I'm back :-)

It's been a little over a year since I boarded a plane to spend a 6 months in my home away from home, Argentina. While the journey was filled with its fair share of highs and lows, I wouldn't change it for the world. In fact, if given the chance when the opportunity arises, I will head back (with my soon-to-be-husband!). Who wouldn't want to trade freezing rain for 90+ degree weather?!

Until that day, my new coasters of Buenos Aires will have to suffice. After finals and graduation, I had a lot of free time on my hands (something I NEVER have). When I realized that this free time wouldn't come around for another 60 years, my creative juices started flowing. :-) The finished product (among others) was a set of coasters showcasing all of my favorite neighborhoods and landmarks in Buenos Aires! I used one of the actual maps I carried around with me, so these definitely hold a lot of sentimental value. It will be fun to reminisce of a warmer time, while suffering through the cooooold Iowa winter. 

Vamos a Decirnos Adios, Como Se Debe (Let's Say Goodbye, like We Know We Should)

For those of you that know me, I stress... When I travel it's 10 times worse. I was scheduled to fly out of Buenos Aires Tuesday night, so naturally I had my bags nearly packed by Sunday night. :-) I just needed to figure out how much of my papers I could or wanted to being back and do some last minute shopping - aka get another suitcase and figure out what I could purchase with any remaining pesos. (on a side note, I spent all of my pesos with the exception of a few cents - yay!)

Sunday I finally went to the reserva ecológica (ecological reserve) in Puerto Madero and spent an hour or so walking around enjoying the gorgeous 65 degree 'winter' weather. I ate my last choripan (grilled sausage on a bun) in costanera norte (northern coast) and found a great green space  with tons of families enjoying the afternoon. Too bad I hadn't discovered this say, 6 months ago...

Monday I went to Parque de la Memoria (Memorial Park) in the coatanera sur (southern coast) which is dedicated to los desaparecidos (those who disappeared during the dictatorship.) it was a grey day and really brought a somber feeling to the already touchy subject. (most argentines never talk about the dictatorship nor mention Menon's name.) 

Last time I was in Argentina, I never discussed this subject nor heard anyone mention it. This time around  I got a much better picture of why things are the way they are currently in Argentina, as we heavily discussed the topic in my literature and political classes. 

Monday night I went to La Bomba de Tiempo - a drum show. It was a lot of fun.. and I couldn't believe they played for 2 hours solid! Afterwards we went to someone's apartment for dinner and then attempted to go to Frank's Secret Bar in Palermo.... However the girls who wanted to go there hadn't checked to see if it was open and sure enough it was closed. Epic fail. 

Tuesday I got up and went to the aduana to get information for my senior honors project. (I almost forgot I was supposed to be researching that while in Argentina - oops!) I was able to get a lot of pertinent information, so that was wonderful. For my last meal I went to Desnivel in San Telmo to eat my last asado (grilled meat) and finished off the day by getting ice cream with Bianca. I love ice cream and Argentine ice cream is no exception. Think soft serve with hundreds of flavors and add-ins. Every shop has a few of their own special flavors, so I tried a white chocolate ice cream with orange and  cookies covered in chocolate. It was delicious and tasted like an orange dream-sickle, but better. 

Carmen and Orlando graciously picked me up at 5 to head to the airport and we arrived around 6. There was a short line to check in for Continental, but tons of people for other airlines and more would be coming later. We went to a cafe and I had my first and last (at least this time around) submarino (steamed milk that you put a bar of chocolate in to make hot chocolate) 

I made my way to migrations and the scan of my carry on luggage - there were a TON of people and about thirty 15 year old Argentine girls in front of me traveling to the US in celebration of their quince - 15th birthday. (think sweet 16) An hour+ later I was waiting in my terminal and headed home. :-)

I sat next to a young guy who was born in the US, but his family is from Buenos Aires. During the dictatorship his parents moved to New York where he and his siblings were born. (so he has an American passport) they all studied in the US and he is the only one who stayed to work here. His parents and siblings  now live in Buenos Aires. I had never personally met anyone who moved to escape the dictatorship, so that was neat. It was also nice to talk to someone in Spanish and ease into the whole speaking English deal..

