Hey everyone! Well...despite my best efforts it has been yet another week... This week was even busier as ALL my classes are now in session. The final one was regional development, which started this week on Tuesday. I'm VERY excited about it and its easily my favorite class. The professor, Mario, not only works with the program, but is also a professor at Cuyo (the public university). He speaks slowly so we can understand and is trying to get us to think about the world outside of our USA background. Its going to be quite the reality check I can tell.
Monday was a pretty basic day. I had class in the morning and in my rush to get out of the house left some very important documents behind for my next class... I had run out of time trying to deal with a presentation on my computer that I had to give in class. Trying not to carry my computer, I had attempted to save the presentation to an e-mail that I could then open on the professor's computer, but the document would not attach. I then tried to save it to my flashdrive and was told there was an error. So I deleted some documents off my flashdrive and tried again...still and error. In frustration I ended up hauling my computer to class. Apparently that was supposed to happen, because my history class had technical difficulties and we ended up using my computer for the presentations. After class I raced back home to grab the papers I had left behind and then went on to language class. The presentation went without issues and we actually used my computer again because some of the presentations wouldn't work on the professor's computer. After class I walked home and enjoyed an afternoon nap before relaxing into the evening and watching Lie to Me with Sole. This has become our Monday night series and I'm absolutely hooked!
Tuesday was when the regional development class started, so that was first on the menu. Followed by lunch (at 4pm when I got home), a nap, and then off to Congreso for sociology. A friend, Christa, from the program has now joined me in that class, so I'm not all along. We had a group assignment at the end of the period and got to work with 3 local students. That was pretty cool except this one guy kept pretending he couldn't understand my spanish and would ask Christa to repeat for him what I'd said. Everyone else could understand, so I think he was just being obnoxious. After we finished the assignment, they started asking us about where we were from and why we were here. Then they asked us about the war in Iraq...that's a touchy subject in English, and trying to explain it in spanish was even tougher, but I think we got our ideas across. Its interesting to see an outside perspective on US politics.
Wednesday was language (more presentations) and Tango!!! That classroom was like a sauna! It has been unusually hot here this week and Wednesday was in the 80s. We learned a bunch of new, more complicated combinations. One of the guys with our program is REALLY good and he ended up helping the pairs that were having trouble. It was fun, but its so crowded that it can be difficult to practice. I'm considering switching to the Monday night class because there are less people and we get to learn folklore dancing as well...we'll just have to see how it all works out. On the way back home from class Whitney and I got on the wrong bus and ended up taking a tour of a local neighborhood before getting back towards town and walking home... Lucky for us the bus driver was super friendly and told us where we should get off and how to get back to the central plaza. Hooray for my first incorrect bus adventure!
Thursday...well...this day did not go AT ALL as I had hoped. If you're looking for only the sunny parts of my experience, do not read this day. :) I had history class again in the morning and arrived promptly to find the classroom. Have I mentioned that the classrooms can change day to day and week to week. You always have to check to see where the class is going to be! We all made it to class (which was held in another sauna) and waited for the professor, who arrived about 30minutes late. Near the end of class, she began talking to us about "trabajo práctico en grupos" which means essentially a group assignment. However past that, I completely lost the gist of what she was talking about. Turning to my other foreign companions, they seemed just as lost. So I gently tapped the shoulder of the girl infront of me and asked her to explain the assignment because we didn't understand...she promptly started laughing at me.... Eventually I got the teacher's attention and asked for an explanation (which we all understood that time) and then another student translated for us in english in case we hadn't gotten it yet. Not only was it embarrassing, I was really hurt by the girl's response. We also found out that the book we had originally been told to buy first was not the one we needed to be reading and instead needed a completely different book and all of unit 1 from the photocopier... Frustrated, confused, and upset, I left class with the others to get all the copies we needed. After waiting for all the sets (it was a pretty thick stack), we did not have time to take the trolley or walk to regional development and instead had to take a cab. However when the 4 of us arrived at the office for class, I somehow ended up paying for nearly all of it... Granted it was about 2 US dollars, but the fact that this was not the first time it had happened, coupled with my miserable mood did nothing but make things worse. As I waited in the office for class, another friend, Audrey, tried to comfort me as I was visibly upset and fighting a turmoil between being furious and bursting into tears. Class went well and during the break I talked to Mario about my frustrations. He apparently knows the professor and talked to her (during the break) about e-mailing us the assignment written down (which is always easier to understand) and also about how we could get more help. On one hand I felt bad because I didn't want him or the professor to think I was incompetent, but on the other hand, I was so thankful for the assistance and support that I gave in. Walking back from class with Audrey I told her about the morning and we commiserated about the difficulties of studying in a different language. I then (for the second time this week) caught the wrong bus home and ended up walking a few more blocks than I intended. Sole was gone when I got home, so I heated up my lunch and decided a nap was definitely in order to clear my head. By the time I woke up I felt much better and was ready for the evening. About 9 of us met at the local (free on Thursdays) pizza restaurant to eat and discuss our Patagonia plans for spring break. We quickly turned away from plans to a venting and consoling session for everyone at the table talking about everything from families, to friends, to food, to classes, to communication. It was WONDERFUL and just what the doctor ordered. Dinner was unanimously followed by ice cream next door... I had been trying to be so good about being healthy and walking all week, but this day was simply too much and I gave in to any and all food temptations, allowing myself a reprieve. It was a wonderful way to end the day and I went home much happier.
