¡Primavera!

It's springtime in Buenos Aires! (Finally!!)

Friday marked the first official day of spring in the southern hemisphere and I couldn't be happier! I'm so ready for it to get warmer and to finally be able to lose my jacket! Right now I'm in the middle of midterms, unfortunately, so my life hasn't been too incredibly exciting.  I had a history midterm last Thursday, but luckily I had an extra long weekend! Which would be why I'm not in class today... You have to love random Argentine holidays.

Friday we had a day with the group, and we started off by attempting to go to the Bellas Artes Museum. We got there around 11:30 where we were informed they were closing and would open back up again at 12:30... well, alright. So we wasted some time in Recoleta and hung out on the bridge, and eventually found a comfortable spot on a bench to hang out. Instead of waiting for the full hour, our program director took us to lunch and I had a pretty awesome burger. We always try to take advantage of the free meals we get, obviously.

After lunch we finally went to Bellas Artes, where we were informed that there were no "large purses" or water bottles (even if empty) allowed in museum. Also there was no indoor photography, so sorry for the lack of photos on that one. The museum was pretty cool and had a lot to offer, but I wish the second floor was open so I could have seen the Argentine art instead of just the European downstairs.

After the museum we were heading to the Bosque de Palermo (Palermo Forest) to see the Argentine Spring Day festival where students from outside the city come to celebrate.  The Palermo forest is not a forest, it's a park, don't be fooled. We walked there as a group, but our program director was walking SO incredibly slow that we ended up losing him before even getting to the park. A few of us walked around the lake in the park, and it was really crowded! Kyla got her face painted for 5 pesos, and we all got to enjoy the scenery on the perfect first day of spring.

Unfortunately I got sunburn on the first day of spring, not surprisingly.

After I got back from the day I came home to find my host mom sick in bed, and a doctor had to make a house call. Basically all the neighbors and her kids were here comforting her so it was a little scary not knowing what was going on. I ended up staying in Friday night because I was doing stuff in the kitchen, but also felt a little weird leaving her here alone.

Saturday was another uneventful day, except I went to see Buscando a Nemo 3D with a few of the girls! The movie was dubbed 100% in different voices, so it was awesome to get to see it in spanish, as well as compare the jokes and translations. I forgot how awesome of a movie it is, and I'm so glad I was able to go see it! I'm relatively convinced that it was funnier in spanish because we already knew the jokes in english, so the spanish translations were so different but hilarious.

On Sunday I attempted to dedicate my day to studying, but that didn't happen, so I watched the Eagles get absolutely pummeled by the Cardinals. It was painful to watch. I'd rather not relive it.

Today I'm enjoying an extra day off for the holiday so I'm going to finish up some homework and relax! It's a bit overcast but I'll probably head out for a walk later just to get out of the apartment. Oh, and I've also been without a roommate since last Wednesday, so that's also been an adjustment for this weekend. Jenn is off exploring in Chile with her sister and I'm sure she's having an amazing time, but I'm ready for her to come back so I have someone in the apartment to talk to!

Can't believe I'm coming home so soon, so strange to even think about. I miss everyone very much! Ciao, besos.

- Meagan

Halfway Done...

Wow, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm officially halfway done with my study abroad experience as of Saturday. It's amazing how quickly the time goes, but on top of that, how much more I'm enjoying this city each day. It's been a while since I posted last, my apologies, but not much has happened. We started our midterm exams so we're all a little bogged down by school, but after having my first one and seeing how easy it was, I'm not as concerned for the rest!

I'm really enjoying my mate. As the weather is getting nicer here in the city (spring in 5 days!), it's so nice to sit out on our balcony and share a mate in the morning. We like to celebrate with "mate miercoles" and it's always a good time. I can't wait to drink my mate back at home, though I'll probably get some weird looks because I'll be drinking out of a gourd, oh well!

Like I said earlier, the weeks haven't been too eventful.  I have some exams in the next two weeks, but with the grading scale here, they really make it seem like there's nothing to worry about. Of course I'll be trying my hardest, but it's just kind of funny how it works out.