I cleared customs and went to claim my luggage, only to check it in again. I had minutes to spare by the time I reached the scan for the carry on luggage and walked quickly/ran to catch my connecting flight to Chicago. (I wouldn't have run except for the fact that they had 2 last calls for my flight and I was definitely not there. So yes, I was one of those people) 

I seem to have bad luck with traveling - last time the travel agent booked my ticket from Buenos Aires to Corrientes when I was in Corrientes needing to get to Buenos Aires. When I finally arrived, Carmen and Orlando rushed me to the other airport on the other side of town and I arrived 30 minutes prior to take off. (not to mention that there was a paro - protest - that day and one of the streets that cut the city in half was inaccessible.) While Orlando went to park, Carmen took charge and helped me skip the long waiting lines to check my luggage and saw me off to the migrations area. I was definitely the very last person on my flight!

Either way, I made it home!! :-D The next 3.5 weeks will be ridiculously busy as I start work on Monday and the move back to school at the end of the third full week to start training for my CA/RA job. However I still have a lot I want to blog about, so stay tuned if you're interested. If not, thanks for reading up until this point and sharing my journey with me. I hope my posts weren't terribly boring and they shed some light on Argentina, it's people and it's culture. 

Traveling for Le$$

Who doesn´t love traveling and who doesn´t love saving money? I´m always surprised by the number of young people don´t know of some simple ways save money and still do what you wanted to do, so I thought I would share some of my tips and tricks..

If you´re a student in Argentina, you can actually use that pesky student visa we had to apply for. (Shocking, I know!) As you will quickly find out...museums, theaters, tours and other tourist attractions have different prices for residents and foreigners. However, with your student visa and residence paper you are in fact an Argentine resident :-) for example, you can visit Iguazu waterfalls for $10 instead of $25

If you aren´t a student, you can still get a discount by going on the free or discounted day of the museums. Most have a day every week that they don´t charge admission to anyone, but some only have this for students. In other cases, they have a 50% off discount on certain days of the week. Try combining this discount with the resident discount and viola - double the discount! If you tour Teatro Colon on a Monday it's half price, so only $8 or if you're a resident, $2.50

Be sure to check out the free cultural events put on by the government. (http://www.buenosaires.gov.ar/areas/cultura/) There is always something exciting to see instead of taking an afternoon siesta. 

Want to travel around the country? No problem - public transportation is great AND you can save money by using it. The colectivos that go to other parts of the country are housed in Retiro, but you can check their schedules online at Plataforma 10 or Omni Lineas

Students get a 20% discount when traveling by colectivo by showing a letter from the university saying you are a student there (certificado de regularidad), your passport & university ID card (and bringing a photocopy of both)

If you prefer flying (not advised with this volcanic ash), reserve your tickets online and go to an Aerolineas Argentinas office with your passport and visa. If you have a student visa (thus you have residency), you pay the same price as an Argentine. 

If you're planning on staying awhile, you will probably purchase a cell phone. Since 90% of cell phones here are pay as you go, you will spend a significant amount on communication. Texts to someone with the same service provider are around 50 cents and more expensive if someone has a different service provider. Calls are $1+ depending on the person's service provider, area code and if you are calling a land line - which I would NOT advice unless you have tons of prepaid credit on your phone. For calls to land lines, go to a telecabaña, as they are significantly cheaper.

However, you can sends texts for free via the company's website. For example, if Susy has a phone with personal, go to www.personal.com.ar to text her. If Bobby has claro, go to http://www.claro.com.ar/portal/car/  Most service providers also have favorite numbers (números amigos). So if you put on a certain amount of credit each month, you can call one number for free and text another for free. 

Free Things Everyone Should Do in B.A.

For those of you who don't know me, I'm a planner. I plan everything - despite the fact that you just can't possibly account for certain things. I'm also a big fan of doing everything humanly possible when I travel and thankfully these planning skills come in handy.


