The Cait/Kate/lin/lyn's take on BA!

After Fede's asado, we went to a club, I went home from the club, and then Omar the taxi driver came to pick me up right away to go get Katelyn at the airport. I am sure I was quite the site to see while waiting for her at the airport, but what are you gonna do. I made her take a nap with me for a whole 2 hours and then we got up and went to San Telmo and a Tango show at Cafe Tortoni. I took her to La bomba del tiempo and the next day to La estancia. It was a farm outside of the city and it was gorgeous. We were the only guests there so we were treated like queens! Our room was upgraded, we had a fire going the whole time, we got to ride horses (kinda...the horses didn't really like us!), watched polo, and got served meal after meal. I went on a run the next morning and I finally was breathing fresh air and the only thing I could hear were cows and sheep. What a change from the big city.

I took Katelyn to Liquid, the club with free beer on Wednesdays. And boy did she take advantage. She might have had one too many though and then the rest of the night went downhill. Lets just say she was asked to leave and I got to be the lucky one to take her home. lol. The next night we had a Postre party at our house and all of our friends brought their favorite dessert. It was fun but by the end of the night Annalise and I were making rice with soy sauce cuz we were so sweeted out. There was even voting and prizes for the winner. Brighton, my roommate, is all about the theme parties so we have had one almost every week.

Friday, Kate and I went over to my old office, Dimnet, and celebrated Annalise's last day of work. We had sangria and hung out with the coworkers which was interesting to see them in a social setting. We went out to sugar that night and katelyn continued to enjoy her stay in Buenos Aires;D We all ate takeout on my bed the next day and didn't leave until it was time for the next party...a beer pong party! Another all argentine party with katelyn and I and so I had to be the teacher of the beer pong. I even managed to talk shit in spanish (my favorite part of the whole game). To end the whole perfect weekend, we went to a River Plate futbol match. We were sitting in a calmer section than I did at the Independiente game, so it was different but still amazing. I love futbol.

Katelyn was off the next day and I think she had a fun time...I was glad I got to show her Buenos Aires from more of the "Portena" view. She even got to practice her spanish a lil and I was so glad my friend from home got to see my life here. Now I can't wait to get home and see all my friends and fam in one week!!!!

La vida...

Well, lets see what have I done that is interesting. Annalise and I went to Uruguay for a couple days. We had different boat trips to get there since it was so booked up, but she stood on stand by and at the last minute got on the boat and surprised me. It was meant to be. We were nervous about where to meet and what to do if not since our phones didn't work but everything works out in the end. We went to Colonia and ate, then went to Montevideo and ate some more. We even got to go to this market that you could sit at a bar and order whatever steak you wanted. I guess we ate at the same one that Anthony Bordaine ate at. I guess he is some famous travel channel man and Annalise and this other touristy american woman were all excited about it. It was a fun, relaxed trip, but we left with about 20 mosquito bites each from our hostel. yuck.

What else. I took another week of school to prepare for the test I am going to take that proves I can speak spanish as a second language. My teacher was super fun and we talked lots about celeb gossip. I even brought her one of my magazines and she was in heaven. We also talked about Argentine men and how they always hoot and holler at you on the street. The other day this man told me something about eating chicken out of my hand when i walked by. I knew it was supposed to be something flattering but was so confused, why the heck would u want to eat chicken out of my hand??? I then asked my friend from here and he told me what they really said, "estas mas buena que comer pollo de la mano" which means you are better than eating chicken from my hand (i guess they love eating chicken with their hands? weird i know.) My friend told me to reply, "no te toco ni con un palo" which means i wouldnt even touch you with a stick! haha kind of harsh but funny. I still haven't said that to anyone, it might be too mean.

I went to my first real asado (bbq) at my friend Federico's house. He made every kind of meat there is and we all sat around, ate meat, drank some drinks, and it was so fun. I also went to a party at my other friend, Guillermo's, house and it was the first time I was with only people from Argentina. I loved it because I got to speak spanish the whole night and see how they party. Usually I am with people from all over and we are speaking broken spanish to each other or the others speaking broken english (who i am kidding, my english is pretty broken these days too!).

La vida simple...

I finished dimnet the week before and now just one week left of AE and then I begin the last month of fun... Since I only worked AE this week I had time for more exciting things so, Annalise and I had a girls day out. We went waxing and she had never gone before and we are in rooms across from each other and all I hear is wax rip off and Annalise yell, "OH MY GOD!!" This didn't stop until she was done, I was cracking up. Then we decided to get manicures since that was a little more on the relaxing side. To continue our girly day, we went to see "Simplemente no te quiere" which is the movie "He's just not that into you". She is a cheesy girly movie lover like me so it worked out just great. Then, we went to my home away from home, California Burrito Company, and had taco tuesday and analyzed every boy story we have (in lieu of the movie of course!) We continued our week of fun by trying to go salsa dancing the next night, but I heard it started at 9:30 but it actually started at 9. Back-up plan turned out to be sitting drinking sangria at this cute restaurant. We can try salsaing another time. Since I normally work at Dimnet thursdays, I didn't have work and went shopping! what a surprise, I know. I was going to this one purse outlet that my friend told me about and it turns out the whole area was outlet shopping. I was in heaven on earth for a full day and I even found my leather jacket that I have long been searching for. I have tried it on in the little boutique like 3 times now but still thinking about it, then I walked into this random leather shop and found the exact same one for half the price! It was obviously meant to be so i bought it. I also found a coffee shop that day that had CHAI TEA! It came it a pot with the tea, a seperate thing of milk, and a pot of honey. It was the cutest arrangement ever and I was so happy. But, it does remind me of my desire to sit on my porch at my beach house and drink a linda's chai latte. I came home and Brighton was making his famous no-bake cookies that night and we overate but they were oh so worth it.

The infamous friday night party came and the theme was Edward 40 hands! Annalise and I decided we wanted to have a tacky north american party, and the facebook invite read:

"When the typical sloppy north american drinkers get together in casual rendezvous , we don't carry a 12 ounce beer while tastefully attending a pleasant soiree, we duct tape 40 ounces otherwise known as a liter to each one of our hands in praise and glory of the infamous Edward Scissorhands. okay, after the first liter you may have to pee, smoke a cigarette, or itch a place i'd rather not know, but the race is on and the only way you can win is to DRINK.

SO-bring two liters of quilmes (or your choice beer) and we'll provide the duct tape, drinking lessons,appetizers and a ridiculous night you're bound to forget."

Everyone from work came and of course we (me, Brighton, and Annie) taped our beers to both hands but a lot of people just taped it to one. I had no control over this though because my hands were occupied. It was good fun, everyone enjoyed it and liked the idea.

On Saturday, I had a fun house part to go to for my friend Pablo's birthday and Sunday I didn't get much accomplished. But, Annie went to barrio chino and decided to make an asian feast and it was great. The even better part was watching our argentine friend, Guerillmo, eat it because it was obviously food he was not used to. He told us that all he eats is pizza, pasta, steak, milanesa, and hamburgers. I do not think he will be eating with us again!

