and hopefully this will be the last of the catching up!
So that all was last weekend but the weekend before that went a little something like this....
Friday we got into Crobar fo' free again. Nice to have friends in high places right? Only this time we got there early to enjoy some appetizers, two for one beers, and pizza! We didn't know this last time but ya, they have tables and lounge type couches set up and you can eat before they clear the space for dancing an hour or so later. I made some new friends that night. Miles from Boston I wanna say, Thomas from Canada, and then some more European girls that I didn't have enough interaction with to remember their names. We also included Sarah, Oscar, Kelsey, and possibly more but I can't recall. Jessica stayed home because she wasn't feeling well, that'll come back into the story later. It was a kick as night but by the end of it I was a little tired of the groping, flashing lights and too loud music.
Saturday I don't wake up till around 2 PM and while I'm eating breakfast Kelsey tells me that Jessica went to the hospital. I text Ines who had gone down there to bring Jessica her credit card and she told me they were waiting to operate!!! Kelsey and I run down there with some of her things and some flowers to what in the world was going on. We went to the Hospital Aleman, (German Hospital) which was private and apparently she had appendicitis! We spent quite a long time getting all of the insurance stuff figured out and while Jessica is pretty good with Spanish it was still nice to have Ines and Maria there to help out. Kelsey and I stayed until she got carted off to surgery and I decided I needed a drink. Maria was having people over at her house, well I thought just the Argentine boys, but there ended up being like 20 people. My friend Miles came over to my house to meet up with me and Ines and Juan were home to so we all caught a bus there. They made sangria and I drank the stress and fear of the day away...
Sunday evening Kelsey and I met up with a boy from Washington but who goes to UBA (Universidad de Buenos Aires), Synnove, Miles and a few European girls. We went to a really chill bar and I had my first cosmopalitan. The waiter started speaking to us in English when we were having some issues with Spanish and Kelsey asked how he'd learned English. He said by reading and watching TV. That felt encouraging because I've been doing so much reading in Spanish for my classes and then even if I watch TV in English I still watch the subtitles to see how something would be said in Spanish...but anyway. The group wanted to go to a club after but I was tired and caught a cab home.
Alright, MUCH better. I've found that writing on the blog is helping me remember what I've been up to. I didn't like the feeling of forgetting what I had done just a few weekends ago!
It's Saturday night and I am NOT going out. I can't do it. I'm exhausted. I like to think I'm a wild child that can keep up with the best of them but it looks like this town is kicking my ass. I'm also just barely keeping up with my hw so if I sleep another day away I'm going to set myself back again. Speaking of hw...back to work!
Oh but don't think I don't already have stories for you from this weekend. They'll just have to wait till tomorrow or sometime soon.
Ciao Ciao
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Part III
Here we go...
Ok so Friday, after Thursday's German party, Lizzie and I went to FRIDAYS! It felt so much like home. It looks just the same as the ones in the States and we were beside ourselves with excitement to eat burgers, fries, and a variety of appetizers.
Saturday was the day we'd decided to go to El Tigre, an old town at the mouth of the delta. Turns out the train station is a ten minute walk from our apartment which was super nice and it was Kelsey, Jessica, Synnove, Lizzie, and me. Train ride was an hour but it went by super fast and when we got there we set off to find the fruit market and then take a boat along one of the many little rivers to grab some lunch. We never actually found any fruit but there was a very big market, oh and an amusement park we want to go back and try out later. Hunger kept us from milling around too long before hopping on a boat to take us to an island to eat. Taking the boat there totally reminded me of Australia so if that kind of gives you a perspective mom. I have no idea where we went really but it was about a 30 minute ride and when we got off there were was a path around these beautiful houses and a smaller river I guess where people were rowing, canoeing, boating, etc. We found a restuarant right along the water and had a fantastic meal. We headed back towards the train station and enjoyed the sun in some grass next to the water. The weather was the most beautiful it's been my entire trip, a whopping 70ish and we were hot! There was supposed to be a toga party that night so we took off earlier than we wanted to (Synnove got a text that it was cancelled right as the doors of the train were closing to take us back). Got home and I studied and went to bed.
Sunday was fun-filled, action-packed with HOMEWORK. yuh, but I guess I can do some book learning while I'm down here...
Went back to the running club today for the first time since I had been feeling unwell, although I've run sporadically on my own, and I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to move tomorrow. We did the station thing again and I did so many sit-ups that I my abs stopped hurting haha. But I was super excited because there were so many more people there today! One guy from Mexico/US and I ran together for a bit so I even got to practice some Spanish.
If I can keep this up I'll be talking to you tomorrow. I'm not making any promises though, dinner and dancing planned for the evening!
