 |
| My view of the mountains and the empty lake |
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Correr en el parque
The past few mornings I've been running in the park next to my house and it's just such a beautiful place that I want to write about it. All these sweets and ice cream shops are keeping me really motivated to run every morning, so I've gotten up around 9 every day to run, and other students from the group have gone with me, which is even better motivation! I know 9 doesn't sound that early here, but when I get up, the house is silent and nobody else is awake. I've found a pretty good loop in the park to run for about an hour, and it is one of those interactive parks with work out stations, so we've stopped at these to do push ups, dips, abs, and pull ups (attempts). I really want to keep this up every morning. It's cold when I wake up, but it heats up fast and is the perfect temperature for running. I'm at about half the altitude here as at home, so I'm feeling great while running and can go much longer. I've got a great view of the mountains when I run, and my next goal is to get up to the mountains sometime soon. Some friends went yesterday, and I was so jealous I couldn't go with them. Maybe this weekend!
How to detect a fake Peso
Last week Jose passed around a couple different pesos for us to look at to help us detect a fake peso when exchanging money. It is important to look at the watermark on the bill, which is the same image as the person's face on the bill, but smaller. Some of the bills had the face drawn on the bill, and they were pretty obviously fake because they were not the same image. There is also a silver strip on the bill we need to look for, and the material of the bill needs to be correct.
Today I tested out my knowledge when exchanging money at an arbolito by McDonalds. There are men who stand outside of McDonalds and ask "cambio, cambio, cambio" as people walk by. I stopped to ask what he was offering to exchange, and he offered 8.2 pesos to the dollar, which is the best I've found here. I made two friends come with me for safety, but he took us to his "office", which was his little T-Shirt shop inside a little street mall, and we exchanged money. I know I should've been a little more sketched out than I was, but I felt pretty safe, and I'm pretty sure that the pesos are real.
Today I tested out my knowledge when exchanging money at an arbolito by McDonalds. There are men who stand outside of McDonalds and ask "cambio, cambio, cambio" as people walk by. I stopped to ask what he was offering to exchange, and he offered 8.2 pesos to the dollar, which is the best I've found here. I made two friends come with me for safety, but he took us to his "office", which was his little T-Shirt shop inside a little street mall, and we exchanged money. I know I should've been a little more sketched out than I was, but I felt pretty safe, and I'm pretty sure that the pesos are real.
First day of class
All of the students in the IFSA-Butler Mendoza program have to take an intensive Spanish class together during the semester to help improve our Spanish and prepare us for classes at the universities with the locals. There are three levels for this class, and we took a test on Monday to place us into the right class. I'm in the lowest level class, and I wasn't expecting to be any higher, since I've only had two years of Spanish, and a lot of the other students here are a lot more fluent than I am.
However, we started our class by going over the basics such as "Como te llamas" and "De donde eres", which I think everybody already knows, so hopefully the class isn't this easy the whole time. I think we are going to do present tense verbs next, so this will definitely be a good review, but there is a retest in 10 days to see if we need to change a level.
It's going to be difficult having classes entirely in Spanish; it keeps my brain active and will hopefully keep me from falling asleep in class. The classroom we were in was tiny, with tiny little two person desks, and the chairs made a horrible screeching sound when somebody moved. I think my Spanish has already improved since I've gotten here. It's definitely all about having confidence to speak and know that you will make mistakes. After a week of intensive Spanish, I hope I'm ready to start my classes at the local universities. We have a two week shopping period to try out different classes, so I signed up to try out Tango, a history class on politics and society in Latin America, and a art and culture class. Those start in two weeks, so we'll see how they go!
However, we started our class by going over the basics such as "Como te llamas" and "De donde eres", which I think everybody already knows, so hopefully the class isn't this easy the whole time. I think we are going to do present tense verbs next, so this will definitely be a good review, but there is a retest in 10 days to see if we need to change a level.
It's going to be difficult having classes entirely in Spanish; it keeps my brain active and will hopefully keep me from falling asleep in class. The classroom we were in was tiny, with tiny little two person desks, and the chairs made a horrible screeching sound when somebody moved. I think my Spanish has already improved since I've gotten here. It's definitely all about having confidence to speak and know that you will make mistakes. After a week of intensive Spanish, I hope I'm ready to start my classes at the local universities. We have a two week shopping period to try out different classes, so I signed up to try out Tango, a history class on politics and society in Latin America, and a art and culture class. Those start in two weeks, so we'll see how they go!
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Argentine Oddities
After writing these, I realized that these are mostly about the bathrooms here.....
1. On sinks and in showers, C stands for Caliente, not Cold. Learned that quickly
2. Can't put toilet paper down the toilet in most places, it has to go in the trash. And in most places there is only one communal roll of toilet paper by the sinks that everyone shares.
3. There are tiny little stairs all over, like in buildings, sidewalks, homes, where the ground level raises just enough to need one stair that is maybe 2 inches tall. I trip over these all the time, especially when they are in doorways.
4. The walls in my house are so thin and close to the house next to us that I can hear the people next to me opening their doors in the middle of the night. It sounds like someone is trying to get into my window.
5. There are two different kinds of electrical plugs here, which made it difficult when I first arrived because I only had one of the types, and the only plug available for that type was in the bathroom, which is a great place to charge my phone.
6. People here do not like to make change for a 100 peso bill, which is essentially equivalent to a $20 bill. It's very difficult to get change back, so the students in the group have converted to a reciprocity system where we just take turns buying each other drinks.
7. It is customary to pay to use some public bathrooms because some people's jobs are only to clean the bathrooms. Normally it's a donation type system. If this guaranteed a clean bathroom, I wouldn't have a problem with it, but I do have a problem justifying paying to use the bathroom when it doesn't even have toilet seats, toilet paper or soap, which is the most common situation.
8. Here, "Playa", which normally means beach, means parking lot. So it's really sad seeing a sign for the beach and being led to a parking lot.
9. Cars in the street literally do not slow down when people are walking. Even if the light is red they slow down at the very very last second, so I always feel like I'm going to get hit.
10. When watching Legally Blond with my family, I noticed that the dubbed Spanish was different than the Spanish subtitles. I think that what they were saying was more slang, and what was written was more formal Spanish.
11. Universities here don't use textbooks. Instead, the students use photocopies of different texts and hand out a bound booklet of all the photocopied texts that we are going to use. Photocopies are actually very common here all over the city; there are businesses for copying all over the city. The photocopies are pretty bad quality so it's hard to read.
