Córdoba Fotos!

 Ongamira Estancia where we stayed for the weekend in the country!

Some of the many horses we saw during our hikes.

I have arrived at the Salt Flats!

An ocean of salt...

Colchiqui Mountain...where we rode our horses...see below!

Picasa and I :)

Made it to the top!

What a view!

Details from Córdoba to come soon!  We had a short week this week and I'm off again tomorrow for a full week visiting Bariloche in the Andes and Puerto Madryn on the coast...both in Patagonia, the south of Argentina, so hopefully I don't freeze!  Until next week...chau chau! :)

Let me hear your voice!

Okay well I can't "hear" it but I can read it! I finally figured out how to allow anyone to make comments (you don't have to have a blog account).  Just click on "comments" at the bottom of each post...tell me whatcha think :) ...and then from the drop down menu click on "name/URL" and type in your name and post! I don't know who all is really keeping up with me but I would love to hear from yall! :) Chau! Besos!

IGUAZU!

Time to play catch up!  This blogging thing is hard to keep up with, there is just so much to tell!

But, last weekend I had my first ride on a coche cama or "bed bus," after frantically rushing to the bus station after a no show taxi and much miscommunication.  Anyways we made it so that is all that matters!  So, this bed bus, it was a double decker with seats like the 1st class section of an airplane with seats that basically fold into cots, TVs, and dinner and breakfast served.  Watch out for the bathroom though, the toilet seat was at a slant making it impossible to hover and very difficult to put toilet paper down and hold it there without it falling off before you sit down.  This weekend is our trip to Córdoba, I will keep in mind how much water I consume before 12 hours on the bus.

So, last Friday in route to Iguazu after deboarding the bed bus and boarding a regular bus, we stopped first for a tour of the San Ignacio Ruins, an old Jesuit mission on the border of Paraguay and Argentina.  Then we continued on to an estancia (ranch) to relax for a couple of hours.  This estancia was situated on a black tea and mate (pronounced MAH-tay..the tea that all of the Argentinians drink and it is also common in Uruguay) plantation and was complete with a pool, outdoor kitchen and grill, hammocks, a relaxing atmosphere and really good food! Thank goodness! I need to stop living off of dulce de leche.  We spent a few hours here just hanging out, enjoying the parrilla (meal with all different cuts of beef cooked on the outdoor grill), and touring the factory were mate is processed.  By the way, yes I did try this "mate" and seeing as I dont like tea it wasnt very probable that I would like mate...it tasted..and looked...like I was drinking a swamp. Not for me.  But the estancia was interesting because it felt more like you should be in Colorado or northern California (not that I have been either of those places..) than in Argentina.

The San Ignacio Ruins

Hanging out in a hammock at the estancia!

Finally, after a full 24 hours of traveling by bus we arrived at Hotel Saint George in Puerto Iguazu in the Misiones Province of Argentina.  Saturday we spent a full day at the national park viewing the falls.  We walked the upper trail (view from above), the lower trail (you're going to get a shower), and La Garganta del Diablo trail.  La Garganta del Diablo translates to The Devil's Throat and it is the largest of the falls at Iguazu with one side belonging to Brazil and the other Argentina.  This place was absolutely breathtaking.  Mesmorizing.  And the views of the rainbows are constant.  It is hard to believe that that much water can consistently flow at that speed.  Also in the national park are my new favorit little animals called cuantis...similar to raccoons.  They are everywhere!  They are not shy and if you have food, guard it well because they like to steal!  We also took a boat ride under/into the falls while were there.  It was fun, an experience, but the water is coming down in such quantity that you basically sit with your eyes closed the whole time and just enjoy your shower!

Me at La Garganta del Diablo or "The Devil's Throat" the largest fall at Iguazu Falls!

 The falls on Argentina's side

A Cuanti checking my purse for possible food to steal...

After we left the park we made a stop at Las Tres Fronteras.  This translates as The Three Borders and is borders of Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina...see below one picture and three countries!

I am in Argentina (obviously!) and Paraguay is to the left and Brazil to the right!

On Sunday before leaving Iguazu and flying back to Buenos Aires, we visited a native Guaraní tribe that still lives off the land.  The guide spoke spanish to us but the rest of the people mostly speak only their native language.  We saw how they make their forest "huts" and the different traps they use to trap armadillos and deer and they even sang us some songs in their native language.

