So I haven't been on any "big" adventures since I last wrote, but life has continued on.
I started my classes last week and so far, I'm really enjoying them! I even think I've figured out what I want to do with my life after graduation (thank you, first day of class!). They tell you you'll learn a lot about yourself during experiences like these, but thats a pretty monumental step for someone who's never really had a "clear" path in mind. So hows that for a first week of class? I'm really hoping the two Spanish classes I am taking will really push me over this "second-language hill" I seem to be stuck on. Sometimes I don't feel as though I'm progressing any in learning Spanish, but maybe I'm just being impatient. For the most part, I think I'm pretty good at understanding, but speaking is a different story.
Last weekend, most of my friends went to Gualeguaychu for Carnaval, which is where I'll be headed this weekend, but that left me with a lot of time to hang out with myself. Having been blessed and cursed with this independent personality, the weekend started off ok, but in the end, I realized how much I truly enjoy being in the company of others. In my mind, I could have seen myself traveling the world and visiting here and there on my own, but after this weekend, I honestly don't think I want to do that. I enjoy talking with people, and really just being in their presence. I value community and sharing life with others so I'm trying to find a healthy balance between my independent defense guard and my desire to be in the midst of community.
During my quiet weekend, I adopted my travel guide as my best friend and headed to the Japanese Garden. This garden was a gift from the Japanese (go figure) as a symbol of friendship to the Argentines. It was a very beautiful place, oddly located in the midst of two busy intersections and a huge park.
Oh! I've stumbled upon a couple of really great, college-student budget, places to eat. A couple blocks down from my school is a Chinese supermarket, and inside there is a fabulous buffet- with an array of both typical Argentine cuisine and Chinese staples. You select which container will best fit your food, then pile on whatever you'd like and then they weigh it! Very easy to eat cheap there! The other place is a little pizzeria a couple blocks from my apartment. You can order two slices of pizza and a glass of Coke or Chopp (beer) for 14 pesos- thats about 3.50USD. Pretty fantastic pizza too!
On Sunday, Loly invited me to eat asado with her family. Her boyfriend, Alejandro, picked us up and we drove about thirty minutes outside of the greater Buenos Aires area to a more rural part. We arrived at the house Loly lived in when she was younger, and where her youngest brother is currently living. The quietness of this neighborhood was very much a blessing, because honestly, I'm tired of hearing the bus stop every 5 minutes outside my window.
Asado is basically like bar-b-que, without the sauce and with the best selections of meat. In the backyard of the house is a little concrete fire pit, better known as a "parilla." Loly's brother got the coals burning in the parilla and then transferred them to a little grill on which he placed huge slabs of meat. Of course, the best meat was the steak (another item Argentina is famous for). I think there were several choices of intestines to try as well as morcilla (that awful blood sausage that keeps coming up here!), and a personal favorite, chorizo. I've really been enjoying trying all these different types of meat without really knowing exactly what it is until after I eat it- and then I learn what to not ever try again, ha!
After we ate, the day was spent just relaxing and enjoying one another's company. We sat out back for a long time, breathing in the wonderful summer air that is still lingering. We shared some maté and a little bit of cake before we reluctantly headed back to the concrete city.
Valentines Day came and passed here without much excitement. There were a few shops urging you to buy something special for that someone special, but really, a very very small fraction of what Valentine's Day is like in the States. I celebrated by going to Bomba del Tiempo and dancing the night away. When I came back home, I had to laugh because Loly was home with 4 friends just eating pizza and watching Toy Story.
I'm looking forward to March as I'm going to have a lot of time off of school, and I'm making plans to do some traveling. Hopefully the first weekend of March I will be in Uruguay and a couple of weeks later I'm planning on taking a trip Ushuaia, the southern-most city in the entire world. Tell me thats not cool!
Next time I write, I'll have all the adventures of Carnaval to tell you about. But for now, although it's Thursday, it's technically my Friday and I am going to head down to Puerto Madero, a ritzy area on the river.
Besos,
Courtney
Ps. I've realized it's really hard for the Argentines to understand my name- the "OR" sound and the hard "T" are not commonly used. So in Argentina, my name is pronounced "Curney."
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