Peace Out Buenos Aires

I'm sitting in my (Argentine) room, wondering how the time flew so fast . . . was it really almost 5 months ago that I first walked into this room? Wow! The footprint that I accidentally left on the floor from the first day I was here has completely faded now. (Explanation: the hardwood floors are not stained and finished, therefore, anything wet/damp leaves marks - something my host mom had to explain to me several times since I love being barefoot)

My bags are packed (or rather, stuffed) and sitting in the corner, my closet and all my drawers are bare! It's so strange! To think that I'll never see this place again is mind boggling.

Buenos Aires (and Argentina) has been good to me. It's definitely all been an experience that I will never forget.

Last night, my entire host family came over for dinner and delicious dessert. After hours of eating and talking, I said goodbye to them all, thanking them for everything! In 2 hours, I'll say goodbye to my host mom and hop in a taxi to the airport!

Despite feeling sad about leaving Buenos Aires, I'm ecstatic to be getting home! Although 17+ hours of traveling isn't going to luxurious or comfortable, it'll be worth it!

Well, I'm signing out!
This is most certainly my last post from the great city of Buenos Aires. Thanks for following my incredible Spanish-speaking, mate-drinking, tango-dancing journey! It's been one for the books. Memories made!

Besos y abrazos siempre,
-C

T.O.M.O.R.R.O.W.

Whoa -- I leave TOMORROW!!

What a wonderful time it's been here in Buenos Aires!
I can't quite put into words these last (almost) 5 months!! At times, it still seems surreal. I studied abroad!! I studied abroad??

Where do I start? Just to name a few . . .
-I've learned more of the Spanish language (I've learned not to call it 'Español' but rather 'Castellano')
-I've learned how to sucessfully avoid dog crap on the streets
-I've learned how to navigate the public transportation system of Buenos Aires
-I've learned how much I can miss my family
-I've learned of my love for Dulce de leche
-I've learned to use the Argentine accent and 'vos'
-I've learned how much I can come to love a foreign country

And to be honest, there is a lot of this city that I'm going to miss. I always thought I was part 'cityiot' (city + idiot) but now I definitely am!
-I will miss the man who sings opera in my apartment building at any and all hours.
-I'll miss my cleaning lady always greeting me with the most sincere "¿Como estás mi corazón?" and following it up with "Me alegro mucho mi vida."
-I will miss my host mom's cooking
-I'll miss my daily commute to school (sometimes)
-Strangely, I'll miss being surrounded by Castellano
-I will miss medialunas, empanadas, and of course, dulce de leche
-I'll miss the friends I made along this journey!

Well, if I continued, we'd all be here for a while!
Thank you Argentina, for this amazing opportunity, that I will most certainly never forget!

Prayers as I head home tomorrow and arrive in the States on Saturday. I woke up this morning pretty sick and I'm hoping to feel a little better by the time I touch down in Newark!! Looking forward to seeing family and friends this weekend!!
Starting Saturday, I'll have my REAL cellphone back - and I'll be reachable on that! :)

Besos
-C

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

Back to reality

Well, yet another week gone by in Buenos Aires - the city of Good Airs (?)

This past weekend CIEE (my program) took us on a trip to Jujuy! Jujuy is the northwestern-most province in Argentina, nestled in between Bolivia and Chile. It was such a great weekend, and the best part - it was all paid for by our program!

We started off our trip by getting to the airport at 4am on Thursday morning! A few hours later we were on a plane headed to Salta, the province just south of Jujuy. From Salta, we boarded omnibuses to our hostel! We were all so tired that most of us slept the whole way! Thursday was a relaxing day for us, we didn't have anything planned except for a quick introduction to what we would be doing the next few days! Lunch and dinner were provided and the rest of the time we were free to relax and catch up on sleep!

Friday, we took a short trip to some ruins of the indigenous people that once lived in Jujuy. Our tour guide, Pablo (who LOVED to hear himself talk) provided us with plenty of information!

After that, we headed to a town, where the vendors sold everything! Most famously, anything made from alpaca/llama wool! We were also able to see a cemetery which was pretty interesting! Dinner that night, we were able to choose a place in the town that we wanted to go to; Bot, Sam, and I choose a pretty fancy restaurant with DELICIOUS bread and our main meal: LLAMA! It was absolutely delicious!

Mine happened to be wrapped in bacon! YUM

Saturday, we again got on our buses and headed up into the mountains! We stopped at the top of one to offer sacrifices for safe travel! We were 4,170 meters above sea level - pretty crazy!

