There's No Place I'd Rather Be

On this last night of my ISA program in Buenos Aires, I have so many emotions. While this is not my last night in Buenos Aires, it is my last night with my host mom, Matilde. I still feel sad. I have come to love this apartment and this city so much. This music video "Rather Be" by Clean Bandit, expresses exactly how I feel about this city. The song talks about the feeling of total contentment that comes with being in exactly the right place at the right time. It's a kind of love mixed with happiness and the knowledge that no where else would be better right now.

I don't own the music, the song, or anything related to this video. 

Things You Will Find in Buenos Aires

This post is a collection of things I have noticed during the past almost 4 months in Buenos Aires.  Hopefully my parents and brother will read it and take note of the differences between Rockville, Atlanta, and Buenos Aires and maybe be less shocked when they visit.  The most important thing to remember is that we are in a different country with a different culture.  We are on the complete opposite side of the world, if that helps.  Of course they do things differently here; and that is ok.  It's not bad.  It's not good.  It's just different.  (I was told this numerous times when I first arrived in March and I had to constantly remind myself of it)

1. Buenos Aires is a very big city.  It is loud, dirty, and filled with people.  It is also incredibly sophisticated.  Kind of like New York City.
2. There are no convenience stores (except for the few Walmarts).  If you want vegetables, you go to the vegetable stand.  If you want meat/cheese, you go to the meat store.  If you want pharmacy things, you go there.  
3. There are small cafes and stores everywhere.  It's adorable.  
4. But really, the cafes and bakeries are EVERYWHERE.  This should encourage you to eat plenty of sweets and drink a lot of coffee
5. No one is in a rush. Especially the waiters and the people checking you out of the grocery store.
6. People drive like maniacs.  Be careful when crossing the street. 
7. There is graffiti everywhere.  Unlike in cities in the U.S., this is not a sign that you are in a bad neighborhood
8. The only type of sandwich you can eat is a ham and cheese sandwich.  Maybe ham and tomato if you are lucky. 
9. Ham is everywhere.
10. Most of the food here is very heavy on the carbs.  You can't really avoid it, so you console yourself by walking everywhere.
11. Public transportation, especially buses, is very popular. The busses run 24 hours and can take you almost everywhere you want to go.
12. Prices are high in Argentine Pesos, but tend to be low when you convert them into dollars.

Spontaneous Occurances: I Can't Believe That Just Happened

Today I met up with a friend for lunch. We went to a crepe places near her apartment and ordered 1 savory and 1 sweet crepe to split. I am convinced that crepes are the best thing to ever come from France. During lunch, she mentioned passing a festival with kosher food in the giant park a few blocks away.

Of course we checked it out after lunch. Of course. There were tents set up with organizations and vendors selling food, books, jewelry, and other things; and there was a stage with a kletzmer band. Some of the songs they played sounded familiar and others did not. I recognized a few of the Hebrew songs, but the tunes were way more upbeat (we are in South America after all. You can't escape the Latin influence). No one was dancing. They played Hava Negillah, which is the song that you are absolutely required to dance to in Jewish culture. Still, no one was dancing. A few women were moving in place, but this was not what I expected. I told my friends to hold my stuff and then strategically positioned my swaying self next to another woman who was dancing. We smiled and joined hands. A woman a few feet away noticed us and motioned for us to join her at the front of the crowd where there was space to really dance. We made a circle and started dancing. Three more people joined us. I knew the steps for all but one dance. And when the circle broke we all just kind of did our own thing at the same time.

To me, that was the best thing that could have possibly happened. I was able to see the Jewish community in Buenos Aires at work, and I even felt like I was a part of it while we were dancing. My legacy consisted of the people who continued to dance after I left. For me, there is no better feeling than what comes from knowing that you and the people around you are all focused on doing the same thing for the same purpose and enjoying ourselves immensely. The excitement is contagious and electric. I am so glad to have stumbled on this random festival and decided that it needed dancing.

Teatro Colon and San Isidro

Last Saturday I had a very long but very wonderful day. I stayed in the city, but explored new parts of it.

I woke up early to tour Teatro Colon. Teatro Colon is the big theater in Buenos Aires. It is absolutely stunning. I met up with Michelle and we ended up taking an ISA sponsored tour with other tourists since no one else from our program showed up.

All of the costumes, set pieces, etc. used in shows are made in the workshops underneath the theater. A few of the costumes are kept upstairs for people to look at. Aren't they pretty? 

A bust of Mozart in the Hall of Busts. 

"El Secreto," (The Secret) a well-placed statue in the hall where people went for intermission and gossip about each other. 

The stage! It is all set up for ballet rehearsal

The giant chandelier surrounded by murals of artists in the ceiling of the theater.