Ciao Ciao
Ok so Friday, after Thursday's German party, Lizzie and I went to FRIDAYS! It felt so much like home. It looks just the same as the ones in the States and we were beside ourselves with excitement to eat burgers, fries, and a variety of appetizers.
Saturday was the day we'd decided to go to El Tigre, an old town at the mouth of the delta. Turns out the train station is a ten minute walk from our apartment which was super nice and it was Kelsey, Jessica, Synnove, Lizzie, and me. Train ride was an hour but it went by super fast and when we got there we set off to find the fruit market and then take a boat along one of the many little rivers to grab some lunch. We never actually found any fruit but there was a very big market, oh and an amusement park we want to go back and try out later. Hunger kept us from milling around too long before hopping on a boat to take us to an island to eat. Taking the boat there totally reminded me of Australia so if that kind of gives you a perspective mom. I have no idea where we went really but it was about a 30 minute ride and when we got off there were was a path around these beautiful houses and a smaller river I guess where people were rowing, canoeing, boating, etc. We found a restuarant right along the water and had a fantastic meal. We headed back towards the train station and enjoyed the sun in some grass next to the water. The weather was the most beautiful it's been my entire trip, a whopping 70ish and we were hot! There was supposed to be a toga party that night so we took off earlier than we wanted to (Synnove got a text that it was cancelled right as the doors of the train were closing to take us back). Got home and I studied and went to bed.
Sunday was fun-filled, action-packed with HOMEWORK. yuh, but I guess I can do some book learning while I'm down here...
Went back to the running club today for the first time since I had been feeling unwell, although I've run sporadically on my own, and I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to move tomorrow. We did the station thing again and I did so many sit-ups that I my abs stopped hurting haha. But I was super excited because there were so many more people there today! One guy from Mexico/US and I ran together for a bit so I even got to practice some Spanish.
If I can keep this up I'll be talking to you tomorrow. I'm not making any promises though, dinner and dancing planned for the evening!
Ciao Ciao
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Part II
Rowing club in
El Tigre...La bichy, not the girls, but that pink drink ;)... mis amigos at a sweet bar...house party at Maria's = LOTS of sangria and a damn good night...and gettin cozy with a statue outside a museum.
El Tigre...La bichy, not the girls, but that pink drink ;)... mis amigos at a sweet bar...house party at Maria's = LOTS of sangria and a damn good night...and gettin cozy with a statue outside a museum.
I remembered last night that I'm currently catching you up on last week and this last weekend but I totally forgot about the weekend before so as a little note to self so as not to forget again: crobar, hospital, bar. Ok nowwww pictures since I just got done with one essay and I'm now onto the next! Wish me luck!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Part I
Haha yes, I'll have to do this in parts because I could not possibly dish up everything that's happened in the past weekish in one go!
Ah but I'm having a hard time remembering all I've done!!! Ok let's start with what I do and then hopefully it'll come back to me as we go...
Went to a tango bar/class thing last Tuesday! It was in this big building about 20 minute subte ride from our appartment...it was dark inside except for the middle where people learn to dance the tango! We met up with some girls from various European countries, I have a hard time keeping track of them all, that were friends of friends of ours. They're super fun and when we first got there the advanced class was dancing in the middle still and on the sides were a mix of chairs and sofas to watch, while in the back were tables to have dinner. There were TONS of cool pictures and such on the walls and if my camera had been functioning I would have shared some with you. It nearly drown in my bag when my salad leaked it's dressing :( I can still take pictures just have to do it the old fashioned way, looking through the lense thing...anyway, so as usual things were running a bit late which was fine because Kelsey and I were too. When they called the beginners into the middle there were probably thirty of us and a fairly even number of boys and girls. They had us make a big circle around the outside and inside were the guy and girl teaching us. We started out by stretching our necks and shoulders and etc and then they showed us some basic moves which we did while moving in a circle. Next we had to pair up on our own. A guy I was standing next to asked to dance, I of course accepted, and off we went once the music started. The guy should NOT have been in the beginner class but we were having issues communicating, for one thing I was kind of intimidated, he totally knew what he was doing and I totally did not! He was patient enough but I wasn't too bummed when we switched partners and I found someone more on my level. This guy was super nice and I felt much more comfortable making an ass out of myself with him haha. But they would basically show us some moves and then have us practice them and overall it was a blast :) We were there for about two hours but if we had wanted to we could have stayed longer. I think we're going back tomorrow!
Wednesday Sebastian came over to hang out and help with my homework. For my Spanish class one of our assingments was to fill in answers to famous Argentine things like tennis players, folklore singers, etc but I just handed the paper to him and had him fill them out haha. Hey...I would have just spent time milling around on the internet for them anyway and I totally got to show off today when we went over them in class.