Friday I spend relaxing at the house, shopping, and talking with another friend Caroline who has just recently recovered from (as the doctor told her "seasonal flu") or as she later determined severe allergies... We had coffee, talked about the week and the upcoming history project and shopped the local streets. We also combined forces to start reading the material for said history class... Home work is always better in numbers. As I was not up for a very late night, I had an "early" dinner at 10:30pm and went to a friend's house to watch a movie. It was nice to have a girls night to talk and enjoy.
Today was spectacular! A group of us had decided to go hiking and Eric "organized" it so we met at 11am in the central plaza to catch a bus to the "trail-head". However there is not a stop where we thought, so we walked a few blocks to find one. Then we had to catch a different bus to the trailhead... When we finally arrived at what could possibly (but was actually not) our stop, it was 12:40... Determined to hike anyway, we started off up a gravel road towards the mountains and it quickly became clear that this was someone's driveway...so we found a trail and started up that instead. It appears that we had somehow managed to stop in the middle of a shanty town for lack of a better word and were hiking around the outside of the small community. After some difficulty finding a sad excuse for a trail, we started up to a low ridge for a better view. By this point it was 1 and so we stopped for lunch. The scenery was absolutely beautiful. A picturesque desert complete with cacti. As we packed up to head on, Louisa looked at her thermometer and exclaimed that it was a whopping 90º outside...if this is "spring"...summer is going to kill me. We spent the better part of the next 2 hours trying to navigate trains, ridges, river beds, and slippery shale around the foothills of the Andes and eventually decided to call it quits. It was a brilliant adventure and we really enjoyed the views. Deciding that the exertion under the hot sun deserved some sort of reward, we headed back towards my house for ice cream! 3 scoops in a waffle cone for $1. Doesn't get much better than that. Clearly a nap was in order after and I am now going to work on hw until my "aunt" arrives shortly. She's moving in with us and I couldn't be happier. The 3 of us always have a great time and she's a wonderful, patient person to be around. :)
Well...that's all from here. I hope everyone had a great week and I can't wait to hear from you.
All my love!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Classes and Crashes
Hey everyone! I hope you have all had a wonderful week. In lovely Mendoza my week was filled with classes, decisions, and organization for school. I FINALLY (with advice from other students, my host mom, the academic director of the program, my DU advisor, and the professors themselves) have picked out my classes!!! Here is my schedule for the next 'semester':
MONDAY:
History of Political Ideas ~ 9:30am-11:30am
Spanish Language ~ 1pm-3pm
TUESDAY:
Argentinean Regional Development ~ 1pm-3pm
Sociology of Communication ~ 6pm-8:30pm
WEDNESDAY:
Childhood (Regional Development Focus) ~ 8:30am-10am
Spanish Language ~ 1pm-3pm
Tango ~ 5:30pm-7pm
THURSDAY:
History of Political Ideas ~ 9:30am-12pm
Regional Development (sometimes) ~ 1pm-3pm
I'm SUPER excited about it, especially the tango class!!! Now that I have that officially figured out, I have to start buying books, making photo copies of the material and doing homework... :( BOO on that, but I guess I'm here to "study". :) In all honesty I really am looking forward to the classes and all the material. I really like them and with the exception of the sociology class I have friends in every class from the program. I went to the first Tango class on Wednesday night and it was WONDERFUL!!! There are about 30 of us in that class and no one has any idea what is going on, but the teachers are great and its going to be a lot of fun!
Tuesday night I finally experienced the sociology class. Apparently it had taken place the week before, but only half the class had gotten the message that the room had changed. As a result, I essentially "missed" the first class, but I talked to the professor and she said everything is fine. She seems really nice and I truly enjoyed the class, hence the reason it is part of my schedule. :)
In other news...Thursday was Ellen's 21st birthday (she's another DU student here) and so of course we went out to celebrate. There were more than 30 people at the restaurant from our group! We enjoyed margaritas and 'spicy' food by Argentine standards (they don't like spicy AT ALL). I actually ate earlier though with 3 other girls at a local pizza restaurant. Every Thursday night is "ladies' night" more or less and so there is all you can eat cheese pizza for the whole night. They literally bring you pizza after pizza until you ask them to stop and it doesn't matter how many drinks you order or how much time you spend there. It was delicious! And free of course is good too... :)
Friday I got up early and went to the program office to speak with the volunteer coordinator. I have been hoping since I discovered the Mendoza program to participate in community service while I'm here. I really wanted to work with children, but to do that I have to take the regional development class with a focus in children and the focus section conflicted with another class. I was hoping that I could talk to the lady about offering another section or changing the time, because I knew I was not the only one who had a conflict. After talking with her, she agreed to offer another section on Wednesday morning! Its SUPER early (especially by Argentinean standards) but its definitely worth it to me to take the class. Friday afternoon a group of us went shopping at a mall about 30 minutes away. It was pretty fun and I found some new clothes, which is great since wearing the same few outfits over and over gets old pretty fast when you only have 5 or so (I planned to buy some clothes here). :)
On our way back, we had quite the adventure. We were on the micro (bus) on our way back and the bus was PACKED! All of us were standing and holding on to rails etc. We turned a corner and all of a sudden there was a loud bang and a huge jolt in the front of the bus. I almost fell over and everyone was trying to figure out what was going on. The driver pulled to the side of the street and got out to look. I thought a front tire had blown because the bus was tilted to the front right. However, when we all got out, it was not the tire that had blow, but in fact the ENTIRE wheel that had come off! I kid you not, the entire wheel, tire and all, was laying in the middle of the street!!! No one was hurt and it was clear that the bus was going no where, so we set off walking, guided by 2 lovely Mendocinans that we had met at the bus stop. We walked all the way back to the center of town probably about 2 miles and then to our separate houses.