Over the past 5 months, I've (re-)discovered some awesome activities that everyone should do if WHEN they visit B.A. :-) Since students and tourists are constantly pouring into the country, I thought I'd share a few...


..in no particular order..

• 9 de julio and the obelisk - walk across the widest street in the world and take a picture with the famous obelisk

• Reserva ecológica and the costanera sur - take a walk down on the trails by the river and forget that you're in the city. You'll be surrounded by a variety of trees, grasses, birds and other species
• Floralis generica - the giant metal flower that opens during the day and closes at night is a must-see!

• B.A. Free Tours - the best way to see B.A. is to walk and what better way to learn about a city than to go on a free walking tour! One covers everything from congreso to the casa rosada and the other focuses on aristocratic B.A. (Don't worry, they are English tours.)
• La Casa Rosada - on the weekend, take a tour of where the president works and see where Evita once lived

• Cementerio de Recoleta - wander the city's first public cemetery, where you can see the burial grounds of hundreds of famous Argentines... don't miss out on the short tour for some of the highlights
• Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (MNBA) - Home to the largest collection of Argentina’s national fine arts, however you can also see a great number of European pieces
• La Boca - see the colorful neighborhood on the edge of the city, where the houses are painted bright colors. Don't miss out on the caminito (its most famous street)

• Teatro Colon - attend a free function every month. It's an awesome way to experience the theater. (They also offer cheap tours...)
• Ferias - San Telmo and Plaza Francia are two big ferias (craft fairs) in the city that you should visit on the weekend, but you can undoubtedly find others throughout the city - Belgrano, Palermo (Plaza Serrano), Parque Centenario

Feria de San Telmo

• Florida - not the state, but rather the street that is filled with shops, street venders and tango shows -- rain or shine
• Puerto Madero - a clean, modern neighborhood filled with tall office buildings, ships and the puente de la mujer bridge. A good place to eat an asado or get coffee with some friends 

Asado

Teatro Colon

First things first, this marks my 33rd post in the past five months - success! (Considering I only blogged 32 times in a nine month period the last time I was in Argentina.)

On to more interesting topics...Teatro Colon, which is considered one of the top five in the world. It is especially well-known for its acoustics and its architectural value. (Interesting fact: they don't use any microphones and you can hear even the slightest whisper.) A few years back, it celebrated its 100th birthday.

About a month ago, I went on a guided tour. The theater was built over a period of 20 years, due to the death of two of the three architects. (The first one died a year after starting the project and the second one was killed by his butler when the butler found out he had an affair with his wife.) Due to this, one can see varying styles of architecture within the building, depending on which architect carried out that specific project.

In 2006, restoration of the theater began. This process took 4 years, 1500 individuals and $100 million to complete. This makes sense when you consider that the theater takes up the whole city block and that it has three levels underground, which houses the tallers ... in other words, the shops needed to create everything the theater needs - costumes, wigs, backdrops, etc. (Interesting fact: everything used in the theater is made there.)

This morning, I had the opportunity to go to Teatro Colon and listen to Cuarteto Petrus for free in great seats! (More on that later) For anyone into music, they played Felix Mendelssohn: Capriccio en Mi menor; Anton Arensky: Variaciones sobre un tema de Tchaikovski, Op.35 a; José Bragato: Tres movimientos porteños; and Maurice Ravel: Cuarteto en Fa. It was neat because Mr. Bragato was present ...and because the theater is breath-taking! I'll leave you all with a tidbit of the concert. :-) 

A Successful Day

Finally - a successful day! After a not so successful Saturday, which was spent waiting and waiting and waiting, I welcomed an action-packed Sunday.

I slept in, had my cup of coffee and was off. There was nobody in the street as I waited...and waited...and waited for the colectivo. It finally came, but failed to stop for me. (crazy colectivero) The next colectivo was as equally full as the first, but I literally squeezed in. At the next stop, he let people climb on through the rear door. I´m pretty sure a majority of the riders didn´t pay, as it was impossible to reach the machine to put your coins in.

