A ridiculous night in Belgrano

Ok, so I'm officially poor. I tried to go out, and realized I just didn't even want to have to pay for a cab anymore. So, I chose to stay in the neighborhood. The issue is, nmothing happens in our neighborhood. It's super residencial, and downright quiet for latin america. But, nevertheless, I made plans. I decided I would go with two friends, bowling of all things, inside a grocery store... I know, weird. Anyhow, we met up at the bowling alley, but decided we wanted to get something to drink beforehand. We wandered around for a long time until we stumbled upon a wine bar. We decided a bottle of wine might not be a bad idea. So, we entered, and that is where we stayed... until 4 in the morning. We ordered a bottle, and then we thought there was live music, only to learn that it was a SONY demo with Rockband! Argentina style... which means, EASY, because no one's ever played rockband here. We listened to bad drumming, guitar playing, and the worst of all, spanish speakers trying to sing along in english. But, it was fantastic! We laughed, and the guy that was running the demo came and sat down with us. It turns out he's an intern here from University of Arizona. I'm sort of jealous I don't have a way cool internship like that! Anyhow, we all ended up talking for hours and singing along, and I felt like a true argentinian in this hole in the wall palying rock band! Oh my, what a night.

Tigre and things are looking up

Ok, sorry for the very upset post last week. I was a bit overwhelmed. But, if you know me at all, that's my usual state! Anyhow, my dog's been declared dead by the family. And although I have mixed emotions, my parents are en route to Atlanta to a Gun Kennel to look at a new litter and see if they find one. I'm not sure how I feel about this, but I do like puppies, so I'm sure it will win over my heart! Anyhow, Last weekend I went to Tigre. I still can't put up pictures because my camera has gone crazy, but I can tell about in such detail that maybe there won't be a need for pictures. To start, I had to get up early on a Sunday morning... I decided not to go out the nigth before, obviously. We filled two private buses and headed out of the city. It's abotu a 30 minute ride. It's beautiful outside of the city, because the apartments and skyscrapers begin converting into townhouses and even mansions! We arrived and immiediately boarded a boat to take a ride on the river. The river is disgusting, and actually reminded me of the Chattahoochee, so I felt right at home. Some people have swum, but my house mom told me that if I got in the water I wasn't allowed back in the apartment, so I didn't get any ideas. Anyhow, the boat ride lasted 30 minutes, and then we got back on the buses. We drove to the local fair. We had lunch (steak) and then we wandered around and got some dulce de leche filled churros. YUM! Afterwards, we got back on the bus and headed to a museum. The nuseum is in what was the old tigre country club. It's amazing! Right on the river, and filed with wonderful architecture, and some decent art. We spent the rest of our time wandering the halls, and then we took a guided tour. I practiced my translating skills with Ashley!! We headed back home, and made it back into town before dark!

Goin to the Movies...

MIDTERMS... May I just say... I MISS WOFFORD'S MID-TERMS.. yeah.. they are that bad here!!!

What an interesting experience. I arrive at the movie theatre in hopes of having a nice study break, yeah, it is mid-terms week, and WOW the studying is massively intense. Anyways, I arrive at the movie theatre and the entrance fee is only 10 pesos. Yeah, that is only about 3 dollars USD! I was totally psyched. I go inside wanting concession of course.

There is something about the aroma of the popcorn as soon as you step into a theatre that makes you want to purchase food immediately. Well, popcorn, a drink, and M&Ms are 14 pesos, which will run you about 3.80 USD. Unlike movie theatres back home there is not fifteen minutes of previews. They do not even let you into the movie theatre until after the time your ticket says. In order to get up to the theatre, you have to climb 3 flights of stairs. I swear, Argentines and their stairs. Then once into the theatre, you have to climb some more stairs to get to your seat. The movie was centered in the screen, but thank goodness they fixed the screen. Oh, the movie I saw was Los Rapiodos y Los Furiosos 4 (The Fast and the Furious 4). It was amazing! Nothing like a movie with Paul Walker and Vin Diesel to make your brain refreshed.

