El Calafate

Happy Halloween!!! It is so weird that today is Halloween. There were a few Halloween-ish parties in Buenos Aires, but nothing like at home. How I miss the pumpkins, apple cider, costume contests and trick or treating!!! Last week I tried to explain Halloween to my European classmates and the most difficult part was explaining the orgins. Who cares about the origins of Halloween? It's just fun and a great way to celebrate fall! Anyway, this year I am dressed up as an excited backpacker in search of a great adventure :)

After a great night with friends I shlepped myself to the airport early early this morning en route to El Calafate. I slept most of the way and woke up just in time to see the glaciers out the window before landing. WOW. This country is incredible. Last weekend I had no words for Iguazu and I'm at a loss again. My hostel overlooks the most incredibly turquoise lake I have ever seen. Upon arrival I put my Spanish to good use and organized plans for the next few days. This evening I am going to an estancia to hike and enjoy some regional cuisine. I am so far south that apparently it doesn't get dark til 10pm...so funny! It is crazy to think that I am so close to Antarctica. Blows my mind. Tomorrow I am going on a Big Ice tour that should be awesome. We leave early for the Parque National Los Glaciares, trek and photo in the forest that overlooks the glaciars, board a boat to cross the lake, then spend the afternoon hiking with crampons on the ice!!! I cannot wait! Monday I'm headed to El Chalten for more hiking. Adventure, here I come :)

Right now I'm going to town to rent some serious winter clothes. The wind is ripping through the mountains and the temp is approx. 30 degrees. Oy. Yesterday it was 87 in Buenos Aires. Climate shock.

My camera battery is charged, I have warm socks and I'm ready to have an incredible time. I miss the festivities of Halloween, but I really can't complain. In the words of my favorite waterbottle, ¨Life is Good.¨

¡Feliz Día de Brujas! ¡Ser seguros y diviértete!

The last night!

Today was my last day of classes at ECELA, Buenos Aires. I cannot believe it's been FIVE weeks! My time went much too fast and I don't feel ready to leave. Tonight I'm going out with friends and then heading to the airport at 4:30am...yikes. Tomorrow I fly to El Calefate to see the glaciers and do some trekking. So excited! I may go to Bariloche sometime next week and eventually I'll make my way to Puerto Piremides where I'll see the Southern Right Whales! I cannot wait! After a quick week of travel I'm headed to Peru for six more weeks. Craziness. MISS YOU ALL SO MUCH!

A big OMG experience

HOLY MOLY. There is so much to say and so little time for internet! This past weekend I loaded my day pack and boarded the bus for a seventeen hour journey to Cataratas del Iguazú (Iguazu Falls). There are no words to describe the falls. Hopefully I will figure out how to upload photos/videos soon, but even they do not do justice to the experience. The bus ride was so long, but I brought plenty of snacks to keep me occupied :) Thankfully, I'm a good at sleeping anywhere and got a solid 12 hours of sleep on the bus.

When I left Buenos Aires the weather report called for sunny skies and a high of 97 degrees. In packing light I only took shorts, 2 tank tops and my favorite stretchy pants. When I woke up Saturday morning there was a monsoon happening outside the bus. YIKES. So much rain. So so so much rain. When we finally got to Iguazu there were trees lying everywhere, powerlines in the roads, no running water and no electricity. Very interesting. We made our way to our hostel, checked out our options and headed into town to purchase plastic ponchos and wait out the storm. Finally the rain stopped and we walked around town and made our way to a lookout where we saw the convergence of the Iguazu River and Paraná River. These rivers meet to form the international borders of Argentina, Paraguay and Brasil. Pretty incredible to see three countries at once. Kind of like putting arms and legs in different states at Four Corners in the Southwest United States. Eventually we took a city bus back to our hostel and finally saw a different view of South America. Living in Buenos Aires has been so interesting because it is so different than many other countries I have visited. People often say it's a European city, and I think they mean it isn't a very poor city. While I have loved the city, I was glad to get away from the urban-ness and into a more rural setting.

