From Iguazu to Uruguay and the Buenos in between...

To be honest I keep searching for the right time to sit down and type out a little update on my life in the “New York of the South” (as the San Francisco Chronicle has recently dubbed Buenos Aires). Each day “Write in Blog” waits at the bottom of my to-do list, waiting to be checked off. I hate to admit that it is such a tedious task for me, but to be honest I have started to feel the anxiety of the last days in the city. To be truthful I have well over a month left, but the city still appears untouched and undiscovered to me.
That being said, allow me to update you (meaning whichever of my faithful readers have hung around this long- probably only my Mom and Dad!) on the parts of this city and other cities that I have ‘touched’ and ‘discovered’.
(Warning: I started to write the following portion weeks ago so if the tone doesn’t match up it was because it was from a different time and mood…)
I have traveled over thirty-six hours by bus (in total), to “las tres fronteras” or the three boarders. Well actually that is a lie as I stayed solidly on Argentine ground and only saw Brazil from a distance, and also I should probable mention that the reason I traveled so far was not “las tres fronteras” but the Iguazu Falls. (My mom is most likely wiping sweat from her brow as she repeatedly warned me of the dangers of the three boarders…)
Anyways returning to the falls (and I must mention that everyone should make it to these falls- right after that trip to Machu Picchu), which were enormous by all standards. I left Friday after my long classes (good notas/grades on all midterms for all the teachers/family members reading my blog) my apartment mate, her friend from Claremont and I headed to the Retiro bus station. Armed with the standard stack of magazines and snacks we boarded the bus. Traveling all night we arrived to find ourselves surrounded by red dirt and NATURE! The greenery was a sight for our city-eyes, and I marveled in the butterflies, birds and brush freely scattered about the town. We checked into our natural/Eco hostel and set off for the falls. It was early afternoon by the time we got there, but we packed the day with wandering the lower falls and a boat trip into the falls. The boat trip was thrilling and well thrilling. They speed the boat directly next to the falls and the strong downpour pushes you back away.
Our evening after our boat adventure was spent unwinding in the small town, exploring what few restaurants Puerto Iguazu has. The next day we visited the GIANT falls that boarder Brazil and Argentina. I am not quite sure how many other adjectives I can pull from my diminishing English vocabulary (I find English words get kicked out to make space for the Spanish words-) but I hope you get the idea that these falls were well worth the long trip.
The falls however were weeks ago and since then I have encountered a flurry of exciting new things that I am afraid I will forget to record. Most recently (last weekend) I jetted off with the program to Colonia, Uruguay. It is little more than an old “colonial” (hence the name of the town) beach town. We explored the entire city (via Moto or moped, which was one of my favorite experiences thus far) in less than an hour. Major sites included an old bull rink, an old trail line and the millions (correction, hundreds, as it was a VERY small town) of Uruguayans drinking their Mate. I must explain that mate is a tea much like green tea that is very popular in Argentina. However Uruguay seems to be the experts of mate drinking as every single inhabitant of Colonia was sipping on their mate, be it while driving a moto, walking the dog or just watering the plants.
A highlight from the city had been the rooftop terraces that have opened for the summer months in restaurants which are great for the warm evenings. Also the Ecological Reserve is a great portion of the city that I have recently explored. My friend Alisa (from UCLA) and I took our towels and class reading and walked around, finally relaxing on the grass so far and yet so close to the big city. Kelsey (my apartment mate) had a friend visit, so we re-explored the San Telmo antique fair where we happened upon a great tango show, and eclectic antiques. My last painting class was yesterday, so I just have the final left where I show the professor all my paintings. Keep your fingers crossed that the shading in my bowls and fruits will pass with flying marks.
I must admit that the anxiety is once again settling over me (as my clock seems to be ticking loudly telling me that my time here is passing, which is by the way very UN-argentine) so I must head out. I hope all is well in the states (especially with all the incendios or fires in California…)
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Ceviche & Machu Picchu

