Back in the USA!

I am home safe and sound from a great 5 month adventure.

I will be updating the final month of my trip when I calm down, which will probably be right after New Years.

So Happy Holidays, Happy New Year.

Check out the Pictures

Just got back from my trip.

It was awesome.

I will be updating you with info in a few days, for now, enjoy the pictures.

The link is down on the left side of the page.

Whats Coming Up

Sooo....

I am leaving tomorrow morning for a 12 day backpacking tour of Argentina and Chile. I will be going to the northern provinces of Salta and Jujuy in Argentina. Then will go to Mendoza, Argentina, the wine capital of Latin America. From there I will travel to Chile, and see Santiago, Vina del Mar, and a few other places.

I will be back on the 13th of December. Look for an update then.

Be good and wish we a safe travel!

The last days of the program

Wednesday I had an oral exam for my Spanish class in the morning. I spoke with my teacher for about 10 minutes, and that was it. I came back to my house to shower and freshen up. Around 1pm I went to go hand in my final paper for my history class. The prof. was late, so we all handed them into the office. Then off to lunch with Sarah at Classica and Moderna. It was a nice and relaxing, since I had just completely finished. That afternoon I had a phone interview for a possible internship for next semester, and then relaxed and read some news. I organized a big goodbye dinner at La Cabrera, a really nice Argentine steak restaurant. As it was for the entire semester, I was surrounded by a group of girls, and had nothing to complain about. Dinner was fun, and being together with everyone was a lot of fun. After dinner we ended up at Paseo del Sol, an outdoor seating area outside one of the malls. It was just nice to hang with a bunch of people outside on a beautiful night. I left around 3am, and got to bed at a reasonable h

Thursday I slept in then met up with Kate and Elise for lunch around the Plaza de Mayo. After lunch we went and watched the Mothers walk in the plaza. It was cool to see them, and see how moving their walks are. I walked Elise back to IES, then after a little Internet walked home. I got some research done for our travels, and before I knew it, it was time to go out. I met up with Alex and Kate for a drink before dinner. Our program had organized this goodbye party at a nice place near my house. It was fun since everyone was leaving, but also made me realize how little people on the program I knew. After the party we ended up at Liquid, a bar/club. After a few drinks and some dancing, we moved to LOST, a nightclub that has hip-hop music. It was nice to hear some of that music, since you don't get much down here. I left around 4.30am, and took the bus home.

Friday I got lunch with Kate and Elise. We picked up churipan and sat in the park to eat. It was nice and relaxing. I came back and worked the entire afternoon on packing and getting ready to travel. I am tired and amazed by how much stuff I have here. I always overpack.

My last weeks in BA

Tuesday I had class during the day and did a little work in the afternoon. For dinner we met up with Elise's family and went out to La Brigada, an amazing steak restaurant in San Telmo. We had a really nice fun dinner with her family, and got to know them pretty well. Kate and I successfully made it back and forth on the bus, which was quiet a feat.

Wednesday was just a normal day of classes and getting a little work done. I started to outline my papers that I knew were due the next week.

Thursday I slept in and then got some work done on my papers. I spoke to my family for a while and talked to a few friends. I missed being home for Thanksgiving, not necessarily for the traditions (although I am dying for some turkey and cranberry sauce) but the family gathering together. I ended up going to an ex-pat bar for dinner and to watch the football games. My JETS got killed by the Cowboys, but thats how life goes. After dinner and the game, we went out for ice cream and called it a night.

Friday morning I had a presentation for my conversation class. This was for the final grade in the class, but it was not that hard for me. I choose to speak about my experiences going to the soccer games here, and did a small presentation about the history of the team. It was about 15 minutes, and I think I did well. After that, I met up with Alex to do a little adventuring that afternoon. We met up and took a train out to San Isidrio, one of the nicest suburbs of the city. We walked around for 20 minutes and found a good local place to have some lunch. After we walked around the outdoor market and neighborhood for a while. We hopped on a train back that took us next to the coast, which was nice, but not that scenic. I got home for dinner and enjoyed the meal with my host family. After dinner, I wasnt in the mood to go out crazy, so Kate, Elise and I decided to have a quiet night and go see a movie. We caught a late showing of Superbad, which was amazingly funny. It made my night. I couldnt fall asleep later that night since I was still laughing at the jokes from the movie.

Saturday I was really productive and got a lot of work done on my papers. For dinner, I met up with Elise and Kate and ended up eating Mexican food at a place close to Plaza Serrano. After dinner, we went and hung out at the residencia with our friends that live there. I left a little early to meet up Nell at a bar in Recoleta. I met up with Nell, and two of her friends from GW that were traveling, Gerawa and Dave. From that bar, after a drink, we caught a bus and headed to Nell's ex-roomate graduation party. Augustina graduated from university with a degree in psychology, which is a big deal here since it is a six year program. The party was at this cool bar and it was so full it was hard to move. Augustina's sister is our age, and since Nell knows her well, we ended up hanging out with most of her friends the entire night. After we left, we checkout out this concert that was just finishing up across the street that sounded awesome before, but the band had already left. We split a cab home and I got in bed around 5.45am.

Sunday I slept in and did a lot of reading about American news. I did some more work on my papers, and then took a nice walk in the park. I kinda just hung out at the fairs, and enjoyed people watching. I sat in on some free outdoor concerts and walked passed some fun drum circles. I got back to my house, and relaxed before finishing up one of my papers. I stayed in for dinner, since my host family had invited me to be with their cousins who were visiting. Pepin made a really good chicken and rice paella-like dish that was great, and I was able to have fun talking to the cousins.

Monday I had a review for Spanish in my class, and then went to Culture class to get my exam back and listen to a little Argentine music. After class I met up with Sarah, Lauren, and Elizabeth to go to California Burrito Kitchen for lunch. I ate so much I felt like I might explode. After lunch we did a little gift shopping on Lavalle and Florida streets, and I bought myself my last gift from Argentina. I came back to get some work done, but had to restart my computer. While it was rebooting, I laid down for a second (around 4.30pm) and then got woken up by a text message from Nell (at 7pm). I then left to meet Nell to go to a drum concert that she has been going to for a few weeks. We took the bus over to Abasto neighborhood, to find the concert. The show takes place outside a cultural center, but it looks like a run-down wharehouse. The drummers are on an elevated staircase, and the people stream into the open space to party. The concert was great. The leader of this group invented a sign language to be able to conduct the drummers and change beats, tempos, and sounds without having to yell over the music. The music went on for about 2 straight hours without stopping. They brought up a guest DJ for a little while. It was a great party, and I hope to go again.

Tuesday morning I had my exam for Spanish class, which went very well. I had lunch with Elise, then handed in my final Tango paper. After lunch, Elise and I went on an adventure to get to know the neighborhood of Belgrano. After dropping some stuff off at my apt, and then going and finding her a new suitcase, we took the bus out to Belgrano and wandered around looking at some cool stuff. After a little walking through the neighborhood, we stopped and bought a drink and just sat and relaxed in the park for a while. A stop for ice cream, and then we were back on the bus coming home a few hours later. Now, I am writing before dinner and then plan on going out to JOBS bar tonight. I have a short oral exam tomorrow morning, then I hand in a paper in the afternoon and am officially done.

With soo little time left, I am trying to do as much as possible in the time I have. So, I wont waste anymore time writing, and Ill go do something cool!

A Late Night Weekend

After lunch with Julia on Friday I did some homework then had Elise over to my apartment to make some plans for our upcoming trip. We booked all of our hostels so we knew where we would be sleeping. After dinner I met up with Elise and Liz for a drink at Rubia and Negra. Nell and Jane stopped by for a little, but Elise had to leave to go meet up with some other friends and Liz was going to spend some time with her boyfriend, so I walked and then took a bus to the residencia to hang out with some friends there. Once there I realized that we were going out to a club for a girl on my programs birthday. We got there around 2am, were able to cut the line (not sure how) and got in quickly. The club was really fun, and had an outdoor patio area right on the water. It was a beautiful night so it was nice to dance and be outside. We were there a long time, and Elise even showed up to meet us there. We left around 5am, and Sarah Lauren and I decided we wanted some food. We hopped into a cab and asked him to take us to a cafe that was still open. We ended up only a few blocks away from their building, but it was the worst food I have had since in Buenos Aires. By the time we left, I got home around 6.35am as the sun was fully out for the morning. As I walked in a ran into my host father reading the newspaper and enjoying his morning coffee. He said good-morning, I said good-night and went off to bed.

