Los amigos que me ayudan con cualquier cosa

Hola compañeros!
Espero que todo estén bien con ustedes! Hoy es el 4 de Junio (ahora 18 de Junio, discuplame), el principio del verano para los estadounidenses pero en realidad aca en Buenos Aires es otoño y por eso hace un poquito de frio! Que pena! Pero no se preocupen, todavia estoy disfrutandolo! :)

Okay, here is some ingles por mis otros amigos! During my time in Buenos Aires, I have come upon some wonderful people in my life. Also have been finding new life lessons in experiences. How cool/Que barbaro! Por eso quiero hablar sobre la gente de aca.

To begin with: My host family-> My Argentinean family has been nothing but wonderful! I am so unbelievably blessed to be in such great company. They have provided me a roof over my head, food for nourishment and comfort/conversation. I am also impressed by their accomplishments. My host mom is a lawyer for divorce and child support. She works also as a profesora para la Academia de Policia. Right now currently, they asked her to re-write a book that the students (alumnos) will be using next semester. Of course, she has been working non stop and stressed but she manages to talk to me and treat me as if I was apart of her family. My host sister comes in and out of the house. She lives like 5 blocks away but always makes time to come back to visit the family and me! :) She works as a psychologist and works 4 different jobs!!! She is incredibly busy and smart! I am so impressed with her everyday. My host brother sells insurance for a company that I forgot the name of. He works kind of far from our apartment meaning he gets up at 6 am monday through saturday, commutes an hour, works until 5 or 6, goes to the gym after and comes home around 7 or 8 to do work from home and relax! They all work so hard and are dedicated to their professions. I am lucky to live with passionate and intelligent people. Plus they all have steady relationships that they maintain with happiness and tranquillity.

Next: My Porteño friends-> I find myself extremely lucky to have made some close friends here! For starters, my first porteña friend, Romina. She is my host brothers girl friend but on the second day of knowing me (my 21st birthday) bought me this amazing smelling perfume (if you know my taste, I LOVE perfume, that is really the only thing that I crave for a gift) and took me around to cool places just to hang out with me. I was afraid she would be frustrated with my spanish but luckily we have maintained a strong relationship. Then their is the lovely Celeste. She was my first friend in my Universidad Argentina ( I am in direct enrollment in IUNA, the arts university). She would help me out with whatever I needed, we have gotten coffee and medialunas, and she invited me to her birthday dinner and party where I met some more fantastic people. She is one of the kindest people I have ever met. She told me if I ever decide to travel or even move down here, I am more then welcome to room with her and her amazing sister, Agustina. I have also met some great guy friends here too like Juani and Ariel. Juani I met in my salsa class and has invited me to hang out with him and his friends. He is super cool and goofy and we always have a good time. Ariel is a great friend too, I also met him at Salsa class and we hang out just about every week. I appreciate all his help and the snickers he buys me  (which are hard to get!) so I can remember los Estados Unidos. I recently made a new friend at the snack bar in my Facultad, Flor. She is super nice and we bonded because I complimented her hair. People usually just pass by her because she works in the bar, but I have gotten to know her a bit and we are now exchanging emails!


Loma de Zamoras pals-> Loma de Zamoras es un lugar/provincia en Buenos Aires. Let's just say its a neighborhood that has houses and not apartments. I was fortunate to have met Gabriela, who I met at a Feria when she was dancing Folklore and her boyfriend Oscar. Gabriela invited me to the place where she learns folklore which is an organization in the neighborhood for the kids to come and learn dance, se llama Nor Sol Ballet. She is the sweetest! Gabriela and everyone in the group have accepted as their own and tell me I am always welcome to their homes. La profe (the woman who runs it) calls me her sister from the United States. I truly love them all and love to spend friday nights dancing with them!

 Mi mama de Argentina

 Hernán, mi hermano

 Romina!

 Daniela, mi hermana :)

 Santi y Juani!

 Oscar!

 Gabriela!

 La profe!

 Feliz Cumpleaños Celeste!

Ariel, Yuri, Martineta, Cheri, Michelle, y Martin

This city may be gigantic, but is filled with some amazing people who have the biggest hearts. I am truly thankful to have found them.

Bueno, voy a publicar otra entrada luego que explica más sobre mi vida en Buenos Aires, pero tengo que escribir una monografia de mi clase de Tango en Flacso!

Chau!

Beso enorme!

Jujuy (Tilcara, Humahuaca y Purmamarca)

Queridos!

Como andan ustedes? Me imagino que ustedses hayan esperado por una entrada nueva. Perdóname! Cada dia que viva en la Argentina, me la enamoro. Adémas me olvido a escribir en mi blog! No me dan bronca! Pero tengo cuentos por ustedes sobre mi viaje en la provincia Jujuy!

Did you all follow that?

Well let's mix it up then! 

So I went to Jujuy (una Provincia en Argentina) it is located in the North very close to Bolivia. It was a trip with the program CIEE FLACSO BUENOS AIRES. If you didn't know, Buenos Aires was not a drastic shock. I mean it was a culture shock, but it was like I was the only white girl, majority of the people in Buenos Aires have European descent (Italian and Spanish *like Spain). So when we went to Jujuy, we were in for a brand new culture. 

We left early morning by plane to la provincia (we had to be there at 4 am). I didn't sleep that night because I mean really, what was the point? My host mom stayed up with me because she didn't have to work in the morning and we drank coffee while watching late night T.V. She told me she wanted to mandame saludos por un buen viaje! Que te pase lindo! She is so kind! So I shared a cab with my friends Jon and Ben to the airport (because they live in mi barrio) and we were off!  Of course with the luck I bring, (Mom- Remember the graduation party of 2009) it began to storm pretty bad and our flight was delayed by 2 hours. However, we did end up flying later and the flight was smooth and easy. It is amazing how after 3 months, hearing the rules and precautions in Spanish is the norm. Two hour flight and a two hour micro (bus) y llegamos en Tilcara! Now personally, I have never been in a place with huge mountains before. I mean yes I was in California last year and there were some mountains, but not like Jujuy. It was just amazing to be in high elevation! I began to reflect on the beauty that God created and was knocked off my high horse right away. He created all of this naturaleza, que belleza, que marvillosa! Our program stayed in a Hostel in Tilcara which was walking distance from the town and the feria. 

