Which Would You Rather Ride: Roller coaster or Elevator?

When my adviser told me this experience was going to be like a roller coaster, of course I didn't believe her. I thought that it would be like an elevator that only has the capability of going up. Plus, I am a strong, independent woman who can tackle any obstacle! As it turns out, even Wonder Woman has bad days.

Although I have fully recovered from my sickness and feel healthy as ever, my first day of classes wasn't as successful as I had hoped. 

My first class started at 8:30 AM and I even made it there early. The class was called Cognition, Thoughts, and Language and despite the fact I wasn't 100% sure what it was about (they don't have easily accessible class descriptions) I figured that it was Psychology and I would like it. And I would have...if the class hadn't started two weeks earlier. On the plus side, I really liked the professor. She had a lot of energy and was easy to understand, even if I didn't understand the material in the context of the class because I hadn't had the previous week's background information. Minor setback, no big deal. I will just drop it and either keep four classes or add another class. 

One thing that's very different from classes back home and is having one class for three hours once a week. The longest classes I'm used to at Monmouth is 75 minutes. However, so far the time seems to go by fast. 

My next class, which I have with a few of my friends and I'm very excited about, is advanced Spanish. It is just going to be nice to get back into the swing of learning grammar, vocabulary, etc. Plus it's the only class I will have with other foreign exchange students who are more or less in the same boat as me. This class is only an hour and a half, twice a week. I really liked the professor, and I think that the material and projects will be fun and interesting. 

My last class of the day, The Evolution of Society, went less swimmingly. This class is from 7:00 PM-10:00 PM, and I have it with all other Argentine students. At the start of the class, I was feeling confident and was taking notes religiously...when he was writing on the board. After he was finished explaining the timeline, he sat down and was speaking so fast he would be two sentences ahead by the time I finally figured out what he previously said. As the minutes wore on, I got more and more anxious...the kid sitting next to me wasn't even taking notes! I could feel my face burn from embarrassment. After our break things seemed to be looking up and he seemed to be repeating things more and speaking more slowly...for about 5 minutes. I'm sad to say this kind of ruined my St.Patrick's Day, so I came home and mowed down on some North American junk food and watched Modern Family. 

On a brighter note, I woke up this morning optimistic for my noon class today: Society and Culture, and I went on a run. So now I'm feeling energized and uplifted. Last night was just a speed bump, that I will confidently and successfully get over. I will start recording the lessons and studying extra hard outside of class. This experience wasn't supposed to be easy, and roller coasters are more fun to ride than elevators, anyways.

Last Saturday, Rachel and I went to a fair that doubled as a horse race. There were food stands with dishes from Brazil and Chile:

After that we decided to go see a movie and we ended up watching Taken 3. I'm not sure if that was a good choice or not but the fact that it was in English with Spanish subtitles seemed to be comforting. 

On Sunday, we went with BAIS (Buenos Aires International Students) to a trip to Perú Beach. We didn't get to swim but laying in the sun making friends definitely makes up for it. Also, we discovered Clericot which tastes exactly like summer. It's a fruit mix added to a white wine of some sort. I may be addicted:

After that we took a stroll through Belgrano, where China Town is. We didn't spend much time there but I definitely want to go back:

On Monday, we took a trip to Teatro Colón, a theater house for opera that absolutely takes your breath away with its elegance:

And this weekend...the waterfalls of Iguazú!!! I absolutely cannot wait. I will be gone from Friday night until Wednesday morning, but I will definitely post all the pictures and information after I've rested and had class for that day. 

-Besos de Buenos Aires

There's No Place I'd Rather Be

Well it seems that I have jinxed myself. In a letter I wrote: I’m not expecting to have any bad days here.

Today was my first “bad” day in the two weeks and two days that I’ve been here. Although I am extremely sick, and the electricity and water don’t seem to want to function, I can’t help but think that things can always be worse. Fortunately, my laptop was charged for the first time in its whole life, and so instead of sitting in complete silence and darkness, I was able to play music on my iTunes playlist as well as write this blog. Ironically, the song “Rather Be” just came on…

“We’re a thousand miles from comfort…” TRUE. But still, things could be worse.

It’s Friday, I’m hygiene deficient, the stickiness of the heat is making me extremely lethargic and yet I’m still pretty happy with life. Class starts on Monday, and I couldn’t be happier. I may complain about schoolwork, or having to go to work back home but the truth is I love having a full schedule. When I wake up with the mindset of “Oh, I don’t have anything to do today…” I feel anxious. I need these things to occupy my time so that when it comes to the weekend, I can appreciate that time more.

