I miss . . .

¡Buenas!
Well, since I officially have 1 WEEK left here in Buenos Aires, I thought I'd share a few things I miss from home!

Well, many of these go without saying, but Imma say them anyway

-My Mom & Dad

-My brobros

-My friends, both Gordon and others

-My Yiayia & Papou

-My pupster, Haley

-Bagels

-Rudy

-The smell of fresh cut grass (as long as I’m not the one cutting it)

-A fresh pot of coffee every morning (as opposed to day old coffee)

-Random trips to Target

-Scrambled eggs for breakfast

-The smell of saw dust as my dad does some handy work in the driveway

-My Bob-o-pedic bed!

-Space (there's not too much of that in this city)

-New York pizza

-The rest of my wardrobe

-Forever21 and all it’s glory

-Spicy food

-US money (although I sure won’t have much of it when I get back)

-New Hope and East Gloucester Community Church

-Orange juice

-Milk that needs to be refrigerated

-The beach

-BBQs

-Moe’s Southwest Grill

-Making guacamole

-American TV

-My cell phone (yeah, I’m materialistic)

-My vibram five fingers

-Taco Bell (unashamedly)

-Netflix and Hulu

-My pearl earrings (in true Garden City girl form)

-Watching the Yankees!

-American boys

-My hair straightener/curling iron

-My wide selection of sweatshirts

-Windham

-Manicures & pedicures at Donna’s

-CVS

-Chips and Salsa

-Being barefoot in the house

-Fresh air

-The English language!

-American radio

-My jewelry 

I'm sure there are hundreds more I could list, but that'll suffice for now!

This weekend calls for a 100% chance of paper writing :/ but, once I finish this last paper I'm (basically) home free! I head home at 4pm on Friday and arrive around 10am on Saturday!

Can't wait!!

Besos, 

-C

Just for Kicks and Giggles

Whenever Someone Talked to Me for the First Month

When I Set my Clocks to 12HR Time Rather Than 24HR Time

Applying for My Visa

When I Found Out Netflix and Hulu Didn't Work Due to Restrictions

When I Thought I Got on the Wrong Bus and Had a Mini Panic Attack

Successfully Navigating Public Transportation For the First Time

Hope you enjoyed those :)

-C

two...WEEKS?!!!!

It strangely feels like not too long ago that I was telling people I "only" had 2 months left here in Buenos Aires. Now I ONLY have two WEEKS left! Whoa!

In precisely two weeks from today, I will be landing in Newark, New Jersey after having traveled for 17 hours! (can't really say I'm looking forward to sitting in an airplane for that long again!)

Today also marks 4 months! I have been in Argentina for 4 MONTHS! How crazy!? How did that even happen?

This experience has been so many things! -- incredible, challenging, authentic, bizarre, priceless, intense, ... the list goes on!!

I'm super eager and anxious to get home and see friends and family who I miss so so dearly, but on the other hand, I'm not quite sure how I feel about leaving this place which has really caused me to 'see' differently!

Well, I'm striving to finish strong - I still have plenty left to do in the short amount of time that remains -- namely, papers to write! So prayers that I would be able to get everything done that I need to!

Thanks again for following my South American sojourn!

besos y abrazos,
-C

Where did the time go?

Time seems to really be flying now. I suppose most of that is due to the fact that I have SO much to do in what seems like so little time! I have about 3 1/2 weeks left here in Buenos Aires and I don't quite know how I'm going to get everything done! Possibly a lot of focus, determination, and motivation -- all of which I seem to be running low on these days!

This weekend was one of the more relaxing weekends I've had in a long time!! Thank God! Thursday, Bot and I headed to Casa Bar (an American style bar smack in the middle of Buenos Aires) to watch the Celtics-Heat game. Despite spending an $40(pesos not dollars) cover, we got the last seats we could find at the bar and waited for my friend Annie to show up! It ended up being a really great night, I got to watch a few minutes of the Yankee game (before the switched it over to basketball) and we consumed copious amounts of wings, something that is not all too common down here!

Friday, Bot and I headed back into Barrio Chino (Chinatown) for some delicious Chinese food! So delicious! I can't get enough of it. And I've also discovered dried/candied grapefruit peels (which are better than they sound). I've already started looking up recipes to make them for myself when I get back home!

Saturday, I headed to the Recoleta market to do some souvenir shopping. It was nice to just walk around and check out all the vendors selling their handicrafts! Later that night, I headed over to Annie's house to hang out and watch a movie! Believe it or not, she found a bottle of wine for $8 pesos - that's less than 2 American dollars!!!! We laughed a bunch and got a kick out of watching "Something Borrowed".

Sunday, I headed to the market in San Telmo to do more souvenir shopping! Even with two days of souvenir shopping, I'm still not done! But, I've made an impressive dent in the number of souvenirs I have to bring back! Bot and I of course headed to church that night, at the Methodist church.

Now, a week of homework and papers! Hopefully on Thursday some of us are going to head to Siga La Vaca (buffet style BBQ) for dinner and Friday we had to a Milonga with our Tango class to get some practice. We'll see what the rest of this weekend brings -- I'm sensing lots of homework!

Although I'm fairly content here in Bs.As., I'm definitely anxiously awaiting to get on my flight home! My heart hurts every time I think about getting home to see my friends and family! Oh what a glorious reunion it will be :) My expectations for this summer are SKY HIGH and I only hope my summer can live up to my expectations!
¡Vamos a ver!

Until July 7th,
-C

100 days

Ayo amigos!

