Final Goodbye, but hopefully I'll be back!

So this is it. It's been six months basically away in Argentina. I've really enjoyed my time here and have learned so much, but alas it's time to go home. Back to Columbus, Ohio. It's my last day and I can't believe it because this has been my reality for the past half a year and now I have to go back to the snow. Right in time for Christmas though. 

All packed up and ready to go! I miss my family and friends. I even woke up early today because I was excited. In about a week's time I'll be bored again, trust me. I can't believe my whole life fit inside two suitcases. 

I'm going to miss these solely dedicated shops: bread shops, ice cream shops, fruit shops, meat shops, etc. This one was five blocks away from my house and I passed it all the time. You can see me int he reflection. The bread here is good. Better than in the US I guess. I've talked to other foreigners who said bread in their country was preferable, but in America our bread is sliced. That's as good as it gets.

This is a "factor con membrillo". By far my most favorite treat. It's fresh jam on bread and it is delicious. I treated myself yesterday to wish myself safe travels. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

This is the park in Belgrano (my neighborhood) where I always walk by to get to school. It's summertime goodness over here and I'm going to miss it. People sitting and taking in sunshine. I'm going to miss the weather so much.

Two random girls in front of me. I was just taking pictures of the view because I was feeling nostalgic already of what I was going to leave. But this is by the same park and a view of the street to my left. Traffic in Buenos Aires is horrible. I would never want to drive here (and I wouldn't because there's so much public transportation).

Another shot. The sky is so blue.

They have these famous tour buses that are all over the city and have people with headphones to listen to the guide. I told myself I had to get a shot of the yellow buses. The people were staring at me as I tried to capture them. It was very awkward. And I don't know if you can tell but the cars in Argentina are relatively small compared to America. And there's tight parking.

And finally, I had to say goodbye to my host mom, Silvia. She was the best. Always asking how I was and being genuine, even on my bad days. Made me feel very comfortable in her home and we had great conversation. Very intelligent and knows everything about everything. But what do you expect from an older Argentinian lady who loves politics? I can't believe today's the day. I'm going to spend as much time with her as possible before heading to the airport.

And there you have it folks. It was kind of a boring blog but I hope you enjoyed it. Argentina has taught me so much and helped me to appreciate my family since being away. I've greatly improved my Spanish and for all you Spanish speakers in my vicinity, please let's have a dialogue! Seriously, I need to keep it up. I'm going to miss the friends I made who are also foreigners and all the diverse people I've met. With my degrees in Spanish and Business, there are an endless amount of possibilities for me. Just nee to stop being lazy and work hard. Next stop in my hopeful near future: Brazil!

I Saw Venus and Serena!

I got to see Venus and Serena play in Argentina! I only paid 250 pesos for it and I got decent seats. It was probably the only chance I would get to see such famous people play and I had to travel all the way to Argentina to see them. 

So this was the court they played on. We got there early so we could figure out where we'd sit and get settled in. 

Darlene and I in our seats and in front of the court before the match began. It was glorious. And it was such a nice day. The low was 70 degrees (I don't know in Celsius what that would be).

I tried to get the best picture possible but the yellow seat there were where the Williams family sat. The stadium looks empty but filled up quickly right when the game was about to start.

Then Venus showed up, the crowd went wild. It was their first time in Argentina. She was interviewed and actually spoke a little bit of Spanish. I still can't believe how close I was.

The Serena did her little interview and I had no idea but she speaks French. I guess she had a French coach and also learned somewhere else. Darlene (who is French) told me she spoke well, so there you have it.

Before the game started the two tossed the ball back and forth. Pretty cool. I can't believe how close I was!

She is built like a body builder. Seriously. The woman is ripped and she is a boss. She's concentrating so hard. 

Venus getting ready to serve. I honestly didn't care who won but was just happy to see a tennis match live with people that I actually know.

Finally, the game ended and they were surrounded by press and stuff. Venus ended up winning, but everyone was happy. People in Argentina loved them and kept screaming for them. Some of them in English. Good times. 

So that was a short blog but I thought I would divulge about my day seeing such famous people. I leave in officially one week and time has just flown by. Not ready to live in the cold Ohio winter, but what can I do?

Anyways, one last entry to come before I leave Argentina for a long while. Hopefully I can post it this coming Friday. Be on the lookout!

It's Almost Over!

So it's been another month since my last post. I was busy with studying for finals until about November 7th then I went into a coma and relaxed for like a week. Time is pretty much winding down here for me in Buenos Aires and since it's summer here and winter in cold Ohio, I'm trying to soak up as much sun as possible. I've got alot of catching up to do since school has ended but let's do this!

I went to this Memorial Park for "los desaparecidos" (the disappeared), which is a beautiful park solely dedicated to the numerous kidnapped and tortured Argentinians during the country's military dictatorship. The walls stretched on forever in the park alphabetically listing the countless people from 1 month of age to as old as you can imagine. People come to the park and put flowers by names everyday. 

This structure was also in the park and it seemed cool so I snapped a picture. I don't know how it's supporting itself being slanted like that. 

