Greetings and Meetings

Today I have 27 years behind me.  Or at least that's how you say it in Spanish.  I think I like that saying better than I am 27 years.  It's as though you have "something to show" for your age; as though you have something to say about life.  Ok, so at 27, I don't believe I have much to say about life except that I'm glad I'm living it.

This past week has been full of moments when I have been able to look at my life from outside of myself.  Perhaps it started as I sat in an Argentinian winery last Saturday schmoozing with men from all of the world who come to Mendoza every year to take stalk of their wineries that they own here.  One man, who is a Urologist and lives across the lake from me in Grand Haven, Michigan warmly invited me and anyone I wanted to come to MI and stay with his family and go to his winery and enjoy the fruits of life.  I asked if he had any single sons and he sadly said they were happily married, but if he had a third, he would be mine.  We ate and drank and laughed and I learned how to drink homemade grappa from a Brasilian man.  I sat there thinking, man, this is the life.  How lucky am I?!  And you better believe that any of us in the Chicago-Michigan area are going to show up at the winery!

Then the next day, we were bused up to the top of the Andes and white water rafted and sun bathed and enjoyed the magnificent scenery and air.  It is moments such as these that I felt as though I had been lifted out of my body and was happily watching it float by on the river with the raft.  But I mean, can life get any better when the sun is shining and you're sitting in the Andes with good friends and good food?  

After a full weekend of adventure I had the opportunity to spend the day by myself in Mendoza, a happy, tranquil city about 15 hours North East of Buenos Aires, right on the Chilean border.  I walked through this huge park for about 4 hours enjoying the trees, the grass, the flowers, and a huge lake.  I sat reading, writing, thinking, and praying for some time and the theme of blessedness and luckiness continually swept over me.  Is this really my life?!  Someone pinch me!

And today, on my 27th birthday, I have been overwhelmed with love and gratefulness.  Friends from all over the world have sung to me in multiple languages and I seriously couldn't be more blessed.  I spent the evening doing a little birthday shopping and I went into a store and the guy asked me if I were Brasilian because my Castellano (the form of Spanish spoken here) is mixed with Spanish.  I said no, I was from the States and somehow I told them (a young guy and his uncle) that I was Armenian and Italian. Turns out the young guy is Armenian and the uncle is Italian!  It is such a great combination!  And, apparently the Gostanians in the Argentinian government are not well liked.  So after them handing me Armenian newspapers in Castellano, the kid (Eduardo) invited me to come hang out with the young Armenians on Friday nights.  After exchanging information, I was so thankful for the hospitality and openness of this culture. And perhaps the guy was hitting on me, but I choose to think of it as him wanting to make me feel welcome and meet "my people."  I hope to hang out with them as I desperately need to practice my Spanish more and I would love to really get to know Argentinos and Armenians.  

This week has made me feel alive and happy and blessed.  Could I really have it any better?  I don't think I could.  I am loved by friends and family all over the world and I have more love for all of you than I could possibly express.  And I am on this incredible journey and today I have 27 blessed years behind me and hopefully another 90 to go!  So thanks for being a part of my journey.  I truly am the luckiest girl alive.

Vacaciones!

As though living in Buenos Aires is considered "vacation," last weekend I was able to re-lean the meaning of vacation in a new and wonderful way!  This vacation was cheap, awe-inspiring, and so fun!  12 of us from our school spent 18 hours in a bus to go North to the border of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay to a National Park called: Iguazu Falls.  And before you think "she spent 18 hours in a bus?!!?!" let me clarify that these Argentinian buses are like nothing else.  We went "Super Cama style" which means our chairs fully reclined, we had continuous drinks, candy, two full meals, and a champagne or whiskey night cap.

After a night on the road, we arrived in Puerto Iguazu (the Argentinian side of the f

alls) on Saturday morning.  We arrived at our hostel to find that it was a resort.  Ok, not an actual resort, but it felt as though we were in paradise.  The beds were hostel quality, but 4 of us were put into a Bungalow so we had a room to ourselves, meaning we didn't have to 

worry about things being stolen unless our own friends became thieves.  After lounging by the p

ool all day and enjoying our books and our friends, we were treated to an Argentinian Asad

o unlike any other!  For 10 US dollars, we had unlimited salad, rice, veggies, beef, chorizo, and chicken that were cooked to absolute perfection!  Including the food, we also were given fr

ee Capirinhas which were like mojitos, but in my opinion, much better!  After dinner and drinks the hostel provided a Brazilian show with two Brazilian women dancers who chose my 

friend Rob to be their man of interest.  And the women all learned how to shake our hips and dance in step to Brazilian music.  We then proceeded to spend the night at the poolside bar and danced the whole night away!  