12. When one person honks here, everybody else in their cars immediately start to honk too, and it sounds like a song made of horns.
13. Tipping for services is not obligatory here. It is not expected to tip except when the service is absolutely outstanding. We are all poor college students here, so we've taken this to heart and haven't been tipping. Especially because a lot of restaurants refuse to split our tabs. However, a lot of servers haven't been shy about asking for a tip when they think they deserve one.
14. A lot of servers have brought us free drinks for our whole group. This weekend we received three bottles of champagne, tequila shots, and a liter of beer all free. This could be because the server wants us to tip him, or just because they love Americans.
15. A lot of the sidewalks here are made of colored and patterned tiles instead of cement. I frequently see people out front sweeping off their tiles.
16. I have yet to see carpet here.
17. A lot of dogs here wear clothing. Even the strays. This is my friend Megan with her host family's dog, Frida, who wears a blue hoodie every day.
18. It is common for motorcyclists to ride on the sidewalks instead of in the streets. The come out of nowhere around the corners, and they are really annoying in the park when they ride on the dirt path and cause dust to fly everywhere.
1. On sinks and in showers, C stands for Caliente, not Cold. Learned that quickly
2. Can't put toilet paper down the toilet in most places, it has to go in the trash. And in most places there is only one communal roll of toilet paper by the sinks that everyone shares.
3. There are tiny little stairs all over, like in buildings, sidewalks, homes, where the ground level raises just enough to need one stair that is maybe 2 inches tall. I trip over these all the time, especially when they are in doorways.
4. The walls in my house are so thin and close to the house next to us that I can hear the people next to me opening their doors in the middle of the night. It sounds like someone is trying to get into my window.
5. There are two different kinds of electrical plugs here, which made it difficult when I first arrived because I only had one of the types, and the only plug available for that type was in the bathroom, which is a great place to charge my phone.
6. People here do not like to make change for a 100 peso bill, which is essentially equivalent to a $20 bill. It's very difficult to get change back, so the students in the group have converted to a reciprocity system where we just take turns buying each other drinks.
7. It is customary to pay to use some public bathrooms because some people's jobs are only to clean the bathrooms. Normally it's a donation type system. If this guaranteed a clean bathroom, I wouldn't have a problem with it, but I do have a problem justifying paying to use the bathroom when it doesn't even have toilet seats, toilet paper or soap, which is the most common situation.
8. Here, "Playa", which normally means beach, means parking lot. So it's really sad seeing a sign for the beach and being led to a parking lot.
 |
| Private beach? I wish!! |
10. When watching Legally Blond with my family, I noticed that the dubbed Spanish was different than the Spanish subtitles. I think that what they were saying was more slang, and what was written was more formal Spanish.
11. Universities here don't use textbooks. Instead, the students use photocopies of different texts and hand out a bound booklet of all the photocopied texts that we are going to use. Photocopies are actually very common here all over the city; there are businesses for copying all over the city. The photocopies are pretty bad quality so it's hard to read.
12. When one person honks here, everybody else in their cars immediately start to honk too, and it sounds like a song made of horns.
13. Tipping for services is not obligatory here. It is not expected to tip except when the service is absolutely outstanding. We are all poor college students here, so we've taken this to heart and haven't been tipping. Especially because a lot of restaurants refuse to split our tabs. However, a lot of servers haven't been shy about asking for a tip when they think they deserve one.
14. A lot of servers have brought us free drinks for our whole group. This weekend we received three bottles of champagne, tequila shots, and a liter of beer all free. This could be because the server wants us to tip him, or just because they love Americans.
15. A lot of the sidewalks here are made of colored and patterned tiles instead of cement. I frequently see people out front sweeping off their tiles.
17. A lot of dogs here wear clothing. Even the strays. This is my friend Megan with her host family's dog, Frida, who wears a blue hoodie every day.
Zoo
Today I went to the Mendoza zoo with two friends. We took the micro to the zoo, and paid about $3.50 to go in. The first thing we saw in the zoo is a parrot walking around on the ground, and it didn't really care how close we got to it.We'd heard some horror stories about this zoo, including that you can pet the lions, and that the cages are very small and the animals don't have much food or water. We couldn't pet the lions, but it was a very old and decrepit zoo that needs a lot of remodeling and better treatment of the animals.
The monkeys were roaming free in the trees surrounding us. One was about 5 feet from us on a sign, and was looking pretty meanly at us. There was a bear that was playing with a plastic hose, and way too many pumas were living in the same habitat. The birds had no room to fly, and the lions looked like they didn't have energy to even get up. It was a very sad place for these animals, and quite terrible that they are kept there.
We only saw about 20 other people during our time there. I don't know how the zoo operates with such little funds. But there are also a ton of sheep and llamas and cattle animals, so it could possibly make money off some of the animals.
Don't rely on the Micro
The bus system here is loco. It's called the micro, and there are also trolleys which run on power lines above the streets. So far I've been on the micro about 5 times, and I've been wavering between thinking I can do it successfully, and then realizing I've completely failed.
The whole system is so confusing. There are three distinguishing parts on each bus, two that are important, and one that doesn't matter at all but exists to confuse you. Each bus as a group number, which is indicated by a huge number at the top of the bus. Within each group there are different routes, which are normally displayed in the front window on a digital screen, or sometimes just on a sign in the front window. Then there is a random number painted on the bus near the wheel that means absolutely nothing.
When waiting at the bus stations, there is a sign that says what groups and what routes are available at the bus station. Even if the sign says that a certain bus stops at that station, this does not mean that you will ever see that bus. So when I was waiting for bus 31 in group 3 thirty minutes before my meeting at school, and the bus didn't come for at least 20 minutes, I had to take a quick taxi to make sure I wasn't late. I was still late though.
One very important lesson that I've learned is that I need to get on and get off the bus at Plaza de Independencia, and then walk the extra couple blocks to wherever I need to be. This is a very central location for the buses, and will almost take you anywhere you need to go. But if you don't get on the bus or off the bus at this location, you will end up going on an extra loop that is completely unnecessary. Or in some cases, it will just keep going and going, and eventually, you'll end up where all the buses park at the end of their routes.