The Feria (little stands selling lots of llama and alpaca products) was amazing! In la provincia Jujuy, the way of making income is cultivating products from the abundance of llamas, cows and alpacas that they have. Just like the Native Americans used the buffalo, the people of Jujuy use every part of the llama. It can be used for cargo, food, and clothing. Everyone in my program definitely went to shopping splurges in Jujuy. Porque? Porque es más barato que Buenos Aires. For example: Buying a beloved llama sweater costed 60-90 pesos ($13- $20) AMAZING! It is a very distinct culture with very cool things to gift to people in the United States. 

Now we did not only buy things for the whole weekend in Jujuy, we had some interesting excursions which involved big mountatins and Inca Ruins. Friday, we began our cultural excursions. We first went to the Inca ruins and we were guided through the history and all the cool buildings that were there! One thing very different: SO. many. cacti. It was so different from what I am used to seeing. Despues, were taken into the town of Humahuaca, which in la provincia is a very touristy town compared to the rest. We got to see all the beautiful architecture, the colorful cemetery (parecido to the ones you see in Mexico during the festival "El dia de los muertos" which in Jujuy is called "El dia de los almas") and of course, more llama/alpaca shopping. That night we had a free dinner, (not like free food,but we could go to a restaurant and eat there instead of the hostel) So I went with some friends to a restaurant in town. I got to try two different kinds of food, Locro (which is a kind of stew with different meats and corn *also called the poor man's meal like how chili is in the States) and....... LLAMA! I tried llama! It was not too bad or different, it is not like chicken more like venison and beef mixed together. Very tasty. 

On Saturday, we had a big day of sightseeing, we first prepared for all the altitude by drinking green tea and sucking on hojas de coca (hojas de coca is a type of plant/leaf that you bunch up and put in your cheek and suck on it to help calm upset stomachs and head aches from the altitude. Es parecido de chewing tobacco but won't destroy your teeth or is bad for you. Our first stop was the Salinas (Salt Mines) It basically looked like snow fall but warm and salty. It was amazing. They made chairs, tables, statues of llamas, all out of salt! How cool! Of course many pictures were taken there! We then were taken to Purmamarca (a town with little touristy attractions) and took a caminata in the mountains with 7 colors! It was GORGEOUS! (unfortunately my camera had to die at the salinas so I could take pictures but I will just snag pictures from others!) It was amazing! Such beautiful landscape and creation! So blessed to be here! Later that night, we were lucky enough to go a peña (a folklore dance show) in town. We listened to music, talked and later had a GIANT dance party, dancing danza folklorico and a little salsa! It was so much fun! 

I would have to say Jujuy was a big eye opener to a culture I originally had only seen in pictures. Mi di cuenta de que I am in love with culture. I find the difference beautiful and intriguing. The people fascinate me and I just want to assimilate to their lifestyle. It makes me wish I would have pursued anthropology or something... I am thankful to at least taken a class at Central! What a beautiful world we live in, what a beautiful God we have. 

Gracias chicos por paciencia y nos hablamos luego! 

Besos y abrazos! 

Vida diaria

Che, hace un montón de tiempo que hablo con ustdes. Perdóname. Trataré de escribir más pero es dificil porque estoy ocupada cada día.

Pero voy a contarles sobre mis aventuras sin viajes! Mi vida en BUENOS AIRES! Finalmente....

Sorry my english speaking friends! I will just speak spanglish! My brain likes for me to write in Spanish. I have been trying to just stick to Spanish and I think my English is beginning to plummet. Anyways, I have been hanging around Buenos Aires more so I can actually see my beautiful city and the richness it has to offer. Lately I have been busy with un full de tarea y otras cosas pero tal vez estoy disfrutando todo! But let's talk about the weekend! Friday I went out for my friend Annie's birthday! We went to a musical here! Por el amor del Sandro (side note: Sandro was a super popular singer here en El Capital pero se murió dos años pasados) It was so funny and there was a lot of dancing! My favorite! Then we met up with other friends and enjoyed some.....Indian food! We found an Indian Restaurant in a Spanish speaking country. Finally spicy food! It was so good but unfortunately my stomach forgot what spicy food was like and was angry at me... but it was as always enjoyable!

Saturday, I went to the Lujan Zoo with some friends from the program. To be honest with you all, I went to this zoo completely blind, not knowing what it was about only knowing that you could touch the animals. Que raro. So I went and at first having the idea of "Que barbaro" and "Que suerte que haya tocado los animales" but the other half, I began to feel sentiment of the animals being drugged and caged. I mean it was an experience but I don't think I would give my money to do it again. But we saw the Catedral de Lujan and that was just gorgeous. It was a long trip home, 2 hours to be exact, but then Michelle, Katia and I were invited to my friend Juani's house to hang out with some friends. It was so much fun to just hang out with Argentines and not be in a sketchy bar or club. Those are the moments that matter the most. We ended up all hanging out until 7 am! Que loco! And the next day I had to get up for a project.....

Sunday, I had to get up for the Feria de Matederos. My partner and I had to look at the museum and feria and take pictures, observe, question what we thought was new, interesting and different. However, during this search, I found something with more value then a good grade. A new friend.
Her name is Gabriela and she is a folklorico dancer. This old man came up to me and said, you should talk to her. She can teach you the dances. So we talked and then she took me around and told me anything I did not understand, she would explain (she only speaks spanish). It was so great to just meet a complete stranger and feel so welcomed. We exchanged facebooks and numbers and decided to keep in touch..... and we did!

*Updates en mis clases: I am doing well at the moment. Got an 87% on my first test here. I have been working hard to study, but making efforts to see people and enjoy the company of my host family. I have been trying to hang out with my Argentine friends more because I prefer to speak Spanish. They are all so cool. But I do always enjoy the Flacso bunch, they are dear to my heart. I have the best of both worlds. Many great conversations were had this week and I feel extremely blessed to be here.

