Patagonia and Shakira!

Now for an actual up-to-date post...

This past week has definitely been the best here in Argentina, if not the best of my life.  Seven of us went to El Calafate and El Chalten for 6 days during our last few days of summer, and could not have had a more action-packed week!  Eli and I flew out Saturday and had a lazy day while the rest followed on Sunday.  We spent that day getting acquainted with El Calafate and planning out our week.  We went to a small ecological reserve where we saw real, wild flamingos!  Monday we went on a mini-trek to Perito Moreno Glacier.  We took a bus from our hostel out to a boat that took us to the glacier, which is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life.  We strapped on some crampons to help us climb on the glacier and walked around on it for about two hours, stopping to take photos about every two minutes.  I was surprised that I was far too overdressed for the hike, really all I needed was my hoodie.  At the very end we indulged in some whiskey chilled with glacier ice and a couple of alfajores (delicious chocolate-covered sandwich like cookies) and simply gazed around in amazement.  We were able to see some chunks of ice break off of the glacier, and every time it sounded like some sort of giant stampede or explosion.  Luckily I learned that the glacier breaking apart is not due to global warming!

We spent Tuesday and Wednesday in El Chalten, a small town that basically depends on nature-loving tourists for its survival.  Tuesday we hiked about 14 miles to different viewpoints of the Cerro Torre glacier and ate lunch across a tiny lake from it.  That night I had the best steak I have EVER eaten for 38 pesos (less than 10 dollars!) followed by a warm brownie with dulce de leche and vanilla ice cream!  This was also by far the most well-deserved meal on earth.  Our goal for the next day was to hike all the way to the farthest viewing-point of Fitz Roy, but instead just three of us made it to the second stop.  We were probably the least in-shape group of people on the trails, and it definitely showed the next day.  We were definitely the luckiest group that day, though because we had the most incredible view of Fitz Roy that is apparently a very rare occurrence.  The view from the mirador was breath-taking and could not have been more perfect.  That hike was another difficult 10 miles, but I have never been more proud of myself for surviving those two days.  Everyone slept on the way back and we went out for an amazing celebratory pizza afterwards.  There was little time to rest before our horseback ride on Thursday, but even though I was exhausted I could not have been more excited.

Hannah and I have been talking about going horseback riding since our arrival in Buenos Aires, and we finally got our wish!  We headed out to an estancia Thursday where we enjoyed some delicious pastries and tea before riding the horses.  My horse, Miguel, was incredibly sweet, but only had two speeds: slow and slower.  No matter how many times I kicked he was reluctant to trot, and we definitely held up the group.  We went to a viewing point of Perito Moreno glacier and continued for two more hours before stopping to enjoy a delicious barbecue.  Our gauchos brought the fixings for amazing choripan sandwiches, complete with caramelized onions and a mushroom they picked up off the ground on our trip!  On the return trip we saw a herd of WILD horses, which was absolutely incredible.  All were black except a mare and her baby, an amazingly cute pair.  We also saw a number of different birds: swans, condors, eagles, and unfortunately some sheep carcasses.  Upon our return the pony that one of the mares left behind greeted us at the gate, desperate for some lunch.  She checked every horse that passed by to see which one was her mom, suuuper adorable!  We returned to our hostel and had a nice, quiet night and spent Friday enjoying our last ice cream cone of the week (we had about 5 since it was the best ice cream ever!)

Yesterday we went to the Shakira concert!  Ziggy Marley opened for her, which was great because he played a number of his dad's songs.  And of course Shakira herself was INCREDIBLE!  I've decided she is the most beautiful woman on earth, and could not have been happier to see her live.  She has the most amazing dance moves and her voice is astounding.  It was the perfect end to the perfect week...we'll see what Argentina has in store for me next!

Carnaval in Gualeguaychu!

Seeing as how I've neglected to blog in the last couple of weeks, I completely forgot about my Carnaval entry.  Two weeks ago I went with Eli and Joe to Gualeguaychu for Argentina's largest Carnaval celebration!  We rented a great little cabana for about $20 a piece per night that had its own kitchen, air conditioning, and even a parrilla out back!  Our first night we went out for dinner, once again had some amazing asado.  For 30 dollars between the three of us we got chorizo, ribs, chicken, and some sort of mystery meat that I believe was blood sausage.  I was reluctant to try it, but it actually tasted pretty good; the only problem with it was that it had the texture of something like tapioca pudding, so I was satisfied with my one bite.  There was a party going on in the streets all night long to prepare for the actual festival the next day.  We watched people dancing on the beach and went to a boliche where we got a little taste of the music and incredible dancing that was to follow during the parade.