Saturday I got some work done for my classes and relaxed. I watched Argentina's World Cup qualifying game against Bolivia which they won 3-0. For dinner I met up with my friend Raija for dinner at this really good Indian place. After dinner she went to finish some homework and I took a bus over to Plaza Serrano to meet up with some GW kids to celebrate Deepa's 21st birthday. We all met at Congo, a very cool upscale bar with a cool outdoor patio. I had a fun night there talking with GW kids that I had not really known well before. I split a cab home with some people and got home around 4.20am. It was another long night.

Sunday I woke up early and got more reading for classes done. After some lunch I met up with Nick to go to the Alamo, an ex-pat bar that shows all the football games. I went and had a blast watching the JETS beat the Steelers in a great close game. We ended up staying for the first half of the patriots game that night as well. I got home and was exhausted from a later weekend.

Today I handed in a paper and took my final exam for my culture class. I have a few papers to write, a Spanish exam next week, and a presentation Friday and then I am done till next semester. This semester is coming to an end, and it all seems very fast. Hopefully Ill get a better grasp of it this week.

Also, everyone be safe if you are traveling this week for Thanksgiving!

The Last Few Weeks

October 22-28
The week was pretty standard. Ive realized that I have so accustomed to my schedule that it has become a routine. Good and bad I think. But it definitely means that I have fully adjusted to living here.

Friday we attempted to go to a polo match. We bought tickets, got all dressed up, rented a car, drove an hour outside the city to the country club, to get there and find out that the game was postponed due to wet field conditions. Once we got back to the city Alex, Elise and I went and sat at an outdoor restaurant and had a drink to relieve the frustration. I went back to my room to take a nap around 6pm. I woke up when Elise called me at 10pm. I had slept through dinner and was very confused. After figuring everything out, I went and got a quick bite to eat and left to meet up with Elise and her friend Erika at a Halloween party hosted by two Chilean guys they were friends with. After I finally got there, since the apartment was in a far away neighborhood, I had a great time. I was not wearing a costume, and everyone else was, so I stole some accessories and just wore giant sunglasses inside and made it work. I was really impressed by how serious the Chileans and Argentines at the party took the costumes...they were dressed up very nicely.

That weekend was quiet since Elise, Kate and Alex went to Uruguay and Nell and Jane went to Iguazu Falls. I relaxed and got some homework done Saturday afternoon, and then went out to dinner with Deepa. It was nice to catch up with her. After dinner I called it an early night since I was really tired.

Sunday was election day, so I woke up early and wandered around for a while to get a sense of what was going on. I was disappointed when i could not find a political rally or protest, but found out that they happen much later that night usually. It was an exciting day to walk around, there was a buzz on the street from election day. That night I went out to dinner with Elise, Alex and Kate to hear about their weekend in Uruguay. We went to the Hard Rock Cafe, and the food was amazing. Went back home and got ready for the coming week.

Week of Oct 29-Oct 4
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were mainly occupied by school and gearing up for Halloween. I had some ideas for costumes, but they really didn't pan out. I ended up going to a costume store and finding a very funny hat that I would use as a costume. I had a hat of a chicken on my head, then taped the word "pollo" meaning chicken on my chest. I walked around the entire night of Halloween just clucking at people on the street, our waitress, and our friends at the bar. We went to a party hosted by a girl on our program who's birthday was Halloween. She rented out a small bar, and played all our American music. The crowd was mostly people from our program, and a few Argentines that were invited. The dancing was great, and it felt like it could have taken place in America. I had a great night, and didn't get home till 6.15am as the sun was coming up.

The next two days were quiet, partly to recover from Halloween. That weekend we out to dinner at Rubia and Negra, a sushi/micro-brewery. We had a nice meal, then walked over to Bar Gran Danzon for a few drinks. We met some interesting people, and had a nice sociably night.

Nov 5-Nov 11
Wednesday night I met up with Nell for drinks before dinner. We had to catch up, it had been a few days since we had talked. I stayed in that night, since I knew I had a lot of work do to the next day.

Thursday was spent writing a paper and figuring out scheduling for next semester at GW. Since I am considering a 5 year program as well as taking another semester off, scheduling was tricky so I could have all options open come the fall.

Friday morning started off really stressful with class registration, but by the end of the day worked itself out. I went to class later, and met up with Elise for lunch at a Mexican restaurant. After lunch we had a impulse to go see a movie. We saw "Mujer de mi pesadillas" (women of my nightmares) which in America is called Heartbreak Kid with Ben Stiller. It was really funny and a perfect Friday afternoon comedy. That night after dinner I went over to Santiago's apartment for a birthday party of his. I met all of his friends and had a nice time. After a little while I met up with Nell and a few friends from GW at a bar. A few hours later we were off to a house party of a friend of a friend. It ended up being a great party, in an apartment that had cleared out all furniture and had a legitimate DJ. After a fun night at the party, I got home around 4.30am. It was a really long day, from 9am registration to 4.30am partying, but well worth it.

Saturday night I went out to dinner with Elise at La Brigada, an amazing steak restaurant that has such great Argentine authenticity. When they serve you the steak, they cut the portions with a spoon, just to show how tender the steak is. After dinner we went and hung out at the residencia (dorm) with our friends. No one was really going out, but just hanging out on a couch talking was really fun.

Sunday I met up with Kate and her parents to go to a Boca Juniors game. The game was great, and Boca won 4-0. After the game I went to Palermo to meet up with my friends Julia who had just gotten into Buenos Aires that night, and we went out for dinner. I finally got back to my room and fell right asleep since I was exhausted after a busy weekend.

Nov 12-Today
Monday night we all went out to dinner with Kate's parents. We went to a very local small parilla for great steak in the old neighborhood of San Telmo. After a full meal and a few bottle of wine, it was a great success. I got back around 1.30am from dinner, and had to wake up early the next morning for class!

Tuesday after classes I went with Elise to find a cafe we wanted to try for lunch. I called Julia, since she was living at a hostel close, and she came for the search. We finally found the cafe, and I had a Cesar salad, that I had been craving for so long. After lunch, I walked back with Julia and explored the neighborhood. I then finished my Spanish paper that I had been putting for a significant amount of time.

Wednesday after class I caught up reading all of the news that I had missed in America from the last week. I was planning on going out, but then realized I was way to tired anyway.

Thursday I woke up early since I knew that I had to get a lot accomplished. I met up with Elise an we walked over to the airline companies office to book our flights for our traveling plans in a few weeks. After some confusion, we realized that we had to go to immigrations to pick up our temporary residency visas, since the paper receipt that we had would not work with the Airline to get the reduced fair for Argentines. Elise and I walked over the immigrations, and waited for an hour until we finally got our temporary residencies. These papers were very helpful, since we get reduced airfare, and a bunch of other benefits while traveling. After immigrations, we returned to the airline to finish up there. After lunch, we had a spontaneous feeling to see a movie, so we went and saw Knocked Up, which was translated as "Illegitimately Impregnated" It was funny, and I really enjoyed it. After the movie, I went back home to relax a little before Elise and I met up again to go to the grocery store. We were picking up ingredients for dinner, since we were cooking dinner for the group and Kate's parents apartment that we had to ourselves for one night. Elise and I made a feast: French Onion soup to start, then Sauteed Chicken, Spinach Linguine and Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Onions. For dessert we had Elise's homemade cookies with some ice cream. I was so full I couldn't move.

Friday I slept in and met up with Julia for lunch. Then I came back here to update this blog.


Ill try to be a little better at keeping this up to date.

I only have two more weeks of classes before I travel! I can't wait!

I am alive....dont worry!

Procrastinating writing a paper due tomorrow. As soon as I finish that I PROMISE that I will update the site.

Sorry for being so lazy and not updating.

Coming soon.....

Pictures are Up

Check out pictures from Spring Break in Brazil!

Click on the link to the pictures on the right side of the page!

