Argentinean Friends!!!

Hey everyone! Its hard to believe that another week has gone by already! This past one was filled again with classes and some new exciting adventures.

Monday I had my classes as usual and came home very tired after spanish. As far as the "siesta" thing goes, there are times when I LOVE it and times when I find it rather annoying. For example when I'm exhausted its a great excuse for a 1-3 hour nap in the middle of the day. However when I have errands I want to run or want to meet up with my friends, 1-5 is always out of the question because everything is shut down. We'll make plans and then realize later that this was a dumb idea because everything is closed... The evening was FANTASTIC! I had my first experience with "lomos" a famous Argentinean 'sandwich' more or less and it was DELICIOUS! Sole's friend Fernando came over for dinner and with him being a chef as well, we had an amazing meal! However, it made quite the mess! Delicious none the less. :)

As for Tuesday, it was also business as usual with classes. Sociology went really well though which was encouraging and my professor informed me that I did indeed do my homework right (which was another relief). I was actually able to participate in the class discussion too, which made me really proud because even if I understand the conversation and can come up with an answer to the questions, its often difficult to find the confidence to toss in my opinion (especially when I'm afraid my grammar might be wrong). A fellow student has also joined me, so its nice to have a friendly face in a class of 50. We also had "cafecitos con José" today where all the students can meet up at a designated cafe to talk with our director and share photos, rant, celebrate, etc. It was definitely nice to see some faces that I haven't seen in awhile.

Wednesday as well was a nice break. I didn't have class until 1, but I met up with a friend Cati (Caitlin) for breakfast at her favorite cafe. She was here the semester before and decided to stay for a year, so she knows her way around the city. We had a wonderful snack of café con leche, jugo, y medialunas (definitely the best I've had yet). Then we walked around for a bit before I had to walk to spanish class. After spanish it was back home for a quick lunch before tango! The class is going pretty well and I'm really enjoying it. This week we were informed that we will be participating in the end of the year celebration in El Teatro de Independencia which is one of the most important and prominent theaters here. As a result, we started learning some combinations. For the second week in a row I partnered with a guy friend from DU. We have a good time, but sometimes I just can't take him seriously. There is once step that's called a "sandwich" and its his favorite, so the first time we did the combo and counted through the pattern he just said sandwich. The next time is was a turkey sandwich and the third time a ham sandwich. I couldn't help but laugh. At the end of class our professor was teaching us how we're to enter and exit the stage, we're supposed to look very intently at our partner as we leave and the first time my friend wouldn't even look at me. The next time he gave me the strangest look and I broke down laughing and blushed bright red. I think we're definitely going to have a good time.

Thursday was arguably my favorite day of the week! I rushed out of the house in morning (preoccupied as usual that I was going to be late to class) and arrived to sit and talk with my friends. We talked and talked and about 9:50 (20 minutes after class should've started) some of the Argentinean students joined in and we all began to speak together in a mix of spanish and english. Many of them have studied English and can speak practically perfect! After a short time, they decided that we should all have an 'asado' together in the coming weekend! I was super excited since I have not yet experienced an asado. After an HOUR of waiting and talking we were finally informed that our teacher was not in fact coming to class today and that we could all leave. So we headed to the plaza with our new friends for a Coke and potato chips. I was SUPER excited about all of this. All I've wanted for the last few weeks was to make friends with some of the Argentine students and now I finally have! Especially after the frustration and embarrassment in that same class last week, this was a great way to end the day! I went home to Sole for a delicious lunch of spaghetti (can you sense the Italian influence) and then spent the afternoon working on hw before going out for another weekly tradition of free pizza (this time under the disguise of celebrating yet another birthday). I came home early and slept in a bit which was really nice!

Friday morning began with another bank trip for visas... This was the final step thank goodness! Now all I have to do is take all the papers to the office and hopefully my visa will arrive before I go home! :) The rest of the day was spent working on hw and relaxing. I honestly did not even get out of my pj's until about 5pm. However there was an adventure that evening to the much anticipated WalMart. Yes there is one here in Mendoza and before you all judge me for going there...the whole purpose of the trip was peanut butter (which you can't find anywhere else here). We had a fun time getting there and it is an experience that I only intend to repeat when my current jar runs out...which judging by how fast I eat it with a spoon...could be about once a month...maybe every 3 weeks. :) Sole was out for the evening, so one of my program friends came over to watch a movie with me and get ice cream. :) We had a good night and it was nice to just stay in and talk.

Saturday was also filled with homework and relaxing until 8pm when I left to meet up with friends for the asado. We met the girls at the school and from there we all took the bus together to Exequiel's house for dinner and a wonderful evening of conversation, musich, and FOOD! The asado was DELICIOUS! We also had a variety of sides and of course ice cream for dessert. We also watched a very important (and disappointing) soccer match of Argentina vs Brasil - which is a HUGE rivalry. Argentina unfortunately got whooped pretty bad. :( By the time things wound down and we'd made it through half a movie it was 5:30am! and DEFINITELY time for bed. One of the guys there was kind enough to drive the 4 of us home to our separate houses so that we didn't have to call a cab. What a fun night!

Sunday I didn't even get out of bed until after 1pm and spent the rest of the day doing homework and catching up on things around the apartment. The reading in some of my classes is getting out of control and I plan to catch up this week with some dedicated time to history in particular...

Some clarification on Argentinean words/food:
~Lomo: GIANT sandwich with thin slices of beef, lettuce, tomato, ham, cheese, fried egg, and salsa golf (basically thousand island dressing)
~Dulce de leche: DEADLY delicious dessert that is about like caramel only 100 times better!
~Café con leche: coffee with milk and definitely an Argentine favorite for breakfast and afternoon snack
~Medialuna: directly translated means 'half-moon' and is a croissant usually topped with honey DELICIOUS!
~Asado: Argentinean version of a bbq that is famous for absurd amounts of meat and delicious sides, traditionally only men are aloud to cook them
~Merienda: afternoon snack usually enjoyed after siesta
~Siesta: afternoon nap, officially between 1-5 (but at my house can go as late as 7 or 8), a cultural tradition where everything shuts down and people go home for lunch and a lovely nap

I hope everyone had a great week and that this one is equally as good. For everyone at DU (and especially the Orientation staff, freshmen, and my sorority sisters) I hope the year starts great and I'll be/have been thinking about you lots! I'm definitely bumming that I'm missing all of this right now! Keep me posted and have a WONDERFUL time!

ALL MY LOVE!!!