My buddy in Argentina: Emily. We were right by the river which runs into the Atlantic Ocean. You guys know there is a sliver of water that runs between Uruguay and Argentina, right? If not, look closely at a map. That is basically where we are. It was a nice getaway from city life.

I took a selfie so you can see that I was also there that day. It was hot and windy. I really enjoyed myself.

Random guy fishing on his boat. It was such a chill day. 

Afterwards I got ice cream with Emily and I must take a moment to say that ice cream in Argentina is delicious. No joke. In the US ice cream is thick and mostly frozen unless you go to Coldstone or Häagen-Dazs, which are both expensive. Here in this photo I got the two flavors of quality milk ice cream for $1.80 US dollars. That gets you nothing back home. And they have all these flavors you've never heard of like "maracuya" and all these tropical fruit flavors. It's amazing.

I went to a Halloween party at this club and I swear it was like a took a shower in my clothes. There were so many people squeezed into that small club. The club owners gave me antennas but I cannot tell you what I went as. This was me on the second floor of the club posing. Not trying to toot my own horn but I got alot of requests to dance but respectfully declined. It's nice to be "exotic" in a foreign land.

 I live two blocks away from Barrio Chino (Chinatown) and sometimes when I have cravings I just walk two blocks to fill my stomach. Fried rice and beef in sweet and sour sauce. I remember it being a hot day and afterwards I had to go take a nap. But man, I'm going to miss having Chinatown right there.

I went to get "milanesa a caballo" with my classmates from my Argentine translation class. Milanesa is a cut of a part of the cow that can be fried or baked. On top is a fried egg and it was delicious. Argentina and their meat though. It's like half the plate and the salad was like 4 slices of tomatoes with lettuce. 

 My fellow classmates. Nice people. They invited me out on the last day of class. It's crazy how young people are the same in every country and that language is the only thing that separates us.

I went to Chinatown again. I don't remember why. It was good. And no, I didn't feel bad afterwards.

I went to "Puerto Madero" to meet up with other classmates from my Portuguese class. I decided to take this picture of the whole port and "la puente de la muter" (woman's bridge). Was a nice, summer day and the place was beautiful. This place is actually considered rich. We went for lunch and it was like 70 pesos for a sandwich, ice cream and a drink. That's like almost 9 dollars. Never going to eat there again, but as a farewell lunch I had a good time. 

Me with classmates from Portuguese. I wore my summer dress! The guy and I are from Ohio, then you have Estefanía who is Uruguayan-American, Flor who is Argentinian, and Maria Jose who is Ecuadorian. Had a nice day.

 

I went out with Geoff (fellow Ohioan) to grab a bite at a different time. This is called "choripan" which I think is my favorite Argentine plate. It's simple and common and everyone loves it. It's kind of like sliced sausage but more tender. and you put tomatoes and other condiments on and enjoy. The bread was soft and went well with the meat. My mouth is watering right now thinking about it…

 Sadness! This was the night before Emily left. We went to Palermo which is a neighborhood known for clubs and bars. We played pool, talked, and enjoyed a nice quiet night. She was a beast at pool. Look at how much concentration in those eyes! She's from Michigan so I'm sure I'll see her in the near future.

Santiago was there too. Going to miss this dude!

 I was on the bus and decided to take a few shots of the streets of Buenos Aires close to where I live. It was so hot on the bus with all the people packed like sardines and I was literally facing the window.

I was walking and thought again that a shot of regular activities would be good. Normal looking bus in Argentina. And the vehicles here are not like back home with our Ford trucks and Hummers. Cars here are relatively small. There are no driving laws like in the states when cops stop you. No speed limit signs either.

Nice shot nearby my house.

I went out with my old professor from my first intensive month, Gerardo! Look at my meal! I got a steak, complete salad, two scoops of ice cream and water for 65 pesos! $7.20 people. $7.20 for all that. I swear it was so good. Cheap my friends! If you want good quality meat, come to Argentina because they have so many cows meat and leather are basically seen as not a big deal.

Me, Dylan, James and Gerardo. We ate outside and talked. All in Spanish of course. I must say we all really improved alot from being here for six months. He was such a good teacher and taught us useful information about Spanish. Not solely grammar. 

Another photo of meat. I think this huge cut of steak was like 10 US dollars. Geoff's meat. Not mine. Good deal. We were basically trying to enjoy or last days of cheap quality meat before we go to the US and eat crackers and Subway at college.

Most of you who see me on Facebook know I went to this famous zoo in Argentina and touched lions and tigers. Here's one picture of me by a lion. No it is not fake. Huge as hell though. It looks so bored. I had a great time since in America this would never happen. 

These tropical birds were cool. Smart and live up to 100 years or more. He climbed on my head and dug its claws into my braids. I couldn't control my laughter. 

 I went to this popular open market called "la feria de san telmo" and it's just blocks and blocks of vendors with crafts they make during the week and sell to tourists to make money. People from all the world can be found here. Mostly I've found that they're American, from the UK or Brazilian. I lie sometimes and say I'm Brazilian to have fun. It helps that I can BS some Portuguese phrases. 