The Last Few Days

After leaving Dad at the airport, I took the bus back to Buenos Aires and got back to the apartment. A few friends came over and we ordered in take out Chinese and brought in some beer. We spent the night hanging out and enjoying the relaxed college environment of hanging out in an apartment. A little later, Jane, Nell and her new roommate Erica came over to hang out as well.

Thursday I slept in later, checked out of the apartment, and then had lunch with Santiago. I spent the afternoon on the computer just catching up and surfing the web. I also started look at classes for next spring semester, but the GW website was giving me problems. After dinner with Patricia I went to bed early.

Friday I had class in the morning, then continued working on classes for next semester. Then I talked to some friends at home before I went to lunch with Nell. After lunch I talked to Blaire and a few other friends then sat in the sun for a little and read. I came back took a nap, and had dinner with Patricia. After dinner I met up with Jane, Nell, and Elise to go to a house party of an Argentine that Jane and Nell had met in Rio. It ended up being a fun just relaxed chill environment, and we were there until 2, when we left to go to Macarena’s party (Nell’s host sister). That party was soo much fun again, and we rocked out to some great music and a good party. I got home around 5am, and passed out quickly.

Saturday I slept in late and read in bed for a while. I got up, went to lunch, checked some email, and then made my way to the park to sit outside in the beautiful weather and read. Later in the afternoon I did some research for travel plans….and then got myself ready for going out. Elise, Alex, Sarah, Lauren, and I met up for Mexican food at a restaurant in Palermo. It was a great time. After dinner we hung out in their residencia for a little before going out to Plaza Serranno. After hanging at a bar, we made our way to La Francia, a club we knew of downtown. It ended up being another really fun party, with great music and really cheap drinks. I got back around 4.45am, and fell asleep rather fast.

Sunday I slept in, read in bed, and then made my way to lunch at a café with wireless access. I am eating here and doing some online work with Elise, before we go over to Alex’s apartment to watch a polo match on TV. Life is good.

Dad's Visit

Thursday I met him at the airport, took a cab back to the city, and moved into our apartment for the week. We left for lunch at went to Café Tortoni, a really old classic café in Buenos Aires. After lunch we explored the Plaza de Mayo area, Palacio de Congresso, the obelisk, Teatro Colon, the Jewish Temple, my school, and UBA Medical School. We went back to the apartment to crash and rest before dinner. For dinner we had a nice meet and greet at my host families apartment. Wine and empanadas were served before we all headed out to dinner.

Friday we woke up and got touring early. In the morning we saw Recoleta Cemetery, the Law School, the Flower, and the Museum Bellas Artes. For lunch we went to Bengal, and enjoyed a 9 course lunch. Later we toured around Plaza San Martin, Avenida Florida, and then walked back through Recoleta to see the old mansions. For dinner we went to Milion, and then Elise met us there later for drinks.

Saturday we took a bus to Mar del Plata and after getting into our little hotel room, walked around and explored the city a little. We went out to a nice seafood dinner then crashed early since we were really tired.

Sunday we started the day at a bakery called Boston, which my host family claimed had the best medialunas and scones in the world. After an amazing breakfast we spent the day walking along to coast and enjoying the beach, sun, and beautiful weather. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant on the side of the beach somewhere along the way. For dinner we went to a seafood restaurant recommended by our hotel, which was located in the residential areas of the city. After another amazing dinner, we walked into some people from my program on the street, and ended up all going out to the bar district for some drinks after dinner. We took a cab home around 2am, after a great and full day.

Monday we had to wake up early to catch our 8.15am bus back to Buenos Aires. In the afternoon, we explored some of the park areas in Palermo and enjoyed the nice spring time weather. For dinner, we went to Cabana las Lilas, the best steak place in the world. After dinner we walked around Puerto Madero for a while, then went back and crashed.

Tuesday we made the trip up to Tigre. After walking around the city for a little we found a restaurant on the water for lunch. Later that afternoon we took a boat tour around the delta region, and then took that same boat back to Buenos Aires. It dropped us off at a marina along the coast really far away from the heart of the city. We walked along the coast for about 45 minutes, then hailed a cab back to the area of the city I knew well. Later that night we went to Casa Cruz for dinner, and then some drinks at Plaza Serrano.

Wednesday we slept in a little, and Dad finished packing. For lunch we went to Classica y Moderna Libros, then to Volta for ice cream afterwards. Then we took a bus to Plaza San Martin, bought a few gifts and then hung out in the park for an hour. We took the bus home, got any last minute stuff together, then waited for the taxi to be downstairs to take us to the airport.

Back to School - At least for 3 days...

The next three days I was swamped with school work since I was taking the next week off while my father was visiting. I finished a paper due the next week and handed it in early. I finally finished all my work Wednesday night and was excited for Dad to come in Thursday morning.

Spring Break- BUZIOS BRAZIL!!!!

Our vacation started off a little different then expected. Our flight to Curitiba was delayed two hours, therefore not allowing us to make our connecting flight to Rio later that night. After talking to the airline staff, we were transferred to a direct flight to Rio that was boarding that moment. We ran to the other side of the terminal and got onto the plane with hand written tickets. The plane took off shortly afterwards, and we were in the air on our way to Brazil.

Once we arrived, we found our luggage did not make it to our direct flight, and that our luggage had arrived in Curitiba aboard our original flight. We filled out some paperwork, and the airline told us they would send us our luggage when it arrived.

We got onto a bus and started the drive to Buzios. Even though we only got to see Rio from the bus, it was a magnificent city, and very beautiful. We arrived to Buzios in the afternoon, and after settling down in our hotel, headed out for a much needed lunch.

We decided on a restaurant on the main street in town that had a little eating deck onto the beach. After a fresh fish and a drink, I was feeling much better, and was enjoying the view onto the beautiful water. After lunch we all walked around the town and explored the area a little. Later in the afternoon we took a nap, since our overnight flight had made us all very tired. After sleeping a little, we felt much better, but were not too hungry. We walked into town and found a crepe restaurant and had dinner there. It was perfect, since a light but sweet dinner hit the spot. After dinner we headed to bed early and decided to start our adventures the next day.

The next morning Kate and my luggage arrived at the hotel, although Elise was still missing hers. The included breakfast at the hotel was grand: coffee, tea, a fresh bread basket, fresh jam, and a plate of fresh sweet fruit. We walked into town and bought some towels and sandals before getting a water taxi to take us to a beach for the day. We arrived to Tortaruga beach shortly thereafter and set up camp in some chairs under umbrellas that belonged to one of the many restaurant/bars that populated the beachside. The chairs were a service to customers, and buying one drink at the restaurant paid for the use of the chairs. We spent the entire day on the beach-swimming, sunbathing, walking along the coast. At the beach, there were guys walking up and down the beach trying to sell stuff. Anything you could want while lying at the beach was available: towels, hats, and blankets. On top of that, there was a good selection of food: fresh corn, fresh oysters, and ice cream. For lunch we ordered a shrimp dish from the restaurant. By 5pm, we were ready to leave, and the water taxi came to pick us up. I was definitely red from the day in the sun, but little did I know that I would burn from only one day in the sun. I bought some aloe vera on the way home from the beach. After a little nap in the early evening, we went out to dinner at a Thai food restaurant. After dinner we checked out Mix Bar, a little bar on the beach with live music. We stationed ourselves on a table on the sand, and danced the night away to the live samba music. On the way home we stopped for ice cream, at a self serve ice creamery. It was glorious.

The next day we woke up a little earlier and decided to take a boat tour of the area. We boarded the catamaran boat around noon after some shopping in the morning and took off. The boat tour included going to a few beaches, snorkeling, and drinks on the boat. I ended up befriending some of the other people on the boat, and had a great afternoon. After the boat we headed over to a local burger shop for lunch. In the afternoon we took a nice relaxed walk to a beach on the other side of the peninsula. After getting back after dark I read and relaxed a little while the girls did some shopping. For dinner we went out to a Sushi restaurant. It was amazing, since the fish was so fresh. After dinner, we went to Mix Bar again, but on the way there, Alex and Elise made friends with some locals in one of the shops, and after they got off work, we met up with them to go out to another bar. This bar was filled with mostly locals and had a samba show going on. After a samba show, they opened up the whole place for dancing, and it was a lot of fun. After this bar closed at two, we all went to a hip-hop club that was open. A little later we retired back to the hotel with some new friends and a fun night.

