Adios Argentina

I didn't want this to end so suddenly, so I'm writing this closing entry now. I should have written this before, but I was so busy and a little stressed trying to fit in last minute shopping, sight-seeing, and packing to write a last blog post before I left Argentina.

I'm both glad to be back home in Anacortes, and a little sad to leave Córdoba. I met some great people down in Argentina, and I miss hanging out with them. I know I might see a few of the CC-CS students again here in the United States, but seeing some of my actual Argentine friends is less likely, since I know not many of them have the money to just fly up here, and I might not make a trip back down to Argentina for maybe a couple of years, but I DO plan on coming back.

Because the World Cup became such a big deal to me and some of my friends, (even though I've never been much of a sports fan) some of my friends and I are already planning to go down to Brazil for the next World Cup! I don't know if that'll actually work out, but if it does, I might go over to Argentina and visit all my friends. Maybe one day I can find a job teaching English down there for a couple of years. I'll see what comes.

Here are the things that I miss most about Argentina: 1. The Food. I miss the lomitos, the asado, the empanadas, and the alfajores. I tried to bring some alfajores back, but the huge box couldn't fit in my already packed suitcase. 2. The Boliches. I didn't think I'd miss the boliches at all. Clubbing was never my thing. But I did have a good time most of the time, and when you have nothing to do on the weekend, it was the great thing to do. It would be great of I could just transplant ZEN right here in Anacortes. 3. Cheap Movies. With the exchange rate, and the student discounts, it was 8 US dollars for two tickets, enough said. 4. Wednesday Nights at Ochentoso. I miss hanging out with my friends on a regular basis, and I just have good memories of that place.


One thing I definitely do not miss os having to play Human Frogger every day each time I try and cross the street, and I'm definitely not going to miss the crazy drivers, or the late buses. I am so glad I have my own car back here, so I can just drive wherever I want or need to go.

I do wish I was able to travel more, and I do wish I went out a bit more, but I already pushed myself so much farther socially than I normally do here at home and at Hollins, and I think that counts for something.

Spending five months in Argentina made me realize that I am not anywhere near fluent, simply because I didn't grow up speaking Spanish, but I do feel more confident speaking it now. I feel less intimidated about making mistakes when I speak, especially since the locals were so nice and polite, and patient in correcting my Spanish. I realize, I will always be a student, and the immersion I took was the best thing I've ever done to practice my Spanish.

I also feel I'm more outgoing than I used to be. I feel less intimidated by the world, and I feel that if something doesn't go my way, it isn't so scary anymore. Even my RA job feels a lot less scary for me now. (Not that it was really scary before, but I do feel a lot more fearless.) I basically conquered a huge challenge, and I feel that I can take on anything now.

I don't feel like a came out transformed as Córdobes, but I do feel Córdoba has grown a place inside my heart, right next to Napoli, London, Edinburgh, Vilnius, San Diego, and Seattle. And it's never going to leave.

¡Chau Chicos!

¡Qué finde!

Well this weekend was definitely hectic. I spent most of my time trying to finish up my paintings for my final portfolio in my painting class, and then getting everything together for the final class as well.

Then on Sunday, I met some friends down en el centro to watch the Argentina vs. Mexico game. Since it was a bigger game, they had a huge screen up in ex Plaza Velez-Sarsfield, so the whole crowd in the centro could watch the game! It was exciting. We got some choripan for lunch, and Rinna and Jennifer got interviewed for television! They found out we were extranjeros, but we told them we were rooting for Argentina. They tried to interview Doreidy, but she dodged out of the way. She was too embarrassed to be interviewed, because she's from Mexico.

Now actually watching the game on the screen with the huge crowd outdoors was exciting. Everyone went crazy whenever Argentina made a goal. We had to steel ourselves, because some people would just run into you. But basically, it was like jumping up and down in a mosh pit at a heavy metal concert. Now, if you ever find yourself in a large crowd of football fans in Argentina, and you notice a group of people moving out from a certain area, you should do it too. That's because some people like to set off random fire crackers. One of them went off less than three feet away from me. I didn't get hit by any debris, but the impact of the noise hit my ear really hard, and I couldn't hear a thing out of my right ear other than a constant loud ringing, for over a minute. I was disoriented, because it felt like all the cheering noise that was surrounding me all jumped to the left side and only the left side. I can hear fine out of my right ear now, but I should probably get it checked out soon. For a whole minute I thought I wasn't going to be able to hear out of that ear again.

The plaza cleared out quite a bit during half-time. Mostly because that's a safe time for the fans to go to the bathroom and pick up another beer without missing a thing. We all walked over to a nearby Grido to get some ice cream, and then came back for the second half of the game.

The plaza literally exploded with excitement when Argentina won the game. People were just bouncing and running everywhere, vuvuzelas were blowing, people were throwing paper from their apartments, and I saw someone go airborne!

Everyone was just walking around and cheering. There were a few groups of people with huge flags, and they'd hold them and let people jump around under them. Rebekah and I went and ran underneath one real fast.

We stayed in the plaza awhile longer with the crowd, because the news on the screen was showing the celebrations in all the different big Argentine cities, and comparing them. Compared to Buenos Aires, we were rocking it! We kept staying to see if we would show up on the tv. After awhile we decided we should head out. I was going to take one last picture of the crowd before heading out, and THAT'S when I got robbed.

Apparently Jennifer saw him coming running at me a couple of seconds before I noticed him. She said it looked more like he was trying to kidnap me than rob me. The guy got a hold of my camera in my right hand, and when I realized what was going on, I gripped my camera tighter, and pulled his arm down, because I wasn't going to let him get away that easy. We had an actual scuffle, and a lot of it was a blur. But I do remember the guy looking up at my face, and I could tell that he didn't expect me to fight back. And he wasn't young either, he looked to be about in his mid-30's or 40's.

By the end of the scuffle, I could feel the straps and charm breaking from my hand, I saw pieces fall from my camera, and then the guy ran off. I turned around and tried to grab the guy, but he wormed his way through the crowd real fast, and I knew I wouldn't be able to get through and stop him. The moment he was out of sight with my camera a tiny woman stepped out and asked if I was just robbed. I just said "sí" and turned around to see what parts of my camera had broken off. All I found was my Miyajima charm from Japan. So obviously this guy is just a petty thief, and thinks foreign women are easy targets. But I have the charger, so he's probably going to have a hard time selling a dead camera.

I know you can buy chargers separately, but from what I noticed, the majority of the digital cameras here in Argentina use AA or AAA batteries that switch out. I just wish I had the pictures back! I had over 200 photos! They were just mostly photos of around the city that I took, so I could remember certain places that I frequented around town. Hindsight is always 20/20, and if I was really thinking, I would've tried to smash my camera on the ground, because who the hell wants to waste their time stealing a broken camera? And if it was broken, I could've still salvaged the SD card. At least I still have most of my photos from the trip.

But I'll tell you, I had such an incredible adrenaline rush that lasted for hours afterward. I was twitching and ready to kick the crap out of anyone if they touched me. I still have my wallet and coin purse, and my ipod. The only injuries I got was a scratch on my middle finger and rope burn from where the handle was pulled off my wrist. I obviously need to do more weight-training and take a self-defense class, because I'm not going to take that shit again. I lost my camera, but at least I didn't go down without a fight!

Pintura

So the past few days I've been trying to catch up on my painting and finishing up my portfolio for my class, which is due Monday. I only have one class session left and then I'm done! I can't believe it! I'll finally be finished with the semester! I still have five more paintings to do before Monday evening. I may be able to get one or two more done tonight. And then I have to figure out how to fit the others in around the football game against Mexico tomorrow. I heard the US was defeated by Ghana. Oh well, I've been rooting behind Argentina anyway. It's really hard not too when you're in the country and football is the national past-time. You just can't escape it. (And I'm pretty sure they're going to win.)

I've been spending the last two days painting in Parque Sarmiento, which is right by the UNC campus. It's a huge beautiful park with a large pond, where you can rent out paddle-boats, or feed the ducks. Sometimes I go on one of the many swing sets that are all over the park, but I don't swing for long, because they're made for the average Argentine butt (which is somewhat smaller than the average American butt.)

Taylor's parents were here to visit him for the majority of the week, and they just left today. Mimi let them stay in her bedroom, and she moved a bed into the room between mine and Meghan's and slept there. They were really nice people. It was interesting translating for them and Mimi. Last night, we all went out for asado together. I've had Asado before, but this time we got grilled Provolone, kidney, and goat meat. The goat was actually pretty good. It was 'thin' but came off the bone easily. I had such a hard time finishing all of the food. When you go to asado's here in Argentina, they make sure you don't go hungry! I thought I couldn't eat anymore, but when they offered dessert, I had to get the dulce de leche crepe. It was pretty sweet. I liked it, but I think the best crepes I had were in France por supuesto.

I talked to Taylor's mom, Frida, about where I go to school, and she said she had a a few friends that went to Hollins, so she knew about it. And Taylor's dad, Richard, is really nice too. I left dinner a little early last night to meet a friend for a movie, and Richard gave me money for the cab. I hadn't even asked for it!

Also, a new student for the next semester for CC-CS arrived early. She wasn't allowed to move in yet, so she's staying at a hostel right now, and as it turns out, she's staying with Mimi! Her name is Sarah Hilton, and she's from New York. She's going to be able to move in this Friday. She's been asking about the house, Mimi, the rules, and what's around Alta Córdoba. And just in case anyone is wondering, Mimi does have enough room for her right now, but Sarah can't move in just yet because of something about the Program housing policy. Some weird technicality about coming in earlier than scheduled, I don't quite know the details.

I know I'm watching the Argentina vs. Mexico game tomorrow afternoon somewhere downtown, but I don't know where yet. And this time, I think I might try bringing my camera, to take pictures of the crazy revelry of the fans. I can't wait!

GOOOOOLLL!!!!!!

I went with Jennifer, Brian, and Glenn to downtown Córdoba to watch the Argentina game against Greece two days ago. We went to this fast-food place called "Mega-Doner." We went there because one of Glenn's Argentine friends works there and was able to give us a discount! The restaurant had a screen and projector set up, so everyone would be able to see the game.

