and in Argentina is quite similar.
When Lucia and I returned from our run in the park, that Im going to call "Mini Iowa," Norma greeted me with a kiss on the cheek and said "Welcome to Latin America." I felt just at home though. I told her this kind of thing happens all the time in Iowa as well. Snow days, Ice days: no electricty from storms is something I would say I'm fairly used to.
At home and here, this gives EVERYONE the PERFECT excuse to NOT do homework. "Well I can't do my howework now!" Was the first thing Lucia said to me, with a smile, when we came out of our rooms. These little unexpected things gives us an excuse to not travel into town or go to that meeting that we REALLY didnt want to go to in the first place. We can now put off for tomorrow, because it CANT be done today, and go to bed early!
While at home we may "freak out a bit more." We may get on our land-lines or cell phones and call to make sure we are not the only ones with out power. Then we sometimes stress about what will happen next or if we miss that appointment, how long untill we can use the computer again? Here however I didnt see that. It was a chance for them to call thier neighbors and chat, and we sat on the back porch and looked up at those stars see far too seldom here.
Eitherway, I think some of the best of times and conversations come from the unplanned and unexpected. Who would have thought I would eat dinner by candle light at 9:30pm. I didnt :)
Monday, March 8, 2010
An Iowa Run
I haven't blogged for a bit...! However, I have been plenty busy.
I went running for the first time last wednesday! I ran on a street called Oroño it is kind of a main street and in the median there is a nice big sidewalk with benches and trees on both sides!! I ran from my house to that road and then to Independence Park. It was SUPER hot and i was not used to it. I only ran for 20 mins and walked in between :/ I felt really really slow and out of shape...
BUT THEN....
The next night, before dinner, I went running with Lucia, and Noel at 9:30pm. We walked to a park by that mall I went too that used to be a train station. It was JUST a BEAUTIFUL NIGHT!! It was dark out but the park sooo reminded me of all those runs I have taken at night after working at the pool all day. It was humid and hot, the stars were out, there were even locust ( or they sounded EXACTLY like them) buzzing away in the trees! It SMELLED like iowa, with all the grass and dirt and tress, and I think that was the best part.
So we were all running and the park was about 2K around... so about 1.4miles or so. We were going pretty slow.. maybe 8:30 or 9 min mile pace... I was glad to be going slow though because of my run earlier in the week. However it was another one of those runs where you suddenly realize how GREAT it is just to have a running partner and how much easier the run is! Lucia fell back a little bit but Noel and I kept going.. Our pace was right on and I think we even got a little faster at the end :)
It was just soo BEAUTIFUL!! :) As much as it made me miss my xc girls and running partners it was just like they were right there with me in all the smells and sounds of Iowa in that park. :)
I went running for the first time last wednesday! I ran on a street called Oroño it is kind of a main street and in the median there is a nice big sidewalk with benches and trees on both sides!! I ran from my house to that road and then to Independence Park. It was SUPER hot and i was not used to it. I only ran for 20 mins and walked in between :/ I felt really really slow and out of shape...
BUT THEN....
The next night, before dinner, I went running with Lucia, and Noel at 9:30pm. We walked to a park by that mall I went too that used to be a train station. It was JUST a BEAUTIFUL NIGHT!! It was dark out but the park sooo reminded me of all those runs I have taken at night after working at the pool all day. It was humid and hot, the stars were out, there were even locust ( or they sounded EXACTLY like them) buzzing away in the trees! It SMELLED like iowa, with all the grass and dirt and tress, and I think that was the best part.
