Falto poco tiempo!

I am leaving South America in 10 days... 10 days! I can't believe it. However I am not leaving before I make a trip to Rio de Janeiro baby! I am leaving this Friday and staying for 5 days. The trip was sort of a last minute decision and I just barely secured the visa (actually I technically still don't have it, but they said it will be ready by Thursday- fingers crossed). Assuming all goes well I will be leaving EARLY Friday morning and arriving in Brazil shortly there after. That means I will have a lot less time left in BA so I'm afraid I wont get a chance to do everything... I'll make it work.

But Rio is def worth missing some museums here. It is winter there so I don't know if I'll get a lot of beach time (which is ok with my pale, fat ass), but it's says it's in the mid 70s so I think the beach is do-able. I know good sites to see are Sugar Loaf, Copacabana, and el Cristo Redentor (aka giant Jesus). Honestly people, I have no clue what I'm doing when I get there I'm just fucking going. Machu Picchu fell through which was rediculously expensive anyways, but considering there's a $100 charge for the visa- I hate being norteamericana some times- in addition to the dollar only being twice as strong as the real as opposed to three times the peso, there's really not that big of a difference in cost. But hey- life is meant to be lived and I'm going to do it.

I feel like I have to plan out every minute of my time left in BA to make sure I do everything I want to. Tomorrow I'm taking a tour of Teatro Colón, second grandest opera house in the world next to the one in Sydney in addition to taking care of stupid end of the semester stuff with Flacso and taking my last exam in Argentina ever. Then it's a mad dash to say good-bye to all my friends leaving this week and get ready for Rio. So much to do and so little time.

Aight my peoples- I gtg meet up with flacsitos at a pub and then go for ice cream after- great mix. I'll keep you updated and can't wait to see you all when I get home!!!

muchisimo besos!

Before the lío begins

I figured I'd post another blog before things got too hectic with finals and before I know it I'm back home. Yup, that's right people; I have yet to take finals. I have two Psych finals next week and Spanish the week after. Wish me luck!! I need it...

I will now stray from the topic of school, since I am choosing to ignore it right now, and move onto what I like to call my "things to look forward to" list-

Things to look forward to:
1. Argentina vs. Germany tomorrow where I will be drinking a beer at 12 in the afternoon while watching the game
2. The fact that my Psych classes have ended and I am almost done with work here
3. I MAY be going to Machu Picchu in July (¡Ojala!)
4. Chilling in BA like it was in the beginning and doing a LOT of shopping and sight-seeing
5. Going home and seeing my family and friends (I miss you all!!)
6. My 21st birthday August 11th (beach house party anyone?)

I refer to this list whenever I get depressed about finals or sad about leaving Argentina and all the people I care about here. It's so strange that it's almost over. I feel like it went by so quickly; but that's time for ya. With luck everything will go smoothly and I will be seeing you all soon if not this summer, then back at Fordham. I still got a lot of stuff I want to do before I go back though so that's first. I'll keep you all updated on my remaining adventures. Chau for now!

Hace mucho tiempo...

It has been a LONG time since I wrote on this website and I would think by now that you have all given up hope on me (if you ever read this thing in the first place). But I shall continue just for the hell of it. A big reason I hadn't written anything for a while is my laptop got stolen about a month ago when I was traveling in Jujuy. Gladys wasn't home and didn't get mixed up in it luckily, so that's the good part. So now I can say that I went to an authentic Argentine police station and gave an account of what got stolen. Oh the things I am experiencing here. I am using a laptop that my program lent me so it's all good now. The people who work at my program are awesome; son divinos, es verdad. That is the excuse I'm giving for not writing in over a month so just accept it ok?