When I got back to the house, I had a friend over for dinner and we had ravioles and home-made flan (of course with dulce de leche y whipped cream on the side). It was DELICIOUS! Possibly one of my favorite meals here so far! After dinner we relaxed and watched "He's Just NOT That Into You" which is officially one of my favorite movies. Who knew you could rent movies from iTunes?!! How cool! Since it was 3:30am when the movie ended, I slept until noon on Saturday and then accompanied a shopping trip for my friend. Last night was pretty quiet. A bunch of us met up at an Irish pub in town for drinks and (as usual) took over a vast percentage of the space and hung out talking until 5:30am. Its crazy to me the schedule here!!! This pub was really fun and aside from being there with friends, there was a constant stream of highly entertaining music videos playing (complete of course with a short streak dedicated to Michael Jackson).
Today has been very relaxing (as I slept until 1pm) and then hung out at the house until after lunch. Then I met up with a couplet friends at the central plaza and we went to see the play of Aladín at a local children's theater. It was really funny and although I will admit I could not follow the whole story line, we had a great time. Today has got to be the nicest weather day we've had so far! I didn't even need a sweatshirt! Summer is just around the corner!!! I'm SO excited.
This week looks to be full of classes, home work, and reading. I'll keep you all updated and hope that everyone has a great week as well. Good luck to everyone who is going back to classes and for those of you who aren't I hope you are enjoying your final days of summer. :) I miss you all and hope to hear about what you're up to as well. Take care!
All My Love!
MONDAY:
History of Political Ideas ~ 9:30am-11:30am
Spanish Language ~ 1pm-3pm
TUESDAY:
Argentinean Regional Development ~ 1pm-3pm
Sociology of Communication ~ 6pm-8:30pm
WEDNESDAY:
Childhood (Regional Development Focus) ~ 8:30am-10am
Spanish Language ~ 1pm-3pm
Tango ~ 5:30pm-7pm
THURSDAY:
History of Political Ideas ~ 9:30am-12pm
Regional Development (sometimes) ~ 1pm-3pm
I'm SUPER excited about it, especially the tango class!!! Now that I have that officially figured out, I have to start buying books, making photo copies of the material and doing homework... :( BOO on that, but I guess I'm here to "study". :) In all honesty I really am looking forward to the classes and all the material. I really like them and with the exception of the sociology class I have friends in every class from the program. I went to the first Tango class on Wednesday night and it was WONDERFUL!!! There are about 30 of us in that class and no one has any idea what is going on, but the teachers are great and its going to be a lot of fun!
Tuesday night I finally experienced the sociology class. Apparently it had taken place the week before, but only half the class had gotten the message that the room had changed. As a result, I essentially "missed" the first class, but I talked to the professor and she said everything is fine. She seems really nice and I truly enjoyed the class, hence the reason it is part of my schedule. :)
In other news...Thursday was Ellen's 21st birthday (she's another DU student here) and so of course we went out to celebrate. There were more than 30 people at the restaurant from our group! We enjoyed margaritas and 'spicy' food by Argentine standards (they don't like spicy AT ALL). I actually ate earlier though with 3 other girls at a local pizza restaurant. Every Thursday night is "ladies' night" more or less and so there is all you can eat cheese pizza for the whole night. They literally bring you pizza after pizza until you ask them to stop and it doesn't matter how many drinks you order or how much time you spend there. It was delicious! And free of course is good too... :)
Friday I got up early and went to the program office to speak with the volunteer coordinator. I have been hoping since I discovered the Mendoza program to participate in community service while I'm here. I really wanted to work with children, but to do that I have to take the regional development class with a focus in children and the focus section conflicted with another class. I was hoping that I could talk to the lady about offering another section or changing the time, because I knew I was not the only one who had a conflict. After talking with her, she agreed to offer another section on Wednesday morning! Its SUPER early (especially by Argentinean standards) but its definitely worth it to me to take the class. Friday afternoon a group of us went shopping at a mall about 30 minutes away. It was pretty fun and I found some new clothes, which is great since wearing the same few outfits over and over gets old pretty fast when you only have 5 or so (I planned to buy some clothes here). :)
On our way back, we had quite the adventure. We were on the micro (bus) on our way back and the bus was PACKED! All of us were standing and holding on to rails etc. We turned a corner and all of a sudden there was a loud bang and a huge jolt in the front of the bus. I almost fell over and everyone was trying to figure out what was going on. The driver pulled to the side of the street and got out to look. I thought a front tire had blown because the bus was tilted to the front right. However, when we all got out, it was not the tire that had blow, but in fact the ENTIRE wheel that had come off! I kid you not, the entire wheel, tire and all, was laying in the middle of the street!!! No one was hurt and it was clear that the bus was going no where, so we set off walking, guided by 2 lovely Mendocinans that we had met at the bus stop. We walked all the way back to the center of town probably about 2 miles and then to our separate houses.
When I got back to the house, I had a friend over for dinner and we had ravioles and home-made flan (of course with dulce de leche y whipped cream on the side). It was DELICIOUS! Possibly one of my favorite meals here so far! After dinner we relaxed and watched "He's Just NOT That Into You" which is officially one of my favorite movies. Who knew you could rent movies from iTunes?!! How cool! Since it was 3:30am when the movie ended, I slept until noon on Saturday and then accompanied a shopping trip for my friend. Last night was pretty quiet. A bunch of us met up at an Irish pub in town for drinks and (as usual) took over a vast percentage of the space and hung out talking until 5:30am. Its crazy to me the schedule here!!! This pub was really fun and aside from being there with friends, there was a constant stream of highly entertaining music videos playing (complete of course with a short streak dedicated to Michael Jackson).