So we were all running and the park was about 2K around... so about 1.4miles or so. We were going pretty slow.. maybe 8:30 or 9 min mile pace... I was glad to be going slow though because of my run earlier in the week. However it was another one of those runs where you suddenly realize how GREAT it is just to have a running partner and how much easier the run is! Lucia fell back a little bit but Noel and I kept going.. Our pace was right on and I think we even got a little faster at the end :)
It was just soo BEAUTIFUL!! :) As much as it made me miss my xc girls and running partners it was just like they were right there with me in all the smells and sounds of Iowa in that park. :)
Thursday, March 4, 2010
CONCERT and Crazy Taxis
I just got back at 12:00am from a Luis Fonsi (Fon- zee) concert! It was really good! He is kind of popish, and his slow songs werent my Favorite, but he was good!! :) I had a good time! Before, the concert we meet by Jesse's house and walked to that really cool resturant Lucia likes. We ate there, and it was great!! :) The store/resturant/bar is just soo trendy! :)
On my way to meet everyone I took a taxi, and my driver was really nice. He spoke really slow for me, and drove nice and slow too! We just talked about studying in Rosario, and how BA compared to Rosario. I think most people here think I'm from Argentina... several people in BA did, but after a few sentences, which usually involve me asking "What?", their next question is "Donde sos?" or "Where are you from?" Haha!! I am kind of timid to say Los Estados Unidos, because sometimes that is not a good thing, but its usually okay.... more on that later.
So we sat/stood in the nose bleed section, but it was still a lot of fun!! I went with Jesse, Kelsey, Sarah, and Eric. (Ill put up pics this weekend)
The place was packed, and there were screaming girls everywhere!! :) Many of the little kids that were there had taken off thier shirts because it was soo hot! I think, pda, and what people do in public are a bit different here. For instance, the bus was again EXTREMELY PACKED this moring, so I squeezed my way back a few rows and took a standing spot by a mother and her young son... A min or too later, after I took my backpack off my back and held it in my hand so I could see it, I saw this mother was actually breast feeding the child! ha! In the park or on the street it is not uncommon to see this or two lovers litearly making out! Ha! Im not sure how I feel about it... like I know it is just part of the culture, but I wonder if it "feeds" into another part of the culture like realationships, friendships, and family....??
SOOO after the concert we walked Jesse and Sarah home and the three of us got a taxi! First off, many people drive CRAZY here, or what we see as crazy! We were walking on the street to Jesse's place, and NO JOKE the bus that went by us like "brushed"/ hit" Eric's arm! He was okay, but it was really really close!
Now this taxi driver was crazy! Now a few things to know... most of the streets are one way, there are no lines to make lanes unless it is a main road, and they fit about 2 or 3 cars on the road, and that counts the parked cars. Here, many corners do not have any signs at all... so many people drive with their lights off and as they come to an intersection they "kind of" slow down and they flash their lights so others know they are coming through. Or more popularly... like what our taxi driver did at the intersection, was to drive really fast to catch up to the car just infront of him. Then as the other car went through the intersection we just got on the opposite side of the traffic and followed him through too. They seem to try to go through intersections in "groups" I'm not sure that made much sense..
Now, to catch a bus or taxi you just throw out your hand like we do! And as I learned quickly... taxi's with red lights mean they are unoccupied.
But or taxi driver tonight was CRAZY! First off he was driving a MILLION miles a minute, and he would barely slow down at intersections. Then all of a sudden he asked Eric, who was sitting in the front seat, he felt his phone. THEN when he did find his phone he STARTED TEXTING!! AHHH!! lol! Needless to say I was glad to get out!
So that's all I have for now about Their crazy driving! :)
I also think...no, I KNOW, Im 100% SURE I have the best family to live with in Argentina... no joke :) Edgard asked me today what I liked to eat for breakfast, so they could buy me food. :) They dont eat cereal, but I like bread. As most of you know, Im not too picky when it comes to eating :) Im slowly learing where the food is, but I still feel weird looking through their stuff. Yesterady I thought I was using bread and jell on my bread... it was actually mayo!! LOL!! Also this morning, he told me to have cookies for breakfast ... so I did :) Just a few...
On my way to meet everyone I took a taxi, and my driver was really nice. He spoke really slow for me, and drove nice and slow too! We just talked about studying in Rosario, and how BA compared to Rosario. I think most people here think I'm from Argentina... several people in BA did, but after a few sentences, which usually involve me asking "What?", their next question is "Donde sos?" or "Where are you from?" Haha!! I am kind of timid to say Los Estados Unidos, because sometimes that is not a good thing, but its usually okay.... more on that later.