First and foremost, I would like state that Spring/Summer is literally right around the corner. Despite the fact that it rained today, I can feel the city switching gears and trading the winter coats for lighter wear. I saw my first glimpse of watermelons at a fruit stand, and a new swimsuit store had its grand opening two doors from my apartment.
Speaking of my apartment and the happenings below- after I had finished up my last midterm (I believe that was a week ago) I stumbled home around five to find my neighborhood transformed. It was the last Friday of the month, which signifies “Gallery Night.” I am lucky to live right above an art gallery, so my doorman informed me of the happenings for the evening. Armed with a map of the galleries and my apartment mate, Kelsey we hit the streets of Recoleta (my neighborhood).
Tagging along with a group of “intellectual-art” types (more like 20 something’s dressing the part…) we took in the official Buenos Aires art scene (free champagne and wine included). Although my painting I class has yet to bring my art skills up to say the ranks of my siblings, I was able to appreciate the works before me. An added plus was the jazz musician stationed outside our apartment, and the surplus of free food.
Following the gallery night, I had the weekend free before jetting off to Peru to catch the marvelous sights of (pause for effect) Machu Picchu! It ended up being Morgan and me and a whole gaggle of middle aged tourists (very few “jovens” have a week in October free to explore Incan ruins. I’ll speed over the inane travel details (lots of planes, trains and buses) and focus of the important aspects. Lima (the capital of Peru) was very much a city-little else to say. We visited the main churches and tourist areas, more using it as a stop before heading to Cusco (or Cuzco, depends on who is spelling it!) Cusco is a pretty amazing little city. It is high up in the mountains (for this it is absolutely necessary to drink the Coca tea, a local “secret”). There are Incan ruins scattered around the city, and the center is very picturesque and colonial. Since no blog post is completely without one mention of food, I must say that the ‘comida’ in Peru is scrumptious! Now that being said, I really shouldn’t have eaten the majority of the things I did eat (due to the bad water) but sometimes a girl must throw caution to the wind. I had amazing ceviche, that rivals the ceviche from La Bodeguita (the restaurant in Palo Alto) and food that was actually “picante” or spicy. Side note: In Argentina restaurants will claim that a dish is picante and it will barely fall under the title of mild.
A few other highlights include a very spectacular old converted monastery that we stayed in, and some extensive markets and an over dose of churches (so maybe not exactly one of the highlights…) This brings us (you are now officially traveling with me) to the backpacker’s train that we took up to Aguas Calientes. It was very much a backpacker’s train, including the interesting people we met on it. The great thing is that everyone is from all over, so we carried a conversation in Spanish, with a guy from France (who spoke French and a little English), a girl from Columbia (the country not the University) and her family all while traveling in a train in Peru.
Now this rickety train has brought you to Aguas Calientes, a town below the great Machu Picchu. From Aguas Calientes everyone boards the same type of bus for the 30-minute trip up to Machu Picchu. The bus winds back and forth and back and forth and…before dropping you at the most impressive Incan ruins (unless of course you count the lost city, but since it is “lost” I won’t count it). The first day we toured with a guide, but the second day we woke up at 4:30 a.m. to catch the sunrise through the clouds. Around 7 a.m. I found myself at the base of Waynapicchu, the massive mountain that looms behind Machu Picchu. (Whew this blog is getting long, before climbing this massive mountain, and reading the rest of the blog a snack is necessary. Okay I’ll stop with the cutesy language.)
Waynapicchu was a great way to see the whole of Machu Picchu, and it took my breath away (after an hour hike straight up these old Incan steps it was difficult to breath, combined with the altitude, equals a recipe for taking your breath away. Those clever Incans). After our long morning we feasted on another amazing meal from a really good Peruvian-French restaurant called “Indio Feliz.” Mmm there is this Peruvian trout that is pink and tastes like salmon and their use of Garlic was much appreciated.
With some more traveling and a day back in Cusco, that brings me back to Buenos Aires, where like I said Spring/Summer is right around the corner. That being said, there are a few more mosquitoes and even less incentive to be indoors typing away on my laptop…

Chau.

PuraVida!