We have passes for the bus called RedBus cards that we can reload at kiosks all around town. It costs 2.5 pesos each time and each ticket lasts for 90 minutes. There is an automatic reader in the buses that we scan and take a receipt for. Thats the easiest part about the bus system.
Standing in the bus is like a roller coaster, I've been getting an upper body work out holding on the the railing from the ceiling.
The buses are always late, there isn't really a schedule they follow, and the won't stop for you unless you flag them down, since there are so many different routes. They also wont stop at certain stops if nobody is waiting to get on, so I have to pay attention when my stop is approaching and if nobody is there, there is a button to press to make the bus stop.
Today me and a couple friends got lost on the bus for about an hour because we didn't get off at our stop, and eventually realized we were heading the wrong direction. We made it all the way to the bus storage location, turned around, and then when almost near our stop, the bus tire popped, and we were forced to walk!
Whenever I take the micro in the future, I'm going to allot an extra hour for time to get lost.
The whole system is so confusing. There are three distinguishing parts on each bus, two that are important, and one that doesn't matter at all but exists to confuse you. Each bus as a group number, which is indicated by a huge number at the top of the bus. Within each group there are different routes, which are normally displayed in the front window on a digital screen, or sometimes just on a sign in the front window. Then there is a random number painted on the bus near the wheel that means absolutely nothing.
 | |||
| See what I mean? That 26 doesn't mean anything! |
 |
| These are the signs. I mainly take group 3 or 5 |
 |
| Almost made it home... not |
We have passes for the bus called RedBus cards that we can reload at kiosks all around town. It costs 2.5 pesos each time and each ticket lasts for 90 minutes. There is an automatic reader in the buses that we scan and take a receipt for. Thats the easiest part about the bus system.
Standing in the bus is like a roller coaster, I've been getting an upper body work out holding on the the railing from the ceiling.
The buses are always late, there isn't really a schedule they follow, and the won't stop for you unless you flag them down, since there are so many different routes. They also wont stop at certain stops if nobody is waiting to get on, so I have to pay attention when my stop is approaching and if nobody is there, there is a button to press to make the bus stop.
Today me and a couple friends got lost on the bus for about an hour because we didn't get off at our stop, and eventually realized we were heading the wrong direction. We made it all the way to the bus storage location, turned around, and then when almost near our stop, the bus tire popped, and we were forced to walk!
Whenever I take the micro in the future, I'm going to allot an extra hour for time to get lost.
 |
| This is when I thought I had it all figured out...I was so wrong |
Monday, July 29, 2013
Gringo Traps
Mendoza is very dry here, and in order to make sure all the trees get water, there is an irrigation system consisting of canals called Acequias, which are located along every sidewalk. They are an architectural invention from the Huarpes tribes that used to live in Mendoza. This makes it dangerous when walking because there is a continuous meter deep canal next to you at all times. They are full of trash and rats, which is pretty sad. The driveways go over the canals and there are frequent foot bridges to use to cross the street, but I'm scared I'm going to fall in one by the end of this trip!
 |
| This is a fancier gringo trap, with the brick on the side. |
 |
| This is the Gringo Trap next to my house. I've been jumping over them to avoid falling in! |
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Mi nueva hogar
As I venture into the city and the parks nearby me, I'm starting to learn a little more about Mendoza and what all I can do here. I've been to a few parks, the mall, and the centro, walked a little, taken the bus, taken a few taxis, and it's starting to feel a little more like home.
Yesterday I realized there is a lemon tree in my backyard! I want to make fresh lemonade soon. The sun shines all day here, I even got a little burned walking around all day yesterday.
I plan to walk to school a lot here, it will take me less than an hour, but depending on the time that I'll have classes, I might need to take the bus. I feel pretty safe walking, but I've been told to definitely look behind you frequently, and don't wear earbuds because people will mug you for your ipod. I'm keeping my purse in front of me at all times, and when I return at night, trying to unlock the door quickly. There is a private guard on my corner of the street during the night, which makes me feel safer.
There is wifi in a lot of places here. I've gotten it in most of the restaurants, malls, cafes, bars and office buildings I've been to. It's nice because at the moment, wifi is the only form of communication available to us students since we haven't gotten phones yet. It's a little intimidating not having a working phone, because I don't know how to call a taxi when needed, or let my host family know that I'll be later getting home. I know people lived without cell phones for a long time, but I'm so used to having one that I feel vulnerable without it.
I went to the mall today, and it was just like the malls at home. The mall was located a few miles outside of the city of Mendoza, so we had to take the bus. Luckily it was a very direct route and we did it successfully. There was a huge line outside of McDonalds at the mall, because it's pretty popular here. I will try it eventually and see if it's different than the McDonalds at home.
In the centro, there were many people drinking coffee and tea around 6 and having a snack, and we went into a big plaza where there were little vendors selling jewelry and leather and wood items. There are also people who sell coffee from their bikes, but I don't intend on trying that.A lot of people go to the parks around this time to drink mate with their friends.
One thing I've noticed here is that there are a lot of really pretty sights that are obstructed by construction, huge tarps, or electric wires. It's really a shame because there could be a great view of the mountains if there wasn't so much obstructing the view.
My host mom has warned me of all the places to stay away from. I live in the south west corner of Mendoza right next to the big San Martin park. There is an island in the middle of the empty man made lake, and I'm not supposed to go to the island unless I'm with at least 5 other people because apparently a lot of kids go there to do drugs and and are up to no good, so I need to avoid this place. Also, apart from the park, I'm not supposed to go any more west of the city because it gets dangerous.
One comment about the lake...I wrote earlier that it hasn't had water for twenty years... But I guess the real story is that it used to have water for twenty something years and was recently drained and cleaned, and when it was drained, they found a bunch of trash in it, like old carousal ponies. And it is supposed to be refilled soon. This is a good example of how I miss a lot of details when speaking in Spanish. I understand the concepts, but sometimes get confused about details and specifics.
On the streets here, there are metal baskets that stick up from the ground in front of people's houses that look like frisbee golf goals, where people put their trash when they take it out of the house. The basket is elevated off the ground by a pole.
Yesterday I realized there is a lemon tree in my backyard! I want to make fresh lemonade soon. The sun shines all day here, I even got a little burned walking around all day yesterday.