More to come about LA FERIA DEL LIBRO INTERNATIONAL BUENOS AIRES

More Mykonos (4/17)

Not only does Mykonos have huge pink pelicans and some really blue water, it also has some of the most interesting people I've ever met!
The locals there were very friendly, sometimes overly, but they all had a story to tell or a restaurant to show us. On our first night, Mom and I went to a random restaurant on the harbor and just wanted to try a Greek pizza (go figure, 4 months in Italy and I still can't get enough). As our meal went on a table of older men kept looking over and finally sent us a beer. I tried to send it back and then told them not to bother, I'm too young and Mom is married ha ha ha. Well, they turned out to be a really friendly bunch who was just trying to be hospitable. By the time the night was over we'd been taught the Greek dances and knew the Greek word for "cheers" (yamas!).
This kind of thing happend every night after that. We made some American friends in our hotel and brought them along with us to Niko's tavern where we sat and learned a lot about Mykonos from the locals.
I met some local kids my age and they showed us all the fun places to go and hung out with us for two days! It was like having a tour guide through Mykonos and they did it because they're that friendly. I also think part of the reason is because Greeks have perfected the art of tourism. They know how to treat tourists and how to get them to return, based on the experiences that these visitors have here.
All in all, a wonderful spring break!

The Island of Delos

So after a few days of nasty weather in a pretty place, Mom and I decided to venture onto the ferry of Mykonos that would take us to the island of Delos. This island has a ton of history, but the two things that stand out to me were that Cleopatra and Marc Antony hid there for a while and that at one time the island was used as a slave market and would transport about 20,000 slaves a day through this tiny island.
The island in general is supposed to be barren, but since we were there in the spring, we got to see all the flowers in bloom. So, we walked around this maze of ruins surrounded by wildflowers until we found the mountain with the best view in Greece. Our ferry was supposed to leave in about 30 minutes, but I convinced mom to climb it with me.
The sprint was totally worth it! When we reached the top we could see every island and delta for miles.
The pictures I'm posting are of the wild flowers with the ruins and the top of the island of Delos.

Mykonos (4/15)

After Athens, Mom and I took a six hour ferry ride to the Greek island of Mykonos. The ferry ride was long, but absolutely gorgeous! We just sat outside on the benches and watched the islands roll by us. When we arrived in Mykonos, Panos, the manager of our hotel was waiting to take us to the hotel. He was so sweet and made sure we were comfortable and had the best view in the hotel! It looked out onto the Aegean Sea and we got to see a beautiful sunset every night.
Mykonos has a lot of local flavor. Like their pelican, who I call Petey, who enjoys walking in and around the shops and restaurants like he owns them. They also have Niko's restaurant which is world famous and we definitely ate their for lunch as soon as we got into town. The hummus and Greek salad were amazing! We explored what felt like the entire island and went through Little Venice, which I got a kick out of. We also saw the windmills, which were beautiful. The last person who knew how to unfurl them died about 15 years ago, so now they just stay curled up and still.
The pics are of the view of the little harbor of Mykonos and the gargantuan pink pelicans!

Easter in Athens! (4/13)

For spring break, Mom and I went to Greece! We took a plane from Venice to Athens on Saturday and immediately went out to explore the city on Saturday night. Athens wasn't really what I expected it to be. I didn't realize just how big the city was until we flew over it and then when we tried to find the Placa on our own!
On our way to the center, we just happened to see the temple the the Olympian Zeus and Hadrian's Arch...while in the distance the Acropolis was lit up from the top of the hill. It was pretty weird being in the middle of a huge, dirty city with the Acropolis as the backdrop...
We finally managed to find the road to the Placa, but as we were heading to it, the Grecian SWAT team decided to arrive with half the police force and some fire trucks to respond to some leftover riot activity that occurred back in January...
Needless to say, both of us got a little nervous, but it was completely controlled by the police and all that had happened was someone broke a few windows.
We had dinner in the Place (gyros and beer) and then explored.
I never knew just how friendly Greek people were. Everywhere we went, the locals were happy to help us find what we were looking for or give us some advice. We definitely left some friends behind.

Mom in Ferrara... continued (4/11)

Mom came to Ferrara on a really good week for my program. On Thursday, CIEE scheduled a cool little "mysteries of Ferrara" tour through the city. I thought it was kinda funny, but Mom enjoyed it because she got to see the major places in Ferrara, like the Duomo and they were explained. Afterwards a lot of the students in the program came to dinner and all got to know "Mamma Waugh." As usual, she was a big hit.
On Friday, I had a field trip with my Renaisance Art class to Bologna and I was allowed to bring Mom to that too! She got to see Bellini and Tintoretto with us. It was a fun trip, because Bologna really isn't that pretty and the only way to really know what's there is if you're with a local (my professor ).
After the field trip, we had to book it to the train station to catch a train to Venice, which is every photographer's dream. Unfortunately, we had some complications and didn't make it to Venice with enough time for Mom to get the shots she wanted, but we did eat really well that night! So I think it evens out.. : )
The pictures are of our tour through Ferrara with Mom.