A few minutes into the game, I asked Brian if he thought it was ironic that we were watching the Argentina vs. Greece game in a Greek fast-food restaurant in Argentina. Brian then turned to me and said, "This isn't Greek. This is a Turkish restaurant." Which basically meant Greece was getting the shaft from the beginning. Poor Greece!

But the game was intense, and a lot of fun to watch! It was also my first time actually actively partaking in a public viewing of an Argentine game. I'm never really a football fan, but I am paying so much attention to the World Cup here. It's nearly impossible to avoid it. It's all anyone ever talks about.

Now onto the game. I don't know how many of you reading this actually watched it, but it was intense. There wasn't a single goal from either team for over an hour! Argentina was doing really well, but the Greek goalie was playing by the skin of his teeth, and playing for dear life to make sure that the ball stayed out. They came close so many times! And I'm not sure if this part was broadcast worldwide or just in Argentina, but the Greek goalie finally got hit really hard in the balls. But what the camera man did was do a close-up of the poor man on his back trying to massage out the pain. Honestly, he didn't need that broadcast to the world.

It was energizing to be part of the crowd, and sharing in the "Ooohs!" every time we thought a goal came in. But when we finally got one goal, and then another in the last fifteen minutes. Well, the restaurant went crazy! Everyone was banging on tables and screaming!

And of course, after each victory, all the fans gather between ex Plaza Velez-Sarsfield and Patio Olmos, and the Police close off the road. All four of us journeyed over there to be part of the crowd.

Now even on the way over there, I'm pretty sure there was someone constantly in my personal vicinity lighting up a celebratory spliff. There were school kids marching out with drums, banging and screaming, and people leaning out of their apartments throwing paper, and everyone who had a flag was waving it! And in case anyone was wondering, there are vuvuzelas here too. We've had our share so far this whole World Cup of having them blown directly in our ears.

I didn't take my camera to this, but that's okay, because with a crowd this crazy, it probably would've gotten stolen. Now, for the past victories, the partying in the Centro usually dies down after about an hour or so, but because this was the last game of the day, and it ended around 5:30, it kept going a little longer because no one had to go back to school or to work.

There were a few men that tried climbing the stoplights, and stood on them to cheer, and then falling and breaking them! The lights still functioned, but pieces broke off, and when one guy fell down, the lights were twisted completely around! I also saw one guy in the distance go airborne when his friends tossed him up, almost like crowd surfing. I can imagine that this whole scene will be 100 times crazier and last for 3 days if Argentina manages to win the World Cup.

And yesterday I finally found decently priced Jerseys for me and Stephen! They're not the official Jersey's, but they're well made. I asked the vendor to give me the largest one he had, so I can get it for Stephen, but compared to the Jersey I bought for myself, it's no that much bigger. Well, at least Stephen isn't going to by trying to fit huge boobs into it. The Jersey I bought for myself is Number 10 Messi, the star player. La Pulga or, the flea, as people call Messi, because he's so short and bounces around a lot.

Funny story about Messi, when he isn't playing for Argentina, he plays for the football team in Barcelona, Spain. The reason he went to Barcelona, was so that he could receive growth hormone treatment, and apparently, it was supposed to have worked. Which basically means, if he didn't take it, he would be even shorter. Poor Messi. At least he's good at football. And I finally have my Jersey to show my team spirit for Argentina. ¡VAMOS!

Exámenes Finales y el Mundial

So I just finished my last final exam today, about 20 minutes ago! It wasn't bad, I just had to talk orally about what I learned about Argentine Literature. I also had the oral part of my grammar exam today. The teacher told me my grade wasn't very good compared to the other students, but I should pass, which means I don't have to re-take it at Hollins. w00t!

Also, the Mundial has made things a little crazy here. (AKA the World Cup, of course!) So in case you haven't noticed, Argentina won both its first two games. I tried to sleep in a little today because I didn't have to be at school until 11 am, but the game against Korea started at 8:30, and when Argentina kept making goals, I couldn't sleep anymore. I could hear my next neighbors screaming GOOOOOL! and PUTA DE MADRE! at least every 10 minutes or so. And when I left the house to catch the bus, the streets were ridiculously empty, because everyone was inside their houses watching the game. And the game ended sometime while I was on the bus, because it got re-routed. It normally goes through the centro, but it was blocked off. And I also saw tons of paper bits in the street.

The last time Argentina played and won, I left the house like an hour after the game finished, and it took forever for the bus to arrive, and it was able to go through the centro, but the streets were crowded with crazy people yelling and blowing horns, and at the centro, some people were banging their fists on the bus in celebration, and there were random drunk teenagers in the road, just sitting there, drinking, and the bus had to go around them because they wouldn't move. Football really is a way of life for them here in Argentina.

I've been meaning to buy a jersey or something, but I probably should have bought it earlier. Someone told me a good area to get knock-off jerseys from street vendors, that are actually well-made, for just 30-40 pesos. But when I went to the area that my friend suggested, all the vendors were asking for between 60-150 pesos for one jersey. I think they jacked up the prices for the Mundial. I might just buy a big flag, because that's cheaper.

I may go out somewhere tomorrow with some friends to watch the US play tomorrow morning. ¡VAMOS!

Clases Terminado!

Well, not quite all the way terminado but I still did have my official last PECLA class session for Culturales Realidades today. And I was late too because I overslept through my alarm. I woke up at 10:50 am and class started at 11:30, so I had to rush to get out the door and catch the first bus that goes to the University. Taylor was late too, and we took the same bus together. I just needed to be there for the participation/attendance credit. Taylor actually had to do his final presentation today. I did mine last week.

Also, I am not taking the CELU this week. Not because I don't want to, but because Alfredo didn't give us the sign up information until after the sign up period closed. Oh well, that just gives me more time to study for my final exams.

I also took the time today to do a quick film tour of PECLA and where I took most of my classes. So yes, here is a second vlog! My camera doesn't record sound, so my narration over it is something I added after I uploaded photos to my computer today. I also took some videos of the falls at Iguazu, but I'm not going to post that yet, until after I put them all together in a single video. So I hope you all enjoy the PECLA tour! (And if the embedding doesn't work, I'll leave the URL underneath so you can copy and paste it to watch.




URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioU-I-AVpwk

Tarea

So today I finished my last ever homework assignment of the year and sent it off to my profe. It was a three page essay comparing and contrasting the main characters and the plots of El Sur by Jorge Borges, and La noche boca arriba by Julio Cortázar. I have to say, with what we read in my clase de literatura argentina those are tow of my favorite writers. I should probably go find paperback copies of some of their books.

I still have one more class I have to go to tomorrow for PECLA and then all next week is final exams. And I also think I have one last class session for Cultura Argentina the week after I think, but it's just a field trip to a museum, so it's fun instead of real work.

I also still have a few more class sessions left for my pintura class, but less than I though there was. Last class Profe Trojer said that we have our Parcial on June 28th, and that that would be the last class for the semester. Sarah, Olivia and I asked her of that would be the last class for us, since we're here only for the semester anyway. I think Trojer said it was alright. We're going to double-check with her next time we see her. We still need to buy our libretas de inscripción so she can put our final grades in their. These libretas are these little notebooks you buy, and only certain facultades need them. Basically it counts as sort of your transcript of midterm and final grades. And then after Trojer gives us our grades in these, we're supposed to hand them in to PECLA so they can send the grades to our schools. But yeah, it looks like I can go home earlier today than I thought. Which is good, because somewhere in the beginning of July, Mimi is having 5 new exchange students arrive in her house. I better make sure I leave before the house gets too crowded! I thought only two more were coming, but I guess I was wrong.

Also, my heart goes out to my friend Julie here. She's one of the girls I went to Iguazu falls with. Her grandmother just died on Sunday, and she doesn't have the money to go back for the funeral, so she's toughing out the rest of her semester. She's doing much better than I would though. And she still plans on celebrating her 21st birthday this Thursday at the bowling alley in Patio Olmos. I don't think I could do what she's doing. If I were in her shoes, I'd be demanding to go home right away. It made me realize that I'm glad my study abroad plans worked out the way they did, going abroad this semester. It may sound horrible, but I'm glad my grandmother died earlier, rather than later. It was already hard enough when it happened back in October, but I was close enough that going to say goodbye wasn't a hassle. If any of my loved ones had died while I was down here, I don't know how I would've handled it. I don't think I would be able to really 'get over it' if it happened. I'd be going through the rest of my semester depressed, not being able to enjoy the experience of living and learning in another country. I hope Julie feels better soon. She said her parents are coming down to visit her in two weeks, so that should help.

El estrés

So this week has been very busy with parciales, tarea, y repasos. The majority of my classes ended this week, and a few end more next week. I'm busy from here until then end of June pretty much.

I had two major tests this week. Well, one of the parciales was an essay, and I got a 9 out of 10. But yesterday was an oral exam for my grammar class. I don't know how well I did. I haven't been doing so well in my Grámatica Avanzada class. I'm studying very hard. I spent over four hours the night before preparing for the test. It's just that it's the class that I'm doing the least well in, here. I really hope I pass. I already know that the worst that can happen is that I don't pass, and that would mean I have to take the advanced spanish grammar class next semester at Hollins, which basically would just be adding another class to the semester. That's not something I want to do, but knowing I at least I have options to fix it somehow should the worst happen, makes me feel a little calmer, and a little more in control.

I also have two papers due next week, one of which I just finished today. I also only have three classes that I have to go to next week. Pintura, Literatura Argentina, y Culturales Realidades. Two of them are going to be only an hour long, and pintura, well, it's only painting!

Also, I'm debating re-taking the CELU since I only got a básico level last time. It's next Friday, June 11th and will cost 200 pesos. I think I really should re-take it, but the timing isn't ideal, considering that I'm so busy working on final projects and studying for final exams. But then again, I don't have much to lose. Quite a few others are re-taking the CELU. I really should aim to try and get an intermedio level this time. It's not a test that you can't study for (or at least that's what Alfredo says) since it's supposed to analyze your use of Spanish.