This week I had an epiphany and I realized how much I enjoy my simple life. I am not crazy busy and have time to do things I want to do. I do not have a ton of friends, but I have good quality friends. I get to go do things by myself and don't feel the need to invite someone. I need to remember this when I get home, when I do not want to do something, just don't do it, and don't feel like I should just because I am going to miss out on something. Ahh the joys of this wonderful trip I am taking...everyone said you will learn so much about yourself and I was like ya whatever, but really I have and am exited to come home with a new attitude towards life.

La vida...

The next few weeks I was without my girlfriends but I did manage to find a new roommate! His name is Brighton and he had been staying at the Argentina Exchange apartment but wanted to find a new place. Luckily, he moved in the same day that Ariane left. This is my first experience living with a boy that is not my brother or dad, but he is actually quite clean and the second night he was there I came home to dinner waiting on the table for me! I think it will all work out just fine:) Friday night at Argentina Exchange was a big party that we had been working on for the last few months and I got to be bartender. There are about 8 french people that work with me, and individually, they are all nice, but as a whole, live up to their reputation. I loved being a bartender but then got booted to other stupid jobs like the coat check and check-in. These were not my jobs but some others decided that they wanted to take over my job, quite frustrating. But, overall it was a good night.

Another fun event was getting locked out on Monday. Once you close my front door, it automatically locks and as I just closed it, I realized my keys were inside and my roommate was already gone. Normally this wouldn't be a huge problem, but I had no phone at the time and he does not have a cell phone. So I left him an email, but as he never went home during the day, never got it. I got home and didn't know where he was so I tried to get the door open with the help of the door man but no luck. I went to the cafe, luckily I had my laptop for entertainment and was trying to make plans in the event that Brighton didn't come back until late that night. I had gone out to lunch with this guy I met on the bus the week before and he wanted to go out again, so, in my distressed state, I turned to him for something to do. I ended up finding Brighton before that and getting into the house, but I felt bad and still went out with him. And here is how the date went: He showed up in a sleeveless shirt, the kind a meathead wears to show off his guns. I wanted to turn around right then and walk back inside. As we are walking to the restaurant, he kept grabbing me while we crossed the street like I needed protection. I just wanted to say, look chico, i walk these streets everyday and I manage to do just fine. Then, we sit down in a restaurant and we start talking. I knew that he had been married, but as I am asking him about the divorce process here, he told me that they still had not gotten a divorce, they were still married. Strike 1 (the others I could get over if the date went well). Then he started bragging about how many friends he has and how he always has a million things to do. Strike 1.5. Then he started talking about his workout routine and how he likes to always keep a 6 pack. Strike 2. THEN, here's the real kicker, he told me that his friends always tell him that he must have been a stripper in his past life because of the sexy way he dances. STRIKE 3. you're out. Check please. I do not think I will be seeing him again.

Tuesday was a much better evening...I made taco tuesday for my friend Danny. His job at work is to find housing so our deal was that if he found me a roommate, I had to make him dinner. So, taco tuesday it was. My friend Travis from SCU was in BA again, so he came for dinner too. All was delicious as every taco tuesday is and we played poker after. I do miss my girlfriends but it is fun to hang out with guys too...a bunch of girls would never just be sitting and decide to play poker. We can just chat away the evening without any other entertainment. But, I like both so it was a good change of pace!

I ended my career at Dimnet on Thursday, and brought cupcakes in to celebrate. Everyone was quite taken aback because they had no clue what they were! I told Conor and he was shocked (and mad he didn't get to eat the cupcakes). I had a good experience at Dimnet overall, but I have no desire to go into web design, that is for sure.

Finally on Saturday, Ariane and Annalise came back to me! It was Ariane's last night before she really left to go home and Annalise was done travelling. We went to our favorite bar, Sugar, and stayed out til 8:30 in the morning. I spent the whole next day in bed with Annalise. My body simply can't handle those nights anymore, I was exhausted all the way through Tuesday. To end the weekend (and to leave the house at least once on Sunday) we ate gnocchis because it was the 29th. We found this great little hole in the wall restaurant with amazing gnocchi for so cheap. We all said goodbye to Ariane for real this time and we were all sad to see her go!

La vida...

Life is grand and now my roommate has to leave me! We spent our last week doing fun things like going to the horse races and our last liquid free beer night. On Thursday we both planned to call in sick because it was going to be our last day to do something together before her parents got here. We got up late, ate empanadas in bed, and went shopping...she is a great shopping partner which is always fun to find. She bought lots of stuff since she wanted to add to her Buenos Aires wardrobe before she went home, and I found a new pair of jeans. They feel very european in that they are skinny skinny jeans but I like them. They are considered to be designer jeans here and the most expensive pair of jeans you could probably find is about 400 peso which is a little over 100 dollars. Its too bad designer jeans from the states couldn't be more reasonably priced! Anyways, enough about shopping...we had a great dinner nearby and had a really good fake sick day.

At work on Friday, like every friday, I made lunch for everyone. I decided on hamburger pie since it is my favorite and when I put the mashed potatoes on top, I spelled out AE for Argentina Exchange. Everyone was so impressed and they took pictures and everything. That night Ariane and I had another nice dinner at this new restaurant near our house and then met up with our friends and on our way to this club there were two guys that asked our cab driver how to get to a certain club. So our cab driver told them not to go to that club, come to the club that the two cute girls in his cab were going to...so they ended up following us to the club! And then it was kind of awkward when we first met, but they were nice and cute, but they went in before us and then we didnt want to pay the 70 peso cover, so we never saw them again. It would have been a better story if we had fallen in love all due to our cab driver, but it was still funny that they actually followed us to the club. We ended the night at this bar near our house which I am now in love with...it reminds me of a college bar because it was nothing special inside, just a bunch of people hanging out and then a few people dancing. Who knew that I would crave a night in a dive college bar!

La vida...

I got back to my apartment after carnaval and I was glad to be home. It's amazing how fast a place can start to feel like 'home'. I received a couple of messages from my family saying they were worried about me, I hadn't emailed for a whole 3 days! I thought it was funny how worried everyone was but it is nice to know they care:) I went back to my internet job really thinking I was going to quit since I had such mindless tasks asked of me and was receiving no pay...but I talked with my boss and he told me about some projects that I would be working on during my last month. After that, I had a much better attitude towards my work and I also knew that I only had 4 weeks left.

My friend, Frida, who I met in Chile was in town for a couple of days before she went on a two week tour so she stayed on the couch. We have had lots of couch visitors...it is nice to be able to see people that I have met along the way again in a different city. I feel like it is so much easier to make fast real friends while traveling considering you spend so much time with a person that you normally wouldn't if you were busy with your own life at home. I love that I have worldwide friends now...there will always be someone to visit wherever I go!

Over the weekend, we had our first pre-party at our apartment. Ariane and I made lots of appetizers and we went to one of my favorite clubs in BA, Rumi. I had such a great night and I think its because I finally feel like I have good friends and fun people to hang out and go out with. Annalise, Ariane and I just ate the weekend away going to our new favorite empanada restaurant, La Brigada in San Telmo to have some steaks, and the next day we shopped an ate at Ariane's favorite restaurant in Palermo Soho. I definitely appreciate the fine dining in Buenos Aires and will have a list of restaurants to return to when I travel here again. Later that day was my first futbol game!! Well, I had been to one in Peru, but that did not even compare to this one...

