El Calafate-patagonia

After two nights in Buenos Aires and celebrating our friend Jenn's 21st birthday, on Thursday Meagan and I were on a plane again but this time headed down South to Patagonia-completely different from north-western South America! In Peru we were in shorts and t-shirts and in Calafate we were in jeans and jackets! Definitely weren't going to be building up a sweat like the walk up to Machu Piccchu! The plane ride in was again beautiful. It was open land with snow topped mountains! It reminded me so much of landing in Jackson and looking out the window to see the Tetons only this time... in Southern Argentina! We were supposed to be on a 7 o'clock flight but that flight got cancelled and we were bumped to a 9 o'clock flight and then that was delayed so although we were a lot later getting to Calafate than initially planned we got there and it was great! When we arrived we got in a bus to head to our hostel. We were surrounded on both sides by absolutely beautiful views! Our hostel was situated in a great place looking out on Lago Argentina with the mountains in the background. All along we had been planning on doing the 'big ice' but we missed the final date by just 2 days. Because May is a true start of the off-season (since it is getting cold!!) they have discontinued some activities and changed their schedules and stuff, so instead we signed up for the mini-trek. Including 'mini' in the title of the excursion made it sound not overly exciting since we have the whole go big or go home mentality right now but it ended up being amazing!! And I don't even know if the Big Ice would have been that much cooler! So we signed up to do the mini-trek on Friday. Thursday we just went into the little town and explored some shops, got some lunch, went to the grocery store and rented some clothes for the next day. Since obviously Calafate is a hot-spot for tourists, not all of them come prepared for the temperatures so it is perfect to have shops that rent necesary clothes! I rented a pair of gloves and some windproof/waterproof pants. Meagan rented gloves and sunglasses! Crazy what you could get for just 10 pesos! Some of our other friends from IES who had spent the other part of spring break exploring Patagonia were at our hostel so it was great to hear their stories and spend some time together! So we hung out for a little while then Meagan and I headed to bed! One of my favorite parts about traveling as a college student is staying in hostels. I have met so many interesting people through my journeys who are traveling for multiple years or just a few months. Some have been all over the world and others just in Argentina. They are from Germany, England, Switzerland, Japan, the US, and pretty much any other European country. Americans are definitely a minority. It is much more common for people from Europe to take some time off just to travel which is so amazing. Interestingly enough, English is the common language? Doesn't make too much sense since it is most of their second languages but I guess that's how it works! It would be nearly impossible to travel through South America if you did not speak Englih OR Spanish but of course it helps to speak both :)


Those were just some of my observations about traveling... anyways on Friday we got up pretty early to be ready to leave by 7:30 or something like that. Because Calafate is SO far south the sun rises super late! It's not really sunny until 9am! Lucky for us though we were able to see the sunrise on our bus drive to the glaciers. It was a beautiful drive (again... there are lots of these in South America!). We had packed bunches of different layers just because we really didn't know how cold it was going to be! I had more than enough but it was pretty chilly! I always wore 2 pairs of pants (leggings and either another pair of exercise pants or my windproof pants) and a couple shirts and my fleece! We all got on a boat to head over to the glaciers and I saw one of the most amazing views ever. There was a rainbow right over the edge of the glacier with the mountains surrounding the glacier. Absolutely amazing. It is hard to imagine these HUGE ice glaciers until you actually see them for yourself. They are so so huge. We got across the lake and we all just in awe of the glaciers.
After dropping off our bookbags and hearing a little history of the glaciers we headed over to put on our 'cramp-ons' basically they were just spikes strapped on to our feet. Without the cramp-ons it would be nearly impossible to walk on the ice! So we started out behind our guide hiking all around the glaciers seeing holes in the ice, little streams and just the expansiveness of the ice! One of my favorite things was the cat that lived up there on the glacier! It was so funny! It was a cute little grey cat named Puma who just followed all of the people walking around and someone said he has built in cramp-ons which is true! I decided Sunshine and Shadow might have fallen into a hole before they climbed up all the ice! After walking around for a while, taking a shot of whiskey and eating an alfajor, and eating lunch, we got back on the boat then back on the bus to head to the balconies. The balconies give you even more views of the glaciers and really prove how far they go back. After hiking on the glaciers and standing on the actual ice Meagan and I were a little tired and after walking around for a bit settled for some hot-choclate! After a while we arrived back in Calafate and since it was our friend Chris' birthday we bought stuff to make him a cake! He wanted a pumpkin-pie but we couldn't find all the ingredients so we settled for a chocolate cake with dulce de leche and peanut rocklets to make it look a little fancier (basically peanut m&ms). It was fun to cook in this hostel! Gives you something to do and saves money!
We stayed up for a while celebrating and then headed to bed. The next day we went on a horseback ride all day along the coast of Lago Argentina which was beautiful! Again because it is headed to low-season it was only me Meagan and our gaucho!! Which was quite an adventure, especially since there were about 6 hunting dogs with us who killed a rabbit that our gaucho tied to his saddle! Only in argentina... The day was a lot of fun but couldn't really match up to hiking on the glaciers! Then we basically just relaxed and woke up early enough Sunday to relax and look out the window of our hostel at the beautiful view of the mountains and head home!