4,170 meters above sea level

Sam, Bot and I

Then, we were onto the SALT FLATS! This was incredible! As we were driving towards them, it looked like snow, but when we finally got outta the buses and onto the flats, it was crazy! We were standing on top of SO much salt! Our whole group had fun taking pictures and being silly!

So much SALT

TEBOWing

Finally, Saturday night we headed to a Peña - a restaurant/bar where we got to enjoy live folklore music! It was so great! The band was fun and we had fun dancing the night away. STORY OF THE WEEKEND - after the band had been playing for a while, still none of us had gotten up to dance, a very drunk older man came onto the dance floor and starting busting some moves. Slowly, he started making his way over to all of us Americans, keeping his eyes on some of the blondes in our group. Unfortunately, he found me, grabbed my hands and pulled me onto the dance floor. I was terrified as he started pulling me closer and closer! Eventually, my coordinator from CIEE had to step in and tell the man to leave me alone! The rest of the night was so much fun!

Sunday, we took a hike through some of the mountains, which were incredible! The views were spectacular!! I feel so have blessed to go on this trip! It truly was incredible! I couldn't help but look at all the views and mountains and wonder how anyone could not think that a great Artist created all of this! God is good!!

Now my friends, it's back to reality! A full week of classes! Bot's parents come on Thursday and we head to Iguazu Falls for a night! That'll probably be our last exciting trip for our remaining time here. Believe it or not, I have 2 months until I'm home! 

Chau chicos

-C

My address here in BsAs

Christa Coners
CIEE Program - FLACSO
Ayacucho 555
(1026) Ciudad de Buenos Aires
ARGENTINA

here goes. . .

Well, I feel like I owe the world a blog post!
Can't really say I have too much exciting to say, but it's been quite a while since my last post, so here goes!


Argentine life is really rolling! It's hard to believe that I have about 2 months left here, give or take. It's sorta hitting me that as much as I miss home and can't wait to be back, I'm gonna miss my Argentine life when I leave. And now that it's MAY, leaving doesn't seem all that far away!


I'm in the process of changing my flight so I can return home a little bit early (and be able to do some dress shopping for Miss Laura LaPierre's wedding!) My finals end well before my program officially ends, so I figured I'd head home a tad bit early!


This past Friday, Bot, Sam, Jaime, John, and I went to Julieta's (our Argentine friend) new apartment! Julieta and a few other 'young adults' from the Methodist church we've attended a few times are trying to get a group of people together to meet every week to hang out! It seems really awesome and we Americans love the fact that the Argentines are incorporating us into their lives! It gives us a chance to practice our Spanish as well as get in some good, solid fellowship!

Our "young adults" group

Jaime and John (our American friends) head home this Saturday, so we got to hang out with them a few last times this weekend/week! Monday and Tuesday were national holidays in Argentina, which meant no classes for us! Bot and I spent the weekend going to different ferias (fairs) looking for souvenirs and just enjoying our time off! On Saturday, we headed to the Recoleta Feria to meet up with John and Jaime to drink mate together but it was an awful, rainy, cold day! So, we postponed until today! Today was gorgeous and we finally were able to enjoy the sunshine, mate, and guitar players performing on the lawn!

Mate in Recoleta

Saying goodbye to John and Jaime

Today, my host family came over and made empanadas while I worked on some homework! But they of course invited me out when the empanadas were ready! Between the 6 of us, we must have gone through 3 or 4 bottles of wine and 30 empanadas! Fantastic!!

Well, this Thursday, bright and early at 4am, we head out with our program to Jujuy, which is Northern Argentina! Apparently we're going with students from another Argentine University-not really too sure on the details since I wasn't able to go to the informational meeting! We'll spend Thursday to Sunday in Jujuy and then a full week of classes next week! Bot's parents come to Argentina on Thursday and Friday we'll head to Iguazu Falls!

Good news: for those of you who didn't already know, I discovered an app (stole it from Sam) on my iTouch a while back that let's me text phones in the US for free! So, I've been able to keep in contact with some of you back home. Unfortunately the app only works on wireless internet which I DO NOT have in my apartment, BUT I just discovered that this app also works on my laptop! So, if you need to reach me: my number is: 516-331-4352 Feel free to send me a text :)

Thanks for following my (uneventful, for now) Argentine life!

Besos,

C

Two Months

Hola Chicos! 

