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!!