Hi everyone!! Again, the days just get so busy that I'm struggling to keep up with the updates! (Just see it as no news being good news..)
The week was pretty similar in terms of school, although we got a different profesora since the one before was only a sub until our actual teacher was feeling better. She's a really cool person, but not exactly a great educator. She's very disorganized, and while I hate to sound like such a nerdsnob, I'm here for only four months to learn Spanish, so luckily she's only here for another two weeks before we switch trimesters again.
Past that though, my speaking has greatly improved, and I find myself barely pausing when conversing with my house mom.
Tuesday I celebrated Valentine's Day with my housemate by getting ice cream at the heladeria where we've become friends with the vendedor. A nice additional surprise was getting the package from Bryan I'd been waiting for, filled with way too much candy and gifts. Wednesday I went to a park and laid out with my housemate and another kid from our program, which was a nice break from the monotony of my room. It just gets so hot that I feel incapacitated to do anything in the early afternoons!
Friday:
Friday was our midterm, and it was a bit harder than I had anticipated, primarily since I don't think our profesora prepared us very well. (I even had to actually sit down and study for it, not just converse with a manicurist like last time haha). Afterwards to reward ourselves, I met up with a few girls at 878 Bar, known for it's cocktails and whiskey. It was really cool because originally a speakeasy bar, there was no inclination it existed other than the 878 address next to a large door. Upon entry, the place was filled with Argentines finishing dinners and starting cocktail hour, with solely Spanish music in the background.
After a strong whiskey/ginger ale concoction in a side booth at the front, we went towards the back where ANOTHER secret door led to an entirely different bar! There we sat at the bar for a while, talking over expensive but good drinks until the hour reached 230 and it was time for me to call it a night. I knew this weekend would be a busy one, and I didn't want to throw all my eggs in one basket.
Saturday:
Saturday was a lazy day, where I meandered through Palermo Soho, window shopping for a good thirty minutes on my walk to lunch. I met up with the girls that decided to stay in the city for Carnaval weekend at California Burrito Company (CBC), the South American version of Chipotle. Most of the program traveled to Gualeguaychu, Uruguay, or a couple adventurous peers to Rio for the Carnaval festivals. After my expensive Patagonia ticket, I didn't really care to spend money to travel outside the city for the long weekend. I'm becoming more and more thankful as this weekend continues, since I'm able to see different parts of the city as well as catch up on some sleep I've been needing.
One of the things that has been giving me some trouble in Bs As is the food that my house mother cooks. I love her to death and my apartment is adorable, but her favorite ingredients are oil, grease, and cheese. I finally reached my apex of tolerance Saturday night, when I was served orange paste, a grease ridden fried chicken, and a "salad" that consisted of more oil than vegetables. I know it's rude not to finish your plate here, but I finally had to explain to her that my body just can't handle that much fried and greasy food. I'm hoping that after that disastrous meal (I posted pictures, try not to vom) she can give me something a tiny bit healthier. I hate sounding like a #whitegirlproblems advertisement, but it's getting hard to stand the added pounds of sugar, butter, and oil to the meals.
Sunday:
After waking up, a group of us girls headed to San Telmo for the day/night. San Telmo has one of the best Sunday markets, stretching for miles on one street in the barrio. I bought souvenirs for me as well as gifts for friends, and walked aimlessly through the market for a good few hours. After our legs couldn't take any more, three of us stopped in a restaurant for a late afternoon lunch/dinner combination. I realized how much the last night had upset my stomach when even the light dressing on my salad caused me to be slightly nauseous. We then met up with two girls in my program and shopped until they closed up at 5pm.
Among my purchases was a mask, which I hope to be using tonight at a Carnaval mask party at the bar above CBC. After shopping, we stopped at another speakeasy-type bar (I'm really beginning to like them) called the Puerta Roja, signified only by it's red door on a street in San Telmo. Upstairs they had a great happy hour and great music, and since it was only 630 we were pretty much the only people there.
After 2x1 pints, we headed out into the streets to find the Carnaval Porteño, the street parades that take over avenues in each of the barrios of the city. Probably one of the top nights to date, we watched as locals danced in costume to drums and singing in a wide street of San Telmo. It is customary to have espuma fights in the streets, where children and adults attack one another with foam in spray-can canisters. Becca and I bought one each for ourselves and ran up and down the parade foam fighting with other locals. Drenched and happy, we headed home at around 10pm, exhausted yet satisfied from a great day. My camera died so I'm going to wait for my friends to post photos online and then upload better ones of the parade tomorrow or Wednesday.
Today I'm just hanging out at my apartment, feeling pretty tired from yesterday and hoping to rally for the Carnaval parties tonight. I'm just really looking forward to wearing my mask...
Who's Bryan?
ReplyDeletelol
xo,
Dad