Last Thursday was probably one of the most interesting nights so far here in Buenos Aires. For those of you who don't know, there's a lot of drama and controversy here surrounding government, and especially the president.  She wants to make some constitutional reforms and is often linked to a lot of corruption schemes.  To put it in perspective, her and Chavez up in Venezuela are best buddies... Thursday night there was a huge protest planned all over Argentina, with the largest gathering happening in various spots in Buenos Aires. While other groups were told not to attend the protest (for fear that it could become violent if police become involved), we were told no such thing, so a few of us decided to go down to Plaza de Mayo to check it out, and I am SO happy we did! There was no violence, and we got to meet a lot of people in the plaza who wanted to talk to us and find out what we knew about the situation. We knew the basics, but it was wonderful to hear straight from the people what their concerns were, and also great to hear them thank us for helping them spread their message.  All in all, there were at least 100,000 people gathered at the plaza, and the crowd spread dense in the streets all the way to the Obelisco. Normally, there are smaller "pot-banging" protests (called cacerolazos), where people literally bang on pots and pans in the streets, and this was a HUGE example of that. Our host mom actually told us that her neighbor went to the protest and actually broke one of her pans because she was hitting it so hard. I was also able to learn some of their songs, which was a nice addition to the night! We left the protest after about an hour or so and headed home to our apartment, where we watched the protest unfold and grow larger on TV with our host mom. It was one of the coolest experiences I've had here in Buenos Aires, and for the first time the city truly felt alive to me.

Yes, I got one of these flags

The prettiest room in the museum!

On Friday a few of us went to the Eva Perón (Evita) Museum in the city. It was definitely an interesting experience. Across the world Evita is seen as a saint in many people's eyes. But she was also centered on a lot of controversy surrounding her choices, as well as the governmental choices of her husband. We had heard from our professors to go to the museum and see at the pure lack of facts presented, and boy were they right! It was basically a museum centered around her clothes, and every now and then showcased her philanthropy, but never showed how she got the money or resources to accomplish any of that. It was interesting to see how the museum was basically a shrine to her, when in fact many people don't believe she should be celebrated at all. Still, the museum was cool because I'm a big fan of vintage clothing, but oh the whole it was not what I expected it to be. After the museum we went on an adventure to find froyo and we FINALLY found it in this God-forsaken city. And it was delicious, and all was good in the world.

On Saturday we went to an event called the Buenos Aires Underground, and it was AWESOME! We went to the Almagros neighborhood of the city (which I had never heard of) and ended up at an old metal fabrication plant... not exactly where I thought I'd be getting some artisanal food from Buenos Aires. When we entered the building, we paid our 5 pesos to enter and then headed up to the 3rd floor. On all the floors in between, you could see all the old machinery and it was pretty awesome.  Once we made it to the top we found out that you had to buy "Indy Bucks" in order to get any of the food (why am I not surprised?), so we each bought a sufficient amount and started looking at what we could eat.  Even though we paid more than we thought we would, it was absolutely worth it for the experience! Not only that, but for about 20 dollars, I was able to have half a pulled pork sandwich, half a brisket sandwich, froyo (woohoo!), lemonade, and another small sandwich to try! The location was definitely one of the more hipster things I've experienced here, so that was definitely interesting. It seemed like there were A LOT of Americans there, though I'm pretty sure the whole thing was put together by Americans as well. If you're ever in Argentina and looking for something local and cool to do, you should definitely check out the Underground Market, so awesome!

Pulled pork... and it was spicy!

Today (Sunday) we headed back to the Puerto Madero neighborhood! I went there during the first week with a few friends, but this time we went with our program. We walked the length of the water and got to hang out on the bridge. We ended up going to a restaurant with our director Alfredo for lunch and it took over 3 hours to eat. The service was pretty bad, the food didn't all come out close to the same time (One girl and I waited to get our food when some people were already done eating), and it also took close to an hour for anyone to even take our order. However, the food was delicious and I was so full afterwards. Puerto Madero is beautiful!

On the way home we stumbled on a Brazilian festival! We only checked it out for a few minutes but it looked like lots of fun! Besides that, it's been a quiet few weeks. I found out a few days ago that my dad will officially be visiting in the beginning of October and I'm absolutely looking forward to that! For now, I'm looking forward to officially welcoming spring to the southern hemisphere on Friday, and maybe being able to wear shorts without being ridiculed. My roommate learned that lesson, even if we are hot because it's 75 degrees, it's not acceptable to wear shorts here because they think it's still jacket and scarf weather.  Crazies.