Being the north americans that we are, Annalise and I thought it was appropriate to drink some beers before the game (what sporting event is there in the US where alcohol is not a part of it? NONE). We arrive to the meeting point with all the boys we were going with from my work, and they all just looked at us like we were crazy alcoholics. We quickly found out that alcohol and futbol do not go hand in hand. Well, we managed to get to the Independiente stadium after about 5 changes on the subte. We were about an hour early, so Annalise and I walked around the stadium and met lots of people...It was a crowd of mainly guys so needless to say we were not the ones initiating the conversations. Once the game started, the crowd went crazy and this big flag was pulled down over the whole crowd. Annalise and I were trying to get back up to our seats during all of this and that was a challenge. The game went on with song after song that i didn't know but would love to learn. When the first goal was scored, everyone jumped so much that Annalise and Ariane both got pushed down a couple of stairs, luckily just running into other people, but still, it was pretty scary. Independiente ended up beating La Boca so everyone was in such a great mood on our side but I do not think I want to know what it would have been like had we lost. This one guy in front of us took a liking to Ariane and said he would give her his hat if they won, so now she has this raggedy ann looking hat that she didn't want to put on because it was so sweaty. When the game was over, we had to sit and wait about a half hour and I found out we were waiting for La Boca fans to clear the whole entire stadium before we could leave in order to avoid fights. With the tattoos of their team, complete apparel, and pure passion, i finally realized how great this sport really is. If my brother or dad combined every one of their sports teams into one, they would be acting just the same, but the states has so many sports that it lessons the fans intensity for one particular team. Futbol is a religion for many and I got to see the light when i went to my first match.

CARNAVAL- Salvador de Bahia

WOW is really all I can say about Carnaval. It was amazing. The way I have described it to those that are from the east bay like me is to imagine Bay to Breakers, the ridiculous parade/run that happens once a year, times its size by 10 and then do it every day for 6 days in a row. There were these huge floats with Brazilian pop stars at the top, so if you wanted to be part of that concert you had to pay. There were people that would hold a big rope and those that were inside the rope, were the official attendees of that "bloco". Otherwise, you could be around or beside it and be "popcorn". Men would buy these blue and white beads and give them to girls that they would kiss, kinda like mardi gras. How many beads I acquired, you will never know:) We decided to be part of the Skol bloco, which had yellow shirts and then you could pay some ladies to cut it up and make it girly, which of course, we did. I would have done it myself if i had the materials! The night was great...being inside the rope was a lot easier to dance, not have gross men grab you, and safer from robberies. One night, we were walking along as popcorn, and all of a sudden there were about 5 guys that were coming in the opposite direction and made it so Jess and I could not move at all. I had nothing on me, so I wasn't worried, but jess couldn't even put her hands to her pockets because they were pushing her so much, and they stole her money. It wasn't much since we knew we weren't supposed to take out much, but still, enough to not get to buy beer the rest of the night! Back to the bloco night; on the way home from the bloco, which dropped us off at the end of the parade, 7 km away, it started raining. Then, one of the girls from our hostel we were with had to go to the bathroom so we went up this muddy hill. I didn't need to go up there at all, but didn't really realize what was going on, so I just followed. On the way up, my shoes have absolutely no traction whatsoever, and i slipped going upwards on the hill, but still managed to get covered in mud on my front side. I was wearing my cute white shorts and yellow shirt. Then, I realized I didn't need to be going up this hill so I started back down and I fell on my ass. At this point, i was completely covered in mud, and being the girly girl I am, being dirty is not my favorite thing. But, it was raining and I was in a good mood and we just danced and laughed all the way home. I took a shower fully clothed.

I can't really tell you what we did during the day because it wasn't much. We had a great group of people to hang out with at our hostel so we usually just hung out and rested for another night out. I met a guy who is from Los Altos and he reminded me of my friend from home so we got along really well. There were mostly Australians, but also brits, puerto ricans, spanish, and brazilians within the hostel. And one man that worked at the hostel, Mr. Wellington, helped me clean my shorts. Everyday he would try to explain to me how they were doing in portuguese and I would just smile and try to speak spanish back. After 5 days of bleaching, they are decently back to normal.

My other favorite night was when we went to a camarote. These were clubs that hosted parties where you could eat and drink all inclusive, and watch the parade go by or dance inside the club. We went on the very last night because there are simply too many people outside on the last night to try to be in the crowd. We got red shirts this night and they decorated them for us inside the camarote. We were determined to make the most of our night, so we managed to get there at 5 when it started and stayed til 5 when it ended. We ate hamburgers, pizza, sushi, and drank skyy vodka (a big brand name in south america!)and champagne. We were living the high life...by the end of it I was so stuffed and tired...we had wanted to go to the sunset party to end carnaval but we never made it. But, it was a good end to carnaval. Even after living a week in a 15 bed dorm with many more smelly guys than girls, a dirty city smelling of piss and vomit, grabby/touchy/forward Brazilian men, and not being able to smell vodka without a gagging reflex, it was the best party I have ever been to and am so glad I went!

Praia do Forte
Since our bodies needed relaxing, Jess and I went to a beach town about 2 hours away from Salvador. It is known from Californians as the Carmel of Brazil and they were right. It has an aquarium of sea turtles where we went the first day and cute shops galore. We treated ourselves to a hotel instead of a hostel and wow was it nice to have our own shower and our own bedroom. We had a couple of amazing dinners, 2 of them being Moqueca which is a shrimp stew that is served with rice and beans. I don't know how they made it so amazing, but we loved it and got it twice in 2 days. There is also this berry in Brazil called Acai which is supposed to have the most vitamins of any fruit or something like that, and it is more like a dessert than a fruit when they make their acai shakes. We went brazilian bathing suit shopping which was quite an adventure. Usually I just have to make sure the top fits right and then get whatever size bottoms I need, but this was the exact opposite. The bottoms are sooo small in Brazil and I am not about to come home sporting a thong on the beach. I did get some bottoms that are more risque than I am used to, but I literally bought the biggest butt bottoms they had to offer. I ended up getting two new swimsuits because the designs in brazil were nothing like I have seen at home and so I had to, right? Right. I also got 2 pairs of havaiana flip flops because they are from brazil, thus really cheap. I got a pair that I have seen in the US for $75 since they have some little diamonds on them for about $15 US. I love good deals.

On the last day of our trip, we decided to go scuba diving. I have never done it before but you don't need any sort of classes before you go here, so we decided to try it out. We went out with our instructor and his helper, both who spoke very little spanish and even less english. We had about an hour pre lesson which could have happened in 20 minutes had there not been such a language barrier. Finally we went out to the water and i kinda started to freak out. I went under water and was breathing with the tank but wanted to go up immediately and get real air but realized that that was the whole point, to stay underwater the whole time. So after I had my little freak out, I relaxed and we managed to scuba dive for about 45 minutes. The water was not too deep but we still got to see a lot of cool fish. No sea turtles, but it was still a lot of fun and now I would really like to do it again, maybe even take some scuba classes (in english this time!) The last night, we had dinner and drinks and did some more shopping and got a taxi at 3 am to the airport. Jess and I had a great trip and it really made me miss being with my friends from home...there is nothing like hanging out with people that you are totally comfortable with. I also found out that we were good travel buddies...we seemed to be wanting to do the same things and when she wanted to party more than me (i admit i couldn't hang as long as could!)she would go and i would stay. She was sad to be going back to work knowing that most everyone was still traveling around south america, but hopefully she will get her chance soon. I am not looking forward to that whole 2 weeks of vacation a year thing...yuck. I needed a vacation after my 2 months of working!