A few hours later, sometime around midnight, the power came back on and we made our way to bed. Sunday we got up early, poured on the bugspray and headed to the falls. SO INCREDIBLE. We were able to walk through parts of the forest and see and hear wildlife. We saw the most beautiful (and huge) butterflies. We saw TOUCANS!!!! So cool! We saw weird racoon-like animals call caoti. It was awesome. We were able to walk out on a series of catwalks over the falls and look down. What a rush! It wasn't possible to see the bottom because of the water spray. Like I said, no words for the experience. After seeing the falls, Cat and I began a jungle hike, but eventually turned back because the trail was totally flooded. We ended up meeting a park ranger who gave us a mini-tour, a great bird book and incredible stories of seeing jaguars and pumas. I love meeting fantastic people!!!

The bus ride home seemed much longer than the trip there, but such is life. There were ups and downs and a lot of rice cakes and laughing. There was a broken window and many stinky diapers :) In total, it was such an incredible incredible experience and I am so thankful for the experience! I wish I could explain the beauty and the wonder of the falls better, but you will have to visit to truly appreciate the WOW factor.

This is my last week in Buenos Aires and I cannot believe it's gone so quickly. I am so thankful for my time here and know I will miss the city and my awesome friends when I leave. When I arrived five weeks ago I was overwhelmed and nervous and a bit fearful about my decision. I am feeling a little bit of these feelings about my upcoming trip to Lima, but I know it will work out. I am loving learning Spanish and spending time with awesome people from around the world. I miss my family and friends so much and I am so thankful to have such an awesome support system to cheer me on throughout my life. Thank you thank you thank you for your love, letters and thoughts!!!

p.s. Antibiotics kick booty! Hasta luego sinus infection!

An adventure!

Finished another week of classes and now I'm preparing to depart for Iguazu Falls. Cat, Kate and I leave tonight at 5:30 and arrive tomorrow...at noon. YIKES. So much bus time. We have about thirty hours there and then back on the bus and to class on Monday afternoon. Cannot believe next week will be my last week in BA!!! Time is FLYING BY! Keep your fingers crossed for warm weather :)

Make room for a new empanada mama

This week spring is in full force and we've had a lot of rain. Not the best weather for exploring, but good for all kinds of indoor activities. Yesterday, in an attempt to continue my culinary adventures, I tried to make gf empanadas. It seemed like a simple task...stuff ingredients into a pastry shell, seal, bake, enjoy. I even had premade gluten free pastry shells! In my excitement I hastily plopped tomato, avocado and cheese onto the dough and folded it in half. Naturally the whole thing fell apart and I created a huge mess. After salvaging what I could, I made a rice cake sandwich and put the process on hold. Today I decided to show those empanadas who's in charge. This time I used two masa (dough) circles, figuring more room = less breakage. Again, total mess. Not to be deterred, I mashed the dough into a ball, reformed it into two semi-flat circles and before I long I had a veggie filled object that kind of resembled an empanada! It baked into a golden and flaky creation that looked like it belonged in a Martha Stewart magazine. These Argentines have gluten free figured out. It was delicious and actually tasted more like a pot-pie than anything else. I think the last time I had a pot pie was in 1994, so that was exciting all by itself. Next time I'm going to try a new filling (mmmm...black beans and red peppers!) and try to modify the oven temperature (no degrees on our oven, just hi/lo). Very exciting stuff.

The other fun event of the day was a trip to the hospital. I've been trying to kick a sinus infection for a while now and I'm still full of snot. Yuck. I asked a teacher at school if it is possible to purchase antibiotics at the pharmacy and she told me I needed to have a prescription first. Then she shuffled me into her office, made a quick phone call, and told me her boyfriend is a doctor and I could meet him at the doors of hospital for a free rx. All of this was in Spanish and I had to ask her to repeat the info again. Then I realized that she meant I could see him for free and he'd give me an rx. Excellent! Health care is free in Argentina, but it's not uncommon to wait more than five hours to see a clinician. Yikes. My friend and I took the bus to the public hospital (where feral cats roamed freely), called Gaston (the doctor boyfriend), described my snot in broken Spanish and left with an order for amoxicillin. YES!!! I was surprised that the meds were so expensive, but mostly I'm thankful that 1) I'll soon get rid of this nastiness and 2) I didn't have to wait a lifetime to see a clinician.