The next day we made a nice long walk to a beach far away. When we got there an hour later, the beach was empty. Literally, we were the only ones on the beach for as far as we could see. We spent the morning relaxing and sunbathing at this beach, then walked across the island to another beach for lunch. After lunch we walked to the main road, and took a shuttle back to our hotel. From the hotel we walked north to the other side of peninsula to watch the sunset from a cute little beach. After an amazing sunset over the water, we returned to the hotel and realized there was a sauna that we could use. Afterwards, I went out on a search to find Nell and Jane, two friends that arrived that day in Buzios, but we had no way of contacting them since our cell phones didn’t work. I somehow stalked them down by asking at their hotel and searching some restaurants. We all went out for some drinks before dinner, and then said goodbye to Nell and Jane since they were very tired from traveling. We continued to a great fresh fish restaurant, and then had ice cream on the way back to the hotel.

The next day we took a full day tour from Buzios to two other beach towns near by. The bus from Buzios to Arrial de Cabo was about 45 minutes. When we arrived we boarded a boat and set off for a great afternoon abroad. We went to the first beach to snorkel and enjoy the beautifully blue clear water. Then we sailed past a grotto. The tour guide told us they had a surprise for us, and a crew member jumped into the water and came back out with fresh oysters he had harvested from the side of the grotto walls. He shucked them right for us in front of our faces and we each enjoyed one. The next stop was a little beach that had a hill, which you could rent snowboards for. Elise and I rented snowboards and enjoyed trying to snowboard down a hill of sand. The boat went back to the dock, and from there we went to lunch at a great buffet place. After lunch we checked out a few different beaches by bus, and then stopped at a shopping area for swimsuits. We got back to our hotel later that afternoon, and relaxed in the sauna until it was time for dinner. We met up with Nell and Jane for a nice fancy fish dinner. After dinner we went to ice cream, and then I went out for a drink with Jell, Nell, and Elise at the House of Rock and Roll bar.

The next day I did not go out with Alex, Kate, and Elise, and instead met up with Nell and Jane in the morning to spend the day with them. We attempted to rent a buggy beach car, but after a half hour, we realized none of us knew how to drive a stick shift well enough to actually use the car. After we worked out returning the car, we took the taxi shuttle to a beach for the afternoon. That beach was a perfect mix of quiet beach and popular hang out. The restaurant we had chairs at had a lice acoustic guitarist playing music all afternoon. We walked to another beach to watch the sunset, then parted ways to relax before dinner. That night for the last dinner in Buzios we went to a little romantic fish restaurant. After a great meal, we went to Mix Bar to enjoy the music and drink on the beach, then headed to bed.

Sunday morning we had to wake up and be ready for the bus to the airport at 6am. Once we got to the airport we were lucky and were able to change to a direct flight, and also make sure our luggage made it there with us. We got to Buenos Aires in the afternoon and relaxed before our school week would start again the next day.

Update

I will have my spring break update from Buzios, Brazil up in a few days. I have a full plate of work at the moment, so will be delayed updating the blog.

Please forgive me and check back soon.

Sunday - Off for vacation

Today I have been getting everything ready for my upcoming vacation to Buzios, Brazil.

I will be gone for a week, so don't expect any updates until I get back.

Buzios is a beach resort town two hours north of Rio. It is a peninsula that offers over 20 different exotic beaches. The main street is safe and hold some of the best seafood in the world, along with a thriving night life.

I will make sure to take tons of pictures and bring back good stories for all of you.

So have a good week, because I surely will!

Saturday - Spring is amazing!

Saturday again started with sleeping late and reading in bed until my stomach told me it was lunch time. I met up with my girls for lunch at a nice panini cafe. We sat outside and the weather was fantastic. Afterwards, I walked over to a park by Recoleta Cemetary and found a nice hill where many groups of people at set up little picnics. I laid down using my jacket as a pillow and read there in the sun for a few hours. A group of high school kids were next to me playing guitar and singing, and a couple was on the other side. It was nice to be outside and enjoy the beautiful weather.

I walked over to a locutorio, checked some email and made some calls.

By the time I got home, showered, and cleaned my room, it was almost dinner time, and I met up with Kate to walk to the restaurant which we had reservations for. Doshi, is one of the finest sushi places in Buenos Aires. The meal ended up being absolutely fantastic.

Afterwards, the girls treated themselves to ice cream, but I didn't have any more room in my stomach for desert. We made the nice walk home, and by the time I got back to my room it was already 1am.

I feel asleep very easily, excited about the days ahead.

Friday - Beautiful Weather! Spring is here!

Friday started off with conversation class in the morning. Afterwards, Kate and Elise met up with me to walk over to California Burrito Company, a local copy of Chipotle which was started by two American guys. It was not as good, but it came really close, and I loved it.

After lunch, and a little more computer time, I set out with Elise to find a bookstore, since I needed to get a new book for my trip, now that I finished the one i had already bought.

We found a good bookstore, with a good section for English books. I ended up getting three to be sure I would have something to read for the entire of my vacation.

Afterwards, we walked over the Plaza San Martin, one of my favorite spots in the city, and laid in the grass and read for a little. It was peaceful. I started one of the new book I had bought.

I walked home for dinner, and then choose to stay in and enjoy Almost Famous and the 8 Mile on TV. What a night.

Thursday - Let the relaxation begin

After sleeping late, I continued to read my new book in bed until lunch time. I met up with Elise for lunch at a local Chinese restaurant that I had wanted to try for some time. At that point, i was 380 pages into my book, and 20 away from the end. By the end of the day....in 24 hours, I had finished the 400 page book. I love that feeling.

Lunch was great. I had been craving some Asian food, and this fit the bill. We started with some small pork dumplings, moved the chicken low-mien and pork fried rice, and then ended with some tea. What more can you ask for?

I walked with Elise to IES to sit and play on the computers for a while. After talking to some friends and just going through emails, I noticed that it was already 7.30pm. I walked home and took a long relaxing shower.

This was the beginning of my spring break. My exams were over, and I had freedom to relax and reflect.

After dinner I went out to JOBS, a bar not to far away from where I live. Its a giant hall with picnic style tables all over, and a few dartboards and pooltables. Its a cool place to go and hang out with friends. They also have a game room, and I saw a number of tables picking up games to play while they drank and hung out. A few tables were even playing the classics: Jenga and Sorry!

When the group decided to move to the next venue, I went home, since I knew I had to wake up early and make it to class the next morning.

I walked home and fell right asleep.

Wednesday - Test Day

I started the day off at 9am with my first exam. My Spanish language exam was the one I was most prepared for and excited to take. I wanted to show how much I had learned and how my Spanish has improved. It ended up being relatively easy, and on the same material that I spent a significant amount of time studying.

Later in the day I had my exam for Latin American history. This exam was very fair, and only consisted of three open ended questions. I wrote a few pages, and felt that I had covered all of the topics I needed to discuss and handed it in and left early.

Feeling great and finished with exams....I wandered the city for a little and enjoyed the sense of freedom. I wandered into a bookstore once I realized that I didn't have a book for my upcoming vacation. I have been able to really read a lot of good books here, but have finished all of the books I brought for the semester.

I found the new James Patterson book, and bought it right there, telling myself that I would save it for the beach and not start it now.

Later that night after dinner, I couldn't find anyone to go out and celebrate with me since they still had exams, and I decided to just stay in a relax. I picked up the book, compromised my own promise, and decided to start it before my trip.....

I feel asleep sometime later that night a good chunk into the book.

Monday and Tuesday - Studying for Midterms

Monday and Tuesday felt liked school. I had homework and studying to do, and it got a little hectic. Strangely, this crazy feeling was nice, since this semester has been so lax.

I spend a significant amount of time reading material for exams and reveiwing notes for Spanish class. I wanted to put a lot of effort into my Spanish exam, since I knew that the more effort I put into the exam, the better my daily Spanish will get.

The two days went by very fast, and it amazed me how productive I can be. It had been a while since I had to apply myself in school, and it felt good.