Now that I am older, wiser and generally better (yes Birthday’s even occur in Argentina, and yes I am now 21!!!) I will fill you in on my ever more interesting life.
I am not quite sure where to begin as the last update was regarding my amazing time skiing the Andes (yup, this me again rubbing it in that I skied the Andes).
So after the wonderful weekend away the next week was pretty standard, class, café’s, generally wandering the city…than the weekend brought the celebration of my Birthday!
On Saturday Kelsey (the girl who lives across the hall from me in our fancy Recoleta apartment) and I ventured into the fancy hair salon across the street from us, called Vol. 3. The hair place was equipped with a bar, a boutique, a disco ball and internet (who knows why…) along with the usual hair dressing equipment. Kelsey was brave enough to ask for the “portena” hair cut, meaning half her hair was chopped off so that her thick hair appeared thin and “Argentine.” I however did not have audacity to do anything other than a little trim. With our new hair-do’s we were ready for our Saturday night. Morgan came over to the apartment and we walked to block to Milion (my favorite ‘lugar’, the location of my first date with Andy, and home to the famous frozen mojito). Thanks to my parents I was able to host my friends in the fabulous French mansion for tapas and drinks. I couldn’t have been more content with the crowd, some friends from the program (including old and new roommate), some friends from UCLA, some friends from Palo Alto and some Argentine friends. The night at Milion ended with an oozing chocolate torte and a candle, but the night was far from finished. From Milion we walked over to El Living, a very cool club that typically plays 80’s music, but luckily was playing hip-hop on this chosen Saturday night. (Possibly for my 21st birthday? –am I perhaps that vain?) Now for those of you who have yet to experience the Buenos Aires nightlife, you will have a difficult time understanding the greatness of hip-hop being played in a club. The fact that anything OTHER than techno was blaring, was a godsend. Now the fact that they played Justin Timberlake and other such songs that we could sing and dance along with…now that was just perfect. No, it was ‘perfecto’.
Sunday brought a recap of the night with brunch at Mark’s Café in Palermo (I am slowly figuring out the bus system so that I am able to head to my old ‘hood.)
The day before my official Birthday was perfect. (Maybe for that reason the actual day didn’t even need to be ‘perfect’…just a thought, as there is so much pressure on Birthdays.) Anyways it was perfect for very small reasons. I hit up my favorite café/health food joint in Recoleta called “Pura Vida” and I not only had the most amazing lunch, but I also made a friend! Sounds silly but making a friend is very exciting in a foreign country. Than I had a creative, inspiring painting class and to make the class even better, it was a girls Birthday and she brought in treats. (Oh the little things in life…) And I also discovered my new favorite Argentine drink, this refreshing pomelo (grapefruit) juice!
So when the actual big day rolled around, I was content drudging to class in the rain (yuck-) and was lucky enough to have a bag of gifts from the states, curtsey of Mr. and Mrs. Holland (Morgan’s parents). Than Andy took me to a Sushi dinner in Puerto Madero, the barrio bordering the river where we spotted (meaning he spotted and I pretended like I was in the ‘know’) an Argentine celebrity, some television ‘estrella’ (star).
However for some horrible reason the Birthday celebrations must have really taken the ‘juice’ out of me as from Wednesday on I have been nursing the worst cold. It is so difficult to be miserable because the weather is changing and the sun is amazing!
Despite the foggy cloud in my head, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky on Friday and to top it off it was “Dia de Estudiantes” so all students were off school to celebrate the first day of spring! Kelsey and I headed to a park in Palermo armed with a baguette, some cheese and a soccer ball. We met up with some other friends (including two from the UCLA crew) and witnessed the wild scene of a day just for students.
I am slowly trying to get together my studies for this coming week of papers and midterms but the end seems nowhere in sight…If only there was a week devoted to enjoying this nice weather and the plentitude of café’s that I am dying to try-
P.S. Finally a photo of the boy! And one of me taking my first legal shot of alcohol, Haha I can post this photo without a sliver of guilt as I can now legally drink!!!