La vida de una porteña: Semana 6

This week found a good place to go running and like being in a normal routine again. Its just a good half hour run and there are lots of people out an about walking and rollerblading, it reminds me of the iron horse trail! At the internet company, work is much more interesting now that I have Annalise in the same room as me. We just talk and laugh and we are in the same room as the big boss. He doesn't care though and really I don't care that much if he does! He has been giving us boring work this week so its serves him right...its so brainless that it is very easy to multitask. I went out for ice cream with my Argentine friend Felipe on Monday night and I had a long conversation with him about how financing is better than paying for everything in cash (because they pay for everything in only cash here) I felt like my college education was coming to use! spanish and finances...

I went out with Annalise on Wednesday to Liquid, the wonderful place that serves free beer for three whole hours. We had a blast with all my coworkers and I am really so thankful that I work for the companies I do...I met some friends at the internet one and am learning lots and with Argentina Exchange, i always have places to go, things to do. Annalise is a fun going out buddy but is hard to keep track of! The next day at work we were laughing a little too much about the night before and I think our boss does not know what to think of us.

Over the weekend we went out with the work friends again, and then had a pool party for Valentines day at Nicole's place. It was mostly americans besides Ariane and her german friend that was staying with us, and it was a really nice day. We "bbqed" ie made some hamburgers on her stovetop and hung out. It didn't feel like Valentines day but that was ok...the only valentine i had was my flower man from the subte who gave me a rose:) I got into a little fight with Arianes friend who was staying with us because he kept turning off the air conditioning since it was right next to him and making him cold, but I kept waking up in a sweat. So I told him he needed to use an extra blanket or something because I was not going to sleep badly in my own apartment. He told me that I could sleep on the couch if I wanted and that did not go over to well with me. This visitor that is getting a free stay telling me to sleep on the couch. He made a dramatic scene and put on his winter coat and his flannel pants to sleep in. ugg he annoyed me. We finished the weekend having great chinese food in china town and the unwanted visitor finally leaving!

La vida de una porteña: Semana 5

Our visitor left, and we started another week of work. It was Ariane’s birthday week and her parents asked me to get her 40 multi colored roses (20 from each parent for her 20th) and a chocolate cake. I made a deal with my flower man that is out in front of the subte everyday and he actually pulled through for me. I think it restored some faith that Argentine’s can do things on time when they have motivation. I searched all over for the perfect cake and found one with chocolate cake on the bottom, creamy dulce de leche in the middle, and meringue on top. Mmm good. Nothing like a really good dessert, especially since my meal out was not as good as I was hoping for.

I did have to go to the post office for the first time since my last experience, but it was very uneventful, and I managed to get my package from auntie. Friday, Ariane and I shopped. One might wonder how I can shop when I am on such a tight budget, but I justify it by bringing my lunch everyday and cooking at home and with my savings, buy clothes! Friday night we went out to celebrate her birthday since she works early and couldn’t on her actual bday. We went to our bar, Sugar, and I took my new intern friend with me, Annalise. She is from DC and we saw our other intern friend, Ryan, who is also from the states, and that night was the first night in a while that I drank like an American. Don’t really know if that is a good thing considering I managed to not do much of anything that next day, but it was fun of course.

I was determined to find good pizza since it is a rare occurrence in this country, so Ariane and I went out with an Argentine that she had met the night before and he took us to a great place. The pizza was a thin crust (which is neverrrr found here) and was more gourmet. And the dessert was simply to die for. I was eating great food with not so great company. The argentine was pretty boring and Ariane was tired and didn’t care to talk to the guy so I was just sitting there making conversation out of thin air. Then he would hum really badly during awkward silences to make it all the more awkward. Oh well, at least I practiced Spanish and I know where to go again with better company.

Our excuse to not go out with him was because we were going to Peru Beach the next day. It was true, but we went at about 1. This beach was not the beach I would think of since it is grass next to a muddy river, but you can learn wind and kite surfing. They had no spots left, so we signed up for next week. We just hung out on the grass though with Ariane, Annalise, and her friend from college, Jake. That night I found china town and went into one of the grocery stores and found big sushi rolls still in the burrito like form for 8 pesos. Then I also found black beans which are no where to be found in this country. I was in heaven and ended my day happily eating sushi even though, yet again, I got some random patches of sunburn.

La vida de una porteña: Semana 4

Already almost a month into this life! But still have trouble dealing with some argentine ways...I woke up early to go teach my cab driver friend english and he just doesn't show up, call, nothing. Then I got up early for the second time for no reason. I decided to try to pick up my brazil visa but once I got there, I found out it can only be picked up between 12 and 1. I left work at 12 and it took an hour since the line was so long. Then I went to pick up my purse that I ordered and I guess they sold it to someone else. I kinda yelled at the guy at the purse store, even though it really wasn't that big of a deal because they could make me a new one by thursday, but I just was fed up with everything working in a way that I do not understand in this country! That night we went to la bomba del tiempo which is the drum show that goes on every Monday night. It was fun, just like it always is.

Wednesday night I ended up hanging out with a friend from SCU that was in Buenos Aires as a stop on his trip. I took him to a bar with my work...Liquid...that has free beer on wednesday nights and I have free passes for a drink and to cut the line. It was funny cuz he was all impressed that i was so well connected in this city! I like that aspect of my job:) Another night of dancing, but I made it home before three since I had to work the next day.

I managed to 'work from home' friday so I could go to the beach for the weekend. I did do a little bit of work...enough at least. We got on the five hour bus ride to mar del plata and arrived at a not so lovely hostel. The shower was in the same place as the toilet and I really think the carpets were moldy because it smelled not good at all. We went to the beach that day and I have never seen so many people at one beach in my life. Everyone is there, all ages, all sizes, all in bikinis when most should not be, and all drinking mate. I really can't understand that mate part considering it is so hot already and they are drinking a hot drink. We went to a nice restaurant on the port for dinner and we found out earlier that Ariane was given a fake $50 AR from the bank so we managed to give it to the man at the restaurant. He was a horrible waiter anyways, but really everyone is using conterfeit money around here. I can't believe that even banks give it out too. Hopefully, they do it unknowingly, but who knows. We had ice cream after and the guy screwed up my ice cream twice and threw them awa both times, I really do not think that I am that unclear! The next day we shopped during the morning since it was not very nice outside and my search for a swimsuit did not go so well. Most swimsuits have the smallest bottoms ever, or they are thongs. So much for buying an exciting swimsuit in south america. We tried to go to the beach later but it was simply too windy so we ended us napping/ reading in the park. At night we went to a really good restaurant called Olivo and they even gave us free champagne. We were suggested a street where to go out so we went. We met some argentines that took us to another club where we dance cumbia all night...its fun for a little but not for allll night. It was different than being in BA though because we were noticably foreigners. In BA there are so many foreigners that no one really knows who is from here and who is not. The next day we spent at the beach where I got nice and burned even though I had sunscreen on...the sun is a little strong for me! We got home late that night since the bus was almost 2 hours late in arriving in Mar del plata and so I missed the superbowl, but its ok. I think next year all those fun traditions will be even more fun since I have had a year off!

