1. See above picture.
2. I was on a wonderful vacation high after just getting back from the beautiful Bariloche, Patagonia (post to come about that!)
3. My host mom decorated my room with balloons and signs and surprised me when I got back from my trip.
4. I was in freakin’ ARGENTINA!
5. I had alcy. LEGALLY!
6. I had alcy. FREE!
7. I had alcy. GOOD!
8. I was with a wonderful group of people that I am so fortunate to have met! I am so glad to call you all my new friends and thanks for making my Birthday feel so special! and going along with all of my silly requested, like “worhsiping the cup” for a picture or 2…
9. I had the wonderful opportunity at the bar to belt out with all of my soul, the Space Jam classic that I love so much, “I believe I can fly” by R Kelly.
10. I also got to douggie for a little bit. Yee.
11. late night quueesaaddilllllllaaasssss. not really quesadillas. but GOOD! yum.
12. I didn’t get super shwasty, and therefore did not have a horrible next day. In fact, it was a great next day!
13. I slept. a lot. more than I wanted to. 2pm. but hey, I was WELL RESTED FOR A GOOD BIRTHDAY DAY!
14. I did what I have been wanting to do for a long long time now. I painted my nails. super crazy. Yep.
15. It was a beautiful sunny day in recoleta with some lovely ladies and some tastey Helado.
16. I got shit DONE. Essay due tommorrow: CHECK!
17. With pasta for dindin, you can never really go wrong.
18. My host mom told me that she thinks of me as another child and loves having me here. AWWWW.
19. I got to skype and say hi to ALL of the Bruno family. MISS THEM! and everyone else back home.
20. HELLA facebook birthday wishes. haha but really, I was super happy about all the birthday wishes, especially since I can’t celebrate with everyone back in the states-it was nice to see that you all cared. =)
21. oh and um, Im freakin 21 now!!!

Of course, it’s not ideal that I am away from my loving family, friends, and wonderful boyfriend on my 21st. I really am sad that I couldn’t be with everyone from home and was worried about feeling alone on my birthday when I decided to study abroad in Argentina. BUTT I realize now that I really had nothing to worry about becuase I felt the love across the borders and you KNOW I will celebrate with everyone when I get back home! and in the meantime I met WONDERFUL people who helped me celebrate here in Argentina! Thanks for the memories. =)

HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY TO THE LOVE OF MY LIFE!!! I am SO sorry that I cannot be with you on this day-or even talk to you, but know that I love you more than anything and I miss you SO much! Right now, I am probably almost to Bariloche but ALL I can think about is you and how wonderful my life has been since you came around. I feel bad anough that I cant be with you on our one year anniversary and now I feel horrible becuase I can’t even talk to you on ourspecial day, but hopefully you see this on Sunday and feel like a I am tlaking to you now! Love u!!

So one major downer for me has been that I haven’t been feeling like a local. I wanted to meet more local people, do more local things, etc. My two main reasons for studying abroad, and to do so in this particular place, was so that I could 1, become fluent in Spanish, and 2, become completely cultured and become a local in another country. Hanging out at the bars in Palermo with the others in the program, going to the “must see” places of BA, and getting my cafe at good ‘ol micky-dee’s, I’d say that my progress on these 2 goals so far has been a BIG FAT FAIL!

BUTTT…I did somethin’ bout it!

My progress began when I took the opportunity and went through a door that was open to me on a Friday night..a door that happened to be Red in color (metaphorically, but mostly literally..). In other words, I went to a local bar in San Telmo called La Puerta Roja (or The Red Door, ha!). Besides my big group of friends from the program, the bar was full of friendly locals (except for a few creepy dudes.. or maybe just one in particular..!!) that wanted to know more about us Americans. So..we got to practice our Spanish mucho..and whether is was the practice I was getting, or the drinks I was downing, my Spanish definitely improved!

The next morning, my cultural progress continued with my participation in the making of endless amounts of empanadas, a food that is VERY important in the daily life of most Argentines. At least 5 times a day, I will ask my home-stay mom if I can help her with anything. Consistently, she tells me no and shoos me away saying “divertirte, divertirte (or “Go have fun”)” But surprisingly, on this special morning she accepted my help, and for the first time I was a little excited about doing some housework-maybe I was finally localizin’ into the casa! =)

To top it off, her whole family would be over for dinner. I was so excited and slightly nervous to see what her family was like. 18 people gathered in our small living room that night for beer, empanadas, and of course, some debates. Although for me, it didn’t go exactly how I had imagined (they probably think I am a mute because I was too shy to try and communicate with them unless they initiated it =(), I was still super happy to be around some locals and see what Claudia’s family was like.