American Mom in Italy (4/8)

Mom arrived on Tuesday, utterly exhausted from traveling for about thirty hours straight. Of course my host dad wanted to pick us up from the airport in Bologna, so she was thrown into the Italian language immediately. Fortunately, Massimo speaks pretty good English so the transition wasn't too bad for Mom. Massimo on the other hand, had to start putting his English into practice to keep up with Mom's very fast English ha ha
We went straight to my house here and Mom got to meet my host mother and my three little sisters here too. We ate dinner together and Mom was able to get to know my Italian family here.
After it looked like Mom's head was about to drop into plate, I suggested we take her home to her hotel and get her settled in.
It's really cool to have someone visit and finally see everything and everyone you've been talking about for three months!

A really bad week.

My dog is lost, I am sad for the loss of Eric Marshall, my sister lost one her theatre teachers, my house mom is on my case for things that she is pulling out of the air, my dad is very sad, my grandmother's sick, I've made myself sick over everything, and I'm basically just unhappy this weekend studying for midterms. I tried to write a cheery post an include pictures from Tigre, but I realized that my SD disk is messed up. I don't know what to do about that. I am trying to get myself motivated to do something other than study, like take a break to go see the city, but I just don't feel up to it. I'm really worried about my dog. I don't think she's going to be found, and she's really old. My dad thinks it's his fault, and he's sick over it. The other day, my brand new leather boots that I've only worn twice, broke! I had to call a cab to come pick me up downtown. Unfortunately, one of the numbers of the address on the building fell off, and I called the cab to the wrong place., He had to come find me, and he charged me a ton. Then, I was late to my next class, and I hadnm't finished the homework. Basically, I'm just down right now, but I guess that happens to everyone. I'm sure it wouldn't matter whether I was in the US or here. Either way, these things have gone wrong, and I'm sad! I'll work on a cheerier post next time! Hopefully I can get my camera to work and add pictures too!

Back to my roots!

Edinburgh, SCOTLAND:

I have grown up knowing that I have strong Scottish roots and that my Dad's family (the Rankins) are part of the McLean clan of Duart.  So, it is no surprise that the chance to go to Scotland immediately caught my attention and made it to my short list of things that I have to do while studying in England.  My friends Jess, Felicia, Melanie, and Sami decided that they wanted to spend the weekend in Edinburgh with me and so we planned the trip.  We set off Thursday morning at 8am and spent 4.5 hours on a train, gliding past the English, then the Scottish countryside.  The last hour or so of the train ride was along the Scottish coast, and I could not help but stay glued to the window- it was gorgeous!  We arrived at Waterloo Station in Edinburgh and made the short 5 minute trek to the Edinburgh Backpacker Hostel to drop off our extra stuff.  From there, we immediately set off towards Holyrood Park to go on an afternoon hike with scenic views above the city.  The pictures above show the views from our hike- at times it felt like we were no where near a city, then we would round a corner and see Edinburgh below us.  I immediately fell in love with Edinburgh and Scotland.  For one, I fit in being pale with dark hair.  Secondly, I love the outdoors and the air in Scotland seemed immediately cleaner and crisper than the air in London.  It felt SO great to get outside the city and explore Holyrood Park for an afternoon.  

On our second day, we took a walking tour of the Old Town of Edinburgh and then went on a tour of Edinburgh Castle.  In all honesty, the castle was somewhat of a let down.  I am not sure what I expected, but it seemed touristy rather than authentic.  I think it was the re-enactments and the re-furbished interiors.  Nonetheless, it was a great experience and we had fun looking through the holes in the fortified wall and imagining how it was defended 500 years ago.

Our trip fell on the big weekend of the Ireland vs. Scotland rugby match (part of the Six nations rugby tournament).  So, naturally, we bought the cheapest Scotland rugby jerseys we could find and became die-hard Scotland fans for the next 36 hours.  Ireland won, but the energy in Edinburgh was amazing- the streets were brimming with fans and everyone was eager to review the match and make new friends (regardless of which team you supported).

