Barcelona!

Ah, I am back on my own again. it was great to have Brennie and Mikayla see Italy and the side of me that few people (only Christy) have seen. Past that I just wanted to blog really quickly because I had something happen that kind of disturbed me and I am not sure how to deal with it. I have now seen Brennie almost get pickpocketed (told her about it and the guy ended up leaving the metro saying ¨Fucking americans¨) and now in Barcelona I saw a group of kids go down into the Metro and call to other friends about the tourists that were walking down. I have seen pickpocketing, but never have I seen a group of kids and I know what they were doing.

At one point this kid (probably like 14 or 15) was trying to unzip a womans purse, and I turned to him to let him know I was seeing him and that he should not do it. But I did not know whether I should have just yelled at the woman, told her, tried to find a cop or someone for all the kids, or take the ¨who gives a shit, they are stupid tourists¨. In the end I told the kid in Spanish, if you try that one more time I am goign to tell her, I wont let it slide when it is in front of me. He told me to be quiet or gestured with his finger on his mouth, ¨shhh¨. But he did not try with that lady and later I told her to keep her purse the opposite direction.

However, 2 min later as I was walking down the metro area, the group of kids were walking against me and I saw them looking through a wallet they had just stolen. What do i do in that situation? I feel perhaps if I told someone like a cop maybe that may not have happened, but at the same time i want to be yelling at these tourists and people who are naive, ¨HEY, WATCH YOUR STUFF!!¨ Uhh, there is a huge long line at the hostel for the internet, so I shall get off. But I needed to vent.

Otherwise, had a very nice day walkign around Barcelona. Two more days. Oh on the ship ride over...still meeting racist italians, but met a nice older lady Marta, who offered me a coffee on the ship and asked if I wanted to share a ride and than ended up paying for it. besos

Euro Trip 2010

Oh wow, I cant believe I decided to do this trip, when I got back from Argentina it felt so good to be home and to relax...and than when I had to leave for my amazing trip to Europe I almost felt as if I did not want to do it, and than when I actually arrived in Italy and was with family I still kind of wanted to be back home. Last night was kind of hard for me, I only got like 2 hours of sleep because i kept tossing and turning, with the anxiety and wanting to be home I even ended up crying a little bit. Uh, it was hard. But than once I got to Prague...it all went away. I am here in Prague for the first day alone, tomorrow Brennie and Mikayla will meet up with me, and I CANT WAIT. It was super fun even being alone, dinner a little awkward, but today I went on a ¨free guided tour¨ of the old town, new town, jewish district and some info on the river. It was a very good tour and we just paid our guide via tip. I feel as if I should have been writing things down, but in general I feel that tomorrow once with Mik and Brennie I could pass on some of the information I found out via the guide.

I still have yet to see the Oldest Castle in Europe, but I have seen and heard amazing things already about Prague. And in general it is a very beautiful city. I can not understand a thing in czech...but oh well. My first country and I am not able to speak with them, it is definitely new for me, and at least now I cant even pretend to try and not be a tourist, because I dont know how to speak their language.

I shall try and keep up the blog, but with the hostel situations and internet, etc not sure how well Ill do, but I shall try. I dont even know if people would think I would continue to write in this blog or have realized that I would be writing while traveling Europe.

Mixed Feelings

I am staying in Buenos Aires this weekend (my last one, because the next two I'll be in Rosario and than home!). I have titled this mixed feelings because the past couple of days have been just that. I dont know why I have been feeling kind of down and just not positive, but it just kind of happened. I think it also could be related to my eating too much dulce de leche. You think that you cant eat too much, but I would disagree. These days have been similar to the days where nothing in your closet fits (or at least you think nothing fits). I dont know if I am going through a missing home, friends, and school thing or what, but I do know I really want the northwest. I'm craving some outdoor hiking or just walking and I'm craving some summer fruit.

I think what is hard is that I dont really get along that great with my host mom. I think I may have blogged before about her, so forgive me if I am repeating. It is not that she is mean or anything at all, on the contrary she is very nice and generous. There is just a connection missing from us, I just find myself not responding very well to her comments or conversation. When she asks what I did last night or my plans for the day, I feel she is telling me that I have to do this or do that and almost dictating me, thus Im back to teenage rebel who hates to be dictated to. Plus, there are those awkward dinner nights that we have silences while eating. Just eating and I look at her, she looks at me and I actually feel the tension in the air. I thought I was never an awkward person, this has been a first. I really feel uncomfortable at the dinner table and just wait till it is over and try to think of stupid general comments of the day to talk about. That could also be a reason I miss home and friends. And I already know once I am back I'll be complaining how I miss Spanish, food, mate and the people from down here. That is life.

Can't wait to see everyone. Lovee. Giulia

Ahh, no puedo creer.

No es posible que me falta solamente un mes. No puedo creer que tengo solamente tres findes mas aca en Argentina. Es incrieble como paso el tiempo. Queria hablar sobre cualquier cosa y ademas un poco sobre mis pensamientos de las diferencias en vivir aca y vivir en el Northwest. As I have been pondering my time before medical school and after graduation, I was thinking of traveling or living abroad for the two years I want to take off from school. While I find myself spending a lot of time in Rosario I am comparing more and more the things I like and the things I miss between Argentina (Rosario) and Portland/Tacoma or the Northwest.

One thing that I feel I love about Argentina and Rosario is the laid back atmosphere and social aspect. It seems that not only is mate a complete part of the culture but the whole concept and idea of taking a break, talking and relaxing is integrated into this culture. That is one thing I really enjoy, I look forward to the sundays in the park, drinking mate and hanging out with friends. I also enjoy the aspect that friends get together and just talk or do whatever every single weeknight. And yes, I do that too with my friends back home but it seems more easy here or at least that it is always expected. Other aspects of sharing and generosity in general spark my interest. Another quality I like about being down here is the simple aspect of living, Im not sure if it is due to the peso and dollar difference, but living simpler seems to go hand in hand with the more relaxed attitude.