But anyway, this weekend I'm trying to pace myself so I don't suffer a mental breakdown. I have it mapped out to do one assignment each day, and relax or have a little fun after I'm done. I already finished my assignment for the day, so I might go out and celebrate Brian's birthday at Villanos (which is a pretty decent bar along the Cañada. Drinks are little bit pricey though.) Brian said after the bar, the group is heading over to Mitre. I've never been to that club before, but Federica used to go over there a lot when she was here, and she says its her favorite, so I might go over for a little while and check it out.

IGUAZU!!!

Sorry I didn't get this up earlier. I had to get straight to homework when I got home in Córdoba. And I really, really wanted this post to have photos this time. I still have to wait for my friend Gabriel to return from Buenos Aires before I can upload them to my computer. I was just going to take pictures from my friends' facebooks, but the blogger photo-uploader says they're all too big. (lame)

I can't remember every detail, but I'll try my best. I probably could have done a day-by-day report while I was there since our hostel had wireless internet connection, but it was too slow for my liking.

I went with Julie and Rachel, fellow students of CC-CS, and two of their friends from Church, Mónica and Nathaneal. Nathaneal is a missionary from Chehalis, Washington. (Represent!) And Mónica is from Colombia, and she's teaching English here in Argentina.
We left around noon on Friday, and the bus ride was a little over 24 hours! (Good thing we took the full-cama bus that served two meals!)

The hostel we stayed at was called STOP hostel Puerto Iguazu. It cost around 32 pesos per person, per night. (That's like $10 a night!) This included breakfast and sheets. Here's a link to their website. (I hope it works)
http://www.stophostel.com/Hostel-Iguazu/en

On the day of our arrival we just took the time to unpack and relax, but we also walked over to El Hito de las tres fronteras where the borders of Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina meet. They're all separated by rivers, but the view was spectacular. It was amazing to be that close to 2 other countries at once.

The next day we took a bus to get to the park (only 5 pesos). I ended up having to pay more than expected to get in the park though. We've heard by word-of-mouth that there was a discount with the International Student ID card, but that's a lie. They did have discounts for Argentine and Brazilian residents though. Rachel was the only one who remembered to bring her UNC card that day, (which counted as proof of Argentine residency) and only had to pay 25 pesos to get in. I, however, was stuck paying 85. I can say that I helped pump the local economy that day.

But my God the falls were so beautiful and HUGE! And I can proudly say it was my first time in a real Tropical rainforest! I felt like a kid at Disneyland! There were these raccoon-like creatures called Coati roaming all over the place. We weren't supposed to pet them, but we tried anyway. They were so cute! And Nathaneal really wanted to see a monkey the whole time, but I was the only one that did!

We also payed around 130 pesos to take a truck and boat tour of the falls. The truck part was only mildly interesting. It did make us think of Jurassic park, or going on a Safari through the jungle. But we didn't see any animals on the way. We did, however, stop at a Palm tree as the tour guide gave a five-minute lecture on how palms are used in Argentine food. Not that it wasn't informative, but I didn't go all the way to Iguazu to get a five minute lecture on palm trees.

We finally got to our embarkation point. We put on lifejackets, and they gave us plastic bags to put our shoes and other items in, so they wouldn't get wet. We rode the boat up the river with Argentina on one side and Brazil on the other. And then they took us right to the base of the falls!

It was incredible! There's something about the weight of the falls at the bottom that makes you stop breathing and just stare. Julie and I wished we had goggles, because we wanted so badly to look straight into the falls, but the water kept getting in our eyes. After the ride, we were totally drenched!

Even though we didn't have our visas to go to the Brazil side, I can say from experience that it wasn't all that necessary to our trip. All of the cool stuff was on the Argentina side. The Brazil side basically just has 3 look out points from across the river. On the Argentina side, you get right on top of them, next to them, or right underneath them.

We also took our own lunch into the park, which every visitor should do, because the prices for food there are ridiculous! It was 10 pesos for a bottle of coke!

The next day we took a different excursion into the Jungle (but not in the park.) We paid 100 pesos each to go rappelling and zip-lining! The company picked us up in front of our hostel, and went around the town picking up other tourists that had reservations. To get to our activities we had to go deeper and deeper through this rural area, where everyone lives in shacks. It was unnerving at first, but when we saw all the young kids running up to wave hello, it was a little relieving. We also crossed a shallow river where we saw two kids bathing, with their cow tied to a tree. It was kinda cute!

The rappelling was okay. It was the first time I jumped the whole way down. They normally do the rappelling down a small waterfall and let you get wet, but since it's wintertime, and it was kinda cloudy that day.

There was an Argentine family there that brought their two small boys with them. I think they were around 6 and 9. I was surprised the company let them come along. The older boy went down rappelling by himself, and they tried to let the younger boy do it too, but he was too scared, so they had one of the guides carry him down at the end.

Then we walked all the way over back to the truck, and rode to where we went ziplining! It was separated into three parts with two platforms in between. I don't know exactly how high up it was, but I know it was the longest and highest zipline I've ever been on. AND IT WAS IN THE JUNGLE! Any fear of heights I had just disappeared because I was so amazed, just taking in the scenery, realizing I was really in some place foreign and exciting. And the actual zipline itself was just incredible. It was amazing knowing I was zipping through the canpopy, having my legs and feet brush against leaves and tree branches!

I am so glad I went to Iguazu! And I would totally go back too to take friends and family. It was a great way to spend a vacation.

Que te cumplas feliz! e Invierno

So this past Saturday was Alexis' 21st birthday party ¡Feliz Cumpleaños Alexis! She had her party at a friend's apartment close to the Plaza España. Now the first part was basically a previa which is when everyone drinks before going out dancing. There was Fernet, Quilmes, and Gancia, with Coke and Sprite to mix it with. They also had brownies with dulce de leche spread on top. (It was like a sweet mouthgasm with bite!)

Fernet is this nasty drink that's really popular here in Argentina, but it's too strong to drink alone, you have to mix it with something. Even when I had some that was like, one tiny spit of Fernet drowned in Coke, it tasted nasty. Although the taste is growing on me a little. I don't like it, but it doesn't bother as me much. I guess that what happens when it's frequently the only free drink at certain places. What's funny is that Fernet is an Italian drink apparently, and that it's all imported here, but I don't ever remember seeing or hearing of Fernet when I lived in Italy. I guess Argentina is what solely keeps that business going. It's also an herbal drink, and one of the CC-CS students concluded that the reason the Argentines drink it so much is to help their digestive tracts since they eat so much meat, which makes sense.

The one thing that made this party different from other Argentine parties that I've been to is that Alexis and her friend bought all the booze and food beforehand and didn't require anyone to brink their own drinks or money. (Taylor brought over Fernet and Coke anyway, and the bottle of Fernet got knocked over and spilled all over the floor.)

At about 1:30 we all left the apartment and all walked over as a group to Club Illia. On the way we were stopped by a traffic officer, not because we were doing anything wrong, but because he wanted a picture with Alexis, and then Doreidy. And of course when he was getting his picture taken, the traffic just went on behind him. (This is how most Police officers do their job here in Argentina.)

We all got in line and it moved pretty fast, even though it was long, and it wasn't a bad boliche really. Because we all managed to get in before 2 am we all got in free. (To get in free at ZEN you have to put your name on the list online and show up before 1am) And luckily there was a coat-check at Club Illia, only three pesos for my coat and scarf.

I stayed there with Alexis and some of her friends until closing time at 5am. A few people were trickling out and leaving early for different things. I know Taylor and Brian left about 45 minutes before I did to get a pancho. (A pancho here is a long hotdog with a lluvia de papas fritas which a bunch of tiny crunchy french fries that they cover the whole hotdog with.)

The line at the guadaropa took awhile to get through, but when I finally got my coat, I went outside and saw the huge crowds of people milling about on the streets exiting all of the boliches, and trying to catch cabs. I walked over to Avenida Velez Sarsfield where it was better lit and less crowded so I would have a better chance of catching a cab home. It was a pretty good night.

I know I've been saying how much I dislike boliches and don't really care to go to them, but the idea of going to one doesn't scare me as much as it did back in February when I had that one really crappy night. I think it's because now I have a game plan with friends before I go in, and I don't get nervous when I go to places that I have been to before. A lot of it for me is knowing what the boliches are like beforehand, and knowing that I can trust the whole group of people I am going with.

There are quite a few CC-CS that are having or have had birthdays here in Argentina. Taylor did back in February, Rebecca, Alexis, and Heike this month. Some of them have asked me when my birthday is, and what I plan to do. They look kind of disappointed when I tell them I already had mine waaay back in December. (And I already know what I'm going to be doing! Studying for finals and packing my bags for Christmas break!)

And winter really has arrived here in Argentina. The good news is, is that it doesn't get cold enough here to snow in the city. But I've been wearing my winter jacket these past two weeks. I brought a jacket, gloves, and two scarves down here in Argentina, but I don't have a hat. I guess that should prompt me to go buy Argentine knitting needles and yarn to make myself one to wear while I'm down here. But I'm going to hold off on spending until my trip to IGUAZU!!!!!!!!!!!

I am soo excited! And we looked at the weather report. It's up north, so it won't be as cold there as it is here when we go up. It would suck to go up and walk around the giant waterfalls and get wet and cold at the same time. I'm going up on Thursday and coming back to Córdoba next Wednesday. And the bus tickets are only 275 pesos for each way, and the hostel we're staying at is only 37 pesos per person per night (3 pesos is around 1 US dollar.) But the bus rides are going to be sooo long! The ride is going to be over 24 hours. My bus on Thursday leaves around 12:45 pm and we'll get to Iguazu around 1:30 pm the next day. I'm going to have to pack a good book, some snacks, and make sure my ipod is good and charged. I can't wait!

Also, sadly, Federica is going to be leaving us soon. Her last day is May 28, two days after I get back. But we get yet another exchange student in the house! We're having another college student from Texas, Megan, arrive on the 25th of May. (A day before I come back.) I don't remember if Megan is going to be here for one or two months, but she's taking classes here in PECLA I think. There's at least 2-3 universities that have their own private programs here at PECLA/UNC, outside of CC-CS.