Sunday morning we were greeted by a perfect day of sunshine and without a cloud in the sky and were off to the actual Cataratas.  We spent the morning riding through

 the jungle in a huge 4 x 4 vehicle trying to find monkeys, but we were unsuccessful.  After the ride, we got into a large rapids boat but were first greeted by a crocodile-like animal.  It's not an actual crocodile, but you can determine for yourself if it looks enough like a crocodile to be described as such. On our rapids boat, we went through a river and came upon the Cataratas from underneath.  Our boat provided us life jackets and water proof bags because we actually went under the falls themselves!  With lots of shrieking and screaming, we enjoyed every moment of being soaked under these huge water falls!! 

We then walked through the rainforest and dried off while watching the wildlife and enjoying our friends.  We finally made it to the "Devil's Throat" where the falls actually fall.  You can see the Brazilian side of the falls from the pedestrian bridge and it was one of the most beautiful and amazing sites I've ever seen.  I felt so small and protected when standing over one of God's greatest creations!  

After returning to the hostel, we proceeded to spend the next day and a half enjoying the pool, food, and drinks prior to getting back on a bus for what turned into a 20 hour ride home.  Our bus ride home turned into a bit of an adventure as we first went into Paraguay for some unknown reason and didn't know we were there until the Argentinian border patrol came on board to check our passports and electronics.  The Paraguayan city is known to have a lot of contraband and is very much like Tiajuana, from what I understand.  After charming the border patrol agent, we were on our way until we were stopped again by the police and a drug dog came on board.  But that wasn't the most exciting part of the trip.  Apparently we had a blow out with our tire and weaved our way to the side of the road and waited for help.  I don't remember any of this as I had my free alcohol with dinner and then took my blessed sleeping pill. We pulled up 3 hours late and I promptly went to class and look fondly upon my weekend in Iguazu!!

Please look at pictures here.

I'm off to Mendoza this weekend-- wine and adventure country!  Hopefully I will have more stories and pictures next week!

Chau!  Chau!

Small victories

I thought I knew a fair amount of Spanish.  And then I came to Buenos Aires.  It's not only that I lost almost all of my vocab and the gazillion tenses in Spanish, but the Portenos speak with a Castillan accent.  Apparently, it's one of the worst places to learn Spanish for anywhere other than Catalan, Spain.  However, in the last 3 weeks, I have gone from feeling relatively lost to today, where I had 2 small, but important victories for me.

After school, I went to a large bookstore to look for some books in English and for a young adult book in Spanish so I can work my way through it.  I was able to ask the woman at the book store for her recommendation for an Argentinian author for young adults that would help me learn more Spanish.  She understood what I wanted and I was able to choose a book of short stories by an author called:  Horacio Quiroga.  I was happy to have communicated totally in Spanish with a native speaker about things that you don't practice in class.  

All the streets here are one-way.  There might be 2 or 3 very large streets that are two-way streets, but those are very few.  This is usually a great thing, as you only have to look one way when crossing the street, but it is difficult when trying to figure out a where to pick up a return bus.  Apart from the bus going along an entirely different street, the buses zig zag all over the place and so unlike Chicago, where you can take the Addison Street bus and it drives along Addison both directions, here you have to figure out where to pick up the bus and whether or not it will turn off the main street before or after you want to get off. Tonight was the first night that I was able to take the bus one way to a restaurant and then ask the waitress where to pick up the return bus.  And I completely understood her answer!  It was as though I was actually communicating in another language!  :-) 

All this is to say: I feel like I'm finally communicating and understanding and really living here.  I am starting to not be nervous about asking for things or unsure of what to say, although I still butcher the language, I am getting my point across.  And that's really the point of communication.  So today was a day of small, but important victories for me.

Chau!

Roughin' It

This past weekend a group of friends and I headed outside of the city for some much needed time in Nature and relaxation.  El Tigre is a vibrant city about 45 minutes outside of Buenos Aires proper, so for 1.10 pesos (about 30 US cents) we hopped on a train Saturday morning and were greeted by pure blue sky and warm temperatures in El Tigre.  After meeting up with the rest of the group, we hopped on a ferry that makes a thousand stops to all these little river houses throughout the Delta.  Almost 2 hours later, we arrived at our camp site where we were greeted by perhaps one of the strangest men I have ever met.