One last note on Argentina. Upon meeting someone or saying hello--basically any greeting--it is custom to kiss on the right cheek. It's very friendly and much nicer than a handshake, but also a bit odd. Most of the time I love it, but what about after pilates class or futbol when we're sweaty? What about at the hospital when I know I'm sick? It seems like a bad idea to offer and receive a kiss when I know I have an infection, but it's also considered rude to skip it...so what do you do? Such a conundrum.

Until next time, buena salud y buena comida!

No me gustan los machistos

Seriously chabones, why the hate? A few weeks ago I laced up my running shoes to spend a beautiful Saturday afternoon playing soccer with the boys. There were no problems. We all laughed a lot. Clearly they thought it was comical to see a chica juega futbol, but for the most part I was accepted. After telling my friends how much fun I had, I recruited some friends and the four of us went back to the futbol pitch last Saturday. What a debacle. We were three ladies (Americano, Dutch & Norwegian) and two dudes (Americano & Dutch). My friend Michael semi-organizes "team world" (aka non-natives) and a band of local portenos always come to play. This week team world was missing a lot fo regular players and we picked up a handful of locals to balance the sides out. Before we even stepped on the field there were problems. Five or six guys kept complaining about all the chicas (seriously, there were three of us) and how it wasn't fair for us to all play at once. They wanted two of us to sit out and one could play for a few minutes at a time. I certainly don't mind sitting out if everyone has to take a turn on the bench, but they only wanted the girls to sit out. Additionally, there were constant derogatory remarks and inappropriate jokes. My Spanish is pretty rudimentary, but it wasn't difficult to decipher the meaning. Once we started playing it was clear that neither Cat, Fanny or I should expect to receive the ball. At one point I miraculously got the ball, only to be quickly tackled by my own teammate. SWEET. After a while we decided that this was not a fun way to spend an afternoon. I understand that in many countries it is not socially acceptable for women to play soccer or other contact sports with men, but is there really a need for open hostility? This type of event is so frustrating, but also reminds me that not too long ago things were pretty similar world-wide. I am so thankful to the incredible women in the United States and throughout the world who endured so much in their fight for equality. I have a lot more to say on the subject of equality, but I'll save it for another venue :) Right now I just think it's lame that dudes couldn't play with the girls.

The weather is finally starting to really warm up and we've had some beautiful days. Typically a week consists of three to four sunny days, a day of rain and overcast the rest of the time. It's still so strange to think that it's spring when intuitively I think of fall. I started a new Spanish course yesterday and so far it's going well. I cannot believe that next week is my fifth and last week of classes in Argentina. After that, I'll travel for a week and then leave for six weeks in Peru. An adventure for sure.

Thus far my trip is awesome. However, I'm constantly shocked by how fast my money disappears. It's almost like there is a hole in my bank account...is that possible? I don't have any extravagant purchases, but everything adds up pretty quickly. Oy vay.

I'm still trying to recover from last week's sinus infection. It's a slow and snotty process. Really should try to find some antibiotics, but I'm a bit discouraged by my previous adventure at the pharmacy. Anyone have a some good home remedies you can suggest? Too bad I don't have a neti-pot here :)

Time to get down to business and finish my tarea para manana. Also need to translate my cover letter into Spanish for the volunteer program I'm doing in Lima. I think that my cover letter may become much much much more basic in the process :) Hope you are enjoying fall and checking out all the pumpkins for me! Missing you all and hope to hear from you sooooooooon!!! Te quiero mucho!