I'll be writing again after I get back from Iguazu Falls! And I'll try to use my Gabriel's SD card reader so that I can post pictures with it!

¡Buenas Noticias!

. . . . . Or Good News! as we would say it in English.

Soledad is pregnant! Juan Pablo and Soledad are going to parents and Mimi is going to be a grandmother. Sole has been going through different types of in vitro treatments and such this past month and a half, and with success!

Soledad learned that I know how to knit a few weeks ago, and a few days past I showed her pictures of all the things I knit for Anya's baby. She really liked the overalls I made and now wants me to make some for her baby. If I had my needles and instructions I could just buy yarn and whip up a new pair in three and a half days. But it's all going to have to wait, at least until after my trip to Iguazu falls.

We celebrated the good news by ordering empanadas and having them delivered to the house. And they were DELICIOUS!

I have to head to bed now. It's almost 12:30 am and I need to get up by 7:30 in order to get up and put of the house on time to catch a decent bus.

¡Hasta Mañana!

ZEN

So last night after dinner I met up with Gabriel, Jennifer, and Meike in the Plaza de Intendencia, where we just chilled for awhile drinking mate and smoking from Gabriel's hookah. Meike then suggested we go to ZEN later that night, which is known as Córdoba's best gay club.

Somewhere around 9 we split from Meike and went over to Gabriel's house to hang out until 12:15. Gabriel was having dinner, so Jen and I bought some empanadas and some coke so Gabriel's family wouldn't have to feed us dropping in unexpected.

We met up with Meike later that night and took a taxi over. But we got there a little late and the line was kind of long, because by the time we got to the entrance it was 1:15, and at 1am is when they start charging to get in. Next time we're going in earlier. Thank God the coat check was cheap.

But the drinks we shared were alright, and the music kinda sucked at the beginning of the night, but got better later on. And the people we met got better later on too.

The first guy that came up to us asked us where we were all from, and when he figured out we were estadounidenses he tried to speak English to us. His English seemed to be limited to "You're Beautiful" "How old are you?" and "F**k me please!"

But we met nicer people when we sitting outside during the times Jen needed her cigarette break. So here's how a lot of these meetings go. People come up to Meike first, and she introduces herself. She tells them she's from Germany, but the moment she points to us and tells people we're from the United States, they light up and try to see if they can use their English on us. (If they actually know any.)

But there was one group of nice guys that we talked to. I don't remember the names of anyone we talked to last night though. They couldn't remember ours either, because one guy kept referring to both me and Jen as 'Katerine.' One of the guys was really nice to talk to. He said he was from near Iguazu falls, and that he wished more people knew about Latin America and how diverse it was. I talked about how I had lived in other countries before, and that I was half Lithuanian and half Slovakian. He told me that I looked Lithuanian (though I doubt he actually knows what Lithuanians look like.) He was then pointing out his friends and saying what all of their ethnicities were, and he said his grandparents were German immigrants. I also learned that this same guy lives only three blocks from me. He told me where he lived first, that he lived in Alta Córdoba and that he lives along a street not too far from mine. I didn't give him my exact address, just that I lived close by. If he was going to try looking for me though, I think Mimi would be answering the door, asking who he was, and then turning him away. (So no creepy stalkers. I think I'm safe.)

A common theme that comes up when we talk to Argentines, is our impression of their country and their city, and how much of Argentina we've seen. Most of them are aware that there's a huge majority of Americans that don't understand that not all of the countries in Latin America are the same, and that they're not all like Mexico, and they're not all poor. I think they take the time to ask these questions to make sure that as representatives of the US that are going back, they want to be able to leave a good impression, so that we can bring it back with us, and let people know. Especially since many say they don't have the money to go to the United States themselves.

They also ask us about what it's like in the US, because the majority of what they know comes from the slough of Hollywood movies that come pouring through. Every English slang term or colloquialism they know comes from seeing american movies. Last night it was specifically about high school. One of the guys asked, "In all the movies I see about high schools, it's all about this popularity? Is that true? Is that what it's like?" So we got into this discussion of what my high school life was like, that Hollywood overdramatizes everything, and that other high schools are different, and that I especially noticed this from going to so many different schools, and then meeting all the different people in College who went to different places.

Now I'm still not a huge fan of the boliches. This was actually the first time I've been to one in weeks. It's just something the majority of the Argentine youth does for fun. I went enough to figure it out and experience it for myself, but if I don't do it anymore, I don't think I'll be missing out on much. But if I do go back to a boliche, I may just stick with ZEN.

But the rest of our night consisted of following around a drunk Meike trying to make sure she didn't get lost and hurt herself. And we stayed until it closed at 5:15 am. There's a recent law here in Córdoba saying that all boliches and bars have to close at 5am, so around that time the police show up to monitor and make sure everyone leaves without any problems. We all shared a cab, and I ended up getting home and in bed around 6am, and waking up around 2:15 am. Just another weekend here in Argentina. Though I don't feel like partying that hard any time soon.

Boletos

So basically I've just been hanging out around Córdoba, going to classes, finishing up school projects, studying. But all this week I've been working on what I'm going to do for the Semana de Mayo, and finally got it figured out.
I'm heading up to Iguazu with Raquel, Julie, and their Colombian friend Monica. We bought our bus tickets today for the way up, now we all we have to do is make reservations for our hostel.
And that's what I'm doing! And I haven't been getting a full 8 hours rest these past couple of nights, so now it's time for a siestaaa!!!!!
Hasta Luego!

MENDOZA!

Sorry I've been so long in putting up a blog post. All last week was parciales and I have a few this week too. (I had my grammar one early this morning.) But aside from the parciales, this weekend I went to the province of Mendoza!

So anyone who knows anything about Argentina, or wine (hint, hint) knows that Mendoza is famous for all of the wineries and fine wines it produces. It also just happens to have a beautiful landscape, and is a prime spot for some outdoor sports, (which is mostly what we did.)

The trip was with the entire CC-CS program of course, and a few of the Speaking Partners as well. We all left by a private omnibus at 10pm Friday night, and arrived at Valle Grande and went straight to our first activity, rafting, right away.

This was my second time rafting ever, but a first for a lot of people there. The company that ran the rafting had us all wear these wetsuits that looked a lot like clown suits. They were more for keeping us warm rather than keeping us dry. And everything was one size fits all. This includes life-jackets and helmets. I have to say, as a former lifeguard, the life-jacket situation had me nervous. They didn't fit everyone, and even with the people they did fit wouldn't tighten all the way, including mine. But luckily only one person fell out of any of the rafts the whole time, and the river wasn't really all that dangerous.

Before we left in the rafts, we were explained that rafting rivers in Argentina are categorized 1 through 5, with 1 being the easiest, and 5 being the most dangerous, and that this river was a 2. For being a 2, it was pretty easy. It was also a pretty short rafting trip. (At least it was a for me, since my first rafting experience was with Hollins, and that trip was ALL DAY) The rafting in Mendoza took less than two hours.

There was a friendly competition between all the rafts to see which team would reach the finish first. Although my raft was the last to leave, we were the first to finish! ¡Somos Ganadores!

After rafting, we had asado for lunch. After lunch, there was an impromptu concert courtesy of Hendrix. Hendrix is the youngest of the group here at CC-CS, and also the one that knows the least bit of Spanish. She's still going through the college application process, and only took one year of High School Spanish. She technically doesn't even qualify to be in the program according to the requirements, but CC-CS has 32 slots for each place each semester, and they were not all filled. (CC-CS also has programs in two different cities in Spain, and used to have one in Cuba.) But we're glad she's here.

Anyway, Hendrix brought her guitar on the trip, and took it out, and started playing and singing. She's really good, and a has a great voice. (I'd like to get a video of her performing sometime) She plays a lot of folk songs, that I don't know (I don't listen to a lot of folk music, y por supuesto . . .) but a lot of the girls knew some the songs she was singing, and sang along, and Olivia accompanied her on harmonica. And before we knew it, it was time for the next activity.

It was a little two-for-one. Rappelling and tirolesa, which is known as zip-lining for you English speakers. We had our choice of doing either activity first, or only doing one of both. I did rappelling first.

I've done rock-climbing, and quite a bit of other Outward-Bound activities over the years through summer camp, Girl scouts, and the Hinterbrand Lodge program in sixth grade, but this was my first time rappelling.

It wasn't that high up, but the height was still intimidating. The guy that was hooking everyone up to the safety line before going down started a conversation with everyone, and got everyone's name so he could get their attention and yell instructions at them should anything happen. Anyway, when he hooked me up and I told him my name was Victoria, he said he had a sister named Victoria too, but that they don't get along well. I was a little nervous taking the first few steps, but when I realized that I wasn't holding all of my weight with one arm, and that I was totally in control, it was easier. I'm glad I did it, because I stopped a few times to look at the scenery and it was gorgeous! I wish I was able to take pictures from there, but I needed both hands for rappelling, and I didn't want to rick dropping it. But the mountains were incredible!

At the bottom was the line for the tirolesa. It was fun, but the actual zip-lining was too short for me. I know it's fast, but I've done zip-lines that lasted a bit longer. But I guess it's just as well, since I almost lost my grip right before I landed.

Afterwards, we went to our hotel in San Rafael and had a close to 2-hour break before we all went to dinner at a restaurant called Malbec. Malbec is a type of Argentine, wine, but we didn't drink any at dinner.

We didn't see much of the city, our trip was so short. After dinner, it was about 11 and not that many people went out because they were so tired from the days' activities. But Jennifer, Alexis, and I were adventurous enough to join Alfredo and Vicky to a coffee shop. We all ordered something and spent an hour in these short lounge chairs, just chatting until about 12:30. I don't actually really remember how late we stayed out, I just know we didn't stay out as long as is normal for a typical Argentine weekend. But I have to say, it was interesting having a conversation about the differences between sexual and gender standards in Argentina and the US with the Program Coordinator and his assistant. Mostly it was with Jennifer, because she's a Women's Studies major and loves to discuss anything to do with feminism.

I don't know what Jennifer did after coffee, because I know she didn't come back to the hotel room at least an hour after I did. But I just went back to the room and crashed.

