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

Whadda Weekend!

Mondays: YUCK! There's just something about Mondays that no one likes!


Well, it was quite the weekend here in Buenos Aires!


Last Wednesday, Rossana's son, Ricardo, and her (almost) 18 year old grandson, Gaspar, flew in from Europe. I believe they were at a Rugby Tournament there. They were both staying in our (small) apartment! On Friday, Ricardo's wife, Teresa, and their other two sons, Facu and Santiago arrived with their nanny, Juanita! All this made for a very interesting weekend. Most of the time, the whole family was over, including Rossana's other daughter, Lili and her husband Ricky, along with Ricky's children: (from a previous marriage), Cecilia and Mauricio.  And, Rossana's other daughter, Marcela and her son, Gonzalo. All in all, in this tiny apartment, the noise level was through the roof when all the kids were running around and the adults were yapping it up! But, I must admit, it was pretty fun!


The younger kids finally started feeling comfortable around me when I went into the computer room and started hanging out with them. But, unfortunately for me, they caught onto the fact Gaspar and I were only a few years apart and they started yelling that I was in love with Gaspar! Quite embarrassing! They had fun asking me to say various things in English, including the translation "Un gato feo" (An ugly cat). After the fun, they started making fun of me for the way I said "Los Estados Unidos" (United States) and for the rest of the weekend, they'd walk into my room, count to 3 and all imitate me saying "Estados Unidos"--It got old after a while!


Other than that, on Friday night, Sam, Bot and I were invited over to Julietta's apartment, who we met at church. She told us the meeting time was 10pm, but, being in Argentina, we didn't leave our house until 10! Thinking we were showing up at a reasonable time, we buzzed up to Julie's apartment around 10:20 and she was so surprised at how early we were! She made a joke saying that 10pm really means 11pm for the Argentines! Anyway, she was very welcoming and soon after the rest of the group starting showing up! All in all, we ended up being a group of 7 girls and 2 guys! We ate pizza, talked, and laughed a lot. As the night progressed, the boys took out a guitar and we started signing songs together. Most of the songs were in Spanish, so us Americans didn't know them. But, we did discover some English songs that some of the Argentines knew, including Imagine by the Beatles, Hotel California by The Eagles, along with some others. Further along into the night, after some popcorn had been popped, we started looking up worship songs on Youtube, some in English, some in Spanish! It was amazing to hang out with some locals! Around 3am, Julie suggested we start a movie! Sam, Bot and I were taken aback! Finding ourselves exhausted, we politely declined the invitation, and started saying our goodbyes-which always take FOREVER! We ended up getting home around 4am and I slept like a baby!


The next day, Julie invited us to a lunch at the church where we had met her. We got there a little late, and found that the lunch we were invited to was for the coordinators of different volunteer services that were connected to the church. We ended up meeting a girl from England, Alice, who spoke English and had a good time with her as well as the other (old) people! 
After lunch, we followed Julie outside to meet up with a bunch of other youth from different Methodist churches in the area. Together, we walked to a Memorial March that was happening in Plaza del Mayo! Basically, the march was commemorating and remembering the men who died/disappeared during the time of the dictator here in Argentina in the 70s. We hung out, drank maté, and got to meet some more Argentines, all while learning a little bit more about the history of Argentina (which Julie tried to explain to us in her best English!)

Sam, me, and Bot hanging at Plaza Del Mayo

On Sunday, Bot and I attempted to Skype with Holly and Alyssa in Italy. But their internet connection was a bit shaky, so it ended up being more comical than practical! On Sunday night, Bot and I headed to the church we went to for our first 2 weeks here, we ducked out a bit early because we both had loads of homework to do!

Finally this morning, Bot and I booked our hostel for our upcoming trip to Patagonia ON THURSDAY! We'll be there from Thursday to Monday! It's adding up to be one very expensive trip, but I'm looking forward to it, and it'll be nice to get out of the city! Prayers as we travel, please!

Un beso, 

-C

1 month! Miss me yet?

¡Amig@s!


Greetings from Bs.As. once again!!
So, figured I'd tell you a little about what a typical day in Buenos Aires looks like for me!