I could go on talking about the things I enjoy and love thus far about Argentina/Rosario. But in the back of my mind I keep thinking about the things I do miss (apart from friends and family). One aspect is the political correctness or attitude of treating everyone with respect/equality in the Northwest. That sense of liberal and equality in terms of not saying "gay", not calling people certain names, etc. is something that has always been a part of my life and the way I live. I try to improve myself by being nicer and treating everyone with respect, etc. Here, I feel that the words and phrases I do pick up on are complete opposite. I know that it is part of the culture and something that is not truly meant to hurt someone, but where do you draw the line? Or am I just a person that has the opportunity to think about these kind of prejudices? Can you travel to third world countries and expect that the thoughts and ideals of treating/respecting everyone in the same manner will be the same? I have kind of thought about this and had difficulties because I can tell someone in the US easily to not say "Oh, that is so gay" and explain why it offends me. But here, if someone uses "es un maricon" when talking to their one year old boy because he cries but saying it in a loving and friendly manner, I dont think I would be able to explain why it feels weird to here that term and for this culture to understand. (Maybe in certain areas of Buenos Aires because it is a big city, but not rural areas or for that matter even Rosario). This falls in general into other areas about the physical qualities and talking so directly to people, what happened to a little white lie? It obviously skipped over Argentina because stating directly and telling someone they are fat, skinny, etc is common. And I definitely feel weird about this too, but than again gordo, etc is also used in the affectionate way as well.

Another aspect that I miss in general about the Northwest is the outdoorsy atmosphere and the ability to be with friends who will go hiking with me on the weekend. I am going to cut my rant short for now, because I tried to procrastinate my homework but should start it now that it is almost midnight.

I guess I really should not be too worried or preoccupied or thinking about this. I just always seem to think in the future, but need to realize I have another year of school, after that I can figure out how I feel about possibly returning to live/work for a year or just travel, etc.

Besos, nos vemos.

BICENTENARIO! 25 de Mayo 2010

Que bueno! So, today was the Bicentenario or 200th anniversary of Argentina Independence from Spain. The celebrations have been going on since this past Friday. Well, today I got back from Mendoza via plane and I arrived so tired and wanting to fall asleep and not do anything. Well of course, when I heard about all the stuff happening and realized it is a one day thing I had to go out, even if I was tired and felt sick. I met up with Paulina and Gabby at the Obelisco and wandered around, people watching, trying to get through the crowd. We finally made it to the food stands from around the world and got through Paraguay, France, Iran and I think that was when our stomachs quit on us. We than decided to make our way over to Plaza de Mayo and check out what was happening. We knew we had to be there by 7pm, but it was still 4pm, so we thought why not Freddos? Plus I had been having some major cravings for icecream. We walked down to Puerto Madero and had some Freddos and made it back to Plaza de Mayo just in time to wait an hour or so before the show began.

Without even realizing it, we had joined in on the many people waiting for Christina Kirchner, la Presidenta de Argentina. She walked about 2 meters from where we were standing. So weird to think that we only waited 40 minutes to see her walk in front of us, where I feel that would never happen with Obama. Than the Capildo (which was I think repainted all white and the doors all shut) was used as a projection screen for this 10 min 3-D laser show illustrating the history of the past 200 years. Super cool and I cant really describe how the effects and images were, but they were very nice. After that the parade started, yet we found ourselves trapped within Plaza de Mayo and no way out...hmm. We finally made it out after some floats had left and thought of walking towards the Obelisco and ended up needing a walking break. We dropped into a restaurant, thought of just having coffee or drinks and ended up getting pizza. After being full again, sleep sounded really nice. Paulina and I decided that we should just take Peru down and it becomes Florida, which should be non busy and not blocked off and lead us to home.

When we got to where Peru and Florida converge, we saw that the parade had not fully passed and the last end of it was passing. Aka the DJ float, where it was basically speakers stacked upon speakers and three djs. If you know me, I love music and I especially love dancing. The dancing commenced and our decision to follow the Djs ensued. The police had blocked off the end of the Djs because people had wanted to start following them and were forming a group. This main group started a congo line and this distraction allowed about 20 of us or so to sneak through the fence/gate that blocked the street and walk towards the Djs. Once the police saw they failed to stop us, they let us all in and allowed us to continue dancing, walking, singing, chanting and clapping behind the DJs. It was so incredible the energy and the spirit of everyone was amazing. This kept going all the way to the Obelisco where masses upon masses of people converged. People were along the buildings, above the bus stops, on tops of trucks. All just singing, chanting and dancing together. One of the best moments was this old man on top of an advertisement of Quilmes dancing by himself and everyone slowly started seeing him and pointing up to his dance moves. This inspired the chant "Ole, ole, ole, oleee, oleeee, oleeee. Gordoo, Gordooo, Gorddooo, Gorddooo" (repeat). It was so great.

The dance party kind of fell apart as the Djs worked there way around the Obelisco. And Paulina and I just kept walking around and enjoying the atmosphere. It was soon around 1130 and the concerts had not even started, but I just could not stay awake, no matter how badly I wanted to stay out there I knew I would not fully enjoy the concert and Id probably wake up tomorrow feeling even shittier. All I can say is that this was one of the best nights and I am so glad I was in Buenos Aires and in Argentina when they celebrated there 200th "Birthday". I have never been in such a big mass of people and a mass of people all celebrating and being happy together. That feeling is indestructible and if only we could figure out how to convert that energy into our every day lives. Such an amazing time and I loved it. Viva la patria!

Finally, CHILE!

Ah, it has been a while since my last post. But I am in Valparaiso, Chile. I am waiting for Ryan and Lyons to get up, they are the ones who stay up late and sleep in, while when I am traveling I am the type who sleeps early and wakes up early. We did one day of wine touring in Mendoza and than went night bus to Santiago, got into Santiago at 6 am and than bused to Valparaiso at 7 am. The two days here have been really sweet, this city is amazing and I really enjoy the liberal and artistic feel, as well as the more outdoor feel (perhaps), not sure yet if that is true. One thing I can tell you about the city, the grafitti kicks ass. The grafitti and lifestyle of the artist has literally taken over this port town, every street, building or house is covered usually in a bright color of paint or an amazing grafitti image. I love just walking around and that is basically what I have been doing the past two days, the grafitti is sick. And I think a majority of my photos have been grafitti.

I also enjoy the people I have met thus far, very talkative and warm. I think that a lot of Latin America is like that, I am not sure if they are like that because I am foreign or because I am a woman, but either way I am always greeted pretty friendly and if not I just dont take it into account.

I want to start heading out and walking around, and I may just do that because we leave for Santiago today at 350pm and than Santiago to Mendoza at 1030 pm. (Ojala that the pass is open and not closed for snow...that would be bad).

Tuesday is the 25th and thus party in Buenos Aires! Nos vemos a la proxima, ahora que el tiempo esta pasando y solamente tengo casi un mes en Argentina y sud america, no quiero irme. Siempre es asi, queres una cosa cuando no te va a tenerla y cuando no podes tener algo la quieres.

