Ushuaia and excitement - Buenos Aires, Argentina
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Last weekend, I went to the end of the world. You could almost say I went to Antarctica because we were at the southernmost city in the world, the closest place to Antarctica! We even saw penguins! The name of the city is Ushuaia, or Tierra del Fuego (which translates to Fire Land.) I'm not sure why it has that second name because there definitely isn't any fire, or heat. The tour guide told us. It I wasn't paying any attention. The little, charming town of Ushuaia is surrounded by snow-capped mountains and ocean. I always said that Colorado was the best place for everything, except that it doesn't have an ocean. Well, ladies and gentlemen, we've found idyll-almost. This town had its tourist shops all down the main avenue, San Martin. These shops included several (meaning four) chocolate shops, one which we frequented several times. Of course. The houses were so old, it had a harbor that reminded me of where I grew up (even down to the gross smell in some parts), there was a Malvinas memorial (look up the Malvinas/Falkland Islands war), and the landscape was just picturesque. Before API went to Ushuaia, all of my friends were so excited to go. I didn't understand what the big deal was, so I had a "whatever" kind of attitude about it. I didn't not want to go, but I wasn't super excited. Truth be told, the only things I knew about it was that it was super cold and we were going to see penguins. For those of you who know me well, you know that I get cold in Florida in the summer because I have the worst circulation ever, despite being an active athlete. And, I'm more excited about meeting different cultured people and helping people so I didn't think the penguins were that alluring. So good, I had my standards set low. With such standards, I could only be impressed. And that I was! Lesson learned: don't come with expectations, don't be disappointed! We had to be at the API center at four in the morning to be picked up by the bus that would bring us to the airport. Going to the airport was really cool because there wasn't that little hallway where you walk through to board the plane. You go out the doors, get on a bus, and get on the plane like you see famous people doing. On the ground, with a ramp up to the door. I can say I had never done that before going to Ushuaia. It was pretty cool. When we got to Ushuaia, we checked into our hotel. This hotel was awesome! The rooms were cabin-like, and huge and comfortable. We dropped our stuff off, took naps, went looking around, and then ate some lunch before setting off on an unanticipated trek. We were supposedly hiking up this glacier for a little while until some of us got bored and turned around because the snow was getting deep and we weren’t prepared for trekking in the snow. In fact, I was wearing my slipper boots and Sarah was kind enough to offer me the extra pair of sneakers in her bag. I didn't want to hold my boots on the trek up (because if I fell I would need to catch myself,) so I tied them to my coat hahaha. Later, we found out we hadn’t climbed the glacier, just a small mountain, and that the glacier was in a different place. I find this very funny. The next day, we took a ferry boat about two hours to go see the penguin colonies. It was SO cold, the wind made your bones cold. But it was really cool to see real live penguins instead of animated ones we all see in the movies like Happy Feet. Sunday, we had the day to ourselves until 2pm, when we were to meet up with the tour guide and go see the national forest that borders Chile. We did a tour in the rain in the freezing cold (actually freezing, because it later started to snow) but it was so beautiful amidst the forest! Not only did I see penguins and seals (or sea lions?) and eat a ton of homemade chocolate, but I also started and almost finished my Christmas shopping. I can't express my excitement for all of the presents I bought for my friends and family! The Christmas season is my favorite because I LOVE giving people presents! There were things that just screamed to me, such as what I bought my stepmom, my amimi, and my friends. Now, I just have to figure out how to fit them in my already-overstuffed suitcases... In other news, there is only ONE WEEK of school left!!! I have already taken half of my final exams, and only have a few left! What! In my international business class, I feel like I have learned the most. Why? Because I now know about things such as trade barriers and who is included in what, and what kind of laws are at play. It was definitely my most interesting class because we had to create or bring in a company to the southern cone and do research on why it would or wouldn't be successful. And my group decided to bring in Jif peanut butter. Such a fun project. I know you all want to know. Have I found my Argentine husband that I prophesied about? No. However, I did meet this charming young fellow named Alejandro at a cultural event called Mundo Lingo. This is a cool event where people go and put on stickers of different country flags to represent which languages they speak. People mingle and can practice the languages they don't know very well. I went with my awesome church friends the first time, Guilherme, Julian, and Thiago. I met Ale and his friend and we all hung out a few times. He may be 25, but he looks 20, so no, he's not too old for me ;) haha. But really, Argentines are really nice and friendly. And cute! Tomorrow we're going ice skating! On Wednesday, a bunch of people from the church went to Mundo Lingo, so I decided to go as well. I decided to pull out my high heels that have