Rio de Tigre

So in the true spirit of living off of little of nothing I decided to go on a school sponsored field trip. This meant free transportation as well as museum entrance and boat ride fee. So I went to Tigre with IES. We arrived in Tigre, which is about an hour outside of the city. We started off with a boat ride on the Rio de Tigre. We got to see the many dilapidated boats, as well as the many different islands people have claimed for their own with their various rowing clubs or restaurants. Once we experienced the view of Tigre from the boat, we hoped back into our rented vans and headed over to the open air market. This place was huge. There were vendors there with practically anything you would want. We had a Chouri Pan for lunch, which was 5 pesos for a huge piece of almost baguette style bread and the famous Argentine sausage. After lunch, we had about 2 hours to explore the market for ourselves. My friend and I discovered a nifty shop that customized jerseys, so we bought two for our two brothers. We then met back up with the group and made our way to the Art museum.
The museum was originally a club opened by a selective group of elites from Argentina in 1910. The mansion had a hotel next door that was torn down, and it used to be a casino. It was then transformed into a magnificent art museum that was opened in 2006. The architecture was spectacular, and even some of the paint that trimmed the walls was the original 100 year old gold paint. A fellow SIer was there with me, and thank goodness she was able to translate the entire tour for me, since my Spanish skills are less than perfect! We finished with the tour and headed back home. We wanted to hit up a café, Martinez, and get a dessert since we were starving, but unlike the states, it seems like everything is closed in Sundays. So my friend and I made our separate ways back to our homes. I forgot I had tons of homework, which was just absolutely exhilarating to finish. I got to write my first entire page in Spanish. May I just say, for a person who has NEVER had Spanish before, this is quite an accomplishment.

Study on a budget!

Things to do in Bs. As. On a Budget:
1. Go to Museo de Belles Artes in Recoletta for free on Sunday. Spend 5 hours pondering at works by Rodin and Picasso at no Price.
2. Go to the supermarket, buy a sandwich and a large drink then go to Plaza San Martin and have lunch for under $3 USD while people watching.
3. Take the bus for $0.30 USD to the center of town and walk to the Obelisk then take a stroll down Corrientes and see the many theatres as well as amazing architecture.
4. Go kiosking at night. This essentially entails going to a kiosk and buying liters of beer for about $1.50 USD. Then hang out around the kiosk and meet locals as well has have fun with your friends.
5. Learn the Subway system in order to get 15 blocks in 5 minutes for less than $.40 USD.
6. Learn to share pizza with a friend, as well as go on back streets which have pizza joints that have large pizzas for about $5 USD. Avoid places that have a table charge, and learn to like empanadas and supermarkets for food.
7. If traveling anywhere outside of Bs. As., learn to enjoy long bus rides. A trip to Santiago Chile on the bus will cost about $100 USD, while a ticket to fly will cost about $350 USD.
8. Become good friends with hostels. Investing in a Hostel International Card is a good idea if you plan to do a lot of traveling. I saved about $40 USD over the price of the card which was about $12 USD. Check out hostels that take this card before traveling.
9. Get an STA Student travel card. This offers many discounts in over 100 countries. Even if it is a 10% discount, money is saved everywhere. I have already saved myself about $20 over the price of the card just by being frugal enough to check the website for discounts. This will also save you in airfare to Bs.As.
10. Take advantage of outside concerts in parks on Sundays. These kids can be very talented, and it’s a good way to get connected to the culture.
Buenos Aires is a beautiful town, full of tempting items to purchase. As a student, if you don’t watch it you will end up broke quick, with little money to enjoy the rest of the country with. Little tips that should always be abided by are: do not take a cab unless absolutely necessary, walk anytime you can, buy food at the supermarket and make lunches for yourself, take advantage of student discounts, search the papers and look out for free festivals and concerts, go out during happy hour to get the best rate on drinks, and avoid downtown prices, they are normally more expensive than other parts of town because this is mostly tourist attractions. Also remember do not tip as much as you normally would in the states. Save some money and do not to go restaurants where there is a need for a waiter. Just go to the park and eat. It is nicer to be outside as well as a great way to save money. Living off of $1,000 is possible for four months in Bs. As., but you have to be very frugal, and do not expect to take many trips outside of the city. The food can get pricey, no matter how good the exchange rate is. But the shopping availabilities, such as Dior, Versace, and Vuitton, are what will kill your expense budget!