It has been 100 days since I have been in Argentina (don't judge me - I was bored in class one day and counted how many days I had been here)

Wow, where do I start? Seems like I've been lacking on my blog posts lately - mostly because I'm so busy! This past weekend was FULL of paper writing, and lucky me, this weekend will be the same!! :/ The past few days have been especially stressful for me! The amount of work is building up and as some of my classes are starting to finish up, I'm realizing just how much I have to do before I can rest (un)comfortably on my plane back to New York, er actually Chile first, then Canada, then New Jersey: then FINALLY Garden City, New York!

So, the past 100 days, let's see!
-Well, I have avoided stepping in dog poop for 100 days! And believe me, this is a major feat here in Buenos Aires, and I'm proud to say I still have not fallen prey to the poop that litters the streets!
-I've made porteño friends :)
-I have finally become more accustomed to and comfortable with riding the colectivos (buses)
-I've learned to love mate!
-I haven't painted my fingernails or straightened/curled/blow dried my hair (it's a big deal for me)
-I've watched good friends graduate from Gordon College thanks to the Live Streaming graduating ceremony!
Oh, who am I kidding? There's a ton of things that have happened in the past 100 days and I'm certainly not going to recount them all to you right now!

I have about 5 weeks left here in Buenos Aires, which is both comforting and scary at the same time. I know I'll miss this city, but I am looking forward (so much) to getting home and seeing my friends and family. At the same time, the number of papers I need to write and exams I need to take is starting to stress me out! Oh boy!

Well friends, continued prayers are always appreciated! Gracias for continuing to follow my Argentine journey! Can't wait to be back home!

Chau chicos,
-C




Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12

3 months later!

Well friends, here I am!! I have officially been in Argentina for THREE MONTHS! Whaaaat?! I know, right?

I feel like I say it everyday, but I'm not sure if it's gone by fast or slow! What's even more crazy is that I have less than 2 months left here in Buenos Aires!! Don't get me wrong, I have greatly enjoyed my time here, but I am getting ready to be home with friends and family! I just miss you all so much!

One week ago was my 21st birthday! I actually never dreamed I'd be celebrating my 21st in another country!! Bot's parents were here and they took me out to a restaurant I've been wanting to go to for the past few weeks: Siga La Vaca - translated Follow The Cow! Anyway, what was SO great about this place was that it was a buffet style BBQ/grill ... meaning UNLIMITED meat - we're talking beef, chicken, sausage etc! Basically, my dream come true! I felt so loved on my birthday, even thousands of miles away from home! My wonderful roommate in Italy, Alyssa, sent me a birthday package, my best friend from Long Island, Emily, sent me a birthday package as well! And my Mom, in true form, had left a bunch of gifts for Bot to give me on my birthday! And of course, Bot coordinated it all, along with giving me a gift!! And, there were many loving letters in my mailbox that day from friends and family! Oh, may I also mention my wonderful Skype session with 3 of my bests in Italy, Alyssa, Drey, and Getz which made me miss them even more-but I felt so incredibly blessed to see their faces and hear their voices (and laugh incredibly hard) on my birthday!

Oh, and my host mom baked me a delicious cake, with my favorite-Dulce de Leche-in the middle!! 

Oh hey, I'm 21! (My Mom (in a nice note) demanded I wear this headband)

Since my birthday festivities, I've been very much so caught up in school work! I've come to the realization that my next 7 weeks here in Buenos Aires will mostly be filled with writing papers and studying for exams . . . and of course anxiously awaiting to get home while soaking up the last that Buenos Aires has to offer!

Well, signing off!! Homework is calling my name, unfortunately!

Missing you all terribly!

Thanks for following my Argentine journey!

Chau, chau

-C

Thanks for the View

How could you LOOK at (let alone actually see these falls) this picture and not believe that a great Artist crafted this?!

Iguazu Falls!! How amazing, and full of surprises! 

We headed to Iguazu early Friday morning, only to land on the runway and see our airplane windows streaked with water droplets: it was raining! NO!! 

As we walked out on the catwalks to La Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat) we were SOAKING! The Schundler's bought stylish ponchos while I wore my rain jacket. And STILL we were soaking wet within minutes. Honestly, we might have been better off jumping into the river! But, thank God, we all had good attitudes and laughed as we trekked out to see the falls up close! Due to the rain and cold weather, we cut our time short at the park that day and headed to our hotel to rest up before Day 2 at the falls.

Acting on a suggestion from my parents (who had been to Iguazu a few weeks before) we headed into town later that night and dined at a parrilla (the equivalent of a grill/BBQ place in the US). Bot and I finally ordered sangria, which we've been looking for here in Buenos Aires for almost 3 months. And we got a platter of meat to split between the 4 of us: much to our surprise, this platter included intestines and brain - yum (not) but I am proud to say that I tried both - can't say that I liked either!

Day 2 was looking good, until, on our way from our hotel to the park, it started sprinkling! God, please no! Thankfully, by the time we got to the Falls, the skies cleared up and we had a beautiful day ahead of us! We walked most of the paths that weaved through different waterfalls! It was incredible! Each waterfall was breathtaking in its own way!

Gordon repping in Igauzu

Now, back to the daily grind in Buenos Aires!!

But first, a very Happy Mother's Day to my mom and any other mothers reading this!

Love you so much Mom, thanks for being such a wonderful example of a loving, generous, kind, selfless, and God-fearing woman! Can't wait to see you in July!!

Thanks for following my adventure, friends!!

-C