Spring Break 2010 was indescribable and absolutely amazing. I am so blessed to have so many opportunities to travel and explore the world. Although I have had my bumps along the way, I cannot really think of any better experience in my life than studying abroad (especially in a new continent and a different language!) It is hard right now with all of my friends heading back to the US for graduation at Wofford and everything but I am still living it up in South America! Can't wait for my family to be here ONE WEEK from now to head to Bariloche (in Patagonia) and Iguazu falls. both of which are supposed to be amazing.Also on May 25th is the Bicentennial of Argentina's independence which is a huge deal and we are going to the Argentina-Canada soccer game on the 24th which is a big deal since the World Cup is coming up and futbol as they call is it a HUGE deal here! I bought 3 Messi (the Argentine super soccer star) jerseys for Dorothy, Sallie and me for the game! So exciting! Love the light blue and white stripes!

Anyways, I am headed to Uruguay tomorrow which means a new country and new stamps in my passport! Life is good. Chau!

Peru and Machu Picchu

Wow. I just got back from one of the most amazing trips of my life and I now am officially in love with Peru. While I was there I was always comparing things to Argentina because it is the only other country that I have been to in Argentina!

We got up super early (3:30 am) on Friday morning in order to get to the International EZE airport, which is about 30 minutes away, to be ready for our flight from Buenos Aires to Lima and then Lima to Cusco. Although it was a cloudy day, the views from the airplane as we were flying into Cusco were absolutely beautiful. It was so lush and everything was green with trees and there were no tall buildings like in Buenos Aires! In some ways it reminded my of flying into Jackson Hole just because the view is so amazing and you are in the mountains. But this time it was the Andes Mountains. After we arrived in the relatively small airport in Cusco we headed to our hostel called "The Point." Typical South America, the driver from the hostel that was supposed to pick us up at the airport was super late and we had to get our own cab which we paid 20 sol for (around 7 dollars). Looking back, the most expensive cab we took the rest of our time there was 7 sol when we had 6 people and a lot of luggage in the car, but we didn't realize how cheap things are in Peru! All along we thought Buenos Aires has been relatively cheap compared to the US and cabs especially that typically cost just a few dollars, but Peru is really cheap. Although we were warned of the altitude change in Cusco, we wanted to explore the town anyways. We jumped from sea level to around 11,000 feet elevation and it really impacted all of us! much more than we expected. It was kind of rainy anyways so we walked around for a bit and then got dinner and headed back and ended up going to bed super early just because we all felt pretty awful.

Saturday was a great day. Instead of doing a city tour and really being exposed to all of the historical parts of the city, we chose to wander around and go to the black market and also the artisans market, both of which exposed us to the Peruvian culture. In general peruvians have darker skin, are much shorter, and often not as beautiful as Argentines, but actually more friendly. We first went to the black market which was so interesting. It was mostly second hand things but also some new stuff (probably stolen) that are able to be bought at a much discounted price. Meagan was able to buy Merrell hiking boots for 40 US$ and Paige bought a nice Columbia jacket for 50. This market was huge filling many streets and one of the best parts for us was seeing the traditional women fixing food. We first ate a type of cornbread in a corn husk and then we ended up eating again with one of the women. it is interesting because instead of having plastic plates 'to-go' you sit down right in front of their stands on stools or chairs and eat on plastic plates with real forks! This would never happen in the US because people wouldn't think it was sanitary enough just to wash dishes in some water but in Peru that's the way it is! But the craziest part of the meal was was that it only cost 2 sol which is only 75 cents and this was a lot of food! Noodles, meat, vegetables, rice and much more that I really didn't know what it was! The corn bread was only .50 soles meaning it was only 15 US cents. It is so crazy how inexpensive the food was! After some more wandering around, getting caught in the rain, and getting lost near a big church on our way to the Artesian Market we finally got a cab to take us there and it only was 3 sol, again so cheap! We spent lots of time and soles in the market. Clearly it was touristy since everything was made in Peru and had llamas on it. All of us bought so much; alpaca sweaters, jewelry, socks, hats and much more but it really didn't cost anything! We would bargain down the prices and since there were so many vendors we could just find another one with the same stuff that would accept a lower price! We finally headed back to our hostel, went to dinner and the supermarket and headed to bed in order to be ready to get up early for our trip to Machu Picchu!!!

A woman from the Adventure company that we had booked our Machu Picchu trip through came at 7 am on the dot for us to get in a cab to head to the train station. Little did I know that the train station was actually a 2 hour van ride away in a tiny town near Urubamba, Peru.I am not completely sure but I think that we had to take this long of a bus ride because part of the train tracks had been taken out by the mud slide so we couldn't get on it until further towards Machu Picchu and Aguas Calientes. Even though it was a long van ride, again it was beautiful views on either side of the van. Then we finally got on a train for another hour ride to finally arrive at Aguas Calientes which is the town closest to Machu Picchu where we spent the night. We got to our hostel which seemed more like a hotel than a hostel other than it was basically in the jungle. It was much hotter in Aguas Calientes and we all even put on shorts which was quite a change from freezing Cusco. We just explored the town which is very hilly with basically no cars, it is really just a jump off point for Machu Picchu, ate some lunch and went to another market! Then we headed to the hot springs which were really cool! They were basically pools but with rocky bottoms and warm volcano water. Paige and i did not bring bathing suits so we had to buy some in the market in Cusco which was just perfect. We spent 4 sol each on crazy one-pieces in bright colors, definitely got some stares at the hot springs! After relaxing for a while we went back to the hostel to wait on our tour guide for the next day. We were scheduled to ride the bus from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu but after talking to some people and thinking about it we decided to walk. They warned us that it was long and hard but we wanted to feel that since of accomplishment when we arrived and it truly was amazing.


