Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires was amazing. Even though it is about 7 times as large as Montevideo, there wasn’t any dog crap on the sidewalks and the air was incredibly clean. It was also very European. For me it was a cross between New York City and Rome. There are Italian restaurants everywhere. It made me miss Europe.

We left for BA via Buquebus at 7 a.m. Friday. We had to take a 2 ½ hour bus to Colonia and then took an hour ferry to BA. We all slept the entire time. We purchased a package at Buquebus that included a hotel stay with transporation to and from the hotel. It was a pretty nice hotel with four beds. They had advertised that they spoke English, but of course they didn’t. They were still super nice so we can’t complain.

After checking in we just walked around BA. We saw the Obelisk which is the landmark of the city in the center of their main street. Then we walked to Plaza Mayo where the Pink Palace (their government building,) cabildo and main cathedral are. We also walked along the port and eventually went to eat at Friday’s which is near the green Mother’s Bridge (which reminded me of the millennium bridge in London.) It was nice to all sit down and eat American food together. However, we all had shakes and they didn’t end up making us feel too well. Kendall was really sick by the end.

We went to the Buquebus headquarters 3 times to try to find Norma (the woman who works at the Spanish school here) to ask here where the cheap places were to buy Puma, Polo, etc. She works at immigration at the Buquebus port, but we never did find Norma. We did go to a huge mall there (where I ate Chinese-it was a big deal.)

Saturday morning we got up early to go on a 3 hour city tour. It was a pretty nice tour. We went to see La Boca where there are colorful buildings and old tango bars, we went to Plaza Mayo again, went to La Recoleta, and through several neighborhoods. Jasmine and I got off at Recoleta to go to the huge cemetery that is there. She is a crazy independent New Yorker and would just walk off so we ended up splitting up because I wanted to go in the old Spanish church. The cemetery was stunning. The Recoleta cemetery is where all the rich of BA are buried in huge houses. Many of the graves have plants growing inside of them. I got lost in the cemetery, but eventually I found Evita Peron’s grave. Apparently her being buried there is extremely controversial because she was not rich or of one of the famous BA surnames.

Eventually I ran into Jasmine in the cemetery and we walked to see the solar flower. It is one of the signatures of BA in addition to the Obelisk. It was designed by an Argentine architect. It is a huge steel flower with petals that is solar powered and opens up during the day and closes at night. Jasmine went off again and we ended up walking all around the flower. New Yorkers; they’re crazy. Or maybe I’m just a Southern Belle. Stephen from the school here always calls me “princess.” All I know is that I would have never just walked off on my own if I was with someone else…I just don’t get it. They did say this program was 50% Cultural immersion.

After walking around in Recoleta we walked to meet Ryan and Kendall at the Zoo at another end of the city. We walked for what seemed like forever. They have a subway system in BA, but it doesn’t go to some parts of the city like Recoleta. Line A of the subway is actually the oldest in South America and the carts were wooden and looked like they really were from the late 1800s.

Jasmine and I couldn’t find Ryan and Kendall when we got there so we decided to go inside since we had walked all that way. The zoo was incredible. They had all sorts of animals. It was kind of annoying that you had to pay extra to see the aquarium, rainforest, etc, but I’m glad I went in all the same. There were animals just walking around everywhere. I have never seen so many peacocks, and never seen so many chased. The S. American kids were hilarious chasing animals and feeding any animals that were fenced. I felt sorry for some of the animals. We went into the aquarium and I wanted to cry. They had about 4 penguins and their habitat smelled bad and was much too warm. They looked so miserable, especially comparing it to the penguins in South America. The polar bear was completely out. I think they had drugged it. It was a ghetto, but still an amazing zoo. I had lost Jasmine at some point and found her when it started to get incredibly cold.

We went to eat at Hard Rock Café that night. I always went to Hard Rock with my friends while we were touring Europe when we could find it, so it was wonderful to go to one. It was nice to hear rock music that wasn’t in Spanish too. Jasmine got a migraine so we didn’t end up going out, but BA had ended up being more expensive that I had thought so I was fine with it.

We walked around for a couple hours the next day after having a long breakfast at the hotel. Everyone followed my lead in eating bread with dulce de leche and kept going back for more. It’s so good! We walked back around the Obelisk and the large mall to find souvenirs and then went back to the hotel to be taken back to the port to go back to Montevideo.

We did NOT want to go back to Montevideo where the air is dirty, there’s dog crap and trash everywhere, and people think it’s too cold to go out (although I can’t really blame them-winter has definitely arrived.)

On the bus from Colonia there was a guy from Florida dissing the states to a guy from Brazil in English so Kendall said something to him and his response was, “well I hate Bush and I hope he’s assassinated.” Wow. Buenos Aires had Argentinian flags flying all over the city. Most countries in Europe were the same way and had a lot of national pride. I know most Americans are disappointed with Bush, but I think we don’t have enough national pride. I am going to buy an American flag when I get back.

