Thank god tomorrow is Friday

I have a Spanish test tomorrow, so obviously I have chosen to write a post than review grammar and prepare for the oral section of it. I actually had kind of a crappy day- Spanish class was frustrating because none of us understood an article we had to read for class and I was tired/crabby all morning. After Spanish, I wanted to buy a salad for lunch. Everyone else in Buenos Aires was also on lunch break too; I went into three stores and didn't buy anything because the line was too long. Then I had one of those classic "the subway closes right when you get to the door" moments. It was just one thing after the other! I finally found some tasty pasta, so that did take care of part of my crabbiness. Oh, and my computer cord no longer works. It doesn't charge my computer anymore, so I'll have to pay a little visit to the Apple store this weekend. Oy! Besides today, I have had a great week, so I will fill you all in on that:

On Monday, we went to Monte Chingolo, a community outside of Buenos Aires. The place offers classes and programs for children as well as young adults who have kids of their own. It was really interesting to visit- it is in a poor area and most of the kids never make it to high school. We spent the day there and some of the kids in my group helped paint a mural and others played games with the kids. I opted for the playing- and I got to play soccer! Before I came to Argentina, that was one of my goals, to play soccer, so now I can successfully check that off my endless list of what I want to do here. A few girls and I played with some of the boys there and they were fun, although, they definitely don't see too many female soccer players that often. I also played with some little kids and just had a really fun time. Tuesday, which I know call "empanada day" (we have empanadas every Tuesday because we have class all day and our lunch break is short), was pretty uneventful- lots of class, caught up on some homework, and bought a fresh alfajor. And this wasn't just any ordinary alfajor- it had heaps of dulce de leche inside (much more than usual), AMAZING.

A picture of the mural we painted at Monte Chingolo

Wednesday was el Dia de la Memoria in Argentina; a day that commemorates when the military dictatorship took over the country in 1976. There was a march that started around 2 or 3 and people of all walks of life marched, and by all walks of life, I mean 50,000 children, young adults, and the elderly! It was really cool to participate in; there were a lot of participants with faces of the disappeared with their names on it and another sign that said, "NUNCA MAS," which means, "Never again." There was a huge banner that went on for a mile (at least it seemed like it) with thousands of people's names and pictures of the disappeared on it. I found it interesting that although there were scores of different groups, all of these people were marching together in the same place, together, as a reminder of what their country used to be and how one can still see its effects on the country.

Okay, I should definitely review for Spanish and get to bed at a reasonable hour, so I am going to listen to some Frank Sinatra and study; a little Sinatra can go a long ways...

Muchos besos.

Whew, another week under my belt! I have been busy with class/exploring, so this is going to be a long post. Classes last week went well, I have a paper due on Tuesday to finish up and a lot of Spanish homework.
Last week: On Monday, we showed up to Spanish class at UBA and our teacher was not there. After about 15-20 minutes, she came in and informed us that all of the teachers were on strike! The teachers, already underpaid, were promised a raise and only ended up getting a 4% raise. Monday was also the first for registering for language classes at UBA, so they decided to go on strike. However, even though we take classes at UBA, we are not directly enrolled there, so we will continue to have our classes. Anyway, since our teacher wasn't able to teach that day, we had the opportunity to interview students as well as teachers about the strike. An Argentine student told me that she agreed that the teachers should get a higher raise but she didn't find the strike to be surprising because they happen so frequently in Argentina. I thought that was interesting because back at home, it seems like there is a lot of media coverage when a group goes on strike.

In our History class, we just learned about the Process, or National Reorganization Process (1976-1983), in which the militaristic government attempted to eliminate those against the dictatorship, particularly left-wing revolutionaries and liberals. The government kidnapped, tortured, and killed thousands of their own people in illegal detention centers around the country. On Wednesday, we were split into groups and my group visited Olimpo, a detention center located in Buenos Aires, in the middle of a neighborhood. We watched a video there about the history of the place and were also given a tour. It's hard to believe that the government used that facility during the dictatorship and it was right in the middle of the city, let alone a neighborhood. Olimpo was only open for about 8-9 months and during that time, about 500 people "disappeared." Also, the government destroyed all of the cells and any evidence that it had been a detention center. It was a lot to take in, but I am glad I was able to visit Olimpo because it showed me a different side of Argentina's history and that it literally happened in public space. Below is a map showing detention centers scattered across Argentina. They are all in yellow and this map only shows about half of them.
After visiting Olimpo, I grabbed lunch with some friends at a cafe near our school- all of us were wiped out from the afternoon and starving. I was really in the mood for chorizo, which is an excellent sausage. I ordered "bife de chorizo," as did two other girls. Well. . . when we got our plates, we learned that that "chorizo" and "bife de chorizo" are definitely NOT the same thing. We got a huge slab of steak, which the three of us could have split! It was tasty, but I mean, who wants to eat a whole cow for lunch? Needless to say, I did not want anything to eat for dinner that night. (The picture below is what we ended up getting!)

