Patagonia

I just got back from an absolutely incredible 2-week trip around Patagonia to Ushuaia, Calafate, Chaltén, and Puerto Madryn. So much has happened, and it's an experience that I will never forget. Now I can say that I've been to the southernmost point of civilization, walked with penguins, stood in front of glaciers, and hiked through some of the most beautiful mountains I've ever seen with some really amazing friends. Here are some of my most exciting moments:

Ushuaia: November 11-14
Our flight managed to avoid the volcanic ash from Chile and made it to the southernmost city in the world! The town is a perfect blend of old-world fishing village and up-and-coming center for tourism, it's hard to imagine that not too long ago with was a penal colony for Argentine criminals. We stayed in an adorable bed & breakfast at the base of the Andes Mountains, with a view of the city at our feet. We got to explore Tierra del Fuego National Park, where we did some trekking and took a "fin del mundo" train ride along the same tracks that prisoners used to take to do manual labor. Another day we took a boat tour of the islands beyond the end of the continent, including the Isla de los Pájaros, Isla de los Lobos, and a lighthouse island. It was amazing to see penguins and sea lions in the wild! On Monday we did a 6-hour trek to Martial Glacier, drank fancy hot chocolate, then got a special stamp in our passports for making it to the end of the world. On our last night we went out for cordero, lamb that is a specialty dish down south.

Calafate: November 15-16 & 19
The 19-hour bus trip from Ushuaia to Calafate was an absolute mess! First we had to be at the bus station by 4:30am, then on our way north I was stopped at customs in Chile for having fruit in my bag. I had to fill out a ton of paperwork in a little side room and was charged the equivalent of $300 for an apple & orange. Luckily, I was friendly and the boss said I seemed like a good person, so he issued me an official pardon. A good start (and end) to my international smuggling career. At the next rest stop, I dropped & broke my camera. Then about an hour later one of my friends fell down the stairs on the ferry back to Argentina. She busted her lip, chin, and front teeth, and ended up spending the night in the hospital. We were all scared for her, but the next day she was back & able to finish the trip, thank goodness.

Once we finally got into Calafate, things were much more relaxed. We took a walk along a lake and got to see wild horses, sheep, and birds--including flamingos (which I was really surprised about). We also sampled some calafate-flavored ice cream, made from the berry that the town is named after. It was amazing, and coming from someone who only likes chocolate ice cream that's saying something. We made family-style dinners at the hostel, and it was a lot of fun to be able to cook again. On our last day in town we went to Perito Moreno Glacier, made up of 97 square miles of ice. We took a boat up to one of the faces of the glacier, and I couldn't believe how incredibly huge & tall it was. When chunks of ice fell into the water it sounded like rumbles of thunder. We also got to walk along suspended bridges to get a better view of everything, it was amazing to see gigantic spikes of ice stretching out as far as I could see.

Chaltén: November 17-18
On our first day in the hiking capital of Argentina, we did a 3-hour trek to a lagoon with a perfect view of Cerro Fitz Roy, a mountain over 11,000 feet high. The path we took looked like something out of a movie, the mountains were covered in dandelions and the trees were twisted and wild-looking, absolutely beautiful. We also found a boulder that looked just like the one in the Lion King. The next day we took another long hike along the "sendero de los condores" (path of the condors) to an eagle lookout point, where we had an amazing view of the city and Cerro Torre, another famous mountain in Chaltén. These two days were some of my favorites in Patagonia, it felt great to be outside in the fresh air, and after one of our hikes we went to "La Waflería" for some waffles covered in calafate jam, which was almost as good as Waffle House.

Puerto Madryn: November 20-23
After checking into our hostel at the end of another 20-hour bus ride, we spent some time on the beach, even though it was still cold out it was fun to sit on the sand and look out at the ocean. On our second day in the city we went to Punta Tombo, which is home to a huge colony of penguins. Getting to walk with them was so exciting! The penguins were literally close enough to touch, and we could see their eggs and little fuzzy babies in the nests they built in the bushes. They weren't afraid of people at all, they just waddled around us like it was nothing.

The next day we were supposed to go kayaking with sea lions, but it was too windy so it got cancelled. Instead we went four-wheeling to different places along the coast. The wind was stronger than anything I've ever felt before, I almost got blown over every two seconds haha. We got to walk on sand dunes, climb on rocks along the ocean to see crabs & other animals in the water, go to the edge of a cliff to look out at the Valdés Peninsula, and explore a site filled with marine fossils. Riding in the truck was like a roller coaster, I was surprised that we made it up & down some of the insane mountain slopes, but it was a lot of fun. Later that day, we started our final 20-hour bus ride back to Buenos Aires and got there just in time for me to to skype with my family for Thanksgiving. I can't believe I have just 2 weeks left in Argentina!

