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!

Papa-bear and Jar-bear arrive!!

Papa-Leff and Jared arrived safely to Buenos Aires today and it is great to have them here. When I woke up this morning, they had just walked into the apartment. Also, it is my half-birthday today- I am 20 1/2, which means I have exactly 6 months until I can drink legally back in the U.S. I am happy to say that the drinking age here is 18, so at least I won't have to suffer while everyone else turns 21, eh? Nevertheless, having the boys is a pretty awesome half-birthday present.

Jared and Dad were pretty dazed from their long flight (definitely know how that feels), so my Mom and I dragged them to a coffee shop to give them a caffeine buzz. It was actually my first experience with Argentine coffee and it was delicious. I ordered cafe con leche (coffee with milk), which is very similar to a latte in the U.S., except much stronger and tastier. Jared was still pretty tired, so we put him to bed and the 'rents and I walked to the MALBA (Museo de arte latinoamericano de Buenos Aires). It is full of Hispanic art from the 20th century, and included pieces by Diego Rivera, Rafael Barradas, and David Alfaro Siqueiros. It was about a 15 minute walk from our place and I got in as a student, so I didn't have to pay anything- sweet! Taking my Dad to a museum is kind of like taking a kid to a candy shop- he absolutely loves it. It's fun to go to museums with him, too because he always knows things about some of the artists and is able to explain their work and put their pieces in perspective of when it was created. Anyways, the three of us really enjoyed their collection and afterward, we decided to walk through the Japanese Garden on the way back to the apartment.



The Japanese Garden is a gated garden/park and even has a cultural center, greenhouse (we didn't go inside), cafe, and interesting sculptures. It was really beautiful and here are a few pictures we took there.


After roaming in there for awhile, we stopped for some lunch and went back to our place to see Jared. Jared and I worked out and decided to tan outside for awhile. Coming to Argentina from Minnesota, I am obviously pasty white, so I need to work on that...

Okay, I'll kind of work backwards and talk about what my Mom and had been doing up until the arrival of the Leff men:

My Mom didn't feel well on Sunday, so we both took it easy all day and caught up on emails, looked up things to do for the rest of the week, and watched the Olympics. Also, before I left for Argentina, my family and I recently found out that we have a very distant relative in Buenos Aires, named Graciela. By distant, I mean that we are like fifth cousins removed or something, so it is pretty far down the family tree! Graciela told me to contact her once I made it to BA and when I did, she invited my Mom and me over to her home on Monday. We took a cab there and she and her kids welcomed us into their home. She has three kids, a girl that is 19 (she is studying Math at the university and hopefully I'll be able to hang out with her more!), a 22 year-old daughter in Uruguay, and a 25 year-old son studying Psychology. However, the two kids that were there had plans so it was up to me to put my Spanish skills to the ultimate test (Graciela knew a few phrases in English and my Mom doesn't know any Spanish). At first, I was extremely overwhelmed; I felt like my Spanish and English were dueling in my brain, but after awhile, it went very smoothly. We asked one another basic questions (family, hobbies, work, food, travel, ect.). She teaches Hebrew at a Jewish day school in BA and has been to Israel a dozen times. She also enjoys traveling and she has actually been to Florida before and one of her siblings lives in Paris. It was so neat to connect with a someone here and she was very patient when I didn't fully understand something she said. We both knew I didn't get it when I just smiled and nodded as she waited for an answer. Her husband also joined us later when he returned home from work (he is in business). He speaks fluent English, which was especially nice for my Mom since she had to rely on me to translate earlier. Anyways, we ended up chatting for a good three hours and we had a lovely time. They were very sweet and told me to call them again. I have been studying Spanish since middle school and it was so rewarding to finally put everything that I have learned thus far and carry a long conversation with a native. It was challenging but I feel like I am starting to get a better ear for the Argentine accent, too! Here is a picture of Graciela!

On Tuesday, we booked a private tour with a billeangual guide and took a three hour tour around the city. Our tour included stops in Recoleta, San Telmo, Plaza de Mayo, Puerto Madero, Retiro, and of course, La Boca. Even though I am going to be here for a couple of months, it was a great way for my Mom to get a taste of the neighborhoods in the city. We had a really great time and our guide was wonderful. We stopped at the Recoleta cemetery and she showed us a few different tombs. We also visited Eva Peron's grave, which we didn't see the previous time we were there because it was raining, so that was cool! Here is a picture of her grave on the left. La Plaza de Mayo was neat and the mothers of los desaparecidos still march there every Thursday at 3:30 p.m. La Boca means "the mouth" in Spanish and it gets this name because this neighborhood is located at the mouth of a river. I always had kind of imagined all of Buenos Aires looking like this neighborhood, very vibrant and colorful. It is actually a very touristy barrio and many recommend that non-natives stay on the main street because it can get dangerous, particularly at night. The street was full of touristy shops, cafes, and small vendors. To top it off, we had perfect weather that day, too! I had studied a little bit about Argentina prior to this trip so it was amazing to put the names and information together and see it in person.

La Boca












A few things I have learned:
1. How to hail a taxi (very similar to the U.S. AND not as expensive)
2. Some dirty words in Spanish that I probably should not write on here. Tip: Watch Sex in the City, one of my all time favorite shows, with Spanish subtitles. Trust me, you'll learn more than you would ever want to, especially if there are a lot of Samantha scenes. . .
3. La cuenta=receipt. If you leave a tip (propina), usually leave 10%.
4. If you eat too many empanadas, you may actually turn into one!
5. How to get money at the bank.