Dario, our host, is a small man who owns a camp site and little local store where you can get almost anything you need-- at a much higher price.  There were 7 of us and we had rented 2 cabins at $100 US a piece and I must say I have spent a better 100 dollars on bottles of wine.  However, this trip was not intended to be luxury, so I don't want it to seem as though I'm complaining, I'm just trying to paint a picture of our home.  There was 1 double bed, 2 bunk beds, a tiny bathroom, a table and the smallest "kitchen."  It's what I picture the flats of some of my friends who live in NYC.  The walls were ply wood, we brought our own sheets, and I am thrilled that we did-- the beds were pretty gross.  But after foraging for wood, we began to set up camp.  And by we, I mean the 5 boys who I was with.  I'm glad I was there with some guys who know how to camp and chop wood and start a fire.  A few of us went for a walk/hike and some stayed behind to play cards and enjoy the simple life.  After exploring our surroundings, it was time to sit in the sun and enjoy being in nature with the only sounds around are animals, boats, and the laughter of some Argentinos nearby.  We started the grill and made our own asada complete with steaks, chorizo, grilled veggies, french fries, and freshly made bread. 

The wood that we found earlier in the day was a bit wet, so it took a long time for the fire to catch, but the boys were diligent and we sat around a fire pit, drinking wine and beer, and telling stories to each other until the wee hours of the morning.  I'm still amazed at how quickly we all become friends here.  It doesn't matter that you met someone 3 days ago, you're now huddling close together to keep warm.  Perhaps in your other life you may not be friends-- different economic scenarios, or life style, or just plain personality conflict-- but here none of that matters.  You're friends because in this moment of time you're in the same place with the same general goal: see the world and learn a language.  Our school is relatively small, 35 to 40 people at most, so it's fun to really know everyone.   

Well, it's Sunday night and I have another week of classes.  We will be getting a new teacher this week, and it is the last week with 4 of the 6 students in our class, so it will be a bit bittersweet.  However, change is good, and with each new person, comes a different dynamic and opportunity for learning and growth.  I am currently in a class with 5 boys and myself and there is a lot of testosterone, joking, and sarcasm.  We can be heard laughing all over the school.  So I will miss the joviality, but for this week, I still have my boys and my laughter.

I'm having difficulty posting pictures on blogger, so I'll be posting links to my facebook site so that you can see the pictures.  Don't worry, you don't have to be logged in to see them, just click the link.

Colonia and Montevideo: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=72533&I9e458&id=657960906

El Tigre and the Delta: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=73101&I=b6309&id=657960906

Uruguay

Last weekend I went to Uruguay with friends from school.  We took a very plush one hour ferry ride across the Rio Plato to Colonia, Uruguay and spent the day walking, walking, and walking some more.  Colonia is a small, coastal, tourist town that is very quaint.  We had a great time developing friendships and cultivating new ones.  We walked 7 km to see a bull ring that was only used once.  It was built to hold 6,000 people, but 9,000 people showed up on the first fight.  It wasn't built well enough, so after the first fight, the infrastructure was so bad that it could never be safely used again.  It seems like such a waste, but it was a beautiful structure.   

After a day in Colonia, five of us took a 3 hour bus ride to Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay.  We showed up at our hostel to find a clean, friendly place full of travelers.  After a quick dinner for our vegetarian friend, we returned to the hostel where they were having an asado.  Now, growing up in San Diego, I have had my fair share of carne asado and man is it fantastic, but I must say this asado was so good, albeit different.  We shared a few beers, had perfectly cooked steak with chimichurri, potatoes, and salad.  I sat next to a guy from Guadalajara, Mexico who is a music producer.  He "forced" my to speak Spanish to him despite his perfect English and was very patient as I searched for words and butchered his language.  We met people who were halfway through their trip to travel the world and experience all that the world has to offer.  I'm so jealous of and inspired by everyone who gets to travel the world... but I suppose if I'm really honest, I'm one of them too. 

The following morning we took a 4 hour tour of Montevideo in Spanish.  I was proud to say that I understood 90% of what was being said (when I was listening).  After our tour, Cyr and Daiver, my extended relatives picked me and 2 of my friends up for lunch and another tour.  We went to a small, family owned Italian restaurant for fantastic pasta.  Even though I haven't seen Cyr and Daiver in 10 or 11 years, it was like we picked up where we left off.  And in case you want to know what I looked like 11 years ago, apparently I look exactly the same.  :-)  After a long cup of coffee at the bus station and great conversation, we took another 3 hour bus ride back to Colonia where we had another hour long ferry ride back to Buenos Aires and then 2 short bus rides to a place where we could catch a taxi.  It was a very full weekend and I was exhausted when I returned, but after a long shower, I became overwhelmed with the goodness of people and life.  I'm here, on the other side of the world, and I'm so lucky to be doing this.  I had spent the day with family who aren't "real" family and am beyond blessed by their generosity.  I get to learn a language that I've loved for 15 years and get to meet some of the coolest people ever.  I have a family and friends who adore me and I'm seriously one of the luckiest girls alive.