A las sierras nos vamos!

This morning, I had to get up early again. I went to UBP to meet up with the others. It was me an Elsa for a while.  Everyone is so late. That's Argentina for you!   We were waiting because today, some of the tutors were taking us to a lake by the mountains to spend the day. Soon enough, people started showing up. Yassi, Audrey, then Mireille.  Massimo showed up, and later Nico, Elo and Emi, Massimo's brother, and Yurika. All we were waiting for was Valentin.  He was an hour late!!! He's really embracing Argentina's custom of getting places late... moreso than even the Argentinians!  We finally hit the road.  I rode with Nico, Emi and Elo.  It was nice to get to know them.  Elo and Emi are always being talked about, so it was really nice to put names with faces. The three of them are tutors- Elo has a bunch of students. Emi is taking Tourism classes and speaks Italian and French, aside from Spanish and English. I think it would be fun to practice French with her.  As we went, we were drinking mate.  I learned some things I didn't know before about mate, like how the one who pours gets the first sip, and that certain mates, (like mine) can only have bitter mate in it- no sugar. Just my luck! Oh well, I like it both ways.  Finally we got to our destination- Potrero de Garay.  It was nice- we were kind of in the mountains, but not yet.  We spent the day by the lake.

Once there, we did a lot of things.  Some people took a ride in the paratrike, a 3 wheeled motorcycle that flies with a parachute.  One of Massimo's friends is an engineer and builds them.  We also drank mate and relaxed. We had 3 mates circulating- a bitter mate, a sweet mate and a bitter mate with coffee mixed in. Some of the guys were still playing with the parachute.  The paratrike stopped working, so the decided to try kite surfing.  After they got tired, we went to Leo's (the engineer) lake house.

He had a pool, a slack line, and direct access to the lake. So we all took turns trying to balance.  Didn't work so well for me!  We were waiting for the food to arrive, so we also decided to get in the lake before we ate.  Massimo jumped in, and invited us.  When I got in, the water was freezing!!! It felt like I was swimming in ice.      

Elsa and Audrey stepped in, and changed their minds.  Massimo said "Come on, is that all you've got, France?" Burning with national pride, the two French girls charged into the icy water.  The water was cold, but their pride was warmer. They tried to warm up by dancing.  It didn't work.  So we stayed in the water a little longer until we couldn't handle it anymore, and we got out to dry in the sun. 

                                

After all of this, we had lunch- pizza and milanesa.  We relaxed some more and enjoyed the weather.  We danced Tango, we played a conga drum. We chatted and enjoyed the time together.  Then we went back to the spot by the lake we were at earlier today and the girls took a walk while Valentin and I listened to electronica music. 

Remember the Urban Woman? Well here's the Urban Gaucho!

Finally, it was time to leave.  So I rode with Massimo, Yassi and Mireille since we all lived relatively close together.  We stopped on the way to visit a mountain graveyard, for no particular reason, but to see.  We also passed the Urban Gaucho- like the Urban Woman, it's a monument of sorts.  However instead of a woman, he's a gaucho with a copy of La Voz (Córdoba's newspaper) and a cell phone in hand. When I finally got home, I was tired! I ate dinner and showered.  Off to bed. 

Pachamama

Today we went to an indigenous ceremony called Pachamama. That means "Mother Earth," and that's what the ceremony was about.  We met at UBP and took a bus to the location.  The location this year seems to have been an odd one- the ex clandestine detention facility La Perla (future post material).  Regardless, that's where we went for the ceremony.  We went early to explore La Perla some, but I won't focus on that because we'll be going again soon to specifically learn about it.  

The site was on a hill.  Two holes had been dug- One whole was empty, but surrounded with food and other possessions.  This hole represented the mouth of Mother Earth. The other hole had a fire in it.  I think that one represented the heart.  There were the flags of each tribe flying in the wind. 

Someone (I think he was the najuan) started things off and covered people with smoke from perfumed wood. Then there were different people who did different things.  Some tended to the fire. Some walked around with a rain stick, Everyone who wanted went to the mouth, drank a little wine, gave thanks to the Earth, and put food in the hole. That was the basic premise of the ceremony.  Since so many people wanted to thank the Earth, we didn't stay until the end.  Apparently, there's a celebration afterwards, with dancing. 

Anyway, we went over to some lunch tables and had comida a la canasta- Everybody brought something to share, and we all ate together.  That was pretty fun.  From there, we returned to UBP.  I went home, and later to a friend's house for a "tailgate" party.  The other US students wanted to watch their team play, so they had this party to watch the game and enjoy choripan together.  Finally, I went home.  I'm tired. And tomorrow's going to be a good day too. Better get some rest. 