Today has been very relaxing (as I slept until 1pm) and then hung out at the house until after lunch. Then I met up with a couplet friends at the central plaza and we went to see the play of Aladín at a local children's theater. It was really funny and although I will admit I could not follow the whole story line, we had a great time. Today has got to be the nicest weather day we've had so far! I didn't even need a sweatshirt! Summer is just around the corner!!! I'm SO excited.
This week looks to be full of classes, home work, and reading. I'll keep you all updated and hope that everyone has a great week as well. Good luck to everyone who is going back to classes and for those of you who aren't I hope you are enjoying your final days of summer. :) I miss you all and hope to hear about what you're up to as well. Take care!
All My Love!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Vacation in Córdoba
Hey everyone! So I know you're all waiting with baited breath to hear what happened next here in Mendoza. :) So, without further adieu... The winds had not subsided at all on Friday night when it was time to leave, but we headed to the bus terminal anyway. Our bus left slightly late and we were on our way to Córdoba. 7 of us were in the bottom level of the bus in what is called the "cama" or bed section. Its kinda like first class on a bus. We were fed a pretty decent dinner and then they started the movie of the evening, which was Slumdog Millionaire. I hadn't seen it yet, so this was very exciting for me. Also lucky, was that it was in English with Spanish subtitles, so I didn't really have to think to watch it. I crashed out pretty quick after the movie and slept like you would on an airplane. Next thing I know, the attendant is waking me up for breakfast (which here is crackers and jelly, coffe, and an Alfajor-a cookie/dulce de leche sandwich covered in chocolate). Yum! After a short while longer, we arrived at the terminal, unloaded, and set off in search of a taxi. Since there were 8 of us with bags, we split into 3 cars and eventually arrived at the hostel to check in. Only 1 room was ready, so we put all our stuff in one spot and relaxed until we could split up, take showers, and take a nap. Then it was off exploring the town in search of lunch and shopping. We had a great lunch at a little café and then went to the mall. Ice cream was of course obligatory on the way back to the hostel. That evening we met up with the other students who had arrived on Friday and all 12 of us went to dinner. Then it was back to the hostel to change for a night on the town. Like I had mentioned, Córdoba is famous for its nightlife, and I was SUPER excited to go dancing...however, after people had changed and we'd waited a bit to figure out plans, I seemed to be the only one who wanted to go. Everyone else was too tired etc. I'd nearly resigned myself to staying in, when all of a sudden, my friend Deven (who had been asleep on the couch) woke up and asks, "So are we leaving anytime soon?". Much to my surprise, he and I left 5 minutes later to meet up with some others at a bar not too far away. As part of the culture, timing in Argentina is VERY different than in the US. In Denver, we'll be at a club around 11pm and it closes at 2am. In Córdoba, we left the hostel at 1am, went to a bar, didn't make it to the club until 3am, and stayed until it closed at 6am. It was a LONG night, but definitely a blast all the same.
There were only 4 of us that went to this club for a regaton (Argentinean rap) festival that night; 3 girls and Deven. Another part of the culture here, is that it is completely ok to stare at people...for what we would consider an inordinate amount of time...and this was certainly the case at the club. Everyone kept asking us where we were from, and Cati just kept saying Germany (both because Sarah and I could pull off the look and because US girls have a reputation for being "easy"). However, the problem was that lots of people spoke German (and we don't). So they would start talking to us and we would promptly run away... The conversation essentially went like this: "Somos de Alemania (we're from germany)". "S*** he speaks German too! We need to pick a different country...like China!" It was highly entertaining and all 4 of us had a great time together.
The next day we relaxed in the hostel for the morning and then all met up for an all you can eat buffet not to far down the street. The food was delicious and there was a wide variety of items to choose from. Of course we all took a siesta/nap after lunch and then headed to a local craft fair to explore. Then it was back to the hostel for free empanadas (gormet hot pockets essentially) and conversation with the other guests. It was a great time to hang out and relax. We talked to a lot of people from all over the world and then a group of us sat talking and getting to know each other better until 3am.
Monday we decided to go exploring and when we decided that hiking was too far away, we caught a $1, 1 hour bus ride to a town called Carlos Paz. It was BEAUTIFUL and nestled in a valley with a lake. Some of us decided quickly that the group was simply too big to stick together, and so 4 of us split off in search of lunch, which we found at a cute pizza and sandwich shop in the center of town. For 2 medium pizzas and 4 bottles of water it cost us a grand total of 50 pesos (about $4 per person). We spent the afternoon wandering up and down the pedestrian street looking into shops and found another craft fair as well. The rest of the group trekked up the nearest hill to a monument on top and got some beautiful pictures. We all met up in the afternoon and headed back to córdoba. Back at the hostel we had 2 hours until our bus left for Mendoza, so we relaxed and watched Batman Begins in the sitting room. Then it was off to the bus terminal and home to Mendoza. The food again was great on the bus and I slept pretty well until I woke up in the morning with an Alfajor on my crossed arms. We arrived in Mendoza to a dreary, rainy day and everyone happily split off to their separate houses to get more rest.
All in all, the vacation was great and much needed. I got to know a bunch of people from our program and saw some really pretty places. The rest of the week is devoted to scholastic adventures, testing classes, and selecting which ones I'm officially going to take. With a little patience, that should all be resolved by the beginning of next week.