La vida de una porteña: Semana 3

I went back to living by myself for the week, which again didn't mind too much. It definitely helps me go to the gym more often! Nothing too exciting happened during the week but I did have a lovely visitor in my silverware drawer: a cockroach! Ugg it was so gross and freaked me out so much. On thursday I had to go grocery shopping since I was going to make tacos for my coworkers at Argentina Exchange, so I didn't go to the gym..i could have but didn't feel like it. The next day my friend at the gym said, "where were you yesterday??" I told her i just couldn't force myself to and she said you have to come everyday! Everything starts falling when you get to thirty! Gotta come everyday!" So i have someone holding me accountable at least...

Friday at work I made tacos for the gang. The french girls that work there didn't know what they were so they didn't try them. The french girls I work with are definitely not making a good name for themselves but maybe they will grow on me. Well, everyone else liked my tacos and I think that was a good way to get in with the work crowd!

I had an interesting adventure to get my debit card that dad sent me in the mail. He forgot to put the apartment number so I had to the UPS station and pick it up. I noticed just by the people that were on the train with me that I was going to a more dangerous area. I got off and found my newest stand for pirated movies! They were $1 US just like the ones I bought in Peru. But the ones here, were the movies that are still in the theater. So I made out with 6 new movies but while I was there the guy told me that I should take my silver necklace off. This necklace was tiny and not even worth much but he told me there was a good chance someone could rip it off my neck, so I believed him. I walked the blocks to UPS cluching my purse with my life considering I had my laptop in it but all was good. And the men at UPS were so refreshingly nice, I have a new appreciation for nice people at the post office.

That night my work friends from AE were going to this one bar Sugar and my friend from my other work was going there too but I didn't have anyone to go with. My friend that I met in Chile was thinking about meeting up later, but I was sitting at home at not wanting to go to the bar by myself but then I just got over it and went and of course it was totally fine. Sugar has $5 peso well drinks til 12 so we took full advantage of that! We went to a club called Hummer later and my friend from Chile met up with me when I was there so that was fun. It was a good mix of every kind of music.

Ariane and her friend got back from their trip the next morning. I had locked the chain thing and was on the phone and heard talking but didn't realize it was them so they were waiting out there for a while. Our one activity for the day was getting ice cream. We went out to another really good restaurant called las cholas. And went back to sugar for some cheap drinks. We decided it is going to be our official pre bar. We went to asia de cuba, got back at 6. We went to San Telmo the next day, did the market shop, made a good dinner, ordered ice cream for delivery (i think the highlight of the weekend), and watched Benjamin Button.

La vida de una porteña: Semana 2

My roommate arrived! She got in Monday and it was very nice to have someone back in the apartment with me. I enjoyed my week alone, but like having roommates. We had a nice dinner together that night on Baez street where all the fancy restaurants and bars are. She came back with three weeks before her internship was going to start and I am a little bit jealous now that I am in the real working world. Also on Monday night, I got a call at 1:30 am from a girl I knew from high school, Nicole, that had told me she would be coming. I thought maybe she got in and wanted to go out, but it turns out she had the flight from hell, and the place she was staying was closed and she couldnt get her keys til the morning. I gladly let her stay over because she is from Danville of course and the Danvillians stick together. She was greatful and managed to get into her apartment the following day.

The days have been hot and the subte even hotter...and sweaty and humid and gross. I started my new schedule for the week which consisted of working Monday through Wednesday 10-2 at Argentina Exchange, and the rest of the day til about 6 at Dimnet, Thursday at Dimnet, Friday at AE. I strategically planned that since AE usually has events Thursday night so if I want to go out late and get to work late, they will probably be doing the same thing:) After work on Wednesday, Ariane, Nicole, and I went out to dinner at Cumana where I went with my family before. This time I wanted one dish all to myself since last time we did family style and of course the one dish I was dreaming about was all gone. I was not satisfied unfortunately.

My first night out with Argentina Exchange was a good night. We went to this bar called Liquid and ate a little bit and drank a little bit. I liked the bar but it was really hard to talk for dinner so it was uncomfortable since the new french girls that work there dont really speak good spanish or english and combined with the noise, it was just easier to only talk to the person next to you. We danced after dinner and went to bed at 5. The next day I woke up and got to work to find out there was no internet which was a little disturbing since I had an hour and a half commute in the heat for nothing, but I did get to enjoy the day by the pool instead of the computer.

I had dinner with friends on Friday night at Desnivel in San Telmo which I heard all about but had yet to go. I hadn't eaten steak in the whole week my family was gone, so it was time to have one. The steak was good but the flan with dulce de leche was by far the best. We went to a bar called Sugar after and I ran into my intern friend, Ryan, who I barely recognized because he was a little far gone. We ended the night at my favorite new club so far called Rumi. It has three great things: it is near my house, it plays good music, and there were actually cute boys. I will be returning in the near future. The top one is that its near my house considering it is a cheap cab ride. Ariane and I decided for the rest of the trip we are just basing the club we go to on which we can somehow get into for free. I am glad we are on the same page! My non paid internship and commission based job arent getting me too far...and i would rather spend it on clothes...

We shopped shopped shopped on Saturday and it felt oh so good. I got lots of new things and it is just a miracle to be able to shop now that I am staying in one place until I go home! We went to leather stores and boutiques and Plaza Serrano and home. Ariane and I cooked ourselves a nice dinner and we watched a movie in spanish. I think if I turned it on I would have put the subtitles, but really, I am glad she did it without because I understood most everything! It was a weird movie but at least I was happy to know that I understood the language.

I ended the weekend with some more shopping with Ariane and her friend that came in from Germany. We also went downtown and watched this car race that was going on. She and her friend were off for the week travelling so I was about to have another week alone. Good thing I at least have a few friends now I can call if I want! Life is still good in week 2, but as a working girl again, I am reminded how important weekends are and how fast they fly by:(

La vida de una porteña: Semana 1

I am now living the life of a "porteña" which is a person from Buenos Aires. I started out my new lifestyle by walking to the subte and taking it to work. It is nice and stuffy and hot down there, but it is necessary to get to work! I got to work at 11, which is the time we had agreed on, and figured this was a good time so the boss could get there and get settled before I came. But no, he arrived about 15 minutes after to start his day. Oh and before that I walked up the stairs and decided to take the elevator instead but it was on its way down and then there was a guy waiting. Then he got on and happened to be going to my floor. Then there was no lights so I tried to turn them on but accidentally pressed the door bell to the wrong place and then to make it better I was going to the same office as this guy. My ditsy self made a good first impression! I started working that day on revising the company's new website which was not a thrilling job but I learned a lot just reading through the website. At one point, I needed to use the bathroom, and went in to find the toilet seat up and playboys in the bathtub. I just laughed and thought how this would never fly in the states. I also noted that I am one of 2 girls in the company. And everyone wears shorts and flip flops to work. So I was overdressed in my nice outfit but thats ok, better to be overdressed than under. There are 2 other interns, a Ryan from Indiana and Muriel from Cameroon, Africa. I kept thinking I just couldn't understand her accent but really, I just hadn't heard of it before! The day ended at about 6. What a short day in reality but I am not complaining!