Fin del semestre

I've been in Buenos Aires for five months now & just finished up my finals week. It's so strange that my time here is almost over--I'm realizing that there are certain parts of life in this city that I'm really going to miss, like speaking Spanish every day, walking everywhere, eating alfajores, and constantly learning something new. Still, with as much fun as I've had here, there are definitely things that I'm looking forward to when I get back to the States next month:

• Seeing friends & family (I really miss you guys!)
• Eating what I want when I want it: dinner before 9pm, cooking for myself, and being able to get Waffle House, DQ blizzards, frostys, spicy food & unlimited Reese's
• Not having to watch out for dog poop everywhere I step
• Crossing the street without fearing for my life, haha
• Free water!
• Wearing sweatpants
• Being able to run outside
• Enjoying the quiet & clean, without all the city noise and pollution
• Making eye contact with people on the street, smiling & saying hi without getting weird looks (Porteños are not known for their friendliness)
• Not having to be so vigilant about being robbed
• Paying for things with a credit card
• Having my own place with a toaster, microwave, dishwasher, dryer, and a comfy bed 

In the meantime, I'm leaving for Patagonia tomorrow to spend two weeks exploring the end of the world with my Buenos Aires familia--I am unbelievably excited to be sharing this adventure with them and starting the final chapter of our time here in Argentina!

Nos festejamos

I have a lot to celebrate this week! I just finished regular classes at UB, so now I just have to take a few finals, write a paper, and its off to Patagonia! Thursday was my friend Lia's 21st birthday, so a group of girls from the soccer team & I went to her apartment after dinner to hang out and eat chocotorta (which I will never get tired of!) then went to a dance club called Roxy.

This Friday my university had a farewell ceremony for all of its international students, and we all got medals for finishing out the semester haha. On Saturday morning, we played a soccer game against a tough team that we faced in our very first game, and unfortunately we lost by one goal. But we had fun and got cool new jerseys. (side note: my field hockey team from high school won a state championship the same day, so I was too excited to be sad about losing the soccer game!) In the afternoon I went to the marcha del orgullo gay, a gay pride festival at Plaza de Mayo, which was an explosion of color & crazy costumes. On my way home, I ran into a group of people offering abrazos gratis--the Free Hug Campaign has made its way to South America! It felt great to get a hug from a stranger, especially in BsAs where it can be easy to get lost in the crowd.

Sunday was dedicated to writing a 6-page single-spaced final paper, just horrible. I can't wait to get it finished and be done with my finals so that I can enjoy a vacation with my friends!

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!) 

Iguazú!

On Saturday night after my mom left a group of us went to Puerta Uno, a really cool "secret bar" of Buenos Aires. The black door isn't marked and you have to ring a doorbell to get in, but once you're inside it's so pretty--a great place to have a few (delicious) drinks and talk with friends.

On Thursday night we left for Iguazú! We spent about 18 hours on a bus between Thursday & Friday, with a stop at the Ruinas de San Ignacio (ruins of a Jesuit Guaraní mission settlement from the 1600s) and a great afternoon of resting, eating, and swimming at La Chacra, an estancia on a mate farm. We also got to tour some of the fields, see where they process the plant to make it ready to sell, and try some delicious combinations of prepared mate.

Once we got to Puerto Iguazú and checked into our fancy hotel, we enjoyed some all-you-can eat dinner, where I accidentally tried some cow tongue--it was gross. On Saturday we got up early to go to las Cataratas del Iguazú, the actual waterfalls that the area is famous for. It was an absolutely incredible experience--I've never seen anything like it. The whole thing was awe-inspiring, especially standing in front of the Garganta del Diablo. It's not called the Devil's Throat for nothing--the waterfall forms a U shape 270 feet high, 500 feet wide & 2,300 feet long. We got to spend all day hiking along the trails to different parts of the national park, ending with a speedboat ride that took us right up to the base of the falls & drenched us with tons of pounding water!

Later that day, we visited the Hito de las Tres Fronteras, where the Iguazú & Parana rivers converge and you can see Argentina, Paraguay & Brazil all in one place. On the coast of each, there's a monument painted with the country's colors.

The next morning we visited a Guaraní village. The Guaraní are indigenous people who lived in  Argentina before the Spanish came over. We got to see some of their houses, the traps they use to catch food, and listen to a group of children sing some native songs for us, which was really cute. There was also a little feria where we bought handmade crafts & jewelry. It was really interesting to learn more about a native tribe & see how they live, but I was also kind of uncomfortable because it seemed like we were exploiting them for tourism--I would feel like I was in a zoo if I constantly had foreigners coming & taking pictures of me. But it was a good experience overall.

