Bucket list

This has been a rough week full of long papers, hard assignments, and little sleep. Thank goodness for the weekend! On Thursday I went to see the Madres de Plaza de Mayo, an activist group of women who gather every week and work towards reuniting relatives with their children who were abducted during Argentina's military dictatorship of the 1970s and 80s. It was a really powerful experience to witness the efforts of the mothers and grandmothers in search of their families, especially after learning about the desaparecidos in class. It was also the one-year anniversary of Nestor Kirschner's death, a former president and the late husband of the current president, Cristina, who was re-elected this week. So Plaza de Mayo was a madhouse of parades, fireworks, people waving flags & banging drums, even a giant blow-up Nestor head in the middle of the square.

Later that day, the girls and I had dinner at Celeste & Mariano's house, where we ate delicious homemade fajitas and had ice cream for dessert. Now that our trip to Patagonia is officially booked, we spent a long time talking about all of our exciting plans for while we're down there, and had a really fun night with our Argentine aunt & uncle : ) Because it was so nice out on Friday, we took a walk after lunch & hung out in a park, then went to Puerta Uno at night to kick off the Halloween weekend festivities--complete with masks & glow sticks.

On Saturday we played a double-header in soccer--we got a win & a tie. That night, the five of us decided to go old-school American and dress up as the Spice Girls. I was Sporty Spice, which meant that I got to be comfy in leggings, a tank top, and a high ponytail.

During my first month in Buenos Aires, I made a list of 50 things that I wanted to experience during my time here. Now that I only have six weeks left, I decided to look back and see how far I've gotten and what I still need to do!

Things I have accomplished:

1. Learn more Spanish!
2. Dance tango & salsa
3. Go to Plaza de Mayo and see the Casa Rosada lit up at night
4. Stand inside the president's office
5. See a show at Teatro Colón
6. Make Argentine friends
7. Eat choripán & bondiolas
8. Celebrate the 4th of July in a foreign country
9. See the obelisco
10. Cross Avenida 9 de Julio, the widest street in the world
11. Watch a movie in Spanish without subtitles & actually understand it
12. Shop at a feria
13. Eat at Café Tortoni, the oldest café in the city
14. Visit the Iguazú Falls 
15. Tour of the river delta in Tigre
16. Stay in a hostel
17. Relax on the beach in Rosario
18. See the madres of the desaparecidos at Plaza de Mayo
19. Learn how to use public transportation
20. Read an entire book in Spanish
21. Go to a boliche & stay out all night dancing
22. Shop along Calle Florida 
23. Get my picture taken with a tango dancer in la Boca
24. Try dulce de leche & alfajores
25. Go to an all-you-can-eat parrilla
26. Do a wine tasting
27. Visit an estancia
28. Be mistaken for a porteña
29. Go hiking in the Andes
30. See a show at the International Tango Festival
31. Play a sport
32. See the Palacio del Congreso
33. Go to the Feria de Mataderos 
34. Zipline in the mountains
35. Eat in Barrio Chino
36. See the Palacio de Aguas Corrientes
37. Tour the Cementerio de Recoleta
38. Buy a book from the Ateneo Grand Splendid, the largest bookstore in South America
39. Go horseback riding in Mendoza
40. Walk along the Paseo del Fileteado in Abasto

Things I still need to do:

1. Go to a professional fútbol game
2. Visit the Japanese gardens
3. Gamble at a casino
4. Sing karaoke
5. Go to the opera
6. Visit the ecological reserve in Puerto Madero
7. Watch a horse race or a polo match
8. Picnic in Parque Tres de Febrero
9. Go to the beach in Uruguay
10. Travel through Patagonia: walk with penguins, see whales, and visit Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world (will be checking this one off the list soon!)