I plan to walk to school a lot here, it will take me less than an hour, but depending on the time that I'll have classes, I might need to take the bus. I feel pretty safe walking, but I've been told to definitely look behind you frequently, and don't wear earbuds because people will mug you for your ipod. I'm keeping my purse in front of me at all times, and when I return at night, trying to unlock the door quickly. There is a private guard on my corner of the street during the night, which makes me feel safer.
There is wifi in a lot of places here. I've gotten it in most of the restaurants, malls, cafes, bars and office buildings I've been to. It's nice because at the moment, wifi is the only form of communication available to us students since we haven't gotten phones yet. It's a little intimidating not having a working phone, because I don't know how to call a taxi when needed, or let my host family know that I'll be later getting home. I know people lived without cell phones for a long time, but I'm so used to having one that I feel vulnerable without it.
I went to the mall today, and it was just like the malls at home. The mall was located a few miles outside of the city of Mendoza, so we had to take the bus. Luckily it was a very direct route and we did it successfully. There was a huge line outside of McDonalds at the mall, because it's pretty popular here. I will try it eventually and see if it's different than the McDonalds at home.
In the centro, there were many people drinking coffee and tea around 6 and having a snack, and we went into a big plaza where there were little vendors selling jewelry and leather and wood items. There are also people who sell coffee from their bikes, but I don't intend on trying that.A lot of people go to the parks around this time to drink mate with their friends.
One thing I've noticed here is that there are a lot of really pretty sights that are obstructed by construction, huge tarps, or electric wires. It's really a shame because there could be a great view of the mountains if there wasn't so much obstructing the view.
My host mom has warned me of all the places to stay away from. I live in the south west corner of Mendoza right next to the big San Martin park. There is an island in the middle of the empty man made lake, and I'm not supposed to go to the island unless I'm with at least 5 other people because apparently a lot of kids go there to do drugs and and are up to no good, so I need to avoid this place. Also, apart from the park, I'm not supposed to go any more west of the city because it gets dangerous.
One comment about the lake...I wrote earlier that it hasn't had water for twenty years... But I guess the real story is that it used to have water for twenty something years and was recently drained and cleaned, and when it was drained, they found a bunch of trash in it, like old carousal ponies. And it is supposed to be refilled soon. This is a good example of how I miss a lot of details when speaking in Spanish. I understand the concepts, but sometimes get confused about details and specifics.
On the streets here, there are metal baskets that stick up from the ground in front of people's houses that look like frisbee golf goals, where people put their trash when they take it out of the house. The basket is elevated off the ground by a pole.
 |
| This is mi casa. I have a gate and alarm system for security |
 |
| This is the house next to me with the trash basket sitting out front (it's kind of hard to see, but it is the pole by the tree) |
Blue Dollar Black Market
There are two exchange rates here. The official one that the government has set, which is fixed at 5.48 pesos to each dollar. The point of the official rate is to keep the peso steady and in use in the market, because many people here want to buy U.S. dollars because of the inflation in Argentina. However, because the imports into Argentina are limited by the government, everything is so expensive, and people want dollars as the peso becomes worth less. Because of this, there is a second exchange rate called Dólar Blue, where foreigners can exchange their American dollars for more pesos at a higher rate.
My dad and I did some research on this before I left, because it is recommended that foreigners bring lots of cash to exchange for the higher rate, instead of using our credit cards, which only gives us the official rate, and makes everything more expensive. You can get a better rate for crisp 100 dollar bills instead of 20s, and for dollars after the year 2006.
The blue dollar can be found in arbolitos, or "little trees", which are basically little kiosks in the back of t-shirt shops where people will buy your dollars. I met a guy at the gate at the airport in Houston who was on his way to his home in Argentina, and he told us that you can find arbolitos literally right next to the place to exchange for the official rate. Although illegal, it's a very obvious and well known practice to exchange money in this black market.
In Buenos Aires, our tour guide brought us to a place to exchange money in the back of a shop, and they gave us 7 pesos to the dollar. I've heard that other places, I can get 8 or 9, and I want to try. I'm pretty sure that the only risk is obtaining counterfeit pesos. At the place in Buenos Aires, they stamped our pesos to show that they weren't counterfeit. I need to ask around and find a place to make my stay here a lot less expensive. When I went to the mall today, the price of the clothing was outrageous. I don't plan on buying anything here that is not made in Argentina, because the imports are probably three times the price of items I can find in the states. A pair of jeans that can normally be sold at Target for 40 dollars is about 100 dollars here. We can't ask our parents to send us clothes from home either because customs at the airport won't allow used clothes for sanitary reasons. So I won't be buying any new clothes here! I hope I packed enough and brought enough cash to exchange!
My dad and I did some research on this before I left, because it is recommended that foreigners bring lots of cash to exchange for the higher rate, instead of using our credit cards, which only gives us the official rate, and makes everything more expensive. You can get a better rate for crisp 100 dollar bills instead of 20s, and for dollars after the year 2006.
The blue dollar can be found in arbolitos, or "little trees", which are basically little kiosks in the back of t-shirt shops where people will buy your dollars. I met a guy at the gate at the airport in Houston who was on his way to his home in Argentina, and he told us that you can find arbolitos literally right next to the place to exchange for the official rate. Although illegal, it's a very obvious and well known practice to exchange money in this black market.
In Buenos Aires, our tour guide brought us to a place to exchange money in the back of a shop, and they gave us 7 pesos to the dollar. I've heard that other places, I can get 8 or 9, and I want to try. I'm pretty sure that the only risk is obtaining counterfeit pesos. At the place in Buenos Aires, they stamped our pesos to show that they weren't counterfeit. I need to ask around and find a place to make my stay here a lot less expensive. When I went to the mall today, the price of the clothing was outrageous. I don't plan on buying anything here that is not made in Argentina, because the imports are probably three times the price of items I can find in the states. A pair of jeans that can normally be sold at Target for 40 dollars is about 100 dollars here. We can't ask our parents to send us clothes from home either because customs at the airport won't allow used clothes for sanitary reasons. So I won't be buying any new clothes here! I hope I packed enough and brought enough cash to exchange!
My map is my new best friend
There are barely any street signs here. The streets are labeled maybe once every four blocks, so if I need to turn to go somewhere, I need to count how many blocks I've walked, and compare with my map what street I'm on! Today I walked 18 blocks to my friend Doug's host family's house, and it wasn't difficult, it took maybe 20 minutes, but I had to pay very close attention to what street I was on.