So we sat/stood in the nose bleed section, but it was still a lot of fun!! I went with Jesse, Kelsey, Sarah, and Eric. (Ill put up pics this weekend)
The place was packed, and there were screaming girls everywhere!! :) Many of the little kids that were there had taken off thier shirts because it was soo hot! I think, pda, and what people do in public are a bit different here. For instance, the bus was again EXTREMELY PACKED this moring, so I squeezed my way back a few rows and took a standing spot by a mother and her young son... A min or too later, after I took my backpack off my back and held it in my hand so I could see it, I saw this mother was actually breast feeding the child! ha! In the park or on the street it is not uncommon to see this or two lovers litearly making out! Ha! Im not sure how I feel about it... like I know it is just part of the culture, but I wonder if it "feeds" into another part of the culture like realationships, friendships, and family....??
SOOO after the concert we walked Jesse and Sarah home and the three of us got a taxi! First off, many people drive CRAZY here, or what we see as crazy! We were walking on the street to Jesse's place, and NO JOKE the bus that went by us like "brushed"/ hit" Eric's arm! He was okay, but it was really really close!
Now this taxi driver was crazy! Now a few things to know... most of the streets are one way, there are no lines to make lanes unless it is a main road, and they fit about 2 or 3 cars on the road, and that counts the parked cars. Here, many corners do not have any signs at all... so many people drive with their lights off and as they come to an intersection they "kind of" slow down and they flash their lights so others know they are coming through. Or more popularly... like what our taxi driver did at the intersection, was to drive really fast to catch up to the car just infront of him. Then as the other car went through the intersection we just got on the opposite side of the traffic and followed him through too. They seem to try to go through intersections in "groups" I'm not sure that made much sense..
Now, to catch a bus or taxi you just throw out your hand like we do! And as I learned quickly... taxi's with red lights mean they are unoccupied.
But or taxi driver tonight was CRAZY! First off he was driving a MILLION miles a minute, and he would barely slow down at intersections. Then all of a sudden he asked Eric, who was sitting in the front seat, he felt his phone. THEN when he did find his phone he STARTED TEXTING!! AHHH!! lol! Needless to say I was glad to get out!
So that's all I have for now about Their crazy driving! :)
I also think...no, I KNOW, Im 100% SURE I have the best family to live with in Argentina... no joke :) Edgard asked me today what I liked to eat for breakfast, so they could buy me food. :) They dont eat cereal, but I like bread. As most of you know, Im not too picky when it comes to eating :) Im slowly learing where the food is, but I still feel weird looking through their stuff. Yesterady I thought I was using bread and jell on my bread... it was actually mayo!! LOL!! Also this morning, he told me to have cookies for breakfast ... so I did :) Just a few...
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Waiting on a Waiter
So I know I just wrote about waiting but I thought I would do it a little bit more tonight and explain what meals, restaurants, and the food is like.
Soo.. they have these things called ASADOS. It translates to BBQ but I haven't seen any actual BBQ sauce! I think they are more comparable to what we call grill outs. Now, when you are invited to an asado you should probably start fasting at least 24 hours before hand because the food will keep coming and coming and coming!! One of the girls here, Sarah, went to an asado the first day and i think was a bit of a culture shock, and I quote she said, "I was not imersed in culture, i was drowning in it!! " LOL!! Any way for my MEAT LOVERS in Iowa and asado is your type of thing!! My first night we had an asado at my house and just as I finished my first course of some type of sausage and salad, and bread, and potatoes, they went out to the grill and brought out MORE MEAT! :)
We eat a LOT of meat. But never ground meat. More like beef sausage, ham, and chicken, with a lot of potatoes and onions!! We also ALWAYS ALWAYS have dessert, but sometimes that is in the form of fruit. And we never drink milk for any meals, its either, beer, wine, water, juice, or coke. Potatoes and Onions seem to be the stable vegetables!! :) Me gustan!