Not much else to talk about, since I was mainly just studying and going to class.

Sunday - Homework Day

I wasn’t able to go to The Alamo and watch the football games since I had a lot of work to do. This upcoming week is midterms, so I guess its ok to start getting serious with school work.
I met up with Kate around 3pm, and we went to a café with a quiet upstairs sitting area with Wi-Fi internet. We ended up eating and working all day there, and it was great. I had a take home mid term exam paper for my culture class that I had to finish. We worked from 3 till about 7.30, and then took a dinner break. I ordered a steak, since I felt I was in the mood for some red meat. I wasn’t expecting anything spectacular since it was just a café, but it was actually excellent. That’s why I love this country. For 20 pesos (6 dollars) I get a great steak, just as good at one in an American steakhouse, at a random café.
By about 9.30pm we had all finished our work, and decided to reward ourselves, we would go catch a movie to end the weekend on an upbeat note. Kate and I bought tickets to see the Bourne Ultimatum. It was in English with Spanish subtitles. The movie was great, but I would have been very lost if I had to read and watch the action at the same time. I walked home and passed out since I was tired. A good weekend all in all. A busy week ahead.

Friday and Saturday - Yom Kippur

Friday I did not have class in the morning since it was Dia del Estudiante and the Primero Dia de Primavera. That being the case, all schools were off, but most adults still worked. I worked on my take-home midterm paper for Spanish Culture class that was due Monday for most of the afternoon. I went out for a lunch and read some homework while I was out. I talked to my mother for a little, and before I knew it, it was already 3.45pm. My Brazilian visa was ready from 4-5, so I decided to go pick it up quickly before I was meeting Zoe, Sara, and Sarah for our last meal before Yom Kippur at 5. I arrived at the Brazilian consulate at 4, waited online till 4.30 without anyone helping the line. At that point, I realized that I had to leave and get home to get ready for Kol Nidre. I took a cab home, hopped in the shower, and got ready as fast as I could. I showed up at Zoe’s to an almost fully prepared meal for the four of us. Some fresh bought pasta and some other torts were a great last supper. After dinner Zoe and I went off to temple at the Chabad, while the two Sara’s went to the reform temple I went to on Rosh Hashana.
Zoe and I arrived a little early for the service, and found some good seats. Since this was a religious synagogue, I sat downstairs on the main floor and she sat upstairs in the women’s section. When we arrived, the only ones already in temple were very religious black hats with beards, and I felt a little out of place. I didn’t have time to shave and clean up my own beard, but I actually felt that it might have been a good choice given the extensive beards that these good Jews were sporting.
Once more people arrived; the congregation seemed to be a good mix. People were in suits, jeans, and every other thing. Its funny since the Jews in Argentina are mostly decedents from the same people American Jews are, how similar the two groups look. The service was nice, but a little long. I felt like I knew many of the prayers and the tunes that they were sung. I don’t think that I could always go to this kind of service, but there is something nice and nostalgic about your religion when you participate very similarly with the religious when they try and be as similar to the people in the bible. IN short, it’s comforting to think that this grouping of men with hats and beards singing is the same thing that happened 1,000 years ago. I understood a good amount of the rabbi’s sermon, and it was about not making excuses and being inspired to become more religious.
After 3 hours, I was happy Kol Nidre services were over. They were serious, but still fun, since the rabbi had a great personality and a great energy about him. On the walk home, Zoe and I decided we liked it, but we would try a new temple for the next day. I tried falling asleep even though I was already feeling hungry.

Saturday - I met up with Zoe in the morning and we walked over to the new temple, the only conservative congregation I could find online. We arrived and were interrogated by the security outside. It is strange for foreigners to come, and since security is so high after the bombings at the Israeli Embassy in the 90’s, they question all non-members. After we passed the quick questioning, we entered and only found standing room in the balcony.
The service was nice, and we got seats when some people left right before Yisskor. I enjoyed this temple, but still didn’t feel like home. I don’t think Ill ever find somewhere that feels the same as the Temple I grew up in.
After services I went home and laid in bed while watching some episodes of The Office on my computer. I then took a quick hour nap, and read and did some homework. We went 24.5 hours, and broke around 6pm. We ended up just going to a great café/restaurant very near where we live. It was great. We all ate sooo much. After dinner, around 8.20pm, which is very very early in Argentine standards, we decided to break up and meet up later again to go out.
I went with Sara and Zoe to Sara’s homestay to hangout and watch a movie. She lived in an amazingly giant and beautiful apartment, and it was nice to see it. We watched Saved!, and then started to drink and chill before we met up with everyone else.
Around 12.30am, we met up to go out to a club. We split two cabs, and got there and went inside. It ended being a cool place, and after some drinking and dancing, we left around 3.45am. It was a fun night, but felt like a really long day.
I got home and was not looking forward to all the work that was ahead of me on Sunday.

Thursday - Tango Dancing Club

Thursday I slept in since I was tired from going out all night on Wednesday. My internet had come back, so I was really happy to sleep late, read in bed, and then surf the web for a few hours. I talked to some friends, which was also nice.
After getting a little homework done during the day, I made plans after dinner to go out with Kate to a Milonga, or a dance bar to go and dance tango. Both of us had an assignment for culture class to go and write about our experience. Her assignment also included asking questions and conducting interviews.
We got the address and got out of the cab. We thought we were at the wrong place. There was no sign outside the door, just looked like an abandoned warehouse door. The only signal was the number address on the door. We walked in, and followed the light upstairs and walked into a giant space of a room. We paid the 15 pesos cover charge and were brought to a table at the back of the place. When we got there, only 3 or 4 couples were dancing. These clubs are not for professionals, but just people who like to dance tango. Although there were a lot of couples, there were a good amount of groups of single men and women who come to ask each other to dance. My favorite person was this single old man sitting by himself at the table next to us. When we got there we figured he just liked watching the dance. But half way into the night, he went over, asked one of the youngest best looking girls, and danced with her for most of the night. Tango isn’t about your looks or age, it has a much deeper purer root.
The room was dimly lit and had chairs and tables made out of broken material. I was sitting on a broken office chair, with just the single metal support beam as my back rest. Kate sat on a chair which was supported by a broken crate placed underneath the cushion. Local artwork and some other random stuff were hanging from the walls. This was a real tango experience. The women at the door and the waiter seemed confused that we foreigners even found the place or knew where to go.
After a little while, the music lowered and some professional dancers put on a show for us. They were great, and showcased a few different styles of tango. Even those who danced tango themselves seemed to be very impressed. A little while after the show we left and called it a night. It was a great experience and one not many tourists really get to have.

Wednesday - BOCA JUNIORS SOCCER GAME!