We woke up at 3:20 on Monday morning to get ready for the hike. We packed our book-bags with all sorts of layers of clothing, snacks and water bottles because we did not know what the day was going to bring! We left the hostel around 4 and headed out. Of course it was totally dark with the exception of a few lights left on on buildings, but it was a very good thing that we had bought 2 flashlights!! We walked about 20 minutes on relatively flat ground to get to a bridge and guard gate and then after that it was straight vertical. Literally steps for over an hour. Somehow Paige was able to scale the mountain with ease while Meagan and I had to push ourselves to the limit in order to make it. We let a bunch of people pass us but always kept on trucking. We were so sweaty and our legs were so tires but we did it in about an hour and a half which seemed great to us!! Getting to the top of the hike was one of the best feelings of my life because it was one of the hardest hikes I have ever done. We had been hearing about Waynapicchu which is the highest point in Machu Picchu and of course when anyone gives us a challenge we will take advantage of it. Only 400 people are allowed to climb it each day so we had to make sure and get our tickets. We decided to do the 10 o'clock hike instead of the 7 because I honestly do not think I could have done it if I had not had a break. It was the most amazing feeling to finally arrive after our hike. We were so hot from hiking, I had sweated through my shirt and my hair looked like I took a shower! We met up with our English Speaking guide and headed on our tour. We walked all through Machu Picchu and when I asked our guide which mountain was Waynapicchu I didn't believe him. It is still unbelievable to me how I climbed to the top of it. We saw llamas and ancient Incan houses all while standing in awe of the Andes Mountains. It was pretty foggy in the morning but throughout the day it got hotter and hotter and while in the morning we were in leggings and long sleeve shirts, by afternoon we were in shorts and tank tops. No one will ever totally understand how the Incans created this incredible place so long ago. Now I have been to 2 wonders of the world- Machu Picchu and the Great Pyramids. After our tour we took a little break, changed in to shorts in an Incan house and headed towards Waynapicchu. I was so glad to hear everyone who passed us by saying that it was totally worth the hike and it absolutely was. After climbing tons of stairs, winding up narrow paths, crawling through caves, and finally up a ladder at the very top of the mountain, I thought about how truly amazing Machu Picchu is and how awesome it was that I could have that experience. We took a bunch of pictures, even though they will never really do it justice, and then headed down. I have decided that I really hate going down mountains, especially on tiny steps. I went so slow with my hands against the wall but I made it down without falling and that's what matters in the end! It seemed so late but it was actually only around 2 when we finally left Machu Picchu to head back to Aguas Calientes. We took the bus back (thank goodness) and it was a 25 minute ride to town. We saw a restaurant from the bus and immediately went there. We were so tired but it was a good tired because we felt like we had really accomplished something and truly been to one of the wonders of the world. While we were at lunch 3 guys came by and set up their stuff to play music and then from a distance we heard music. We knew that there was a 3 day celebration going on so we went to see what it was. There were a bunch of people dressed up in crazy costumes dancing to music. Just the way to finish off a day of hiking. We just wandered around Aguas Calientes, went back to our hostel to pick up our bags and change clothes, then headed to the train station and began the 4 hour trip back to Cusco. We arrived a little after 12 then headed straight to bed.

We had to get up early once again to head to the airport to head back to Buenos Aires. Peru and Machu Picchu were better than I expected. I was truly sad to leave because everything was so wonderful. It is a beautiful country with nice people and one of the wonders of the world... But now off to another part of South America, El Calafate where we are going to hike on ice glaciers!!

San Antonio, Milonga and a new apartment

Another week has already flown by and I leave for Peru in just 5 days! Just have to get through midterms this week...

Last Sunday I went on an IES field trip to San Antonio which is a town about 2 hours out of Buenos Aires. We first explored the town but since it was Sunday there wasn't too much going on. Then we went over an estancia close by and spent the rest of the day there. We went there to witness gaucho culture in the campos (country side) even though in current time it is all played up for the tourists. We ate a bunch of good food, saw some traditional dancing, watched a horse game with gauchos, rode horses and just enjoyed being out of the city! My favorite part was riding the horses. Most of my friends had gone to Lobos the previous day so it ended up just being me and a group of boys on Sunday meaning the gauchos gave me a little extra attention! We didn't have much time left before we had to leave but a couple of us wanted to go for a real quick ride. I didn't think there was going to be enough horses but then one of the gauchos let me get on the horse he had been riding in the games earlier! Because he had been running at high speeds the horse was so so sweaty but I decided to give it a go. It turned out that this was definitely one of the fastest horses and it felt so good to be back on a horse. We just rode down a path and as everyone was turning around the gaucho pulled me aside and told me how pretty I looked on the horse. He just let me open the horse up to go as fast as he could. I was just thinking to myself how incredible it was to be having this experience in Argentina. I will remember this moment looking back on the whole semester. It seems like such a little thing to be riding a horse but that special attention to let that horse run was amazing. It made me get even more excited for the ranch this summer!! But another exciting/unique/scary part of the day was on the bus ride home. We were on the highway coming back to Buenos Aires and there was probably 20 minutes straight of lightning lighting up the sky. It seemed just like heat lightning but went on forever! One of the IES ladies said that when that happens usually hail comes after. Sure enough she was right. I have never seen hail like this. There were balls of hail MUCH bigger than golf balls and probably every other car either had its front or back windshield busted out and very view made it through with out some sort of dents! At one point we had to push against the window of the bus due to wind! I'm just glad to say that I was in a bus with vertical windows and not a car with slanted ones! It was scary but very interesting at the same time.