The next day, Sunday, our breakfast was brought to the hotel room. There was coffee, hot milk, and medialunas. The medialunas were delicious, but the coffee was complete crap. Probably the worst I've ever tasted in my life. No matter how much milk and sugar I added, I couldn't make it taste any better.

We packed out of our hotel rooms and got on the bus to go and visit a bodega by 10 am. The tour was a bit short, but it was cool. They let inside the chambers where they store the grapes before they press them. They also showed us how they put the labels on each of the bottles by hand, and had a few people try out the machine that they use to push the corks into the bottles.

There was a fountain of a woman holding a wine jar outside in front of the wine shop attached to the bodega. It was interesting, because water was flowing from everywhere except for the jar, which had red wine flowing from it instead. It had stained the stone from years of wine being poured over it, and of all fell to mix with the water at the bottom. I guess they make enough wine to just use some for their fountain.

At last we got to the wine tasting. We were able to try it two ways. Plain, or heated and mixed with chocolate and sugar. The chocolate and sugar wine was delicious. I think I found a new favorite drink for Christmastime! (And of course this was mixed with their special 'Wintertime' wine. And just to remind you all, winter has pretty much just arrived in Argentina.)

Now the wine plain, wasn't that good. It wasn't bad, but it almost had close to no taste at all. It was like drinking water that had a little bit of wine accidently poured in it. I think the problem was that all the wines that had us taste and try were selling, were all no older than 2007. It's like they don't wait to let the wine age long.

A lot of people went and bought bottles, and some boxes, of wine, because it was so cheap. Like 12-24 pesos a bottle (which is like $4-8.) But I didn't buy any because I'm not quite sure on regulations on bringing alcohol in luggage through customs. Gabriel suggested I just buy it and drink it in the country, but why would I go through all that trouble and money if I didn't like it? I did buy some novelty wine souvenirs for me and my mom though.

We then returned to San Rafael for lunch, and then went back on our way to Córdoba. We left San Rafael around 3 in the afternoon, and we were supposed to arrive back in Córdoba around 11, 11:30 at night, but the driver took a waay wrong turn, and we didn't get back until 2am. And we all still had classes the next day! Good thing none of my Monday classes start until after noon. But it was still pretty late, and we were all very tired.

I really enjoyed the outdoorsy stuff, but I felt the weekend was still too short for me. I would have loved to have had more time looking at the scenery, and doing a wine tour since that's what Mendoza is famous for. But I can't complain since this weekend was free. Maybe one day I'll be able to go back to Mendoza and have more time to appreciate it.

Martes 13

So today is Martes trece in Argentina. Tuesday the 13th here is bad luck, like Friday the 13th back in the United States. But I didn't have a lot of bad luck today, and no one else was freaking out about it.
Although Mimi told me her son, Juan Pablo, was born on martes 13. I can only guess what that means.

It did rain a lot today, and it's pretty cold. It wasn't bad until I had to wait for almost an hour for my bus to arrive so I could go home. I guess that means winter is coming. That's right WINTER!

Also, this past Monday was the first day we did any real painting in my UNC class. The profesora said to just paint whatever we wanted at first. I had a lot of yellow, so I figured painting the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto would be a good idea. The paint didn't spread the way I wanted it to though. She just let us loose without any instruction, so I'm really not sure what I was doing wrong. But one of the assistant professors was walking by and he told me I was doing a good job. (I'm pretty sure he meant "as a beginner" but who knows.)

After the majority of the class finished painting, I thought profe Trojer would let us loose early, but instead she said we had to paint the same picture with the same colors and composition, but with más mancha which roughly translates as "more stain." Which meant less controlled strokes, and more dotting. That left me in twist, because the majority of my original painting was already "mancha" but the profesora gave me a few suggestions on how I could change it.

The painting class isn't bad. I actually enjoy it, but I hope I get better. And the Argentine students that sit with us are really helpful. I'm going to have to buy more paints though, and a portfolio to carry my paintings and my paper around.

El arte

Alright, so this past week I tried out both the beginner painting and drawing classes. We didn't do any actual art for any of the classes, it was just introduction to what we were going to do for the year. But after sitting in for both of them, I decided I like the painting class better. The profesora is so sweet, and amiable, and I just had a better feeling about that class.

Either way, no matter which class I choose, they professors have to go the head of the facultad and ask if us foreign students can receive a grade for the semester, because these are both year-long classes.

I also bought most of my art supplies. The store I went to buy mine was missing a certain color I needed, and one of the paint brushes. But other than that I have everything. And it was much cheaper than I thought it would be. I have a lot of artist friends, and I know how expensive art supplies can run back in the United States. I went into the store thinking everything would cost the same after the conversion to pesos. But no, everything came out to under 30 pesos! That's like $10! So we'll see how painting goes again tomorrow, and if I'm actually any good at it!

This past Friday, Jennifer, Emily and I went to the Feriada de Internacionales Artesanias which was way out in the boonies of Córdoba. It was fun though, but not as International as I was lead to believe. The majority of the artisan booths were from right here in Argentina. But we saw a few cool booths and crafts from Bolivia, Peru, and Paraguay.

There were also too booths selling middle-eastern items, claiming they were booths from India. (They weren't really.) There was also a booth with two African guys that were selling cheap and gaudy watches and jewelry, like you'd see on the streets of New York City.

Emily and I split a bag of jelly fruit candy from one of the Bolivian booths. (Or Paraguay, one of them.) The candies were good, but when we handed over our money, one of the men at the booth held up one of our 2 peso notes and said it was a fake. I don't know which one of us had the counterfeit bill, but when the guy saw how confused we looked, he just let us go on our way. I guess he let it slide by since it was only 2 pesos. I don't know who would make counterfeit 2 peso notes. That just doesn't seem worth the time.

There is a huge counterfeit bill problem in Argentina, but it's mostly with the 50 peso notes. (100 pesos coming in second actually.)

Anyway, I ended up not buying anything at the Feriada because everything was expensive and all the prices high. I saw two booths selling handspun yarn, and I though about getting a skein for Jen Waterhouse (since that's how I'm paying her for rent, for using her basement as storage) But they were all 50 pesos and up. And the yarn that was within my price range was all scratchy.

We ended up waiting for almost an hour for the colectivo after we left the Feriada. We had to take E1 back, and most of the E1's that were coming by weren't going back to the centro, which didn't make any sense to us. A huge crowd built up waiting for the E1 bus. Finally, an completely empty one was sent over to take us all back.

When we got back to the centro, we noticed an unusual amount of cars blocked up. When we went to la calle 27 de Abril, we noticed all the colectivos jammed up. It took awhile to take the other bus back home. I learned later downtown was so crowded because there was a Belgrano game that night. So everything was crowded because all of the fanatics were out.

Yesterday, I went downtown early (early being 9:30 pm, which is really early for going out in Argentina.) I had planned on meeting with some friends to go see a movie, but they were taking their time. Patio Olmos was crowded, so I decided to walk over to the Plaza San Martín, and to my surprise, there was tango going on! There were a few old couples dancing, a few young couples, and I saw a mother dancing with her daughter. It was so cute!

Jen finally arrived around 12:15, and we went to go see the Blindside at 1am. (Which is called Un Sueño Posible en español.) It was really good!

I spent this afternoon just working on my homework, and then looking at all the classes for next semester, since I'm going to have to register for the fall term next week! I now I have only two requirements left for my major, and maybe one or two Gen ed credits left, most of which should be taken care of here in Argentina. So there's only one Spanish class I have to take next semester, because all the others are either beginner level, or I already took them. If I play my cards right, my senior year might be really easy and just full of fun classes, which would help for time on working on job applications, like the JET program, or that English teaching program in Spain. It's so weird. It's making me think I should go full forward into planning for my whole life right now, but I just want to focus on being here in Argentina.

It's also kind of a joke to me, to be planning my life. Because most of everything in my life that has happened, or I chose to do, in the past 10 years or so, was done on a whim. Well, we'll see how it goes!

Semana Santa, CAF, y mi hermana alemán

Alright, so my posts are becoming less frequent, but I realize I should make them more frequent, just so I can include more details that I can remember, and so that my posts aren't such huge blocks, like I'm pretty sure this one is going to be. Thanks to mom for reminding me when to update!

Alright, so we had a four day weekend for Semana Santa. Most people went and traveled to different places, but I just stayed in town. (Saving my money for the Week of May when I have to travel.) But I wasn't the only one that stayed in town.

I went with my friend Gabriel to a bar on Wednesday night, called Ochentoso. Wednesday nights are ladies' nights there, so of course that's where a lot of Córdoba's lesbians congregate. It was actually really interesting. We had a couple of drinks, and met a few interesting people. Meike, the german girl, (who's also in PECLA, but not CC-CS) was the one girl in our group who got hit on a lot. It was funny, because we'd watch her talk to all these girls, and then she'd walk back to our table and say, "I have no idea what they just said." There were a few girls in the bar that were amazed when I told them that I was also studying Japanese alongside Spanish. They were like, "OH wow! THREE languages! How do you do that?

I can't distinguish what I did on Thursday and Friday, because they both run together in my mind, but one day I woke up at like, 1:30 in the afternoon, and after I got dressed and got into the kitchen, Mimi already had a family party underway. I just remember Mimi made me eat in the kitchen. The food they had for Good Friday was this soup with these grainy dumplings, and empanadas with fish and vegetables. (It was the first time I've eaten fish here. Argentines don't eat seafood much.)

After I ate, I sat at the table in the living room as Mimi pointed out different family members. I had a hard time keeping track of everyone's names and if they were cousins, sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews etc. There were like, five, conversations going on at once, and they all pertained to their personal lives, so I couldn't figure out how to assimilate myself into the conversation and practice my Spanish.

Sometime after all the family members emptied the house, I went by myself downtown to Patio Olmos and see Como entrenar a tú dragón just so I could get out of the house. Patio Olmos was the most crowded I have ever seen it. It's because it was one of the few "shoppings" that was still open for semana santa, which is treated as pretty much a federal holiday here in Argentina. The movie was really cute though. It wasn't hard to catch all the Spanish dialogue, and if there was apart that wasn't clear, or was too fast for me, I was just admiring the details in the computer animation.

