Land of the Dead

Grandpa and Grandma at the Palermo Bosques (Lake and Forest)

In Recoleta. The door to the telephone booth said "uso exclusivo para superheroes" (use exclusively for super heroes!)

So it has been two weeks since I last updated (sorry!), but things have been slow and hectic at the same time.

Since my last entry, I have started school and kind-of gotten into a routine of some sort. My mondays are very short, just filled with spanish in the morning. In my spanish class there are about three girls from France, me, and about ten chinese kids. Now, while I sympathize with the chinitos for being new to the country and having to learn a latin language, I really do not think these kids should be in advanced spanish. Only about two of them can really comprehend what's going on, and the others just speak chinese to each other the entire class. It's really frustrating,

especially when we are paired up with them. Other than that, spanish is really boring.

Tuesdays are probably my toughest days, since I have to get up and out of bed by 6:30am and take the very busy subte to school. Once at my stop, I have to walk about 7-8 blocks to school, which I usually do half-jogging, half-walking. I then have my PR class for about three hours. I leave exhausted.

Wednesdays are just challenging, intellectually. I am in school from 10am until about 6pm. My day consists of spanish (snooze), sociedad y cultura (society and culture of the 21st century in Argentina), and a 3-hour lecture on relaciones internacionales (international relations). Now, while the classes themselves are not hard, trying to follow them in spanish and understand all of the technical terms, can be really hard. I don't think even a native can stay focused through a 3-

hour lecture. It's really torture.

Thursdays are my days of sociedad y cultura, and historia. History wouldn't bother me so much if the professor was not a 95-year old monotone man. Has anyone ever tried to sit through a 3 and 1/2 hour lecture with a monotone professor? By the end, I was drawing puzzles on my notes.

Since my fridays are free, I try to fill them up with as much fun as possible. Last friday I had to take on the annoying task of picking up my background check for my visa, and although it was very quick and easy, I really hate having that kind of chore, since people there are usually not the nicest. After picking that up, I got coffee with my tio Gabriel, and shortly after I headed home, but not before I received a call from Sabrina, one of my friends from elementary school here. She invited me to coffee at her house, and I headed over there around 6pm. Now, I

attempted to take my first colectivo (public bus) here, but it didn't quite work out as I hoped. The bus broke down halfway down to where I needed to get, so I had to get off and walk about

15-18 blocks. I was surprised to find that my memory of my childhood served me well, since I found my way just with my photographic memory. Sabrina's house is located near my childhood apartment, so it was very nostalgic. I arrived at her house, and saw her family that I hadn't seen since I was 10 years old. It was really nice, and we decided to meet up for drinks later that night. After coffee, I headed over to Benjamin and Adriana's house, two of my french friends and had dinner with them. It was really pleasant, and we got to meet other people. After dinner, I met up with Sabrina again and went for a drink, where we ended up going to her house for a slumber. It was just like when we were girls, it was so cute.

Yesterday, I walked the streets of beautiful recoleta, where the famous recoleta cemetery is located. It was a beautiful day of about 70 degrees, and walking around the parks and the graves

was amazing. I definitely enjoyed it.

Messing around Recoleta

The graves

Last night Heidi, Katie, Po and I went to a bar at San Telmo, a place known for their vendors, but not so much their nightlife. The bar was very cute, styled after an Irish pub (there was a shrek mask staring at us and everything!). Our cosmos were absolutely delicious (and very sex and the city-esk!).

Today awaits me a girly shopping day with my aunt Vivian and some empanada making with Po and the girls. I am teaching them how to make empanadas and I hope they turn out good, since I haven't made them in quite sometime. I can't wait!

Until next time,

Heidi

PS- A shout out to the most amazing man in the world, my boyfriend Mickey, who's birthday was yesterday. Happy 23rd baby! You are my rock, my love and my best friend. I love you!