The next day was not so fun. It was 90 and humid to start. Then I had an interview for another job with Argentina Exchange...a company that helps foreigners with housing, finding work, volunteer work, and has social events to go to. And this job pays in commission so I was hoping to get it. Plus it seems like a good way to meet a lot of people. I got there and the guy I was supposed to interview with was out. No surprise there. I guess he got confused with the time even though we emailed about it 3 times. So after that was the time to try to get out enough money to pay my rent since the atms dont give me enough. But I forgot my passport. So, I had to go back to my house which takes 45 minutes. Then I get home and go to write a quick email and drop the computer on my foot. Then I go back on the bus to the bank and this time I am like dripping sweat since it is the middle of the day. I get there and wait in like and finally get out 150 but that was not enough to pay my rent. After, I thought I had left my cell phone charger at the last apartment, but I got there after coordinating many times with the new tenants and no charger. Then I get back and give my landlord what I have and she was actually very understanding. Luckily she thinks I look like a nice, innocent girl so she is willing to help! I went to yoga to relax me from my rough day. I went out to dinner that night with my argentine friend, Pablo that I met when I was here in september. We went and ate chinese food and ice cream. He shares my same love for dessert and we went to an even better ice cream place than freddo. Gosh the amazingness of ice cream here is still astounding to me.

The next day went much better, or so I thought it was. I had my interview and got the job! Well, since they pay me by commission I don't think they really care that much. More workers for them. But still, I was happy. Then at work I made friends with Ryan, the other intern. We decided to go to California Burrito which I still hadn't tried from the last time that I was dying to have it. It was quite similar and I was very satisfied after, but still no Chipotle or La Vic's or El Nido. I will have to wait for home for that. On my way home from work, I got the rest of my rent money out of the bank and I was so happy it worked that I forgot to take out my card. More trouble with banks to deal with. I was about to go to a class at the gym when I realized and then spent an hour on the phone with wells fargo and am going to have to wait a while longer to get a new card. In the meantime I have to go back to the same bank as yesterday and get an advance on my credit card. My work friend told me he was going out that night and asked if I wanted to come. He told me he would call when they were leaving so I waited around til about 11:00 and then was over it so I got my pajamas on and went to bed figuring he didn't end up going. I got a text at 1:30 asking if I still wanted to come! I was way asleep by then and still am not used to this lets not go out til 2 am thing nor will I ever be. I miss starting the party at happy hour!

I started my new job on Thursday, which was looking like it would be a lot of fun. My task was to update the Argentina Exchange facebook site and find more people to join. Whoever I can get to buy a membership card is how I get paid. It is fun to try to find new people through facebook. Being on facebook at work now is not a no no! I am supposed to be on it! How strange. When it was time for lunch they asked if I wanted any and I said no, I can't because I have no money and told them the story of my bank card. So they treated me to lunch and I am also one of 2 girls at this company too. I am used to working in all girl companies but so far, I am liking working with more males than females. Finally, I left work and decided to finally sign up at the gym which I had been putting off even though it is less 50 steps from my apartment. I went to a spinning class with 3 other ladies and it was lots of fun. They were asking me if people worry about their figures as much and constantly diet and what not as much as here and so I told them um yes, but much worse! And then I showed them my gossip magazine with the best and worst bodies of 2008 on it. They were so enthrawled by my magazine and looked at it for about 10 minutes after class. I am glad I joined the gym now! It was very fun.

Friday came by fast and my boss didn't show up to work that day until 12:30. He is the boss, but still its just weird to me. I started working on a project with the other intern, Muriel. The company has this alien mascot that they are trying to make known across the world. I was confused at first why it matters but found out they want to show their prospective companies that with their marketing skills, they can make everything known (even something like a toy alien) so then the company will want to use them to make their website and find ways to market the website. So, Muriel and I are working to make Marito Duranga known and again, I spent most of the day on facebook! I went to my spinning class again and spent the night in even though it was friday. I just wasn't feeling it. Oh and I had been freaking out all week that my roommate hadn't emailed me for two weeks so I thought maybe she was bailing on me for the apartment, but she finally emailed me back and is still coming. Phew. I was getting worried because I really love my place right now and do not want to move!! Saturday I got up and cleaned and then went on a walk to check out this neighborhood and I actually found this gorgeous rose garden/park/lake. It definitely has love in the air with all the latin lovers making out but I will definitely be going back there. They even had peddle boats! I went to yoga, then I went to Muriel's apartment and we went swimming (I have been asking everyone if they have a pool and finally found someone!) and her other friend came over and we cooked dinner. We all spoke in spanish which was funny since we are all not native spanish speakers but it was much easier to understand everyone. The other two girls are really good cooks so we had this amazing pasta dish and some vino. It wasn't a crazy wild night out but fun. I could get used to that since I am kinda getting over clubbing. Sunday was a lazy day and I went to see Crepusculo with my friend Becca. Crepusculo is Twilight and it finally came out here! Everything is about one and a half months later. Well, my first week was a little rough but I think next week everything will get back on track!

Christmas in Buenos Aires

I arrived on Saturday and went to our apartment in San Telmo that we would be staying in for the next 2 weeks. Mary Ann had already gotten there so I was happy to be greeted by her. I got in kind of late so we walked over to Puerto Madero and had some dinner. We had steak but it was just not the good Argentina steak that we were hoping for, way overcooked.But it was nice to sit with a bottle of wine and just loving the fact that I was back in Buenos Aires. I did get about 10 bug bites at that dinner tho. The next day we started out shopping for Christmas since we knew we were going to be cooking on Christmas and needing some other little things to decorate the place. The 85 degree weather did not make it feel like xmas at all! We went to this feria that I knew you could get engraved mate cups and when we got there the rain started to pour down on us. And of course, I had m short shorts and flip flops on because it was so humid out! We ordered our cups and went inside to a cafe while they were being made. We got them all done and after we decided to go to Recoleta. We enjoyed a better steak this time after our day of shopping. Our search for restaurants for Christmas eve was a hard one, but we found a place for new years eve instead. Most places were closed for Christmas Eve.