yet to be worn while in Buenos Aires because I have to have had used them before leaving, or else what would have been the point of bringing them? Also, my theory was that my feet would start hurting and I would leave sooner and not stay out late. Ha. Can you say BACKFIRE?? Yeah, I wound up staying as late as my friends, and just taking my shoes off on the ten block walk back to the bus stop and then from the bus stop to home. Silly Jess, heels are for hookers, as daddy would say. Hahaha... Last night for Halloween, API had a little get together in their building where we all donned costumes or parts of, and made cookies and cupcakes and just talked and got fat. Seriously, I ate so much **** yesterday that I was exhausted and fell asleep before 11pm. Not only because of API, but also because I had convinced my Portuguese teacher to let us have a Halloween festa, so we all brought in sweets. I literally felt kind of sick. But hey, it's once a year, and we couldn't trick-or-treat! I completely forgot to mention in my last post that I went to my first concert ever. John Mayer. In Buenos Aires. En serio. How cool is that? How many people can say that their first concert was in Buenos Aires? And it wasn't just a random Latino band, it was JOHN MAYER. I got the shirt and everything. It's legit. Why do I choose to mention that now? Well, my friends, I have some rather exciting news. My favorite band of all time, Jesse y Joy, a mexican band that helped me improve my Spanish (by annoyingly listening to the songs on repeat for a few months) IS COMING TO BUENOS AIRES WHILE I'M HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was on the colectivo and passed it, saw it briefly, and did a double take. What are the chances that my favorite Mexican band would be in Buenos Aires when I am here?! Luck, pure luck. And God. And YEAH BUDDY. I convinced my friends from church to come with me so 5 of them are coming with me and we're going to have an awesome time!!! The last two weeks after school, before going home, are going to be the best weeks EVER. Really. And now I will tell you why. I had this day drawn out with everything I wanted to do. It was going to be so very productive. And then I woke up to the sound of pouring rain on my window. So I stayed in bed til about eleven am. But I had so much to do! I pulled myself out of bed and threw on some yoga pants and my Broncos sweatshirt and pulled myself together. First thing's first: go buy these Jesse y Joy tickets. Done. Then I went to pick up my money transfer from the exchange place so that I could go buy my travel tickets. Mind you, it is pouring all day and this is the first time in many years that I have used an umbrella. Well, I knocked on the window of the colectivo that had just pulled away from the bus stop but was stopped at the light, and he didn't open the doors for me. I was momentarily annoyed, but then I realized, you know, if this is the worst thing that happens to me all day, this is a great day! When I went to the travel agency to get my tickets, I bought my ticket to Mendoza, and then to Chile, and then the same thing on the way back. And then I realized that I had told the travel agent the wrong dates, and we needed to change it all for the week after. I felt so bad, what a spaz I am! But she was cool about it and there wasn't much stress. So anyways, I'M GOING TO CHILE in two weeks, and I'm going to meet up with my community service coordinator from last year who just moved there. How cool, right? And a week from Monday, I'm headed to the beach for a few days. Do I want to tan? No. I want to go watch the sunrise on the shore. Duh. So to wrap up the travel talk, first I go to the beach for three days. I come back and go to my concert. Two days later I head to Mendoza to hit a chocolate store before heading to Chile for three days. Then I come back and go to my youth group and church for the weekend before flying home on Monday! And not even home, but to the Delaware/Philly/New York/New Jersey area, where I will be able to have a divine Thanksgiving with my family, see my friends, go to two more concerts (awesome Christian ones), share some awesome Christmas shopping, and celebrate my mom's life! All in the next six weeks! How lucky am I! And I get to return to Chipotle, DUNKIN DONUTS, Reese's, Breweria wings and pizza, and to my Fort Collins family shortafter. The things I look forward to most about going back to CO/the US: as listed above, Chipotle, Dunkin Donuts, Reese's, Breweria, my kind of pizza, MY DOG LEVI, having a real bible (not just an iphone one), having clothes dryers, being able to run in public, riding my own bike, driving (even if it's not my own car), hills, sarcasm when people understand you, and obviously my friends and family. Oh, and I REALLY miss working. And volunteering. I miss my foodbank family. And I can't wait to start taking French classes again, and to stay in contact with my friends here through Facebook and FaceTime and Skype and such, so my Spanish doesn't disappear. Things I'm going to miss the most about Argentina: traveling, the ease of the bus system, the cheap taxis (not that I've ever taken one, but just in case, it's good to know), ALFAJORES, empanadas, their pizza, the diversity, my church, my friends and especially big brothers Julian and Guilherme, speaking Portuguese, walking everywhere, every sexy man, the chivalry, the familial culture instead of business culture, the ease of schoolwork, the fast acceptance of people. Well, that was definitely a jumble of excitement and not gramatically correct. The editors of my other blog would be aghast. Oh well. Hope you enjoyed! Maybe there will be one or two more :) or maybe not...