So on Friday I went to Córdoba Anime Fest! (Hey, I wasn't leaving town, and it cost only US$10 to get in.) I tried to take the bus there, but I got on one, and it went in the opposite direction, so I took a bus back to the centro, and then walked all the way there. It was located at the Córdoba Polish association building. The whole Convention was just in one big room, but there was also a small side room to get food, and a courtyard out back.

So I took pictures of cosplayers, looked at all the vendors tables, and bought some food and manga (which of course is in Spanish.) I didn't buy much else, because a lot of the merchandise is the same stuff I can get back in the United States, or stuff that I bought back when I was in Japan. So I was about to leave early, since I had seen everything in the one room. But there were two lives bands that played some anime songs, and they were actually really good. I got interested when they started playing songs that I knew. I, along with a lot of guys actually, rushed forward when they started playing songs from DeathNote.

The first band was called Sephiroth, and the second one was called Tamagotchi. Both were good, but Tamagotchi was a lot more fun to mosh to. They played the Pokémon themesong in Spanish and they also, for some reason, played the Ghostbusters themesong. I couldn't really mosh as hard as I wanted to, because I had my purse flailing around, and still had to hold on to my bag of manga that I bought. (And if anyone's wondering I got Nana vol.1-3 and the first volume of D.Gray-man. So if anyone wants to try reading any of these manga in Spanish when I come back, just hit me up!)

I was about to leave the convention after the last band finished playing, but then I was pulled over by this strange guy, who asked if I was the same girl that lives "en la casa de Mimi." I was shocked for a minute, because I didn't recognize him, and I had no idea how the hell he knew who I was. But then he introduced himself as Maxi, el sobrino de Mimi and that he recognized me from the party at Mimi's house. I hung out with him for awhile, until the convention was over for the day. We talked a little bit about the manga, anime, and video games we liked, and watched the cosplay contest.

After the cosplay contest, there was a drawing for prizes. (Everyone was given a ticket when they entered the con.) There were a few times when they called numbers that were close to mine. The grand prize though, was an Xbox, and the number they called was pretty close to mine as well. (I didn't win anything.) But as they called out the numbers I was thinking, how cool it would be to win the Xbox, and then I thought; "What am I going to do with an Argentine Xbox? Would it even work back in the United States?"

But anyways, after it was over, I took a taxi back with Maxi and his friend (I forgot her name, but she was cool though) to the centro, and took a bus back home. He was really helpful. We traded cellphone numbers and emails, and he kept asking me if I knew my way home, and said, "Call me if you get lost." It was really sweet, but of course I knew how to get back home. I've been taking the colectivos and taxis back home since I got here in February, so of course I can handle it.

Anyway, I spent Sunday catching up on my homework, and around five, our German student showed up! Her name is Federica, and she's nice. She's taller than I am, and she just graduated from High School about two and a half weeks ago, and is 19. She brought over some German chocolate as a hostess gift for Mimi, but we all got to share it.

Federica also speaks English. She's been studying English for 8 years, and Spanish for 5. Seeing her arrive and get adjusted is like watching myself when I first arrived here in Argentina. She's not having as rough a time as I did, but I think she does have a more negative outlook. She's studied abroad before in Canada for 6 months, and she says she loved it. She also said at dinner one time that she went to London and loved it, and that English is her favorite language to study. She's also overwhelmed because she's juggling three languages. She has to speak Spanish with Mimi, and when she speaks to Taylor and Me, she uses English.

She's only staying in the house for one month, but she's supposed to be in the country for 2. She's doing this program where she goes to school for a month, and then next month go and volunteer at a school in the country somewhere for mentally challenged children. I think the shock from the first two days of realizing, "I don't know as much Spanish as I thought I did," hit her hard. She told me she doesn't want to do the volunteer portion anymore, because she doesn't think she can do it with her level of Spanish. She can still technically opt out of the volunteer portion now, but she doesn't have the money to change her ticket, because it isn't open-ended.

I told her she should just give it time, before she decides to opt out, and that if she does, she should check her budget now to see if she can just spend the whole month traveling around Argentina, instead of trying to go home early. Because her Spanish isn't bad at all, although I don't think her program is going about it the right way with helping her. Her first week is all Spanish classes, but the teach in English for the first week, it's not full immersion until next week. When Taylor and I got here, the program and orientation was completely in Spanish right from the beginning, the moment that greeted us at the airport.

But Federica is finding her way around the city with her friends from her program faster than I did, so I think she'll be fine. She's a good housemate. I wish I had more than one month to get to know her.

Día de la memoria y exámenes

Okay, so this is about a whole week late getting up, but last Wednesday we didn't have classes because it was a national holiday here in Argentina. El Día de la Memoria commemorates the day when the Argentine government first started making people "disappear" in 1976 until 1985. A total of 30,000 intellectuals, professors, students, anyone that the government thought was a threat were kidnapped, put in cement shoes, and thrown into the ocean.

This day is held to commemorate those who were lost, and to show the world that they won't forget what their government had done. There was a march in downtown Córdoba that started around 6 pm. There were a lot of groups marching together, like the Junior Socialists and Communists. There were also a lot of families marching together holding photos of their own family members that had "disappeared" with their names and the dates that they "disappeared."

While I was walking along the march with Jennifer and Rachel, I overhead a random American tourist ask an Argentine woman, "So is this march supposed to accomplish anything?" I will tell you right here and now that it accomplishes a lot. It's to take a stand that the people will not tolerate this heinous act ever again. It's to show they won't EVER forget. They are practicing their right to think and to remember without fear of being taken down by the government themselves. All of that in itself is a lot.

I took a lot of photos of the march, but sadly I can't put them up yet. I really wish I could.




Here's a quick link about the history of the Guerra Sucia and the disappeared. (I hope it works anyway.)



I also had two exams this week. Not big ones though. The one I had for Gramática Avanzada was a little tough. There were two parts for it, and I think I did alright on the first part, the second part not so much. I'll be finding out my scores next week. My one for Cultura Argentina wasn't that bad. We had to go over review questions to make sure we understood them completely, and the test was oral, so the profesora picked people at random to give the answers. I think I did alright, because I know I did more research than some of the other girls and gave more details in my answers.

I don't have anymore classes this week since it's Semana Santa. Some of Mimi's relatives are staying over for a couple of days. They're staying in the other bedroom, so now I have to go through the gate in the courtyard to get to my room while they're staying here. I'm also going to have to do that when the German exchange student arrives too. Her name is Federica, she's arriving in the afternoon Easter Sunday and she's staying for a month.

Cuarteto

Sorry it's been so long in posting. My class schedule is regular, but as far as what I do during my free time, and when I actually sleep isn't. I'll still try to be doing these posts at least once a week. Although, other than class, I haven't been doing anything different from going out late and 'partying.'

But anyway, Saturday night, I went with Jennifer and Rachel to a birthday party in downtown Córdoba. It was Romy's 24th birthday I think, and I believe she's someone speaking partner in the program. The party was fun. There were a few other students from CC-CS there, and we met a few NICE Argentine guys. We had fun listening to them swear in English. We also had choripan which is a delicious Argentine, sausage sandwich. I scarfed two down, and tried really hard not to come off as some fat, gross, American. But when I belched I got a few laughs and all the Argentines responded with ¡BIENVENIDOS!

After the party, Jennifer and I caught a late movie that started at 1:30am. We saw Los hombres que no amaban las mujeres which directly translates into: The men who don't love women, but is most widely known in the US as "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." We picked an intense movie to watch at 1:30 in the morning. There's just a lot of weird violent parts, characters with really messed up minds, and a really graphic rape scene. It was also longer than we thought it would be. By the time the movie was over, it was almost 5am.

We had an interesting experience going into the movie. The movie was listed as subtitled, so Jen and I thought we could just follow the dialogue, and then as it started, we realized the original dialogue was in Swedish, so we had to use the subtitles ourselves as well. It wasn't bad, just a little weird. We knew what was going on in the film. Although it would be a little jarring when we read the Spanish subtitles, and the Swedes, would say something that sounded very similar to English.

Also, when I got home that night, I got locked out. I had my keys, but Mimi has this habit of sometimes leaving her own keys in the lock. So when I got home, I wasn't able to stick in my own keys. It was 5:10am and I just wanted to sleep. After fighting with the lock for about 5 minutes, I ended up ringing the doorbell twice and shouting Mimi's name until she came to the door to let me in. She wasn't too pleased, and I was apologizing profusely the moment she answered the door, but she just turned around and kinds slept-walked back to bed. I really hope this doesn't happen again. Because of this, I'm starting the habit of leaving around more notes to Mimi letting her know I'll be out late in hopes she won't accidently lock the door on me again. (So far it's working.)

So Jennifer, Rachel, Sarita, and I tried dancing to cuarteto for the first time last night. That was a lot of fun. We had a few drinks at a bar, and then Rachel led us over to one of her favorite boliches, but it was empty when we arrived, so we decided to hang out down a few blocks. While the rest of the girls were having a smoke, some guy came over to talk to us, and then invited us over to the bar across the street and sit with his friends. So the bought is drinks, and we talked for awhile. They were actually nice, and not being too forceful and forward (which is kinds rare in the bar and boliche scene here in Argentina.)
Two of the guys said they were gay, but I'm pretty sure they were lying, (one of the gay guys was married and danced with Sarita later, and Sarita told me he was kissing her neck repeatedly at the boliche.) One of the guys that Jennifer and I both thought was the cutest, claimed he was bisexual, (And I am going to refer to this guy as 'German' because he was wearing a t-shirt with some random German phrase on it.)

The guys lead us to a boliche on Chacabuco afterwards, and they handed us what they thought were tickets that they took from some woman in the street. (I don't actually know where or how they got them, I was just handed one and took it.) When we got there, we found out the 'tickets' were just ads, and the men tried to argue with the bouncer. They ended up giving up the fight, and payed for us to go in. (That's right, they paid our entry fee for us!)