A Day in the Life of a Porteño

I have run out of money. So, I have decided to live frugally, stay in the city, and act like a Porteño (the word for a person that lives in Ciudad Autonoma, Buenos Aires). I started off my Friday with a stroll down my street to the lake in Bajo Belgrano, where I live. I had steak for lunch at a restaurant. unfortunately, it wasn´t that good, and the waitress refused to speak to me in Spanish, and then she corrected me on etiquette. I about flipped. However, after that incident, I caught the 130 bus to Palermo. I got off with my friend Isabel, and we walked to the Japanes Gardens. We payed the entrance, and then walked throughout the gardens talking about philosophy and the Rodin ¨The Thinker¨ sculptures. After we had seen the Sakura tree and all of the ornate little pongs and bridges, we headed out to the Rose Gardens in Palermo where the majority of porteños spend their weekends. We bought cookies at a roadside stand and then we found a shady spot on the grass. I wipped out my maté mug and bombilla and the yerba to go with it. I then busted out my thermos full of steaming hot water and sugar packets to take away the bitterness of the yerba. We drank maté, ate cookies, and I tried to learn Russian from Isabel for hours! Then, we toured a small museum of modern art located just outside of the garden before trekking back home! We ate dinner at home and then met up at the large movie theatre and saw a newly released argentine film. Afterwards, we headed to one of our favorite snazzy local bars, Salvame Maria, and split a bottle of white wine. I called a cab, and headed home around two, just when the true porteños were headed out! Other than that small detail, we acted like true porteños. This morning, I even went for a run by the lake. It was a very short run of about two miles (Isabel ran 13), but I guess it´s a start to living healthy and looking your best in BsAs. I think the majority of my travels are over for now. My bank account has finally caught my eye! But, I´m sure that I will still have some amazing adventures while getting to know this wonderful city!

Easter

I was feeling down when I arrived back in BsAs in time for Easter morning at eight thirty on Sunday morning. I was exhausted. I went to unlock the door and my housemom had locked it to where I could not get in from the outside. I rang the doorbell, and it got stuck. She was asleep, so she heard it ringing over and over unceasingly. She came to the door unhappily. I apologized for waking her, and then I went to sleep for awhile. I awoke and came into the living room to say hello. She was not a happy camper. She was mad at me for ringing the doorbell incessantly, although it was not my fault it was old and got stuck. She was also mad because when I had food poisonig, I had cleaned up the mess with towels, and they had stained. This was completely out of my control, not to mention, it was her chicken that made me sick and she is the one that left me at home alone for over a week to go on vacation, which is probably not even under IES rules. AND, atleast I pais for them to be cleaned, and I asked my mom to buy new towels in the US and have them monogrammed and sent here as a gift. What more could I do... in addition, the electric and gas bill went up... which I am obviously paying for, and sice there are two people that live in the apartment instead of 1, of course it would go up. But, that wasn´t enough for one Easter morning. Right before I left I took the old roll of toilet paper out of the bathroom and put a new one on. I meant to use it for the day, because I had a virus and did not have tissues. I left in a rush and forgot to add the old roll back in with the new roll. She was mad because she thought I was stealing toilet paper. I showed her right where I left it! Needless to say, I apologized a million times saying how sory I was and how it was all my fault for everything. But, I was homesick, and the last thing I needed was to have to go to Easter brunch alone, which is what I was headed to do when i recieved a phone call. My friend Blair was also homesick on Easter, and had gone to mass by herself. She proposed that we go to the Four Seasons to have PANCAKES! We arrived, and brunch was being served in the mansion next door. It was like a fairytale. We had no clue what it would cost. We ate fancy cheeses and meats, had champagne for breakfast, a huge assortment of things. And then the dessert... the best crepes I´ve ever put in my mouth, and a million other choices too. No pancakes were ever found, which were definitely advertised on the website, but we thought the crepes were definitely a good substitute. It was fabulous! Until we got the bill!! Our brunches each cost 200 pesos!!! I was not expecting that! But, atleast it cheered me up! I guess in the end it was worth it! My housemom and I are once again on good terms, and I think the rest of the semester will go smoothly without incident!

politics...

So, I’m coming close to not having anything to talk about. Nothing outstandingly amazing or strange has happened to me within the past few days. I have been going strong in classes, and trying to wrap my head around the extreme complexities of what is the Argentine government. Apparently Christina Kirchner (Current president of Argentina) is saying that Obama is nationalizing companies in America. This is true to an extent, but nationalizing to Argentines is when the government is sitting on the board of the nationalized company and making decisions for it. I am more and more dumbfounded by the political thought here. In elections, Argentines do not vote for a platform like we do in America. Argentines know that people voted into government will vote the same, which is whatever way the government decides they should vote. The failing nature of the government in Argentina goes to show that not all countries can copy the United States’ government and expect to be successful.
The failure of their judicial system became more aware to me yesterday. In a province of Buenos Aires, a 14 year-old boy shot and killed a man walking home. The response time of the police and ambulance were so delayed that the man died. When the detectives showed up to investigate the crime, the people of the neighborhood jumped him and began to beat him and hospitalize him. Apparently, in the provinces of Argentina, the jails are actually just police stations that harbor 30,000 people in rooms smaller than dorms at Wofford. The places are overcrowded, and people can spend 3 or 4 years in that room waiting for a trial. There are no speedy trials here. Also, if you are over the age of 70 you cannot go to jail, even if you kill someone you will just get house arrest. And if you are younger than 18, you cannot be tried as an adult. They do not go by severity of crime here, only by age. As a pre-law major, I am proud that at least America has the judicial system (no matter how flawed) that they do.