After being mesmerized by Teatro Colon, Michelle and I met up with some friends. We walked to San Telmo for Indian food. While the food was good, it was also disappointing. Since it was Indian food for Argentines, it lacked the spice I associate with the genre. Then we walked back the way we came to Retiro Station. From Retiro, we took a train to San Isidro.

San Isidro is a suburb of Buenos Aires situated very close to the city. All we knew about the town was that there was a cathedral and a horse racing track and that we should visit the cathedral. We walked around for a few blocks before asking some people how to get to the cathedral. 

Part of the cathedral. It was so huge that I could not take a good picture of it. 

Inside the cathedral.

A cute house in San Isidro

A magician performs in a market in the plaza next to the cathedral. He is juggling clubs lit on fire in this picture.

Peanut Butter

First of all, how have I gone this long without posting about food? If you know me at all, you know that I live for lunch (and sometimes brunch, dinner, and snack -- but almost never breakfast) and food. I have eaten a lot of great meals here, and although I wouldn't say they changed my life, I would say they were worth every calorie and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

The food that really made me think today was peanut butter. I don't remember the last time I bought it; the last time I ate it was in Mendoza on a pb&j sandwich that Sydney made.

Today around lunch time I craved peanut butter. I had 2 bananas in my backpack that I was going to eat for lunch/snack and as I was walking to the Chinese take-out place for lunch, I could taste peanut butter and bananas. No joke, I scurried back to the health food store (after leaving it because I thought it did not have what I was looking for for lunch) and bought it.

I was one happy chica norteamericana (North American girl), and I stayed that way all day. Even after I devoured my banana covered in peanut butter. That is my snack. The flavor triggered memories of home that have not left me all day. Who knew such a usually mundane food could be linked to so much nostalgia?

Anyway, now that I have a whole jar of peanut butter, I intend to eat it for lunch. I made some little sandwiches using crackers I bought from the Chino on my way home from school. These, plus veggies and fruit will make for one great lunch tomorrow. 

Mendoza (only 4 weeks late)

During Semana Santa (Easter weekend, where I got a few days off school to celebrate) a few friends and I went to Mendoza, Argentina. Mendoza is a western province, located next to/in the Andes Mountains and Chile. It is the largest, and most well known wine producer in Argentina.

We took a bus there; it was 14 hours. The trip there and back was fine because we were able to sleep, chat, watch movies, and look outside the windows at the landscape of who-knows-where Argentina. I also brought some of my textbooks to catch up on my reading for school. The buses were bigger than usual and had large chairs that could recline almost all the way so I felt like I was kind of in a bed. Anyway, I was able to sleep about as well as if I were on an airplane, maybe even better since there was no turbulence.

We didn't try all of these wines, but we would like to! They were set out for people to buy after touring a winery.

Me, posing in a vineyard. 

We stopped our bike tour of various vineyards to eat lunch on the side of the road. Don't worry, there was plenty of space between us and the 3 or 4 cars that passed by. 

Snow-capped mountains towards the end of summer. These are the Andes, basically the only thing separating us from Chile. 

More mountains, aren't they pretty?

Me, Brandi, Rosalie, and Sydney after we went white water rafting down the Mendoza River. Easily the most fun thing I did all weekend (rafting, not picture taking, but that was fun too). The water was freezing, so of course Sydney and I sat in the front of the raft. When I wasn't paddling or getting splashed, I saw an amazing view of the mountains. No pictures for you since my camera isn't waterproof.

This little thing is part of a larger stone monument to commemorate the friendship between Chile and Argentina. I think it's supposed to be both flags twisted around each other. Taken in a cute little park in Mendoza city we spent most of Sunday relaxing here and in the hostel while we waited for our bus to arrive. It was Easter, so the city was shut down. 

Where Have I Been The Past 3 Weeks?

That is an excellent question because obviously I have not been writing this blog.

I was in Mendoza, Argentina drinking wine, biking, rafting through on the Andes River, wandering around the (small, quiet) city with my friends, and eating chocolate.

The next weekend, I went to Iguazu Falls. It's on the border between Brazil and Argentina and absolutely gorgeous! I basically spent the weekend in a jungle, and yet my hotel was very nice and had a heated pool on the roof. Is that cheating?

As soon as I got home (yes, I Buenos Aires to be a home now), I had to study study study for mideterms. One exam on Tuesday, two exam on Wednesday, and then a big research paper due on Thursday. My final midterm exam will be on Thursday.

Last weekend was super long. Thursday was May 1 (International Day of the Worker, celebrated everywhere except for the U.S. and Canada), so we didn't have school. Friday was a federal holiday because Cristina wants to promote internal tourism by creating long holidays (or so I've been told). A few of my friends here returned to the U.S. on Saturday. So Saturday and Sunday were pretty sad days for me. My roommate was one of them :(

Pictures will come in the following posts!!!