I hope you are all doing well!
All my love.
There were only 4 of us that went to this club for a regaton (Argentinean rap) festival that night; 3 girls and Deven. Another part of the culture here, is that it is completely ok to stare at people...for what we would consider an inordinate amount of time...and this was certainly the case at the club. Everyone kept asking us where we were from, and Cati just kept saying Germany (both because Sarah and I could pull off the look and because US girls have a reputation for being "easy"). However, the problem was that lots of people spoke German (and we don't). So they would start talking to us and we would promptly run away... The conversation essentially went like this: "Somos de Alemania (we're from germany)". "S*** he speaks German too! We need to pick a different country...like China!" It was highly entertaining and all 4 of us had a great time together.
The next day we relaxed in the hostel for the morning and then all met up for an all you can eat buffet not to far down the street. The food was delicious and there was a wide variety of items to choose from. Of course we all took a siesta/nap after lunch and then headed to a local craft fair to explore. Then it was back to the hostel for free empanadas (gormet hot pockets essentially) and conversation with the other guests. It was a great time to hang out and relax. We talked to a lot of people from all over the world and then a group of us sat talking and getting to know each other better until 3am.
Monday we decided to go exploring and when we decided that hiking was too far away, we caught a $1, 1 hour bus ride to a town called Carlos Paz. It was BEAUTIFUL and nestled in a valley with a lake. Some of us decided quickly that the group was simply too big to stick together, and so 4 of us split off in search of lunch, which we found at a cute pizza and sandwich shop in the center of town. For 2 medium pizzas and 4 bottles of water it cost us a grand total of 50 pesos (about $4 per person). We spent the afternoon wandering up and down the pedestrian street looking into shops and found another craft fair as well. The rest of the group trekked up the nearest hill to a monument on top and got some beautiful pictures. We all met up in the afternoon and headed back to córdoba. Back at the hostel we had 2 hours until our bus left for Mendoza, so we relaxed and watched Batman Begins in the sitting room. Then it was off to the bus terminal and home to Mendoza. The food again was great on the bus and I slept pretty well until I woke up in the morning with an Alfajor on my crossed arms. We arrived in Mendoza to a dreary, rainy day and everyone happily split off to their separate houses to get more rest.
All in all, the vacation was great and much needed. I got to know a bunch of people from our program and saw some really pretty places. The rest of the week is devoted to scholastic adventures, testing classes, and selecting which ones I'm officially going to take. With a little patience, that should all be resolved by the beginning of next week.
I hope you are all doing well!
All my love.
Friday, August 14, 2009
A week full of classes!
Hey everyone! So it has been yet another week without a post. I'm terribly sorry about that! Classes started at the local universities this week and so I have been "shopping" as its called for classes that I want to take. This essentially means that I attend classes that I'm interested in and at the end of this next week I will have to decide which ones I'm actually going to take and enroll in them. As of now, I have the issue of being interested in too many classes, which I guess is a good place to be. All of the ones that I'm looking at are in the small private university (which is only a few blocks from the apartment). This week I visited: The History of Political Ideas, Social and Political History of Argentina, Sociology of Communication, and Tango. Unfortunately I have not actually gotten to experience the sociology of communication class yet. I was the only extranjero (foreign student) that showed up and there were about 10 of us that waited from about 6pm (when the class was supposed to start) until 6:45pm and the professor never showed up! Imagine that. First day of class and the teacher is MIA. I'll try again next week, but apparently this isn't all that uncommon here (especially the first week of classes).
Other than classes, we had more orientations this week including one at the Chopin Art School, which is connected to Congreso. I'm definitely going to take a tango class there (whether it counts toward my major or not) simply because its a fun part of the culture. There was also a rapid fire history lesson with the program (part 1 of 4) for any students enrolling in a history class at either university. It is supposed to help give us a very general background of Argentinean history so that we aren't completely lost in the classes.
As it relates to classes (since that seems to be the theme this week) this weekend is a long weekend because of a holiday on Monday. As a result, most of us are traveling this weekend in order to take advantage of the extra time and see more of the country. I am certainly in that group and am looking forward to leaving tonight for Cordoba with 10 other friends. Cordoba is about halfway between Buenos Aires and Mendoza and is well known for its variety of activities including shopping, hiking, horseback riding, food, and vibrant night life. If all goes as planned, we will board a bus tonight at 10pm and arrive in Cordoba around 7:30am tomorrow. While there we'll be staying at a hostel and enjoying what the town has to offer. It'll definitely be nice to relax, go hiking, and of course experience the well-known clubs on Saturday night!!! I'm super excited to go dancing! Since there are no classes on Monday, we'll catch a bus back from Cordoba at 11pm Monday night to arrive around 8:30am on Tuesday. Its definitely going to be an adventure.
However, in the latest crazy weather news from Mendoza (where you can actually talk about the weather as an interesting topic) yet another "viento zonda" decided to crash in this afternoon. To recap, this is the crazy wind that comes with a low pressure system down from the Andes and Chile into Mendoza. It causes a severe drop in air pressure (leading to headaches, nausea, stomach issues, breathing concerns) and also comes with crazy winds. As of now, Mendoza is shut down, residents have been asked to stay inside, the city busses are not running, and living on the 6th story I can see debris from the street blowing outside my window... We're all crossing our fingers that the busses are running tonight and that the winds don't get worse. However, should they get worse or stay the same, our trip will be cancelled. Mendoza is the only town that experiences this phenomenon and outside the city the weather is supposed to be just fine. We're all crossing our fingers that it calms down by tonight. :)
I'll be sure to let you all know how the trip goes and what fun adventures we have along the way. I'll be a great chance to get to know some of the other students better and to relax. Since classes were cancelled today (in advance warning of the Zonda) we also have no hw to worry about this weekend! I hope everyone had a wonderful week and that you have fun plans to relax this weekend!