Today is Jasmine’s last day here. This morning she packed while I worked on writing for the blog and catching up on my journal. I can’t believe she is leaving tomorrow! Maria pretty much told me that I did something to her hot water bottle that she sometimes gives me on cold nights. I hadn’t used it last week so I have no idea where it could be. Jasmine said she just switched some around and she is probably just trying to get me to buy her a new one. I don’t know. Oh Maria!

Latin Men

Latin men, like Italian men, are usually depicted as wildly romantic tall, dark and handsome types. When I studied abroad in Florence I couldn’t wait to get away from the greasy and skinny Italian men. For the majority, they were not cute at all and instead of being suave they were creepy and would either yell at you, stalk you for a couple blocks or grab you if you resembled a female. I made the same kind of discoveries with Latin men.

I have been out with my friends from the school a few times to go to the boliches or just out on the town. I’ve seen and met several locals. On the whole Latin men here in Montevideo are better looking than the men in Italy. They aren’t all dark, tall and handsome though. A lot of them look so American or European that I’m tempted to talk to them in English. *Note the picture of one of the bolder locals*

I’m not interested in meeting a guy in a different country. I’ve only really talked to one guy, Alan, who works at a pharmacy in Pocitos. He’s nice and knows a little English. We just text every now and then half in Spanish and half in English every now and then, but I’m not planning on meeting up with him before I leave. He looks incredibly American in the first place.

If any girls do come here looking for a Latin Lover, Buenos Aires has the more aggressive men. Montevideo is a great deal more conservative than its neighbor and the guys here a lot more timid. It’s a huge deal for them to walk up to you. They usually try talking to you if you are walking past by pulling you away from the group you’re with. I’ve only had a couple guys come up to me and ask me for a drink. It simply isn’t done in Montevideo very often. However, in Buenos Aires there is a huge European influence that continues in the men. They act very Italian and will come up to you and grab you. So if you want a Latin Lover, head to Buenos Aires.

Enough of Latin men. Yesterday morning I walked to Ciudad Vieja to buy the rest of the souvenirs I needed. It was a nice, long walk there, but on the way back it started pouring rain. By the time I got home I was completely soaked. It was great. Then I went to work for the first time this week. Florencia randomly told me that I had an interview at the Spanish school at 6:30, when I usually get off work. Fernando (the Adelante director here) works doing PR kind of stuff where I work and picked me up at 6:30. He explained to me something completely different than what happened.

He interview was random and happened much later than they said (of course.) Kendall was at work, but they wanted Ryan, Jasmine and I to sit down with all the people from my work (they publish several prestigious magazines here) for an article. Miguel, my 70-year-old creepy boss, walked into Jo’s room where Jasmine was straightening her hair twice to get her to come down. Old men are so creepy here. Rodrigo, a local who’s about my age, had a friend over that kept stalking me around the school. It was such a hilarious experience. Eventually they got us all in a room and Florencia asked us questions about why we came here, what we thought of the people, etc. Then they took pictures of us (I looked like a drowned rat from walking in the rain earlier, mind you) and the interview was over. It was so strange.

Yesterday was so random. After walking around in the rain, having a random interview at the school and whatever else, Jasmine had randomly texted me that I was going to go with her and Stephen to dinner at the one Mexican restaurant in Montevideo. So we randomly went to the restaurant at 9 and Kendall and Ryan met us later. Stephen covered Jasmine and I. He wants to take me to the piano bar at the Radisson, the best hotel here, sometime. He’s an older businessman from Australia and is here investing in hotels and businesses here. While we were at the restaurant he wanted to talk business with me. He is currently looking into investing in El Corte, the restaurant where Bush ate when he visited. He told me that he wants me to go home to school and then come back to Montevideo over the Christmas break with marketing ideas for a restaurant to implement. He is so random. He told me he would pay me to come back, pay for housing, etc. Australians are ambitious and crazy.

Today we have an appointment at the American embassy at 2:30. There is an international ballet gala at Teatro Solis and I tried to get tickets yesterday, but they were out of tickets. There is another performance the last night I am here by a modern youth dance company from the Netherlands so hopefully I can go then. Jasmine leaves Tuesday so I may go with her one last time to the tango thing tonight.

Tomorrow morning Jasmine, Ryan, Kendall and I are leaving on a bus at 7 a.m. for Buenos Aires. I am sooo excited to see it! I have been reading a Lonely Planet book about everything there is to see. It is supposed to be very European, which is wonderful for me. I miss Europe more than I had thought. Apparently this weekend is the celebration of a famous tango singer in Buenos Aires so the city is supposed to be full of tango celebrations and pilgrimages to his grave. I will also be able to see Evita Peron’s grave, which is very controversial. I will give more information after I have seen it!

Horseback Riding!!!

Today we (everyone with Adelante: Jasmine, Jo, Kendall, Ryan, Haylee, Rachelle and I) went horseback riding in Canelones, an hour and a half car ride outside of Montevideo. Let me say now that it was AMAZING and I never want to go horseback riding in the states again because I won't be able to gallop along the beach.