Now restaurants... its VERY different. Like I've said I can expect to spend 3 or 4 hours in a resturant. In the United Sates I think we have the philosophy that if you pay for the food you can bring it home with you. Well here it a bit different, here if you pay for the table and service you can stay a long as you want. So first you get there and maybe order drinks then you sometimes have to flag down the waiter and after a while you can order food. So after eating the food you sit and talk or drink somemore... for a long time... The waiter never comes to the table except to bring food, you have to wave at them to comeover. I think it is seen as rude... its almost like if they come over and rush the meal or give you the ticket it is like they want you to leave... but like I said, you pay for the table so you can stay as long as you want. If there is one thing I have learned it is that Argentines like to SIT and TALK. :) However, if I knew what they were saying half the time I would probably like it too :)
Soo.. they have these things called ASADOS. It translates to BBQ but I haven't seen any actual BBQ sauce! I think they are more comparable to what we call grill outs. Now, when you are invited to an asado you should probably start fasting at least 24 hours before hand because the food will keep coming and coming and coming!! One of the girls here, Sarah, went to an asado the first day and i think was a bit of a culture shock, and I quote she said, "I was not imersed in culture, i was drowning in it!! " LOL!! Any way for my MEAT LOVERS in Iowa and asado is your type of thing!! My first night we had an asado at my house and just as I finished my first course of some type of sausage and salad, and bread, and potatoes, they went out to the grill and brought out MORE MEAT! :)
We eat a LOT of meat. But never ground meat. More like beef sausage, ham, and chicken, with a lot of potatoes and onions!! We also ALWAYS ALWAYS have dessert, but sometimes that is in the form of fruit. And we never drink milk for any meals, its either, beer, wine, water, juice, or coke. Potatoes and Onions seem to be the stable vegetables!! :) Me gustan!
Now restaurants... its VERY different. Like I've said I can expect to spend 3 or 4 hours in a resturant. In the United Sates I think we have the philosophy that if you pay for the food you can bring it home with you. Well here it a bit different, here if you pay for the table and service you can stay a long as you want. So first you get there and maybe order drinks then you sometimes have to flag down the waiter and after a while you can order food. So after eating the food you sit and talk or drink somemore... for a long time... The waiter never comes to the table except to bring food, you have to wave at them to comeover. I think it is seen as rude... its almost like if they come over and rush the meal or give you the ticket it is like they want you to leave... but like I said, you pay for the table so you can stay as long as you want. If there is one thing I have learned it is that Argentines like to SIT and TALK. :) However, if I knew what they were saying half the time I would probably like it too :)
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Wating
Today I felt REALLY REALLY impatient...Im just SICK of waiting and siting and waiting, and then waiting some more. Everything just takes longer in the city too!! Riding the bus, walking places, ordering food and getting the ticket.... im just not used to it yet. I waited for 15 minutes for the first bus and it just went straight by because it was too full, so I had to wait for another 25 minutes for the next one, and it was packed as well.
Today was our first day of classes and it went really well!! Nothing too difficult, we are reviewing right now and I learning more and more about all the little things I seem to have missed in high school spanish?? ;) Im soo glad to finally have started a routine:)
After class Devin and I did some homework together! That was helpful!
I walked to the bus again and came home! :) Im getting good at finding the right spot to get off at. No one talks on the bus though... it kinda makes me sad... such a good time for sharing life and such. :) Like Elise told me... everyone acts like they are in their own world, but secretly everyone is watching everyone else. :)
I took a short siesta after I talked with my family and then did somemore homework. I think im getting somewhat used to the culture minus the waiting thing, because I feel like Im running out of things to discuss as far as what is different and such!
On Thursday a few of us are going to a Concert. Luis Fonsi? He is Kelsey T's favorite artist! :)
Today was our first day of classes and it went really well!! Nothing too difficult, we are reviewing right now and I learning more and more about all the little things I seem to have missed in high school spanish?? ;) Im soo glad to finally have started a routine:)
After class Devin and I did some homework together! That was helpful!