Luckily for me, the mountains here are in the west, just like in Colorado, so that is helping me orient myself. I'm slowly starting to learn where I am. There is a street just for walking, and a street where all the bars are, and a street with train tracks, so I'm starting to take notice of landmarks to help me.
I look like such a tourist carrying my map with me, but it's absolutely necessary for at least the first few weeks. I've marked where I live and some other people live so I can hopefully walk a lot of places here. The centro is a 25 minute walk or so, and during the day I feel safe enough to walk.
After memorizing the map, it will be time to memorize the bus system.
Luckily for me, the mountains here are in the west, just like in Colorado, so that is helping me orient myself. I'm slowly starting to learn where I am. There is a street just for walking, and a street where all the bars are, and a street with train tracks, so I'm starting to take notice of landmarks to help me.
I look like such a tourist carrying my map with me, but it's absolutely necessary for at least the first few weeks. I've marked where I live and some other people live so I can hopefully walk a lot of places here. The centro is a 25 minute walk or so, and during the day I feel safe enough to walk.
After memorizing the map, it will be time to memorize the bus system.
Comida!
The food in Argentina isn't too much different from the States. I haven't eaten anything too crazy yet. Steak and pasta are the most common meals, and I've already had a lot of both. They like their steak well done and usually with a salad or potatoes. In the market, we saw all the other parts of the pig and cow that people here eat, like the tongue, stomach, liver, kidneys... all sorts of good stuff.
For breakfast, I've been eating frosted flakes, with raisins, and the milk that comes in a bag. The milk is sweeter than at home, I'm not sure if it's more similar to whole milk, or just made differently. To make coffee, my family puts an instant coffee powder into their milk, or they add sugar to the plain milk.
Juice here consists of Tang, and only Tang.
Water is either con gas or sin gas, and luckily I like bubble water because sometimes you don't know what your going to get when you buy a bottle or order it at a restaurant. Water isn't free in restaurants, and sometimes is more expensive than wine or beer. I keep forgetting and ordering water, and then taking it back quickly because I don't want to pay for water.
Lunch is the biggest meal of the day. It is usually three courses and served around 1 or 2, and lasts for a couple hours. I've had salads or tomato and cheese for the first course, and yesterday I had a squash soup for the first course. Steak or pasta is the main meal. Milenasa es also common; it is a flattened piece of meat, usually fish, chicken, or steak, that is breaded and fried. It can be served with tomatoes and cheese on top. We squeezed fresh lemon on it, and had it with mashed potatoes. For dessert I've been having fruit with dulce de leche.
Dinner is later in the night, some families don't eat til 11:30, but mine has been eating around 9, which I prefer so I'm not starving all night. Dinner is something lighter. We had a spinach tart one night, and pasta another.
I've been drinking coffee and tea to stay awake, since this nightlife here is exhausting me. Today I had a submarino, which is hot milk and you put a piece of solid chocolate in it to make hot chocolate.
I've experienced a few new combinations of food that are a little odd to me. Twice now I've had egg put on my meal. At a fast food restaurant at the mall, there was scrambled eggs on my fries, and for dinner tonight I had egg on my taco. It was better on my taco than on my fries.
My host brother made a licuado (smoothie) tonight that was made of mandarina (tangerine), banana and apple. When he offered it to me, he warned me it wasn't very good, but I tried it anyway. And it was a terrible combination of fruit. He told me it was because the mandarina had seeds in it. O well, maybe another licuado will be better.
I've been given a spoon to use for many foods that I don't normally use spoons for, and it's difficult to adjust to. For dulce de leche, I would normally use a knife to spread it, like I normally do for peanut butter or nutella, and I feel silly trying to spread with a spoon. The dessert below in the picture is the same situation. I think a fork would be appropriate for queso, but here a spoon is better.
Now I'm ready to get to the vineyards here and try some wine!
This is my "cheese and sweet thing" that I wrote about in my first
entry, that I had for dessert the first night in Buenos Aires. My family
fed me this again in Mendoza, and I learned there are two options for
the sweet jam, sweet potato or quince, so I was correct when I heard
those two ingredients. This time, my family gave me about one tenth of
the amount on the plate in the picture, which was much more reasonable. I
don't know why the restaurant served me so much for one person.
Carne Exotico
For breakfast, I've been eating frosted flakes, with raisins, and the milk that comes in a bag. The milk is sweeter than at home, I'm not sure if it's more similar to whole milk, or just made differently. To make coffee, my family puts an instant coffee powder into their milk, or they add sugar to the plain milk.
Juice here consists of Tang, and only Tang.
Water is either con gas or sin gas, and luckily I like bubble water because sometimes you don't know what your going to get when you buy a bottle or order it at a restaurant. Water isn't free in restaurants, and sometimes is more expensive than wine or beer. I keep forgetting and ordering water, and then taking it back quickly because I don't want to pay for water.
Lunch is the biggest meal of the day. It is usually three courses and served around 1 or 2, and lasts for a couple hours. I've had salads or tomato and cheese for the first course, and yesterday I had a squash soup for the first course. Steak or pasta is the main meal. Milenasa es also common; it is a flattened piece of meat, usually fish, chicken, or steak, that is breaded and fried. It can be served with tomatoes and cheese on top. We squeezed fresh lemon on it, and had it with mashed potatoes. For dessert I've been having fruit with dulce de leche.
Dinner is later in the night, some families don't eat til 11:30, but mine has been eating around 9, which I prefer so I'm not starving all night. Dinner is something lighter. We had a spinach tart one night, and pasta another.
I've been drinking coffee and tea to stay awake, since this nightlife here is exhausting me. Today I had a submarino, which is hot milk and you put a piece of solid chocolate in it to make hot chocolate.
I've experienced a few new combinations of food that are a little odd to me. Twice now I've had egg put on my meal. At a fast food restaurant at the mall, there was scrambled eggs on my fries, and for dinner tonight I had egg on my taco. It was better on my taco than on my fries.
My host brother made a licuado (smoothie) tonight that was made of mandarina (tangerine), banana and apple. When he offered it to me, he warned me it wasn't very good, but I tried it anyway. And it was a terrible combination of fruit. He told me it was because the mandarina had seeds in it. O well, maybe another licuado will be better.
I've been given a spoon to use for many foods that I don't normally use spoons for, and it's difficult to adjust to. For dulce de leche, I would normally use a knife to spread it, like I normally do for peanut butter or nutella, and I feel silly trying to spread with a spoon. The dessert below in the picture is the same situation. I think a fork would be appropriate for queso, but here a spoon is better.