Out and About

Since I don't have class on Fridays, I walked to the Dinosaur Mall today. I picked up a transfer from home and bought an agenda. Now I can be a little more organized!!! From there, I walked to a clinic to make an appointment. In order to use the gym at UBP, I need a medical profile, and apparently the one I sent before was incomplete, so I need a doctor to complete it for me. On my way to the clinic, I saw Rocio and Carmela from UBP across the street! We talked for a little while and went our separate ways.  I made the appointment and by that time, I was tired, so I took the bus back home.  I didn't do much of anything else today. Just chilling until tomorrow. See you then.

Culture 2: McDonalds

Like anywhere else in the world, McDonalds is here.  However, unlike many places, it's considered one of the "top" choices as far as getting fast food goes.  That was surprising to me.  In the US, McDonalds is so common that it's kind of just there.  You get it when you want something fast or when you don't want to spend a lot of money.  Here, McDonalds is a "top" fast food restaurant that you go to with your friends to celebrate, so everything is expensive! Haha imagine going to McDonalds for your first date! That might be unacceptable in the States, but it might actually be a good idea in Argentina!!  I haven't convinced myself to go and eat there, but it might be interesting to see if the food tastes different.  

Culture Post 1: Mate

So I had an amazing idea.  What if instead of writing "class was good today" over and over again, I write about parts of Argentine culture?  I think it's a good idea.

So let's do this. Episode 1: Mate

Mate and Bombilla

Mate (Mah-teh) is perhaps the most iconic drink of Argentina.  It's essentially like a tea. You put the leaves in a special cup (also called a mate) and add hot water. You drink out of it from a metal straw called a bombilla (bomb-ee-jah).  The bombilla has a filter at the bottom that keeps the leaves from coming up into your mouth. You pour the hot water (pouring/preparing it is called cebando) in and take the first sip.  Once there's no more water, you pour some more and offer it to your friends. Once they drink it and return it, you pour again and pass it to someone else, etc. Every so often, you need to add fresh leaves so that it doesn't taste bland. This goes on until everyone's had enough (you say "thank you" when you don't want any more) or until you run out of mate!

Friends drinking mate. One's sweet, and one's bitter.

You can drink your mate amargo (bitter) o con azúcar (with sugar).  You can also use fruit juice instead of hot water, but then it's not called mate anymore, but tereré.

Drinking mate is a favorite pastime of many Argentinian people. A lot of times, people will meet at the park, downtown, and other places just to sit down and enjoy some mate together. It's pretty great.  I enjoy it a lot. That's mate.

It's the modesty of who pours the best mate
It's the generosity of giving until the end
It's the hospitality of the invitation
It's the fairness of going one by one
It's the obligation to say "thank you"
At least once a day

Special classes about different cultures

Today was a good day. An interesting day. I had to to go class early today because the daily schedule was modified for some special classes today.  As a student in Argentine Popular Culture, I was required to go to these classes, but they weren't bad.  The first one was an Andean Instrument class.  The instructor had a table full of instruments from the people of the Andes. He explained to us a little about each- what they were used for and how to play them, and he even let us play some of them! Some instruments were used to communicate with others.  Some are used in ceremonies and when they are played together, they represent the unity of man and woman. He told us that most of these instruments were often played while standing in a circle, also representing unity. I love Andean music, so I enjoyed this class.

Then we had a short recess, and came back for a class on Pueblos Originarios (Original People, the indigenous people of Latin America.) The speaker was a member of the Ticas community from the native tribe of the Comechingones. She told us a bit about her people, some of their customs and about a ceremony that was going to take place on Saturday.  The Ticas are very connected with nature.  On the longest night of the year, they have a festival where they say goodbye to the sun, ask it to return, wait all night and celebrate when the sun rises again.  Their chief is called a najuán, which in their language means a servant leader. The flag of the Pueblos Originarios is a square flag, made up of tiny squares of many colors.  From tribe to tribe, the color pattern changes, but the flag is the same.  The ceremony this Saturday is called Pachamama, and they thank Mother Earth for providing for them and sustaining them. 

After this talk, we took a picture and that class was over too. 

At that point, many students were finished.  But since I'm also in Argentine Literature class, I had one more class to go to.  But it was not bad at all. We watched one of my favorite movies- La Historia Oficial.  It's so sad! I might talk about it in a later post. After this class, I was finished too. It was a good day. I learned a lot.

Back to Normal

As mentioned before, I took a taxi with Weston and Lucile. Once I got home, I went to sleep for all of two hours.  I had slept on the bus, so I was fine. I spent that time uploading pictures and writing this blog. O and homework.  I did my homework. Soon it was time to eat lunch. Hamburgers. So much for being a vegetarian!!!