I walked to the bus again and came home! :) Im getting good at finding the right spot to get off at. No one talks on the bus though... it kinda makes me sad... such a good time for sharing life and such. :) Like Elise told me... everyone acts like they are in their own world, but secretly everyone is watching everyone else. :)
I took a short siesta after I talked with my family and then did somemore homework. I think im getting somewhat used to the culture minus the waiting thing, because I feel like Im running out of things to discuss as far as what is different and such!
On Thursday a few of us are going to a Concert. Luis Fonsi? He is Kelsey T's favorite artist! :)
"Waiting on the Wold to Change" a little from BA
(In my 1hr reflection class we are doing a "photo project" where we take one photo a week and write a little bit about it. This is a bit long but I thought I would share with all of you as well)
Photo 1: Waiting on the World to Change (A strike in BA)
I took this picture while walking to the Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires. While I'm not exactly sure what the people were marching or on strike for, the picture holds a special significance for the importance of politics in Argentina. It is extremely significant that while protesting this group is marching past the Casa Rosada because it is old home of the president and on the other end of the road lies the Congress. Jim said it best, "You will find that after not having a voice for so long the Argentine people are now very vocal about what they think."
Even at futbol games fans come with signs that exclaim how they feel about hot topics in politics. As we discussed in class which one of us has taken a banner with our thoughts about health care to a Iowa foot ball game: people would think we were crazy! I know on my first day here, my host sister told me exactly how their family felt about the current president, and at dinner and when the television is on there is a lot of discussion about what is going on politically. This is something my family from the states often avoids talking about. It is as if we would rather not get involved, or don't want to try go through the "hassle" of figuring out all this governmental "stuff: we do not feel like we can really make a difference.
In both cases, I think we are all "Waiting on the World to Change." (Thank you John Mayer). We all seem to want better social systems or better economic trade or policies, but what is the best way to get that? Is it ignorant to not get involved? Is it foolish to think that a strike will make all the difference? While I am still trying to figure all this out it is interesting to see everyone have such strong opinions and be so vocal about them. Its great to see people want to MAKE the world change as opposed to just watching it happen. I know personally Simpson's student body president sent an email and letter to all our families asking us to help lobby and not allow our politicians to cut money in the area of education, but did I do anything? Of course I discussed the consequences with my mother of not receiving financial aid, and I put writing a letter down on my list of things to do. But it soon got set aside and then was forgotten. It seems as if I didn't think my one letter would make the difference. But what if we all said that? Think of how many letters there could possibly be. I do feel a bit uncomfortable discussing politics in public, maybe because I don't want to impose on others views or because I do not feel like I know enough, how ever my first few days here have caused me to think differently. If everyone was a little involved maybe things would change, there is no sense in standing back and watching. Diving in head first and learning and questioning the issues that effect me may just be the way to go, because I do not want to wait for the world to change I want to change it.
Monday, March 1, 2010
homesick ... but feeling more at home
On Sunday (Domingo) I woke up and wanted nothing more than walking down stairs in MY house and using MY bathroom, and eating MY cereal, and sitting at our kitchen counter, and talking to My mom and My dad and MY siblings and then lounging on our couch and watching Tv!! I knew it wasnt really possible though and I got up and went on with my day.
Edgardo was sitting at the kitchen table fixing an a cord on a radio and he showed me how to make coffee and gave me media lunes and dough nuts to eat! I was feeling a little more at home already. We talked about Chile and soccer :) Then I proceed to unpack my stuff and talk to my family and ben on Skype for a bit! :) Norma was getting groceries and soon it was time for lunch... we had ravioli and bread and peaches :)
Then I went with Noel down to the River to meet her friends at the Park! They were sun bathing and just talking! There were about 3 or 4 people who were playing with Boomberangs! It looked really dangerous (i sound like paula!;) but it was cool. Eveyone and there Dog was at the park... plus several stray ones. We sat in the park and talked and drank Mate or Mata its just like tea and the "tea" part looks like pot! Lucia told me many times ppl in the air port think it is pot! haah! But it was DELICIOUS!!