A short but efficient post

Submitted UPenn BSN/MSN application today!!! WOoo hooooo!!! Thank you thank you thank you to the awesome peeps who read my sketchy drafts of essays during the past few days. Without your help I might still be trying to figure out what the heck to say :) I really enjoyed my visit to Penn last month and I love knowing that I already have a friend in Philly...and she's a nurse...and a Penn grad...and a camp person...and a runner...and GLUTEN FREE!!! Seriously, Penn sounds like a pretty good place to be :)

Still need to finish a few more apps, but the rest should be easier. Why don't they ask the same questions for all the essays??? Not a very efficient process. Oh well.

Still sick :( Mystery meds helping with congestion, but ready to be done with this crap.

Finish my second level of classes tomorrow. YIKES. Tomorrow's exam will cover more regular and irregular verb conjugation (two types of past tense), a bunch of vocab, verbal skillz, and my absolute least favorite, POR Y PARA. Why why why do they need two words and why are the rules so complicated?? After tomorrow I have two weeks of classes, a week of travel, and then I'm off to Peru. Cannot believe how fast time is passing!

MUCHOS BESOS POR(?) TODOS!!!

Una semana y muchos actividades

How is it already October 15th? It feels like I just arrived, but also like I've been here forever. On Saturday I went to the Argentina v Peru fútbol game with my roommates and some other people from school. The game was at 7pm, but we met at 3pm for a variety of interesting activities. First we boarded a bus and drove to the stadium. Well, we thought we were going to the stadium. In fact we drove in circles for about an hour and ended up vary close to where we started. Apparently it was supposed to be some kind of city tour, but no one knew that so we were busy talking to each other instead of looking out the windows. We eventually arrived at a park where there were some pre-game activities...sort of like tailgating. Everyone recieved a ticket for either a free Coke or a free beer. After beverages were distributed we were free to mingle with some other people at the park. This was more an exercise in avoiding the overenthusiastic Argentinian men than socializing. Eventually we boarded the bus again and went to the stadium. We had about a half hour walk from the bus to the actual entrance of the stadium. Along the way there were at least four security checkpoints where we were frisked and our bags were searched. Due to the rowdy nature of fútbol games they do not sell alcohol at the match and drunk people are not allowed in. Random breatholizers were given to ensure everyone's sobriety. Along the route to the stadium there were also a million places to buy jerseys, tshirts, hats, balloons, noise makers, etc. As our group weaved our way through the festivities we clutched our belongings close to prevent anyone from snatching our purses, wallets, etc. Among the chaos I somehow dropped my ticket. I don't know how it happened, one minute I had it and the next I didn't. YIKES. By some freaky miracle I found my ticket on the ground a few steps away. Thank God! Not sure how I would have handled going through all the pregame stuff only to miss the game.

We finally got in, and although our seats were at the TOP of the stadium, we still had a great view. The game was awesome. Neither team did much in the first half...they did incredible things that I could never do with my feet...but neither team looked very cohesive. In the second half Argentina's play improved and they finally scored a goal. Has anyone ever seen Messi play? This man can move his body and the ball in ways I can't even imagine. That is some serious skill. With twenty minutes left in the match the sky opened and we nearly drowned. It sounds funny, but I've never seen so much rain in my life. HUGE drops poured down on us and no one was prepared. It was like jumping in a lake, fully dressed, then going and standing in a shower while trying to watch the game. LOCO. We huddled together until finally a few of us decided to move in search of cover. Unfortunately 5,000 other people decided the same thing at the same time and there was a swarm of people heading for the exit. I feared there would be a stampede, but thankfully we survived. Just as we got under the walkway into the stadium we heard the crowd go wild. We had just missed Peru's goal! OY! As we tried to fight our way back in the crowd went wild again and then manic euphoria erupted. Argentina scored in the last minute to win 2-1 and hopefully secure a place in World Cup 2010. Incredible.

As the rain continued to dump on us we swam out of the stadium and into the streets. I wish there was a way to describe the amount of rain we had in just forty minutes. The bottoms of parked cars were submerged. We didn't bother avoiding puddles, just plowed through them. We dumped all of our electronics in a plastic noisemaker and tied it closed in hopes of saving phones and cameras. No part of me remained dry. When we finally got home we took hot showers, donned sweats, drank hot tea while watching the highlights on TV. Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0CEcWeO664. The video doesn't do justice to the weather, but it gives you an idea. It was awesome. So incredible and so wet.

