HUGE update... First three days.

6-15-11

Argentina Day One

So today was one of the longest days ever. I am currently typing this up on a Word document because wireless is not a big deal around here apparently. I managed to pay for wireless for my phone and that only works in the bathroom... of all places! I couldn't get it to connect to my laptop so I will be uploading this when I get home in two weeks.

Generally, this place is SO different than the US. It is hard to get used to a new country in a lot of ways. The food, culture, people, way of life, weather, toilets (yes they are different), the elevators, EVERYTHING! I am finally relaxing in my hotel room with my roomie Whitney. We are currently complaining about the lack of internet and how tired we are. I can't wait until we finally get adjusted to BA.

I know I'm probably sounding like a debby downer but I'm just sleepy. I know tomorrow I will be refreshed and ready to go!

The adventure started out at KCI with a two hour flight to Houston. After that we grabbed some dinner and took off on our 11 hour flight to BA. The flight was not as bad as I thought it would be. I sat next to an Argentinian who was vacationing in Miami. She was really helpful. At times I swear she was looking at me like I was an idiot though. “dumb americans!” I slept most of the flight and going through baggage claims/immigration took quite a bit of time. The group is so fun and we all get along really well. Its a crazy group thats for sure :) I have a feeling we will be up to no good in these next few weeks!

Lunch was at Los Inmortales. Italian restaurant. Pizza was delish. It was funny because we could hardly communicate with the waiter. We played the guessing game with the waiter to get the check. Ahh cheque? Cash? Change? CUENTA CAMBIO! :) It was funny we asked for a box and he just put all of our leftover pizza in one box. Nice dude.

We then took a bus tour with our hilarious Argentinian guide Nico. So funny and his expressions are hilarious. Crazy crazy argentinians! Seriously. These people are nuts. In a very entertaining way :) In our tour we saw Casa Rosada (White house for Argentinians). It is pink, hence the name. The president, Cristina, doesn't live there but her offices are there. We also got a good glimpse of the Obelisk which is a statue that represents BA. It is a huge thing that sticks out of the ground. If that description wasn't sophisticated enough then the posted pic will help :) We went to a cathedral with San Martins remains. San Martin was an Argentine general that helped give Argentina, Chile and Peru independence from the Spaniards. It was a huge church. Super pretty and the ambiance inside was surreal. 

Next stop was Cafe Tortoni. This is a famous cafe where artists, writers and intellectuals gather to discuss. It is the oldest cafe in Argentina and very famous. I got a tea with milk and then realized that I shouldn't have the tap water AFTER the fact so I got a PEPSI light. Not the same thing as Diet Pepsi. I think they skip artificial sweeteners and just put less sugar in the drink. Fine by me! Al natural.

We then went to La Boca. This is where the soccer stadium is which we will visit later. Can't wait! La Boca is a poor part of town and the buildings are all different colors. This is because they painted with whatever colors they had. We mainly just goofed around there. An argentinian said he 'loved us babys!' and one said 'would you like to get drunk in my restaurant? How about my house?” Ha ha ha. Scary!

Before dinner I decided to venture downstairs by myself. The elevators are so bizarre I have a mini panic attack every time I get in one. You slide your card and press the level and it thumps up and down and is very tiny. Sketch city! I went to the wrong floor and two Argentinians came on and I TRIED asking them where to go and he was like 'no entiendo' Ha ha FAIL. What the heck is lobby in spanish? Need to double check on that one later. I managed to figure out my wireless and make my way back up via elevator. Baby steps :)

For dinner (which was at like 9 ish, GEEZE!) Immediately when we sat down the food and drinks started coming. You don't order anything, it just continuoously comes, different cuts of meat! Bread and water to begin. Then WINE – red wine – Malbec. The first sips seemed strong but then it just started tasting like grape juice. First up were the salchichas (sausage). Then beef empanadas. I LOVED the beef emapanadas. The beef really is delicious here. I am glad I can confirm that first hand! Then a huge platter of meat chunks (sick!). Definitely am not eating as much here ha ha. Ensalada and boiled cheese were next. Weird! Where do they get this stuff? Loved the boiled cheese though. Still going through a culture shock with the food. Good thing I packed plenty of granola and protein bars! My project is on food though so I am trying most of the stuff and documenting via pictures. I look like a crazy American girl snapping pics of all of the comida. Dessert was an ice cream cake slice with a caramel nut edge and hot fudge on top. Pretty good, reminded me of Dairy Queen. Ha ha.