I had class early in the morning, followed by class in the afternoon. After class in the afternoon I walked over to the IES Center with Elise. We had a great conversation about our favorite foods from home and our favorite memories of restaurants from our home town. After a while on a computer chillen and surfing the web, we went down to the corner for a seat outside in the beautiful weather for a café. During our little café session, I received a text from my host brother asking if I would like to go to the Boca Juniors soccer game that night. I immediately canceled my plans to go to ceramics class and told him I was down. I have been working to get to a game the whole time, and this was a great opportunity. This game, vs. Sao Paulo, was the Round of 16 in the South American Cup….a tournament for all the teams in Latin America to compete and see who is best.
I went home to see my host brother and thank him for the invite to the game. He then told me that he might not be able to come, that something had come up. I would still go with his friends, but he was a question mark. He told me to have a friend ready if needed just in case my host brother couldn’t attend. Sure enough, an hour later and 30 minutes before we had to leave, Santiago called me and told me he couldn’t come. So I called Nell and told her to leave right away to meet me on the corner in 25 minutes.
Nell and I met up with Jeronimo, Santiago’s friend who also works with him and the rest of my host family. Jeronimo is really nice, and I had met him once before. From there we took the Subte a few stops to meet the fourth, Marcelo, a friend of Jeronimo. After we met Marcelo near the obelisk, we took a cab to La Boca neighborhood about 5 blocks from the stadium. Since there are so many fans and such poor game day planning, streets any closer just get backed up and shut down.
We walked down closer to the stadium. The whole time we had been speaking in Spanish, and then Marcelo said something to us in English. Nell and I were stunned, but found out the both Jeronimo and Marcelo speak great English. For the rest of the night, we spoke only in Spanish, unless I couldn’t figure out how to say something, or they said something too complex for me to understand…it was a perfect situation.
We arrived at the bottom of the stadium, got frisked by security, and went to the little grilling place next to the entrance. We got these huge churipans, which were amazing. They are local chorizo, or sausage, grilled and then cut in half and put into a sandwich with French baguette bread. So good. We then entered the stadium and started our long trek up the stairs to the upper level.
The tickets we used to get in belonged to Santiago and a bunch of his friends. This team doesn’t really sell single game tickets. Only season tickets are available. You receive a card for the season that acts as a pass into the stadium. It is not a problem to borrow someone else’s card to get into any game. I believe we were assigned to a section, but didn’t have specific seats. We sat on the first row of the upper level, only one section away from the crazy fan section. This section is just general admission with no assignments. It is nuts. They are crazy and never stop singing the many different fight songs of the team. There is even a band of fans with drums and trombones and a few other instruments.
The stadium was great. Big enough to fit a ton of people, but small enough where every single person gets a great view of the field. This game was at a strange time since it was not the normal league that the team plays in, so the stadium was not full. Since they don’t sell single game tickets, there is no way to know when it will sell out or not.
The game was really fun. They ended up winning 2-1, but the other team scored with only 2 minutes left. It was a great experience and I was very very thankful for the opportunity.
After the game we walked for about 20 minutes away from the stadium to get away from the crowds and find an empty taxi. Nell and I took the taxi to Jobs, a bar not to far from my house. Some kids from GW were there, and supposively some other kids from GW that were traveling were also there. I figured it would be a fun time. I walked in, and who do I see? Ryan Smith and Lindsey Toner. I went to high school with Ryan Smith, and Lindsey Toner is friends with my roommates. Its just such a small world.
We stayed at this bar until it closed, and then as a group we all went to Sahara, an upscale bar in Recoleta Village by the cemetery. At night they have fun music. This place was so much fun. It reminded me a lot of the places I go out to in DC, since it was a restaurant that became a bar at night: meaning it had some small tables, a big bar, and a dance floor, but was not a club. We partied and danced away until they kicked us out around 5.20am. I walked home to my house, since it was only 3 blocks away.
Overall, it was an amazing night. I was expecting to go to ceramics class, come home, and go to bed early…..but the way it turned out was so much better.

Sorry for the late posts....here is my life

Sorry for the lack of posting. The Internet in my home has been down for almost two weeks and I am trying to fix it. If this continues, don´t expect daily updates as I was able to do before, since my access to Internet has been a little restricted. Ok, enough excuses....go ahead and read about my last week.

Tuesday and Wednesday were busy normal days....which worked out well since I needed to get back into my groove after Monday kicked my butt.

Thursday I had the day off...but still was productive.

Friday I had class early in the morning. My conversation class is really helpful since it is very small and all we do in converse for two hours. It just sucks that it has to be 9am on Friday morning. After class I met up with Elise and Kate to try and finish the application for our tourist visa for Brazil. The process was intense...they needed bank statements, pictures of us, and other formal stuff. Elise and Kate had their stuff correct, but I needed to fix a few things before they would grant me permission to get a visa. We went to lunch at Bengal...a restaurant that combined Italian and Indian cuisine. It was fantastic. So good, I was sooo full. Afterwards since I was full I went home, cuddled up with a book, and enjoyed the rest of my afternoon. After a good dinner with my host family, I met up with Nell and Sam at Temple Bar. They were running late, so I sat at the bar and asked the bartender for a recommendation with their homemade beers. He ended up giving me little samplers of 4 different types, and I was able to pick one that I actually liked. After Nell and Sam arrived we had a drink, they left for a club/lounge called The Living. This place was really cool, and I would have had a better time if I wasnt so tired. They had great 80´s music with the music videos projected on the wall. After almost falling asleep sitting and talking to my friends...I decided to call it a night, and hailed a cab home around 3.30am.

Saturday I slept in and finished my book. In the afternoon I finished a lot of homework and even starting studying for my midterms....that are creeping up next week. For dinner I went with Elise, Alex, and Kate to Casa Cruz. This hip chic and trendy restaurant was awesome. We sat on lounge couches for a little while and sipped on fine drinks before being seated. There we were given their great menu, and fresh bread accompanied with a warm buttery spread. I had a hard time trying to decide what I wanted to eat, since everything sounded so good. I choose the house special fish, since I had not had fish yet in Buenos Aires. It ended up being a white flaky fish, but was cooked perfectly tender and had plenty of flavor. Everyone´s dinner looked great and the atmosphere was delightful. After dinner I convinced the group to order a fondant (I would call it a souffle) with chocolate cake and ducle de leche in the middle with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Lets just say it was gone in 20 seconds. Although it was pricey for local standards....one of the finest meals in BA can round out to only 40 dollars. We left Casa Cruz around 1.30am and headed out for an ATM. After walking three blocks looking, we hailed a cab and asked him to take us to the closest one he knew.

From there we left for Club Niceto to meet some friends. It ends up that a band was playing, and a techno DJ was opening for him. I thought this would be a really cool experience, so we went in. It was only around 2.15am so the place was a little empty. Empty since the night was still really young. The DJ got on, and rocked the house. Some of the other people in the group didn´t have such a great time, but I really appreciated the music. The band came on around 4am. They were really really weird, but I liked it. We stayed and rocked out until 5am. A group of us left the club, and decided to walk to the hot dog stand we knew close by. It tasted great. Its not a Gray´s Papaya, buts its a damn good hot dog. I ended up getting home around 5.40am. Good night.

Sunday I woke up and laid in bed reading for two hours. It felt good to just relax. A little later I went to The Alamo to watch some football. I ended up staying there for lunch and dinner, and enjoyed the bar atmosphere and football.

Monday I felt a little bad, partly since I had been out late watching the football games. I felt much better by the end of the day, and was able to get some homework done to make the day a little productive.

Tuesday I went to class in the morning, and then finalized my visa application. After class later that afternoon, I walked over to the IES Center and took advantage of the free internet for a few hours. I did some research for some classes and read up on my political news.

Wednesday, today, I went to class in the morning and then went out to lunch with Elise. After my later class, I find myself back at the IES Center on the computers. I am going to ceramics class tonight, which should be fun, and then coming back in time to meet some friends for dinner at Rubia and Negra, a restaurant with sushi and home brewed beer. Should be a good time.

A very tired Monday

Sunday night was extremely hot, and my room had no air circulation. I slept with the windows wide open, but still had to wake up in the middle of the night to get something to drink I was sweating so badly. To make matters even worse, I had to wake up extremely early to go and apply for a student visa at the migrations office in downtown Buenos Aires. Everyone on my program entered the country on a traveler visa (which only last for 90 days). Since I will be staying longer, I had to officially change my legal status. This was a very stressful procedure. First of all, I needed to make copies of every page of my passport and get headshots before I got there. Since I had forgotten to do this ahead of time, I woke up even earlier than I needed to in order to make sure I could get those two things done before I had to be there at 7:30am. I left my house at 6am and found a photocopy place open near my house. It was still dark outside and the streets were deserted. I asked the man at the photocopiers if he knew of a store to get my headshots taken, and he said that they were generally everywhere on major streets, but that none opened until 8am. This caused a big problem, since I had an appointment for 7:30am. I ended up walking across the city towards the office of migrations, hoping for a store to be open on the way. I walked about an hour down a big street before I stopped and thought about strategy to find an open picture shop. The only place I figured would have human traffic this early in the morning would be the train and bus station, so I headed in that direction. I was right, and the area was packed. After going into a few stores and asking for help finding a picture place, I was finally pointed in the right direction to a Kodak store inside the subway station under the train station. I got there, and was delighted to find him open. I got the pictures taken, and although I was extremely happy to have found the place, the photos look like I am very close to death. I took the pictures and all the other forms I had already filled out and walked from the train station to the Migrations Office. The path was very sketchy, and at one point had to run across the train tracks. I finally arrived to the office of migrations at 7.28am. Our group had gathered outside the office until it started to rain. Perfect. We all moved to stand in line under an overhang, and then the police instructed us we had to move. We finally were able to enter the office, which was set up very similar to a DMV, meaning very disorganized and a very long wait. We had been warned that the workers in this office were very hard to motivate and that the wait could take all morning. We sat in a section of chairs and had to wait until our names were called. I waited until 10:45am when my name was called. I was also a lucky one, since they were going in alphabetical order. After giving all the forms to an officer and paying the processing fee of 200 pesos (about 60 dollars) I only needed to wait another ten minutes for everything to process. I received my temporary visa around 11:15am and was free to leave. Needless to say I felt like crap, and knew that I needed to go back to bed.