Los Esteros de Ibera

I have emailed multiple people about my recent Spring Break or I guess here would be Fall Break with my program. I went to Tandil and Ibera, but I really enjoyed Ibera the most and I am just going to go ahead and copy one of those messages: (Sorry if this goes against the ideals of blogging, but you can go ahead and suck it) hehe.

Ibera is kind of similar to the Florida everglades in a sense...huge area of marshlands, with over 4000 types of birds, animals, plants, etc. It was amazing. Our hotel was right on the water and we took boat trips to explore the area, went canoeing and just enjoyed ourselves. Saw caymans (Yacare in Guarani), these CUTE little rodents called Carpinchos, a ton of different birds, monkeys, spiders that made me cry ( i legit had a panic attack and almost vomited, along with my tearing up). Ok I should probably explain the spiders: they are colonial spiders, thus they live together in these huge ass nets and they sleep in a bundle. Well I think I probably could have handled that, but no, we were seeing them about a foot from our boat during hunting time. So imagine about 500 medium sized spiders crawling all over their webs and in the air. Hmm...I could not. I turned away, but kept imagining them and just flipped. Probably my first real panic attack and just kept turning away but ended up crying until we were well away from them. Besides the spiders, the animals were super cool.

Now, onto the gauchos. Well, the second night at the hotel there were two gauchos hanging out with the two directors of the hotel, they begin to play guitar and sing and while I'm watching from a different table they invite me over and thus I tell the two girls I was "in a converstaion" with to join. We are welcomed into their circle and they continue the music. The guachos keep handing us and offering us wine. It just really showed me how generous they are and the difference between the USA and even the city of Buenos Aires. Anways, we are talking and hanging out throughout the night, more people join, it becomes a party. Those who can play guitar play some songs, one of the gauchos invites me to dance the typical dance of Corrientes (funny how I am always asked or forced to dance). And than they taught us these "cries" of the gaucho, I forgot the name, but they are sort of yells of emotion, you can have different ones for whatever you are trying to express. It was just neat to hear them do it. The next night they are back at the hotel and we end up playing Texas hold em and figure out they work at the estancia we are going to visit on that Saturday, so we are just on good terms and they are really fun to hang out with.

All of the estancias I have visited thus far have all been really nice, but all pretty touristy. THIS ONE, was an ACTUAL estancia. It had only 5 gauchos working on it, which I dont know how many cows they own, but I did remember the amount of horses they have, 150 mas o menos. We were split into two groups and my group first went walking around the estancia to see some buffallo, cows, horses and just get a glimpse. Than we saw the guachos lasso cows that needed their horns cut off and the first one also needed to be castrated. Well, they castrated the cow, which in all essence I dont think hurt them that much. They just slit to little areas and took out the balls. Than they bbq-ed them or "asado-ed" them on the spot. They cut off the horns and would use hot rods from the fire to burn the wound and stop the bleeding. I could go on explaining, but I know it may be too much, thus Ill warn you to be wary of some of the pictures that may include some blood. It was just insane to see it in person and I also respected it, because I think that it was apart of the farm life and not to hurt the cows, but to insure that they did not hurt the horses. But anways....guess who had cow testicle? They offered the balls after being cooked to us and no one said anything so I was the first to accept one and just ended up eating half because after I agreed, other people wanted to try. They tasted fine, I have had worst parts of an asado. After that we went and just hung out until the other group arrived from horse back riding. Then we ate an asado and after had sack racing! It was soo funny and I did not expect us to be sack racing, I kind of hurt my calf again and did not even come close to winning, but it was really fun. Than we switched groups, were we would return in horseback to the boat and the other group stayed to see some cow stuff. They stayed and learned how to lasso cows, which I was told 3 of the students fully lassoed on their own three or 4 cows and two actually took them down and brought them to the ground! The horse riding was really nice and we just went through areas that changed between the typical "pampa" scene and the marshes of Ibera. It was very relaxing.

FInally, I will mention the amazing food and the reason I gained weight. At the hotel in Ibera they had HOME MADE EVERYTHING. Breakfast: homemade scones, homemade medialunas (crossiants), homemade yogurt, homemade bread, homemade jam, and HOMEMADE DULCE DE LECHE. Thus every breakfast I had some cereal, yogurt and banana with dulce de leche. And when they rbought out warm medialunas with scones from the oven I could never say no. On top of breakfast every lunch and dinner had a starter/appetizer, a main plate, and a dessert. Than TEA TIME at 5 or 6 pm. Seriously..I forgot what it meant to be hungry.

It was really nice and I just feel as if I may enjoy smaller communities. I like the city of Buenos Aires a lot but I still have doubts about whether a big city is for me. I feel so relaxed in the country, but than again I was there during vacation...and have not spent a good month or two away from city life. I just keep trying to figure out if I really do like Buenos Aires or perhaps I may seem to not like it AS much because I do not have many porteno friends.

All I can say is that smaller towns, such as Rosario and even Portland just seem to be more friendly than the bigger cities. But perhaps I am still a virgin to big cities, because in reality I have only been to Buenos Aires and it is the only one I can judge. And actually now that I think about it, everyone here is really nice and when I arrived I remember blogging about being a tourist and everyone helping me, telling me where to go when I asked for directions. So I dont know. I looked at the date today: May 11th. I am basically past May and will only have one month left. Holy cow.

Granizo enorme! (Huge hail).

Whoa, whoa...what a storm. I basically forgot the day I had at the estancia due to the insane weather on our way home. Yesterday I went with IES to San Antonio de Areco, which was fun. (The asado was not the best, but the museum on Molinas Campo was very nice). On our way back I immediately fell asleep and started napping. I was woken up by these flashes of something and when I looked to my right I noticed a lot of light in the sky. There was so much light, I thought it had to be a show or some concert. After a little bit and finally fully waking up I realized it was lightning! I love lightning and thunder storms so I moved to the other side of the bus and just started watching. It was like no other storm I had seen, only lightning bolts about every second with no rain and no thunder that I could hear. Can I call that an electrical storm? I wish I could have snapped some photos of the lightning, because it really was kicking ass, huge bolts basically would just keep the entire sky lit up.