All my love!
Other than classes, we had more orientations this week including one at the Chopin Art School, which is connected to Congreso. I'm definitely going to take a tango class there (whether it counts toward my major or not) simply because its a fun part of the culture. There was also a rapid fire history lesson with the program (part 1 of 4) for any students enrolling in a history class at either university. It is supposed to help give us a very general background of Argentinean history so that we aren't completely lost in the classes.
As it relates to classes (since that seems to be the theme this week) this weekend is a long weekend because of a holiday on Monday. As a result, most of us are traveling this weekend in order to take advantage of the extra time and see more of the country. I am certainly in that group and am looking forward to leaving tonight for Cordoba with 10 other friends. Cordoba is about halfway between Buenos Aires and Mendoza and is well known for its variety of activities including shopping, hiking, horseback riding, food, and vibrant night life. If all goes as planned, we will board a bus tonight at 10pm and arrive in Cordoba around 7:30am tomorrow. While there we'll be staying at a hostel and enjoying what the town has to offer. It'll definitely be nice to relax, go hiking, and of course experience the well-known clubs on Saturday night!!! I'm super excited to go dancing! Since there are no classes on Monday, we'll catch a bus back from Cordoba at 11pm Monday night to arrive around 8:30am on Tuesday. Its definitely going to be an adventure.
However, in the latest crazy weather news from Mendoza (where you can actually talk about the weather as an interesting topic) yet another "viento zonda" decided to crash in this afternoon. To recap, this is the crazy wind that comes with a low pressure system down from the Andes and Chile into Mendoza. It causes a severe drop in air pressure (leading to headaches, nausea, stomach issues, breathing concerns) and also comes with crazy winds. As of now, Mendoza is shut down, residents have been asked to stay inside, the city busses are not running, and living on the 6th story I can see debris from the street blowing outside my window... We're all crossing our fingers that the busses are running tonight and that the winds don't get worse. However, should they get worse or stay the same, our trip will be cancelled. Mendoza is the only town that experiences this phenomenon and outside the city the weather is supposed to be just fine. We're all crossing our fingers that it calms down by tonight. :)
I'll be sure to let you all know how the trip goes and what fun adventures we have along the way. I'll be a great chance to get to know some of the other students better and to relax. Since classes were cancelled today (in advance warning of the Zonda) we also have no hw to worry about this weekend! I hope everyone had a wonderful week and that you have fun plans to relax this weekend!
All my love!
Friday, August 7, 2009
More Adventures!
Hey everyone! I'm sorry its been nearly a week since I wrote my last post. Things are getting busier as I start looking at classes and try to decide what to take. Classes at the universities officially start on Monday and us foreign exchange students have 2 weeks of "shopping" time to attend classes that interest us and figure out which ones we're actually going to take. Its crazy complicated (especially with 2 universities), but it will all work out soon!
So, last weekend on Sunday I went with my family and some friends to a place called San Juan. This is not only the province to the north of Mendoza, but also a city/shrine about 3 hours away by bus. We left the house at 7:30am which was absurdly early foe here! On the bus there they played The Departed (in spanish of course) which was entertaining although I slept most of the way. Once we got there, the first order of business was paying homage to the saint, La Difunta Correra, who the shrine is dedicated to. The legend goes that this woman was walking through the desert with her baby son on a mission to help her husband who was in the army but she got lost and died of thirst. Two days later people found her body and her son had somehow survived by drinking her milk. She's honestly more like a demi-god than a saint and the people here pray to her often kinda like a goddess of promises. When their promise is granted they come to pay homage to her and bring a piece of whatever was granted to them (like a mini-replica of their house or their wedding dress etc). Its really quite amazing. To reach the shrine at the top of the hill you have to walk up a long, winding, covered set of stairs. Then people pray at the shrine, light a candle with a prayer, and often bring a bottle of water to leave for her as well. It was a wonderful experience. Then we had lunch and walked around the stalls looking at all the different things for sale. One of Sole's friends was apparently concerned about my because I didn't say much all day. The truth is that I'm still nervous about talking to native people and saying something stupid. However, by the end of the day I was talking more. After a few hours the bus came back to get us and we watched What Happens in Vegas on the way back. Upon arriving at the bus terminal it was straight to an asado (bbq) with a bunch of Sole's friends. It was a blast, but we had to leave early so that I could study for my exam on Monday.
Monday...I had class and an orientation at UNCuyo (the large public university). The transportation system here is so interesting. Sometimes the bus I need to take arrives and sometimes not. Today was one of the not days and by the time I realized that it was too late for a 30 minute walk so I ended up taking a cab... I've got to figure out another method for the bus system! :) Other than that, the day was pretty uneventful.
Tuesday...I had another orientation (this time for Congreso, the private university), VISA orientation (which is a very long and complicated process) and then class. Between it was a very hurried lunch at home (which of course was delicious as usual). After class, SIESTA!!! I'm loving the new schedule here! Its way different, but much more relaxed than at home in the US.
Wednesday...class and an orientation for the faculty I'm interested in taking classes in at UNCuyo. It seems pretty nice, so we'll see what happens.