Friday, Gabriela invited me to her neighborhood (she lives a little outside the city) to dance Folklorico and to meet her friends. I graciously accepted and we took Colectivo 32 hasta Loma de Zoroma. It was a poorer neighborhood, many factory workers live there. Humble living but they all get by and always help each other. It was an interesting transition. The folklorico class was a neighborhood organization that this woman started 20 years ago (gratis) where the kids could have a place to dance and enjoy the time together. They all accepted me as family and told me I was always welcome. After I watched all the children dance, (they were all SO amazing) they asked me to dance for them. So I improved and they kept asking for more! It was incredible! My new friend, Enrique, taught me the three main Folklorico dances: El Gato, Chacarrera, y Samba. It was so much fun. After un full de baile, we ate pizza and had deep profound conversations in SPANISH. Accomplished! It was one my favorite nights in Buenos Aires.

Saturday, I woke up with an urge to eat tacos. I don't know why, but just had this urge. So I got a group together and we found and ate some delicious tacos en Palermo! It was glorious! After Cheri kindly invited me to la Feria de Libros para recorrer un poco y despues mirar un espectaculo de danza contemporania de su amigo! It was a great time. So relaxed but very cold! The weather has dropped a bunch and it has been very chilly lately. Unfortunately I forgot some warmer clothes at home so we all know where this is going to lead......

Sunday, Cheri and I finally found ONDA VAGA, a band Cheri heard about from her friend from Maine who was born in Argentina. It was a fun concert and free!!! But I had a birthday party to go to later, did not pay attention to my time, got stuck in SO MUCH TRAFFIC and they had to leave with out me. I was really upset at first because I really wanted to go but I understand why they couldn't wait. I also should have been watching my time a lot better. Oh well that is life.

Today I am a bit sick with a sore throat and cold. Por eso, estoy descansando en mi cama y quizas hago tarea...... quizas.....


Bueno Chicos, nos hablamos luego!

Disfruta la vida!

Besitos!

Isla de Pascua y Sube

Che, escúchame. Tengo cuentos de mis vacaciones. Empezaré con Isla de Pascua!

As you all have heard (or are just learning) My uncle and aunt from New York came down to Buenos Aires to hang out and take me to EASTER ISLAND!!!!!!!! Increíble! But first they came to Buenos Aires, so I gave them a tour of parts they haven't seen (they have been before... but four years ago) They were also invited to dinner with my family (host family) pues traducé todo! It was fun to have them with me in Buenos Aires. Usually, I only see them once a year or sometimes every other year. It hard when I live in Chicago with my family and they live in Upstate. It was nice to talk to them about my family (on my dad's side) cause my dad rarely tells me about his family. I learned so much in one week then I did in 21 years of my life. It was nice because Monday fue un día feriado por Argentina. It was a remembrance day for the Malvinas. The Malvinas is a very sensitive topic in Buenos Aires. If you don't know what you are talking about, don't bother contributing en un conversacion con los porteños. (Las Malvinas= Faukland Islands) As you many know, England owns them know and Argentina is not pleased. They want them back, las Malvinas son Argentinas! They had a war 30 years ago para obtener las malvinas pero la Ingletera ganó. Esta guerra es como la guerra de Vietnam en los Estados Unidos. We all know how people about that in the States.

Anyways, my Uncle and Aunt came over again on Monday and shared Maté with my family again and it was amazing to have two different dynamics in the house.

The next day, I went to my grammar review then off to Chile with the family. We flew from BsAs to Santiago first to spend the night and make the trek to Isla de Pascua the next day (if you don't know, Isla de Pascua is 5 hours from Santiago, and since we didn't want to miss the any connections, spending the night was the easiest). We stayed in the Hyatt in Santiago and let me tell you, this was the first time I have stayed in a beautiful, expensive hotel with my own room.. I was in complete shock... Just amazing... Porque estuvimos en Chile, cenamos en un restaurante de pescado (porque no hay restaurantes para pescado super en BsAs) After that dinner, I thought I died and went to fish heaven. Such good salmon!

We woke up early the next day and we were off to Isla de Pascua. First in our car to the airport, my Aunt had me ask the driver to take us through Santiago so I could see the city for a bit (my first time in Santiago). One BIG notice, it is much CLEANER then BsAs. Un mónton! But then again very similar. When talking to the man, he thought it was rare to hear a North American speak spanish with in Argentine spanish. He was impressed, but still gave me a hard time for not studying in Chile... sorry man, Argentina won my heart.

But can I just say that Isla de Pascua is a close tie to Buenos Aires. I AM IN LOVE!!!!!!! Such a gorgeous island! With 5,000 people (a little more than Hope College's campus) and 6,000 Horses!!!! Que raro!!! So much beauty, cleanliness and MOIS *those heads out of stone everyone associates with the island. I think I was meant to be an islander. However, everyday on the island we hiked (LOVE LOVE LOVE) saw beautiful naturaleza, learned so much about their culture and got to know cool people. Mis tios y yo befriended the waiters, guides and other workers in the hotel (just taking interest, learning names and para mi, hablé en español con ellos) They became my friends and invited me out with them to their only club on the island (I will get to that later). Our guide, Roberto, was the coolest. He loved to tell stories about this grandfather (his grandfather was the mayor!) and practicing his English. His English was very broken but getting better! I spoke with him in Spanish and helped him with any doubts he had for the language. Re bien! I just realized from this trip how much I love being outdoors with no care in the world. If I could move right now and teach English to the natives with perfecting my Spanish and learning Rapa Nui (the indigenous language) I would in a heartbeat! We were so busy all the time. On our last day after a 5 hour hike, we went on a boat in the ocean to see a smaller piece of the island. When we were in the middle of the ocean the guide and I jumped in and swam around.... so refreshing! Later that night was a dance show called Kari Kari that we went to! It was so fun kinda of like a Hawaaiin feel! When they called people to dance with them, my uncle and I were chosen with various others and danced with them. Sorry guys that is not on tape. After I went out with the workers and had a lovely time hanging out with them!

However, I didn't go to sleep and had to be at the airport at 6 am con mis tios.... I fell asleep in every location... but made it back safely and made my connection with only an hour in between! But when I got to Buenos Aires and took a cab, the high way se cortado (cut off) because there was a storm on Wednesday and it was bad.. a lot of damage which meant no lights on the highway. Meaning we took the long way home but he did not charge my more (it was a flat fee). Bendiga a dios! Happy Easter to me! It was an exhausting trip but I had a lovely dinner with Hernán and Mariana (my host mom) and fell straight asleep.