After lunch, I went to UBP. Classes were good. We conversed and got into groups to play a game that builds vocabulary. Then in History of Latin American Civ we finished unit 3, about the revolutions and independence of many Latin American countries. I like this class. It's crazy because I usually don't like history, but I like this class.

O yeah, between classes, I was brushing up on my Japanese and trying to speak to the Japanese transfer students.  We all laughed because I am terrible at Japanese! But I learned a couple of things. Elsa, Tatsuki and I went to the bus stop and we all went home afterwards. I did homework, ate dinner, voilá. Pretty simple day, but good.

Last day! Don't cry for me, Argentina!

Today is our last day in Buenos Aires. This morning we had to pack and check out of the hotel. We were anxious because it started raining. Elsa said Buenos Aires is crying because it's our last day. From there we went to la Casa Rosada, and took a tour of it. I've never been to the White House, so I can't compare, but this presidential house was impressive. At the entrance there were paintings of important Latin American figures, and once the tour started, we went through many different rooms like the original towns room- where the history of the indigenous people of Latin America was displayed, the woman room- honoring many important women in Argentine history, the patio of palms-a courtyard with four palm trees in it, the balcony where the presidents talk to the people and where Madonna sang "Don't cry for me Argentina",  the white room where many presidents assumed the presidency, the north room where agreements are made, the south room for informal events and the presidential office. Then the tour ended in the hall of busts-as the name implies, it's a hall full of busts of important people.

Casa Rosada
Original Towns Room - Latin American Artists Room
Argentine Woman Room - Patio de las Palmas
Presidential Balcony
White Room - Hall of Busts
Casa Rosada

Don't cry f or me Argentina!

From there, we went to the bicentennial museum, right next to the Casa Rosada. In it, we learned the history of Argentina and saw some important national paintings and a mural art basement (hard to explain-just imagine it! ) It was interesting.

Then we went to have lunch...more meat. I think I will be a vegetarian for a while! Afterwards, we went to the San Telmo fair. It's like a flea market, just with artisan and antique items. We were supposed to go to another one, but not many people set up because it had rained in the morning. So instead we went to the cemetery in the Recoleta to visit Evita's grave. She was buried with her family, in the Duarte grave. (It was interesting to see my last name in the tomb! )

Then we went shopping at two different malls to wait for the bus. I had dinner at the food court-a sandwich from a French restaurant.Elsa tasted it and assured me that it was good enough to pass as French.
Then we went to the bus, hopped on and got ready for a long ride home. Franklin and I discovered some headphone jacks and that a fútbol game was going on. Santi quickly asked to borrow my headphones, since his team was playing. If was fun to see him on the edge of his seat, and celebrating with every goal! The movie playing was Pompeii. Pretty good. I got some sleep, and later woke up in Córdoba.  I went home in a taxi with Lucile and Weston, since we live relatively close together.  This was a good weekend.  I can't wait to go back to Buenos Aires someday. I cannot wait.

Even Paola ran out of energy!

TANGO SHOW IS INCREDIBLE ! Simply Incredible

Ack. I am completely overwhelmed right now. Tonight we walked from the hotel to Piazzola Tango, a restaurant and live Tango show. We came early for a Tango lesson before the show. The dancers taught us the basic Tango step and three moves. After demonstrating, the instructor said "gentlemen, attack! " and we found partners to dance with. He also pointed out that they were teaching Argentine Tango, not Hollywood Tango! And we danced. It was fun! I danced with Elsa and Lucile. We had a good time.

Dance hall, where we learned how to dance

Then we walked into the dining hall, there was a beautiful stage in the center and everything was fancy. We were taken to our seats, and we had to choose a starter, an entree and a dessert. The food was delicious.I ate like a French person again-Elsa was proud. Then the show started as we were eating dessert.

Dining hall, where the dinner and show took place

Unfortunately, (truly, I am so upset) we were not allowed to take pictures or videos of the show. It was phenomenal. Indescribable. Captivating. Men and women danced in the stage in front of the musicians - a pianist, an upright bass player, two violinists and two accordion players- playing live music. They're outfits were amazing, they're dancing even more so. The Tango is a fun, romantic, sensual and sometimes melancholy dance. There were also two singers, make and female, who sang and the band would play instrumental Tango music while the dancers changed clothes. We were all filled with emotion after the show. It was incredible.

Our group with the female singer. 

Walking back to the hotel, all of us enthusiastically talking about our favorite parts of the show, among other things. When we got there, I eventually went up to my room to sleep, but I had to write this down so I don't forget! But now that that's that, I'll see you tomorrow.

Note: Check this post again for pictures of the dancing lesson and maybe a video.  My friend has to send it to me. 

Tango basic step (for men): Starting with right foot, back, left, forward forward feet together (right foot) forward(left foot) right feet together