On Tuesday, Dad, Conor, Grandma, and Ali arrived at one so I got up early because I had to pick up my phone that was being fixed and I wanted to get my haircut. I went to get my phone which was supposed to be done the day before at 5, and it wasnt done the next day at 12. So the man told me to come back in an hour but I asked him about 5 times if it was really going to be done in an hour and he confirmed that it would. I did not want to come back for nothing! I went to get my haircut in the meantime and it was yet another fun south american experience. They just got my hair wet and then used nothing along the conditioning lines to help comb out my long tangly hair so that was fun. Then she cut it in less than 10 minutes. Then I was done. Very interesting but it only cost like 10 bucks so I guess that is what you get. I got home right after the rest of the family showed up and it was so good to see everyone. Grandma started crying when she saw me and couldn't speak. It was really cute. An exciting event of the day is when Conor walked in on gram in her underwear which was a good reminder of last year when he walked in on her naked in Ireland. He is scarred for life! We laughed and laughed just like last year. The rest of the day, we just hung out, some took naps, and then we went out to dinner at Puerto Madero again. This time we went to a restaurant that I was sure had good steaks. We asked if people were up for a 30 minute walk to the restaurant, all agreed, and then some unnamed people started bitching about how long of a walk it was and when are we going to get there. I forgot that I was dealing with jetlagged cranky people. We had a nice dinner and everyone was tired after from the long flight.

Christmas Eve was started off at our favorite cafe, cafe dorrego. We had some breakfast and I won a bet with Grandma because she thought the milk in her coffee was from a can, and I told her that it was fresh. We asked the waiter and I was right, but I still have not received my winnings! Dad and I walked to pick up the desserts that Mad and I had ordered and the others went to the market to buy the produce for Christmas. Dad and I found a restaurant for xmas eve but when we got home, the other group had found one too. So I checked them both out and decided on the one the other group had found. We went to church that night, it was in Spanish of course, but really all was the same since it was still catholic. The only difference was that during communion, people all rushed up to get it as opposed to waiting their turn. It is just the same as everything that they do in this continent so I wasn't all that surprised. We went to dinner after and it was really great. It was spanish style so it was more tapas and appetizers and they just brought everything out for everyone to have a little, even though we ordered separately. We found out later that it was their opening night which actually makes sense because the staff seemed a little nervous. They also gave us I think 7 new plates and sets of silverware. The service was almost too much. At one point in the night, my dad asked a guy to take a picture of us and then after Mary Ann decided to go talk to them and then she stayed talking to them for about 15 minutes during their meal. It was too funny and then she invited them over to our house for our wine tasting party that we had yet to plan. Then after the meal she made me go talk to them so I could have some more contacts in BA. They are actually a very nice family and I am glad she met them, but it was silly how it all happened!

We woke up on Christmas and santa had brought everyone stockings:) Grandma learned a new phrase this morning that she liked to use a lot: fuerte pedo which means strong fart! We ate lots of candy for breakfast and then for brunch, Conor and I made french toast, eggs, and bacon. I made the french toast with the paneton that they have here, but without the dried fruit. It was delicious and I will definitely be doing that again! We watched an argentine movie called Nueve Reinas that I had bought in Peru. I really liked it actually and I think the boys did too. After we watched The Holiday which was nice and girly. Uncle Doug made it in that day after his flight had been delayed a whole day. For dinner we had a wonderful american meal; turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, salad, and gravy. It was wonderful and I was so happy to be surrounded by people and things from home. Mary Ann and I had got little gifts for everyone which included mate cups and some argentine candies and then I had gotten everyone a chullo (the alpaca hats) from Peru. Everyone immediately put them on and we took a pretty good looking picture. At night, we heard a lot of noise coming from outside, so we went out and saw this parade thing that was going on. There were drums and everyone dancing. The way they dance is just something that i don't think i can ever do even though i would love to.

The day after christmas was when Joey and Adrienne arrived. They immediately started to enjoy the quilmes, but we quickly had to leave for our bus tour! We went on a three hour bus tour and saw the casa rosada, the boca juniors soccer stadium, el caminito, and we ended at the cemetary. I wanted the family to go to this one cafe that I like, La biela, so we sat outside and ate a late lunch. We waited too long because the cemetery was closed by the time we went back, but oh well. Dad, Doug, and I decided to walk back to the house and I showed them where my old apartment was and they got to see some more of the city. When we got back, we hung out a bit and then it was time to eat again! Pizza it was this night, so we went to pick it up and ate it back at the house. That night, Conor, ALi, and I went out to a club. I took them to Maluca Belleza which is the Brazilian club. They were all shocked by it because everyone knows all of the dances to the songs. Ali kept calling it aerobics class and it really did look like it. We danced for a while in the place upstairs that you didnt have to know routines, but one can only last so long with music that we are not used to dancing to.

We got up late on Saturday and Joey made us milanesa for lunch. It was quite delicious. After, the "kids" went to plaza serrano, we did some shopping and then some drinking of beer. We got wrap dresses for everyone and other fun things. That night I wanted everyone to go to the Quilmes factory where I had been before, but when I went before, I drove with an Argentine. This time we took a cab but the cabbies told us that there are no cabs to take us back to buenos aires. So, we ended up having to pay the cab drivers to wait for us while we ate. It ended up being a long wait too and grandma had a little fit that we were eating in this restaurant, but after a beer in hand, everyone was fine. It is so difficult to have to make 9 people happy! Before the event, I told them all it was out of the city a ways, it was a beer factory, not that exciting of food, maybe a wait, and everyone still wanted to go, and people still complain! Oh well, we had a really fun time at the factory, drinking quilmes, ate some pizza and empanadas and after we decided to go to the casino! There is a casino on a cruise ship since it is illegal to have one on land. We went to go gamble and the gambling here is so boring. No one gets excited about winning, it is so serious. So Conor and I are cheering when the good numbers roll and everyone looks at us. Well I lost 200 pesos so I decided to quit. Then dad came by and loaned me 100 and we played some blackjack and I won it all back plus a little bit more. I was very happy for my loan! I love the loans that you get but don't have to pay back if you lose:) I could not stand the smoke in the congested space, so we left. It was almost 5 in the morning! My own father stayed up til 5, I was very surprised. The next day, needless to say, we slept in. We all had lunch at our Cafe dorrego, then went shopping at San Telmo market. It is a big huge market every sunday so Ali and I walked through most of it. We were trying to find new rings for this year ( liek our irish ones from last year), but didnt find any that we really loved. After we met the gang at Casa Bar to watch american football. For dinner we went to this great place called Cumana and they had amazing empanadas and casseroles. Conor had bought this tomato at the market that you throw it on the ground and it looks like it splattered but then it comes back to normal. Well, joey was playing with it and claimed that it didn't break no matter how hard you squeezed it. So when Conor had it in hand, Joey kept telling him to squeeze it as hard as he could since it wouldn't break. Guess what. It broke. All over Conors lap and t-shirt. It looked very similar to someone that had a little accident and Conor was not a happy camper. But oh well. All of us and Conor who wet his pants, went to a Tango show. I really enjoyed it! There were 5 couples I think and then the singers. The singers were highly unneccesary but needed I guess while the dancers were changing or something. They all did partner dances and dances with all of them and it was a little long, but really interesting. In the end we all had different favorites.