On Friday, I had a lot of class- three hours of Spanish in the morning and then my history class for two hours (in Spanish). I was drained at the end of the day and some friends wanted to go out later, so I took a nice, two hour nap after school. I think that nap was one of the best decisions I made that week. A friend and I met up with about 8 other kids from our program at a bar and we hung out there for awhile. It was fun and then later, we headed to a boliche (dance club) for the remainder of the night. It was so fun; they played some weird techno music as well as American songs. I was back home and in bed by like 4:30 and my host brother told me that I came home early...I guess I'm an old lady to them!

Funny side story:
Boliche means dance club. Bariloche is a region of Patagonia. I have said countless times, "I want to check out a bariloche!" Oh, and I did say this to one of my host brothers. . . ah! After class last week, a friend came up to me and said, "Abbey, I now know the difference between a 'boliche' and 'Bariloche' " I have never laughed so hard and it was comforting to know that others have mixed up those two words!

On Saturday, I went to Tigre with three friends and one of their host Moms. Tigre is a very touristy town, about 6o minutes north of BA. We took the train, which cost a hefty $1.10 (roughly 30 cents). We walked around town for most of the day, checked out a museum, and also took a boat tour on the river. Tigre kind of reminded me of a very touristy town in Florida- lots of shops, restaurants, and people walking around. It was great to get away from the city and get some fresh air, too. Great weekend! A few pictures from Tigre:

Soccer game!!

First week of class is done! Wow, things are really starting to pick up on this side of the equator. Last week, we started our lectures and Spanish classes, so I am starting to get in the swing of things. Classes are going well- they are pretty interesting and the homework isn't bad. I guess it's just weird doing homework again because I haven't had it for so long. Last week, we watched Juan Jose Capanella's Secreto de sus Ojos which was fabulous! I highly recommend it- it's a wonderful Argentine film adapted from Eduardo Sacheri's book. Basically, the protagonist, Ricardo Darin, becomes obsessed with solving a murder that happened years ago. I don't want to give much away, but it's a combination of a drama+romance+action, which equals amazingness. Plus, it won an Oscar for the "Best Foreign Language Film of the Year."


Good weekend- last Friday, I was so tired from the day that I actually ended up staying in with my host Mom and watched a movie- I know, I know, I am lame, I'm in such a cool city and should stay out until the wee hours of the morning. However, I don't see how I would have lasted! On Saturday, I hung out with my family in the morning and then met up with my friend, Sam. We walked to Palermo Soho from her house, which was about a 15 minute walk. There were so many stores, cafes, and restaurants and it was fun poking around in the shops and looking around. There were some really nice things but after awhile, it was kind of overwhelming with all the people, plus it was pretty warm that day. I got a large purse that I am going to use to put my books and computer in, so that was exciting. Later that night, some girls from my program and I went to a tango club where they teach people how to swing dance and obviously, how to tango. There were tables on the outside for people to sit/talk/eat and a huge dance floor in the middle. It was AWESOME! They call swing dancing "baile rock" but it's pretty much the same. I had a great time and by the time tango dancing came on, I was too tired to learn. It was fun watching other people dance, though- there were some really amazing couples. I think I got home around 1:30 and I ended up getting home before my host parents- I need to stay out LATER!

On Sunday, I slept in, had lunch and hung out with my host brother, and later in the afternoon, I went to a futbol game! Here, futbol (soccer) is a religion. I am definitely in the right country- I am surrounded by people that love soccer. In Buenos Aires alone, there are like 4 main teams and the two main ones are La Boca Juniors and River Plate. We took a bus to the stadium and met up with the rest of the group at a gas station near by. Finding the bus was very easy- there was a huge line of fans dressed in black, red, and white River jerseys, so we knew we were heading in the right direction. The bus ride there was the most interesting bus ride I have ever been on- fans were singing weird songs (I wish I had known them!), banging the windows and stomping their feet, and of course, two guys were yelling profanities out the window. The game was intense, too. People continued screaming their strange chants, clapping, crying, and wooping. I love how much passion they show for the sport and whenever a team scored, the fans went wild. We were cheering for River and they ended up winning 2-1, so that was exciting! In futbol, there are certain etiquette rules. For instance, fans from the opposing side left first and we weren't allowed to leave until the other fans were totally gone! Crazy, futbol fans. After the game, I took the subte home and I was exhausted. I guess that's what running around and screaming profanities in Spanish can do to you.

A few more things:
* I really love riding the subways here. My only complaint is that in the morning, it is extremely crowded and since it has been hot and humid here, the ride is very uncomfortable in the morning. Just when you think there is no possible way more people are going to fit into a car, they shove like 10-15 more people on.
* I have been loving the ice cream- it's such a delicious snack on a hot day. The other day, I had dulce de leche and raspberry ice cream, SO GOOD.
* I feel like I understand what people are saying more than last week.
Time to finish off some reading and homework.

