Half Way Point

Before I begin telling you all about this week, I just want to mention that I am half way through my trip and I can't believe it! It's been an amazing 2 1/2 months and I know the next 2 1/2 months will be just as awesome!!!

So like I mentioned in my previous entry, last tuesday we didn't have school so Polin, Katie and I met up with other students to do what all argentines do on the national student day/first day of primavera or spring: picnic! I made my way to Las Heras Parque with my very trusty bus 92, and had a wonderful milanesa sandwich in the midst of birds and really warm weather.

It was perfect, and I am so thankful I brought my own sheet to sit on! Later, Katie, Po and I headed over to Alto Palermo, and enjoyed some very yummy (and missed!) Starbucks drinks which translated into going to see a movie. We went to see amor a distancia or in english "going the distance". Not much to say about this movie, except go see it- it's funny, romantic, heart warming and most importantly describes my life (And Po's for that matter).

Thursday also ended up being a day with no school for me, since my sociedad y cultura teacher was sick, and my historia de cultura y civilizacion class was taking a parcial (midterm) and so I was not to be there. I am having separate work, but I don't take the midterm with the rest of the class. It was a wonderful day to catch up on some reading and get some work done.

Now, I think this is the perfect time to address the issue of PIROPOS or a kind of pickup line which is very often either mouthed, whispered, told or shouted by the men of Buenos Aires to innocent girls walking by. While most of the time these lines are flattering, such as "chica hermosa" or "que linda que sos!", some can be just down right insulting. For example, of one of my good friends here (won't mention names, but you know who you are), was called "puta linda" which means "pretty whore". I mean, that's just wrong! And I have discussed this with my friends, a lot of us dread even walking by a group of men, more specifically construction workers, fruit and vegetable carriers and even paramedics. Today I got the most creative one of all, while a group of guys on the bus next to me, opened up their windows during a red light and made motions for me to open the window and shout things at me. What they didn't know was that the window was already open and I could hear everything. You never know who it will be, or what they will say, and sometimes it's not as flattering as other times.

Yesterday, after getting together with Maru, Heidi, Katie, Po and I headed up to "El Barrio Chino" or china town. While it is no where near as big as the one in NY or DC, it was pretty impressive, full of very cheap knick knacks to look at. We later had din din at one of the restaurants, and it was absolutely delicious. Although I like the chinese food at home more, I will have no problem settling for the one here.

Today, I met up with Polin to explore the Recoleta fair and look at all the awesome hand-made stuff by artisans. We both picked what we will bring loved ones and I can't wait to get it! The day ended by a yummy ice cream stop. Later, I met up with Becca and we grabbed a bite at one of the local pubs in plaza del sol which is usually pumping, but since it was a sunday- it kind of wasn't. Still it was nice to get to know a little bit more of the area.

Tomorrow my spanish teacher is sick, so I will be catching up on the work I avoided all weekend. Awesome (not). Until the next time mis amorsitos!

Villa Crespo!

At my new apartment! It's been an amazing week, with tons of new stuff since I am finally at my new place.

Last Wednesday, I had my grandpa and Po help me move in to my new pad and afterwards Katie and Heidi joined us to get some coffee and some groceries to stock up my fridge. Later Po stayed for a night of slumbering filled with conversations and The Notebook. I am so glad she stayed with me, because I can't handle a first night by myself!

The house is really really nice, and the family is very warm. I have my own space upstairs separate from the house, so it's really nice to just have some privacy (I lacked tons of at my grandparents'). The sun hits my room all day so I am always surrounded by sunlight and I never have to turn on a light during the day which I LOVE. Natural light is always the best =) Raquel is my host-mom and she has 4 kids, two which live here. Gabo is the youngest and he is a musician who plays in San Telmo on Wednesday nights and practices singing with his guitar almost 95% of every day. Laura is an elementary school teacher who is mostly MIA and I have only seen her twice since I moved here. They are both very nice, but I am definitely enjoying Raquel's company.

Raquel is a speech pathologist for children and has her office in the house. So, tons of times I've walked in to the living room to find about 12 kids playing with toys, waiting to see Raquel. A lot of them have disabilities such as autism and down syndrome, and it seems like she really helps them. I am very impressed by her work and her techniques.

Thursday Po and I hit up the subte to get to each of our schools, and I went to school and took my first ever successful colectivo ride home! The 92 bus is now my bestest friend. It literally takes me everywhere and it's so easy to ride for only ARG$1.20! (US$.40)

Friday I reunited with Sabrina and we spent the day at Plaza Serrano where lots of individual designers have their stores and there is also a fair right in the heart of the town. Being able to not only look at but also buy authentic and original pieces from up and coming designers in Buenos Aires was amazing, and I will definitely have to go back (with more money). Afterwards, we went to a Parilla Libre or an all-you-can-eat meat buffet for lunch. For the equivalent of $10USD we ate as much meat as our hearts desired and it was A LOT of meat. I was in a food coma for the rest of the day.

Saturday Heidi, Katie, Po and I headed to El Tigre which is in the outskirts of the city where you can sit by the water and walk by the streets full of cobblestones and vendors. It was absolutely amazing and it brought back a lot of childhood memories since I used to row there with my rowing team. As the captain I always chose the paths to row on, and that was always my favorite! Rowing is still my passion.

Saturday night was Dario's (my uncle's) birthday and we celebrated by going to his house and breaking fast with pizza, and it was DELICIOUS. His wife Laura made them from scratch, I'm going to need her to come over and cook for me.