When I mentioned Sube the in beginning, it is because I FINALLY obtained my sube card! It has been 7 weeks and I finally did it! No more buying single tickets or scrounging for monedas! FOR THE WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It has been super nice to only use the card!!


Bueno, voy a escribir más luego.

Besos!!!

Chau!

Una Cancha, Baile, y una Marcha

Amigos!
Es tiempo para hablar sobre Argentina! Hay muchas cosas para hablar sobre. Empiezo con lunes....

Lunes (Monday): I trekked all the way to class and my profe did no show up. We all waited for an hour. She ended up telling us today that she was at a Roger Waters concert and was up super late and did not hear her alarm (side note: Roger Waters is really popular here. They love him) Todo bien porque yo pasé tiempo con mi nueva amiga Celeste. She is so kind and I am so thankful for her help! We bought some food together and talked a bit. Ella es divina. I went to my next class (Tango theory and dance) and we danced the whole time! It was lovely. However, it hailed that day and when I went to do some homework at a coffee shop I got pelted. Rude.

Martes nada importante pasó....

Miercoles (Wednesday): I had more class as usual but Cheri, Clay and I attempted to take a Tango class but ended up walking-in the middle of their class. We ditched that quickly. We then decided dinner would be the right choice (Hamburgesas! They taste better here!) We then decided to take a Tango class at Catedral ( a Milonga cerca de mi casa) and practiced our moves. It was a successful night!

Jueves (Thursday): It was visa parte 2 day! We had to travel out to Retiro where we waited in Migraciones and finally received our student visas. This process was not as bad as the first. After I returned to class and returned home to rest for the fútbol game. I was invited by Cheri and Clay because their host parents (who are in a relationship) go a lot! We met at the trabajo de Vale (Máma de Cheri) and drove in Marcelo's car. This game was amazing. We won first of all. And also the people had so much passion. There was so much energy, drumming and malas palabras... I learned them all that night. People have so much passion here and it is contagious. I enjoy it so much. It was chaotic the whole time!
We returned to la casa de Cheri and celebrated with a dinner of pizza! The pizza here is so fresh and is eaten with Fina (like the bread of the pizza with oil and seasoning put on top of a slice like a sandwich) So good. So filling.

Viernes (Friday): Another busy day. I tried to get things done but things just were not working out! I tried to get my tarjeta de sube ( I have been trying for weeks) and two places did not have it.... it is because of problems with the government as my host mom says. I will keep trying! No te preocupes! Also I witnessed a woman get robbed the street next to mine... she was yelling and three workers chased after the guy.... I decided to leave the premise asap! Life is crazy! Then I was invited to a Tambore event at the museum for the Desparecidos (if you don't know much about Argentina History, this was a huge event that happen. 30,000 went missing due to the Goverment "Guerra Sucia" (Dirty War). ) It was beautiful and full of emotions. Clay, Cheri and I decided to eat a dinner full of queso (mucho.queso.) Then we decided to Salsa dance after (just Cheri and I) with some other friends. It was great! I hope to go back again!

Sabado (Saturday): Some friends and I went to the Marcha para los Desparecidos. It began with us exploring the Casa Rosada! Beautiful. Then dancing in the streets with the Tambores (where my camera was dropped but I am getting it fixed soon ASAP). After we found the FLACSO group and marched a little with the people. It was so packed with passion and emotions. I loved every minute of it. I am just amazed with the people here. Unfortunately I left after a while because of major back pain (probably from the hard floors in the dance studio). I am better now and rested.

Domingo (Sunday): Fue muy tranquila. I did homework with Annie in a cafe and tried out a church with Ben. It was lovely but there is another church I want to try out. We will see how it goes. I really want a good church community here. We will see what I find.


Todo ahora. Mucha más en el futuro.

Disfruta la vida chicos!

Chau!

URUGUAY

Amigos!!!
It has been a while! What a crazy beautiful life.
So my week was great, but weekend was better. Voy a explicar!
Primero: If you all didn't know I began classes at IUNA Movimiento for dance class (Modern Technique III) It is at 8 am Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays......... great planning on my part.........
However, I LOVE this class with all of my heart! I have been enjoying dancing so much and I have been making some porteña dancer friends! They are so nice to me and we have reached the "kiss on the cheek and talk about our week" friendship! Hooray! Me caen bien :) Classes at FLACSO are going well. Must do my work and learn as much as possible from the people around me.

Now to the real adventure, I want to tell you about URUGUAY.
My new friend from the FLACSO, Annelise, and I decided we were going to Uruguay. We booked our tickets and hostels and that was it. No research, no questions, nada. Just going. We met up friday morning after my dance class and headed for Buquebus, the ferry we would use to take to Colonia de Sacremento, Uruguay. When we arrived after a 50 minute ferry ride, we entered the station realizing........ we had no plan or map. Scrambling to find an atm, we withdrew 200 pesos uruguayan (realizing soon after that equaled $10 dollars American...... not the same as in Argentina) We walked next store to the bus station to buy our ticket to our hostel which luckily only cost 87 pesos Uruguayan (and they also accepted debit cards!). We walked down the street, found a map of Colonia and went into the old town. We explored around, took pictures ate some delicious food and had a lovely conversation with two Irish girls sitting at a restaurant who asked us for sun screen because their noses were burning. They told us how they were traveling for several months all around South America for vacation! What a lovely vacation! They spoke no spanish but had cute little phrase books to ATTEMPT to talk to locals. We kept exploring and found a cute restaurant to have a glass of wine to kill some time before our bus left. We ended up talking to two men from Belgium who were working in Uruguay to build a new port. We talked about issues in the world, America and Europe. They questioned us about our ways and we questioned them about theirs. They offered to buy us drinks and accepted water from them (since you have to pay for water in South America). In the end, we didn't realize how much time passed and had to run to the bus station. We tried to get money from the ATM and of course, it was out of order, the only ATM around. We had already paid for our ticket and we were off to Colonia Suiza, the country side. It was 8 pm at night and we could not see anything. Only trusting that our bus driver would stop at the right stop to drop us off. He did. No worries friends. We were picked up by Monica, the owner of the hostel, and driven to hostel in the country side. It was lovely. She made us cheese fondue for dinner (fresh cheese from the farm next to the hostel) and we DEVOURED it. We also enjoyed a lovely conversation with another Belgium couple who were doing a Around the world trip. They started in India and  were moving to the East hitting so many cool places. It is a year long trip! How cool is that! Only $4000 for 10 plane tickets! We slept soundly in our room and the next day explored the country side. So many vacas (cows). I tried to speak "cow" to them (like dory) which ended up them getting mad and trying to chase us...... Never doing that again. Great conversation, great scenery. We came back to enjoy a lovely lunch of pescado con arroz tortilla. Best.Meal.Ever. (besides the fondue). We talked to the owners in Spanish about Uruguay, Argentina, our program and of course, the United States. She called a bus for us but guess what..... you need Pesos Uruguayan to pay for it....... we had only $5 worth. We tried to reason with the bus driver by paying in Argentine pesos or having me stay with them while Annelise went to the ATM... no go. Luckily we found this out before getting on the bus because if not, we would have been dropped off in the middle of nowhere. Monica was SO kind and drove us into town to an ATM that worked (we had to go to two) and showed us the bus station so we could wait. We had two hours to kill (or so we thought) and drank some wine in a cheap restaurant and shared dark chocolate. However, when we went back into the store to buy more chocolate, the woman asked us why we were still here... we missed our bus again...... no worries. She exchanged our ticket for FREE and we got on the next bus at 7:30 pm...... we were supposed to leave by 3.........