One last thing...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JARED!!! Have a wonderful day!

Small Town Girl in a Big City

Classes have finally started! I am excited to get back into a routine because I haven't really had a set schedule in a LONG time. We just finished our seminar about human rights and social movements and we have a lunch break right now. We are taking this class at a research building in Almagro, which is about ten minutes away from my apartment. Our Spanish class at the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) and we have it four times a week for three hours. The university is located farther away from my place so I have to take the subway. I have have never realized what a small town girl I am; I have gotten so used to being in Duluth and my schedule at the U, so it's kind of weird to adjust to living in the city. I think in a few weeks, I will get more used to it but it is so different from Minnesota. Anyway, my Spanish class has eight people and our professor, Cecilia, seems really cool. She taught us some Argentine slang, the vosotros form (which I have never really learned before), and we did some exercises, too. Yesterday, after class, I ran a few errands and bought some more minutes for my phone. Cell phone plans are different here- you have to buy cards with minutes and the minutes are applied to your phone. Once you run out, you just buy another card.

Every Sunday, my host Mom has her oldest son and his wife over for lunch. She also invited my parents and brother because they were still in Buenos Aires, so they were able to meet my host family! It was so sweet of her and it was really fun. It was also the first time I met their other son, Sebastian, and he and his wife just had a baby in January. His name is Julio and is adorable! My host brothers speak very good English and my host Father speaks a little, so they were able to communicate with my parents. My host Mom does not know English, so the rest of us (minus my parents) were able to translate. It was so weird going back and forth between English and Spanish and after that afternoon, I was tired. All of us had a really wonderful time and I am so glad that my parents were able to meet them!

Mi familia americana/argentina

My host parents also recommended a fair to check out later that day and it was very similar to a flea market. They played some jazz music there and there were a lot of awesome jewelry stands, which I really enjoyed! I bought a pair of earings and a bracelet to add to my collection...

I have been having a great time but lately, I have just been feeling so exhausted from always trying to speak/listen to Spanish. At first, it was kind of frustrating because I felt that I could not understand anything. I tried to make sure my sentences came out correctly and made sense. I feel that I can speak but listening is extremely difficult. The accent is different from what I am used to and it seems like they talk really fast. Now, I have just started to let go and relax when I speak. It has helped so much and I don't care as much when I make mistakes. When I cannot think of a word/phrase, people can usually guess what I am trying to say. Alright, back to some more class...

Here are some pictures from the trip to San Juan/Mendoza and orientation:

Mom and Dad in San Juan

Valle de Luna

Jared and Dad at Valle de Luna


Alysa and Sam during orientation

Estancia- where we stayed during orientation

Hitchhiker, Argentine meat, and an earthquake, OH MY!

I traveled with my parents and Jared since Thursday and I got back to BA on the first. It was bittersweet leaving them but I so far I have been having a great time! We left for Mendoza last Thursday (early afternoon) and upon arrival, picked up our rental car, and drove to San Juan. San Juan is about 2 1/2 hours or so away from Mendoza. We also stopped at a winery (bodega) on the outskirts of San Juan and even got a tour of it. Our tour guide spoke SO fast but she was adorable; she kind of reminded me of an excited dog that has way too much energy. We tried some really good Malbec, Cabernet, and dessert liquor, too. We got dinner around 8sh and since Argentines don't eat until 9-10 p.m, we were some of the first customers there! They prepared the meat in a glassed-in room over a large grill and it was awesome. We tried asado, which is their version of a barbecued meat. I have a feeling I am going to eat the same amount of meat that I have eaten thus far in my life while I'm in Argentina. After that, we headed back to the hotel, which definitely made my top ten "most sketchiest/narstiest hotels list."

Terremoto- The following day, we hung out around San Juan and at night, there was a huge festival in town, so we walked on the main street for awhile. That was definitely one of my favorite experiences- there were a lot of floats and weird costumes and kids spraying this shaving-cream type stuff at each other. Note to self: Don't wear a cute dress when kids spray that stuff at people. Later that night, while I was in bed (I wasn't sleeping very well and was semi-awake around 3:30 am), I felt my bed shaking and thought that I was dreaming or feeling dizzy. However, when I sat up in bed, I realized that the whole bed was moving. I woke up Jared by yelling for him and he told me that it was an earthquake. The whole room was shaking and we could hear stuff in the bathroom rattling around, it was nuts! We both kind of stood in the doorway together until it stopped but it was the strangest feeling I have ever felt. At breakfast the next morning, we saw that there had been a huge earthquake in Chile. I cannot even imagine what it was like there if we could still feel it in San Juan! We didn't watch long, but it looked like there was extensive damage in Chile.