Last but definitely not least for this weekend of great progress in the localizin’ myself to my surroundings, I witnessed (and may or may not have participated in…) an AWESOME march around the Plaza de Mayo. Leaving the San Telmo Feria (ok, ok, that was SUPER touristy..but just wait until what happened next!), I walked down Avenida de Mayo for some coffee with Kelsey and we both stopped in our tracks when we saw the hundreds (maybe thousands?) of people from different political parties and  social groups gathered and marching for one cause: “basta de silencio y encubrimiento oficial” (no more silence and official cover-up). Sunday was the 5 year mark since the second disappearance of Julio Lopez. He was disappeared 30 years ago during the military dictatorship and again 5 years ago just hours before his last testimony against his torturer during the military dictatorship. Many people feel that because the lack of attention the government is paying to it, that the government has something to do with the disappearance and the people are demanding the truth. It was truly amazing to see so many passionate people fighting for a common cause together. It’s not something you see everyday..at least in the US. But man, these Argentines seem to always be fighting for their rights! I walked along side one of the groups for a while and talked to one of the members about was was going on. Is marching with the locals being local enough for you? =)

oh, and I just wrote a 3 page paper. In Spanish. NBD.

September 14, 2011

For many reasons.

• After being a miserable sickling for last few days, I felt a thousand times better!
• My new ear piercing is not sore at all and I was able to sleep like a little baby!
• I realized that for the first time in my life, I was not afraid to speak up in class, and it’s SPANISH CLASS!
• I found the cutest little cozy diner to eat and for the first time in a long time, I ENJOYED an Argentine lunch! (Mi mamá here is a wonderful cook-even food I normally don’t like (como eggplant), she makes DELICIOUSLY). BUTT on very rare occasions have I really liked the food I have gotten at restaurants here.
• For the very first time in the Human Rights seminar, not only was I able to stay AWAKE, BUTT I was also able to follow along! This is just wonderful news!!!-whether it was due to the fact that suddenly everything just clicked for me, or the new professor we had today, or maybe just the coffee I had right before class-it worked so keep it coming baby!
• Happy Hour at the bar across the street from class starts at 5. We get out of class at 5. Enjoying a classy glass of Bellini after a long day of class never did anyone no harm!
• I easily got a seat of the Subte the WHOLE WAY HOME!! And trust me people, this is an EXTREMELY RARE occurrence.
• I finally held a decent conversation with mi mamá. Whether it’s because I am skilled, ORR the Alcy doing the talking for me, it was a pleasant feeling indeed.
• Thanks to skype mobile, I have been able to text John while he is at work-By the time he gets home from work I am usually already sleeping!
• My shower tonight was the PERFECT TEMPERATURE (so hot I can barely stand it)!-It is usually wayyyy too cold for my likings…
• Just as I was evaluauting my time here and sadly feeling that I have not improved much, mi mamá said that my spanish has improved TREMENDOUSLY!

Things starting to come together? It’s quite possible!

September 13, 2011

Because every other driver refused, a resident of Villa 21 offered his van to pick us up and take us into the Villa, only a 15 minute ride out of the center of the city. Villa 21 is a Villa Miseria, or in other words, a Shantytown. Immigrants began to move to the villa in the city of Barracas in the 1930’s in response to the industrial development in Buenos Aries at that time. The residents of the Villas are lacking the basic necessities for life including food, clothes, shelter, safety, and access to education and healthcare. Casita Augusto, founded in 1991, offers the children of the Villa a safe place to receive education on human rights, work in the barrio, food on the weekends, and just a place for them to play and forget about their troubles. For me, and for many others, it is a very uplifting and inspiring place in the midst of hardship andpoverty. Driving through the town of Barracas, I saw countless living spaces all made out of scrap material, garbage all around the unpaved streets, and stray dogs roaming around in every direction. Pulling up to the Casita there were numerous murals, each resembling something of importance to the people there, whether it was about overcoming addiction, or representing a great hero to the residents of the Villa. Entering the very small, yet colorful and lively Casita, we were greeted by the children of the Casita, along with Adriana, one of the founders. Over a lunch, both Adriana and her son took great pride in telling their story to us along with their take on some parts of the history of Argentina.