We FINALLY arrived in Montevideo, we checked into our hostel, met some Brazilians and decided to head to an Irish pub because it was St. Patricks day. Miguel and Monica gave us a recommendation, so we went. Well it was not an Irish pub, it was American and we drank German beer...... not very Irish. But the bartender gave us the drinks as a present (he had a little crush) and we talked to this gay couple in the bar for 2 hours. They were trying to help the bar tender (Ivan, both were named Ivan) hit on us... they tried. We returned to our hostel at 2 am and decided to go to bed. Of course, I could not sleep. So I talked to a Brazilian who was in our hostel room named Marcio. He spoke Portuguese and Spanish but no English which was great! We talked in Spanish for two hours under the stars. It was a wonderful evening. They next day, Annelise and I found the beach (5 minutes from our hostel) and soaked up the sun! It was so nice to relax. We also explored Ciudad Vieja and shopped around at the ferrias. Montevideo is so calm, so peaceful and heavily armed with police..... unlike Buenos Aires. It was nice to walk around and not be bumped into or stared at. It was a lovely break from the intense city. Unfortunately we had to head back due to classes on Monday but we both agreed we would go back and explore more again! Three days was NOT long enough and we traveled most of the time!


We made it back safe and sound!


More stories to come!

Stay tuned!

Hasta luego!


Chau

Baile Baile Baile!

Ay di mi! Un gran fin de semana! 

But first let me tell you about my week: 

I registered for a dance class at IUNA (the arts conservatory) I am taking a modern dance class three times a week! Lucky me! Classes at FLACSO are really nice. The professors are cool, the language is getting easier to understand, and the subject matter intrigues me. This is such a perfect fit. The traveling to get to class part is different but I am getting more confident day by day. The trick really is when using public transportation is don't make yourself stand out. For example: speaking English. If you want to get mugged, speak loudly and obnoxiously in English. Also, don't loose track of your things (purses, backpacks). Unfortunately not everywhere is like Holland, MI where everyone wants to help you out. Here it is watch yourself or get mugged. I am not trying to say that BA is super dangerous and one should lock their doors and never leave, but I am saying be smart. 

So to the fun part, us FLACITOS had a day trip to Tigre (a province outside the city) for a day trip with our wonderful staff. It was such a great break from the city. We took a boat en el Rio to a resort like are with a restaurant and a pileta (pool). We spent the day swimming, tanning (burning), drinking maté and eating carne en la parilla (barbeque really popular en Argentina). It was lovely. They really know how to relax. No rush, just enjoying time spent together. I have also come to the realization that I love not using my cellphone. It has been wonderful having conversations face to face. Really getting to know the person and not hiding behind a device. Taking the time to enjoy life's gifts and God's creation of the human he created as image of himself. Perfecto! 

Despues, I quickly got ready for a Tango show that Cheri's host mom and Clay's host dad (they are in a relationship...... the parents) were dancing in. They were divine! Just beautiful movement that enticed the audience. The voices here are so pure, the music so real. Nothing like auto-tune or special effects. Just raw and pure art. We need more of that in the States. Real talent. Raw talent. After we all decided to eat dinner outside at a restaurant en San Telmo at 11:30 at night. That is how the world works here. Dinner is late and a grand occasion. The waiter never asks if you want the bill and they never hurry you. You have to ask for it and you can spend as much time as you want there. We drank wine (don't worry amigos, I am 21) and shared pizza. So relaxing. We were given free admittance to a dance club in San Telmo called ReyCastro (I know....... what a name......) At first it was 70s wedding music and we danced like goofy Americans but later it turned into REGGATONE Salsa!!!! Now earlier, I was ordering a drink and was talked to by a Porteño. We conversed in Spanish for a bit until I reunited with my friends. All of sudden, when the Reggatone began, I was whirled around and began to Salsa with my new friend. I picked up quickly and he was said he was impressed that I could move like a Latina (AHHHHHHHHHHHH YESSSSSSSS). 

The next day, Clay and I walked around Parque Centario (close to our houses) and scoped out some Ferrias in search of maté. We later shared some maté and got helado at my secret lovers heladeria. (BTW I have an admirer there. Every day when I walk pass, he waves or says "Hola" we have a friendship or in his case a crush). That night was the Tamborela show which is all drums and played by ALL WOMEN! GO GIRLS! It was the best music show I have ever been too! So raw, and modern dance was done to a few numbers! So much purity in their voices and music! The end became a giant dance party in the plaza where we were watching. We were pulled out into the plaza and danced the "Carnival" baile y ritmo con porteños! What an amazing concert. Nothing can compare. Nothing. You could feel so much passion. It was in their souls, it was running in their blood. I could feel emotions emerging from body and the music took me away. Around 12 (midnight) we ate dinner in the plaza of San Telmo and after tried to venture to Palermo. Those darn collectivos. But we made it and were hit with tiredness. What a long day. I ended up getting home at 5 am. YIKES. 