Saturday we walked into town and I made the mistake of not putting on sunscreen (you'll be able to tell in the pictures), but it was a beautiful walk nonetheless.  I was ecstatic to finally be surrounded by the greenery that I've been missing here in Buenos Aires.  We passed a lot of farms and were greeted by plenty of farm dogs and stray dogs alike.  That day was spent eating and exploring the town.  When we finally made it to where Carnaval was going to be we bought our tickets and headed off to get dressed to celebrate!  On the bus ride back into town we met another group of American students, one of whom was from Bellingham of all places!  We headed to the festival and bought some crazy masks with giant feathers just before we entering.  I tried choripan for the first time, and went back for more...it is definitely my new favorite Argentine snack!  We were able to move from our seats and get right down in the action to see the floats and gorgeous women.  I have never seen such an elaborate parade, definitely slow-moving, but absolutely beautiful!  Each float was accompanied by a number of people in costumes that you could only imagine seeing in Alice in Wonderland.  The atmosphere of the parade was absolutely amazing- I'm pretty sure the entire town of Gualeguaychu was there.  We were really impressed by the toddlers that were able to stay up all night and watch the parade; there were also a number of grandparents partying too!  Everyone sang along to the music and danced the entire 6 hours! 

Unfortunately I don't have a whole lot of pictures because my camera was stolen out of my backpack in the bus station upon my return, but I will share a few of Eli's pictures of the parade.

Tango, Pinamar and a few cultural differences I've noticed!

Last Thursday was my first tango class, and I loved it!  Although I'm a bit clumsy I think I did pretty well, at least I didn't step on my instructor's feet.  I'll definitely have to get used to how close you stand to your partner.  I felt so uncomfortable that I stared at the floor the entire time, but this was also partially because I felt like I needed to watch my steps to learn them.  I definitely learned a lot in an hour though, and best of all it only costs $15 an hour for a private lesson!  My instructor is really nice and super patient with me.  I can't wait to go back and plan to do so every Thursday. 

This weekend I went to the beaches of Pinamar with a group of about 15 students from my class, and it was an absolute blast!  We arrived late Friday night and had dinner around 11:30 (another thing I'll have to get used to, because this is actually normal)  and didn't go to the boliche until 3am!  We danced the night away and had soo much fun!  The drinks here are much cheaper than in the states, and often times a drink (or unlimited drinks) are included in the cover charge.  My only complaint is how aggressive Argentine men are on the dance floor.  I actually had to push a guy away from my friend and I, but apparently they are persistent because they are used to women playing hard to get.  Anyway, we danced until the sun came up and finally went to bed around 7am.  I woke up around noon and met my friends at the beach.  The water was SO warm and felt amazing.  I loved seeing all of the families on the beach enjoying each others company.  I also saw lots of butt cheeks; all of the women wear thong bikinis.  Saturday night we went to a "funk club" called Black Cream, that played a mix of Will Smith, Blackeyed Peas, JLo, Christina Aguilera, and reggaeton.  Luckily we only stayed out until about 430 that night because I was wiped.  Sunday we spent another few hours on the beach before taking the bus home.  The bus, by the way, was amazing.  It was $56 for a 10 hour roundtrip that included snacks, movies, and reclining seats!

And at last, just a few observations I've made over the last week and a half:
-PDA is completely acceptable.  My class actually stared at this elderly couple making out in a restaurant the other day in shock.
-This is the city of bad hair for men.  Many have mullets, and some even have mostly short hair with just a couple of dreds in the back.  Also, unibrows are everywhere...
-Breastfeeding in public is also common.  I saw a woman running across the street the other day with her baby clutched to her chest.  
-Last but not least, habits like crotch-scratching and nose-picking without a care in the world are also very prominent. 

I guess Argentines just seem to be more honest with themselves than Americans.  They show affection whenever they please and take care of what really needs to be done (like nose-picking). 

I hope to travel to Gualeguaychu for Carnaval the first weekend of March and maybe Patagonia between now and then!