Unfortunately spending several very cold hours in the rain led to a sinus infection. I've been sick for several days and it sucks. Yesterday I finally ventured to the pharmacy to attempt to purchase medicine. Not exactly sure what I got because I left with two packets of pink pills that did not come in a box or with instructions. Where is Tylenol Cold when I need it? I googled the meds and learned they are decongestants...not perfect, but hopefully will help. Yikes. Going to the pharmacy was frustrating, but also gave me an idea of what it must be like for a non-English speaker to go to the doctor or pharmacy in the US. When I'm sick I want comfort. I want a warm bed, hot tea, and some extra care. Trying to explain to the pharmacist exactly how I felt was like trying to catch sand at the beach. I had an idea of what I wanted to say, but then everything seemed to slip away and I was left pointing to my nose and my head and making sniffling noises. It's easy to take for granted the ability to share a language and express ourselves to our peers, teachers, families, etc. I left the pharmacy feeling frustrated and overwhelmed and had no idea what to do with my purchase. These types of experiences are why I came here. I hope that being able to speak, or at least try to speak, Spanish will help patients feel comfortable and able to explain what they need. Hopefully my experience will also remind me to take the time to ensure the instructions are clear and understood. Anyway, just an overall interesting experience and I really hope to be well soon!

It's Wednesday and my application for the accelorated BSN/MSN program at Penn is due tomorrow. YIKES. I'm so close to being done, but I'm having such a hard time wrapping up my essays. Oy. I visited the campus last month with Bess and it was beautiful. I loved the school and the nursing program seems awesome. Must finish this app so I can at least have a chance at getting in! Please send some good vibes my way :) Miss you and love you all!

p.s. Cal had a bye week...hopefully they spent their off week practicing touchdowns.

whoa. another week gone by.

I cannot believe I have already been here over two weeks! The time is passing so quickly and I am shocked when I realize my time here in BA is almost over! Right now I have booked two more weeks of classes and living in this apartment, then I have two open weeks to travel before going to Lima. I'm considering extending my classes and apartment stay by one week, but not sure yet. I spent some time digging around in my Lonely Planet this week and I am certain I want to visit Península Valdés (duh...if I were an animal, I'd be a whale, therefore must go see the whales), El Calafate (ice, so much ice) and Ushuaia too. I think I can do that in a week...but we'll see. Need to make some plans. Will hopefully be going to Iguazu Falls next weekend with roommate and want to make a weekend trip to Mendoza too...so much to do!!! In the mean time I'm still not finished with my nursing school apps...OY. It's so hard to sit down and actually make structured progress on an essay when I'm in such a different setting. MUST NOT PROCRASTINATE...however, I am doing it right now :)

Had a great week in classes, but it's still so hard to feel like I can communicate. On Wednesday I went to an awesome salsa class with some peeps from my school and we had a great time. On Thursday Cat, Teddy and I went to an event at a bar/restaurant called Spanglish. The purpose of the event is to give people a chance to practice their conversation skills in either English or Spanish. There were about 15 tables and each table had a native Spanish speaker. There were about 15-20 English speakers (mostly European and some Americans) and we were initially assigned to tables and then rotated to different tables throughout the night. A bell would ring that would signal the first five minutes of conversation in Spanish, then after five minutes it rang again and we switched to English. It was cool to talk to people who have lived their whole lives in Buenos Aires or somewhere else in Argentina. The Spanish was frustrating at times, but it was also great practice. It was really interesting and I think we'll probably go again next week. 