Depending on the day, I usually get up around 9ish, which is a bit difficult since my host mom sleeps until around 11 everyday, so I don't have too much motivation to get up in the mornings. I spend some time getting ready for the day before leaving my apartment! Not sure if I ever mentioned that I live in an apartment, but I do, on the 4th floor. Before walking out the door, I put my iPod in, my sunglasses on, and start my 5 block walk to the subway station. 
I usually have to wait a few minutes for the subte to come, but when it does, I put my backpack on my chest and brace myself to pack myself in like a sardine! I go 3 stops on the subway, which takes about 10 minutes.
When the subway rolls into the "Facultad de Medicina" stop, I get off, put my backpack back on my back and walk about 7 blocks to my school. Here in Bs.As. there's not really a campus for my school, FLACSO (Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales), it's just a building. When I get to my school building, I have to ring a buzzer to get into the building, then use my magnetic card to get further into the building! I usually head up 4 flights of stairs to the computer lab to kill some time before class!
Classes here are either 2 or 3 hours. Mondays and Thursdays I only have 1 class, but Tuesdays and Wednesdays I have 2. Once I'm at school, I stay at school until I'm done for the whole day. Sometimes I'll go out for lunch between classes, but I usually just grab a snack at a kiosk on the way to school in the mornings.
After I'm done with classes, I make my trek back home on the subte. Bot and I will meet up sometimes after school to grab some food or a drink. I get home and usually do some homework or answer emails in my room while Rossana makes dinner. We eat around 8:30, which is very early! After dinner, I hang out with Rossana, watching TV or talking until I help clean up and excuse myself to do homework for the rest of the night until around 12 or 1am when I call it quits!
Then I do it all over again the next day!


Bot and I went to see The Hunger Games last night, before anyone in the US saw it, which was a special treat! When we're in the movie theater (watching movies in English with Spanish subtitles) it feels like we're back in the US! We don't realize that we're in Argentina until after the movie is over and everyone around us starts speaking in Spanish! 
I joined a soccer team here, which will prove to be interesting since I haven't played soccer seriously since middle school! Although I did play on RECIM Team BANJUKA (Shoutout to Kenny, Jonny, and Drey!) at Gordon last year! But, for 50 pesos (about 12 US dollars), we get to play soccer every week AND go to a professional futbol game sometime during the semester! 




Well, it's been 1 month since I've been in Argentina! Miss me yet?! I still have about 4 to go! Crazy! I'm not sure if it's gone by fast or slow! I've heard that the first month abroad is the hardest, and I think that's true! I've been through a lot of ups and downs recently, but things are getting easier and I'm learning to enjoy myself more! There is so much Buenos Aires (and Argentina) has to offer and I'm looking forward to getting to experience it more and more in the next few months!


Well, thanks for sticking with me for a month! 


¡Chau for now!
-C

Dropping Dollars

Oh my!! I believe that I just made my biggest debit card purchase of all time yesterday!! Bot and I booked our flights to PATAGONIA! We're leaving in a week and two days and staying for 4 nights! Drum roll please...my flight cost me...$536 (American dollars)!!!!! It's only a three hour flight! Sheesh! When did things become so expensive!? As my good friend, Holly Getz would say, I "DROPPED SOME DOLLARS!"


But, as expensive as this flight was, I'm hoping that it will be an incredible trip! Patagonia is gorgeous, from what I hear! The region of Patagonia actually is in both Argentina and Chile, but we'll only be visiting the Argentine side. We'll most likely be staying in Calafate, a small touristy town in Patagonia and I'm hoping that we'll be able to do a little hicking/cramponing on the Perito Moreno Glacier! ¡Vamos a ver! (We'll see)


Besides that new exciting news, this morning was a bit stressful for me! But I must admit, that God had His hand in it all! I randomly decided to get up a little earlier this morning and head to a Starbuck's a few blocks away from my house to do some studying. Well, when I got outside my apartment, it was raining, which is never good if you're walking around the city! About halfway to Starbuck's, I decided that I needed my rain jacket, so I turned around and went back to my apartment, After retrieving my rain jacket, I decided to just head to school instead of Starbuck's. Well, I started my walk to my subway station, only to find out that the gates were closed and I couldn't get down to the subways! Luckily, I remembered that there was a bus I could take that would bring me somewhere close to my school. Unluckily, I didn't remember where I was supposed to get off the bus! But regardless, I hopped on the VERY crowded bus and began my journey. About 15 minutes later, after only having advanced about 15 blocks, we passed another subway stop that was on that same line as mine. I realized that this subway stop was OPEN! So, after the bus had passed this stop by a few blocks, I was finally got let off and backtracked a few blocks to the subway station. All the while, it was raining! Well, I finally get onto the subway car, and it began moving as slow as molasses! It took me about double the time to get to school, but I finally made it!


And now, here I am, blogging instead of doing my work! :)


Well, I'm definitely being tested and tried everyday here in Bs.As., but I'm still learning to continually trust Him everyday! And I'm so thankful for the little reminders God sends me. On Sunday morning I was blessed enough to be able to Skype with my cousin, Lauren for a good hour an a half! Also, Bot, Sam and I went to a new church this past Sunday, a church that Bot's host parents are involved in. Most of the congregation was on the older side, but 2 younger girls (in their late 20s) invited us to their apartment on Friday for pizza to hang out with some other youth from the church. So that should be exciting and definitely force us to speak Spanish and meet some Argentines!


Continued prayers are always appreciated, especially as I'm starting to be in contact with my advisors back at Gordon to plan my classes for the fall, which is looking to be about 20 credits! Yikes!


Besos, 
-C