Thrusday...ah! Yes, there was a party at Maria's but I opted to have Hannah and Lizzie over before the three of us + Kelsey went over to her German friend Peter's house for a fiesta there. The girls brought over booze...Lizzie, a 6 peso gin and a 6 peso bottle of soda water. Yes that's right folks 12 pesos total, THREE US DOLLARS and the four of us could have had a good night all on our own. I never want to go back to the US just for that reason alone. Anddd the fact that I can go to a tango bar and learn how to dance on a Tuesday night... but enough bragging... Then Hannah brought some soda called "la bichy ahora" and yes it's exactly what you think it is ahaha. We got a kick out of that one and I'll be sure to put some pictures up! Oh but the party...When we got there Falk (spl?) a guy from Germany and Maurice or something, guy from Argentina, (both we had met before on another occasion) were coming up to the door as well and when Peter came and got us he said that the neighbors had complained so the party had been moved to another location. We got to the other location, a VERY nice apartment, and there were probably ten German's there. So that was interesting but a blasty blast of course. Called it an early night and while they went off to a club at 3 AM I caught a bus home.
Ok I know I'm on a role with this remembering business but I really should get to bed or back to this essay! Decisions decisions!
Ciao :)
Ah but I'm having a hard time remembering all I've done!!! Ok let's start with what I do and then hopefully it'll come back to me as we go...
Went to a tango bar/class thing last Tuesday! It was in this big building about 20 minute subte ride from our appartment...it was dark inside except for the middle where people learn to dance the tango! We met up with some girls from various European countries, I have a hard time keeping track of them all, that were friends of friends of ours. They're super fun and when we first got there the advanced class was dancing in the middle still and on the sides were a mix of chairs and sofas to watch, while in the back were tables to have dinner. There were TONS of cool pictures and such on the walls and if my camera had been functioning I would have shared some with you. It nearly drown in my bag when my salad leaked it's dressing :( I can still take pictures just have to do it the old fashioned way, looking through the lense thing...anyway, so as usual things were running a bit late which was fine because Kelsey and I were too. When they called the beginners into the middle there were probably thirty of us and a fairly even number of boys and girls. They had us make a big circle around the outside and inside were the guy and girl teaching us. We started out by stretching our necks and shoulders and etc and then they showed us some basic moves which we did while moving in a circle. Next we had to pair up on our own. A guy I was standing next to asked to dance, I of course accepted, and off we went once the music started. The guy should NOT have been in the beginner class but we were having issues communicating, for one thing I was kind of intimidated, he totally knew what he was doing and I totally did not! He was patient enough but I wasn't too bummed when we switched partners and I found someone more on my level. This guy was super nice and I felt much more comfortable making an ass out of myself with him haha. But they would basically show us some moves and then have us practice them and overall it was a blast :) We were there for about two hours but if we had wanted to we could have stayed longer. I think we're going back tomorrow!
Wednesday Sebastian came over to hang out and help with my homework. For my Spanish class one of our assingments was to fill in answers to famous Argentine things like tennis players, folklore singers, etc but I just handed the paper to him and had him fill them out haha. Hey...I would have just spent time milling around on the internet for them anyway and I totally got to show off today when we went over them in class.
Thrusday...ah! Yes, there was a party at Maria's but I opted to have Hannah and Lizzie over before the three of us + Kelsey went over to her German friend Peter's house for a fiesta there. The girls brought over booze...Lizzie, a 6 peso gin and a 6 peso bottle of soda water. Yes that's right folks 12 pesos total, THREE US DOLLARS and the four of us could have had a good night all on our own. I never want to go back to the US just for that reason alone. Anddd the fact that I can go to a tango bar and learn how to dance on a Tuesday night... but enough bragging... Then Hannah brought some soda called "la bichy ahora" and yes it's exactly what you think it is ahaha. We got a kick out of that one and I'll be sure to put some pictures up! Oh but the party...When we got there Falk (spl?) a guy from Germany and Maurice or something, guy from Argentina, (both we had met before on another occasion) were coming up to the door as well and when Peter came and got us he said that the neighbors had complained so the party had been moved to another location. We got to the other location, a VERY nice apartment, and there were probably ten German's there. So that was interesting but a blasty blast of course. Called it an early night and while they went off to a club at 3 AM I caught a bus home.
Ok I know I'm on a role with this remembering business but I really should get to bed or back to this essay! Decisions decisions!
Ciao :)
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
I have not forgotten you...
...but I have forgotten my priorities!
Much to share after I get caught up on my hw this week!
un beso!
Much to share after I get caught up on my hw this week!
un beso!