After the show of lightning came some rain. It started out slowly, than grew and grew into torrential rain. After the rain came the small pieces of hail. I have seen hail many times and was accustomed to hail storms. However, this did not stop at small balls of hail. They soon became huge balls of ice, some got to the size of softballs. The roof of the bus sounded as if we were in a fight with the Gods. BOOM, BAM, BOOM, BAM. Almost shaking the entire area and denting every part the balls of ice hit. As we looked outside, it seemed as if all hell had broken loose. Every single car's roof was dented and damaged. Car's back windows and front windows were all broken. If they were not completely broken, the entire window was cracked. It was insane. I was in complete shock while watching this. I almost thought this may be what the end of the world is like. When people on the bus were freaking out, the bus driver (Pablo=saint) started telling us to just calm down and put our hands up against the glass windows on the right side. That was were the wind was coming from and our hands would diminish the vibrations created if the hail hit the glass. He was very calm and reassuring. As the 30 plus students put their hands up against the bus, we looked on as every car near us was damaged and broken.

After about 10 minutes, the hail subsided and it became a drizzle of rain. I was in a state of shock for at least two hours after and still can not really believe that I saw something so extreme. Argentina, you keep amazing me.

Long time no see

Ah, it has been a while since I posted. I am just going to already warn anyone who reads this (do people even read my blog? Because in all honesty I just write for myself and dont assume people follow this blog...) that this entry will be most like a journal. I already write entries that are pretty random and at times I may not put in those couple extra sentences to make sure it flows, well this will be like that.
These past two days I have really been missing my friends back home, maybe because my parents are coming soon, maybe because I left Rosario, I dont know. I just miss being with people and just hanging out. It is hard to go from college life, where you live with your friends and thus see them all the time to living in a house with a senora. Trust, me I really enjoy being in Buenos Aires and the city but it is hard at times to get use to being alone again and being ok with not doing something, etc. I always get like this, even at home in Portland when I dont have people to hang out with. I feel like I should always be busy or something or always with someone. Is that our generation now or just me? I think it also may have to do with being in a comfort zone, my friends know me and I know them, and I love them. There is no doubt that we dont want to hang out or do stuff, because we are friends. I am not forced into hanging out with IES students or things like that, but it is a group that you kind of choose from in a way. And I really like a lot of people here, they are chill and cool. But it cant be like friends back home, because we only have a certain months and we dont live with each other or in a dorm.
The thing with Rosario that I explain to people is that I enjoy being in a calm, chill place. I enjoy the friends I have there and enjoy the environment that is not as busy as the city. I probably also just being in a house where I can freely hang out and talk with everyone in spanish (another big one, that I can speak spanish and not english). I am excited for the viejos to come, people who know me.

I think i am just in one of those dips, Ill get out of it, but just like to vent when stuck in them.

Disneyland o Iguazu?

This weekend I went to Iguazu with a bunch of other students or more so there just happened to be a lot of students going at the same time. As we arrived at Retiro for our 8 oclock bus we encountered the muchedumbre or mass of people that were trying to travel for semana santa. I heard that people would be traveling, but never thought that Retiro would be filled, body to body by people. Our bus was late and the best part was that I heard a bus wouuld be leaving by our company at 8 pm from boletero 37, so told everyone we should head that way. At that point we were at boletero 45ish or something. It took probably like 25 minutes or more to push our way through the crowd of people, I was almost pushed over by the people near me and was STRUGGLING to carry my duffel bag and my backpack that I had for the front. I dont think it was necesarry to take a shower before this, because by the end of the whole event (after we waited and finally found out the bus was arriving and after we got on) I was drenched in sweat. My whole tshirt was wet and I just felt disgusting.

After the whole adventure and after 20 hours in bus we arrived at Puerto Iguazu! Yay! If I thought Retiro was hot, whew was I wrong. Iguazu was humid and hot. The only thing I wanted to do was jump in the hostels pool. Which I did, but after we went grocery shopping for the night. The hostel looked like a resort, it had a huge pool and outdoor bar with music, everything. Later I found out the one thing missing was that the community kitched sucked balls, there was nothing in it and I was supposed to be cooking for about 10 to 12 people...ahh I dont even want to go into that dinner. The pasta turned out to salty because there was no sea salt and I put in too much regular salt in the water...ahh...lets just not talk about it. I need to redeem my cooking later in life and invite everyone that tasted that pasta to my house. Besides that the hostel was great.

On Friday we set off for la parque de Iguazu! I started off the day hiking the sendero de Macuco, which was nice. But the whole entire trail was covered with HUGE spiders in these gigantic webs above our heads. I had to duck a couple of times. This scared me a little bit..and took away from my enjoyment in the trail. Oh well, after we started on the caminos or walks of the waterfalls. Every area was packed with people and tourists. This was probably due to the weekend we chose to visit, but also probably normal for the most part.

I was ok with the amount of people, but slowly realized that I could not really appreicate and take in the beauty of the waterfalls with the shouts, conversations, trash, and distractions of the crowd. I have felt that nature should be enjoyed in silence or at least I enjoy being in nature and taking in the beautiful silence that it inspires. At this park, there was no silence. (Maybe only on the sendero de Macuco). By the end when we tried to go to Gargantas del Diablo, there was a line we had to wait for. Which by the way, all the trains that took you places had lines that you had to wait for at least 30 minutes or more (no thank you, we walked everywhere). Well, I was already suffering a lot from the heat and humiditiy and to add onto this the wait for las gargantas was pretty hard on me. I think I started getting the symptoms for heat stroke about this time and once I arrived at the Devils Throat I had such a bad headache and felt so shitty that I could not really take in the beauty of the place. I have to admit that they were incredible and really amazing, every single waterfall had a rainbow to accompany it, but the people, the heat and the lines just destroyed a little bit of their natural beauty. Thus, by the end of the day I was not the happiest camper.

I know Iguazu is stupendous and breathtaking, because it was. But the fact that it reminded me of Disneyland and not a national park disappointed me a little bit. I think that Patagonia and the Glaciar Perito Moreno have a leg up (is that the phrase?) on Iguazu, just purely for the fact that they do not remind me of the magical kingdom and I could really enjoy the natural beauty that was the glacier, by myself and in silence.

Tigre! Rawr.

No, it was not anything like Rawrr or tiger. However, it was a very cool weekend in Tigre. This trip was put on by IES abroad (cost 60 dollars) and we left on Saturday and spent some hours in the artisan market called Mercado Fruto I think? It was basically just walking around and such, with a visit to the Museo de Tigre that use to be a Yacht club, which turned into a club for high society. You could tell it was for the elite because the ballroom on the top floor was gorgeous. Now it is filled with some nice artwork and contemporary exhibits.

