Mate and Me Time

I'm curious as to what exactly is the formula for balancing loneliness. Sometimes, you just need your space; you need time for yourself and your thoughts once in awhile. But how much time does one actually need on their own? 

These past few days have been incredibly bitter-sweet. The majority of people who I have grown accustomed to spending my time with are enjoying their Semana Santa in Mendoza. I made the decision to stay home, relax, and enjoy spending time in the city. The main objective was to complete a large chunk of my school assignments, but those were unfortunately passed up for some QT with Netflix. 

When I wasn't distracting myself from my responsibilities with Grey's Anatomy, I was trying mate for the first time with my friend Alexis. We went to this restaurant, Cumaná, in the barrio (neighborhood) of Recoleta (which I would like to visit again). Primarily, I fell in love with the atmosphere, and then I fell in love with the mate tradition. Now, you have to remember that this was two norteamericanas trying mate, so I'm assuming that we didn't do everything how an Argentine would, but I felt lucky just to get to have the experience. 

There is a pot of hot water, and one mate gourd which is passed back and forth. There is etiquette, but I'm not really aware of what it is yet. All I know is that I really like the drink itself. It has a very dominating earthy flavor, but I enjoyed learning about and sharing the tradition.

Saturday night, Alexis and I went out again to the barrio of Palermo. We met at Plazo Serrano and when we arrived it was filled with vendors selling clothes and other items. We walked around the area for awhile scoping out our options when we settled on a simple restaurant, Mole Bar, with festive Marilyn Monroe decorations. Afterwards, ice cream at Freddo-of course. 

While I had a great time, I couldn't help but feel like I kind of wasted my break "relaxing." I realize that there is so much time for me to go and see everything that I want to here in Buenos Aires, but at the same time, I don't want to waste a single second. So today I woke up and ventured to Café Tortoni for lunch. 

After waiting in a line for about 20 minutes to get in, I realized that while Café Tortoni was a bit of a tourist destination, there was a reason: it was beautiful and definitely worth it. After I was seated at my table for one, I received my food 5 minutes after I ordered it, no exaggeration. Everyone around me was taking pictures and meeting their friends for lunch. I enjoyed my time eating, drinking my café helado-capuchino (iced coffee cappuccino) and accomplishing some writing. After some small talk with the waiter I decided it was time to go for a walk on this gorgeous day. I ended up going back to San Telmo and walked for miles looking at amazing hand-crafted items. I also found this separate fair where everything was made out of recycled materials. 

Loneliness is really a funny thing because even though I was by myself today, it's hard to be alone in this city. I was sitting at the table at Café Tortoni without friends or family to keep me company, yet I engaged in conversation with the waiter about where I'm from and the fact that his sister lives in New York left me with a feeling of comfort. And although I don't know any of the people who were dancing and clapping in the streets of San Telmo, I couldn't help but feel apart of something as I joined in. 

And just like that, I was no longer alone.

Happy Easter, everyone. 

Iguazu!....Bless You

Before I went on the trip to the waterfalls of Iguazú, I was feeling awfully "homesick." It wasn't that I was missing my "home" but I was missing all the people in my life that make me feel at home. I was suffering from a bit of culture shock and I was longing for all the things that made sense to me. Some days I feel empowered and alive tackling challenges that come with studying in a Spanish-speaking country. There are also those unavoidable days of feeling defeated and unqualified to navigate in a world without my support system.

The cure, apparently, was traveling on a bus for numerous hours, with strangers from all over the world who like drinking as much as I do. I was able to meet so many amazing people from a multitude of different places, and I realized that as long as I have people around me with whom I can laugh with, make memories with, and have fun with...I am home.
Viola, homesickness cured. Ever since I got to witness one of the natural wonders of the world with people who have already left an impression on my heart, I can't help but feel like the luckiest human in the world. I can't describe how beautiful the waterfalls are, so here are some pictures instead (which still do not do them justice):

In the morning it was cloudy and a bit chilly, which was nice when we were doing a lot of walking so it wasn't as hot. And then while we were journeying to "La Garganta de Diablo" The Devil's Throat the sun came out as well as this wonderful rainbow.

The rest of the trip was spent reading by the pool, and riding on the bus back home. As I came back I realized that venturing out of the city for 5 days had actually made me miss the sound of traffic honking aggressively outside my window and the hustle and bustle of people on the streets. This place has become my home, and I couldn't wait to return to it although I had an amazing time. 

Which leads me to the realization that there is no one "home." Home is where you can make deep connections with the people and your surroundings. I realized that while everyone back home is extremely important to me, I will only get to cultivate relationships here for four more months. 

This past weekend, I went to a fiesta called PM Open Air, located in Punta Currasco. They played electronic music and there were so many people dancing! While it was fun, we got tired out very fast, went to a late dinner, and I went home and went to bed "early" around midnight. Then on Sunday, I went to La Feria de los Mataderos. There were so many people selling all kinda of items, and most importantly, there was so much food! I tried choripan for the first time (sasauge with chimichurri sauce on bread)...I also ate churros, vacipan, and icecream. It was undoubtedly a fantastic day of feasting. 

Yesterday, there was a transportation strike and all the buses and subways were not functioning. So after I missed the only class I looked forward to going to, I went on a picnic with my German friend, Jessi. It was a perfect day to sit on a blanket and eat tapas. 

Other than that, this week I only had class until Wednesday, because Thursday and Friday is a holiday, Semana Santa or Easter. Many people are going to a trip to Mendoza, but I'm going to explore other things in the city that I haven't gotten to yet...in addition to doing my homework. This was a hard financial decision to make due to the fact that many of Argentina's wines are produced in Mendoza and there will be tastings, of which I am the biggest fan.