Enjoy the pics, now off to grab a drink with the bro!

Buenos Aires

Muchas aventuras to talk about. Good news, I am finally on Argentina time! Oh, and a few corrections from my last post--it is a three hour difference here in BA, not four. Also, I spelled "ridiculous" wrong, go me.

I thought I would fill you in on some random facts about Argentina. Buenos Aires is home to about 12.4 million people and is known as the "Paris of South America" because it is very European and cosmopolitan. I've never been to Paris, but it seems like a good description. BA really reminds me of NYC, t00, in the sense that the city is divided into a bunch of neighborhoods, has an insane subway system (that I need to figure out), and has scores of crazy, one-way streets (where cars do not like to stop for pedestrians). We are currently staying in Palermo, which is full of cool shops, fun places to eat, and spacious parks. Funny side note: Palermo is divided into a few subsections and two of them are called Palermo Hollywood and Palermo Soho! My Mom and I have been trying out different cafes for lunch and getting food at a local grocery store for most of our dinners.

Here is a neat view from the balcony of our apartment












First meal

Funny story from our first lunch: When I was ordering our drinks, my Mom told me that she wanted iced tea. I thought, "Crap! How do you say that in Spanish?" So, I decided to describe it as best as I could and told the waitress that I wanted tea with ice (te con hielo). She smiled and seemed to understand and I was feeling pretty good about it....well, when she brought it to the table, it was hot water with a tea bag AND ice! I felt so silly, but I guess it worked. So, does anyone know what the word for "iced tea" is? At least when I ordered the empanadas, I didn't get a pig's foot or something gross.
Empanadas are like a small fried pastry typically filled with meat or vegetables and are oh so delicious.

Some pictures from today....
Biblioteca Nacional












Inside the Cementerio de la Recoleta

We walked to another neighborhood today called Recoleta, which is very close to Palermo (maybe 20 minutes). We hunted down the popular cemetery there and also passed by some neat parks and monuments. The Cementerio de la Recoleta is home to the city's past elite, including past presidents, military heroes, and of course, the rich and famous. Evita Peron is buried there but we didn't find her grave. That place was huge, as it did take up a whole city block and was kind of confusing inside. It was beautiful, though! There was a market in a large park near the cemetery as well, so we poked around there for awhile.


The Leff gals on their Recoleta adventure!












After resting at the apartment for about an hour, I met up with my friend's boyfriend (who is actually studying in BA for the semester) at a shopping center near us and we took the subte (subway) to the obelisco de Buenos Aires. It is huge monument and attracts many tourists and I guess it is a destination for sports fans when they have a big win to celebrate! During the summer, there are free concerts every weekend and we went to the last one. They played awesome music and we saw a live tango performance.

Live music









Some things I like about BA so far:
1. Empanadas, duh.
2. The way it is broken down into sections and I still have so many things to see.
3. The beautiful parks and monuments.

Random things:
1. You think drivers in New York are crazy? Come to Buenos Aires, they do not like to stop for pedestrians. I am SO glad I won't be driving here.
2. Some of the avenues are nine lanes across!
3. There was a girl on the subway, singing and she had a sign taped to her that said, "I am fucked up and I can sing." Yep, welcome to Buenos Aires.

Yo tengo chicle

I have finally arrived in Buenos Aires! My Mom and I flew out together and our connections were great- no problems, so that was awesome. We caught a 7:30 pm flight out of Atlanta to Buenos Aires and arrived here around 7:30 am (Argentina time). So basically, that flight was a little over nine hours and we lost four hours with the time difference. LONG day! I didn't sleep at all on that flight and I am exhausted. I am going to try to stay up til 8 or 9 tonight so I can get used to being on BA time.

When I boarded the plane in Atlanta, there was a boy, maybe around 17 years old, sitting in my assigned seat. I told him in English that I needed to get into that seat and he just moved over. His brother/friend were in the aisle across from us, so they chatted as the remaining passengers boarded. I tried listening to their conversation and I found it difficult to grasp their accent- it seemed slurred and rediculously fast. Anways, his brother (I think) asked the boy sitting next to me, "Tiene chicle?" which means "Do you have gum?" He didn't, but I did in my purse and offered it to him. They all looked bewildered and the boy next to me said, "You speak Spanish?"

Since my parents, brother, and I are going ot travel together for a few weeks, we are renting an apartment through VRBO (virtual renter by owner). Its sweet- this guy has an apartment in BA and rents it to people throughout the year. It is great for us because we will be able to cook some of our meals here and its in a great location. Well, I'm going to go walk around the neighborhood and hunt for some empanadas- ciao!

I leave tomorrow!

Well, I can't believe that I leave tomorrow...it used to seem like I had so much time when break first started. I am actually all packed up too, woo! I managed to squeeze all of my clothes, shoes, etc into a medium sized suitcase and then a few books, computer, and a change of clothes into my carry-on (pack for backpacking).

The past few days, I have been gathering last minute things and packing/repacking. My Mom was making fun of me because I kept taking small things out of my suitcase to make sure I don't go over the weight limit.

Anyways, I am going to watch some more Olympics and hopefully get some sleep tonight. I don't know how much t.v. I'll be watching in BA, but hopefully I won't miss the figure skating because its one of my favorite events to watch. Next time I write, I'll be in Argentina-AHH! Ciao, everyone.
-Abs