Thursday...class and nothing else, so I got to sleep in and then come back and take a nap! I haven't slept this much in years. We also went out last night to another bar that was doing Karaoke (I of course did not participate, but enjoyed watching). Then it was back home to bed around 5am...again with the VERY different schedule!
Today I woke up feeling absolutely awful, and barely rolled out of bed in time to make it to catch the bus, which as luck would have it was not running today. So instead, it was I who was nearly running (because I had the time and didn't want to pay for a taxi) to class. After class, NAP!!! Then Sole took me and another student, Whitney, to a concert at a local bar where her boyfriend's band was playing. They were AMAZING! The girl who sings is only 18 and they sound great! It was a ton of fun and very relaxing.
Tomorrow I'm going with the IFSA-Butler group on an excursion all day entitled Arte, Vino, y Tango (Art, Wine, and Tango). I'm SUPER excited about it and will be sure to write all the details when I get back. :) I really am enjoying everything here. Although I do miss home, my family, my friends, etc. Every day it gets easier to be here though. My language skills are improving rapidly as is my confidence. I'm a lot happier finding my way around and walking places to explore the city. I hope you all are doing well. Know that I miss you and think of you often!
All my love!
So, last weekend on Sunday I went with my family and some friends to a place called San Juan. This is not only the province to the north of Mendoza, but also a city/shrine about 3 hours away by bus. We left the house at 7:30am which was absurdly early foe here! On the bus there they played The Departed (in spanish of course) which was entertaining although I slept most of the way. Once we got there, the first order of business was paying homage to the saint, La Difunta Correra, who the shrine is dedicated to. The legend goes that this woman was walking through the desert with her baby son on a mission to help her husband who was in the army but she got lost and died of thirst. Two days later people found her body and her son had somehow survived by drinking her milk. She's honestly more like a demi-god than a saint and the people here pray to her often kinda like a goddess of promises. When their promise is granted they come to pay homage to her and bring a piece of whatever was granted to them (like a mini-replica of their house or their wedding dress etc). Its really quite amazing. To reach the shrine at the top of the hill you have to walk up a long, winding, covered set of stairs. Then people pray at the shrine, light a candle with a prayer, and often bring a bottle of water to leave for her as well. It was a wonderful experience. Then we had lunch and walked around the stalls looking at all the different things for sale. One of Sole's friends was apparently concerned about my because I didn't say much all day. The truth is that I'm still nervous about talking to native people and saying something stupid. However, by the end of the day I was talking more. After a few hours the bus came back to get us and we watched What Happens in Vegas on the way back. Upon arriving at the bus terminal it was straight to an asado (bbq) with a bunch of Sole's friends. It was a blast, but we had to leave early so that I could study for my exam on Monday.
Monday...I had class and an orientation at UNCuyo (the large public university). The transportation system here is so interesting. Sometimes the bus I need to take arrives and sometimes not. Today was one of the not days and by the time I realized that it was too late for a 30 minute walk so I ended up taking a cab... I've got to figure out another method for the bus system! :) Other than that, the day was pretty uneventful.
Tuesday...I had another orientation (this time for Congreso, the private university), VISA orientation (which is a very long and complicated process) and then class. Between it was a very hurried lunch at home (which of course was delicious as usual). After class, SIESTA!!! I'm loving the new schedule here! Its way different, but much more relaxed than at home in the US.
Wednesday...class and an orientation for the faculty I'm interested in taking classes in at UNCuyo. It seems pretty nice, so we'll see what happens.
Thursday...class and nothing else, so I got to sleep in and then come back and take a nap! I haven't slept this much in years. We also went out last night to another bar that was doing Karaoke (I of course did not participate, but enjoyed watching). Then it was back home to bed around 5am...again with the VERY different schedule!
Today I woke up feeling absolutely awful, and barely rolled out of bed in time to make it to catch the bus, which as luck would have it was not running today. So instead, it was I who was nearly running (because I had the time and didn't want to pay for a taxi) to class. After class, NAP!!! Then Sole took me and another student, Whitney, to a concert at a local bar where her boyfriend's band was playing. They were AMAZING! The girl who sings is only 18 and they sound great! It was a ton of fun and very relaxing.
Tomorrow I'm going with the IFSA-Butler group on an excursion all day entitled Arte, Vino, y Tango (Art, Wine, and Tango). I'm SUPER excited about it and will be sure to write all the details when I get back. :) I really am enjoying everything here. Although I do miss home, my family, my friends, etc. Every day it gets easier to be here though. My language skills are improving rapidly as is my confidence. I'm a lot happier finding my way around and walking places to explore the city. I hope you all are doing well. Know that I miss you and think of you often!
All my love!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Finished 1 Week in Mendoza!!!
Hey everyone. I'm sorry its been a few days since I've written. Our language class for the program started on Wednesday and I've had hw every night. :( Seriously a bummer! Oh well, I'm starting to know my way around parts of the city a lot better, which is pretty cool. I have no problem getting to and from the University by myself. On Tuesday we waited for the bus for 40 minutes and I ended up being late for class, so the next day we were there super early. I've got it down to a science now. To make it to class at 2:30, I have to catch the 1:45 bus, which puts me at school at 2...at least I'm not late! The bus only seems to be coming once an hour right now, but Sole says that when classes start there will be busses all the time.