Today I mostly caught up on some household chores, such as doing laundry and tidying up my new home. I laid out on the terrace and enjoyed the amazing weather which hit the 70s today! Spring is coming! Around 5pm I helped Becca move to her new home (yay!) and later had my aunt Vivian and my uncle Sergio come visit me and we had some very hot and yummy mate. They were really sweet and conversed with Raquel a lot. She really liked them.

Since this week the nice weather is coming and Tuesday is the national students' day so there is no school, I will be making the most out of my private terrace and laying out in the sun as much as possible. I absolutely love spring time.

GOL!

What a crazy hectic week and weekend!

On Tuesday the 7th, I went to the Argentina vs. Spain game with Heidi, Katie and Po! It was an experience unlike any other, and the Argentine spirit did not let me down. After four goals against one on the Spanish side, the crowd was happy and excited to have won against the champions of the world cup. The victory was followed by fireworks which were just as amazing

as the game itself!

Fireworks!

Celebrating one of the firsts goals!

The rest of the week went as usual, until Thursday. After classes, I met up with my uncle Gabriel to go to Rosh Hashana services and dinner. I went to services at a local synagogue called Lambrot HaKol and the service was absolutely amazing! I really liked the rabbi. Later, we celebrated at Maru's best friend's house located in Olivos. She has an amazing house which comfortably fit all 40 of her guests, and the food was amazing. The night went awesome, but it brought a lot of sadness to me when I saw everyone immersed in their families and all I wanted was to be with mine. I definitely got emotional and had to step outside for a couple of minutes. I would have loved to share it with my family and friends.

Friday I had a very girly day full of shopping and salon work, and then met up with my uncle again to head over to Maru's country club house for Rosh Hashana dinner with my step-uncle, step-aunt, my 5 year old cousin Ezequiel, and my step-grandmother and her husband. It was a lot of fun, and we stayed together until about 2 am. I slept over there on Friday night.

On Saturday I joined my uncle while he looked at apartments in the city and fell in love with the idea of one day living here. Not that I would actually go through with it because it's not what I want, but some of these apartments were gorgeous! We saw one really good one which I hope he gets. That night, we celebrated back at Maru's my aunt Vivian's birthday. It was nice to see them and my cousin Gus who I've only seen a couple of times since I got here. It was another 2 am night, followed by me finally coming home!

Last night, for my last weekend at my grandparents' house, we went to see a French movie at the Arteplex cinema near the apartment and later ate some delicious mozzarella cheese pizza for dinner. It was the perfect last night.

This week, there is nothing too major except for the fact that I am moving on Wednesday! The house will be very close to where I grew up while I lived here so I'm very excited to go back in time, sort of...I'll post pictures when I'm all set up.

Until next time amores!

Rain, Rain Go Away

Empanada making was HIGHLY successful, and we ended up making about 40, and eating 38 (We saved two for Po's host-sister and boyfriend!). Along with some delicious white wine, we were complete. (Pictures to come soon, as soon as Po chooses to download hers).

Saturday night the rain started and it did not stop until yesterday, making most of Buenos Aires extremely wet, and in many cases flooded. Puddles were extremely hard to avoid by Tuesday, and even harder to deal with on Wednesday. Thursday I gave up on going to school because not only do I find my Sociedad y Cultura class a COMPLETE waste of time, but the flooding halted the subte from working. It was quite a disaster.

So, my weekend started on Thursday and it really started. Po, Heidi, Katie and I decided we were very much missing Mexican food, so we dove into a restaurant called Tacos for dinner. The food was not so great but it was made up by an american bar called Sugar, where ladies night brings a $15 peso cover (the equivalent of almost $4USD) and an all-you-can-drink experience. The bar was very nicely located in the heart of Palermo Soho, and the drinks were very yummy. The atmosphere was chill and pleasant, definitely worth relaxing with. Although the rain brought us down a bit, the experience kept us warm!

Friday was our night of FUERZA BRUTA, another unique show in this city. Fuerza Bruta has made a name for itself all around the world, so it was highly recommended that we go see them. While I thought many of the acts were cool, it was also an extremely weird experience and very claustrophobic! After the show, the space was made into kind of a boliche with techno music and some showers (literally!) I was soaked by the end.

Last night I was in dire need of a night in, so I slumbered over at Po's. I never knew we could talk SO much. I arrived at 11:30ish and we talked until about 3:30 am. Wow! It was a much needed girls-night in.

Today, Heidi and I headed over to the Recoleta cemetery which I saw last week to meet up with Becca and McKenzie, but this time to visit the next door fair. There are hundreds of vendors all selling incredible handmade crafts. I bought myself a mate cup, which is very traditional and

common here.

I have come to realize in my almost eight weeks here, that I really don't appreciate home as much as I should. I really miss a lot of people from home and a lot of the aspects of home. Just simple things as having my own stuff in my own room and being able to jump in my car and go wherever, whenever, is so underappriciated.

I keep thinking about how my life is going to be when I get back to the states, all these fantasies, all these wishes. They're all so good, but I kind of want them NOW. Don't get me wrong, I love being here and there's very little I would give it up for, but you just don't know how much you miss home until you're not there anymore. It's so confusing. *Skip this if you're grossed out by mushiness*; I really want to just be with my man, day-to-day basis, having fun and just helping our relationship grow. That's what I daydream about! It's so difficult to do that from a distance. A relationship is really tested when it's done from the point that you can't even physically touch or emotionally bond in person, you are forced to talk with the person. It can be wonderful, but also extremely frustrating. Still, I wouldn't trade it for the WORLD =)

This week should bring a lot of fun adventures: soccer games (Argentina vs. Spain!), the jewish new year, country clubs and *hopefully* some relaxing.

Until next time!