Monday, August 9, 2010
Let's play catch up
Thursday nights at CBC (Cal. Burrito Co) entail 8 peso margaritas for the mujeres, AND you get to keep the cup it's in. Lizzie and I walked home to my apartment after class, because the margaritas were only 8 pesos at 8PM, and picked up some fixin's for a salad and pasta. Kelsey came home just before we were finished and contributed some baked squash she'd cooked the night before. It was a feast and it was delicious.
We met up with Ines, Maria, and Jessica. There were three guys playing guitar, drums, and a cello and they played ENGLISH songs haha. They were awesome and at one point Kelsey requested Hotel California and they were trying to get us to sing the words.
After this we went to Synnove's house, a girl from Denmark and also a student, and we enjoyed a beverage while her German roommate Lukas insisted we meet them at a club. Another German guy and an Argentine guy came over before they took off and it was just me, Kelsey, Synnove, and Lizzie drinking and chatting. We all got pretty sleepy and at around 3 AM Kelsey and I took off for home.
Friday night Jessica and I went to the hostel she'd stayed at to enjoy a bbq our friends were having. Alex, a guy who's working here in South America and from Maine, and Tristin from Germany. Oh and Luis, one of the guys from Mexico... I met these kids that night we went to Oscar's and went to that rave-esk club thing afterwards. Anyway, Jessica and I had to resist eating the food because we were meeting up with Synnove, Lizzie and Kelsey for pizza at El Cuartito. There was a long line to get into the place but it was sooo worth it. Yummy pizza! And the waiter was so nice, he let us try a desert for free, gave us a discount, and told us that next time we don't need to wait in line but come find him and he'll get us a table. After this we went to Crobar and got in fo free! Alex knows someone who works there I guess. It was way rad except for the part where Lizzie's wallet was stolen :( The music was cool because it was all songs we knew but kind of techno remix's. Got home around 6 AM and went to bedddd.
Saturday I got up around 1PM and Sebastian invited to come check out his neck of the woods. A small town called Escobar, about 30 minute bus ride outside the city. I was totally down because he doesn't speak English that well so I was presented with a gold opportunity to practice that good ol' Spanish. I really like getting outside of the city too...not only is it way quieter but feels more authentic. Any big city is just like another. It's loud and there're lots of people and advertisements left and right and a McDonalds or Burger King on every other corner. But outside Buenos Aires, the streets aren't paved, there're more trees, the houses are unique, there're loose dogs roaming around, and it's calmer. We walked to his house, which is super nice but he lives all by himself! I don't think, no actually I know, I couln't live by myself. The house is nice and I think it's his friends who's going to be gone for awhile. All the houses outside the city have some form of a gate around them and most people have dogs barking out at you from behind them. Anyway, it's way cool and he had chickens in the back and there was a swimming pool, which was in desperate need of cleaning. Speaking of, we've got a lady who come and cleans our appartment once a week which I thought was just some added bonus and a way to ensure that we don't trash the place. But I think it might be common here. Sebastian said something about him being eager for the cleaning lady to come and tidy up...I'll have to ask about that next time we get together. After drinking hot cocoa and eating some crackers he invited me over to his sisters house to see his week old niece. It was about a ten minute walk, it's so nice walking around with Argentine's because of how crazy people drive and the general uncertainty of when it's safe to cross the street. I wouldn't even look out of fear, but just stick close to him and go when he went haha. When we got there, there was the sister and her baby, her one year old daughter, an older guy, and a man and woman but I'm not sure of everyone's relation except that the older guy's grandpa to the little girl. The house was small and cozy and a football match was on tv. I asked the man something in Spanish but he replied in excellent English. The older man kind of eyed me from time to time but I don't think he spoke English and I'm sure he was trying to figure out what the hell I was doing there haha. We hung out there for a bit, I played with Abril, the little girl, and then we took off to get back to Sebastians house so we could then go to mine for my fiesta! When we got back to his place though Alan and Maicole (ok this is how I think it's spelt now but it's still pronounced kind of like Michael) came over. They only hung out for like ten minutes and then hoped back on their motorbike and Sebastian and I caught a bus back to my place.
Maria, Jenna, Jessica, Ines, Monse (girl from Spain), and Kelsey were chillen when we got there. Ines was in the process of making delicious pizzas! Juan and Juan's brother came, and I got to thank him and tell him how nice his bed was that night I stayed over at Juan's haha. Alan and Maicole next. Jessica was leaving for a different party, Kelsey went with her, and Jenna left with them to go home so I was once again the only English speaker left. But then Luis, this one is from the Bay Area and I think he's rad, came and I felt a little comforted. I think in the three weeks I've been here my Spanish has already improved a good deal. That first Argentine party I sat and observed unless someone spoke broken English with me, this one I actually participated! Not any in depth conversations but some simple communicating and I got the gist of most conversations. I think I've made them believe I knew absolutely no Spanish before I got here or something because they always seem so impressed when I understand or say something in anthing other than the present tense. Oh and quick sidenote of bragging...on three seperate occasions I've had Argentine's tell me I don't look American, but Argentine. Now if I could just get that accent down I'd never come back...I mean, I'd fit right in ;) But anyway there was some spontaneous dancing and general merriment. And mojitos! Overall it was a blast and I absolutely love these boys and hope that this pattern of hanging out will continue my whole stay here.
