So I haven't updated in a while, but it's because I've been so busy!! Last Monday I went with around 10 of the ISA students to La Bomba del Tiempo, a 17 man percussion group. I have yet to find good pictures of it from Facebook friends, but once they're uploaded I'll post em here! (Scratch that I found one) It was such a phenomenal experience- music blasting and the bass pounding while hundreds of Argentines were jumping up and down outside underneath some cool ex-oil factory.. I'm definitely going back sometime soon, the whole experience was probably around 15 USD.
The rest of my week was devoted to resting up for Pinamar, a beach town 5 hours south bus ride from the city. Basically the BEST WEEKEND EVER.
So Thursday:
We got out of class and immediately went to a bank to pull out some dinero in case of emergency, stocked up on some bottles of wine, and loaded up on the Micro, or two story luxury bus that would take us to Pinamar. The excitement for the upcoming weekend quickly escalated once we realized the 14 of us practically had the upstairs cabin to ourselves.
After snacking on some provided treats and listening to some Levels remixes, I quickly fell into a comfortable nap in order to get my last bit of shut eye before a sleepless weekend. Upon arrival, the hostel- Hostel Pinamar was located ON the beach. Like the front door was in sand. We all clambered out and were given the key to our 14-person dorm style room.
There were 6 bunk beds and two singles in the back, which I snatched one of right away in order to appease my abuela tendencies of sleep, naps, and more sleep. We then immediately headed out to the beach, where we stayed until around 2am (some people stayed up til sunrise) just enjoying each others company and loving the surreality of the entire experience.
Friday:
We woke up just in time for breakfast (served 8-10AM), consisting of toasted bread rolls, butter, jam, and coffee or mate. After relaxing in the morning, we all donned our swim suits and headed out for LA PLAYA. All of one minute later, we were laying out the 14 of us on the beach sunning and sleeping during the lazy day.
I read some of my Harry Potter y Caliz del Fuego, and jumped in the ocean at my first opportunity. Just sort of a side note: we debated going to Mar de Plata, a famous beach city another 30min-1hr south of Pinamar, known for it's summer parties and crowds (think Florida for Spring Break, but even more so); but were SO relieved to have chosen the more tranquil, beautiful Pinamar. We were the tourists in a tourist city, where all of the people present were local Argentines enjoying their summer vacation.
After sunburns and sand storms started to bother us, we retired to the room for a group nap session. A few hours later (20 minute snooze turned into a 3 hour slumber), we decided to have a group dinner where we all pitched in and cooked a delicious meal of pasta, sausage, and grilled veggies. I've been starting to cook more and more here for myself, and I'm loving it! (Mom and Dad- hopefully I'll be bringing back some good meals for us).
That night, we decided to again trek to the beach, where around 3am it got a little chilly so we headed back to the hostel. I had the full intention of going back to my bed, but after meeting some portenos (local Argentine guys) we all talked to them for around half an hour and decided to head out to a boliche. Fun fact of the night- one of them actually knows who Bryan is since he was weirdly obsessed with college football. Reaching the boliche, they then decided to tell us we needed our IDs, so we decided to just go back to the beach instead. We encountered another group of Argentine guys by a campfire, who after a few minutes of testing the waters, completely opened up to me about Argentine life/cultural dynamics between guys and girls in the city. They were a little apprehensive at first, assuming that I was just in Argentina "to party and drink lots," but after I assured them I wanted to see museums, parks, and learn the Castellano language, they were a lot friendlier.
And so went my first all nighter(!!!) where we watched the sun peek out of the sky on the beach. Highlight of the weekend was walking back to the hostel and hearing Levels play out of a beach boliche at around 5.30 in the morning. All of this was helped by lots of mate, which I sipped on throughout the whole dinner.
Saturday:
Saturday I woke up absolutely dead, only able to spend about 2 hours at the beach where the sun and exhaustion had be back in my bed before I knew it. Lots of group napping and resting later, the group again had a joint/family dinner of an "American Breakfast," consisting of scrambled eggs and tomatoes, toast, mimosas, and potatoes with bell peppers and onions.
After a good meal and better conversation, me and Christy retired back to our beds until around 1am. Venturing out to the boliches, we realized that everything was going to be a 50+ pesos fee, which in the end just wasn't worth it. We went (again) to the beach, where we encountered the same beach boliche that was playing music so early the morning before.
Six of us went into the club, where there was strictly Argentine music and rhythmic dancing, and a huge young crowd who all seemed to know each other. Definitely one of the more true Argentine cultural experiences of my trip, it felt like we were invited to someone's summer party versus a random bar dance floor. I retired back to the room at around 4.30am, wanting some sleep before having to get home the next day.
Sunday:
A lazy Sunday, we woke up and checked out by 11am, heading out one last time to the beach. I finally got a SUPER PANCHO!!!!! which are these giant (I mean giant) hot dogs that have papas fritas as a topping layer for less than 4 bucks. We then hopped on the Plusmar Micro bus back to the city, where I slept for half the time and read some more HP.
I was so excited to return home to someone cooking me a meal, that I was a bit sad when I realized our house mom had left for the country that day/night. Jess and I cooked our own pasta, and had an unexpected guest of her nephew staying at the house with some friends. My only discomfort with that whole situation was that he pointed us the items in the fridge in which Gabriela left us food for the weekend, but then proceeded to eat the empanadas we were saving for lunch the next day. Also, I'm convinced he used my soap. So now I have to buy a soap plastic box/container (all of 1USD but still) so no one else uses any more of my toiletries in the house.
All in all it was an AMAZING weekend of getting closer with friends, experiencing a new place, and loving the beach. Hopefully I got tan..
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