I hope everyone back home is enjoying the nice spring weather! I see a lot of smiling faces over social media due to the climate turn around, and that makes me happy as well. Although I appreciate the summer weather here, I will be completely satisfied when it gets a little bit cooler out.

Overall, I’m going to spend this weekend being a pariah so I can hopefully get better for school and the Iguazú waterfall trip coming up next weekend! So send good vibes my way por favor.

Empanadas and Evita

I admit: I'm a soon-to-be college graudate who is not as involved or interested in politics as she should be. Imagine my surprise when I decided to tag along to a tour of La Casa Rosada, the office of the President of Argentina Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner-, and liked it. I have never been to the White House, so I kind of feel this makes up for it. My camera took awful pictures from inside, so I had to steal some from Rachel, my generous roommate. 

 Salón de Eva Perón, the First Lady of Argentina until her death in 1952.

Me, Tucker Hyde, Rachel Schmidlin.

Plaza de Mayo

La Casa Rosada

The tour was pretty interesting, and the tour guide would speak in English, then in Spanish so it was nice to be able to pick out the things she was saying in both languages. After the tour was finished, Alexis, Tucker, Rachel and I journeyed to San Telmo, a nearby neighborhood (barrio). We went to eat at the Pride Café where we enjoyed delicious food and had a hilarious waiter. 

* Highlight * Tucker almost fell out of his chair.

A few feet away from where we were eating there was a market only open on Sundays, so obviously we had to partake. This was my absolute favorite. I have been dying to check out hand-made, authentic crafts and up until now I had come up empty handed. The cobble stoned streets were lined with people selling everything from clothes to empanadas. After getting separated, the group found our way to a community tango show. At first, we thought that we where going to witness a pair of professionals tearing it up on the makeshift dance floor, but as it turned out it was a free-for-all. Even the lovely old couple sitting in front of us went out to show off their moves. 

Afterwards we made our way to Puerto Madero, a neighborhood very close to San Telmo. When we arrived it was nighttime and we got to see the beautiful city lights reflecting on the water. My cell phone camera is sub-par apparently so my pictures definitely did not do it justice, but it at least gives you an idea:

Just a big boat we stumbled upon.

This white pointy thing is called El Puente de la Mujer (the bridge of the woman) which we went on seeings how it was international woman's day! 

Everything was absolutely breathtaking, and it was a perfect end to a Sunday night. Well, the four of us went our separate ways but of course Rachel and I decided we needed some food in our lives. So the REAL end to our Sunday night comes in the form of pizza, beer, and ice cream. 

It was a perfect day in my book. I am thankful to have made such amazing friends, who I can continue to make memories with. My new friend Alexis suggested that we make a list of awesome (free) things that we can do in the city, so I hope that is soon to come. Chau! -xox

The Good, the Bad, and the Self-aware

I have discovered that there are countless advantages of studying in a foreign country. Moving abroad has taught me how to be more independent. I have learned aspects of the culture as well as the language. I have learned how to interact and build relationships in an unfamiliar environment. In addition to those very important things, I'm also learning about the kind of person I want to be. I've had an amazing start to my semester abroad in Argentina, but I wouldn't be honest if I only revealed the positive pieces of this journey.

It's extremely difficult for me to understand the local Spanish spoken here. It differs from person to person but I've found that I'm going to have to try very hard to speak and understand Spanish as often as I can. I've found that although it can sometimes be rough, engaging in a successful conversation with someone in Spanish or getting a compliment on how well I'm doing makes me feel secure in the fact that I'm learning and improving. It makes me want to try harder, practice more, and speak English less. I don't want to be held back by fear or insecurities. Even if I say the wrong thing, I will (from now on) say it with confidence, because at least I'm growing in my abilities.

Although I have been fairly independent for a long time, and don't experience homesickness as much as other people do, I find myself combing through the social media accounts of my friends and family and I feel like in I'm missing out on the lives of the people I love. The internet and social media make it possible and efficient for me to stay in touch, but it also creates an intense fear of missing out. Then I remember that in five months I will be reunited with everyone with this amazing journey under my belt.

Also, growing up in a small town has done me a major disservice because I've never had to know my directions. Add bus routes and subway lines and street names and it gets a bit more stressful. I am definitely improving on maneuvering around this great city but it will probably be time for me to leave before I get it mastered.