Jo took 4 of us in her rented car. We left at 9 and when we got there we were astounded. They had every kind of farm animal you could imagine and they were just walking around. They had a turkey, peacock, tons of horses (they raise thoroughbreds and racing horses,) cows, hogs, alpacas, etc. It was huge. It was really really nice to get outside of the city. The people that run the place heard that I was from Texas and asked me if I felt like I was home. I totally did. If only they had some country music on...

I had no idea that the actual horseback ride would be so long or that it would lead to the beach. The ride ended up being about 4 hours long!! I am incredibly sore now. Most of the time the horses didn't walk, but trotted. Painful. I kind of know how to ride and that helped a little as we went through the forest trotting. My horse even made a jump over a puddle!

The best part was when we went to the beach. They warned us ahead of time to hold the reigns tightly or the horses would want to run. Too bad we all galloped and had horse races by the time we were done on the beach. Even Jasmine, who was riding a horse for the first time, was galloping along. In fact, she wanted the horse to go faster when we were going back.

I didn't want it to end, but my body said otherwise and they had asado, or barbecue, for us. They made chorizo (sausage) and carne (steak) for us on the grill. It was pretty good. We all just sat around and talked for awhile. I really did feel like I was at some barbecue place in Texas, just with Spanish. The people that ran the place are somehow connected with the school and it was darling to watch their entire family (about 3 generations there) talk and play and laugh together. Of the the girls (about 12) had on cowboy boots, which cracked me up.

Today was amazing and we all greatly enjoyed it. I just called my dad since it's Father's Day. My family is so crazy. Right now my mom is at an airport in Michigan after my cousin's wedding waiting for her delayed flight to take off again. Then one of my sisters (Rachel, 16) is in Chicago on a 10-day mission trip with the church youth choir. My dad, sister (Faith, 13,) and two brothers went to the lake yesterday, but I feel better since they were rained out. Isn't that awful?! My sister Courtney (19) is deciding right now where she wants to go to school next semester while she works like a crazy person at Chili's back home. Oh family!

Yesterday we (Kendall, Jasmine, Ryan and I) tried to get tickets for a Globetrotters game last night. It ended up being sold out. We went to Punta Carretas shopping to go to Buquebus (the main travel agency here) to get tickets for Buenos Aires and were then sent to Tres Cruces (the main bus center/shopping) to go to the other store's location. Keep in mind that we had gone out at La Cite the night before and hadn't gotten home until about 5 a.m. We were all dead the entire day. But (after waiting an hour in line) we finally got our tickets to go to Buenos Aires!!! We will be leaving early Friday morning, staying at a commercial hotel (which seems rather nice,) and then coming back Sunday evening. We are all very excited!! It was a little pricy at $120 US, but I would have hated going home without going to Buenos Aires, especially with it so close. So the day ended on a positive note...and today was AMAZING!!! I have two more weeks here and I intend on enjoying every second of it.

Soccer with a second wind

I went to my job for the entire week this week. It is not at all what I expected. My boss handed me a tape that was in both English and Spanish from a British man talking about advertising and he told me to listen to it and transcribe into both languages. Like any internship, it is basically just busy work. However, I am able to get online so I chat with people online and research some way to get to Buenos Aires.

I had booked a hostel a few days ago to stay in Buenos Aires this weekend. We didn't think that getting there would be a big deal. There are ferries run by buquebus that constantly run. We went onto the website and it said the trips would be about 190 pesos for the fastest boat they have that runs from straight from Montevideo to Buenos Aires in about 3 hours. However, it was in Argentinian pesos and ended up amounting to about 60 American dollars one-way. Ridiculous. By the time we figured out a slower/cheaper way of getting there (7 hour trip by bus and ferry from Colonia at $80 roundtrip,) it was too late.

I cancelled the hostel reservations and now we will be here for the weekend. I had no idea that it would be so expensive to get around South America. The main form of transportation are buses, but there are only beaches worth going to in Uruguay and it's cold now. There are mineral springs in the most Northern part of Uruguay (in Salto,) but those busses will be more expensive. To get to Buenos Aires we have to get across the Rio de Plata and obviously that is expensive.

It was sooo much easier to get around in Europe. You just hop on a slow
local train and it's just a few dollars. That's not even mentioning
Ryanair where you can hop on a plane for 15 euros to Ireland (no joke!) It
may have been ghetto, but it got us there. We are not that lucky in South
America.

On a lighter note, yesterday I went to the biggest soccer game of the season here. The players were Firelli and Nacional, two Montevideo teams. Nacional won by one goal. The fans were crazy. We got stuck in a scrimmage before the game outside of the stadium. I have never beene to a sporting event and feared for my life. It was fun though. It's always a cultural experience. After the game Jasmine, Kendall, Ryan and I went to the one Mexican restaurant in Montevideo. It's not Tex-Mex, but the place reminds me of home.

Tomorrow I think we are going to try going to the American embassy, which is supposed to be amazing inside. On Saturday there is apparently a huge feria that we are going to try going to. Between my work, not being able to communicate perfectly and not taking classes and still getting over my sickness I am ready to move on from Montevideo. I think it would have been different if there was a lot to do or somewhere to travel, this town is very sleepy compared to what I am used to in Europe. I think I am just bummed about not going to Buenos Aires this weekend.