I accidently used the male bathroom... AWKWARD!! But Noel and I got a good laugh out of it! :)
Then Noel and I and Erik (nick name Flaco or Skinny) walked back to our house and said hi to the family. Then Noel and Norma and I went to the mall... of course we had to stop and have some cafe first!! :) Its just sooo laid back here! Then we continued to work our way around the mall... I missed my mom and my shopping days at this point.
The mall was really Cool! It used to be an old train station, so It was built around all the old brick-walls and arches and such! It was really cool! Then in the mall was a walmart sort of place where I got school supplies and they got groceries! Im slowly learning the names of food and such!! :) They have these cookie things call Alfehores (idk on the spelling) and they are DELICIOUS!! Gritias are the name for cookies and hot chocolate is called "RayMo" in Rosario, but something else in BA! Haha!!
We got home about 10 and FINALLY AT SUPPER! I was starving to say the least! :) We had pizza with tomatoes and cheese, onions and cheese, and ham and cheese... Ham seems to be a staple ... they call ham and cheese jamón y queso... im getting sick of it! ;)
Ive noticed something else that is VERY different about our two cultures. Here EVERYONE seems to travel! They go to al Argentina's best attraction... wine country, the snowy part of the country and even the part with the Waterfalls... the land here is very VERY diverse!! However when they ask me where I have been in the Sates they are surprised to find I really haven't been out of the mid west at all, especially since I live close. So i think maybe it is a cultural thing... for instance I know people in Chicago who have lived there all their lives, but have never been in the sears tower, but here is it different... i dont really know :)
Today, Monday, I rode the bus to school after missing the first one by literally 3 seconds. Riding the bus is becoming more normal and Im learning my way around! :) At school they gave us a small tour and handed out the syllabus and such...its weird but Im really REALLY excited to FINALLY start school!! :)
And not to rub it in but its supposed to be like in the hi 80s almost 90s this week! :)
Edgardo was sitting at the kitchen table fixing an a cord on a radio and he showed me how to make coffee and gave me media lunes and dough nuts to eat! I was feeling a little more at home already. We talked about Chile and soccer :) Then I proceed to unpack my stuff and talk to my family and ben on Skype for a bit! :) Norma was getting groceries and soon it was time for lunch... we had ravioli and bread and peaches :)
Then I went with Noel down to the River to meet her friends at the Park! They were sun bathing and just talking! There were about 3 or 4 people who were playing with Boomberangs! It looked really dangerous (i sound like paula!;) but it was cool. Eveyone and there Dog was at the park... plus several stray ones. We sat in the park and talked and drank Mate or Mata its just like tea and the "tea" part looks like pot! Lucia told me many times ppl in the air port think it is pot! haah! But it was DELICIOUS!!
I accidently used the male bathroom... AWKWARD!! But Noel and I got a good laugh out of it! :)
Then Noel and I and Erik (nick name Flaco or Skinny) walked back to our house and said hi to the family. Then Noel and Norma and I went to the mall... of course we had to stop and have some cafe first!! :) Its just sooo laid back here! Then we continued to work our way around the mall... I missed my mom and my shopping days at this point.
The mall was really Cool! It used to be an old train station, so It was built around all the old brick-walls and arches and such! It was really cool! Then in the mall was a walmart sort of place where I got school supplies and they got groceries! Im slowly learning the names of food and such!! :) They have these cookie things call Alfehores (idk on the spelling) and they are DELICIOUS!! Gritias are the name for cookies and hot chocolate is called "RayMo" in Rosario, but something else in BA! Haha!!