After, we took part in what is called “El Radio Abierto,” or “Open Radio”. Sitting in a circle outside around an amplifier, we listened to a radio talk show and music being played from just right inside the main door. I didn’t quite understand what it was exactly, but I did get one great thing out of it: one eight year old boy from the casita was being interviewed by the DJ and when he was asked what his dreams and ambitions were, he replied, “muchas cosas.” I know this doesn’t seem like that great of an answer, but for me, it was! Residents of a Shantytown are thought of by outsiders (if thought of at all) as lazy people who just don’t want a real job. This 8 year old boy, however, demonstrated for me that they have many dreams and aspirations. The real problem is that they are lacking all the resources they need to see their dreams into action. After playing with the kids for awhile, we walked through the town to their school as Adriana had told us how their last government started constructing a beautiful school building for them. However, the new government is not finishing what the other had started. In response, teachers, students and parents hold protests for their rights to education. Contradictory to what I would have thought, the response from outsiders is that they are only protesting so that they don’t have to go to school.

Though there is so much more I would like to say about my experience I think I will leave it at this: 1, it’s not a lack of passion and aspiration that these people have, but a lack of resources and opportunity, and 2, perspectives need to change. It is enough that the system is so messed up that these people are trapped, but on top of that, no matter what they do, they are still thought of as lazy and deserving of their poverty thus, the residents remained trapped. If only the city dwellers could take a 15 minute ride away from their beautiful and busy lives to see what the people of Villa 21 are really like-at least the wonderful adults and children  that I have met. Despite the poverty they face each and every day, they are people of great pride that have built a great community for themselves and that are fighting for change and for a brighter future. Obviously there are a LOT of underlying issues here that cannot be solved in a day-or ever- but I do believe great changes often start with a new perspective and a new understanding,-or at least an acknowledgement of what is going on.

I am by no means scrutinizing the people of Buenos Aires. But rather, I am using my experience here as an example of a MUCH MUCh BIGGER PICTURE. The same problems exist everywhere, thus, changes are needed and desired everywhere. Educate yo’ selves-especially those who have resources and opportunities- and things may start to change!

Alright so I just now finally created a blog! Only problem is I’ve been in Argentina for almost 2 weeks already so there’s SO much I want to say about it! For that reason, I’m going to play catch-up and post some excerpts from my personal journal.

September 10, 2011

Well class is…well, class, except now it’s ALL in Spanish. I got placed in the first level of Spanish for the program..it’s pretty embarrassing considering how many Spanish classes I have taken, but ain’t no thangg as long as it helps me to improve mucho! The history class is a bit hard for me not only because the whole language barrier, but also the freakin TIME of the class..it’s right after I eat lunch and I am oh-so-sleepy!! I hope it gets better for me.

Wednesday in class we watched the movie “La Historia Oficial” which I HIGHLY recommend, it was very touching and very sad…about a hurtful past that really wasn’t very long ago. It is crazy to met that some people blocked out the reality they couldn’t bear and didn’t even know what was going on when all the disappearances happened in the 70’s. They just figured well, they must have been to something horrible and that they deserved it. Little did they know, their adopted child may just have been a child of the disappeared!

Thursday was kind of a downer day at first…everyone was feeling pretty beat. At the time I was kind of shocked because I had been feeling so positive about everything. I mean, I am not having the MOST AMAZING TIME EVER, but I am definitely enjoying every new experience in a sense that I know it is making me a stronger person. I think that for everyone who went to get wine and go talk to other language-learners at UBA that night, it turned out be a bit better and a bit more interesting….

Friday Spanish class was quite tranquila…with 3 others from my section, I enjoyed an expensive coffee at the famous Café Tortoni. It was a beautiful place that made for a nice morning. After our human rights seminar, fue el tiempo para bailar! Our second tango lesson was a lot more professional, where we learned more than just to communicate with each other through our chests! Though overcrowded with a lack of varones, I had a great time and it felt so good for me to be in a studio!!!