Monday morning I went to get my visa which was an interesting experience. After our cab driver drove around probably 10 minutes extra and ask probably 3 people where the immigration building was we finally arrived and I was so glad to see other IES students! There were tons of people all speaking spanish and I don't even know why all of them were at immigrations! It seemed easier on the front end coming to Argentina when we didn't have to apply for a visa before departure but things are just not organized and regulated here like they are in the US! I triple checked to make sure that I had all I needed (passport, criminal record, head-shots, 300 pesos, copy of every page of my passport) and so it went as smoothly as possible! I just have to remind myself how much worse it would be to be deported since my tourist stamp in my passport only lasts for 90 days! They said I had to come back in about 8 days to pick up my visa but other groups of students had had to return 4 hours later. Because this seemed like such a long time in comparison the lady from IES talked to them and they said to go back Friday between 8 and 1 and trying to stay on top of things of course I went on Friday but guess what? Thanks again Argentina the lady told me it wouldn't be ready till next week. Such as life.

Monday was also an exciting day because I got my new apartment :) I just needed a little more space and this was the perfect way to do it! It is just 3 blocks from my homestay so its really easy for me to go back and forth! I love just having a place to escape to and relax a little! We had our first dinner party on Friday which was a blast!


Thursday night I went to a milonga which is a place to dance tango. We went to a place called Salon Canning. Although I had to go for my cultural icons class it was actually fun and interesting! Jackie and I brought our tango shoes and so we ended up dancing with some older Argentine men who were really good! It was fun practicing what I've learned at IUNA and just trying to blend in. There were people of all ages and you could really tell they were passionate about tango. Hopefully I will be able to go back another time before the end of the semester when I am even more comfortable in my tango-ing abilities!

Friday we had a girls night at the apartment with lots of yummy food and wine! Saturday I did some work during the day and then had a pizza dinner with a smaller group and today I did SOO much work but such as life during midterm week! Just have to get through Thursday at 12 and I'll be home free for spring break! I can't believe it's already here!!

the past 2 and a half weeks...

I cannot believe how fast time is flying by. There have been so many times I have meant to update my blog and just haven't found the time! Anyways, since my last update I have adventured to Mendoza, started my awesome volunteer work, and enjoyed the Argentine life. A major bump in the road was that upon my repelling down the mountain in Mendoza, my camera tumbled out of my pocket and down the mountain to its death. It was very sad but I got my memory stick back which I cared much more about than my actual camera! I went over two weeks without one but got one yesterday! So I'll be back in to photographer mode except a little extra cautious this time since Sony cameras cost a little more in Argentina than in the US. But with Machu Picchu and Calafate (the glaciers in patagonia) lined up for spring break there is no way I could spend the rest of the semester without a camera!!


We didn't have school the Thursday and Friday before Easter so we woke up at 4:30 on Thursday morning of Semana Santa (Easter break) April 1st in order to get a cab and get to the airport before our early flight. There were 8 of us together- 6 girls and 2 boys. But Tess did not bring her passport to the airport and had to catch the next flight to meet us there. But a short flight and easy transfer to our wonderful Hotel America was easy. It was so nice to breathe in fresh air and enjoy life outside of the big city. Until I escaped for a little while I hadn't realized how different life is in a big city!! Just stepping off the plane relieved stress of the hustle and bustle of the city. We spent our first afternoon on a city tour. Because I thought of Mendoza as the wine country (which it is) I didn't think much about the actual city which wasn't all that impressive. There were some cool parts and we drove up to this statue and it gave us a beautiful view of the area with the Andes around sunset.


On Friday morning, Meagan, Paige, and Michael set out to go skydiving. Far too adventuresome for me! It took them the whole day due to winds and everything but all three had the best time and said it was amazing. Sounded cool but not cool enough :) Instead, Jackie, Jenn and I went on a wine tour for the afternoon! I finally saw areas more similar to what I had been expecting to see! We went to two wineries and one olive oil place! I can only imagine that outside of the city just 30 more minutes out there would be absolutely beautiful places that are very peaceful. Maybe someday I will return! We didn't stay out too late because we had a big day planned for Saturday! Adventuring on the Mendoza river and repelling and trekking in the Andes mountains.