What else has been going on... a lot of work in my classes still (unfortunately) and I am taking another Spanish class. Please don't assume that I'm going to come back to the States speaking fluently because trust me, I ain't. The Castellano is progressing slowly, but progressing nonetheless. I think my body some how knows it's summer back home because I have no desire to any sort of work what-so-ever. Classes finish at the end of the month and then I have finals in July e ya está! I return home. It's weird because I remember it seemed like we had so much time till the program was half-over, then the middle came, and now it seems like I have so little time. Time is such a fickle thing. I really miss everyone back home, but I don't want to leave till I've done everything I want to do here. I still dont know what everything is, but I'll figure that out eventually.

One thing I really want to do is travel to Machu Picchu at the end of the month. The problem is time and money (same old story always). With luck I will be able to go, but I'm not going to hold my breath. I'm definitely going to Iguazu to see the amazing waterfalls before I leave and maybe another trip to Uruguay- why not? It's right there. Since I last wrote I've been to Tilcara, Jujuy (a northern provence in Ar) and Ushuaia in Patagonia (the most southern-inhabited city in the world). I love how geographically diverse this country is! Jujuy was cool- lots of mountains, lots of cacti, lots of llamas. You know, the usual. Got drunk at a peña (bar/ restaurant that has folkloric music) and danced with the band's groupie, haha. Ushuaia was beautiful. I went hiking in the Nation Park of Tierra del Fuego and saw forest, mountains, green bays, wild horses, all kinds of wild life. The hostel we stayed at was kick-ass too. Heated floors rock when you're staying at the end of the world. There's so many other things to tell, but I suppose I'll save it for another time. Till I write again I will be working on mastering the Argentine education system, being fluent in Spanish, and becoming a world traveler. Hey I can do that all in a month and a half, right?

Procrastinating

So I'm studying for my first midterm coming up this Thursday when I decided, hey; this would be a good time to write a blog.

Since my last entry I have traveled to Mendoza, Ar. and seen the Andes Mountains. It was amazing and the views were incredible (see my clubphoto pics). Mendoza is wine country and before we even arrived I already got a taste of what was to come. On the bus, Andesmar, we had the option to play Bingo. I thought it was a funny concept, but was like what the hell. I actually ended up winning and know what the prize was? A bottle of wine! Complete with the Andesmar label of course- mmm, bus wine. Andesmar fucking rocks. When my traveling crew and I got there we went on a wine vineyard tour. It was quite educational, but who cares about that?- free wine! The wine was tasty and I bought two bottles to take home (that is if customs lets me). That night we went to bed early so we could wake up at 7 AM for our 1o hour minibus tour of the mountains. It was a long trip, but def worth it. I've never seen such beautiful scenery before and felt like I was really in the middle of one of God's amazing creations. I dunno I can't explain it. We were soon to experience the wonders of the Andes again the next day. We all went rafting for our first times with a bunch of other hostel people. Let me emphasize something for you; it's autumn here. That means the water is FREEZING. I don't know what made us think it was a good idea, but by the time we were done no one could move their fingers to take off their life vests. After showering and eating, we sat outside by a camp fire in the middle of the mountains. It was a great day. Later that night was the asado (basically an all-you-can-eat meat fest) at the hostel. We ate too much food and drank good wine and decided to continue the drinking with... that's right, Kings! With Carlito posed in the center of the cards, we had an interesting game which involved singing everything we said and me spitting my beer all over (some of you are aware that I have a problem with this). Anyways the next day was Easter and our last day in Mendoza. Sunday was relaxing and the bus ride back was horrible, but the experience was great.

As of now, I'm just trying to focus on work and chill with friends when I can. I have a lot of trips coming up in May so I'm sure I'll have many stories to report and of course more pictures. I miss you all terribly and hope everything is well. Till next time. Chau.