Friday night, after a bit of confusion, I met with some friends and headed to the bars in Palermo Soho. We ended up at Club Serrano where we were later acquainted by others. It was super swanky and a thoroughly enjoyed my  short time there before heading home to my downfall. =( haha. I now THINK it may have started from a little scare I had on my way home…Kelsey and Art had walked me home and I saw them off when I was not even a block from my house. Two men on the corner outside of a building were smoking cigarettes and as soon as a walked by, both men started walking in the same direction..it could have very much been a mere coincidence, but I am suspicious of everyone at this point so it definitely scared me a little..but not to worry,  I walked right in my building’s door and locked it behind me. Maybe I am just being paranoid. Who knows!T hat on top of the fact that I was really missing john… I cried my self to sleep. Haha pretty lame, but a woman can’t help herself sometimes! 

This morning I woke up feeling really down (turns out I wasn’t the one person able to avoid that phase in being abroad, it just happened a little later than everyone else!). Since I hadn’t heard from John in a little while (not really that long, I was just being an emotional baby), my mind kept going in crazy and horrible places ALL DAY LONG! I kept thinking what if something had happened to him, or what if something were to happen to me while I was here..either way I could not bear the thought and I would tear up in the middle of the various talks we had throughout the day. On top of this,  had a soar throat and super congested and drowsy…sick again? YEP! =(

Despite all that, today was a very great and eye-opening day for me. We went to a Shanti Town, literally just 15 minutes outside of the main city, but I can honestly testify that it was a whole other world. My next blog entry will explain it more, i just think that what I witnessed there day deserves to be set apart from my complaints in this blog!

September 5, 2011

My first full day in homestay was great. I slept very well and very long and when I woke up and got ready, Claudia took me to go get a phone (cutest little thing ever!) and she took me to Plaza Serrano in Palermo SOHO …and I THINK I may have fell in love…with the clothes I saw there! I was overwhelmed with the great amount of style I saw in all the shops! MUST. GO. BACK. WITH LOTS OF DINERO!  Claudia told me how all the shops full of clothes transformed into bars at night and how it is a very popular place to go (as I would later find out for myself!). Can’t wait to go back! Before we headed back a la casa we stopped and got ice cream…estuve muy rico!

Claudia had Mariah and her homestay mother, Marta come over for coffee and what a relief it was to be able to talk to someone in English! It is EXTREMELY exhausting to try and have a conversation in a language that you don’t know very well..mad props to those who are skilled in that area. Later me and Mariah walked to the Park in town and I absolutely LOVED it!! The park was HUGE and had tons of people..tons of couples (made me  a little sick!, but I am sure I would be there with John if I could be =(). There were bodies of waters with paddle boats and cute bridges, etc, etc, I’m sad I didn’t bring my camera..but I shall return! Mariah ate Pizza with us that night and we went to meet the rest of the group at the bars. FIRST NIGHT OUT ON THE TOWN! I took it very easy, as most of us did, but I had a great time hanging out and dancing with the group. ALTHOUGH I must say I MUCH prefer American music for dancing-the songs played had the same latino/reggaeton beat-don’t get me worng I think it is great, but I need a little more variety to let my movement happen man! We left the club, Honduras Hollywood at around 4AM..the time everyone usually started coming out!

Went to Recoleta on Sunday. Had Pasta for dinner that night accompanied by the discovery of my new favorite dessert: Merengue con Dulce de Leche. OMG DELICIOUSSSSSS.

I woke up this morning bright and early and headed to the subte con Claudia y Mariah. Meeting the group at Plaza De Mayo we went on a historic Tour of the City which I really enjoyed! From El Plaza De Mayo , we traveled by bus to Soltermo where we saw a beautiful church, la Boca, where we walked around Caminato, the colorful famous street! So Cute! We drove through a Shanti Town which I found very interesting and wished I could see more… We drove past the famous bridge called La Muestra, 9because it is thought to resemble a Tango dancer’s extended leg..yo no se0…Then into the new money we went..Palermo! lastly, we went to Recoleta once more where we actually got to see stuff! RIP EVITA…what an astounding cemetery! Got an interesting lunch meal today…no more Milanesa por favor!

Tommorrow is my first day of class! Estoy emocionada…pero ahora. Buenos Noches!

PS..One year ago today I met the love of life! So sad I couldn’t be with him..but so happy to have him in my life - so understanding and so caring..i love him so much! I didn’t think it was possible but I know it is now! He wrote the cutest thing to me today…in his status, on my wall, in a message, almost made me cry!