We woke up early on Saturday morning to get ready for the day. We already had our book bags packed with cameras, changes of clothes, snacks, and not enough coats. It was overcast but we all assumed it would get warmer, but the whole day it stayed pretty chilly! It was about an hour drive to the place by the river where we were set to base these adventures out of. It was so amazing to be tucked in the middle of the Andes Mountains! I just wished I had worn the leggings that I had sitting out in the hotel room! But after waiting for a little while we headed out to repelling first. I didn't realize it was going to be quite so steep of a rock face but it was pretty cool! All until my camera tumbled out of my pocket... but at least I got the memory card back and it wasn't my body that did the crashing down the mountain!! That afternoon we went trekking as they called it but really just a hike up a semi-steep hill to the top with a view and then back down some rocks to end up next to the river. A really cool location! Then began the real fun. I don't know how cold it actually was, but definitely too cold for shorts!! So in order to go white water rafting we all had to put on wetsuits over our bathing suits, with splash jackets, helmets, and life-vests! By the end of the adventure on the river however we were very cold!! We decided for all six of the girls to go in raft with a guide instead of dividing up with the boys which was a fun decision. We were so pumped up from the adrenaline of how cold it was and the fact that we were about to be completely wet with cold water! We had a guide named Oso (bear in spanish) and he was a typical crazy river guide and he spoke great english which was an added bonus! He kept calling us his 'river mermaids.' He definitely had the most exciting boat with 6 twenty-year old american girls. I know by the end of the semester that white water rafting in Mendoza will have been a highlight!

It was so weird to not be at home with my family on Easter. They were getting up to go to church for Easter Sunday and I was in Mendoza, Argentina without them! It was hard knowing they were all together at the beach but I reminded myself that Mendoza (and this semester in general) is a once in a lifetime experience and I can be with them every other Easter of my life!! I didn't get to go to church just because of timing with out flight and checking out of the hotel but before the end of the semester I am going to try and go to a service (even though it definitely probably won't be a Presbyterian church!) We had a really late flight back to Buenos Aires but had to check out of the hotel so we left our stuff there but walked around town and relaxed a little. It would have been nice to go back earlier but it was all part of the adventure!

Mendoza was so fun but since then I have been camera-less! But basically these are the weeks that pass by so fast! I have busy days Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday then I have started volunteering Thursday and Friday then its the weekend and then the next week again! A couple things though: I have changed my schedule to drop my Service Learning class and add yoga! It has been a nice change. it makes my Mondays not quite so long and gives me less homework! The best part though is that I am still getting to volunteer! I am working with three other girls at an organization called Puentes. I don't know exactly all of what it does but in general I think it aids students who are starting at universities who need some extra help. What we are doing is actually teaching two english classes! It's so cool; I absolutely love it! It's even worth being across town at 10am on Fridays which is a day that we don't have class! Thursday's class is a group of 6 eighteen-year old boys who are all really excited to improve their english. Some are better than others but they are all trying hard. They are so funny and each have their own personalities. Friday's class is supposed to have 4 girls and 3 boys but only 3 of the girls have ever come! It is a different group dynamic with the girls but they are so sweet. It is so interesting to work with people trying to learn english. Little word usages that I don't even think about are easy to mix up for them. Also it is fun just getting to know some Argentines! None of these kids are very wealthy. None live in Palermo or Recoleta (I live in Recoleta) which are 2 of the more upscale neighborhoods. It again reminds me of how big this city is!! We had our first classes in the bottom of basically of an office building which didn't have WiFi or a projector screen so we have moved the the business and alumni center of a local university. it is cool to be surrounded by students around our own age and have the technology but its further away an we have to go through steps just to get past security but it looks like that is going to be where we are for the rest of the semester so we will have to make it work!

Other than that I have just been enjoying the Argentine life! I just booked my spring break to go to Cusco and Machu Picchu and then down to El Calafate (the glaciers in Patagonia)! It is going to be absolutely amazing. So just two weeks and I will be on a plane to Peru! After spring break I will still have a weekend in Uruguay, Bariloche in Patagonia, and Iguazu Falls! And 2 weeks with my family which will be the best part! I will try to update again before spring break! Because after that I will have so much to write about!

it's been a whole month!!!

I cannot believe that I have been here a month. Everyone said that it goes by fast and that is absolutely the truth. In some ways it feels like I have been here forever because I know my way around pretty well, have already had so many adventures, have made new friends who I feel like I have known longer than a month and am fairly used to be surrounded by spanish! On the other hand, it feels like I just got here and that I have so much time left. I am 1/4 of the way done with my study abroad experience. In the next 3 months I hope to really improve my spanish, travel more, and be able to call Buenos Aires even more of another 'home' than I already can. As far as traveling I am headed to Mendoza the wine country on Thursday morning bright and early for Semana Santa (Easter break), am taking a day trip to San Antonio, spending spring break most likely in Patagonia at the glaciers and also going to Iguazu falls, spending a weekend in Uruguay, and then my family comes and we will go back to Patagonia and Iguazu. I am sure somewhere in there I will go to Tigre and San Isidro. Both little cities not too far outside of Buenos Aires. So needless to say I will be staying busy! I have decided it is always better to stay busy. The times I tend to get homesick (which doesn't happen much) are when I am alone without much to do. It has been a crazy month full of so many adventures! I can't even imagine reflecting on my time here after 4 months!!