I got home, had a quick conversation with my host mom, and I am sure I must have looked like crap, since she seemed worried that I wasn’t feeling good. I told her I just needed to sleep, which is exactly what I did. After waking up from my nap later in the afternoon, I felt like a human being again. I treated myself to a late lunch of cheese and crackers while watching re-runs of The Office on TV. I am looking forward to eating dinner later, and getting a good night sleep so I can start the rest of my normal week without problems. Oh vey.

Saturday and Sunday - Are you ready for some football?

I woke on the earlier side hoping to have another relaxing day. I watched some TV, got a lot of homework done, but my internet was not working for some reason. It was very frustrating since I have been used to internet access in my room. We made dinner reservations for a Thai restaurant at night, and it ended up being a group of 9 girls and me. We walked in, and the host/owner was an ex-pat, and was delighted to talk to us in English and ask where we were from. I had been craving some thai food, and although the food was good, it wasn’t very authentic thai. Still, my craving for Pad Thai and Chicken Sate was fulfilled so I was happy. From there, we all made our way over to the convention center for a wine tasting. For 25 pesos to get in, you got a glass and traveled around the giant hall to different wine stations representing around 100 different wine brands and bodegas. It was my first time really trying to distinguish wine from another, and I don’t think I really knew what I was looking for. After two hours, we were feeling great and had a new-found appreciation for wine tasters. We left around midnight and a bunch of us walked to a hot-dog vendor from some great superpanchos (the argentine word for hotdog). I ended up going home a little later, and was home relatively early, 3am.

I woke up around noon and by 1.30pm was off to The Alamo to watch some FOOTBALL. I knew that this bar would have all of the NFL games, so I put on my Jets jersey and was ready to get rowdy. I ended up meeting a friend at the bar, but there were a ton of Americans all looking to watch the games. In very similar fashion to my high school tradition with Adam Miller and Jason Andrea at Bazookas in Bridgewater, I stayed from the first game till the last game, over six hours. There is nothing as satisfying as football, chicken wings, and burgers…..no madder how far away from home you are. After the games I went home briefly, and then left to go met Elise, Alex, and her friend Emily for dinner. I took the subway to save some money, and ended up walking a lot more than I thought it would take to get to the restaurant. Dinner was good, and by the time I got home, it was already eleven, and I was exhausted.

Friday

After getting another good night sleep, I decided to spend the majority of the day reading, studying, and getting some other random stuff done that I had been pushing off. After dinner with my family I met up with Kate and we went out to Plaza Serrano. We got a table, and sat and talked over drinks when a group of girls came into the bar. One of them looked really familiar. It ended up being a friend of mine from GW in Buenos Aires studying abroad on another program, and she was with two girls that Kate knew from college as well. Small World. Later in the night, some more of our friends from IES met up with us and we all hung around the table we had gotten earlier in the night. By 2am, we decided to move to another place, so the four of us still up to go out took a cab to Crobar, a big club here in Buenos Aires. It was pretty empty at that point, since it only opens at 1.30am, but by 3am, the place was packed and grooving. The music was crazy techno, and the centerpiece over the dancefloor was not a disco crystal ball, but a giant crystal camel. The night was a lot of fun and we left around 4.45pm. We got in a cab on the way out of the club, and after driving past a very strange looking area with women on the street that I was convinced were hookers, we looked next to our cab in traffic and saw two of our friends waving at us. These two guys yelled a name of a club for us to meet at, so we told our cab driver to follow that cab. We ended up losing them, and our driver brought us to the wrong club. We didn’t even go into this new club, and instead just walked around the corner and picked up another taxi to take us home. I got home around 5.45am. It was a good night.

Monday to Thursday

Sorry I have been late to update all this.....my internet has been very shaky.....

Monday and Tuesday nothing really happened that I can remember.....

I had a very busy day Wednesday between all of my classes. After a busy morning and one afternoon class, I have ceramics at night. Ceramics class was fun, since we started clay hand molding and tried to come up with some creative bowl ideas. I was trying pretty hard, but compared to the real art students that take the class, mine looked like a 4^th graders. I was more experimenting then producing, and I inspired some ideas in myself. After class Elise and I took the bus back to our neighborhood and went out for a late dinner. Pizza and Beer was just what the doctor ordered.

Thursday was my day off from school and I used it to relax and chill out. I slept in, read during the afternoon, and then decided to take a nice run later in the day. It ended up being a two hour adventure, and I felt great afterwards. I definitely was not sprinting, but jogging for a long time was a nice opportunity to explore some of the parks in the city and be outside. The weather is starting to get warmer, and jogging in shorts and a t-shirt felt wonderful. After dinner with my family I headed out to The Alamo, an American/Texas inspired bar to catch the NFL kickoff game. I ended up seeing a bunch of people I knew there, and it was packed with Americans. I had a great time and went home shortly after the Colts kicked some Saints butt.

Picture Updates

Check out the new album with random pics from Buenos Aires. And check the Iguazu trip picture album for some more pics I got from other people's cameras.

Friday, Sat, and Sunday - What a weekend!

Friday was a really busy day for me. After class in the morning, I booked my spring break to Brasil with the travel agent with a bunch of my friends. I am really excited to spend some time on a Brasilian beach! Anyways, after booking the tickets, we had to go to the Brazilian consulate to get tourist visas since we are American. Because we require Brazilians to get visas to visit the States, they do the same to us for equality. After that I had lunch with Kate and Elise.

After a long afternoon of errands and a great nap, it was already nighttime, and I was helping my host family get ready for a party at the apartment. My host father's birthday was a few weeks ago, but the entire family was coming in to celebrate now. I helped set up some tables and cups, and they were expecting around 40 people. It ended being a great time, both a learning experience for me and also a fun time. It amazes me how different this country is to the USA, but how similar people are. A family is a family, and it doesn't matter where they are from or what language they speak, they are still the same basic human build. During the course of the night, three groups formed: the men, the women, and all the little kids. I was able to sit with the men and try to understand the conversation and add my two sense in when I was able to speak. The conversation ranged from sports to the best butchers in BA to buy meat. My host family has a parrilla (classic Argentine grill) built into their house, similar to a fireplace grill. They had bought some chorizo and lomo, two Argentine cuts of meat and made little sandwiches with a baguette they had me run out and get fresh. The food was great, and it was complimented very nicely with some really nice red wine that kept flowing all night. After dinner the ice cream and cake were served, and the adults started pouring the champagne. Happy birthday song and another round of champagne followed before the night was over.

After the family party I left and met up with friends at Milion, our local favorite bar. Later in the night, we met up with another group of kids on our program at a club called La Francia. This club was all portenos, and the bouncer was confused how us Americans even heard of the place. It ended up being great inside. The music was fun, the place was rocking, and the beers were only 2 pesos (60 cents)! Amazing deal.

Saturday I slept in for a while and then spent the rest of the day relaxing, reading my book, watching videos online, and just hanging out in my house. After a nice lunch that I made myself I watched some US Open and even watched half of Rocky since it was on TV. I met up with a few friends for dinner at a local steakhouse, and enjoyed some great food and nice wine. We later did a little barhopping in Plaza Serrano, and then I ended up in a little neighborhood in Palermo called Las Canitas. I met up with Nell and a few of her friends, and spent the rest of my night there. We all shared a cab home after a fun night.

After two party nights up past 5am, I was exhausted and slept in very late Sunday morning. Later in the afternoon I met up with Nell and Nick and we went to a free music festival in Palermo that they had heard off. It ended up being a great free concert by a good reggae band. On my way back I met up with Kate, Alex, and Elise at an Italian restaurant near my house and had a long nice meal to end the weekend.