Drug Dogs...

Ok, so I am beginning to think that I am slightly stalking Chelsea in her adventures, I promise I am not. First off, my trip to Iguazu was out of this world. We trecked along the many trails, and even went under a waterfall, but Chelsea covered that picture haha! We did however get to experience something out of this world. During the four days of the Full Moon each month, there are moonlight walks throughout Iguazu Park. Normally the park closes at 6pm, but during the full moon they reopen the park at 745pm for dinner, a drink, and a walk. We went to the park about 8pm to catch a train that took us up to the Del Diablo ¨catarata´´, which means waterfall. We got to walk through the jungle only by the light of the moon. It was incredible, and the fact that the jungle animals are mostly nocturnal, we were able to see more animals. I got to see a MONKEY! Yes Chelsea PLEASE BE JELOUS!!!! I also saw a toucan in the wild. Too bad I did not get to see a Jaguar, that would have just made my day. We got to see the lady of the night, which is a flower only open at night, and it gives off a distinct smell. The woods also smelt like maple at night, while the park was so quiet one could hear the waterfalls crashing down from a distance. The experience was absolutely spectacular, and if ever given the chance to do the moonlight tour, do not hesitate!

The ride home on the bus may have been the most interesting of the entire trip. We leave the triple border area only to come across a checkpoint. In this checkpoint, we were required to show ID to a couple police officers who proceeded to bring drug dogs onto the bus and sniff every article we owned. This did not happen just once. Oh no, it happened three more times. I never felt like such a criminal than I felt at that moment. Due to the lack of internet, and the approaching nature of many projects as well as papers, my posting has been far between, and rather shorter than I would like. I will make all attempts to post more within this week, but shorter posts are probably more likely than long picture painting descriptions.

Mendoza

Everyone basically in all of BsAs decided to leave for Easter. Someone should have warned me. I feel like my travel experience was worse that flying out of Chicago or New York for Thanksgiving in a blizzard. I've never doen that, but the girls that were with me from NY said I'm right. Our bus was over 2 hours late. It was in BsAs alright, the issue was that it couldn't get to the bus station because everyone else was trying to get there too. I hailed a taxi to take me safely to the station and he told me he couldn't take me there, so I ended up walking. It was a nightmare. Once it finally arrived, it was the cheap bus (everything else was sold out) so although it wasn't very nice, it still was better than standing outside waiting with my back pack biting into my shoulders. It wasn't that bad in all actuality, and the trip flew. I ate dinner and then slept until morning, and after an hour or so the next day we were there!! And it was beautiful! We had decided to go to Mendoza, on the Argentina side of the Andes mountains. We checked into our hostel, which was precious, and we immediately decided to change into blue jeans and take a horse back riding trip into the mountains. So, we did! It was beautiful, and it wasn't just a walk in the park. It was rather adventurous!! We rode through the foothills with a gaucho, and then we had mate!! We arrived back late, cleaned up, and headed out to a nice dinner that lasted until well after midnight. The next morning we woke up before the sun to eat breakfast and catch a bus out of the city to where we would go on more adventures. From base camp (on a beautiful lake) we headed out even further by bus. We were dropped off with a guide, and we trekked into the mountains. We found a waterfall and scrambled up to the top where we bravely walked off of the edge of the cliff next to it... also know as repelling. It was amazing. We hiked back down after a couple of hours, and took the bus back to base camp. From there, we met up with some guys we knew that were also studying in BsAs. We all decided to go zip lining through the mountain passes and over the lake. It was invigorating! Needless to say, after a full day of physical activity I was exhausted and sure to be sore the next morning. We headed back, freshened up, and found a sad attempt at cheap mexican food. During dinner, I learned that last year while studying abroad, when I went to the Vatican, the place I loved so dearly, those replicas of the popes that were in cases all throughout the cathedral, were not replicas. I thought I was going to throw up. I had no idea those were the actual bodies. I thought that Recoleta was bad, but this almost caused me to pass out on the spot. I just really can't come to terms with these strange ways of burials, or not in this case. I'm really not ok with it. Anyhow, that was merely a side note. I went back and crashed. The next morning we got up and headed out of town to wine country. I faced my fear and the pain of riding a bike (I broke my tail bone twice, it's just not a comfortable experience). We rode about 18 kilometers. We tasted wine, went on tours, and went to an olive oil factory too! We found these british guys to tour around with, and we really had a blast. We had to head back early to catch out bus back to BsAs, so we took off to return our bikes.... when Bella got a flat tire on the bike that I had just traded her. I hailed a policeman in the street, and he called a policeman with a truck who came and rescued us, and then even drove us to another vineyard, because he felt sorry for us. We called a cab from there and went back to pack up and head home. I was traveling with two other girls, so we were getting crabby by that point, so we all just watched movies, and slept. I will say though, my friend pulled a lovely joke on my by convincing me that they were playing changeling for what would have been the 4th time! I believed her and basically flipped out only to begin seeing the bucket list start. Thank heavens! I'm back, worn out, and a little irritable. I'm going to try to stay in town for a cople of weeks. I think I need a break!!