This weekend was pretty relaxed. On Friday night I went to see Alice In Wonderland in 3D. It was cool to see a movie here. Thank goodness it was in English!! But with spanish subtitles. I was actually glad it had the subtitles because since the movie was spoken with a British accent sometimes I would be able to read the subtitles if I couldn't understand them talking!

was quite an experience. For my tango class we have to have traditional tango shoes. These are not normal shoes. They are high heels and the heel must be skinny!! Jackie, Meagan, and I met up in the subte and headed down to a certain street that had a couple of stores all together completely devoted to tango shoes and clothes. After trying on many pairs I settled for some called 'angela' they are kind of a platinum color with a t-strap and buckle around the ankle to hold them on! I am glad that my feet are no bigger because a 40 (equivalent to about a 9) is really the biggest size you can find here. In general I would say argentine people are smaller than Americans. And definitely skinnier!!! After we got the shoes we stumbled across the theater that was playing Beauty and the Beast on broadway (or La Bella y La Bestia as they call it here). We knew it was playing and that it had opened on Friday but we didn't know it was only going to be in town for a week and since we are leaving thursday morning Saturday night was our best option. It was entirely in Spanish but that really wasn't a problem. When they were speaking I understood most of it and since I already knew the plot it was no big deal! It was wonderful!!! beauty and the Beast was the first play that I saw on Broadway in New York so it was nice to see it again! It was fun to get dressed up a little bit and go see the play. We have made a decision to try and do some more cultural things in Buenos Aires! Sunday was basically just a day of homework!

My cultural learning class has been pretty stressful recently. With my visit on Thursday being in an unsafe part of town and just not being what I expected! I am going to add yoga today that is taught at the same university as tango so that if I decide to drop service learning later on I will be able to!

Parks and tango!

Today was a great day. It is a national holiday so we didn't have school and many businesses/restaurants were closed! We decided to spend the day in bosques de palermo which is a park with a couple lakes and a beautiful rose garden! It was such beautiful weather- upper 70's with a little breeze so that it was warm but not overly hot. Daniella, Megan, Jim Allen, and I met for lunch at a neat restaurant with great pizza (which seems to be what I eat most times when I go out!) Then got in a cab and headed to the park. We ended up renting a peddle boat which was fun despite our steering difficulties. There were lots of geese in the water and it was quite an adventure maneuvering around little islands! Megan and Jim Allen started out peddling and were much more successful than Daniella and I when we moved up front! After we met up with Jackie we headed to the Japanese gardens. It was just a short walk from the park and was pretty cool! There was a little lake in the middle of the garden with bridges over the water where there were fish. We were there around 5 o'clock and in Argentina, because we don't eat dinner until very late like 9 or 10, people have tea or coffee around 5 or 6 to tie them over until dinner. Mate is a traditional argentine drink like a strong green tea and in the japanese gardens everyone had their thermoses full of hot water and their mate! It's such a cultural thing and interesting to see! Then we split a cab and headed home! I think one of the best things about being here is the weather! It is so beautiful!! I know it is going to start to get colder, but they are in the beginnings of fall- basically September for us- and it is still so hot! I hope it stays like this for a while! I know that it doesn't really get cold until the end of may/june.

Last night was quite an adventure!! After giving my first presentation in Argentina in my Cultural Icons class (which went well for being the first group to present) I walked home and changed into my leggings to get ready for my first tango class! It meets just once a week from 6-10 on Tuesdays. I was a little nervous because it is just much more unpredictable than my classes at IES (even though I don't know too much about them). I had heard from some people who take the class on Monday morning that it was a lot of fun which was comforting but being in a classroom of Argentine dance majors can be a little intimidating!! Luckily, there are probably 20 IES students in my class of around 50 I'd guess. All of my dancing probably didn't help too much because tango is much different than anything I have ever done! It is really based off of leg movements rather than the whole body. Our final exam is a performance which is much different than any other class I've ever taken! But I will keep you posted on my experiences at IUNA (the local university where I am taking tango).

Other than that, I don't have any more classes this week but I do have a lot of homework! Tomorrow though I have a sight visit/interview for my Service learning class. I don't remember the exact name but it is basically a place that uses art to work with poor children. I hope that I really enjoy it and can start soon!

Real School for the first time in 3 months

Last week was my first week of classes. It is basically like coming off of summer break because I hadn't done anything related to school since exams in December! (Africa doesn't count as real school) But school here is so different from school at Wofford. First of all, I only have class 3 days a week. So that means I have school Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and then a 4 day weekend! I didn't really plan it this way but there are no MWF classes at IES like at Wofford; instead classes meet once or twice a week for a longer amount of time. It is nice though that basically no one has class on Friday so traveling on the weekends is easier!! Which by the way thanks to some hard last minute work by on the the Penn State girls a group of 8 of us, 6 girls and 2 boys are going to Mendoza (the wine country) for Semanta Santa (Easter break) from April 1-4! Very exciting.

I am taking 5 classes, 4 at IES and 1 at IUNA a local university. Because I only have class 3 days a week, Mondays are rough. I am at IES from 11 to 8 with a break from 2:30 to 6 to eat lunch and do homework or whatever needs to be done! I started off with Spanish 300 with only 7 people in my class! All girls! My teacher's name is Vale Tetti- very young, cute, friendly etc so that class is going to be fun and I'm glad it is so small! Then I have poetry with an older man as my teacher who LOVES poetry. He was going on and on in spanish about the deeper meaning of poetry and how each word has a purpose and how he wants us to really enjoy it. He seems nice and some girls who were here last year and has his class loved him and said the class wasn't too hard so that's always good to hear! Both spanish and poetry meet twice a week (Monday and Wednesday). Then at 6 I have my Service Learning class. I thought this class was going to be very interesting because each week's class is related to different issues in society (mostly related to poverty) and then out of class you have a placement in the community to volunteer at for 8 hours and with all of my free time Thursday and Friday I will be glad to have something to do besides go to the gym and do homework!! But I left the first class very confused and overwhelmed. I think that was mostly related to how it was such a long day in ALL spanish with new people and everything so hopefully that will be the worst and it will start to get a little better! But it doesn't help that we have basically 30 pages printed out on computer paper of reading in spanish for homework!!! Oh well each day brings new challenges and I will have to just do the best I can! I guess I didn't really think about how different it would be to have all of my classes in only spanish but when I got home on Monday night and was trying to skype with my mom I could barely talk from being so mentally tired! I'm sure I will get used to it and hopefully it will improve my spanish but these first weeks of class are going to be much harder than if they were all in english!!