We got home about 10 and FINALLY AT SUPPER! I was starving to say the least! :) We had pizza with tomatoes and cheese, onions and cheese, and ham and cheese... Ham seems to be a staple ... they call ham and cheese jamón y queso... im getting sick of it! ;)
Ive noticed something else that is VERY different about our two cultures. Here EVERYONE seems to travel! They go to al Argentina's best attraction... wine country, the snowy part of the country and even the part with the Waterfalls... the land here is very VERY diverse!! However when they ask me where I have been in the Sates they are surprised to find I really haven't been out of the mid west at all, especially since I live close. So i think maybe it is a cultural thing... for instance I know people in Chicago who have lived there all their lives, but have never been in the sears tower, but here is it different... i dont really know :)
Today, Monday, I rode the bus to school after missing the first one by literally 3 seconds. Riding the bus is becoming more normal and Im learning my way around! :) At school they gave us a small tour and handed out the syllabus and such...its weird but Im really REALLY excited to FINALLY start school!! :)
And not to rub it in but its supposed to be like in the hi 80s almost 90s this week! :)
Back from BA!
We just got back from Buenos Aires Saturday night! (Also refered to as BA) It was a GREAT time!! Its a HUGE city and it made Rosario seem small... which is weird because there are more than 1 million ppl here :) haha!
But more on that later!!
I was soo tired when I got home. On friday night about 5 of us were out until 4 or so then we only got like 3 or 4 hours of sleep or so, but we had a 4 hour bus ride to sleep! Anyway I got home about 8am and Lucia asked me if I wanted to go to a friends birthday party (Bella was her name), I was really tired but Lucia said she needed to be back somewhat early to sleep so she could study on Sunday. I decided to go!!
The party was at Bella's apartment and was on the ROOF!! It was soo pretty and cool!! :) We had HOTDOGS!! My FAVORITE!! :) They eat their hot dogs with crunched up potato chips on top though! Its weird but it was good!! Lucia and her friends are soo nice, they are all older than me about 26 or 27 but they all talked to me and made sure I was having a good time! I talk for a long time with Julia! :) She is really pretty and has long brown hair! She meet a boy from Minnesota while on vacation in Argentina! We talked about what she did (studying to be a lawyer) and just about everything! I practiced my Spanish and she worked on her English!
It was about this time where I started wishing my friends were at the party with me... but then... yes its VERY Cheesy I know.... then I looked up and saw orions belt (like the stars) I smiled because those are always the starts I look for at home!! :) Its kinda crazy how I can be soo far away but see the SAME things!
Needless to say I LITERALLY had to Fight to keep my eyes open! And lucia and I finally returned home at 4am!! The other girls couldn't believe that the bars at home close at 2am! lol They said "WHAT DO YOU DO!!" I just laughed :)
I FINALLY GOT A PHONE!! and once i get it working word on the street is that I can text home!! :)
But more on that later!!
I was soo tired when I got home. On friday night about 5 of us were out until 4 or so then we only got like 3 or 4 hours of sleep or so, but we had a 4 hour bus ride to sleep! Anyway I got home about 8am and Lucia asked me if I wanted to go to a friends birthday party (Bella was her name), I was really tired but Lucia said she needed to be back somewhat early to sleep so she could study on Sunday. I decided to go!!
The party was at Bella's apartment and was on the ROOF!! It was soo pretty and cool!! :) We had HOTDOGS!! My FAVORITE!! :) They eat their hot dogs with crunched up potato chips on top though! Its weird but it was good!! Lucia and her friends are soo nice, they are all older than me about 26 or 27 but they all talked to me and made sure I was having a good time! I talk for a long time with Julia! :) She is really pretty and has long brown hair! She meet a boy from Minnesota while on vacation in Argentina! We talked about what she did (studying to be a lawyer) and just about everything! I practiced my Spanish and she worked on her English!
It was about this time where I started wishing my friends were at the party with me... but then... yes its VERY Cheesy I know.... then I looked up and saw orions belt (like the stars) I smiled because those are always the starts I look for at home!! :) Its kinda crazy how I can be soo far away but see the SAME things!
Needless to say I LITERALLY had to Fight to keep my eyes open! And lucia and I finally returned home at 4am!! The other girls couldn't believe that the bars at home close at 2am! lol They said "WHAT DO YOU DO!!" I just laughed :)
I FINALLY GOT A PHONE!! and once i get it working word on the street is that I can text home!! :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)