Okay, and to switch subjects.  Sunday night when we got back I had my first, and hopefully only, trip to the doctor at Hospital Aleman (German Hospital?) because my cold or sinus infection would NOT go away.  Everything went smoothly at the doctor's office other than the 3-4 hours of being there.  Itwas with the trip to the pharmacy at almost 12:30 in the morning that things got interesting.  Here the pharmacies are all 24 hours and you must get your prescription filled the day you get it, you can't wait.  So I am standing on the sidewalk, talking through the little window to the pharmacist and he seems overly friendly and smiley for working this late at a pharmacy.  Long story short...his name is Lucas and he was so kind as to write his number on my reciept.  So Erin and I got a good laugh on the way home while we both a sick and delirious from such a long day!

Córdoba this weekend for a weekend in the country riding horses and visiting the salt flats!
Abrazos y besos!

I'm addicted.

SO..if you were to ask if I am a fan of the food in Argentina...my answer without hesitation would be NO.  BUT, if you were to ask if I am a fan of the SWEETS in Argentina...we are talking about a completely different story.  Yes, I have already mentioned that I absolutely love alfajores...but this love is turning into an addiction.  I honestly have no idea what I will do when I leave for Peru or to come back to the U.S. and I don't have DULCE DE LECHE...mmmmmmm.  So most days on my way to school or on my way home I visit a little Panaderia/Confiteria with these wonderful sugar covered croissant filled with jam that I usually buy for breakfast and then my favorite little alfajoritos.  White chocolate ones are my favorite.  This is what happens:  I enter, happily anticipating my sweet little snack, and think to myself "I will buy some extras to take and keep at home for tonight or tomorrow or the next day..que bueno esta idea!"..and I leave the store with a bag of 6 alfajoritos and before I round the corner for school or make it home they somehow all disappear.  They never last long enough, I don't understand.  But I swear I am living off of sweets down here and I can't wait to try everything else in my little panaderia (this is just the one that I like to stop at...there is literally one on every block).  Picture it:  fresh croissants covered in sugar, powdered sugar, filled with jam, dipped in chocolate, cookies big and small with endless dulce de leche inside or on top..some rolled in coconut, nuts, muffins of the chocolate, glazed or fruit variety, cakes, cupcakes, the list goes on and on and on and I plan on trying them all! Que dulce mi vida en Buenos Aires!

How Fast the Time Goes!! My 1st Week in BA and a Day Trip to El Tigre!

I can't believe I have already been here a week!  Pretty soon I will be getting ready to leave for Peru and will be saying I can't believe I've been here 8 weeks!!

Here is just a few random things I have noticed since I have been here...
-Life is not as slow paced in a big city despite this being Latin America.  I will probably do this a lot, but, compared to Costa Rica the lifestyle here seems to be a lot faster! 
-It's hard to get used to the noise of the city around me at night...and pigeons outside my window in the mornings.
-I don't think curly hair is common...every one seems to be fascinated by the fact that I have curly hair! ha!
-When you go into a bakery or similar shop, you pull a number from a "machine" (its not really a machine but I dont know what to call it) and people dont stand really in a line because people are helped by the number they pull.  Kinda strange..this may be because many of the shops are too little to form lines...everything here space wise (other than the city itself) is smaller.

Anyways, my class is going well.  The professor's name is Mage and she is fun and good at working with international students!  I am in class from 10 - 3 everyday with two short 20 minute breaks in between.  I have about a 30 minute walk to and from class everyday so I get my exercise!  Not to mention the hundreds (or at least it sure seems that way) of stairs I climb each day at the University.  The food here is hard to get used to..it's not my favorite.  It's good but very bland and I feel like its always the same thing...pasta, bread, more pasta, more bread.  I have been eating medialunas dulces (sweet croissants) every day for breakfast..an empanada (similar to a hot pocket) for lunch..and then whatever Monica fixes us for dinner...pasta, pizza (it's probably my favorite), soup, etc.  Two foods that I really do like are choripan and alfajor.  Choripan is basically a chorizo sausage cut in half and placed on bread with chimichurri..a little bit of spice thank goodness! I ate my first one this weekend and really liked it! We had tango lessons last Thursday...I don't think I'm too bad...though I'm no where near a professional tango-er!  But it was a lot of fun to try!  And to get to the lesson I rode the Subte (subway) for the first time (not by myself)...not as scary as many make it seem but I guess it's always good to not have anything in your pockets just in case!