After this we went via boat to our hotel. www.labecasina.com this is the website if you want to check it out. SOO nice. I roomed with Paulina and Alibe in our own Bungalow! There was a really nice pool and basically we could do whatever we wanted. On Sunday we had the option to kayak, sit by the pool, fish, go hiking or go in the paddle boats. I went kayaking and midway down the canals of the delta switched with people in the paddle boat (not a good idea, because I forgot my pulled calf muscle on my left foot would hurt when I paddled). It was just a really beautiful and relaxing weekend. I may or may not have gained about 2 pounds or felt like I did because they had non stop good food at all times. As for our return to Buenos Aires we went all the way in boat and were able to see the sunset and arrive in Puerto Madero via Rio de Plata.

I think I am going to try and sign up for the two trips during Spring break put on by IES as well. At first I thought, no way I want to do my own trips, IES trips will probably be lame, etc. However, with regards to cost (way cheaper to travel in groups) and that all the food included is AMAZING and the lodging is AMAZING I am thinking about doing those trips. Plus, my planned trip to Salta can wait for another time in Argentina, or when I plan on returning in the future.

A woman and soccer? A woman wearing a jersey?!

When I get dressed up in a ¨sexy¨ dress or something that may show my figure off a little more, I get looks and comments every once in a while. However, today I went outside with my Inter jersey and I think I received the most looks in any one day since my arrival in Argentina. I walked out of the door and BAM peopl were staring longer than usual. At least this time, no one was actually commenting or whistling. However, out right staring was more the fashion. I was stopped and waiting for the cross sign to change and this woman just stared at me for about 2 minutes. Ok, maybe like 30 seconds...but it felt long. I almost wanted to just turn towards her and ask, can I help you?

It almost feels like I should wear this jersey more often and create a stir within Buenos Aires. But at the same time I am sort of embarassed or scared to wear the jersey because of the amount of stares I get. We shall see how the rest of the day goes.

San Patricio and a little Rant

Saint Patricks day...the one day I fit perfectly, red hair, white, obviously some Irish in me. Ah, I was so excited to join in the festivites because I heard at 6 pm Plaza de San Martin begins with dancing and music and than the festivites move towards the street Reconquista where there are some Irish pubs. Well, during my cinema class it seemed that this would not happen...torrential rain and thunderstorming halted the festivites at Plaza de San Martin but did not stop the other parties on Reconquista.

Later on towards 11 I met up with some friends and we went down to see what was going on. The street is already a pedonal or pedestrian street, so no cars. But they still closed off about 5 blocks and the street was packed with drunken ¨Irish¨. I use quotes because I think I saw only 4 people who looked Irish and 2 were friends of mine. That does not matter though, because the spirit is what matters. As we headed down towards the street, already some people took it upon themselves to begin climbing the lamppost, I think maybe 3 guys tried this. While everyone around watched and started chanting them on. Very entertaining and ridiculous.

As we strolled along the street trying to figure out what bar to enter I began to question once more, as I always do here. Who started the tradition of commenting, whisteling, of men? They are obsessed with women and at least show it more than other cultures I have traveled to or know, even today I put on a shirt that is a little low cut and I walk out the door, and BAM comments or blatant stares of appreciation for my choice in shirt. Last night, a friend had a low cut dress and as she walked all eyes on her other counterpart. At one point in the night I was entering a bar and I got stopped and kissed on the hand. I waved him off and told him ¨boludo¨, which may not have been ¨correct¨ usage, but whatever. And another incident, I was surrounded by 6 guys talking to me and luckily Lyons (friend) comes over puts his arm around me and starts talking as if we are boyfriend/girlfriend. They immediately walked off. This happens all the time and I wonder, do the guys ever tire of it or is it a game that they play all the time? Instead of Halo, instead of other video games...do they just enjoy futbol and the chase of women or do they deal out points for certain things? 1 point if the woman looks back at you, minus 1 if they dont even acknowledge you, 2 points if they reply, 3 points if they stop and say something...etc.

I think I would make a game of it, maybe I should make a game for the woman´s position. I dont know, 1 point you tell them off. 2 points you stop and pretend to talk and than immediately walk away...etc, etc.

Orientation Over

The weeks of orientation have come to an end. Classes will begin next week and I just finished registering for my classes. I have the option to end classes on Thursdays at 1 in the afternoon and thus have the weekend to do what I want. I am tempted by this because I could have long weekends and do traveling on my own.

However, I have two options, Thursday night drawing or Monday night painting. I am not sure which one to choose, because I think I would rather take the drawing class but the time of that class is worse than the Monday night painting classes. Ah, what to do.

I leave today for Rosario to stay with Matteo´s friends and to see Nico and Mono once again. I am excited to meet all of Matteos friends and excited to see Rosario. Hopefully I can get into the swing of things once classes start and figure out what painting or drawing class to take.

Drunk Students

Hmm...so last night I went out with a girl that literally lives right across the street, so this situation is nice for when we want to return or something. We got lost a little on out bus ride, but this Venezuelan guy basically guided us to where we wanted to go, he got lost too because he is not from here. Carina and I followed a Pub Crawl into a bar and just hung out for a little, talking. It is difficult to be in two when the other person does not speak very well Spanish. Thus, I could not really just leave her and begin talking with Argentians. So that was a little bit of a bummer, but I got to know her and she is very cool. Coming from Penn State.

Later we started walking around Plaza Serrano and sat at a bar outside to just talking peacefully. We saw a group of students walk into the bar and joined them. However, the thing that bothered me was that they just wanted to get drunk. It was not even the first round for them, but they ordered tequila shots and quilmes. All they could talk about was drinking more and getting drunk. It is really bothersome, because I dont particularily want to get smashed and just continue hanging out with the students. Ya, I enjoy meeting new students, but I also do not want to be speaking english the whole time here.

Dilemma, I hope that the girls who I hang out with that speak Spanish very well will want to join me in going out somewhere and meeting some new people.

Reverse Culture Shock

Ah, is it possible to have a reverse culture shock? I think I am having one...the IES Buenos Aires program has about 140 students and maybe half of them are "advanced". I dont know how advanced they are because I have only met or seen maybe 5-6 people who can speak very well in spanish. I dont want to seem like I am better or anything like that, but I just really enjoy speaking Spanish and do not want to hang out with english speakers, constantly speaking in english or making comments that seem pretty stupid. I guess this is always the downside to being in such a large group of people while being abroad.