I went to this nice restaurant with Estefanía and Geoff after our last days of classes. These guys were always there with me as we suffered through schoolwork. I'll see Geoff again but I;m really going to miss Estefanía. Sidenote: awesome lunch. Also, it took 6 pictures for us to get this. We kept laughing.

It came out bad but this is the inside of the metro. I tried to be conspicuous about my photo. It's basically always crowded and hot. Sometimes people ride it and sell things, play music, perform a show, etc for money. Subways are something new for me being from Ohio. Public transportation in general was completely different and efficient here. America has a long way to go in that department. We are legit gas guzzlers. 

SGI Argentina! I've grown alot with this group of individuals and during this meeting I shared that I was leaving and wanted to take a picture. I actually lead a discussion and challenged myself. Since no one speaks English I had no help. I'm really going to miss my district. They're always filled with energy.

This is a bit different because Camila traded places so she could be in the picture. I'm representing with my Ohio State shirt. I noticed that actually I'm relatively tall in Argentina. For the most part, Latins are short. Of course some Argentinians are tall due to their European blood, but I felt tall at times.

My friends! From Left to right: Venezuela (Santiago), Japan (Arisa) and Mexico (Nayeli). We went for ice cream before going to see Catching Fire. It's crazy that I had to travel outside the US to meet such a diverse group of people. These six months have been a real eye opener for me. I want to continue to travel and experience different cultures.

We were inside the theatre before the movie started. Arisa leaves in a week for Japan and I wanted to go out a make a day out of it. Hopefully we'll all see each other one day again. Sometimes the people you meet for a short time make a bond with you that you will in one way or another remember forever.

So I'm winding down in Argentina. I have my final exam on December 4th and then I leave the 7th. I can't believe how fast time has flown. I feel a bit changed and wish to really utilized what I've learned when I go back to Ohio. I didn't make this trip for no reason so I will definitely use Spanish for as long as I live. 

Hoping to post one more entry before I go home. I'm really going to miss Argentina. I'm still going to make use of the time I have left with my friends and host mom. Farewell, all! 

Fuerza Bruta (Brute Force) and Other Ramblings

Hey everyone! So it's been a long time since my last blog. Hasn't been much going on except me living my daily life here and improving my Spanish. I wanted to post my last big thing I did since it's the end of October now and I leave in about a month.

I went with a classmate of mine to La Fuerza Bruta, which is kind of the Argentine version of Cirque du Soleil. The have acrobats flying through the air and doing stunts accompanied by a band that plays live music with heavy booming drums. 

I tried to take a picture with James with the sign "fuerza bruta" in the background but you can only see part of it. And it was dark in the room so you can kind of see me.

I did not take this picture upside down by the way. It was hanging from the ceiling of the building the show was in and I thought it was cool. I'm always scared when people hang stuff like that, it may fall on people...

So they finally let everyone into the auditorium where the show will be and I ask a random Argentine guy to take my picture (I remember because I thought he was handsome). A friend of mine who had already went told us to stand in the middle of the room to get the best view and I was excited. James was too. (We really stood out in that room with James being tall and blonde and me being "ethnic". But hey, I had a blast! 

So this was the first act with the band playing on the stage and four or five people tied to a rope swinging into the audience. Also there was a mist of water spraying onto the crowd. I would've minded but I have braids right now so my hair was not going to get messed up.

So this next one was these two girls dancing and running along a curtain that change colors with the light. Basically the tempo of the drums started out slow and gradually picked up pace so that they were running and doing flips in the air. Pretty interesting.

I call this one the coin flip. It was like a big flat surface that had two performers on either side of each other and each time the "coin" turned the other person would be flying through the air or something. 

Then randomly these performers broke out into dance and later came into the crowd to try and get the audience to dance. I actually got pulled by one of them to dance, but that didn't last long. 

My favorite part! They put a big plastic cover over the audience and blew air into the room so that these performers were above us on top of the balloon. Everyone was trying to reach their hands, including me. But to no avail. 

Then this guy was just randomly flying through the air yet again. Basically it got to the point where I really wanted to be an acrobat so I could do this every night.

The show lasted about a little over an hour. The whole experience only cost me 16 bucks, which considering everything I saw is totally worth it. Something like this in the states would be so much, so I'm glad I got to experience this night. 

And considering I was starving later that night after a long day of class, I got spicy rice (Argentina's definition of spicy), with fried buñoles accompanied by salad and bread. I slammed on this meal like I hadn't seen a crumb in days.

So that has been my eventful past couple weeks. Mostly with classes, hanging out with friends and sleeping, I'm always pretty tired. For this reason I hadn't found anything worthwhile to post about until today.

The majority of my classes are coming to a close on November 7th. I still have two exams afterwards in December, but I thought you guys would like to see my Spanish class! These are the people I hang out with twice a week to work on grammar. My teacher's in the back wearing a red dress. She's pregnant and expecting her kid in Jan/Feb. These dudes are chill and we crack jokes all the time in the back.

I'm enjoying my time here in Argentina as much as possible before having to go back to Ohio. Miss my family of course, but I want to soak as much up so I have something to talk about to everyone at home.

More to come! Even if it's just everyday pictures with me just chilling.