Mamushka

I can now say that I have skied the Andes. Last weekend Morgan, Sam and I took an eighteen-hour bus trip to Bariloche for a quick ski ‘getaway.’ However painful eighteen hours sounds, it was surprisingly comfortable. We took off Thursday afternoon (after classes of courses, we only had to miss a few classes on Friday) and arrived Friday morning in the quaint lakeside town of Bariloche. The bus was very luxurious, with the seats reclining into full beds. They served meals, played movies etc. and despite the crazy little bathroom the trip was enjoyable. And boy was Bariloche worth it…
The best way to describe Bariloche is Lake Tahoe, except bigger and with tons more chocolate. Yes, Bariloche is famous for its chocolate. The few main strips are littered with chocolate shops, “Mamushka,” “Abuela Goye,” “Fingolia,” to list just a handful of the heavenly chocolate shops. The first day we got there after dropping our backpacks at the MarcoPolo Hostel, we had our first of many chocolate experiences. All the chocolate shops are intently touristy (like Disneyland but ONLY for chocolate). The workers all dress in matching little outfits complete with white little caps. We inquired about the “best” chocolate, and we were directed to “Mamushka.” We picked a large sampling box and spent the afternoon chowing down…
If your head is starting to ache from all the chocolate talk, than you can understand a fraction of the sugar-overdose. Due to poor weather conditions we were unable to head up to the slopes on Friday, so we spent the day exploring the chocolate shops, and the mini-museum which claims to be the “BEST” museum in Patagonia (a bunch of stuffed birds, animals etc. making me wonder what the other museums have…)
The rugby world cup is going on, and Argentina is very fanatic about the games. So Friday afternoon was also spent watching Argentina beat France, again and again and again-
The MarcoPolo Hostel, added an interesting element. One girl staying there was from the O.C. (the Argentines thought it was amazing to actually meet someone from the O.C.- they are very into the show here) and she had just decided to stop going to school and snowboard her life away- (how can she have the funding for this?) Another guy was from Hollywood, and he had just decided to drop everything and come to Bariloche to snowboard because it was “getting to be too hot in LA” (-side note this guys name was Star if it gives you an idea of what type of dude he was). Also another girl from our program was staying in the same hostel with her brother, so we ended up spending the majority of the trip with them.
Saturday we woke up early and caught the local bus to CerroCatedral, the slopes. We rented our gear for $54 pesos (less than $20 US for everything!) and hopped on the ski lift. The major difference between skiing in South America and skiing in the U.S. (haha just wanted to say that I had skied the Andes!!! Yes, I am rubbing that in-) is that the view literally looks like you are at the end of the earth. Also the runs are a lot more ‘free-for all’ with fewer signs, safety measures etc. We also managed to enjoy some chocolate at the top of the mountain in the form of a chocolate churro (yes I am eating my way through Argentina- there is no better way to know a culture than to know every form of chocolate they have ever invented!)
The photos really don’t do these mountains justice- but hopefully they help.
We arrived back Monday morning in time to head straight to class. It was weird how leaving Buenos Aires is really what made it feel like home. It was great being back in my purple room-
A few quick updates from the city: I found an art gallery yesterday (quite near my home) that had an exhibit of photos by Robert Frank. A couple photos were of San Francisco, which filled me with the desire to grab the person next to me and say, “Este es cerca de mi casa! Cerca de mi casa!” (I refrained). I also tried a TaeBo class at the new gym I joined, which is basically a super hyper Argentine man leading a class full of students in punches and kicks. It was very much like a computer game as the music had been synched to the moves, and the instructor would jump around and pretend to be wounded by jabs etc.
Midterms are coming up and it makes me nervous that my time here is fast disappearing…
That being said I must head out and seize the day (or more importantly head to class…)