This weekend was a lot of fun and combined a lot of down-rest time with fun-party time. A great success!

Wed - Thurs = Relaxing and Reading

The end of last week went by without any giant happenings. I was able to finish my book, which was the first book I started in Buenos Aires. That is always a great feeling of success, but it always leaves me a void and I find myself looking for my next book very soon. I finished my book and started the next one within 24 hours. I have spent a lot of time reading my book, reading about the news in America, and browsing the internet.

Thursday I spent a long amount of time browsing different political blogs. Although I know they have a large influence and I read about them a lot, I had never really considered myself active or that knowledgeable. That all changed Thursday, when I did a lot of research and browsed many of the blogs that are more popular and get quoted regularly. After spending a few hours diving into the political blog world, I came out on the other side feeling more informed and definitely having formed preferences for certain cites. My interest in the presidential politics of 08 is getting bigger and bigger every day, even thought the election itself is over a year away. I am also finding myself more interested in the competitive house, senate, and governor races that are being held in November of 2008. It is going to be an interesting year, and unlike anything the American public has seen before.

Monday and Tuesday - Todo Bien

Mondays are long days of class and it fries my brain a little. I have two hours of Spanish language followed right after by two hours of Argentine culture class (taught in Spanish). Then after an hour and a half break I have two hours of The Idea of Latin America. After school I went home and got a lot of things done. I have been thinking of a lot of little things that I need to get done and have been very efficient at checking things off the list. I took a much needed nap in the afternoon and got some homework done. Patricia had somewhere to be for dinner, but showed me what food I had a choice of for dinner and left. This worked out perfectly because I was hungry early, and was able to have a little bit of a few things and sit and finish homework at the dinner table. Every now and then it is nice to sit and eat alone in your kitchen. After dinner I read some news online and then left and met up with Kate for a drink at Milion. We have come to really like that place, since it is classy and fun. Alex joined us a little later and we all had a really nice conversation. I came home a little later, spoke with Lauren for a little while, and then went to bed. It was a long day, but wasn't too bad since I had taken that nap.

Tuesday- My Spanish class form 9-10 this morning was very painful. No one was in the mood to be talkative and interactive, so every time the professor asked a question there was an awkward silence until I would just say the answer so we could move on. Afterwards, I came back and had a mini-power nap to recharge before my really long class from 1-4pm. I got there, sat down, and after a few minutes a man walked in, who was not our professor, and started talking to us. Last week the class was cancelled since the professor was sick, and now this week we had a sub. This was very strange, but I guess these things happen in life. This guy talked to us about general concepts of tango being an art form as well as a thriving business. Then after 45 minutes, he let us all go. I was expecting to be in class all afternoon so this was a pleasant surprise. Elise and I walked for a little and ended up at the supermarket. We explored each isle and found some interesting things. I found everything I was looking for expect Humus. I tried to ask where it was but I have a feeling the word Humus is translated differently in Spanish. The woman didn't know what I was talking about, and then when I tried to explain it, somehow "cut up chick peas" didn't get across to her. I found everything else i wanted, including Ziplock bags, which I had been in desperate need of. I left, got home, and unpack everything. I organized all my food, made my sandwich for tomorrow, and cut up some peppers for a to-go snack tomorrow. I got some food that would be good for a 5pm snack, since I am always hungry then and needed to find a healthy snack that wouldn't fill me up too much.

I finished putting everything away, finished my homework, and came online to update my blog. I will probably take the rest of the night easy and do some more homework, reading, and maybe some web surfing. Tomorrow should be exiting since I start my ceramics class at the local university.

Saturday and Sunday - Its already been 4 weeks!

Wow...four weeks. Its gone by so fast its hard to believe its true.

Saturday- Woke up early to play soccer with a bunch of guys. We reserved a turf field for a 5 on 5 game. I was the only one to wake up on time and get there. The game never happened. I came back to my room and just relaxed the rest of the day. I read my book for a while, rocked out to a Dave Matthews Concert on my iPod, and read a lot of news online about politics in America and also Argentina. I met up with a bunch of friends at Plaza Serrano for dinner and then a few drinks afterwards. Plaza Serrano is a little circular plaza with restaurants and bars all around it. I think once it gets a little warmer and people want to hang outside, it could be an amazing place to go and hang out at night. We went to a parrilla, which is a traditional steak restaurant, and have some great meat. Afterwards a group of us just went to the bar and sat at a table for the rest of the night. It was really nice, but it started to rain around 3am, so I took a cab home and went to bed. Overall a good day.

Sunday- Woke up and was supposed to go to the craft fair in San Telmo, but since it was raining those plans got canned. Met up with Elise and Alex at a mall in the city for lunch, then went to the Bodies Exhibit. It was different than the Bodies that I had seen in New York City, but was still really good. We walked around the mall for a bit and then came home. I got in bed and was getting ready to read and enjoy my book when I got a call from Nell. She had an extra ticket to a show that night and wanted to know if I would like to come. I asked her what show and she told me that it was the finals for the World Championship for Tango Dancing. It was being held at an exhibition center in Buenos Aires for the last week, and that night was the last night and was the finals for the Salon Tango style. This is the more traditional non-flashy style of tango. The show was great and was a great way to be a part of the tango culture. They had groups of couples dance on stage and in between groups they had performances by a live tango band and a few other similar performers. In the end, a couple from Buenos Aires won and the crowd went crazy. I ended up going out to a cafe after the show for dinner with Jane, Nell's friend from home who is also studying abroad in BA, but on another program. I didn't get back till late, but it was a really fun and interesting day.

Thursday and Friday

The last two days have been very relaxing and calming. Since I don't have class Thursday and only one on Friday, I spent the majority of the time going through my to-do list and crossing stuff off. I got a lot of errands done that I needed to do. Nothing too exciting to report on, but Ill share some thoughts none the less.

Thursday- Bought a new pair of running shoes. I had needed a new pair for a while, and thought it was the right time to get them. I took them out for a nice run in the afternoon, and found a good path in a park not to far away that was perfect for a jog. I think I am going to try and make that a habit, and we will see how long that lasts.

Friday- Class in the morning was amazing, my professor for conversation class is awesome. He is really funny personable and easy to understand. They break my language class in half, so there are only 4 of us in this conversation class. We talked about a lot of stuff and it was almost a two hour conversation with a little teaching sprinkled on top.

Afterwards I wandered home looking for a new pair of jeans. My current jeans started ripping in the crotch, which for some reason happens to every single pair of my jeans. I found a new pair and bought them. They are a little different for me, since there is no zipper, only buttons...but I will live. I took my ripped jeans into a seamstress, and will have them back better than before by Wednesday.

I met up with Alex for lunch at Romario's, a chain of pizza places in the city. The food was actually really good, and I saw one only a block away from my house when I walked home. When I got home later that afternoon I was suddenly in the zone with resume work. For some reason I decided that it was a good idea to fix up the resume, add in my recent additions, and then send it to the GW Career Center for 48 hour critique service. After that spontaneous urge, I took a well needed nap.

I met up with Nell for a drink before dinner since I had to catch up with her, since I have not seen her since last week. Came home for dinner, had a GREAT conversation with Patricia over dinner and then got dressed and was ready to go out. Nell's host sister Macarena (yes, like the dance) had a friend throwing a party, so a few of us decided it would be fun to go. Little did we know what we were getting into. That party didn't start till 1.30am, so before that Nell, Elise and I went to a bar in Recoleta and sat down at a table to have a drink and chill before the party. This bar was great, but great salsa music and a great atmosphere. Around 2am, we left and headed to the next parry. It ended up since we knew Macarena, we got bracelets before the party, got in for free and were treated like VIPs. The party was in a giant building in Recoleta and they had rented out the top floor. Huge disco balls were hanging from the ceiling, lasers were shinning everywhere, and the music was amazing. It was a mix of 80s music with a dancing beat and current Reagatonn. SO MUCH FUN. We didn't leave there till 4.30am since we were starting to get a little tired.

Since the party was close to my house, I walked home and was amazed how many other people were on the street that time at night. What a fun night.