So basically there was one guy for each girl, and my dancing partner was 'German.' ^-^ He was fun to dance with, and tried telling me how I should move my hips to the music. He told me that the live band was called "Guardito" or something like that. He kept trying to buy me drinks and asking me what I wanted, but I knew I already had enough that night, and that if I had another full drink, I'd just be stumbling everywhere. He eventually gave up and got himself a large drink, which ended up being shared by the whole group. I don't know what it was, but at least it tasted alright. Also, just the sips I had from sharing the cup were enough.

But yeah, the guys were really nice, in that they didn't try to physically force themselves on us if we didn't want it, and there was no pressure for anything afterward. (They actually all left the boliche as a group an hour earlier before we did!)

Jennifer and I got separated from Rachel and Sarita for awhile, but at least it wasn't hecticly crowded that we couldn't easily find them later. Anyway, Jennifer and I danced with this other really cute guy, whose name was Louis. The his hair was and his face was shaped, he liked a Native American to me. (Very handsome!) But he was great to dance with too. He had this "come hither" move and face, but when we got to actually dance with him, it was just fun, simple dancing. And he and his friends ended up pulling me and Jennifer into an impromptu conga line.

We ended up leaving the boliche with Rachel and Sarita at around 4:30. Which means it was actually fun, because I usually leave these places by myself and before 4 am! Cuarteto is actually a lot of fun. I think I may have to download some songs for my ipod, and host a cuarteto party as a hall social next year.

Classes

So my first week of classes went well. So far I have only started classes at PECLA. My integrated classes at the University don't start for awhile. I had three back-up classes at the University and Alfredo told me to try them all before settling on one. Introducción a Fotografía doesn't start until Monday, and the painting and drawing classes don't start until April. I was thinking of just sticking with drawing, but my host mother, Mimi, suggested I take photography since I'm good at it already. (She really likes my pictures of Japan.) I guess I might, especially since the other classes don't even start for awhile.

Anyway, the classes I am taking at PECLA are: Realidades Culturales, Literatura Argentina, Cultura Argentina, y Gramática Avanzada. The classes aren't all that hard. Well, at least so far. All of the classes meet at least twice a week, and we always have three day weekends. What I really like about classes here in Argentina is that we don't have to spend money on an absurd amount of textbooks like in the United States. It's true for all classes here at all Universities in Argentina. What teachers do is compile all the material they're going to use for a class, like articles, and book passages, and just put them all together in this one plastic notebook. They either just give it to you in class, or you end up buying it at one of the fotocopías on campus. Basically you go in and say you need this book for this class from this professor, give them your name, and then they print all the pages and put it together for you, and it usually doesn't cost more than 16 pesos. And that's your textbook for the class! I love it! It also saves a lot of room in my bookbag, and takes a lot of weight off of my shoulder.

Argentina doesn't really celebrate St. Patrick's day like we do, but they know what it is. The closest I got to celebrating was buying a small cheap bottle of Bailey's, and bringing it home. I went to see Percy Jackson that day since the movies were 10 pesos per person at Patio Olmos. It was dubbed in Spanish, but I was able to catch and understand the majority of the dialogue. I still had my bookbag with me, and since I didn't buy any movie snacks, I was taking a few sips of the Bailey's during the movie.

Taking the colectivo home after the movie was a bit of a fiasco. The bus' engine started making these sounds like it was straining from under pressure. Right as it entered my barrio, it stopped to let some people off, and then would not move forward anymore. The driver told everyone to get off since the bus wasn't going anywhere, but luckily, another, empty colectivo came up from right behind real quick to finish the route. Even though the problem was fixed faster than I would expect, I still got home much later than I intended.

But my lateness was forgiven that night when I presented the Bailey's to Mimi. She was ecstatic! She went into the other room, and brought out glasses with Bailey's printed on them, and she went on about how she bought the classes back in the US, and how she loves Bailey's. She tried to give some to Taylor, but he refused. Mimi went on to explain how Bailey's is the whiskey for women. We had an interesting conversation about how and why St. Patrick's day is celebrated in the US. At one point, Mimi asked why people drink in order to celebrate. Really, the only answer I have is that St. Patrick is the patron Saint of Ireland and the Irish drink.

We also somehow got on the subject of pasta, and the different names for different pasta's. So this conversation made me realize that in English we retain a lot of the original Italian names for different pasta's. I thought Spanish would keep a lot of the same too since the two languages are similar, but apparently English does a better job of it. Penne pasta is called mostachol here, and one of the corkscrew like pasta's (I forget which one) is called tirabuzón.


And this last bit of news is a bit off topic from Argentina in general, but I have to share it. I got an email last night notifying that I am being re-hired as an RA again next year at Hollins, and my assignment is . . . . OTAKU HALL! I am so freaking excited! I'm looking forward to my next year of school even more now!

I should be posting again on tomorrow. ¡Chau!

I like to Rock!

Okay, so this is quite a few days late, but I needed to sleep, and classes started on Monday, so now I finally have free AWAKE time to write this.

Jennifer and I went to the Paseo de los Artes again on Saturday. I actually bought something this time. A leather coin purse and id card holder, since the blue sparkly one that Alyssa gave me as a High School graduation present is finally shot. (I had been re-gluing it repeatedly the past year and a half to hold it together.) We also stopped at the same bar we stopped at last time, but we didn't see the same cute waiter again (awe . . . )

Anyway, while Jennifer and I were chilling, sharing a lomo and drinking beer, and old man somewhere in his sixties came over and started talking to us. He asked us where we were from, and how we liked Córdoba, and then invited us to sit over at his table, so we went over and talked with him for a bit. There were other people at the table but we didn't talk to them as much. There was younger guy who i think was around the same age as us. He had a weird faux-hawk hairstyle going on with half his head bleached blond.

They asked us about where we're from and how we like it here in Córdoba, and what we're studying at UNC. They refilled our glasses with more beer for free, and the old man invited us to come over to his house sometime. He and Jennifer traded phone numbers, and after we payed fro our lomo, he followed us out the bar and hailed a taxi for us. We could've walked the whole way to the next bar we were going to as it was only 6 blocks away, but the man was insistent.

Jennifer and I met up with Mika and Sarita at a bar and ordered some drinks, and this one guy came up to us asking if we were from Germany. We also started responding where we were actually from in Spanish, but then he said he was from the US too and introduced himself as Brandon. He told us that the bartender told him we were all from Germany. I don't know why the bartender told him that, probably just likes jerking foreigners around.

But Brandon was nice. He told us he was there on a business trip and that he comes down to Córdoba every once in awhile for work, and that he and his uncles like to go dove-hunting here in Argentina. He also told us he found one of his Norwegian relatives on facebook and that this relative of his was in Córdoba and that he was going to meet him the next day.

At about 1:15 ish, we left the bart and walked all the way to this small rock-club venue along la calle Lima, to see a few bands play. We went, because Vicky Carando, the assistant director here for CC-CS is a drummer and her band was playing there that night. I had so much fun! It was just 10 pesos to get in. I don't remember any of the names of any of the bands but the music was good. I've been looking everywhere for a good indie-rock place in Córdoba like this one and I finally found it!

I saw a table with a bunch of CD's on it by the local bands. I'm not sure if they were for sale or free, but no one was around the table that looked like they were managing money, and after the show there were only 3 cd's left and I saw two random girls picking them up and putting them down. I don't know, but I plan on picking one up next time I come back.

The first band was pretty good. The local audience was little lame. They don't move like people move at shows back home. I was behind this line of teenage girls, and they kept backing up into me. They would stand and nod a little bit to the music, but me, I like to jump and wave my arms, and all that jazz.

When Vicky's band started playing, I made sure to get up to the front so that I wouldn't get stuck behind people, and knock into them. The audience in general got more active when Vicky's band played. There was one girl that actually crawled onstage twice and danced around the guitarist, and then went over to the keyboard and pretended to play before getting off the stage.
And Vicky plays the drums like it's nobody's business! It was amazing! And I don't remember how all the songs went, but I remember one song where the chorus went "Todos los días" repeatedly and everyone sang along.

I don't know when Vicky's band plays again, but I can't wait to go to another show!

Alicia en el País de Maravillas

So Jennifer and I went out to see Alice in Wonderland last night. We ended up seeing a later showing since neither of us left our houses as early as we thought we would. I got their before Jennifer, so I just went ahead and bought both our tickets before she arrived, because the ticket line was kinda long.

We had a little over an hour to kill, so we went and got ice cream at Grido on a corner down the street. It was sad, because while we were eating, there was little girl, who couldn't have been more than eight, going up to everyone who was sitting down, asking them to buy her ice cream. When everyone refused, she stood by the counter, waiting for incoming customers to buy her some. And she was by herself without any parents.

When we left the Grido, I saw big, grungy-looking woman who might have been her mom, because she was just standing on the corner, staring inside the Grido at the counter, and not moving.

When Jennifer and I decided to head in for the movie, there was some confusion. We went up these set of stairs, and when we got up to the ticketer, he told us it was en el otro lado and we didn't know what that meant, because we didn't see obvious signs as to where el otro lado was. The movie theater isn't in it's own separate building. The ticket booth is in the open airway of a shopping center, and then you just go up these separate stairs. So Jennifer and I walked up and down the hallway, wondering what the guy meant. We finally pulled over a janitor wearing the movie theater uniform and had him lead us to where we needed to go.

Apparently the other two theaters were out of the way and not even attached to the rest of the theater. We had to walk outside through this gate, into this area that was pretty much deserted, before seeing signs for the theater again. But at least we found it.

Jennifer and I made a point to see the later showings, since they were subtitled instead of dubbed. Online it said that the subtitled showings were not in 3D, but apparently that wasn't the case, but we're not complaining. The theater was packed though! We had a hard time looking for a good spot that had two seats open so we could sit next to each other. We ended up sitting in the second row in the front, because we didn't think it was worth it to crawl over 16 people to get to an open seat.

I thought the movie was really good, and even though I knew it was a Tim Burton movie, and that it wasn't exactly meant for real small children, it was still more gruesome than I thought it would be. I'd go into more detail about that, but I don't spoil anything for anyone who hasn't seen it yet.