As for the rest of the week, I had class every day for about 3 hours and then came home to take a nap until around 8pm. Dinner is usually around 10, but there are days when we don't eat until close to 11pm!!! Its definitely taking some getting used to, but I'm really enjoying it. I was braved going out for an evening on the town for the first time on Thursday night. I live in the center of the city, but the bars are about 20 minutes from where I live and no one lives real close to me, so I have to leave by myself and meet up with people at the bar. So Thursday night I decided to go out and got directions to the bar and directions from Sole on how to get there. Well the guy on the trolley confused me when I got on and so when we got to my stop (thanks to the fact that I was confused and that there are no street signs) I definitely missed it and the driver went to the next block where the bar I was going to is located and stopped saying, "This isn't a real stop, but I'll let you off here. You're very beautiful." I must have blushed a million shades red and literally leapt off the trolley. Again thanks to no signs, I was promptly lost and had to ask a transit person for help. Then right after that I bumped into some girls from my program. Definitely not my cup of tea and I was certainly scared for a few minutes, but everything was just fine. We met up with the a bunch of others and the 13 of us had a great time chilling in a bar for about 2 hours. At this point it was only 2am, so we decided to go to a boliche (club) and piled into a couple of taxis (which are driven like race cars by the way). The clubs are WAY outside of town and we finally decided on one to go into about 2:30. The music was interesting (considering that none of the songs were ones we were familiar with and they were all in spanish). They weren't easy to dance to either, but we still had a blast! By 4am we were all exhausted and headed home. Apparently this is an early night for argentina where most clubs are open until 5:30am!!! I certainly will not be doing that every night...
Last night I was pretty tired and decided to stay in, so one of my friends from the program came to my apartment to chill too. We decided to go get something to eat and immediately thought McDonald's! But here they close at 12am... so we hit up a 24hr hot dog restaurant instead. Louisa ordered the equivalent of a "spring hot dog" and was surprised to find out that it was a bun with lettuce, tomatoes, mayonnaise, melted cheese, and fried egg. Interesting combination, but still good. Then we retreated back to the apartment for a relaxing cafe con leche and a movie. We finally decided on Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 and in order to practice our spanish watched it in spanish with english subtitles... :)
Other than that, there isn't much new to tell. We start looking at classes next week. As of now, I have a list of 14 that I'm interested in and just have to narrow it down by visiting the classes, meeting the professors etc. Its going to be an adventure and I'm certainly stressed out about it, but it'll all be fine with the help of the staff.
Tomorrow Sole is taking me with her and her friends to San Juan, which is the province to the north of Mendoza. I'm not exactly sure what is so special about where we're going, but from what I could catch, it has something to do with an old legend from the town and some sort of miracle that occurred there with water a long time ago...I'm sure I'll understand a lot more after our adventure. We have to leave absurdly early though!!! 8am is when our bus leaves and we'll be back at 5pm (just in time for siesta!!!).
I hope you all are doing well! All my love!
As for the rest of the week, I had class every day for about 3 hours and then came home to take a nap until around 8pm. Dinner is usually around 10, but there are days when we don't eat until close to 11pm!!! Its definitely taking some getting used to, but I'm really enjoying it. I was braved going out for an evening on the town for the first time on Thursday night. I live in the center of the city, but the bars are about 20 minutes from where I live and no one lives real close to me, so I have to leave by myself and meet up with people at the bar. So Thursday night I decided to go out and got directions to the bar and directions from Sole on how to get there. Well the guy on the trolley confused me when I got on and so when we got to my stop (thanks to the fact that I was confused and that there are no street signs) I definitely missed it and the driver went to the next block where the bar I was going to is located and stopped saying, "This isn't a real stop, but I'll let you off here. You're very beautiful." I must have blushed a million shades red and literally leapt off the trolley. Again thanks to no signs, I was promptly lost and had to ask a transit person for help. Then right after that I bumped into some girls from my program. Definitely not my cup of tea and I was certainly scared for a few minutes, but everything was just fine. We met up with the a bunch of others and the 13 of us had a great time chilling in a bar for about 2 hours. At this point it was only 2am, so we decided to go to a boliche (club) and piled into a couple of taxis (which are driven like race cars by the way). The clubs are WAY outside of town and we finally decided on one to go into about 2:30. The music was interesting (considering that none of the songs were ones we were familiar with and they were all in spanish). They weren't easy to dance to either, but we still had a blast! By 4am we were all exhausted and headed home. Apparently this is an early night for argentina where most clubs are open until 5:30am!!! I certainly will not be doing that every night...
Last night I was pretty tired and decided to stay in, so one of my friends from the program came to my apartment to chill too. We decided to go get something to eat and immediately thought McDonald's! But here they close at 12am... so we hit up a 24hr hot dog restaurant instead. Louisa ordered the equivalent of a "spring hot dog" and was surprised to find out that it was a bun with lettuce, tomatoes, mayonnaise, melted cheese, and fried egg. Interesting combination, but still good. Then we retreated back to the apartment for a relaxing cafe con leche and a movie. We finally decided on Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 and in order to practice our spanish watched it in spanish with english subtitles... :)
Other than that, there isn't much new to tell. We start looking at classes next week. As of now, I have a list of 14 that I'm interested in and just have to narrow it down by visiting the classes, meeting the professors etc. Its going to be an adventure and I'm certainly stressed out about it, but it'll all be fine with the help of the staff.
Tomorrow Sole is taking me with her and her friends to San Juan, which is the province to the north of Mendoza. I'm not exactly sure what is so special about where we're going, but from what I could catch, it has something to do with an old legend from the town and some sort of miracle that occurred there with water a long time ago...I'm sure I'll understand a lot more after our adventure. We have to leave absurdly early though!!! 8am is when our bus leaves and we'll be back at 5pm (just in time for siesta!!!).
I hope you all are doing well! All my love!
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