Now I'm ready to get to the vineyards here and try some wine!
This is my "cheese and sweet thing" that I wrote about in my first
entry, that I had for dessert the first night in Buenos Aires. My family
fed me this again in Mendoza, and I learned there are two options for
the sweet jam, sweet potato or quince, so I was correct when I heard
those two ingredients. This time, my family gave me about one tenth of
the amount on the plate in the picture, which was much more reasonable. I
don't know why the restaurant served me so much for one person. Saturday, July 27, 2013
Universidad Nacional de Cuyo
Today mis amigos and I went on a walk through San Martin Park, which is a very pretty park that I think is similar to Wash Park by my home in Denver. It's got different sized loops good for running and they have free aerobic classes there in the afternoons on weekends. There are restaurants in the park and a museum and a huge gym with pools. In the middle of the park is a 'lake' that is more like a man made canal that hasn't had water for 20 years. Instead it's got mud at the bottom and people sometimes ride their bikes in the bottom of the canal.
We walked all the way to where I'll be taking classes while here, at the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, which is located in the park, and about 3 kilometers from my house. It will be a good walk to scool everyday if I choose not to deal with the bus system. It's winter here, but still 60 or 70 degrees during the day when the sun is out, so it won't be a bad walk during the day. It does get cold at night though. We didn't see anybody at all while walking around campus because it is still winter break for them, but we saw some of the buildings where we will be taking classes. There is a gym there too which I can hopefully use. Here are pictures of campus.
The emergency vehicle, in case I need help...
Some of the buildings on campus.
There is a lot of interesting graffiti and street art all around town.
There are some pretty run down shanty towns next to the university. It's interesting the different types of buildings I see in the city. There are some parts of the city that are much nicer, and some that are very run down and obviously have a lot more poverty and a lot more crime.
But the walk to class will be very pretty through the park.
We walked all the way to where I'll be taking classes while here, at the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, which is located in the park, and about 3 kilometers from my house. It will be a good walk to scool everyday if I choose not to deal with the bus system. It's winter here, but still 60 or 70 degrees during the day when the sun is out, so it won't be a bad walk during the day. It does get cold at night though. We didn't see anybody at all while walking around campus because it is still winter break for them, but we saw some of the buildings where we will be taking classes. There is a gym there too which I can hopefully use. Here are pictures of campus.
The emergency vehicle, in case I need help...
Some of the buildings on campus.
There is a lot of interesting graffiti and street art all around town.
There are some pretty run down shanty towns next to the university. It's interesting the different types of buildings I see in the city. There are some parts of the city that are much nicer, and some that are very run down and obviously have a lot more poverty and a lot more crime.
But the walk to class will be very pretty through the park.
Falsa Alarma!
I went out to explore the city with some girls in my program yesterday
afternoon, Jessie and Andy. We walked to a government building where there was a flag
memorial, and an art museum that unfortunately was closed. We walked to Parque Civico to learn a little about the city and practice using our
maps. I'm trying to memorize the street names. When people tell me the
street names, it's very difficult to remember. I need to see it on a map
and see hows it spelled in order to remember it.
I'd been in and out of the host family's house once earlier when I went to the grocery store, and I have my own keys, but when I returned this time, nobody was home, and I was completely unaware than an alarm had been activated for the house. I was actually completely unaware that the family even had an alarm system. So when I opened the front door and all the lights were off, I heard a beeping waiting for a code and automatically realized I was going to set off the alarm. I didn't know what to do, and after 10 seconds the alarm went off, and was a lot louder than I was expecting. You could probably have heard it 4 blocks away. I didn't want the police to show up and arrest me for breaking and entering, so I quickly went outside, locked the door, and in a panic, went to the neighbors house, were another student from our program is staying, and tried to explain myself. People were looking at me funny for running from the alarming house, and I was so embarrassed. The alarm went through a whole list of people to call for emergencies, so eventually the family returned, along with all of their friends and family, and they had to explain what happened.
After that, I had the family go over with me the alarm system at least 5 times so I perfectly understood. I do not want that happening if I come home in the middle of the night.
I'd been in and out of the host family's house once earlier when I went to the grocery store, and I have my own keys, but when I returned this time, nobody was home, and I was completely unaware than an alarm had been activated for the house. I was actually completely unaware that the family even had an alarm system. So when I opened the front door and all the lights were off, I heard a beeping waiting for a code and automatically realized I was going to set off the alarm. I didn't know what to do, and after 10 seconds the alarm went off, and was a lot louder than I was expecting. You could probably have heard it 4 blocks away. I didn't want the police to show up and arrest me for breaking and entering, so I quickly went outside, locked the door, and in a panic, went to the neighbors house, were another student from our program is staying, and tried to explain myself. People were looking at me funny for running from the alarming house, and I was so embarrassed. The alarm went through a whole list of people to call for emergencies, so eventually the family returned, along with all of their friends and family, and they had to explain what happened.
After that, I had the family go over with me the alarm system at least 5 times so I perfectly understood. I do not want that happening if I come home in the middle of the night.
Time to meet my host family
We haven't gotten much sleep this trip, and we honestly haven't been
speaking much Spanish yet, since there are 40 of us and trying to get to
know each other in Spanish is difficult. This made me nervous to meet
my host family because I was going to have to switch to Spanish with
barely any practice in the last few months since school ended. We had a
two hour flight to Mendoza from Buenos Aires. There are two airports in
Buenos Aires, one for domestic flights and one for international
flights. It's a good idea because there is less traffic in both airports
and things get done more efficiently. Also, the security was completely
different. We didn't have to take our shoes off, or our belts, or take
out liquids or laptops. The only thing that had to be removed was metal,
and they barely looked at my boarding pass when I entered security.
This made things much easier. However, on the plane, they don't let you
have anything under the seat in front of you. Everything has to go in
the overhead bins, including jackets and small purses, so we were all
struggling to fit everything in the plane.
