So for the most part, I was confined in my room/bed this weekend due to a bug that's been going around my classmates/house brother. It wasn't a flu or cold per say, just achy exhaustion. Needless to say, I am more than ecstatic to be done with it, and even walked most of the way home today to take pictures of the city's graffiti.
Friday (not said día)
We were forced to be up at the crack of dawn to get downtown to Retiro, where we finalized our student visa process. I am now a temporary student citizen of Argentina! (which means- cheaper flights to Patagonia! Said flights were then 500 dollars. Eff.) After spending an hour and a half waiting in lines and turning in paperwork (torture) the ISA students in my specific class decided to go out to breakfast to reward ourselves for the long morning. Our teacher knew we were going to be late, so we decided to milk it and get a real breakfast for once. Most of Argentine culture sees breakfast as two crackers and some marmalade/dulce de leche and a shot glass size cup of coffee. Filling.
Elisa got a true American breakfast of scrambled eggs with ham and toast, Adam got some kind of chocolate muffin/hot chocolate, and I was way too excited for my yogurt and cookies. Well. #thirdworldproblems. My yogurt and granola came out, and as I was ready to take a bite, I noticed the granola moving. Actually, several little beetle things moving around in the granola. I quickly got the attention of the server, very crankily, and she came out with not only a new yogurt cup (sin granola) but also toast, marmalade, and buttercream con gratis. Turned out to be a fantastic breakfast after all.
Friday afternoon and all of Saturday I was confined to the dungeon of my room, watching Lord of the Rings and trying not to be too upset I missed out on a full night/day of activities.
Sunday (el día perfecto)
Sunday more than made up for the lack of action due to being enferma. Belen, an Argentine student I met at Cal, invited me and two friends out on her boat near the river of Tigre. With her family and some Brazilian friends, we set out on the river for a lazy afternoon.
It was not only wonderful to get out of the city, but to be on a boat, in the middle of a gorgeous river, on a gorgeous day. BUENISIMO. We jumped off the roof of the boat/yacht into the river, which had such a strong current that we needed to grab onto a lifesaver attached to a rope in order to not float away downstream- comparable to the time I tried to swim across the Colorado River on my junior year trip in HS when Curtis, Austin and I made it across but had to hike 10 minutes back just to even get parallel to where we started.
After good food, conversation, and sun, the day dwindled and too soon we were heading back towards the harbor. It was like a fleet of vacationers heading home once the sun went down, a cool sight for a foreigner to see. After dark, we were quickly hauling ass back to the city, in order for her Brazilian friend to make it to his flight on time (literally at one point we were going 90 on a side street... when in Argentina...)
He made it to the airport sin maletas, but Belen's cousin was retrieving them at the same time as we were dropping him off. Basically just your average logistical nightmare. I was stressed and I had nothing to do with the situation whatsoever (ma- I know you're stressed just reading this). After a bittersweet farewell to a beautiful day, Belen and I agreed to hang out some more while I'm here, and too soon was I walking back home to my apartment.
Today was a typical day of school, and I hope tomorrow I can explore this fountain/park that we passed on our way out of the city (really close to my house- think 20 min walk). Chau for now and besos a todos!
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