So next weekend, some friends and I have booked a trip to URUGUAY for the weekend after classes to explore Colonia and Montevideo. I was told it is GORGEOUS there and I am ready for another adventure. 

God is good, and I thank him everyday that I can feel so alive. 

Vamos a hablar luego... Necesito hacer mi tarea. 

Chau amigos! 

Una Huelga, Collectivos,No luces, Tango y Recoleta!

Okay so I have had a crazy few days... I don't even know where to begin....

1. Una Huelga- this means "strike" in Spanish. This is important to know because the subtes ( my best friend when it comes to transportation) were shut down because the conductors went on strike because they wanted more police and other reasons. Of course this would happen on Visa day where we all had to make it downtown to start our student visa process... I watched the news with my host mom and I have to admit they have a legit reason to be angry but of course that means I must rely on the collectivos... mierda.

2. Collectivos- buses of BA. Difficult at first to figure out because they have a route going one way and another in a complete different direction. You also must know what parada (stop)  you need and what street. Well la parada we needed was right in front of my house... but at first I gave the wrong address to two of my friends (sorry guys) but the others found it and we waited. Six collectivos went by COMPLETELY FULL. People tried to squeeze in or knock on la puerta de los collectivos but were unsuccessful. We met up with two other FLACSO students and looked for another parada. We found one and finally got on a bus... mind you our time to be there was supposed to be 9:30 am but we didn't get on the bus til 9:15 and we were waiting since 8:30 am.... We were on the bus for an hour and half because of the traffic and finally walked the rest of the way. That of course was the day I decided to wear a dress and my heel shoes to look more Porteña...... never again. We finally made it but they didn't mind because they knew nothing could be done about the la huelga de subtes. We went through our VISA process, ate lunch, and walked back to FLACSO. We walked by a huge protest at the Capital and heard the president (a woman president! Yay progressive Buenos Aires!) We could not participate because it means getting kicked out of the program (two students did that in the past and got arrested!) We were all so exhaused! I slept for 2 hours after that. It was a long day! However, it just kept going....

3. No luces. What happened hear you ask? Well lets just say, my adaptor sucks, my adaptor sucks, my adaptor sucks. I took a shower and was attempting to blow dry my hair (I usually air dry but this time was a big deal, we were going to a Milonga tonight and I wanted to look nice!) But my hairdryer caused a fuse to blow and we had no power for a few hours.... I apologized profusely saying "Lo siento, es mi culpa! Me siento muy mal!" but they were so kind and said it wasn't my fault and that the girl before did the same thing! A outlet in my room near my desk is super sensitive and hair dryers from the states are WAY to strong. We ate a romantice candlelight dinner (hardy har har) and I was off to Tango!

4. FLACSO sponsored a event to go to a Milonga for some Tango dancing. We shared some wine and watched some professionals before taking our own beginner class! Thanks to the group Tami Tango Trio that came to Hope, I felt very confident dancing and was asked to dance by 4 porteños! SUCCESSFUL! I am in love with Tango and wish to take more classes! We all decided to have a true Porteño night and go out for a while before returning home. Yeah you know, a typical Thursday in my life.

*I finished part one of my VISA process and to celebrate we were treated to a giant pizza feast thanks to FLACSO! So much goodness in one day!

5. So Saturday I went to Recoleta! A beautiful barrio, lots of tourism, and we visited the cementario where EVITA is buried! How cool is that! So much wonderful culture! We had a cheap but filling lunch on a side street with less tourists and they sun tanned in the park! We later walked around looking at the ferias (small shops) and enjoyed some cafe con leche before returning back! So much Spanish spoken, so much bliss. I returned home to find out we were having company for dinner and quickly changed. We had three of Maria Ana's friends over and Hernán's girlfriend, Romi, who is my good friend too! We enjoyed a three course meal of meat and crackers, Pizza with fina (a pizza without sauce or cheese that you put on top of your pizza, like a sandwich) and helado and cafe! Very fun! They left around 2 am and I helped Maria Ana clean up before going to bed.

Today, I went to church with Cheri and her friend Stephen who moved back and forth from the Maine to BA and it was just lovely. So much goodness. I met up with Annie after for some lunch at a cafe that was so delicious (I am still full) and then met up with Melissa and Cheri to tan on my terraza (roof) It was so delightful! Life here is so calm, one step at a time. Take time to wait and enjoy. Spanish is coming along! PRACTICA PRACTICA PRACTICA!


Hasta luego chicos!

Chau!!

Creo que este enomorada.

Hola Amigos!

So sorry this is so late. Let me tell you, I being a genius forgot to get the right adaptor for my charger and was out of a charger for 2 days!! My life. But I will tell you about that in a minute.

1. My birthday went well! I had to take an oral exam for spanish and then we went on a walking tour in San Martin. It is completely beautiful with exquisite architecture and parks! I learned a new type of flor and fauna! Palo Borracho. Palo meaning stick, Borracho meaning drunk. Translation: Drunk stick.... yep........ But we walked a TON! and then some new friends and I decided to explore ourselves and ate at a little cafe! We managed to find the right subte and got home in one piece. *Subte is like the the L in Chicago or Subway in New York. Collectivos are buses!* Then my host family invited people over and we had a huge dinner with a cake where they sang in Spanish and English! Also they gave my presents! Romi, the girlfriend of my host brother, gave my perfume and my host family gave me a jewelry box! They are wonderful. After some friends and I went to Club Sugar in Palermo to celebrate! I bought my birthday drink, Rum and Coke. I got home around 3 am, fiddling with the door and my host brother was up and helped me lock the door.