I hope I can meet people that also want to practice speaking spanish. And I hope that my senora in my host family (only one woman) is nice and will actually cook well. I already heard that another senora only made empanadas for dinner and nothing else. Does not sound very appetizing over a period of 4 months. I am going to be heading for the home stay tonight and will meet Cecilia Terrero.

Hope we get along!

Decisions..

Do I stay here or go? Buenos Aires or Santiago? Argentina or Chile? Since the earthquake in Chile, I have been staying with Coti's family and went to the first day of orientation for IES Buenos Aires. They have invited me to stay in Buenos Aires and after emailing with UPS I have found out that they will accept Spanish credit from the courses here in Buenos Aires. I just finished talking with my parents, who before knowing I would get credit from Buenos Aires thought I should stick with Santiago, but now they are ok with either decision.

In the end I am staying in Buenos Aires, so maybe I should change the title of my blog? I finally decided that staying in Buenos Aires is easier and I want to have a more relaxed and fun time while abroad. Chile right now and even Santiago are in a situation that may affect people for a month or so. I dont want to be selfish or anything, but I dont know, it just seems easier to stay in Buenos Aires and deal with a country that has not been hit by a natural disaster than go to Chile. It would obviously be quite the experience, being able to volunteer, etc. However I also do not think IES would allow me to volunteer in the conditions right now, with riots and the army replacing the nonexistent police force.

So instead of here I come Santiago, I'm staying Buenos Aires y Argentina. Nos vemos manana. Un beso.

Santiago, I am thinking good thoughts for you

Oh terrible. I arrived at the airport of Buenos Aires having heard from the taxi driver that there was an earthquake in Santiago, but did not think of anything big or a major emergency. However, after arriving and talking to LAN (the airlines) it seemed that this was a state of emergency. Already, they have found over dead and injured. The earthquake was about 8.8 with aftershocks of 6.6 and such. They say that Tsunamis may hit the coastlines and even Hawaii. I am lucky that I was here in Buenos Aires and hope that the people of Santiago are surviving and made it through the night. This will definitely be something to remember. I also feel bad for my fellow studying abroad comrades who most likely have been traveling for a long time and will probably be redirected to Buenos Aires. They most be so tired.

I am just "waiting out the storm" in the airport and a cafe with wifi service. I will probably head back to Centro and see my friend's family. Look for a better hostel and at the meantime upload my photos. Last night I was rushing and trying to upload photos and did not succeed. How funny that now I will probably have plenty of time to upload them. Not sure if the airport will be opened later tonight, tomorrow morning, or in two days. I have heard rumors that it may be in two days time. If so, that means I have some more time for Buenos Aires and can devour down dulce de leche and asado.

Punta Tombo

Penguins, March of the penguins. Unfortunately I was not able to have Morgan Freeman join me on this expedition. Today I went to Punta Tombo and saw the colony of Magellan Penguins. They are so freaking adorable, I love how they walk. If everyone walked like a penguin I think the world would be a better place. Well maybe not better, but more entertaining. There was about 3 km of trail to walk through the colony, and nests galore, surrounding you as you walked.

At some points you would have to stop and let the little guys walk past you with their wings at an awkward angle and their little feet scooting through the ground. I forgot a lot about the specific facts which were given to me..but just enjoyed walking along.

Later I was able to take a boat and follow some very cute dolphins..this black and white species that would swim in front of the boat. I only got one picture though and you can only see a little bit of them. They are fast little devils and so hard to snap a shot. Especially when rocking back and forth. Well, I am just hanging out at the hostel, about to drink some mate with some locals, visit another museum and set off at 11:30 for Buenos Aires. No more traveling in Argentina until I figure out my schedule of classes and such. I have loved this past month and look forward to settling down in a city. Next stop: Santiago, Chile.

Peninsula Valdez

O que lindo. Today I set off for Peninsula Valdez, which usually is packed during the migration of the whales. And is also famous for the Orca whales that kill their prey (seals-elephant seals) by stranding themselves on the beach. I have seen this before on discovery channel and such, but never knew that this is the predominant place where you can find orcas that have this technique of hunting. I wish I could say I saw an orca attacking a seal...but alas I cannot.

However, I can tell you I saw some very very cute little baby seals all along the beach. And at this time of the year after the mothers give birth they go out to the ocean and hunt for food, about 3 days. On return to the beach they come out of the water and yell, a gurgling guttural call, to their child. And if they came up on the correct part of the beach their baby should reply with another cry, softer but still coming from below. I was able to witness this display.

The mother was swimming close to the shore and started to yell, you could than hear another cry in reply and witness some movement amongst the masses of babies and other mothers. As the mom came out of the water the baby seal started pushing through the herd and moving towards mom. All of this movement with the ever ceasing cries from both mom and baby. As the mom fully emerged from the water you could see the baby running or I guess wobbling on its body (almost like the worm) as fast as it could go. It was incredible. I want to say they embraced each other warmly..but all I could see was two bodies colliding.

Later, we saw some Magellan penguins (tomorrow I am going to Punta Tomba, and that is the hub of penguins so Ill talk later about them) and some elephant seals. But not too many because it is not the right season to witness their babies and such. When they have their babies or the kids are about to leave for the ocean...you have higher chances of catching some orcas that are in need of food. Another time, another time.

Bzzz

Buzzz...I really love nature and unlike my younger self have come to appreciate long hikes, grueling treks, etc. However, it is still hard for me to get past spiders, spider webs, and insects. I just really dislike the feeling on my skin and bugs that are crawling on me. Call me a wimp, whatever, that is just how it is.

Today, I returned to Parque Nacional de los Alerces and went hiking. The first hike was supposed to be to a Waterfall...however I only saw a waterfall from about 75 feet above on a cliff. During this hike I was followed by an insect. At first this buzzing kept flying around my head..doing circles over and over again, I thought it was a bee so I picked up my pace and tried to out walk it. No luck, it kept on trekking along with me and flying around my face, over and over. Thus, I decided to run. I sprinted for about a good minute, thinking surely this bug will leave me alone. But alas, no it kept on flying around my head and trying to land. Uhh, I was getting annoyed and I must admit kind of scared. I did not know if this was an attack from Bees or what. SO I continued sprinting and no luck, after 5 minutes the thing came back to my head!

I finally ran enough so that the thing left me, however more of them followed me through out the day. That was the only bummer of the day. The rest of it was nice and tranquil. The lakes around the park reminded me a lot of Liguria, with a green blue water against rocks. I wish I had brought my swimming suit because everyone was at the little beach hanging out.