Sunday Lizzie, Hannah, Kelsey, Synnove and I went to San Telo market. It was down like 10 blocks and we didn't even make it all the way to the end before having to stop for fantastic sandwhiches! That was great fun and then when I got home I did some hw and went to bed. It was quite difficult to get up at 8:30 this morning when I had been routinely staying up till 6AM quite a few mornings before this one.
Added another class! Latin American and US relations class. In English! Caught me off guard this morning when he started speaking in English...it promises to be interesting and I think it will be the most likely to fulfill one of my goals in being here: and that is to learn about Latin America in general but also the effect the two America's have had on each other. My lit. class is tight but I think my favorite is my Spanish class. It's super intimate because there're only like 8 of us and I love the professor. She's this tiny little woman with big black curly hair and she's super fun.
Week three and I'm starting to feel a bit like I'm getting into the swing of things. I love it though because with the night life and such I don't think it'll EVER it get too routine. I do plan on getting out to some more cultural things, not just clubs. There's a Green Film Festival coming up and another, I think more politically based, film festival close to my appartment. I want to see what these Argentine's are all about! And I'm especially interested in the Green one because the people here don't seem to be very eco-conscious. I can't find a reusable water bottle to save my life, trash lines the streets, and I've observed several other non-enviro friendly things I can't recall now. Which doesn't mean they don't care or aren't aware of course. I was reading an article in the Buenos Aires Herald that was talking about some protestors blocking a bridge from Argentina to Uraguay over an environmental issue. And obviously there's this festival. Sebastian was telling me how the cars or the motorcycles don't give off as much polution but how he knows in the US our cars do. He was saying how the weather has been changing here, they had snow in his home town for the first time ever last winter. I think he was making the case that while in the US we do so much to contribute to pollution, the effects are felt in other places that might not be contributing as much.
Ah well, time to call it a night. Ciao Ciao!
We met up with Ines, Maria, and Jessica. There were three guys playing guitar, drums, and a cello and they played ENGLISH songs haha. They were awesome and at one point Kelsey requested Hotel California and they were trying to get us to sing the words.
After this we went to Synnove's house, a girl from Denmark and also a student, and we enjoyed a beverage while her German roommate Lukas insisted we meet them at a club. Another German guy and an Argentine guy came over before they took off and it was just me, Kelsey, Synnove, and Lizzie drinking and chatting. We all got pretty sleepy and at around 3 AM Kelsey and I took off for home.
Friday night Jessica and I went to the hostel she'd stayed at to enjoy a bbq our friends were having. Alex, a guy who's working here in South America and from Maine, and Tristin from Germany. Oh and Luis, one of the guys from Mexico... I met these kids that night we went to Oscar's and went to that rave-esk club thing afterwards. Anyway, Jessica and I had to resist eating the food because we were meeting up with Synnove, Lizzie and Kelsey for pizza at El Cuartito. There was a long line to get into the place but it was sooo worth it. Yummy pizza! And the waiter was so nice, he let us try a desert for free, gave us a discount, and told us that next time we don't need to wait in line but come find him and he'll get us a table. After this we went to Crobar and got in fo free! Alex knows someone who works there I guess. It was way rad except for the part where Lizzie's wallet was stolen :( The music was cool because it was all songs we knew but kind of techno remix's. Got home around 6 AM and went to bedddd.