Recoleta Royal

So I have officially entered a whole new realm of Buenos. I am currently a part of the elite class, who resides in the Barrio Recoleta. I moved in to my new casa today (after enjoying a yoga class at ValleTierra, and an egg-white, yes egg-white omelet at this beautiful bookstore café that I discovered five blocks from my old residencia). Morgan helped me move in all my stuff, I am now a decent 40-minute walk from her; luckily the weather is quickly improving. So now I live with a senora in a fabulously nice apartment, on Parana (perfectly located between the IES school center and La Salle where I take classes). My new Mama’s name is Nelita Grimaldi, and she has four kids, one 28-year-old daughter who also lives in the apartment. The daughter is very cool, her name is Isabella and she works for Lancome in marketing. Nelita’s husband died two years ago, and now she just plays bridge with her friends (and even teaches bridge on Tuesday’s). There is also another girl from the program living here, she is from Claremont College, her name is Kelsey and she is very nice (and more importantly very normal!) I honestly didn’t know that this level of perfection exists. I must divulge in a few more details about my life to explain this level of perfection…
My “friend” (drum roll please, his name is Andy or Andres if you want his more Latin name) actually lives a short four blocks from my new McMansion. Tuesday Andy took me to the Recoleta (my new barrio!!!) cinema, where we watched the Simpsons in Spanish, and then we went out to an Italian dinner. There couldn’t be a better way to learn Spanish than to have a local “amigo.”
Speaking of amigos I must digress for a moment to explain my new painting class. So I had the first class on Monday, from 6-10pm. I trekked into the building lugging tons of painting stuff and feeling a little out my element. The university (UMSA) where I am taking the art class is only the art location, so arty students litter the sidewalk, smoking and discussing their various art classes etc. Upon entering the class two very friendly girls gave me the traditional peck on the cheek and proceeded to ask me tons of questions. They helped me set up my easel, so when the Professora came over and reprimanded me for missing the first three classes I didn’t feel as bad (as I was prepared and ready to paint! and I had new friends...) The teacher is an older mujer, who speaks only Spanish and was very understanding (but also very unexcited) about the fact that I had never taken an art class before. So I was given a simple model of a few cups and a vase to paint (one other guy from the program, Russell, is in the class too so we were together painting the “easy” display). It was frustrating to not be able to get the paint to work exactly how I wanted it to, and to not really understand what I was doing. But all these frustrations were quelled at our break, when the two friendly girls invited Russell and I along with them to purchase some Quillmes (cheap Argentine beer) and nuts and sit on the sidewalk outside the school discussing ‘arty’ things. One of the girls is actually from the states and has lived in Buenos Aires for 6 months already and another moved here to Buenos when she was in high school. The other art students were all Argentines, but apparently they would have been a lot colder, and less inviting had the expats not invited us in. I came close to finishing my first painting, and Russell, one of the girls from the art class and I all took the subte back to Palermo.
I am currently in my new room, lying on my new bed, typing on my computer…staring at the cute lavender walls and yellow trimming, and the eclectic art selection…I didn’t know it was possible to be this content.

Boca, Boca, Boca!

I have officially survived my first every Boca Juniors Game!
But let me start from the beginning of my week, so that everything stays in perfect order. With the end of my second week of school, I found myself exhausted and very much looking forward to sleeping in and resting up. Friday is pizza night at the Resedencia, so me and a few other girls decided to hit up Janio an uber trendy restaurant that serves an amazing veggie burger. (Yes I know, so "Liz" to find a veggie burger in the meat capital of the world...but it is an amazing burger...) Anyways we enjoyed our meal, and around 1230 finished up at Janio to walk across the street to this Brazilian restaurant. We met up with some of the other guys on the program, and had very tasty passion fruit cocktails. (The name escapes me- not a very important detail so I will continue). Anyways the night found us at Azucar, a salsa club that we have heard a lot of buzz about. We show up and although the Salsa dancing was amazing, we weren´t really feeling it. We later found out that there is a third floor, and we were on the second floor where the professionals dance! Ha ha, no wonder it had been so difficult to follow-
Saturday I woke up early to catch a yoga class with a girl from the program at my new favorite yoga place- ValleTierra. We hit up Mark´s Cafe after, which is also now one of my favorite spots (maybe I will go there for lunch today...) Fast forward to the interesting part (surprise, surprise): the night. My new argentine "amigo" (-name will be revealed very soon, maybe in the blog title?), picked me, Morgan and our other girlfriend up for a ¨vino and queso¨party at his friend's apartment. It was basically a way to kill time before we went to dinner at 12. (Yes we ate dinner at midnight). The argentine apartment we went to was very fancy, located in Belgrano and littered with fancy art and travel photos. We ended up eating at a sushi restaurant, where I felt very safe eating the sushi (a very, very good thing!) The sushi place was in Palermo Hollywood, and our sushi came served on little bridges.
Anyways I feel like this whole entry is in anticipation of the title of the blog..."Boca, Boca, Boca!" So I will give the important details from the game. It was amazing! Even more energy/enthusiasm than I could have imagined (when I am back to my own computer I will post a photo from the game...so check back all you futbol fans!) Despite the pouring rain, our nosebleed seats and the fact that my lips turned blue, the futbol game was definitely one of my highlights thus far. The fans are actually FANATIC. One man was swinging from a pole, rallying the crowd another woman had stripped to her bra despite the FREEZING rain just to show she was loyal! It reminded me a lot of a Harry Potter Quidditch match (I am not embarrassed to make this reference, I am not embarrassed...) as Boca banners were hung from the stadium, as were the opposing team´s banners. THe fans were cheering almost the entire game, but they had so much more rhythm than fans in the states. Also you thought they were cheering their hardest until a goal was scored and than the stands would literally ERUPT. I can´t believe that was against a mediocre team, and in horrible weather. I can only imagine the fans when it is against River Plate (their biggest rival). I can easily see how things could get out of hand... The other team had to be escorted off under riot shields when they received a red card etc.
The great Sunday adventure made up for the fact that I spent all Monday morning in Migrations, trying to get my Visa (no fun) and than straight to class till 10 pm. I think I will save my exciting first art class for the next entry as I am thinking more and more about some lunch from Mark´s Cafe...
Boca! Boca! Boca!