Rapid Rivers

Yesterday, I went for the first time, rafting down some level 3 or 4 rapids. It was raining the whole time, but was so glorious. Even with the rain and the coldness against my skin I would look at the surrounding rocks, waterfalls, droplets against the water, and just think how beautiful it all was. I have never been rafting before and for the first time it was amazing. I was in the spanish group and learned very much the words ¨adelante, atras, atras izquierda, halt,...etc¨. No one in our group fell off but there were some close calls.

At one point we were able to jump off the raft and float down a more calm rapid, which I did and enjoyed greatly. But my body afterwards did not enjoy the coldenss of the air surrounding me. We continued on for about 12 km down the river and ended up in Chile. My first crossing to the country I shall be studying in! Only about two minutes later did we go back to Argentina to eat asado and such.

Today I am going on a horseback ride...however I do not know how much I will be able to do, because I did not sleep at all last night..I stayed out with friends at the discotec and than stayed up talking until about 7, so why sleep if I was supposed to be awake for horseback riding? No se, todavia que quiero descansar pero no puedo y todavia que quiero estar viajando con mas tranquilidad pero no puedo porque tengo ya reservas en lugares y los hostels. Espero que en el futuro yo puedo tener un viaje asi, caminando sin saber donde voy a estar el proxima dia o sin saber donde me voy a dormir. Pues, con amigos sera mejor, pero si lo necesito hacer sola lo voy a hacer. Dale, ahora si que necesito dormir porque esta blog es un kilombo y si puedes leer esa mal espanol, bueno pues...nos vemos manana y espero que no me voy a dormir sobre el caballo.

Bus Ride

I have been in Bariloche for one day thus far, after the longest trip ever. Or at least I thought..two full days in bus. Well one day in bus and the other day in one of those big vans. Today the weather has just changed to some sun, earlier I went bike riding around the area with jeans and got poured on...not the best idea.

However, now about the bus ride. I think this speaks alot about Argentina. I was placed in the very front (that was my assigned seat), next to the drivers. They would switch every two hours or so. Well, Dario and I started talking and convresing while Neto was driving. Mate was brought out and I just assumed like all the other drivers I have had I would not be offered any, however they included me in their circle of mate and we continued talking and passing mate until the water was done. My first ¨circle¨ of mate accomplished! Yes. We picked up people coming from Calafate and an older man sat right next to me...seemed nice at first and he was...but by the end of the trip I wanted to shut him up. He was a salesman (thus the talking) and at times creepy. Good thing my iPod lasted the whole way, I guess I could have pretended to listen to music to get out of talking.

Anyways, at every stop they would refill the hot water and we would commence mate drinking. I really enjoy the ritual and drinking mate, even amaro (spelling?) or without sugar. And I am also loving on dulce de leche. When Matteo first brought it back from Argentina I didnt really like it, but now I crave it and always end up buying a little dulce de leche snack at the kioscos.

Tomorrow: rafting, the next day short horseback riding and onto Esquel.

Forgot my quick dry towel at the last hostel: crap. Im debating whether to buy another yet, because I may meet up with the people from that hostel...however who knows.

Perito Moreno (Glacier)

Holy cow, what a day. I woke up pretty early cause I could not sleep that much. Due to excitement and a roommate in the hostel snores...even with my ear plugs I had difficulty draining it out. The hostel is so sweet, they are very helpful here and give good advice. Plus they are pretty sweet people.

Anyways Glacier Perito Moreno was sooo amazing. First, we saw probably about 4 different ice pieces falls throughout the day into the lake, and the last one was HUGE, luckily I got someones email who has it on video!

Now for the trekking on the glacier. I found out it was more expensive than I thought, but now I dont care cause it was so worth it. The blueness of the ice when you walk on it and cross crevasses is undescribeable. At one point we had to cross a small creek that was way to deep to walk past. One of the guides hacked off a chunk of ice in hopes that it would create a bridge..well it did work until I went down the vertical side put one foot on and started to do the splits...Pablo the other guide quickly took his pick ice and stabbed it to stop me from going down, they were able to reposition the block of ice and thus i stepped across and climbed the other side.

Just a small glimpse and it was just amazing. I have never seen anything like it and hope to find more adventures ahead! I leave Calafate tomorrow and head to Chalten. Hope for good weather so I can see some peaks!

Sangre

Oi, what a day. My feet are killing me...reason: I wore new shoes and could not find a pair of cheap flip flops, thus i ended up bleeding a lot behind my heels and new blisters galore. Ew, that put a halt on my day's progress and was not the best for my mood. However, I was able to go forward and make it to the Cementerio de Recalota. One of the most amazing cemeteries I have seen in my life. All of the sculptures and tombs looked as if they belonged in a Church in Italia or where made for something else. So many amazing sculptures to look upon, I was there around 12ish and could only handle the heat for so long. With only one spot for shade, I ran to my next adventure.

After taking some time to relax my feet (they only just began to bleed and it was only my right foot) in a cafe, where I enjoyed a licuado a duranzo with tostada, I headed to el Museo Nacional de Bella Artes. Free museum! Spent almost 3 hours in that thing, there were only two floors but so many rooms and so much art. It was very interesting to see it in a semi progression. Because the first floor began more towards Renaissance, Enlightenment, and than moving forward until the second floor contained more modern and than even way more contemporary/abstract pieces.

Going out of the Museo I headed towards the Flor de Metal which was a gift to Buenos Aires and was HUGE. All silver plated, reflecting my white skin that did not need any more exposure to the sun and surrounded by flowing water. A very cool sight to see on a street bustling with cars.

A long walk later with feet newly bleeding on both sides I made it to Jardin Japone, or Japanese Gardens that were also right off the street. A huge garden area, with Koi swimming all around the water, bridges to cross and see where they go. Nice benches all over the place, a beaver family strolling for food. It was a nice location to just stop and relax, especially since I gave up on walking. It is the worst to stop walking with blisters, because than you feel the pain and can't get back into walking. The only thing I wish this garden had was perhaps a wall to block off the view of the many cars zooming pass and the noise of traffic. Than it would have been purely amazing.

Some bumps

Ah...how I love banks in other cities. False. So, I am trying to reserve all the nights I will be staying in various hostels around Patagonia. One such hostel asked that I send part of the payment as a reservation through the Banco Nacion de Argentina. Well, turned out there was quite the line...Coti met me at the bank but thought it would only be 15 min and when we both saw the size of the line I told her to go back to work and I'll figure it out.