Iguazu

So I decided to go to Iguazu the day before I lost my debit card. We planned the trip all in one day, and then I lost my debit card, and then found it. I went to the bank and picked it up, through my stuff in a bag, and headed to the bus for an 18 hour long bus ride. I thought I would die, but in all actuality, time flew. I was so exhausted that I managed to get some decent sleep. I left on a Wednesday night, and arrived the next day in time for a late lunch! We checked into our Hostel, Hostel Inn, which was the most awesome hostel I've ever stayed in. The only room available was a private room with a double bed, and I was traveling with just myself and this one other guy (who has a girlfriend thank heavens). It worked out, since neither of us were wiggle worms. Anyhow, we checked in and freshened up and then went trekking into town to find an ATM, a bathing suit, and some ice cream! We finished up our day with dinner buffet style with the other 200 guests of our hostel, and then conked out before our long day ahead. We awoke early and went to breakfast and then headed out by bus to the falls. We booked an adventure through the jungle and then a boatride to the falls. The safari sucked, but the boat ride was super fun. They took us through rapids and then plopped us down under some of the smaller waterfalls. We were soaked. We then headed off to San Martin island where we swam a bit and then headed up to do some hiking. After getting some fantastic views, we crossed back onto the mainland and continued trekking. We got to see some gorgeous views, but nothing could compare to what was still to come. We caught a quick bite to eat and then hiked over to the train that would take us to the edge of the big waterfall. We got off the train and continued hiking. I was determined to see a monkey, as a close second to the disappointment of not seeing a jaguar, but unfortunately no monkeys were spotted either. Instead, I found a crocodile, which made me feel super safe and happy about the fact that I had recently been swimming in the very same water. Oh goodness! When we arrived tot he overlook it was stunning. Crashing water, you could barely see because it was so thick in the air. It was magnificent. I've never seen Niagara, but I'm sure this beats it. It was wonderful! We were soaked again just because of the water in the air! I recommend this place to all of you! We returned that afternoon sunburned and dazed. We cleaned up and went to dinner with a group of people from all over speaking all different languages. I fell asleep in a food coma, slept in, and then packed up ready to go home to BsAs, but happy to have made such a wonderful last minute trip.

Going to another Country

Uruaguay is such a fun country. We took the fast boat from Buenos Aires to Colonia, Uruaguay! This meant we have to go through immigrations going there and coming back. We did not use any form of transportation other than walking! This meant my legs were killing me by the end of the day each day. We stayed at the El Viajero Hostel, it was so nice for $11 a night. As far as Urugayo money goes, it is 24 pesos to the dollar there. Which meant having to deal with 1,000 peso bills. While at lunch, I decided that falling down a few stairs would be the best thing for my legs. Then again the next day, I fell down about ten stairs and hurt my knee and leg pretty bad, hopefully I'm going to survive my other trips down here. I went to the casino, which was about the best part of my trip. I won a few bucks, enough to buy a new pair of armani sunglasses :)

The best part of the trip was our day long photo shoot! We went all around historic Colonia, and took pictures of ourselves in stupid modeling poses! We had so much fun doing this. We even climbed a lighthouse, which made our legs shake for an hour afterwards because the climb was pretty intense. But it was extreme fun!