Up until this point, I'd been very calm about my whole experience abroad. I don't think it had hit me that I'm moving to another country. But when we had to line up for Jose to call our name and meet our host family, I wanted to cry with excitement and anticipation and nervousness. Maria Victoria, my host sister, waved my name on a card and came to greet me. I could barely speak anything because I momentarily forgot how to speak Spanish. I was happy to learn that Victoria's sister, Marcela, who lives nearby, was also hosting another girl from the program, who actually goes to DU too, so they picked us up together which was comforting. It was a struggle to get all of our stuff in their one car, however. It took a few times of rearranging to figure it out. Luckily we were some of the girls who brought the least amount of luggage. Otherwise we would have been sitting with luggage in our laps. Marcela has a 6 year old daughter, Mia, and I've learned that it's different to talk with kids. I have a harder time understanding her because she seems shy and speaks really quietly. But it definitely makes me want to get better at Spanish because I get jealous seeing that children can speak better than me. It makes me feel 2 years old.
Victoria, Carlina, and Agustin have welcomed me into their home and at first it's a little strange living in someone else's home but also feeling like a guest. I have my own room and bathroom. There is a pool out back which I'm excited to use in the summer. My family here doesn't eat dinner quite as late as I was told to expect, which I like, because eating at 10 or 11 is really late for me. We had a dinner together of pizza and dulce de leche before heading to bed because everyone was tired. I liked being able to unpack instead of living out of a suitcase. I have a small dresser and closet, and was able to fit everything in easily, so I feel like I packed pretty successfully. My room is freezing, however. I have a bunch of blankets to keep me warm, but I realized in the morning, when my room was still freezing, that it was actually really nice outside, and no matter how warm it is outside, my room will still be freezing. This is going to be my home for the next 5 months.
Up until this point, I'd been very calm about my whole experience abroad. I don't think it had hit me that I'm moving to another country. But when we had to line up for Jose to call our name and meet our host family, I wanted to cry with excitement and anticipation and nervousness. Maria Victoria, my host sister, waved my name on a card and came to greet me. I could barely speak anything because I momentarily forgot how to speak Spanish. I was happy to learn that Victoria's sister, Marcela, who lives nearby, was also hosting another girl from the program, who actually goes to DU too, so they picked us up together which was comforting. It was a struggle to get all of our stuff in their one car, however. It took a few times of rearranging to figure it out. Luckily we were some of the girls who brought the least amount of luggage. Otherwise we would have been sitting with luggage in our laps. Marcela has a 6 year old daughter, Mia, and I've learned that it's different to talk with kids. I have a harder time understanding her because she seems shy and speaks really quietly. But it definitely makes me want to get better at Spanish because I get jealous seeing that children can speak better than me. It makes me feel 2 years old.
Victoria, Carlina, and Agustin have welcomed me into their home and at first it's a little strange living in someone else's home but also feeling like a guest. I have my own room and bathroom. There is a pool out back which I'm excited to use in the summer. My family here doesn't eat dinner quite as late as I was told to expect, which I like, because eating at 10 or 11 is really late for me. We had a dinner together of pizza and dulce de leche before heading to bed because everyone was tired. I liked being able to unpack instead of living out of a suitcase. I have a small dresser and closet, and was able to fit everything in easily, so I feel like I packed pretty successfully. My room is freezing, however. I have a bunch of blankets to keep me warm, but I realized in the morning, when my room was still freezing, that it was actually really nice outside, and no matter how warm it is outside, my room will still be freezing. This is going to be my home for the next 5 months.
Siesta then Fiesta: the new normal
The nightlife here is crazy because people eat dinner around 10 or 11,
go to the bars after, then go to the boliches, or clubs, around 2. I've
been told it's normal to return to your house around 7 or 8 in the
morning, after the buses start working again and after you've eaten
breakfast. Jose explained to us a timeline of a typical weekend, and it
involves sleeping from 8 am to noon, lunch, then siesta again from 1 to
4, followed by another night of craziness. We got to experience an
amateur version of this Wednesday night when a bunch of us from the program went out.
I didn't know how I was going
to possibly make it through the entire night, but it turned out to be
pretty easy, even though we started with a sprint, not a marathon.
Eating so late makes me feel like it's only 7, and I get my second wind a
few hours after dinner, so it turned out well to eat at 10, go to the
bars after, then be wide awake at 2 to keep the fiesta going. We went to a plaza where there were many different bars and a couple
discotecas so we could stay in one area all night. I started the night
with some delicious empenadas and more quilmes. A bunch of us from the
program were able to bond over drinking games in another bar, and then
we ventured to a discoteca where they were playing American music,
possibly because we took over the dance floor.
We tried to stick to the clubs that didn't have a cover charge, and at one that charged, while waiting in line, we met the Harlem Globetrotters on their South American tour. They tried to get us into the club for free but it didn't work so they might have been phonies. So we went back to the original discoteca, where they were playing a pretty good mix of US music and Argentinian music while spraying fog on the dance floor. and eventually, around 5 am, found some taxis to take us home. We've been warned that the taxis here will drive around extra streets to charge you more, so we can only call a radio taxi, not find one off the street. I was surprised how easy it was to stay up that late since we had been traveling for two days with full days of orientation. But it was necessary to experience the Buenos Aires nightlife.
We tried to stick to the clubs that didn't have a cover charge, and at one that charged, while waiting in line, we met the Harlem Globetrotters on their South American tour. They tried to get us into the club for free but it didn't work so they might have been phonies. So we went back to the original discoteca, where they were playing a pretty good mix of US music and Argentinian music while spraying fog on the dance floor. and eventually, around 5 am, found some taxis to take us home. We've been warned that the taxis here will drive around extra streets to charge you more, so we can only call a radio taxi, not find one off the street. I was surprised how easy it was to stay up that late since we had been traveling for two days with full days of orientation. But it was necessary to experience the Buenos Aires nightlife.
Buenos Aires
During our second day of the program, we had more orientation meetings,
but we also toured the city of Buenos Aires. We saw where the new pope
used to be, and many political buildings like the old town hall and the
new town hall, the casa rosa, and we drove past where Cristina Kirchner,
the president of Argentina, lives now. It was a little colder than I
originally thought it would be, because the sun is always out and makes
it seem like it's warm out. We had a lunch near the river Rio de la Plata, which is about 20 or 30 miles wide at points, so it looked like
we were near the ocean. I opted for pasta instead of beef because I'm
expecting to eat a lot of beef in the next few months.