Well, believe it or not, it was TWO MONTHS ago today that I left New York (or should I say, Newark NJ) to head to Buenos Aires! In some ways, the 2 months have flown by, in others, not so much! But, regardless, God has blessed me with this amazing opportunity here and I'm so thankful for it! I'm anticipating that the next 2 1/2 months are going to fly by!

This weekend, my host mom went to visit her son, daughter-in-law and 3 grandsons in Santa Fe, a province about 3 hours away from the city. She invited Bot to sleep over the apartment while she was gone, which was a special treat! Meaning, I didn't have to stay in this apartment alone the whole weekend!! We had a pretty relaxing weekend, if I do say so myself!

Yesterday, we headed to the zoo which is a few blocks away from my apartment! So strange to find this zoo smack in the middle of such an industrious city! It was a gorgeous day and we spent a few hours walking around checking out the animals!

Gordon girls visiting the zoo!

These little animals were ALL over the place! NO idea what they are! 

I made a friend :)

We were both so amused at how lax the zoo was. They practically let the animals roam wherever they wanted. Okay, maybe that's a little dramatic, but SOME of the animals were basically free to roam. Others were, of course, kept in cages! 

Today Bot and I went to the San Telmo fair again to get some souvenirs and lunch! We then headed to a Methodist church we visited a few weeks ago. There we met up with John and Jaime who are American students studying here as well that Bot's host mom introduced us to. After church we headed out to eat with John and Jaime to catch up on life. They head home in about 2 weeks, which is a shame because we wished we had hung out together more!

All in all, it was a good and restful weekend for me! Classes tomorrow. . . 

More evidence that God has been good:

-I was all set on coming home about a week and a half early since all my classes would end by July 6th, which is before the official end date of my program on July 15th. I had confirmed on all of my syllabi when my classes ended and decided that I would call the airline in the next few weeks to get my flight changed! Well, just a few days ago, one of my professors who has missed 2 classes, decided to extend our class until July 11th to make up for HER lost time! Needless to say, I was raging mad! I calmly emailed her and explained my situation, asking if it was absolutely necessary for me to attend the last class! She emailed me back (a little cryptically, so I'm still trying to decode it) but it APPEARS as if I will in fact, be able to head home early!

-Yesterday, before Bot and I headed to the zoo, we stopped in at pizzeria to grab some lunch. Outside, I saw an Argentine man wearing a New York Jets jersey! It made me smile! Sometimes, it's the little things!

-Hearing that the Yankees came back from being down 9 runs to beat the Boston Red Sox 15-9 really made my day! Even though it's killing me not to be able to watch baseball, I love checking up on those Bronx Bombers!

-Some of you know how big of a Dispatch fan I am. Dispatch just announced their new US tour dates ... including Boston!!! So, already, I am making plans (and saving money) to go see them on October 6th with my best friend/roommate and baby brother!

-My cousin Tara just officially announced that she is pregnant with her 5th!! I babysat for Tara over Christmas break before I left for Argentina and so got closer with her! I am so excited for her and Mario!

-Still to this day, seeing long boarders in Bs.As. makes me so happy. 

-Julieta, our Argentine friend here, invited us to her house again on Friday with some others from the church! It's so great to get to know some 'porteños' more!

Well friends, thanks for following my South American journey! 

Un besito, 

-C

We are FAMILY!

Where do I even start with this one? I'll apologize in advance, 'cause I'm sure this post is gonna be a bit long (given the fact that I haven't posted in a while AND my parents were in Argentina for the past 10 days!)


As most of you know, or at least can deduce, my parents were in Argentina for the past 10 days! They got here last Thursday and they just left this morning! It really was a wonderful visit! 


The Friday after they arrived, we took a nice bike tour of parts of Buenos Aires. It was a good way for my parents to be introduced to the city and a great way for Bot and I to see some of the barrios (neighborhoods) that we hadn't yet visited! It was a beautiful day and our tour guide was fantastic! 

Our stop in La Boca on our bike tour

My dad even got a flat tire on our trip. No problem, our guide used her spare to repair it (much to the frustration of my dad, who LOVES to fix things on his own). About 10 minutes later, another girl on our tour got a flat...unfortunately our tour guide didn't have anything to replace it with, so the adventure commenced as we went 'off route' to find someplace to fix the flat! It ended up being very entertaining! 