Puerto Madero

That's really all I have for now... I'm looking forward to some more adventures soon!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week, and ciao for now!

- Meagan

Remember that time I danced in a Tango show?

Happy September! (What?!)

Another week has passed here in Buenos Aires! I haven't gone on too many crazy adventures, but I did/saw a few things worth noting, I suppose.

Friday morning we headed to the DMV from hell (as outlined in my previous post) to finally apply for our Visas, and then headed to Florida Street to shop. We got a huge lunch so that was actually the highlight of the day in all honesty.

Friday night was La Noche Internacional (International Night) at the University of Belgrano, and because I'm currently taking Tango as a class, I was told we would be performing a choreographed number at the night...

Fantastic.

So in the two weeks leading up to the show, my partner and I practiced our moves and basically only mastered the final pose and opening sequence... but that's really all that matters in the end.

Kurt and I doing our final pose. #werk

The dance was horrendous, I'm not going to lie. Kurt and I were the only ones who could regularly keep time or know when the musical cues were, so Kurt actually had to yell "vamos" mid-dance to remind everyone to start the final sequence. It was a mess, but it was an experience to say the least.

International Night should have had a lot more to offer, in my opinion.  Luckily I got there early because of the tango show because I was able to try some of the food from each country's table.  I even went so far as to ask the french girl at her table if the french toast they made was actually french, or if that was just the name... but again, that's another story.  The USA table was seriously lacking on American food. They made brownies, which was cool, but guacamole? You're really going to make guacamole to represent the Americans? Believe me, we love our guacamole, but there wasn't anything more appropriate? Eventually the food ran out and people were pretty restless, but there were some performances by student groups that were pretty cool.

Brazilian students perform a routine

After the night concluded a few of us went to this Mexican restaurant next to my house called Frida Kahlo's and I FINALLY got some spicy food! The chilaquiles were. to. die. for.

Saturday was another day with the group, and we headed to se El Ateneo Bookstore. I know what you're thinking, what could possibly be so great about a bookstore? Well I'll tell you. This bookstore is inside an old theatre! The actual theatre opened in 1919 and tons of famous people performed there.  It was converted into a bookstore in the mid-2000s.

View from the second level towards the old stage

 It's really hard to believe when you actually walk in. Although the renovation and conversion happened in the early 2000s, they maintained the feel of the old theatre including the original architecture and curtain on the stage. I also think it's kind of awesome that the stage was turned into a cafe!

Standing on the 2nd level, where you can see the theatre boxes 

I could have spent forever here

The atmosphere was really cool, and I ended up buying myself a book which I'm really excited about! During that day we also had a buffet lunch that was delicious, and then my roommate and I walked up and down the street we were on and did some window shopping. We also picked up flowers on the way home because it was our host mom's birthday! She was heading to her family's house to celebrate, so we went out for dinner with the whole group to celebrate one of the girl's birthdays from our group! I unfortunately had hurt my foot the previous day, so I headed straight home after dinner instead of out on the town, but I think it was a good thing in the end, being that my ankle was the size of a softball when I got back to my apartment... ouch.

Sunday my ankle was basically back to normal and my roommate, myself, and some of our friends headed to the San Telmo neighborhood of the city so we could go to the weekly sunday craft/antiques market. The market was super cool, but very crowded and sometimes to an uncomfortable level.  I plan on going back again for sure because I saw some great gift ideas for people back home, but for some reason couldn't commit right there and then.

A side alley led us to these Antiques stands... a dream!

I went with the specific goal of buying my mate, and after LOTS of looking, I finally found one and I couldn't be happier! It's currently in the kitchen curing since it's made from a gourd and needs to be cured prior to use.

I'm in love with my mate and definitely not sorry about it. I can't wait until the curing process is over so my roommate and I can have mate miércoles and all of our other mate days. I also can't wait to use it casually back at home, but I'm sure if I used it out in public people would think I'm doing some sort of drug. It's tea, I promise.

Other than that, I've just had classes all week. And classes are classes, I suppose.  We're heading to a museum this weekend (in theory) but I also have my first exam and presentation due on Monday and Tuesday so I'll be in homework/study mode all weekend. Wahhhh. Hopefully something more exciting happens to me soon because I feel like my last few posts haven't been very eventful, I apologize.

As always, I miss everyone at home!

Besos,

- Meagan