Asado and first days of school!

Saturday night's asado was incredible!  Our landlord cooked 5 different kinds of meat, potatoes, and bread on the grill- que rico!  My favorite was the chorizo.  He cooked a total of 10 kilos of meat and we barely had leftovers.  The meat was all unseasoned, but far better than any meat I've had.  I hope I can find the meat market he told us about; I can't believe you can buy a kilo for just $2.  We met a lot of nice people that George knows and ate and ate and ate all night.  I still have to get used to eating so late; we didn't get to George's until 10 or so and and stayed until about 1am.  I like going over there and when he comes over because he has a cute dog named Bruno.  He also has a bunny named Miguel at his house, and Miguel and Bruno are friends! 

That was also my first time riding the subte, which I now use to get most of the way to school.  I cannot believe it only costs about 30 cents U.S. to ride.  As much as I love public transportation in Seattle, Buenos Aires can't be beat!  This brings me to the first couple days of school.  Yesterday was my orientation and placement test for my intensive Spanish class.  Everybody is really nice, but unfortunately they all speak English.  It seems like I'm going to have to go out of my way if I want to practice Spanish outside of class.  I'm also going to have to buy new clothes!  There is a strict dress code at the school, which just about none of my clothes follow.  I guess its a good  excuse to go shopping : )  I got sushi with a group of students that all go to American University before heading out on a shopping excursion on calle Florida.  That trip has brought me one step closer to deciding to dye my hair brown, although I'm not sure dark hair will disguise me because I'm so pale haha. 

I had my first day of actual class today!  My profesora is very sweet, but very hard to hear.  She speaks so softly that I'm afraid I'll have to move to the front of the class to make sure I understand what she's saying.  Tomorrow we have a city tour after class.  I'm excited to finally see other neighborhoods like San Telmo and Palermo that I have yet to explore.  I bought my ticket to the Shakira concert today, emailed an instructor about starting tango lessons, and signed up on couchsurfing.com!  My new roommate said that she met a language exchange partner that way and I hope to do the same.  I have announced on ModelMayhem that I am in Buenos Aires, so I hope I get some responses.  That's all for now and I promise pictures are soon to come!

First couple of days!

It has been a great first few days here in Buenos Aires; I can't wait to see what is in store for me once school starts!  On the first night my roommates and I had a very American day- McDonalds and The Tourist in English, which definitely wasn't as good of a movie as I had hoped.  On a positive note it only costs about $5 to see a movie and there are no annoying "please silence your cellphone" commercials : )  The two times I have been grocery shopping were quite the adventures.  Milk comes in bags!  I was shocked but I think my Swiss roommate thought I was crazy when I asked her about it.

Last night we had a goodbye party for Julia and Selina, two of my roommates that are unfortunately leaving on Tuesday.  I have never heard so many different accents and dialects in one party.  There were only maybe 20 people here, but people were from the US, England, Australia, Argentina, Canada, Italy, and probably more.  I'm still trying to get used to greeting people with a kiss on the cheek- its pretty embarassing when you try to shake someone's hand and they kiss you instead.  I had no idea that we were planning to go out after tha party, but I definitely had my first real party night in Buenos Aires.  We left the apartment at 2am to go clubbing.  Luckily for me we didn't stay too long because I was so tired, but we still probably got to bed around 5am.  The club was PACKED with people; there was hardly enough room to walk around, but we still had fun dancing.  The night definitely made me rethink about dying my hair back to brown though.  I am not a fan of all of the attention I seem to get because I am "la rubia."

Today we went to the Recoleta market so that my roommates could do some souvenir shopping.  The stands were all super different and had everything from art to mate cups to leather cowboy hats.  Even better was the cemetery we went to after the market.  I never thought that a cemetery could be so beautiful.  For each person or family there was a small monument or shrine.  They have beautiful iron on the front and a few have stained glass.  I definitely want to go back when I have my camera with me.  We hunted around and finally found Evita's gravemarker, adorned with flowers and surrounded by onlookers.  It is obvious that Argentines really cherish their family and care for their deceased loved ones.  It made me feel really good to know that those people rest in such beautiful place. 

Tonight we are headed to our landlord's house for a big "asado"...sounds like I will finally know what people are talking about when they say the best beef in the world comes from Argentina!