Although these challenges keep popping up like an in-law, it's definitely not a deal breaker or cause to give up. I'm learning about myself as well as the city around me. I'm learning that despite the crazy party culture here, I'm not a fan of staying out until the sun comes up dancing shoulder to shoulder with other sweaty party animals. I would rather go to a low-key bar where I can have a conversation with someone over some drinks to get to know them. I also don't want to sleep my next day away in a horrific, hangover coma. I want to get up the next morning with the sun and go for a run and drink some coffee and begin a day full of adventure. I'm learning what my strengths and weaknesses are and how to problem solve in the real world. I'm learning how to stretch 100 Argentine pesos over the course of a week.

I'm learning that despite my unwavering hatred for anything but small towns up to this point, I could definitely see myself living in a bigger city. I'm adjusting to all the people, and the added travel time of city transportation. Everything is just so beautiful and alive.

Those are just some things I've sorted out about myself after doing some reflecting. I want to make the most of my time here. I want to come home a refreshed, intellectual, worldly individual...not that girl who still can't speak Spanish and gained 20 pounds because all she did was go clubbing. I want this experience to make me a stronger, deeper human. 

El Obelisco de Buenos Aires

Plaza de la República

Boats and Kabobs in Buenos Aires

 I left off with our anticipated adventure to the city of el Tigre, which we arrived home successfully without getting lost. We took a bus ride to the train station of Retiro, and rode the train (and by "train" I mean above-ground subway) for about an hour to el Tigre. When we arrived, our host mom cut the cord and we explored on our own. We browsed little shops that had furniture and other cute items, and I made my first purchase of a mate gourd.

Yerba Mate has the “strength of coffee, the health benefits of tea,and the euphoria of chocolate" all in one beverage.  Of the six commonly used stimulants in the world: coffee, tea, kola nut, cocoa and guarana, yerba mate triumphs as the most balanced, delivering both energy and nutrition.

Yerba mate (yer-bah mah-tay) is made from the naturally caffeinated and nourishing leaves of the celebrated South American rainforest holly tree (Ilex paraguariensis). For centuries, South America’s Aché Guayakí tribe have sipped yerba mate from a traditional mate gourd for its rejuvenative effects. These rainforest people find tremendous invigoration, focus, and nourishment in yerba mate.

Source: Guayaki Brand Yerba Mate 2017 http://guayaki.com/mate/130/Yerba-Mate.html

Drinking mate is a huge part of the culture here. It's commonly passed around by family and friends, and it's a sign of respect if someone offers it to you. I just wanted to bring a piece of the culture home with me so I bought one for myself.

We also got to walk along the Tigre Delta, where there was a Catamarán (a large boat) that offered rides down the delta. Although we didn't do that on Saturday, I want to return to see more of the city and the delta. I would love to explore the waters in a littler boat such as these:

Here's a picture of some houses and boats on the Tigre Delta. It was such a beautiful day!

Saturday night, after I came home and took a nap, of course, my roommate and I got ready to go out for a night on the town. Although the night didn't go quite as we had planned, we ended up walking to Parrilla Miranda, the restaurant I had found before arriving in Buenos Aires. Of course the only reason I really wanted to check it out was because it shared my name, but it turned out to be a very nice restaurant. After enjoying some portebello mushrooms and margaritas, I ate a chicken kabob and was so full I needed a tow truck to get home. I was amazed at the amount of people who arrived at the restaurant at midnight to eat their dinner! We talked with the table next to us which consisted of two Argentine boys, a German, and a guy from New Zealand. We arrived home around 2am, and I quickly passed out only to sleep my Sunday away.

Monday, we were on a mission to buy a sube card, and minutes for our dino phones. 

In short, we walked around for many hours, confused, lost, and eventually succeeded in buying, and loading the sube with money, but we failed on the phone minutes. 

Today there was a trip to Buenos Aires Playa (a beach) planned with BAIS (Buenos Aires International Students) but unfortunately it began to rain, so we opted out. Although I want to be lazy and stay inside where it's dry, we have to go on the hunt for phone minutes, I need to mail a letter, and we are going to the office of BAIS to see about upcoming trips. This weekend: there is a trip to Victoria in Entre Rios that looks extremely fun. Plus, I need as much adventure as I can get in the few weeks before classes being. 

Lastly, here are some pictures from my run to the Rivadavia Park this morning:

Thank you to everyone for keeping up with the happenings of BsAs. I miss you all and I'm having a terrific time so far. Hasta Luego<3