On Saturday, we had our first day Excursion to El Tigre on the River Plate about 30 minutes outside of Buenos Aires.  It's the rowing capitol of Argentina and we saw many of them on our tour of the Sarmiento River area by boat.  It was fun, good to get outside of the city, and was a warmer and very sunny day.  After our boat tour, we had about 3 hours to shop in Puerto de Frutos...so I finally got to get me some Argentina souvenirs!  I bought two rings, a bolsilla (small purse), a decorative pillow case, a mate (pronounced MAH-tay not "mate" ..it is a cup and straw common in Argentina and Uruguay and surrounding areas to drink Mate out of..or a type of tea), my first Choripan :) and a chocolate covered churro all for around $40! What a deal!! On the way back in from El Tigre we stopped at a restaurant for a "Submarino Chocolate."  It's hot chocolate but they give you the hot milk and a chocolate candy bar to put in it.  The restaurant was on the river plate outside of Buenos Aires enough that there was a view of the city from across the water and it was so pretty for taking pictures!

(Big breath in!) AND Finally, today we went back to El Centro for a free tour of the Casa Rosada...basically Argentina's White House!  It was interesting and I got some good pics of it too!

I'll post new pictures soon but right now I can't hardly keep my eyes open!! What a weekend!! Buenas Noches Buenos Aires!

Mas Fotos!

Check out the posts holding up the branches of this gigantic tree!

En el Centro

More of La Boca!

 

La Puente de la Mujer, Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires

La Universidad de Belgrano

My little, cozy room here in Buenos Aires!



La Gran Ciudad de Bueno Aires!

Where oh where to begin?!  The last three days have been a whirlwind! The days are long and there is never enough time to do everything I want to do! (But, I guess I should slow down, right? I do have 8 weeks here!)

My group arrived at the airport a little late because of a delay in leaving but we still arrived around 10 a.m. (8a.m. in the States) and we had orientation the very first day at 3!  I had absolutely no problem falling asleep that night after 24 hours of travel, unpacking, orientation, and meeting the host mother...speaking of she is CRAZY! Her name is Monica, but she goes by Moni.  We (my housemate from Georgia, Erin, my housemate,Mai, from Holland, me, Monica, and her son Alan) live on the 8th floor (top floor) of our apartment building.  She is loud! Always singing, dancing, with the TV...and talking! She talks a lot! But she is so much fun and extremely personable so that makes living here easier!  I have a little room off of the kitchen with a shelf for my clothes, a desk, and a bed...its smaller than the other rooms but i have my own half bath which is nice.

On Sunday we had the city tour.  This city is GIGANTIC!  There are sooooo many different neighborhoods and they are all so different.  We visited Palermo and Recoleta which are the nicer areas of the city.  Recoleta had the very old cemetary that is famous for many of the important Argentine icons that are there.  It is one of those cemetaries where people have like a tomb above ground that you can walk in and then walk down stairs to the coffins...I think usually a whole family is buried in the same one...it was really neat!

 One of the "tombs"...i dont know what to call them but they are so neat!

This one is dated from 1788!

And El Centro, or downtown, where all of the different governments buildings and monuments are and then went to San Telmo.  I loved San Telmo! It has a market where people play the guitars in the street and dance the tango and sell artisan items!  Erin and I are going back this weekend to spend more time shopping there!  We also visited La Boca.  It was so colorful, had murals on the walls, and people dressed up in costume that want to take pictures with you (for money of course), but it was very interesting! However, I guess that it is also the slums or ghetto because it is the more dangerous of the barrios in the city. Which kind of sucks because I really liked it! :) 

In La Boca...or I guess, the ghetto? But its a pretty ghetto! I liked it! ha!

Finally, we went to Puerto Madero which is the newest of the barrios of Buenos Aires and is very modern. OH, and I had my first real Alfajor and I think I am in looovvvveeee :) Alfajor = cookie +dulce de leche+cookie covered in chocolate! ...mmmmmm que rico!!  After the tour, we all had empanadas..which are also very good..at the ISA Office and afterwards Erin and I just walked around our neighborhood exploring..and really looking for a park that on a map appeared closer than we thought because we never found it...Oh well! We stopped at a cafe and had a good time anyway! And in the evening we went to a small market close to our house and perused through the items there and played with some tops..like the toys..that were hand made and some were smaller than a penny and others very big...LONG DAY!!! But oh so fun!

AND today we had our placement exam at the University of Belgrano and another orientation! And in between we spent time walking/shopping, eating at a little restaurant called "Tea Connection"..it was very good..and buying our new Argentina cell phones!  Classes start tomorrow at 10!  And our first tango class is on Thursday! I think I am going to love Buenos Airessss!!!