2. Sunday was crazy. My host mom and I ran around BA to not find what I was looking for.  SO I decided to use a internet cafe... well technology is behind here and guess what, I missed messages of where people were meeting and got a little lost around Avenida Callao. No worries I knew how to get back. I hung out with my host family and their friends. Hernán and I watched TV where I attempted to make a joke and failed................ BUT I shared Maté with them :)

3. Monday was un día feriado (holiday) and guess what? my charger... across the street... at a hardware store... super cheap......... my life. My friends and I went to San Telmo that day and explored the market. It was wonderful. we shopped around, watched a tango performance and ate at a cafe in the area. It was a splendid day. We also took Cheri to get her phone and had some great laughs! My host mom cooks a lot and feeds me a lot! It is wonderful.

4. Tuesday we just became overwhelmed with information about the school system and the classes...... THEY ALL LOOK SO INTERESTING! I am planning taking spanish and other electives at Flacso and a dance class at IUNA. Love love love. After our overwhelming lectures, Cheri showed me her house and cat! It was wonderful spending time with a wonderful lady! We shared bread and walked around! I came back my apartment and ate with my family!

5. Today, I went shopping with Romi after orientation. SHE IS THE BEST! We have inside jokes now and she bought me lunch! :) She loves the phrase "Passion, what's up boys with my sexy friend" in English! HAHAHAHA I just love the people here!



I am so blessed to be here and learning so much!
My spanish is growing and it can only go up from here!


More updates to come!!


Chau chau!

Primer día en Argentina!!!!

Hola  amigos!!!!

I am officially IN LOVE with Argentina!! Una ciudad fantasitca!!! So you are probably wondering how was my trip? Let me tell you now......

I left my home around 10 am with my mom and grandma (and kingston came too!!) We arrived at Midway and I had to pay $75 for my bag because my suitcase was 65lbs!!!! Que horrible!!! My bag was named "heavy". How embarrassing!!! After I went through security and ate at Potbellies where a worker asked to exchange numbers.... I kindly told him I will be out of the country.... which is true!!! I had a flight full of turbulance to Atlanta and awaited my new flight to BA. I met up with Cheri and a new friend also named Melissa who was traveling to BA too for CIEE! I sat next to man who was Argentine (porteño) and he spoke to me like I was legit! He helped my with my heavy backpack, let me use his headphones when I shamefully sat and broke mine.... and when we were sleeping, he kept curling up by me... how adorable. haha. I made it through customs alright and also met a wonderful new friend named Addie from New York City/Bronx. We met up with the staff from CIEE where we were greeted with a kiss on the cheek (un beso!) It was so wonderful to see the city and the FRESH AIR! We stayed in Hotel Lyon off of Riobamba the first night. The doors are difficult to open but the room were beautiful! No screens on the windows! Love! We had a long day! But I got to explore the city with Cheri, Melissa and Addie as we bought fruit from a Mercado and sat in a park enjoying the sun! (it is summer here and very warm!!) There was a protest in the street! (they were protesting wages) and we got a little lost finding out hotel... but a nice woman in a hardware shop helped us! Argentina is loud and full of life (my kind of city!) We ate dinner at a restaurant near the hotel and I experience Argentine beef... THE FOOD IS AMAZING HERE!!! No joke! It was a long day. Today was filled with Orientation, Empanadas and meeting my host family! I love my host family! Mi máma is amazing at life! Cooking, being awesome, everything. My host sibling are awesome, talking to me, hanging with me. So cool. They say I speak very well but of course I am still self conscience, a little. Time will tell! I love speaking so much spanish! It was hard to think back in English to write this (this must be a good sign!!)


Also I forgot my two prong plug for my computer so I need to find another converter or else I am screwed....



Well I must go!

Hasta luego chicos!!


Pictures to come!!!


Chau!!

The countdown and the greeting

Friends (Amigos)

Time in the states is running low. I have 3 more days left of waiting. My international traveling will commence and I will embrace every moment of it with open arms. I am anticipating all the new culture to be explored and the people observe. How this journey has taken me from the day I decided I was going to apply to CIEE Buenos Aires. The packing continues and I have officially decided to buy my host family some Frango Mints (Chicago trademark) and the lovely card game of UNO! Something for them to bond with me as I desperately try to explain myself and the game!

Now my host family, I was lucky to receive an email from them on Friday!!! It was the coolest feeling I have ever felt! I was so excited that I quickly read it through like 5 times!!! I am lucky to be living in Buenos Aires with my new host mom and two older siblings (and a dog!!!!) She described the house, my room, the area around it and how excited they were to get to know me! I am always in denial when I hear that. They want to get to know me? Really? Where do I even begin!!?? They seem amazing on paper and I am so thrilled to meet them on Feb 24th! The things we will talk about and the places I will see with them by my side. Maybe so, maybe not. But I will only hope for the best!

This weekend, my family celebrated my birthday early ( I turn 21 while abroad, like 2 days in. My birthday is the 25th). It was fun to see friends and family! They were so gracious and kind. My brother and his lovely girlfriend bought me this flip camera which is small and compact so I can film some of my adventures! They are too good to me! I also received a journal and luggage tags from uncle and aunt and money from the rest of the fam. They are too good to me. Thank you all!


I am thrilled to being so close to departure and now it is 72 hours until my Spanish soul takes ahold of me.

Above is a recent picture of my loving American family. They will be missed.

Until next time,

Chau!

Packing, Preparing, and Praying

Countdown is now up to 8 days!

I can not believe how fast time is going. My reality is being thrown upside down. I am about to leave the country for the first time on my own. I am in pure shock. Lately, I have been coming to terms that I need to stop procrastinating and start packing! So much has been going on it is quite overwhelming.

I checked off the bank on my last to-do list! I warned them of excursions down south and applied for my very first credit card! I am still awaiting the arrival, I hope it gets here on time! I attempted to be ambitious and order pesos from my bank. Unfortunately, I got Mexican pesos instead of Argentine pesos.... drat. Now I must resort to doing currency exchange at the Atlanta airport ( I have a three hour lay-over anyways, why not do something). That was that.

Next, I began to pack. It is so hard to decide what clothes to bring. I was a complete dork and tried on most of the clothes that I was iffy about to see if I would wear it in Argentina. That was interesting, I think I changed my outfit like 7 times... that is a new record! I have been using the rolling method of packing by rolling all of my clothes super tight and stuffing them together... so much more room for other stuff.... Oh boy. Packing is always the toughest for me. I get distracted all the time because I want to leave it until I absolutely have too. Not this time!