Friday, my mom and I headed out of the city to do some horseback riding! Our taxi driver took us about 30 minutes outside of the city and we met a woman from Holland who came to Argentina about 2 years ago and started her horseback riding company. It was fantastic, the three of us rode for about 5 hours all around a gorgeous park/forest! Unlike in the US, we were able to canter at our own leisure. For those of you not horse-savvy, cantering is when the horse gains some speed and sort of jogs. Almost everywhere that my mom and I have been horseback riding in the past, they never quite let us canter the way we want to. So we thoroughly enjoyed it!

My mom tried her first maté . . . don't think she LOVED it

Cantering

Even though I can't stand these ridiculous hats/helmets, I added this pictures! 

Sunday was, of course, Easter! We spent the day doing some walking around the city. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling too well so I spent some time resting. But my parents experience San Telmo, a wonderful fair every Sunday with hundreds of vendors. After some adventures, we made it to church! Not so sure my parents got too much out of the service, since it was all in Spanish. But they got to experience a Spanish church service!

Easter Sunday! As the Greeks say: "Cristos anesti. Alithos anesti" (Christ is risen. He is risen indeed)

Monday-Wednesday, while I had classes, they took a trip to Iguazu Falls which is North of Buenos Aires. They said it was incredible. It's a trip I'll be making with Bot and her parents once they get here! So I won't say much more about it, since I'm sure I'll have a blog entry about it in a few weeks :)

The recounting of the week cannot be complete without me mentioning the MANY fantastic meals we enjoyed! My parents tried their first 'asado' (barbecued meat) here in Buenos Aires! Even I must say, it was delicious! Among other things, we had milanesa, hamburguesas, chivito, empanadas and so much more! 

Along with all the food we ate, my parents got to experience riding the subte (subway) in Buenos Aires. The first few times, they got lucky, but one night, we had to take the subway when it was especially crowded. Much to their dismay, we packed ourselves onto the subway! At one point, my dad even experienced a pickpocket attempt on him! Always an adventure in Argentina!

Yesterday (Friday) we boarded a ferry and headed to Uruguay!! Colonia is a colonial town in Uruguay that has a lot of history to it. Again, it was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the weather while taking lots and lots of pictures (as always) 

Bot and I trying to spice up our pictures a little a bit, so I tried a new pose!

Scaling the side of an old convent in Uruguay

FAMILY in Uruguay

Last night, we headed to Cafe Tortoni. A famous cafe here in BsAs. We went to see a Tango show. To our surprise, the food was quite horrible! BUT the show was great. My parents got to experience a bit of the Tango culture here in Argentina. And we had a good last night together, enjoying ourselves!

Waiting for the Tango show to start!

It was such a speical treat for my parents to visit me. I know how blessed I am for them to be able to make this trip. I know that neither of them ever thought they'd be visiting ARGENTINA. But, another place to check off of the list of places visited! I miss them already! But I'm so happy we got to spend time together.

Thanks for coming, Mom & Dad! Love you!

Well, signing out. Muchas gracias for following my Argentine life!

Cariños,

-C

Bruce and Christine take on Bs.As.

An exciting week & a half to come in Argentina....MY PARENTS HAVE ARRIVED!!!

It's so strange to have these two worlds collide: my life back home has come into contact with my new (temporary) life here! How crazy!?!

PERFECT TIMING: as I was meandering around, about to walk past the apartment that my parents rented, RIGHT as I was walking in front of it, my parents pulled up in a taxi! Literally, the timing could not have been more perfect! Not to mention, we were both about an hour early, so it was just incredible that we connected so flawlessly!

Since then, the guy they rented the apartment from came and showed us the place and then we went out for some lunch! I impressed my parents with my Spanish as I ordered lunch for us. We did some food shopping, while my parents got a kick out of the cuisine here in Bs.As.

I left them a few hours ago so they could rest after their 17 hour trip down here. Now, I'm leaving my apartment once again to go back to their apartment and go out for dinner...ASADO (meat) at the request of my dad!!

It looks like it's shaping up to be a fun and exciting week and a half! (even though I have classes all next week)

God is good!

Besos,
-C

Patagonia Adventures!!

Caution: this is going to be a long post! Stick with me! :)

This past weekend, I headed to Patagonia, which is in southern Argentina!

It started with me sleeping over Bot's house on Thursday night, we had to catch a taxi at 5am, so we headed to bed around 11! Unfortunately for us, we're so accustomed to going to bed a lot later, that we weren't able to get to sleep till around 1am! 4:30am rolled around and we drearily got in our taxi and headed to the airport to head to El Calafate!