Alfajor mi amor

So I am decidedly eating my way through every type of Alfajor that Argentine has ever made.
For those not in the know (and you all should be in the know...these things are amazing) an alfajor is two wafer-like cookies filled with oozing dulce de leche (I think Argentines would drink, sleep, bathe in, breath dulce de leche if they could) and then dipped in chocolate. Of course there are variations on this great creation, but this is the general idea. I will upload a photo of one once I get passed my fear of carrying expensive things (it took a lot for me to take my computer out of the saftey of my locked closet...)
That being said I should say a quick note about a not so sweet subject. Morgan and I were walking home from ice cream one night (it was Sunday night because we had Monday off) when we had an attempted purse snatching. Now little old Liz here, did not fare so well but Morgan however has some inborn hero genes, and she fended the man off and ended up saving my purse. Not to worry though, the petty crimes have just increased because of how cheap it is here. Also I almost feel like it was a good "rattling" warning to just be more cautious (or to just always travel with someone as I am obviously no good under pressure).
Once I moved past my fear that even the little old lady with her blind dog was an attempted purse snatcher, I have been able to explore new areas, finding some great book stores and the joy of reading the Argentine newspaper (and I can't lie, cosmo in Spanish is pretty enjoyable as well).
So Wednesday nights are a very fashionable night to hit the town (mainly before all the tourists head into the city) and a way to get through the week. That being said, last night a bunch of kids went to Museo, a place in San Telmo known for their after office drinks and open dance floor. Previously mentioned argentine 'date' (I'll reveal his name once my dad has done all governmental background checks etc) drove me and Morgan there. Museo is not the place you want to arrive at with another guy as the male to female ratio is 5:1 (not an exageration, it is literally a sea of business suits...) However since my early morning Spanish class was cancelled today (Thursday) Museo was a good way to celebrate. I'm starting to warm to my Spanish teacher as I found out that she had to cancel class to give a speech on Truman Capote.
Museo almost distracted me from recounting my favorite experience this week. Post-street trauma I was really in need of some relaxation, so I found another yoga studio. There were only three people in the class, and it was a great Ashtanga class (all in Spanish). The instructor was really nice and I think I have finally found my "studio". It is very california-esque, very serene.
It is Buenos Aires fashion week, so some girls from the program and I are hitting that up (for $15 pesos you gain access to the most beautiful clothes, people etc. of buenos.- this city is even more image conscious than LA! who knew that was possible).
One last note to give this blog a little bit of setting: I am sitting in Piacere, a cafe two blocks from my Residencia filled with portenos watching the soccer game on TV. Anytime someone scores every becomes seriously subdued or seriously rowdy, depending on there team. It is almost as if everyone quit there work and found a TV to catch the game. Pedestrians are even peering into the window to catch the score.

I wish I could share a little bit of this Alfajor...