Tuesday I had my Cultural Icons and Global Commodities class. I had heard this class had so much reading blah blah blah but I loved it!! It was so interesting and my teacher is crazy looking. Young guy probably mid 20's with skinny jeans, funky tennis shoes, a tight black sweatshirt and pretty long hair he kept running his hand through. Needless to say it only makes the class more interesting!! We study about 5 different topics that are the most prevalent icons of Argentina (gauchos, tango, Evita, and i can't remember the others!) It definitely is a lot of reading and I chose to do my presentation on Tuesday (tomorrow). It is about gauchos which I studied last semester in Latin American culture and we only have to do 1 the whole semester so it will be good to get it over with even though it took a lot of hours to thoroughly read everything and get the powerpoint done! Usually I have tango on Tuesdays from 6-10 but it doesn't start until tomorrow the 23rd.

The highlight of the rest of the week was St. Patricks day on Wednesday. I have never really celebrated St. Patricks day and gone all out in green but some of the other people here LOVE this holiday! I didn't know that it is such a big deal in Buenos Aires but supposedly there is a very large Irish population! We were going to go to a pub crawl where you go between different irish pubs but it was terrriblleeee weather- so rainy! So that kind of put a damper on our plans. Then we found out about this street called Reconquista that is blocked off from cars and is just a crazy celebration. It is on wikipedia and said that in 2006 there were 50000 people!!!! I guess this is a huge city! I just ended up going to a bar that was having St. Patricks day specials and then met up with a friend from home on Reconquista. A fun night but would have been better if there had been less rain!

Friday was the Wofford game. There was so much anticipation built up and I just wish we had won!!! We didn't think we would get it on the tv so all the Wofford people headed over to 2 girls' apartment and had the game set up on the internet on 2 computers! The connection was bumpy so Jim Allen called the Alamo (where we watched the first game) and they were showing it! It turned out they synched their computer to it because the bar tenders were wisconsin fans! So during half time we all hopped in cabs to go across the city. Going in to half time we were pretty far behind but by the time we arrived at the Alamo we had tied it up. All of us were so enthusiastic and I don't think anyone in the bar even knew what Wofford was until we arrived! We were sad to see the terriers lose but they tried hard! It was still lots of fun to cheer on our team from Argentina!

The rest of the weekend wasn't too exciting... sad to say I had a migraine Friday and an abdominal migraine Saturday and Sunday did homework. Saturday night though I did go to this wonderful dinner with the Wofford girls and Meagan! i had this calzone that was HUGE and so yummy! I'm probably going to take my family there when they visit :) Regardless of the bumps in the road I am still loving Buenos Aires! This Wednesday is a national holiday so I only have a 2 day school week!! I'll try to update in less than a week this time!!

Mar Del Plata- awesome weekend

So I am sitting in a coffee shop called Havanna that seems to be on almost ever corner drinking agua sin gas and eating an alfajor de dulce de leche. An alfajor is a very common cookie here. It is two soft cookies with dulce de leche (similar to caramel) or chocolate in between. So good! I am starting to get very comfortable here and am enjoying spending some time alone away from my apartment! I just got back from Mar Del Plata last night and had a wonderful time!! Mar Del Plata is a very popular beach south of Buenos Aires and about a 5 and a half hour bus ride. January is the hottest month here so it is obviously the most crowded then but Saturday's weather was beautiful despite a little wind!