There were a few times where I was able to just watch the movie and ignore the Spanish subtitles underneath, but there were a few times I made a point to read the subtitles to see how they translated a few things. Especially all the nonsense words and when they recited to poem The Jabberwocky. I wonder how hard it was for the translators to figure out how they should translate them into Spanish. So "Frabjus Day" was el día Frabjusoso and "galumphing" was galumfando. I wonder if the translators took the time to read an original Spanish translation of the book and used it to help base their translations of the script. If I was translating a movie into English that was based off of a foreign book, I'd do that, just to make it easier for those who are familiar with the book. I don't know. I think it might be in my best interest to go and find one or both of the Alice books in Spanish, and find out for myself. Speaking of which, I haven't read of them in English yet in the first place. I should do that when I get home in July.

After the movie was over, I hung around with Jennifer until she met up with some other girls to go to a boliche. But Jennifer was getting frustrated with them. Two of the girls, were the same ones that went with us to the boliche the other night, and when Jen kept calling and texting them, they kept giving her different answers as to where they were, and where she should go to meet up with them. One time they told her "just take a taxi" and hung up without telling her where she should take the taxi. It was during this time that Jennifer and I came to the conclusion that were having the same problems with hanging out with these girls.

The general problem/s being that these girls like to invite people to go out partying with them, but aren't really thinking about the people around them. It's like they invite people because they want to look cool with a posse or something, but the moment they enter a club, they drop their companions flat on their asses, and are only there for themselves. One of the girls particularly, whom I'll call 'S'. 'S' has been involved, however indirectly, for all my crappy experiences regarding bars and boliches and late nights. And I know she's not doing this to be mean. She's trying to be nice, but because she's so dim-witted and not thinking about the people around her, bad things happen. I'm not the only person she has inadvertently put in unsafe situations, and these people have the same gripes about her as I do. I've come to the conclusion that I cannot trust 'S' anymore with important stuff like this, and that she just isn't dependable. There are so many times I just want to punch some sense into her. Right now I think I'm just going to avoid situations where she makes the forward plans and she tries to make herself the main safety-net. I really think she needs a talking to about her behavior, because I don't think it's getting through her head, how her actions are affecting other people. I know that if it was just me doing it, I'd just end up losing my cool and try to beat her up. I wonder if Jennifer, and I, and maybe someone else should go to Alfredo and let him know that this is going on, and help drill it into 'S''s head that what she's doing isn't exactly safe behavior, especially for foreigners who don't know the city so well. I really think the only way she'll pay attention is if an authority figure enforces it and shows just how serious it is.

As soon as the girls showed up, I took a taxi home. The place looked a lot loss crowded than where we went the other night, but as I still wasn't in the mood to try that again . . . But it did look like a place I might enjoy, after I take my long break from boliches. I think I only can do small places with very little people, and that's okay with me.

I don't have anymore plans for this weekend, except for the phone call on Sunday. I had a hard time getting my phone cards to work these past two days. I bought two and kept pressing in the numbers, then calling Jen to see if it worked, and it still kept telling me no crédito but I finally got one of them to work this morning!

Feeling Better

I'm feeling much better after taking a day of just chilling out in the house.

Mimi is having a big party today/tonight at her house for her birthday, (which was actually two days ago). I don't know if it's going to be this afternoon or late at night. Either way, I plan on staying awhile for the food, meeting some of her neighbors, and then I plan on heading downtown around 9 because Jennifer and I have plans to see Alice in Wonderland tonight. I plan on heading straight home afterwards, no doubt about that!

Not feeling so good

So I ended up getting a básico score on the CELU, which isn't even really passing. Alfredo said not to worry about it since more than half of us received básico and that the test is Waaaaay advanced, and that many people can be in the advanced classes back in the US and still get básico and that I can still take certain integrated classes at UNC. Most of my choices are still available to me since I picked easy classes in the first place so I wouldn't be so overloaded. But I'm still so disappointed in myself because I put in all that hard work, and I've been studying for so long, and I feel like I put in all that effort so little payoff. And I feel so frustrated when I hear that some of the other students got advanzado or intermedio and I was so sure that my Spanish was better than their's.

I also had a Shit-tastic night last night. I decided to go with some girls to a bar and a boliche last night. They gave me an address, and the taxi didn't take me to the right spot, and I had this frantic phone-tag with the girls to figure out where I was actually supposed to be. Meanwhile, while trying to navigate where I was actually supposed to be, I think I ended up passing by 6 homeless men lying on the streets, and just felt so unsafe.

When I finally did end up meeting with the girls, we went to a bar and they all ordered Fernet, which is some disgusting shit that I had tried before and absolutely hate. When they all ordered, Sarah asked if I wanted to same thing. I said no, but they all got the karaf anyway, which is fine for them, except that I didn't get a chance to order anything different, and so I ended up taking a tiny glass of something I hated and putting in 10 pesos to help pay for a drink that I didn't even want.

We didn't have to pay to to into the boliche, thank God. At first when we entered it seemed like everything was going to be just fine, but the place was packed. The music was actually okay, but when the girls started going into the crowd and I lost them, things started going downhill fast. At first I saw the direction that they were going in, and that I would be able to find them in the next five minutes or less. But then I made it all the way to the other side without finding them. So I went back and forth, trying to push my way through the people trying to find them but couldn't. I had people stepping on my feet, and I couldn't make out distinct faces, and I ran frantically to the bars in hopes that that's where they were because they talked about getting drinks.

I finally found a set of stairs and seeing club-goers going up and down, so I went up thinking it might've been another floor with another dance floor that might be less crowded, and that they might be there. It just had bathrooms, but I looked in there to see if I could find them, but they weren't there either. I spent 15 minutes hiding out in the stall, because I couldn't bring myself to keep braving the chaos that was outside. And I broke down in tears for a moment because I felt so lost and I didn't know what to do, and I kept staying a few minutes longer hoping one of the girls would come in looking for me, because that would be easy. I was finally able to pull myself together to walk out of there and try going up and down the boliche a few more times. The first time I was going down, it was horrible because I could not move forward through all the people, and some random guy grabbed my waist from behind and that freaked me the hell out so I just booked it to another part of the floor until I couldn't move anymore, and then a strobe light came on and I lost all sense of where I was going or if I was even moving at all, and I felt like throwing up. Since I couldn't move forward, I tried running back, and I got to the bar in the back, and tried to pretend I was heavily interested in something so I wouldn't get strange guys grabbing my hand and grinding up against me.

When the strobe lights stopped I made way to the front near the door where there were a lot less people and started fanning myself. There was one Argentine girl, who was nice, and I think she tried starting a real conversation with me, but I was so frantic I couldn't get into it, so I was just like, "Sí, hace mucho calor."

That's when I got two texts from Jennifer telling me to wait by the door and find them there, and asking me to text her back when I received it. So I texted her back telling her I was right by the door already, and that I was waiting. But then I ended up waiting 20 minutes and no one showed up, and then I started to wonder if they had left to go somewhere else and if they were waiting for me outside, but I didn't want to go outside and then not be able to get back in to find out that they were still inside. So I texted them asking if I they were inside or outside, but the text wouldn't go through, which didn't make sense at first sense I had excellent reception by the door, so I thought maybe Jennifer had bad reception. I tried just calling, and that's when I figured out the real reason why. When I dialed Jen's number, I had an automatic voice tell me in Spanish that I had just run out of credits. I waited by the door a little while longer, hoping one of them would get the idea and just fucking come over. But instead I just kept getting texts from Jennifer asking me where I was and how come I wasn't responding, and I just wanted her to fucking call already since I couldn't make outgoing calls or texts, and I just needed to blatantly tell her to come to the fucking door and get me if she wanted to find me. I then got one last text saying, "Did you go home already? We tried finding you, sorry." So yeah, they had basically given up on me, and since they thought I just went home, that's when I knew it was time to leave.

I cannot tell you just how abandoned and betrayed I felt at that point. I did try going to a kiosco to see if they had phone cards I could use so I could call them to let them know I was leaving. But the only two kiosco's that I found that were still open at 4 am didn't sell any. I walked over to the Paseo del buen Pastor because it seemed like a safe place to wait for a taxi. But first I hid myself behind some trees and just bawled my eyes out, and I had the luck of finding a pack of unopened tissues where I was sitting. (And the fact that that's the best luck I had all night fucking sucks.) And even though I was in a well-lit place with quite a few people I was so unsafe, because I was by myself, at 4am, in downtown Córdoba.

I took some time getting myself together before I hailed a taxi, because I didn't need a stranger all up in business asking what happened. I swear, the taxi driver seemed like the only person who cared about me all night, and he didn't even know what the fuck was going on, but at least he was nice. I'm pretty sure expected I was upset because he asked me twice , "Estás bien?" I was able to keep myself together until I got home and into my room where I just broke down, and I felt so sick that I threw-up a little in the sink, and just went to bed.

I slept in till 1:30 in the afternoon, and I still feel like shit, and I can't bring myself to leave the house because I feel so paranoid, and I don't want to leave my bed.

It's so stupid, because it's not like the girls I went out with are even mean to me or anything. But it's very obvious to me that our friendship so far is still at a superficial and shallow level. My close friends wouldn't have let me fall flat on my ass. My Asperger's and that environment just do not mix, and I don't think these girls would be willing to go out of their huge socialization attitude to understand what I'm going through. I really miss my friends at Hollins, and my family at home. I had a support system back home, that I don't have here, and I need it. I'm hoping I can build it up soon, since it's only been a month and it takes time for me to make one. But if I can't get one soon, I don't know how I'm going to function if shit like this keeps happening while I'm down here.

It sucks, because I'm already vulnerable as a foreigner in a strange land, but I'm even more vulnerable than the rest of the students here at CC-CS and PECLA because of what I have, and they're oblivious to it, and I feel so alone, and I can't keep putting myself out there like they can, because it takes so much more effort for me. I love it here, but I don't have the support system and I needit so much. I love being here in Argentina, but my confidence went down to zero just like that in one night. I try to make friends and socialize and connect with people, but it hurts me so much more pretending to be normal than it does to just drift by alone on the side.

I hope that when classes start on Monday that it helps in normalizing my life, and that the school work keeps me busy enough, so I'm just not stuck alone in my room most of the time not knowing what to do with myself.