I am leaving tomorrow night at 6pm for an 18 hour bus ride to Iguazu. Expect more posts in a week!!!

A Very Bad Wednesday turned Good!

I went to bed around 2 am after discovering that my debit card was missing knowing that I was leaving the next day on a whim on a 17 hour bus ride to Iguazu with no money. I awoke to my alarm clock at 4:45 am. I called a cab at 6 am. I picked up my friend Isabel and we headed to Retiro... a really bad neighborhood. We arrived about 6:30 am, to find a line as far as we could see wrapped around immigrations. It was cold and miserable. I had heard that getting your visa could take 9 hours or more. I was not a happy camper. I waited in a group at the front door waiting on everyone else to arrive. Little did I know that I was about to make Americans HATED, more than ever before! Once our group arrived, we walked to the front door and entered in front of every immigrant that had been waiting outside for DAYS... yes, literally, DAYS. I can't even imagine. I was afraid to look into their eyes. I walked right in. And not only did our group get to go first, I got the first number, 21, for the whole day! After waiting, and wading through the bathrooms, and waiting some more, in total, only 5 and a half hours after walking in the front doors, I walked back out. I think that's an all time record. I'm convinced that God must be on my side. Not only did I get out early, I got out before the bank closed at 3... AND.... drum roll please........ they had my card! So I had money too!!! What a fantastic day! Things surely looked good! And I even caught my 17 hour bus time, and arrived without incident! More about the trip later!! :)

20 ways to die in Argentina

I thought I would compile a list of the possible ways I might see the end during this semester.
1. Hit by bus (colectivo)
2. Stuck in door of bus (colectivo)
3. Stabbed in robbing
4. Shot in robbing
5. Strange virus.
6. Kidnapped by taxi driver
7. Dengue
8. Malaria
9. Falling off Iguazu
10. Swimming at Iguazu only to see a crocodile a couple of hours later
11. Hit by car in crosswalk when it says it's clear to walk.
12. Heat stroke.
13. Double decker long distance buses that don't know how to drive in the correct lane.
14. Smell from double decker bus bathroom.
15. Food poisoning.
16. Poison gas or shooting during organized march.
17. Scared literally to death at Recoleta Cemetery.
18. Don't pay off the corrupt police....... I'm not sure how this would end. Just pay them.
19. Pushed off crowded subway (subte) platform.
20. Blown up by electrical socket.
Hopefully none of these will come true, although I've had a scarily large number come close...

Things to Remember When Traveling to South America

Ok... so being here the past month has given me an insight into what I forgot at home... here we go:

1. Bug Spray- I have bug bites lining my arms, legs, and feet. And a can of OFF is $35 pesos here! So bring some. Espeically with the Dengue Fever going around in the Mosquitos here in Bs.As.

2. Converter- Don´t expect a homestay to provide this. Though some do, this is crucial, and it can get rather confusing trying to find a store that sells these!

3. Frommer´s or Lonely Planet Guide to the Country you are visiting- This can prove rather helpful in finding interesting places worth you money, as well as hostels, boat lines, and airlines in order to travel around the country.

4. Comfortable Shoes- Forget the usual high heels worn with your nice dress slacks! I brought at least ten pairs of shoes with me, and surprisingly my Crocs have been my most worn shoes. Unlike the short walk to classes back home, the walks here are intense with ten blocks being the minimum walk to many places one must go. Oh, and forget the hype that Portenos do not wear flip flops. I made the mistake of listening to this, and I did not bring my flip flops. Oh how I miss my rainbows!

5. Bring a backpack for weekend excursions- Taking a bulky suitcase everywhere is not the best bet when traveling for the weekend to the mountains or taking a boat to another country. Having just a bookbag, that can be used as a suitcase on the weekends is the best solution to the problem, as well as lighter in the packing!

6. Cool Clothing- I thought it would almost be winter once I got down here, but its always hot. Yes, the nights get cooler, but the weather always gets sticky and humid during the day, thus the need for shorts, tanktops, and dresses is a MUST! I miss my sundresses unbelievable!

7. Clothing Sizes- Do not expect to shop for clothes in Bs.As. if you are over a size 14 or if your shoe size is over a 9.5. Their clothes are cut differently in each store, despite the law saying they must uniformly cut clothes. Your best bet to find clothing is Walmart, but the choices are very slim.

*****I will post again Monday, because I will not have internet access in Uruguay this weekend. I am going to Igazu all next week (Tuesday to Sunday) so my posts will be very limited, because of the lack of internet access!