September 2, 2011

What an exhausting, yet wonderful day! Waking up in Hotel Bauen and packing up to head to CEDES for the first time, my stomach was filled with knots. Though excited for what lies ahead, I knew the day was going to be full of a lot of firsts. After long presentations on common sense type things, I felt like I then learned a whole new language: the subte and collectivo system. As if I wasn’t already extremely nervous about it, reading those maps and trying to figure out how we would get from A to B was quite overwhelming. But the hard part was still to come: using that language in our very own trip to Corrientes!  All I have to say is THANK GOD FOR ARTURO-that Spanish speaking shinanagin! I don’t know if annie Kelsey and I would have made it back alive without him!

When we arrived at Corrientes y Cerrido, we were greeted with the Obelisco! I was pretty excited because that is the picture I saw most when I googled images of Buenos Aires, though I had no idea what it was called or what it stood for..I plan on researching pronto though so no worries! We found a wonderful restaurant pretty fast and enjoyed it with all of our hearts and souls! It had the best empanadas I have had thus far and we were given a huge glass of wine and a huge plate of chicken for an awesome price! Im kind of embarrassed to say that there was a second there I was feeling a tad bit tiptip… After lunch, we went to their famous street markets and looked around. There were tons of people everywhere, kind of reminded me of the outside markets in SF. After a long journey from Correientes, we made it back to CEDES and were able to avoid the peligro of the bridge.

Las familias were already beginning to arrive when we got back and boy was I nerviosa! Waiting around for a while with the others who still hadn’t met their host familias, my name was finally called! Cluadia is the name of my Mama. Very confident right off the back and very beautiful. While some parents were giving little speeches there were many remarks being said by other paretns-I had no idea what was being said but it was obvious that she and a few others disagreed and really wanted to get out of there! I think that whole situation was awkward for all the students in the room…

And then we were off! With my shit-ton of luggage, we took a radio taxi back to la casa. The outside is very different from what I am used to and much like the living quarters in SF. But entering the house, I fell in love! Ever since I was a little girl I would talk about how I wanted my house to have a different color theme in every room..this house has just that and it totally works! My room is pink, the living room is orange, the kitchen green, her room is purple, and the list goes on! Her dog, Alma, also friendly, but peed in my room! And I didn’t want to say anything so I just cleaned it with some TP…but let me just tell you..their TP is NOT like what we have back in the states, it is rough and doesn’t soak much up…but anyways..I unpacked quite a bit and we had dinner together which I really enjoyed. Though still struggling like no other, I definitely got more comfortable with her and was able to talk a little more.

So now I am all unpacked in my house and still both nervous and excited for what lies ahead!

September 1, 2011

What an exciting day! I am definitely feeling a little more bonded with the others in the group and really enjoying their company. We traveled to the city in the afternoon and are staying in Hotel Bauen, a recuperated factory. Going off in small groups I got 2 pieces of pretty tasy pizza for only one dollar each! One lesson learned is that water singas is super expensive (or maybe I am just used to free water at restaurants and now its costing me more than my food!)! Later on we were finally able to see who we would be staying with here in BA. That is when I got REAL nervous. My homestay family consists of a lady named Claudia and her dog, Alma. She also has 3 children that no longer live with her. I was really worried about getting a family of just one but I honestly think it may be a blessing in disquise (positive thinking!). I was also really worried about being the one that lives super far away from everyone and apparently, I am. BUTT I think there might be a few close enough to me and I heard it was a GREAT area. I guess I will see tomorrow!!! 

A little bit later we had our first subway, or Subte, experience where we went and took our Spanish test…epic fail….but ohhh well, its not like they can send me home..at least I hope not! In small groups we took the subway back to the hotel and I have to say, we did so fairly well! Not so sure how I will be doing all on my own but I guess I have to step it up no matter what, right?

And then it was time for la cena y lessiones del tango!  We went to a place called restaurante Cosecheros where we were first taught tango (or shall I say, we learned to communicate through our chests…) by an adorable couple and later served a interesting dinner and wonderful bottle of wine! I can now say that I have tried tongue, kidney, and intestine! HOWEVER I CANNOT say that I enjoyed it…

Homestay family tomorrow! Super nervy but excited to get settled in!