The next day, we drove to San Augustine. We planned on getting to la Valle de Luna (kind of like a national park) around noon, but that definitely didn't happen. We got kind of late start and about an hour or two into the drive, we picked up a hitchhiker. He had an empty gallon bottle for gas because his car ran out and we decided to pick him up- actually, my Dad decided it would nice to help him out. I was less than pleased- I was napping and was sprawled out in the back, resting my head on my Mom's lap. That meant I had to get up from my nap and move- I was not a happy camper. I didn't feel like talking, so it was kind of awkward and he smelled, too...ugh. However, this is when our adventure really started- somehow, when we stopped to pick this guy up, there was a fork in the road and we took the wrong way. My Dad asked if we were heading in the right direction, and of course our hitchhiker told us that it was. About an hour or so later, we realized we were going the wrong way when we talked to the police at a checking point, so we dropped the guy off at the gas station and had to drive back and get back on track. Ah, aventuras argentinas.

We eventually made it to San Augustine, which was a really tiny town. We checked into a hotel/hostel and decided to explore the area. We visited a little museum, called el museo de las piedras (rock museum) right outside San Augustine, too. A man greeted us, who actually turned out to be the owner and gave us a tour. One of the rooms was full of rocks from Argentina and everything else under the sun. It was pretty cool and it was fun to learn some of the words in Spanish. The other room had insects that can be found in Argentina, which, surprise, surprise, was my least favorite room. There was one particular small case on the wall that had poisonous insects. When I asked him what would happen if one of them bit me, he told me, "You die." He also told me that I shouldn't wear flip flops around there because those insects could bite me easily. Thanks, rock man, for scaring the crap out of me....definitely had a hard time sleeping that night. Just to be safe, I made Jared close all of the windows in our room and slept with the blanket over my head.

Sunday- we finally made it the la Valle de Luna! It was really beautiful; it was a caravan tour and we stopped at five different sites. It kind of seemed like we were on Mars, the scenery was that reddish color and it there were awesome rock formations. It was fun and after that, we drove to Mendoza which took the rest of the afternoon. By the time we arrived, all of us were exhausted and headed to bed. I left the next day for BA and my plane ended up being delayed a few hours in Mendoza. Ah! It was still backed up because of the earthquake in Chile because the airport in Santiago was still closed. However, I ended up befriending a really nice Canadian couple (Walter and Marge, cute, eh?) and we hung out until we boarded our plane. It really touched my northern Minnesota heart when Walter said, "Oh, you betcha!" I felt like I was in the movie Fargo.

Finally, on Tuesday, I met my group! I was pretty pleased with myself that I arrived at our meeting place on time. We picked up a few more students at the airport and one of the girls lost her luggage. She had to go through Sao Paulo, Brazil and somehow, the airlines lost her bags; I felt so bad for her! I would've been a mess if that had happened to me. We then drove about an our outside Buenos Aires to an Estancia. It was so gorgeous, it reminds me of a bed and breakfast. Imagine a bed and breakfast meets ranch meets forest. We had the majority of our orientation there and the directors, Nuria, Brenda, and Katie, talked about safety, behavior, and all that jazz. It was awesome getting to know the other students and I had a great time there. We ate some amazing food and my love for dulce de leche just keeps growing.

Last part of orientation/host family:
1. Tango/Parrilla- we had a tango lesson! A couple taught us the basic steps and after our dance lesson, we had a typical Argentina meal- meat and cheese and empanadas, meat (of course), and ice cream.
2. All of us received information about our host family and we mapped out where everyone was staying. I am living in Almagro, which I am pretty happy about because it's close to class and a subway line.
3. We paired up and had to explore a barrio and use public transportation. My partner, Sam and I went to Recoleta and we didn't get too lost!
4. I met my family- my host parents, Cristina and Jorge also have three children (2 boys and a girl). Only one of the boys, Juan, still lives here and he is 23. They are adorable and I think it's going to be very fun! My Dad has a really difficult accent to understand, so hopefully I'll pick up on that. Another embarrassing/slightly hilarious story: When I met my host brother, Juan, we greeted one another with a kiss on the cheek. It's polite to say, "Mucho gusto," which basically means "Nice to meet you." Well...I ended up saying, "Me gusta," which means "I like." I have NO idea why I said that, but I did. As soon as it came out, I wanted to hide in my room! Must of have been a combination of feeling flustered/meeting all of them for the first time...
5. I went to the supermarket with my host Mom and she helped me buy a card with minutes for my phone. We bonded later and painted our nails/watched tv/chatted. Que bueno.
6. My host brother and I got ice cream later and hung out in the park near our apartment. It was really relaxing day. Also, my host Mom invited my parents and brother over for lunch tomorrow! Look for pics soon!