This weekend went by too fast--I can't believe I'm already back in the city! It was really nice to get out for a little while, the lifestyle in the provincias is so much more relaxed and not as fast-paced as Buenos Aires. Iguazú was amazing, and now I have less than 50 days left in Argentina, wow.

Family week

I just spent a wonderful week with my mom introducing her to all of the best parts of Buenos Aires that I have come to know & love. Here's a rundown of our highlights from every day:

Monday: Walked to some of the main tourist attractions in the center of the city, shopped along Calle Florida, then had lunch & a huge chocolate sundae at Café Tortoni, the oldest café in Buenos Aires. At night we went out for a steak dinner with the girls plus Meghan & Maddie's families. It was great for everyone to get to meet each other and share some quality family time.

Tuesday: Went to el Caminito in Boca to see the colorful houses and some street tango. On the way back we stopped by a bakery for empanadas, alfajores, & facturas (pastries filled with dulce de leche) to eat in the park. We had a big night out at La Catedral tango club, where we stayed up late watching the amazing dancers and listening to the live band.

Wednesday: Spent some time in Puerto Madero and stopped at a street stand by the coast for bondiolas--sandwiches made with smoked pork shoulder. We walked along the port and saw the Puente de la Mujer, a famous bridge meant to look like a woman dancing tango. In the afternoon we had submarinos (hot milk that you dunk a chocolate bar into) then had an amazing dinner of ñoquis with brownie & ice cream for dessert.

Thursday: Walked around Barrio Chino in the morning, then after lunch we went to my favorite ice cream parlor for some chocolate tentación--chocolate ice cream with dulce de leche, nuts, and brownie. After visiting Abasto to see the shopping center and fancy painted houses, we enjoyed some real Argentine asado for dinner.

Friday: Visited Susana, my host mom, to introduce her to my real mom. It was really funny to have them both in the same room and act as their translator, and I was glad that they finally got to meet! After lunch we layed out & napped by the pool of our apartment building--it was mom's vacation after all, and it felt great to relax outside.

Saturday: Had a last lunch with Maddie's family & the other girls at a cute café, then walked around enjoying the warm sunny day by shopping and eating ice cream. We also stumbled across a parade along Avenida de Mayo for Integración Cultural Latinoamericano, celebrating the union between Argentine & Bolivian culture with lots of Bolivian dancers & musicians dressed up in traditional folkloric costumes--so cool!

I was really sad to see my mom leave at the end of the week, but I'm so glad that I got to spend this time with her. We had 9 wonderful days filled with sightseeing, great food, and lots of mother-daughter bonding. I love you mom, see you again in 8 weeks!

Cumple & Mom's visit

Another eventful week--and now my mom is here! On Tuesday my friends & went to visit "Tía" Celeste, the travel agent we went to Mendoza with, to start planning our trip to Patagonia at the end of the semester. I can't wait to walk with penguins, see whales, go trekking on glaciers, kayak with sea lions, and tour the end of the world!

Wednesday was Maddie's 21st birthday! We celebrated by having lunch at an awesome parrilla, then after class headed over to the apartment that Meghan is renting for her family for the week to make dinner together. Meghan & I ended up doing the actual cooking, which started out as a disaster but luckily we saved it! Celeste & her husband came too, and brought chocotorta--one of our favorite desserts. After singing 'feliz cumpleaños', Maddie opened her presents and we topped off the night by having a great sleepover. I'm so happy to have friends like these in Buenos Aires : )

My mom got here on Friday morning, and even though it was pouring rain we had a fun first day together walking around Belgrano, eating traditional foods like empanadas & alfajores, and getting cozy in the adorable apartment that we're staying in. She brought lots of the comforts of the United States with her (aka a huge box of Reese's) and gifts from loved ones back home, which really meant a lot to me.

On Saturday we went to Recoleta to see the famous cemetary and shop at the outdoor market, then in the afternoon we did an "aristocratic" walking tour through some of the fanciest, most expensive neighborhoods in the city. It was really interesting to see parts of Buenos Aires from a touristy point of view, because even though I've been here for almost four months, there are some areas that I've never been to before--and it was fun to be able to share it with my mom!

On Sunday, we went to Tigre with the girls plus Meghan & Maddie's families. My mom got her first taste of choripán, and it was nice to roam around looking for gifts for friends & family. For dinner we went to Las Cholas, one of my favorite restaurants that serves great local food, and snuggled up to watch a movie together at night--a relaxing end to a busy day.

I can't wait to spend the rest of next week introducing my mom to life in Buenos Aires!