We raced home in the rain and now I am currently chillen. Ready for Day Two in the BA! I think we are all going to take the night life by storm tomorrow, get ready!

Xoxo

Maggie

6-16-11

Argentina Day Two

Today we woke up early and got cracking. We did presentations and I didn't have to do mine. Thank god I was so nervous. I researched on my phone during it and tried to put something together. The breakfast was cold - pastries and weird ham. I stuck with my protein bar.

Then we went on a walking tour of San Telmo. It was very pretty. French/european victorian style buildings. It used to be where the wealthy lived but Yellow Fever took out the population and now it is a more poor area. We visited a market which was the equivalent to a huge building that housed a bunch of garage sales with raw meat and fruits. No joke.

We then went to lunch. None of us really knew what we were ordering so I thought I would stick with the beef empanadas. Not aa good choice the meat was weird and hard. As you can see I am having some trouble adjusting to the food. :)

We went to a tour of the Universidad de Cine. Film and theater school. Pretty interesting. The tour guide looked like rico suave with a scarf. We went to their cafeteria and I thought I was going to die I was so hungry so I got a ham and cheese croissant thing. Damn good.

We then trecked to Clarin – the media group that is huge in BA - covers news and events. It has some issues with the gov. which I will talk about later. Neat to see the news room, but the tour guide only spoke spanish ehhhh.

We went to a bar and I got sea breeze drink- freshly squeexed lemon, grapefruit and vodka I think. Sooo good. Our bartender was a cute argentine twenty-year-old. He only spoke spanish so there was a little bit of a language barrier to say the least. Sooo guapo! He gave us his number to meet up later hahah too bad none of our phones work! DISCONNECTED from el mundo. Heather accidentally said "me gusta chicas!" Our chances were pretty much done after that. She meant chicOs. Instead, she said she liked girls. We all died laughing.

We tried to go to bars tonight but apparently they are closed because friday is the big night – figures!

Time to SLEEP. We get to sleep in tomorrow. GOODNIGHT!

6-17-11

Argentina Day Three

Today was restful and interesting. We slept in until about eleven thirty which was MUCH needed. We went to Micky Ds and got free wifi which was super nice. I caught up on some e-mails thank goodness! I missed home a little bit today but I am doing well. We went on a tour with Nico to the Cementario de la Recoleta. It is basically where a lot of rich people bury their families in Argentina. It is above ground too. Some of them were run down which was sad to see. It is like a city of buried people. A very interesting way to look at the concept of a cemetery. 

Next we got gelatto! I got dulce de leche and coco dulce de leche. Amazing! We saw workout equipment that was for outdoor use. Apparently people go to workout in parks with the outdoor equipment. It reminded me a little bit of our jungle gym equipment in the US. 

We went to a tango show. It was very very fun. Jonah and I had to go up and learn how to tango. I was definitely not a natural. I think the guy got a little frustrated with me :) Ha ha. Jonah was good though! It was crazy to watch. We got endless wine, steak, veggie soup and a dulce de leche pancake. Dulce de leche is a creamy caramel that they put on EVERY type of food here. Perfecto! The tango is such a sexual dance, but very entertaining to watch. The dancers are very talented. I just want some of the tango shoes :) After we headed to Crobar, a local club. It was unreal. I have never seen a club like that except for in movies. It for sure put the Hawk in Lawrence to shame! We danced until 4:30 in the morning. Had to wake up at 8 AM but it was more than worth the experience. Argentina has proved to have a spectacular night life.

Mucho divertido :)

XOXO - Maggie