I finally got walking shoes for Argentina. I made a journey to Oakbrook's REI and bought REAL shoes that will LAST. I bought my first pair of Merrels! They are heaven on my feet! Also I bought my first pair of Chaco sandals. They are my favorite pair of sandals. So much arch support and perfect for the amount of walking that is ahead of me. I think my favorite purchase of the day was the "Bra Money Pouch". It is this silk pocket like thing, perfect size for ids and cash and it fits right into your bra! No one would even dare to look there! Genius! My new form of money transportation! Plus, I would DEFINITELY notice if someone tried pick-bra (pocket) me. For real, no one could miss that! Best invention ever!

I have been reading and refreshing my spanish lately. I still can't wrap my head around all the Spanish I will be exposed to when I arrive there. We had an online orientation through a live chat conference call where a coordinator from CIEE talked to us and showed us a powerpoint of important things we need to know. It was refreshing to hear some Spanish and hear the accent. I just hope I can show them my competence in Spanish... Espero que si.

Lately, I have been praying for communities. Argentina community, CIEE community, Hope community, Naperville community. I believe that when we band together and make this bond of community, we can get through anything.  What keeps a community together you may ask? Love. If we all pitched in and loved one another; I think we could take on the whole world.

Quiero amar, Quiero esperar. Quiero soñar.


The days are passing quickly. Must cherish all of this time I have with the community that raised me.


"I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul."


Chau!

Almost there!

Tomorrow, February 7th, will be the two week mark until departure. That is 16 days from now. Oh the excitement is luring through my body! I just want to be there! I want to learn, travel, and meet new people. Everyone has been telling me "This will be a great opportunity in your life", "I am so excited for you, you wil have a great time"

Yes, I hope so. However, I am currently in the "waiting stage" and it doesn't seem real. Today I received an insurance card from CIEE (yay for being insured!) so I guess that is a step towards reality. I still have bunches to do:

1. Warn my bank so they are not bamboozled by the notion of money being withdrawn in a different continent.
2. Get my computer checked so the kinks are smoothed out.... I would prefer not to have my computer crash and be overwhelemed by language change.
3. WALKING SHOES... right now they do not exist. Any ideas of what kind would be great? help?
4. Packing..... My normal proto call would be to start packing at 11 pm but not for this trip. Usually I always forget one thing... not this time!!
5. Necesito practicar Español.


There is probably more.....

About two weekends ago, I was priviliged to have some time in Holland, MI to spend time with some great friends! But before I go on to tell how wonderful they are, let me tell you about the ride up there. I took the amtrak to Holland to avoid any unwanted snow and accidents in my car. Fun fact, you meet some interesting people on the train..... For starters, I was sitting in the amtrak lobby waiting for train 377 to Grand Rapids (Holland is a stop on this route) when an elderly couple were looking for two seats by each other (cute!). There was an open seat on either side of me so I offered to move over one so they could be together. I got the choir of "bless your heart", "How kind of you " but then I got a weird comment from the elderly man.... "You must be a democrat" Really? That is the comment you come up with? "You must be a democrat" Taken off guard I responded with a polite "I beg your pardon?" His wife elbows me and says "That is his way of saying you must be a nice person". Interesting.. I really do not have a favored side. I have agreements and disagreements with both sides but I just smiled and said "You are too kind, thanks". However, when I moved over I then was sitting next to a returning solider who seemed friendly from the start (just a year older than I) but then started talking of the war.....uh oh... I decided to keep my mouth shut that I was a pacifist and I would rather "hug it out" then "blow 'em up". He began telling me this sadistic stories and laughing about it. I feel for him because he has seen such violence at a young age but at the same time my mind is saying "holy smokes he is insane". I tried to shut that voice out and pray for his soul. It was just ironic that he would talk about the war in that light and I was reading Shane Claibornes "The Irresitable Revolution" which is all about love and finding this war terrible for the families in the USA and the families in the Middle East. Thankfully, I got on my train and had a wonderful conversation with this elderly man who told me that his wife was an Art professor at Hope and he knew the whole dance department! Crazy, how you meet these people. We talked for two hours before he had to get off at the St. Joe stop. God works in mysterious ways.

My friends were so sweet and welcoming. So much love at the beautiful Hope College. It was weird feeling like a visitor at a place where I have called home for 5 semesters. It was weird to not be on meal plan or have my cupboard of food when spending money did not seem appealing. Also having my id work no where, not knowing the new code to "the cabin" and not having homework or studying to do. That will change when my friends are off for the summer and I am studying still (but to be honest, my whole study abroad is like a 5 month vacation anyways).

I am so thankful for the beautiful people in Holland, Naperville and of course Chicago.


Two weeks. 18 days. 432 hours. 25,920 minutes. (But really whose counting)

Chau

Restless soul

Friends-

This has been a difficult time.

A weird waiting period.

I long for Argentina. To explore, to learn, to be free.

However, I crave Hope College. The community of friendly familiar faces, the warmth of LJ's fair trade coffee, the love of Smith Cottage.

Don't get me wrong, Home is always where the heart is. Yet sometimes I feel stuck, I yearn for adventure that is no where in sight.

Lately, I have been researching certain customs in Argentina (just so I don't insult anyone TOO badly)

Note to self: Don't point with your index finger, yawning in public without covering one's mouth is OUT of the question, putting my hands on my hips will not win anyone over and I must hold myself back from finishing all of my food, because it is polite to leave a small bit of food on one's plate.

So much to learn!

I believe the countdown is now at 34 days!!! It is drawing near!

I have bought my ticket (as you might already know) With my journey going from Chicago->Atlanta->Buenos Aires = 15 hours of travel.

Hefty travel. Worth is you may ask? I say yes!


Now it is time to round up the troops (by troops I mean supplies!)

If any of you have any suggestions on items for my ONE suitcase and ONE backpack.... it would be much appreciated!

Oh the anticipation!!!

Lastly, I have found my book of Spanish sayings and phrases!!!

Here is one:

"Cuando mi voz calle con la muerte, mi corazón te seguirá hablando" - Rabindranth Tagore

Anyone like to translate that? ;)

Chau!