Politic-in

Today I experienced the second subway strike in my life. Never would I have thought that I would ever experience one let alone within the same year and in both hemispheres! Lesson learned: not having the subway accessable to you is a bitch- please return to operating the trains now. No, I really am simpathetic to the workers trying to get better salaries, but I hope they get them soon (aka tomorrow). The people of Buenos Aires are really involved in their government. You constantly see strikes and protests- it really doesn't faze me anymore. Last week even some of the professors at the public university didn't attend class to protest for better salaries (p.s. Thank you Prof. Nepomneschi for not informing your students you wouldn't show up for your 9 AM class- no I seriously enjoy getting up that early). La UBA is another story all on its own. There are political posters EVERY where and always at least 5 people standing by the main entrance to hand out flyers. It's really quite different from Fordham. I even wrote a paper on the relationship between students and politics in the US and BsAs for Spanish class. They're definitely more radical here. I do think it would be interesting to go back home though and see the protests against the immigration laws. What bullshit. I heard they passed the bill in the House and are waiting for the Senate. Aren't we in a war ppl?? And we're going to build more walls on the Mexican border? Yes, yes we are going to put ourselves deeper in debt. Why you ask? Because rednecks hate Mexicans, that's why. God, people are just coming here trying to find better lives for themselves and you want to punish that a crime like you do a murder? I don't understand sometimes...

Sorry for the rant ppls (and any direct comments were not actually made to the reader; they were intended for government officials most likely the President, but were written as such to give a stronger emphasis). I've decided to make this blog thing a bit more diverse, but I'm sure next week all I'll want to talk about is my trip to Mendoza. Keeping you updated.

Alright kiddies. I know it's been a while and that a lot of you have given up on reading this thing (if you ever did before) but I will continue on for those you who still care about me :P

What's currently on my mind now? TRIPS! Today I bought plane tickets to Ushuaia for the end of May and bus tickets to Mendoza for semana santa (Easter week). Ushuaia's in Patagonia and is the most southern inhabited place on Earth (doesn't sound too appealing, but it's pretty damn cool to say you've been to the end of the earth). Mendoza is west of B.A. and it has a lot of outdoor activities and... wineries! I've already been to the beach in Pinamar and went skydiving in Cordoba (it was fucking awesome). I promise to put picks up from these excursions this weekend. I want to go to so many other places too, but money and classes are getting in the way- to hell with you both! I'm so jealous of those of you who are studying abroad and doing no work.

In general- things are good in my personal life, could be better with school, and are getting better in regards to traveling. I'm trying to do it all people and we'll see if I'm capable in the end. (I'm so prophetic.)

Oh and send me an email once in a while please. I miss you guys!

Besos!!

The start of a long semester...

To catch ya'll up on what's been going on in my life:

I started classes this week and let me tell you- it's mighty difficult to learn about Freud in Spanish. In addition to barely understanding my professors, I don't know where the hell anything is. Picture your first day of high school (cause it's scarier than college) and then think if it were in a country you barely knew in a language you hardly know. A good example of the many things that can go wrong is my bus trip to my first class ever. I left at 6:45 in the AM and it was raining. I told the bus driver that I wanted to go to la UCA (Universidad Catolica) and could he please let me know when to get off. Bueno, no problem. So we're driving along for a while and I ask again:
"Are we going to la UCA?"
Driver: "La UCA? I thought you said la BOCA (a part of town farther south than UCA) ."
This is the moment where I wanted to cry and strangle the guy in the same moment. I eventually found my way to class and was on time, but that is only one example of the stresses I had earlier this week. In addition to all my classes I have a TON o' reading to do... in Spanish. But I knew this was coming right?

Moving along to happier subjects, I celebrated St. Patty's day Argentina style this Friday. It's actually fairly popular here although it's only been celebrated for the past 5 years. Me and the girls went to drink liter bottles of beer and bar-hop. It was fun and some of the girls decided to end the night by going to an apartment with some guys we met. I decided to go home. I've been to strange boys' house in a foreign country and survived it. I'm not trying to press my luck. See everyone- I'm Miss. Safety over here.

So plans for this week: lots and lots of reading, Salsa lessons, Club 69 to see the drag queens, and whatever else I come up with.

That's all for now folks. Besos!