11 of us planned our trip together (at the very last minute) but probably 75% of all IES students were at Mar Del Plata this weekend. I have never ridden a double decker bus before to get me to a vacation spot but that was the most convenient and cheapest way to get all of us to the beach! The bus station in Buenos Aires is huge, it seems like it could be an airport! I was assigned to seat one which ended up being the best seat on the bus. I was sitting next to Tess which was nice and we were on the top deck in the very front with a perfect view of the road. The seats were comfortable and we were all very excited to get to the beach!! We finally got there around 10:30 and headed to our hostel. I had no idea what to expect because the only hostel I had stayed in before El Refugio in Mar Del Plata was the Backpackers' Lodge in Cape Town in January where we slept on top of our sheets in our sleeping bags so I was just hoping it was better than that and it was! It was nothing to be super excited about but was relatively clean, safe, and comfortable for the small amount of time we were going to spend there. We had a room of 6, 2 people in a 4 people room, and 3 people in a 10 people room. 5 girls and Jack all slept in the 6 people room and the others split up. Our room had 3 sets of bunk beds and 6 lockers and that was it! No trashcan, tv, or even lamp! It was a good thing none of us had much luggage. We generally packed in our book bags. After quickly changing clothes we got in cabs and headed down to Alem Street where the man at the hostel told us there were bars/restaurants. We made the worst dinner selection ever. We went to Coyote Ugly because it said Tex-Mex food and some of us had been deprived of Mexican food since we got to Argentina! I had a quesadilla which was ok but some others really didn't enjoy their food! I have been pleasantly surprised by how wonderful the food is here! (with the exception of Sandy my host mom's cooking) But after some Sangria and margaritas we headed out to Mr. Jones which we heard was the best bar in town which was so much fun. There was a live band singing all American music from Mama Mia to Lady Gaga to Michael Jackson and all the other popular songs. The lead girl singer had different accessories like wigs, sunglasses, and hats to play the roles of the different singers. We were so into it and because we knew all the words we had a blast dancing and probably made it too obvious that we were Americans. All of the Argentine people were sitting just listening to the music because they didn't know the words while we were thoroughly enjoying dancing. The lead singer ended up mocking us and we realized it was about time to move on to another scene. Looking back we should have probably chilled out a little but you live and you learn and we had a blast!!! We proceeded to another bar just for a little while of dancing and hanging out and then about 4:30 headed back to our lovely hostel. I couldn't imagine staying up so late at Wofford but here places don't even get going until 2 or later. There were lines outside of bars when we were leaving.

The next morning we got up and headed to the beach. There are two nice beaches in Mar Del Plata, and although one is closer and we could have walked we chose to go the Playa Grande which was nicer and only a short cab ride away. It was a beautiful and sunny day but a little windy. While trying to lay out and catch some sun we were continuously covered in sand but eventually decided it was worth it. All of the women in Argentina wear thong bikinis. As if I don't already stand out as an American, my J.Crew starfish bathing suit with a full coverage bottom definitely did the trick. Some other girls bought some thong bathing suits to blend in a little more but I couldn't bring myself to that. Jim Allen, Megan, Daniella and I went and climbed up some rocks which was quite an adventure considering I am probably not the most coordinated nor the most daring of people. It was a beautiful day with a pretty beach! The 11 of us started out at one spot on the beach and by the end of the day it was a sea of IES people.

After napping and chilling out for a while at El Refugio we all headed out to the casino. I have never been to a casino before but this one was not what I was expecting. It was full of old people and nothing exciting going on. It was only 7:30 which probably had a lot to do with it but the girls (Daniella, Megan, Tess, Meagan, Jenn, Paige, and I) left the boys to get a girls dinner. Pretty much this weekend was a Wofford meets Penn State which was a ton of fun. Walking down the street trying to find a restaurant proved to be a daunting task at 8 pm. One restaurant told us they didn't even open until 9!! We saw one that was open even though it was empty and it turned out to be great! We split too many bottles of wine, had great traditional food, great conversation and before we knew it the whole restaurant was full and we had been there for 2 hours or more! Meals take much longer here. Waiters are not rushed to take care of you and checks will never come unless you ask for them. There is much more of a laid back culture here that can sometimes be frustrating when I feel like I am in a hurry but otherwise it is nice just to relax a little. After dinner we got cabs and went to the same area the night before. We all got ice cream and went to a club named Roxy. Our while entire night was 2 hours too early. Again the bar was empty when we arrived even though it was nearly 11 o'clock!! Because of this our night ended much earlier than before and the 7 of us were all back to the hostel by 1:30.

The following morning (sunday) there was not nice weather. It was rainy and windy and cold! Some people had remembered to bring jackets but in my mind I assumed it would be a warm and sunny weekend since we were going to the beach but I was definitely wrong!! I was freezing cold in my shorts and t-shirt but didn't have much of a choice!! Jenn, Meagan, Megan, Daniella, Jim Allen and I headed out to breakfast while the others stayed sleeping. Breakfast here is not really like breakfast in the US. There are no Waffle Houses that have huge portions of pancakes and omelets. They more traditionally have a croissant and coffee. So us looking for a 'breakfast place' was questionable. We ended up not where we wanted to be just because we were so cold and saw it as our only option! We thought we were getting toasted egg and ham sandwiches but no, we had boiled eggs cut up with ham and mayo. They LOVE mayonnaise here. I like egg salad so I could stomach it while others ate only one bite. After an hour and a half of just chilling out and complaining to each other about our gross meal we met up with the others and sat down for another and MUCH better lunch. I ended up splitting a pizza because my boiled egg sandwich had been less than appetizing. After another hour and a half of just chilling out we went and got ice cream and then started walking down to the beach. Our bus didn't leave until 4:40 but many times throughout the day we wish it left earlier!We just hung out on a plaza type area near the beach until it started to rain and then we got in cabs to the bus station to get out of the miserable weather. We waited there for about an hour and a half and then it was time to head home!!

The bus ride home seemed twice as long as the one there. I guess we were all just ready to get back in our beds and off the bus. Finally we arrived around 10:30. Tess, Ryan, and I split a cab home, grabbed some Burger King and headed back to get ready for our first day of school!!!

Today I began classes for the first time in 3 months. It was so hard to sit and focus! Worse than after summer break. But I started off with my 7 people Spanish class then had lunch then Argentine poetry and I have my service learning class at 6! It is definitely a challenge having all of my classes in spanish but I am sure I will get more used to it!! I will update soon after I have more classes!

Love and miss you all!!