Saturday I got up around 1PM and Sebastian invited to come check out his neck of the woods. A small town called Escobar, about 30 minute bus ride outside the city. I was totally down because he doesn't speak English that well so I was presented with a gold opportunity to practice that good ol' Spanish. I really like getting outside of the city too...not only is it way quieter but feels more authentic. Any big city is just like another. It's loud and there're lots of people and advertisements left and right and a McDonalds or Burger King on every other corner. But outside Buenos Aires, the streets aren't paved, there're more trees, the houses are unique, there're loose dogs roaming around, and it's calmer. We walked to his house, which is super nice but he lives all by himself! I don't think, no actually I know, I couln't live by myself. The house is nice and I think it's his friends who's going to be gone for awhile. All the houses outside the city have some form of a gate around them and most people have dogs barking out at you from behind them. Anyway, it's way cool and he had chickens in the back and there was a swimming pool, which was in desperate need of cleaning. Speaking of, we've got a lady who come and cleans our appartment once a week which I thought was just some added bonus and a way to ensure that we don't trash the place. But I think it might be common here. Sebastian said something about him being eager for the cleaning lady to come and tidy up...I'll have to ask about that next time we get together. After drinking hot cocoa and eating some crackers he invited me over to his sisters house to see his week old niece. It was about a ten minute walk, it's so nice walking around with Argentine's because of how crazy people drive and the general uncertainty of when it's safe to cross the street. I wouldn't even look out of fear, but just stick close to him and go when he went haha. When we got there, there was the sister and her baby, her one year old daughter, an older guy, and a man and woman but I'm not sure of everyone's relation except that the older guy's grandpa to the little girl. The house was small and cozy and a football match was on tv. I asked the man something in Spanish but he replied in excellent English. The older man kind of eyed me from time to time but I don't think he spoke English and I'm sure he was trying to figure out what the hell I was doing there haha. We hung out there for a bit, I played with Abril, the little girl, and then we took off to get back to Sebastians house so we could then go to mine for my fiesta! When we got back to his place though Alan and Maicole (ok this is how I think it's spelt now but it's still pronounced kind of like Michael) came over. They only hung out for like ten minutes and then hoped back on their motorbike and Sebastian and I caught a bus back to my place.
Maria, Jenna, Jessica, Ines, Monse (girl from Spain), and Kelsey were chillen when we got there. Ines was in the process of making delicious pizzas! Juan and Juan's brother came, and I got to thank him and tell him how nice his bed was that night I stayed over at Juan's haha. Alan and Maicole next. Jessica was leaving for a different party, Kelsey went with her, and Jenna left with them to go home so I was once again the only English speaker left. But then Luis, this one is from the Bay Area and I think he's rad, came and I felt a little comforted. I think in the three weeks I've been here my Spanish has already improved a good deal. That first Argentine party I sat and observed unless someone spoke broken English with me, this one I actually participated! Not any in depth conversations but some simple communicating and I got the gist of most conversations. I think I've made them believe I knew absolutely no Spanish before I got here or something because they always seem so impressed when I understand or say something in anthing other than the present tense. Oh and quick sidenote of bragging...on three seperate occasions I've had Argentine's tell me I don't look American, but Argentine. Now if I could just get that accent down I'd never come back...I mean, I'd fit right in ;) But anyway there was some spontaneous dancing and general merriment. And mojitos! Overall it was a blast and I absolutely love these boys and hope that this pattern of hanging out will continue my whole stay here.
Sunday Lizzie, Hannah, Kelsey, Synnove and I went to San Telo market. It was down like 10 blocks and we didn't even make it all the way to the end before having to stop for fantastic sandwhiches! That was great fun and then when I got home I did some hw and went to bed. It was quite difficult to get up at 8:30 this morning when I had been routinely staying up till 6AM quite a few mornings before this one.
Added another class! Latin American and US relations class. In English! Caught me off guard this morning when he started speaking in English...it promises to be interesting and I think it will be the most likely to fulfill one of my goals in being here: and that is to learn about Latin America in general but also the effect the two America's have had on each other. My lit. class is tight but I think my favorite is my Spanish class. It's super intimate because there're only like 8 of us and I love the professor. She's this tiny little woman with big black curly hair and she's super fun.
Week three and I'm starting to feel a bit like I'm getting into the swing of things. I love it though because with the night life and such I don't think it'll EVER it get too routine. I do plan on getting out to some more cultural things, not just clubs. There's a Green Film Festival coming up and another, I think more politically based, film festival close to my appartment. I want to see what these Argentine's are all about! And I'm especially interested in the Green one because the people here don't seem to be very eco-conscious. I can't find a reusable water bottle to save my life, trash lines the streets, and I've observed several other non-enviro friendly things I can't recall now. Which doesn't mean they don't care or aren't aware of course. I was reading an article in the Buenos Aires Herald that was talking about some protestors blocking a bridge from Argentina to Uraguay over an environmental issue. And obviously there's this festival. Sebastian was telling me how the cars or the motorcycles don't give off as much polution but how he knows in the US our cars do. He was saying how the weather has been changing here, they had snow in his home town for the first time ever last winter. I think he was making the case that while in the US we do so much to contribute to pollution, the effects are felt in other places that might not be contributing as much.
Ah well, time to call it a night. Ciao Ciao!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Pictures from the weekend!
El Cuartito was the name of a kick ass pizza place Kelsey, Jessica, Lizzie, Synnove, and I went to before going to a popular club here, Crobar. And then the fiesta we had at our house :)
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Picture this...
