Saludos de South America

Buen Finde

Buenas noches! It's my second to last Monday in Buenos Aires and I'm sort of not okay with that. Don't get me wrong I'm ecstatic to go home and see friends, family, and get out of this godforsaken living situation (my abuela, house brother, and house brother's friend are currently having a yelling "conversation" while two tv's are blasting different shows), but I truly am sad about leaving this city :(

It's all sort of hitting me now, especially when after school today, both the lady who works at the natural foods store AND the fruit stand guy near my school asked me when I was leaving, and that it was way too soon for me to be going. The natural foods lady (I really do have to get her name- I see her just about every day and she's even given me some of her home-made treats behind her desk) was super sad to realize that it will be less than two weeks until I'm saying "chau" to one of the greatest experiences I've had thus far.

Because of the immediacy of my departure, I've made a pact with my friend Kerrie to do just about anything and anything that would be on my Buenos Aires bucket list before I leave. This last weekend was a great time, balancing going out and exploring the city.. hitting up bars, still making Latin American friends wherever I go, browsing the market and enjoying Recoleta, and heading out to visit Plaza de Mayo, Puerto Madero, and the Ecological Reserve of the city.

Friday

After school I headed to happy hour with Kerrie and Shawna, and we agreed to make plans for later that night after eating with our host families. Side note: my meals still haven't improved, although Gabriela brought oranges for us to eat in the mornings- WOOHOO.

We planned on meeting around 12, and so there I was at 1215 alone at a bar in the city. Feeling pretty cool. Basically we went to the Roof, upstairs from the wanna-be Chipotle, California Burrito Co. Since it was still "early," the table right next to me was filled with the owner, an accountant, and two waiters/bartenders discussing their business. The owner was an elderly man from believe it or not, Colorado, who asked me why I was alone and where I was from.

Upon finding out I was stuck waiting for friends and lo and behold from California, he promptly said a drink was on him and introduced me to a bartender. The bartender introduced me to his girlfriend, who was sitting with about 10 other people, and the rest was history. I enjoyed a fantastic half an hour with guys from Ecuador and Argentina, along with Luz (the girl) and her girlfriend from the city. The waiter was from Peru, bartender was from Brazil, and I ended up having a lovely conversation with Luz, all in Spanish.

Finally my friends showed up, and we quickly progressed the night as free drinks kept coming are way thanks to my new bartender friends. I was amazed at how friendly everyone was, and it wasn't just because of the alcohol. People surprise you in this city, and instead of being a snobby porteña, Luz completely took me under her wing, introducing me to practically the entire bar.

We then headed out to a shot bar, called Chupitos, where a disgusting Harry Potter shot (it was on fire which was cool) and a smooth Bob Marley shot later, I decided to call it a night. I wanted to be productive with my weekend, and didn't really care to spend my entire Saturday between my bed and the bathroom.

Saturday

I needed to buy some last minute souvenirs for family members and well, myself, so Kerrie and I headed to the Recoleta market that's held every Saturday and Sunday in front of the cemetery. I was able to purchase an ornament for my parents, hand made soap for me and my host mom, and glass earrings as well as some gifts I don't want to say on the blog for my family reading...

It's finally fall in the city, and the weather has been PERFECT. Mid-60s, sunny and crisp, and it's so pleasant to finally be out of the muggy weather- it's like a breath of fresh air. We shopped around for 2 or 3 hours, and not wanting to go home, we walked down Las Heras just looking at all the cool buildings. We even walked right past Austria, where my parents and I stayed in our Recoleta hotel. Recoleta has become my favorite neighborhood, probably due to its glamorous stores, beautiful architecture, and relaxed atmosphere.

We found a cafe on a street corner in front of a beautiful but eerie closed down hospital, and marveled at how wonderful life is. Even though I know it's normal in Starbucks, I will miss the culture of sitting for hours at a cafe or restaurant without being rushed or hurried out by the staff. Afterwards, I walked home, just as the sky became dark. Because I had gone out the night before and Sunday was about to be another big day, I curled up and watched my recently "free-trial purchased" Netflix account- Because it's the Argentine version, there are a lot different selections for watching. Which turns out good and bad in certain cases.

Sunday

Sunday, Shawna and I met Kerrie on the subway, and we headed to Plaza de Mayo to begin our day. The Casa Rosada (basically the Buenos Aires "white house" but pink) was for the first time I had seen open, so we spontaneously decided to check it out. We didn't want to wait a full hour for a tour around the upstairs, but it was cool to see the building up close and meander through the downstairs area.

Afterwards, we walked down through Puerto Madero, the beautiful newly-upscale barrio of Buenos Aires. The whole weekend had been de-ja-vu of what I had seen with my parents, which definitely made me yet again so thankful I was able to share my semester with them :)

Randomly, between Puerto Madero and the Ecological Reserve/river, there was a huge market going on, with tons of parilla vendors and street sellers. It's hard to explain, but the whole experience of today was exactly how I pictured Buenos Aires would be before I got here. Open meat markets, live Argentine music/bands, the entire jungle/marshes of the Ecological Reserve.... it was such a rich epicenter of culture, and I was so so pleased we discovered it (although perhaps a little late).

We meandered through the market, finishing our strolling with a bike rental in order to ride around the reserve. The reserve was beautiful, and such a nice breather from the boisterous city life. We stopped at a beach, but upon encountering so much garbage and lack of serenity, we decided to keep moving and rest while munching on some carne sandwich.

We returned our bikes just under the hour time limit, and headed off to share a chorizo de bife, with as many condiments/toppings as our hearts desired and some papas fritas from one of the vendors. Our meal was complete with live music, all in Spanish, and probably one of the better afternoons of my trip whilst being here.

Afterwards, I jumped on the subway home, and still couldn't help but realizing that it would probably be one of my last rides on the Subte D line. I think I'll be ready to go home in 12 days (wait.. only 12?! maybe not), but I have so much appreciation for this city now that I wish I could have given myself in the first few weeks when I was experiencing my bout of culture shock. We have a 4 day weekend coming up, which is so perfect for my last weekend in the city.. I'll try and get a blog in before my final goodbyes (ahhh so weird so weird) but chau for now!