After waiting in line for probably 1 hr and 20 min I arrived to the caja (clerk). Only to be greeted with documents I had to fill out, which conveniently were filled with words that I never come across. I think it was pretty obvious I was a foreigner and thus got some help, but alas at the end she told me my debit card would not work and I had to be a client of the bank or have one of their cards. How is that possible for me to achieve when I just want to deposit a little bit of money into some other person's account? Ah...so infuriating. I was almost on the verge of tears because I was so frustrated from standing in line for such a long time only to be rejected. I turned my frustration into anger and kept walking to Puerto Madero.

There I stopped for some ice cream at Freddo's and sat and enjoyed the view. Puerto Madero is the youngest barrio of BA and turns out to be my age! Born in 1989, well according to the posters I kept seeing. It is a very nice area with water, bridges, brick buildings. I took my time strolling up the walkways and visited Fragata Sarmiento a ship that made over 100 trips around the world or long ones at least. It was very interesting and had a little too much information.

Later that night I met up with Coti and her friend at the Konex, a kind of industrial outside warehouse. Bomba de Tiempo a really good drum group was going to perform. An amazing location, amazing music and very very fun. The most tourists I have seen thus far though. After that we left to meet Alfo (friend I met in Italy) at a restaurant. Had my very first Asada, yay! So good, I just would not recommend the spleen. Not sure if I really enjoyed the taste, however the rest was very good. My favorite is chorizo thus far. A good end on a day that began not so well.

El Campo

Today I was invited (or joined) my friend Coti to a birthday party out in el campo (our countryside). Before we even ventured out of BA we stopped by a house to join all the people that were coming because we would caravan out. The one thing I am still getting use to is un beso on the cheek for anyone you meet. There I was following Coti and her friend Melanie, saying 'Hola' and kissing every cheek of about 13 guys. It is so normal for them and yet for me so out of the loop. I really think that it is a great addition to any culture because immediately I feel more accepted and comfortable with these people, but I still feel like a novice.

The birthday party was held at Leo's family's house in the outskirts of BA on a farm/ranch. When the rain finally stopped it was so pretty and very serene. They had there pool being filled with water, but alas the rain made sure to put a stop to any sunbathing. I they did not serve asada, but I did have some very good chorizo and "patty" (hamburger) on an open grill. Everyone was very nice and I finally had my first mate in Argentina! Later on when the guys picked up I could speak and understand spanish they started asking questions and talking more. It is hard for me at this point with my spanish to fully start up a conversation unless asked a direct question first. My more proud moment was when we played a sort of pictionary game but with movies and I was able to actually help out my team. We lost, and amidst Coti's standing on the chair and flashing the oscar (trophy of victory) Leo (birthday boy) grabbed her and in full attire dumped her into the pool.

There is something within greeting people on the cheeks with kisses and something about how natural people are here. It seems as if they don't put up boundaries. Im not sure yet what it is and I probably will never know. But I do know that I love the culture and people here, and I've only been visiting for 4 days.

DP

DP=Dance Party. Well, that occurred around 2 am and continued till 4:30 am. My first taste of night life, however it was just more of a hang out with Coti and her brother's friends. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed meeting them. They continue asking for clarifications, whether it is "Beer" or "Beard", "Bitch or Beach", or even if it is normal for everyone to say "What is up nigger". Which, when I heard him ask me that, I just started laughing...and said no it is not normal.

Prior to the night festivities and hanging out I got to walk around San Telmo, what I hear is one of the more rich barrios and areas of BA. Also, tourists galore. I ran into more travelers, one from England and another woman from Holland. After my little museum exploring and walking in another torrential rain storm I headed towards el Museo Malba. Where I was going to meet Coti. Malba is the modern art museum and was amazing. They were featuring an exhibit on Andy Warhol and I knew of this famous pictures, like Marilyn and the Campbells Soup Posters, but I never really knew his story and how much he "represents" an American artist. It was a really nice exhibit.

And alas, we continue onward towards new barrios. Today: Palermo. Tonight: Not sure yet.

The Lone Traveler

I went out yesterday all over downtown Buenos Aires or el centro. I started by taking the Subte (subway) and getting off at Plaza de Mayo, walking around the Plaza, looking at Casa de Rosa (a high up top government location/house for president and others) and wandered over to the Catedral.

From there I meandered around and got lost...in my attempt to find the pedonal de Florida, a main busy street built for just pedestrians. Finally I figured out what the street signs meant and realized I had been on this street! Kept walking around and stopped by the Galeria de Pacifica, an indoor shopping center with a really beautiful mosaic/painting on the top ceiling. It reminded me a little of the Galeria in Milano (not as pretty though). After that I headed over to Plaza de San Martin to wait for my friend Coti.

She was getting off work and was going to meet before we went to the bus station (Retiro) to figure out my trip details down south. As I was waiting I met a nice Italian couple (I overheard them speaking Italian) and talked about travel plans and where they are from in Italy.

From just this morning by myself I am realizing how hard it can be to travel alone and also the first few days of traveling. I understand it will take patience and down time, but it is hard knowing that I left comfort of home and family. And now I walk alone, wanting to have someone to share this experience with and to lean on when I get lost. In reality, it really is not that big of a deal, but I just feel a little lonesome to not have a traveling companion.

I think my trip down South towards Patagonia will be better, I'll have nature as a friend and after that I'll be heading towards Chile and meeting other people my age who are going to be experiencing the same things.

Un beso. (I also think the US needs to get on top of greeting each other with a cheek/kiss 'hello'. It is just more friendly and creates an easier transition into talking)

Buenos Aires

I have finally arrived! After an insanely long trip, going to Dalles, lay over and than 10 hour flight I made it safely into Argentina. However, what I found amusing was that I supposedly left winter in Portland (I left on a beautiful sunny day), only to arrive in the summer amidst a terrential down pour. And when I say down pour, I mean down pourrr.

Good thing I had my rain jacket...but not much help did that do. While on the plane flying over my mom made me a little gift with some chocolate, prayes to protect me, and a card. It was hard to read it as first because I was still kind of sad to leave the comfort of home, but she thankfully included a quote from Diarios de Motociecleta:

Ernesto: What de we leave behind when we cross a frontier? Each moment seems split in two: melancholy for what is left behind, and the excitement of entering a new land.

I think this really helped me focus on the excitement of traveling and having the patience to adjust to a new culture. I am not going to be at ease for a while, so I may as well get use to it and just enjoy it.