California Burrito Co. View outside my window one particularly enchanting day. Flowers I bought to brighten up my room. And the statue of liberty in some obscure park in Buenos Aires.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
A little under the weather....
I've been a wee bit sick starting Sunday morning so I've been sleeping and such. Trying to get better asap!
But I feel like I've been neglecting you all so here're some stories from the weekend :)
Thursday night (because yes, my weekend starts 4PM on Thursday), Hannah and Lizzie came over at around 11PM. Both from the States. Lizzie brought over a bottle of champaign as a nice little gift and so the three of us popped that open. We sat around drinking and chatting until around 12:30 when we decided to start thinking of where we wanted to go for the night. We decided on a hip hop club and grabbed a taxi to our destination. We arrived around 1:30 and the place was pretty empty. So we saddled up to the bar and had ourselves a shot of tequila. There was a big pit in the middle of the place and there were a bunch of people doing bike tricks in the middle, so that was cool to watch. While watching this, 3 girls from Belgrano showed up and if that wasn't coincidence enough, a few other kids, not associated with the first, from Belgrano also showed up. I thought this was pretty crazy at first, once you consider the number of night clubs here, but then again it was a club that played hip hop, which is fairly rare here.
It was an absolute blast. As more people started to show up people hesitantly moved into the pit and then danced around the outer edge but Lizzie and I just walked right out into the middle and started dancing. The music was damn near all American and from about 5 mounths ago. It was awesome to know all the words and all the moves haha.
The guys are pretty agressive about dancing and they have NO problem turning you around and trying to make out all over you. My favorite thing to do is put my hand over their mouths when they go to kiss me and start kissing the back of my hand.
Lizzie and I lost Hannah, she went home after she couldn't find us, and so the two of us went across the street for some empanadas. YUM :) warm and delicious on a cold and druken night.
Got home around 5 AM got back up at 11 to run to the school, pick up something for my visa, and then meet up with Jessica after her class. We went to the visa place together but it was FREEZING and raining and we couldn't find the freaking place. Finally we did but we get in and it's PACKED. Tons of people, so we walk around for a bit, ask around and finally get pointed in the right direction. The immigration people were mostly pretty nice but I think after a while the woman I was working with was becoming irritated with my silly smiling. Oh well, can't charm 'em all. We ended up being in line next to this Italian guy Tommy, who also goes to Belgrano. We were all hungry after our ordeal, which really wasn't that bad at all just chaotic and uncertain, and decided to grab something to eat before hopping back on the subte. More empanadas :) and some Quilmes, as if I hadn't drank enough the night before.
Got home, took a nap, and got back up to go out to the movies! Saw inception. Which was AWESOME. Dreams absolutely facinate me so I was totally excited when I realized that's what it was about. Jessica, Ines, and I met up with Oscar and Mau. And we also met up with Maria (one of the Spanish girls from that day I went with Ines to hang out with other people from Barcelona), Sofie (French), and Jenna (SF and in my literature class). But those three girls watched Shrek or something else.
Some fun things about the movie theaters here: you can buy a pizza and a beer haha. Andddd the seats are numbered so you really have a designated spot. Oscar actually bought the tickets ahead of time so that the 5 of us would have seats together.
After the movie we added one more guy, Luis from the Bay. Now there were nine of us in total and we went to meet Juan (Ines' Argentine friend) and his friends again to go to a concert! Sabastian, his cousin, and Juan met up with us and we all hopped on a bus. We pretty much filled that thing. I sat next to Sabastian and we chatted the whole way there. It was super fun. He knew more English than I had originally thought but we still mostly spoke in Spanish, or Castillano, as they call it.
When we got there Augostine and Alan were waiting for us, so that was a nice surprise because I really like them. And Mikele (I think it's spelt but pretty much pronounced like michael) had already gone inside. The band was live and they were all wearing yellow jump suits, except the lead guy, he wore a shiny silver one. I kept expecting a rocket ship to come down at any moment and take him off to space. The music was rad. No lyrics, all instrumental with some people singing but no words. It was the kind of music you just kind of move however the music takes you. And our interpretations were sometimes quite hillarious ;)
Alan, Augostine, and Mikele ended up crashing in our living room because it was so late and the bus ride is so long.
Next day, Saturday, I opted to hang around the house and sleep and do hw.
Sunday woke up sick.
Monday went to class and then to bed.
Today, California Burrito Co! After history Lizzie and I went there to grab some burritos. Very tastey :) and it reminded me so much of home! It actually had some striking similarities to Chipotle...wouldn't be surprised if the owner's really been to Cali. Chilled there for a bit and grabbed ice cream at Freddo's which is a pretty nice ice cream shop around these parts.