I started out the day by visiting the National Library, which in all honesty, I thought was going to be much cooler than it was. (Probably due to the fact that I wasn´t getting a tour -- only Fridays at 3pm -- and I was allowed to go to the 6th floor to ¨study with my materials¨ or the 5th floor to check out/reference books. The 6th floor was full of people drinking mate and studying and the other wing was closed, so I have no idea what was in it. The 5th floor was equally as drab...a few computers to look up reference materials, a row of lockers to put your belongings in, a circulation desk for when you wanted to get a book and a security guard who wouldn´t let you pass unless you only had your notes and the form you had to fill out to get in the library. All purses, drinks, books and other belongings needed to be put in a locker. If you wanted a book, you had to look it up on the computer and then tell the desk what book you wanted. I bet the 1, 2, 3 and 4th floors were much more interesting, but they were off-limits. It did have an interesting piece of art outside and a weird structure to the building, so I guess it isn´t all bad.

I proceeded to aimlessly walk around Recoleta, an exclusive neighborhood in BA, and stumbled upon some lovely buildings before making my way to one of the five most famous cemeteries in the world for the 2 PM tour. In 1822, the Recoleta Cemetery was the first public cemetery in Buenos Aires and is the final resting place of some of Argentina's richest and most powerful citizens - national heroes, former Argentine presidents, soldiers, scientists, writers and other celebrities - like Evita.

There are few individuals buried underground, as the majority are housed in ornate buildings. These buildings have 2 floors underground (about 7 meters) and some even have space for individuals above the main room. Many had stained glass works, but interestingly enough, they were created for the person who peers in the building from the outside. (Not for the person who looks at the window from the outside of the building.)

It was interesting seeing the graves of many of the writers that I have been learning about in my literature classes, especially Eugenio Cambaceres' daughter, Rufina, who died in 1902 at the age of 19. She was getting ready to go Teatro Colon when she fell to the floor unconscious. She was pronounced dead and thus buried, despite having only suffered a catalepsy attack. (The heart beats, but extremely slowly and the body becomes rigid.) Her grandmother (who was in France at the time) didn't believe that Rufina had died, so she hoped on a boat and arrived a few months later. She got permission to see the body and when they opened the casket they saw Rufina's hands all scratched up from trying to get out. She unfortunately died of suffocation and her grandmother had this monument made for her in the cemetery.

After the tour, I walked around the feria (artesian fair) to purchase a few things I had been meaning to get and drank mate in the plaza with some friends while taking in the different shows - a band and then Brazilian martial arts - before heading home to bundle up for the next item on my bucket-list ... an Argentine soccer game!

I've never been a huge fan of soccer, but I must say the game kept me entertained. The hinchas (biggest fans) were cheering from the moment they walked into the stadium and the atmosphere was laid-back, but you could tell the fans meant business. It was 0-0 for what seemed like forever and then the other team scored a goal. There was a 5-year old boy behind us who kept screaming profanities at the players and fans were not happy. If River (the soccer team) lost the game, they would be endanger of dropping down a league. Thankfully they got their act together, scored a goal, and the crowd went wild!! They had a few more close goals, but the game ended in a tie.

The River fans had to wait in the stadium as security escorted the visiting fans out of the stadium and into their buses. (Each stadium has a special section for visitors.) I had a lot of fun, despite not being a River fan *BOCA, BOCA* I can't believe I didn't go to a game sooner, but next time I come to Buenos Aires, I will be sure to schedule in a few. :-)

Humahuaca

We arrived Tuesday mid-afternoon and set out for the hostel. After checking in, we reserved our spots on four excursions and went exploring before dinner. At the feria artesanal (craft fair) we looked around for a bit and also tried some foods traditional of this part of Northern Argentina -- tamales and humitas, which come wrapped in corn husks.

We proceeded to take a cable car up to Cerro San Bernardo, where we got a wonderful view of the city as the sun was setting. On our way down we could see all the city lights against the dark and cloudy mountain backdrop. 

Wednesday we got up at 6am - yes, 6am - to go on our first excursion, Humahuaca. It started off by driving through the yunga forest. (Yunga means dark and closed.) I learned a lot of interesting things - half of which I can't recall because it was 12 hours worth of information, but nonetheless I will do my best to share some...