Today is a big day. This afternoon I'll join about fifteen classmates and we're going to see the Argentinean national futbol team play against Peru. These are always exciting games, but this is one of the final World Cup qualifiers and Argentina really needs to win to secure a spot in South Africa. I've talked to several locals about Messi, arguably one of the world's best players, and he's pretty controversial here in Argentina. He has lived and played most of his life in Barcelona, and many people here don't feel like he's really part of the Argentinean national team. It's very interesting that he's lived nearly his whole life abroad, but still plays for Argentina. In any case, should be a great game and I'm really looking forward to the experience!

p.s. also sending some huge hopes out for Cal today...Dear Golden Bears, I know it's been a rough two weeks but I really believe you are better than we've seen lately. Stay calm, be confident and please score a touchdown today!!! Roll on you Bears :)

¡MARTES!

Today has been a great day. I have afternoon classes this week, from 2-6pm, which is not ideal, but does give me time for other things in the mornings. Yesterday I got my courage up and knocked on the door of a pilates studio and when the woman answered I used my very basic Spanish to blurt out everything I'd memorized about signing up. She looked at me for a minute and then clearly responded, ¨I speak English." It was a bit deflating, but at least I tried to speak instead of just assuming she'd understand me. Anyway, today I attended my first class and it was fantastic. Not only was it free, but I was the only student! At first I was nervous because my plan was to just watch what the other students did and copy them, but obviously that did't work. Rosita, my instuctor, was awesome and patient as I tried to understand her instructions. Her English is slightly better than my Spanish so we each got some great practice. I look forward to my next class :)

Since arriving in Buenos Aires I have read some great books. I brought Life of Pi and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo along thinking they'd last me a while...but they haven't. Both are excellent books and I recommend them highly. Dragon Tattoo took a bit of time to get into, but once I was sucked in I couldn't put it down. I can't wait to read the next book. I finished both books the first week and thankfully I met a girl last week who was trying to lighten her pack and gave me the book, A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini (author of Kite Runner). I started it last week and finished it this morning in a puddle of sobs. Another excellent book, but very heart wrentching. For anyone who like either this book or Kite Runner, I highly recommend Three Cups of Tea. It is so interesting to read different accounts of what has been happening in Afganistan and Pakistan during the past few decades and all three books have a few overlapping events...and all three are excellent. Anyone else have any good recommendations? I've devoured over a thousand pages of text in the past two weeks and now I have no more English reading material. I did buy a book in Spanish, but I'm a bit intimidated to start it...oy.

Before coming to class today I made a new friend. SO EXCITING. My awesome friend Cori put me in touch with a friend from high school who has been living in Buenos Aires with her husband for the past three years. We met at a place called Tea Connection for an awesome lunch and awesome conversation. I feel so so so lucky to have such great people in my life to help me meet even more great people! I am looking forward to spending more time with Jenny while I'm here...I'll even overlook the fact that she's a Stanfurd grad :)

Finally, I had a great day in class...even if I did yawn a bit to make it to 6pm. Another student at the school was able to unlock Anmol's old iPhone and now I am on my way to the Claro shop in search of a sim card. In just a few hours I may be reconnected to the world via telephone. What a crazy day. Anyway, hope your day was also great and that there were at least a few little things to keep it bright. I miss everyone and look forward to hearing from you soon! ¡Te quiero!

p.s. My UPenn essay is due next week and I'm dreading writing my final essay. I've procrastinated for ages and now must just get it done...uuhhhggg.

Futbol, Argentinian Style

This is a short post, but I'll update with more info later. Only a few minutes of internet left in the day.

Hoy, yo juego futbol in el parque! It was awesome! I met up with a few people from school and we joined a local pick up game for almost two hours of futbol. I was the only woman, which was a bit intimidating. Once we started playing it was hilarious. We had people of all ages, from nineteen to over sixty years old! I hope I can still play at sixty! We played in the park and we all took a turn falling on the lumpy, uneven ground. We also had to watch out for stray dog poo...gross! Anyway, it was so fun to play and to see how the men reacted to a woman in the mix. I scored two goals and our team won 5-4. I also received a few marriage proposals...apparently it's pretty rare for women in Argentina to play soccer :) I look forward to more soccer weekends! Anyway, the weather was awesome and I spent the whole day outside running around and it was AWESOME! Things are looking up :)