When we first arrived in El Calafate, I expected to see the glaciers, but turns out the town of El Calafate is actually not too near the glaciers. It looked like Mars, desert-like and dry, it was quiet the contrast from what I thought it would be like!

Thursday and Friday in El Calafate were very relaxing! We didn't plan any excursions on those days, since Sam wasn't meeting us there until Friday. So, we got accustomed to the hostel and spent a lot of time reading, napping, and checking out the center of town! 

I was very happy to be able to start and (almost) finish a book that my roommate gave me quite a few months ago, What's So Amazing About Grace by Phillip Yancey while Bot did a lot of her school work. I think the rest was definitely needed for both of us! 

Our hostel, Nakel Yenu, was absolutely fantastic! The staff were so fun! Veronica met us when we arrived and helped us to get settled in our room. We met Frederico later on that night, who I instantly liked! Dreadlocks, Reggae music 24/7 and incense to burn at night!  

Bot and I booked out own private room, which proved to be really nice since we spent a lot of time in the hostel. There were constantly people out in the lobby (right outside our room) but it made it a really enjoyable and friendly atmosphere!

On Friday night at the hostel, we were even invited by Frederico to a BBQ that was an intentional time for everyone staying to get to know each other! It was great! Some locals cooked up a bunch of meat on the grill and a bunch of us ate together in the kitchen! We met a very interesting Israeli man, who quickly turned out to be VERY creepy! But we had some good talks with a girl from Australia who was vacationing in South America for a few months!

BBQ dinner!

Sam and I on the night of the BBQ...with Frederico in the background! :)

So, on Saturday, we got up very early to head out on a boat tour to see the glaciers! Our bus picked us up around 7:30 and we drove a little while to the boarding dock. The glaciers were absolutely breathtaking! Along with the glaciers, we saw a bunch of icebergs as well! I don't think the pictures even capture what we saw! As we were sailing along, we'd start to see a bunch of big icebergs, which we knew meant glaciers were ahead! Our boat, thankfully, was big and comfortable and we were able to relax inside while we waited to see the sights! Once the icebergs started appearing, everyone would run outside and snap pictures in the freezing cold before running back in!

Here are just a few pictures:

 On the boat!

Our Boat!!

Ginormous iceberg!

Glacier!!

Well, Sunday, we headed to El Glacier Perito Moreno, the most famous glacier in El Calafate! Again, we got up very early and boarded our bus that took us to the glacier. On the bus ride, we had a tour guide who would tell us facts about landmarks we were passing and whatnot. Later, we were dropped off at the glacier, to explore for 4 hours. Unfortunately, it was a rainy, rainy day, which turned into SNOW later! It was so cold, and we spent a good deal of time in the café because we were so cold! But, it was incredible! The paths led us pretty close to the glacier, which was massive! And we got a lot of walking done, and pictures were taken like crazy!

Sam and I FREEZING!

El Glacier Perito Moreno, believe it or not, this doesn't even capture the massiveness of it!

Bot and I throwing up the peace signs, of course!

On Sunday night, we met up with some friends from our program, Erica and Grace in the middle of town for some dinner. As we were ending our vacation, they were just beginning theirs! Sunday night were were exhausted and Bot and I had a flight early again the next day. 

We said our goodbyes to the hostel this morning and hopped in our taxi on the way to the airport! In true Argentina fashion, it turned out to be an adventure! We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare, and we noticed there was some construction going at the airport, no big deal! We checked in and got our boarding passes, paid the airport tax (ridiculous) and got on the line that was beginning to form to go through security. Well, our flight was apparently the first one to head out today, which means that the airport staff were just starting their day. The construction had impeded with the machinery for security, and basically, what it came down to, was that the crew couldn't find outlets to plug in the metal detectors and scanners! So, for about 30 minutes, multiple staff would come in, assess the situation, and leave! Finally, they ended up moving all the equipment so they were able to reach the outlets! Always an adventure!

Last picture in El Calafate, waiting for our plane to arrive!

Also, this weekend, I downloaded an app on my iTouch that allows me to text cell phones from the US for free! Very exciting for me, although it only works on wifi (and I don't have wifi in my house) it's super useful and I'm able to be in contact with those of you at home! Let me know if you want my number! :)

My parents head to Argentina on Thursday and I'm super excited for my time with them here! It's bound to be a lot of fun, but I already expect our goodbyes to be hard!

Keep me in your prayers, as I think I'm starting to get sick, which is no fun!

Thanks for following me in my adventures! 

Miss you all!

Un besito, 

-C