Now I'm in bed, going to work on healing up! Got plans to have the Argentine boys over for dinner this weekend!
Un beso!
But I feel like I've been neglecting you all so here're some stories from the weekend :)
Thursday night (because yes, my weekend starts 4PM on Thursday), Hannah and Lizzie came over at around 11PM. Both from the States. Lizzie brought over a bottle of champaign as a nice little gift and so the three of us popped that open. We sat around drinking and chatting until around 12:30 when we decided to start thinking of where we wanted to go for the night. We decided on a hip hop club and grabbed a taxi to our destination. We arrived around 1:30 and the place was pretty empty. So we saddled up to the bar and had ourselves a shot of tequila. There was a big pit in the middle of the place and there were a bunch of people doing bike tricks in the middle, so that was cool to watch. While watching this, 3 girls from Belgrano showed up and if that wasn't coincidence enough, a few other kids, not associated with the first, from Belgrano also showed up. I thought this was pretty crazy at first, once you consider the number of night clubs here, but then again it was a club that played hip hop, which is fairly rare here.
It was an absolute blast. As more people started to show up people hesitantly moved into the pit and then danced around the outer edge but Lizzie and I just walked right out into the middle and started dancing. The music was damn near all American and from about 5 mounths ago. It was awesome to know all the words and all the moves haha.
The guys are pretty agressive about dancing and they have NO problem turning you around and trying to make out all over you. My favorite thing to do is put my hand over their mouths when they go to kiss me and start kissing the back of my hand.
Lizzie and I lost Hannah, she went home after she couldn't find us, and so the two of us went across the street for some empanadas. YUM :) warm and delicious on a cold and druken night.
Got home around 5 AM got back up at 11 to run to the school, pick up something for my visa, and then meet up with Jessica after her class. We went to the visa place together but it was FREEZING and raining and we couldn't find the freaking place. Finally we did but we get in and it's PACKED. Tons of people, so we walk around for a bit, ask around and finally get pointed in the right direction. The immigration people were mostly pretty nice but I think after a while the woman I was working with was becoming irritated with my silly smiling. Oh well, can't charm 'em all. We ended up being in line next to this Italian guy Tommy, who also goes to Belgrano. We were all hungry after our ordeal, which really wasn't that bad at all just chaotic and uncertain, and decided to grab something to eat before hopping back on the subte. More empanadas :) and some Quilmes, as if I hadn't drank enough the night before.
Got home, took a nap, and got back up to go out to the movies! Saw inception. Which was AWESOME. Dreams absolutely facinate me so I was totally excited when I realized that's what it was about. Jessica, Ines, and I met up with Oscar and Mau. And we also met up with Maria (one of the Spanish girls from that day I went with Ines to hang out with other people from Barcelona), Sofie (French), and Jenna (SF and in my literature class). But those three girls watched Shrek or something else.
Some fun things about the movie theaters here: you can buy a pizza and a beer haha. Andddd the seats are numbered so you really have a designated spot. Oscar actually bought the tickets ahead of time so that the 5 of us would have seats together.
After the movie we added one more guy, Luis from the Bay. Now there were nine of us in total and we went to meet Juan (Ines' Argentine friend) and his friends again to go to a concert! Sabastian, his cousin, and Juan met up with us and we all hopped on a bus. We pretty much filled that thing. I sat next to Sabastian and we chatted the whole way there. It was super fun. He knew more English than I had originally thought but we still mostly spoke in Spanish, or Castillano, as they call it.
When we got there Augostine and Alan were waiting for us, so that was a nice surprise because I really like them. And Mikele (I think it's spelt but pretty much pronounced like michael) had already gone inside. The band was live and they were all wearing yellow jump suits, except the lead guy, he wore a shiny silver one. I kept expecting a rocket ship to come down at any moment and take him off to space. The music was rad. No lyrics, all instrumental with some people singing but no words. It was the kind of music you just kind of move however the music takes you. And our interpretations were sometimes quite hillarious ;)
Alan, Augostine, and Mikele ended up crashing in our living room because it was so late and the bus ride is so long.
Next day, Saturday, I opted to hang around the house and sleep and do hw.
Sunday woke up sick.
Monday went to class and then to bed.
Today, California Burrito Co! After history Lizzie and I went there to grab some burritos. Very tastey :) and it reminded me so much of home! It actually had some striking similarities to Chipotle...wouldn't be surprised if the owner's really been to Cali. Chilled there for a bit and grabbed ice cream at Freddo's which is a pretty nice ice cream shop around these parts.
Now I'm in bed, going to work on healing up! Got plans to have the Argentine boys over for dinner this weekend!
Un beso!
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