Monday was the day to find me an apartment! I had been looking on the internet for the past week and had made a couple appts. I went first to an apt in Palermo and the good thing was that it had a pool, but then i saw the pool and was not impressed. More like a little bigger baby pool and the apartment was pretty ghetto. The next place was in Las canitas and dad and I were early so we walked around the neighborhood. So cute and much cleaner than lots and there are many restaurants and bars in the area. I saw the apartment and really liked it but wanted to see at least one more before we decided. We went with a real estate agent to another place in Palermo Hollywood, but I was just still thinking about the Las canitas one, so I sat down with dad and we made a plan. On the 29th of every month here, you are supposed to eat gnocchi, put money under your plate, and then it will bring you good luck with gaining money during the month. I called the landlord before we ate and offered her a lower price and she told me she was going to call me back. She called me back and took my offer so the gnocchi's worked! I am going to eat them every month on the 29th now:) When we got back to the house, the family had already started the drinking games so they were overly excited to hear about my apartment. For dinner, we went to La Brigada which we had to reserve a day in advance for a monday night since it is so popular. Conor's friend Garrett was in town by chance with his sister on vacation. They joined us for dinner that night too so there were 11 of us. Dad told the guy that he wanted the thickest steak he had and he wanted it rare. The waiter said he knew exactly what he wanted and brought him just that. My steak was about 1/8 of the size. At one point I had to go to the bathroom and realized I was stuck on the inside and there was no way to get out unless everyone did. We weren't even through appetizers yet so i made all 5 people get up for me to get out and get up again for me to get back in! Mary Ann, meanwhile found more people to talk to in the restaurant and invite to our wine party. After our great dinner, I went back to pack. Conor and Joey decided to stay out til 3 when we got up at 430 to go to Iguazu Falls.

We got up nice and early to go to Iguazu and we got to the airport to figure out that we were at the wrong airport. So we hopped in new cabs and hauled ass to the other airport. We managed to make it on time and half of us got business class seats since they had filled up the coach. Luckily I was one of them but dad wasn't. I told him that it was his punishment since he was the holder of all the tickets and didn't look at the airport. He was not having that and was very mad at me. I know that if I was holding the tickets and got us to the wrong airport, I would never hear the end of it! But i guess i still love him anyways. We got to Iguazu nice and early, had some brunch and sat by the pool. The only way to stay cool enough was to jump in the water every ten minutes. We made plans later to cross over to the Brazil side to see the falls and have a cocktail. We didn't really know what we were getting into but we ended up getting to walk along this bridge to look up at the falls and it was amazing. Just like everyone said it was going to be but better to be in front of it. Dad brought along the Danville Weekly so we took a picture with it because they post pictures of people in cool places. Hopefully we will make the cut! lol. After we went and had a caiparinha which is the famous Brazilian drink and then we went to dinner. The next day was my favorite part of Iguazu! We got up early and went on a Grand Adventure tour. This consisted of a ride through the jungle on this truck until we got to our boat. We had to put all of our stuff in a waterproof bag and had to put on our lifejackets. Once we got all that on, we were off. There was some major power on the boat because we were going the opposite direction in strong current. We noticed the workers putting on full rain suits so we knew we were in for it. They got us as close the the waterfalls as possible and we were absolutely drenched. And then they took us to another one and did the same thing. These waterfalls were absolutely huge! It was like being at a waterpark but way better. Then we had to walk back to where the train station was while we were completely drenched. I could have gone without that considering we had to walk along way in the heat where of course I got a sunburn and we saw a different angle of the falls. We had lunch in the hotel before we were off. It was a quick trip but there is not much to do there and I felt like we did it all. We hopped back on the plane and managed to get home in decent time to start getting ready for New years eve!

We got to the restaurant and it everyone seemed very happy with our choice...phew. About time everyone was on the same page! Garrett and Melissa joined us again for dinner. We got up to our room and it was great. It was nice to have our own little area. We started getting our 5 course meal and we ordered some vodka tonics and when it was time for the second round, they didn't quite understand. They are not used to us american drinkers. It was a great meal and the 5 meals were small so I didn't feel completely stuffed after, just nicely full. After dinner there was dancing! The cooks whole family was there so the staff and customers were dancing but it was cumbia (argentine music) which we all liked but are just not used to. The older folks were about to leave when all of a sudden, YMCA came on! And the whole family got on the dance floor. Then the american songs started flowing and of course dad ended up in the middle of the circle at some point. The "kids" stayed a little after the adults, but we eventually left and went to Crobar. We had our favorite taxi cab driver take us since there were no taxis in site, and we got there and danced and what not. I ended up running into the two british boys that Josi and I met in Chile...the ones we taught how to play beer pong! It was random and coincidental again, which seems to be the theme of my trip. We decided to head out about 5:30 then we waited for Jorge because the other cab drivers were charging 120 pesos for a 20 peso ride. We told Jorge to find us a restaurant but we never ended up finding one so we finally got home about 7. Conor decided to talk to everyone of his friends at home and Dad was not happy about it the next morning. Conor's drunken voice isnt the quietest. We got up late that day had breakfast at our fave cafe and then napped some more and the got ready for the wine party. An american woman that is living here is a wine lady and she came over and brought us some wines and told us about them. It was more my style because she didn't talk for hours like some wine connoisseurs. We actually had a pretty big crowd because the family that Mary Ann met on Christmas Eve decided to come. Their kids are just precious and it was fun to have them. It was an interesting mix of english and spanish speakers. The boys left early to watch football and we met up with them later. We went and ate something since the football wasn't too exciting and then we were tired so went home. It was kinda pointless to even go there at all but oh well. It is hard to want to stay out and drink again after new years eve. The next day was the day of departure:( But we had til the nighttime so we got up and dropped my stuff off at my new apartment so everyone could see it. Then we went out to lunch in the neighborhood. It was definitely a little pricey, I am living in a little more upscale area I now know. After lunch we went shopping on Florida street and I got myself some new work clothes with the help of auntie! My fave shopping buddy. I later went out with gram to try to find me a leather purse because she wanted to buy one for me for my birthday present but I couldn't find just the right one. So I am going to wait til I see something perfect. Back at the apartment, we had a final glass of champagne and then they were off. It was just as hard to see them go as when I left but I am excited to start the next part of my adventure of working and living in Buenos Aires. That night I went back to take advantage of the vonage phone and called some of my friends. Meanwhile, the neighbor came upstairs and starting yelling at me for being there because I wasn't supposed to stay that night and bla bla even though we had already told the landlord. She told me I had to get out before the cleaning lady came at 8 and I was thinking ya right but said fine fine. She was speaking spanish and told me the same thing over about 5 times thinking that I couldn't understand even though I understood perfect that she was crazy. The next morning I got all my stuff ready to go and was waiting to hear from Jorge, but he didnt call me til noon but I just hung out in the living room where the cleaning lady already cleaned so I was out of the way. I heard later that they were all complaining that I left so late and dad also forgot to leave the keys in the apartment so the owners were not to happy with us! I went to my new apartment, unpacked and then went out with Shannon, my grand big sis from my sorority that happened to be here at the same time. We went to dinner with her law school friends to this all you can eat steak house and I ate chicken cuz I simply couldnt eat more steak after being with the family. After, just her and I went to Kilkenny which is an irish bar. We had fun there catching up and what not when we got interupted by some argentines who wanted to tell us how beautiful we were. They are way too much for me. Then i was translating love poems to shannon that doesn't speak spanish from the argentine that doesnt speak english. Interesting to say the least.

Overall, it was a great trip with the family and I am very glad they came. I am happy to be staying there because I like where I am, but also miss everyone a lot. A couple months is nothing in the long run I figure so I will enjoy this while I can!