One thing I was really looking forward to in Argentina was drinking mate, a tea that is drank from a cup with the mate leaf and a straw with a filter on the end so you don't drink the leaves. It is very common in Argentina for people to drink mate in groups. They pass the mate cup around the group and each person drinks the entire cup before handing it to the next person.We learned some very specific etiquette for drinking mate, such as that only one person is in charge of pouring the water in the cup and the cup must be passed back to that person in between turns. The water needs to be just below boiling, and you can't touch the straw while drinking. So I was somewhat disappointed with the mate because it was very very strong. I'd had iced yerba mate in the states, and this wasn't anything like it. Maybe I'll learn to like it though.
En the city, I saw so many new things. We went to a street that I would describe as a tourist district. All of the buildings were painted with such bright colors and had all of these goofy statues that looked like cartoon characters and there were restaurants with tango shows going on.
We drove past some old shanty towns where I saw people making homes out of garbage and so many stray dogs. This is the part of town that needs to be avoided. Other than that I've felt pretty safe here. We get weird stares and a lot of people have wandered up to our tour group to stare at us for a few minutes. One weird thing I've noticed here is that it is very common for the dogs here to wear clothing. Almost all the dogs I've seen have had some sort of sweater on, even the ones that look stray.
One thing I was really looking forward to in Argentina was drinking mate, a tea that is drank from a cup with the mate leaf and a straw with a filter on the end so you don't drink the leaves. It is very common in Argentina for people to drink mate in groups. They pass the mate cup around the group and each person drinks the entire cup before handing it to the next person.We learned some very specific etiquette for drinking mate, such as that only one person is in charge of pouring the water in the cup and the cup must be passed back to that person in between turns. The water needs to be just below boiling, and you can't touch the straw while drinking. So I was somewhat disappointed with the mate because it was very very strong. I'd had iced yerba mate in the states, and this wasn't anything like it. Maybe I'll learn to like it though.
En the city, I saw so many new things. We went to a street that I would describe as a tourist district. All of the buildings were painted with such bright colors and had all of these goofy statues that looked like cartoon characters and there were restaurants with tango shows going on.
We drove past some old shanty towns where I saw people making homes out of garbage and so many stray dogs. This is the part of town that needs to be avoided. Other than that I've felt pretty safe here. We get weird stares and a lot of people have wandered up to our tour group to stare at us for a few minutes. One weird thing I've noticed here is that it is very common for the dogs here to wear clothing. Almost all the dogs I've seen have had some sort of sweater on, even the ones that look stray.
Day one: Making up for a rough start
It's been about 24 hours since I left Colorado and so much has happened
already. It was a hassle getting here, with airplane delays, sprinting
through the airport to make an earlier flight, and a lost luggage, but I
made it. I had to test my Spanish right away at customs and to reclaim
my bag, and I struggled, but I know I'll get there eventually. I
have five months to practice. Time to meet the rest of the people in my
group, even though the DU kids make up about a fourth of the group.
We're slowly being eased into Spanish mode. The accent is different, and
people speak fast, so it's hard not to use English in the first few
days. At orientation we learn the basics about our program and the next
five months. Leading up to this trip, whenever people asked me questions
about it, I would usually have to say I don't know, because most of it
we are figuring out once we're here instead of beforehand. Jose, our
program director, explained to us the proper way to use a bidet, to only
drink our Fernet Branca with Coco-Cola, never with Pepsi or Diet Coke,
and our tour guide, Alejandro pointed us in the right direction of the
bars. But we learned some safety and school related facts too, like how classes are
going to work.
Our first lunch consisted of exactly what I was expecting: steak, and well done, the way Argentinians like it. Meals come with three courses here, salad, and entree and dessert, so I'm gonna need to find a gym soon. We have free time during orientation, so a group of us went to a place to get our first Argentinian vino, and of course it was Malbec (another reason to find a gym).
I think that the most dangerous aspect of Buenos Aires is the traffic. The cars don't always stop, and they honk at the one in front of them the second the light turns green. Men are shouting piropos at our group of girls, que linda! and we are told to ignore these and do so for obvious reasons.
Dinner is served at a famous pizzeria in Buenos Aires where they brought us pizzas with heaps of cheese and onions and green olives. It's thick crust from the Italian influence. For dessert we have three options. Option three is described as "cheese with sweet things" so clearly I choose that. Turns out to be a hunk of cheese that could feed 5 people with a hunk of jam and they are eaten together. The waiter said the jam was made of sweet potato, but he also said it was made of quince, and I think quince was the actual ingredient. It turned out okay, but I got my fair share of cheese for the day.
We took Alejandro's advice and went to the bar he recommended. We didn't do a very good job at blending in with the Argentinian crowd though, with 14 of us wandering into a bar, newly legal to drink and still in our euphoric state of mind from arriving in a new country. We've learned the hard way that people here do not like to split up checks, so we struggled through our first Buenos Aires purchases. Quilmes is the most popular beer in Buenos Aires, so I tried that. It's similar to Bud or Coors, and not bad. At the end of the day, all of us were exhausted and ready for bed.
Our first lunch consisted of exactly what I was expecting: steak, and well done, the way Argentinians like it. Meals come with three courses here, salad, and entree and dessert, so I'm gonna need to find a gym soon. We have free time during orientation, so a group of us went to a place to get our first Argentinian vino, and of course it was Malbec (another reason to find a gym).
I think that the most dangerous aspect of Buenos Aires is the traffic. The cars don't always stop, and they honk at the one in front of them the second the light turns green. Men are shouting piropos at our group of girls, que linda! and we are told to ignore these and do so for obvious reasons.
Dinner is served at a famous pizzeria in Buenos Aires where they brought us pizzas with heaps of cheese and onions and green olives. It's thick crust from the Italian influence. For dessert we have three options. Option three is described as "cheese with sweet things" so clearly I choose that. Turns out to be a hunk of cheese that could feed 5 people with a hunk of jam and they are eaten together. The waiter said the jam was made of sweet potato, but he also said it was made of quince, and I think quince was the actual ingredient. It turned out okay, but I got my fair share of cheese for the day.
We took Alejandro's advice and went to the bar he recommended. We didn't do a very good job at blending in with the Argentinian crowd though, with 14 of us wandering into a bar, newly legal to drink and still in our euphoric state of mind from arriving in a new country. We've learned the hard way that people here do not like to split up checks, so we struggled through our first Buenos Aires purchases. Quilmes is the most popular beer in Buenos Aires, so I tried that. It's similar to Bud or Coors, and not bad. At the end of the day, all of us were exhausted and ready for bed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)