If anyone has ever studied Latin American culture, you probably know that many people suck on coca leaves - particularly in Bolivia and Columbia, but also in other parts like Salta and Jujuy. A small bag of leaves is around $2.50. It's interesting to note that Argentina doesn't cultivate coke plants. Instead, it is brought into the country illegally from Bolivia and then sold legally in northern Argentina. 

In order to cocear, the person packs 20 or so leaves between their cheek and teeth and lets them sit there - no chewing involved. Every once in awhile the person may put a bit of baking soda on the leaves to bring out the flavor. The coca leaves curb your appetite, is a natural stimulant and has nutritional value. All of our tour guides had coca leaves packed into their cheeks.

*To clarify, these people are not drug addicts. It takes 100 kilos of coca leaves and multiple chemicals to make one gram of cocaine. (In any case don't worry, I did NOT try it.)

We stopped at the Cerro de los Siete Colores (Hill of Seven Colors) and various Andean pueblos (small villages) - including Purmamarca, Maimara and Tilcara - whom still preserve traditions and customs of ancient times. I took countless pictures of old churches, adobe buildings, cardones (similar to the cactus) and the breathtaking mountain views.

For lunch, I ate more food typical of the region - milanesa de llama and pumpkin in almibar (a sweet syrup). It was delicious! After lunch I checked out some stores and found the coolest pair of slippers ever -- made out of leather and alpaca fur. The best part was that you could take the inner part out and wear them as socks in bed and the  put the outer part back on to walk around your house. Unfortunately I have large feet, especially considering the average height of Argentineans, thus they did not have my size or any size close to mine. :-( oh well it was still a fun day!

Weddings are my favorite

Once again I find myself way behind on blogging... not that there are a lack of topics to discuss - quite the opposite. Everyday blogging material seems to multiply exponentially! This weekend I'll be crossing off another activity on my bucket-list by attending a wedding in Corrientes!

Hopefully I'll have time to blog about these other events in detail, but here's a quick run-down of things I have experienced in the last month:

Feria de libros
Trip to Mendoza
Visit to Teatro Colon
Internship mishaps
College graduation celebration
Mid-terms
...and other random cultural activities

Despite saying that I enjoyed the slower pace of life here, I'm not sure I've slowed down all that much. In the city, it's easy to stay busy 24/7 and my schedule is quite similar to that in the States. Not to mention that it takes time to get around in the city - more so when there is traffic or they are protesting. (Unless your colectivero is crazy) However, public transportation is quite affordable thanks to the government subsidy, so I can't really complain.

We'll see if I can get my act together in start blogging in a timely manner. But as a fair warning, I'll be going on a week long trip to Salta and Jujuy next week, so this goal may be slightly delayed...I'll keep you posted :-)

9 de Julio Avenue and the Obelisk

So I may have mentioned this, but I´m not a blogger...I try, but Buenos Aires is a lot more exciting than sitting down to blog. :-) That being said, a lot has happened since I last blogged...

I arrived on Thursday and Orlando picked me up from the airport. I spent the day at his house with he and his wife - Carmen - and was able to relax after a long two days of traveling. We went to lunch and then Carmen and I walked around for a bit on a quest to find sandals for their upcoming trip to Salta. (Northern Argentina)

Around 6, we went to the building where they rent out three apartments for people who visit Buenos Aires on vacation. I stayed in one of them last time I was here and they are gorgeous! (If you ever visit, check them out:  www.niceba.com) Orlando and I went to the roof and I was able to take pictures of the 9 de Julio Avenue, which is the widest street in the world, and houses the famous Obelisk.

There was some random protest along the avenue, which is super common here.

It´s weird being able to look down onto different buildings and see everything - from their laundry hanging to dry to the occasional dog house.

I ended up at the Obelisk on.Friday, as I was randomly walking around the microcenter. It is 67 meters high, and was built and inaugurated in 1936. It was designed by Argentine architect Alberto Prebisch.