PERU! WOHO!

This last week Lauren and  I took off for 5 days in Peru! What an Adventure! We spent our first night in Peru sleeping in the lima airport from 10pm to 3am. It was very misrable because we could not check into our gate and spent the night sleeping in the food court and in front of the check in with our bags propped up between us. We flew into Cusco and arrived at about 7:30 am, my good friend Katie from Duluth picked us up from the airport and took us to a hostel. Then we went out to Breakfast, in Argentina they dont eat breakfast so pancakes and bacon were a special treat! We ended up napping into the afternoon  and Katie took us shopping and around town seeing the sites until dinner.
Cusco is very different then Buenos Aires, it is very touristy, much like Disney World. Also the venders of Cusco will come right up to you and ask you to buy there wears, very obnoxious and hard to carry a converstaion while walking down the street! it got very tiresome quickly.  We headed back to the hostel and was in bed by 9:30pm. Traveling at night sure does wear one out!
We woke up the next morning ready to tour the Sacred Valley and catch a train to Agua Calientes to see Machu Picchu! We  showed up at the tour guide company but it was closed and when it opened we asked the lady about our tour and she had no idea. At the last minute a lady came up and told us to follow her, we did and she put us on a bus for the tour we had no idea what was going on but we were laughing the whole time. that day we took a tour of two Different ruins Pisac and Ollantaytambo. These were Incan ruins from when they ruled the Sacred Valley before the Spainards came and destroyed them.  Stupid Spaniards.....
That evening we caught a train to Agua Calientes and stayed at really nice hostel, hot water and everything!

The next morning we got up at 4am to catch the first bus to Machu Picchu, it was raining and foggy but we were much to excited to care. We had our tour at 7:40, we learned that the city was not a normal city and the important inkan people resided there; astrologers, philisophers, all the ologers lived there, priests and priestesses.  After the tour we hiked Waynapicchu the large mountian behind the city. It was not safe at all, i was very surpised that they let anyone who wants to hike it! The view was breath taking and worth the million vertical steps!

It took us about 4 hours to get up and down, then we left the park for lunch and a little break. That afternoon we hiked to the Sun gate which was another 40 min up and 40 min back! Wow I needed some convincing to do that hike! The view was worth it! By the time we got back down the park was closing and we caught a bus back down to Agua Calientes. I ate the Ceviche for dinner but did not know you are not supposed to eat it after 3 or inland of the coast. Needless to say I was very ill.  We caught the train back to Ollantaytambo  and a bus to Cusco where katie was waiting for us at the bus stop and took us to a hostel and tucked us into bed :)  What an exhastingly satifying unbelivable day!
Our last day spent in Peru we checked out 3 museums in Cusco and Katie show us the sights! What a beautiful city!  That evening Lauren and Katie went out salsa dancing but I was still feeling ill from the Ceviche so I went to bed early. We woke the next morning, feeling a bit better, katie met us for our last breakfast and sent us on our way to the airport. flew to lima, an 8 hour layover, then safely back to Buenos Aires.

What a bueatiful, breathtaking trip!
Thanks for being our tour guide kaite, I love you!

A Weekend in Mendoza

The view from our deck at the Cabana

Last weekend we took a group trip to San Rafael in Mendoza. Mendoza is a province in western Argentina known for their excellent vineyards and beautiful senery. I wonder whose idea it was to take 50 students, half of them under 21, to wine country. sheesh...

Anywho, we stayed in a beautiful place right on the Atuel River, south of San Rafael. It took a 12 hour bus ride to get there.  We arrived and went for a hike in the mountians. The hotel fed us breakfast, lunch and dinner all weekend, which was very good! We got a snack every afternoon as well. I ate too much! The Next day we went rapelling and ziplining, lots of fun!  I was suprised to see that the break device on the zipline was a man that probably wieghed less then me! haha! That afternoon we toured two vineyards. The first one we looked at was huge! The second one was family owned. It was interesting to see how they were run differently. The next day we went river rafting and packed up to go home! Another 15 hours and we were successfully back in Buenos Aires.  A short little trip but absolutely beautiful senery!

besitos!

Hiking through the foothills of the Andes 

View from the repelling point

Going to the Zoo Zoo Zoo, You can Come too too too!

We went to the Lujan Zoo on Saturday this last weekend. It was by far the craziest zoo I have ever been to! PETA would file lawsuits without a doubt.  It was about an hour and half outside of Buenos Aires by bus. We got to hold baby lions and pet the tigers. So crazy!

Valpo!

On Monday of last week my friend lauren and I booked plane tickets to Santiago, Chile to visit a friend of hers in Vaparioso. On friday morning we took off and flew over the Andes mountians and landed at the Santiago Airport, where we met Luaren's friend Josolyn. She was so sweet to pick us up!  She helped us get some money out of the ATM. The Exchange rate in Chile is 500 pesos to 1 US dollar, the bills are all in thousands which all the zeros where confusing but we got a hang of it, sorta :) We spent the afternoon seeing the sights of Santiago, including the Presidential house and other governmental buildings. We also went to this bueatiful park with fountians and palm trees, and hiked to the top and saw the whole city surrounding us! que linda!

It was an hour and half bus ride to Valparioso and we arrived a bit tired but ready to go! Valpo is a beautiful city on the hillside overlooking the Pacific ocean, it was dark by the time we got there so the whole hillside was all lit up! We took the city bus to  Josolyn's house and got settled in. We decided to go out our first night in town and went to a place called El Huevo, or The Egg. It was crazy, it was this huge building with rooms blasting every kind of music! reggatone, salsa, electronic, top 40, hip hop, 2 live bands and many more. Needless to say we had a wonderful time dancing the night away!

The next day we took a bus to Vina Del Mar about 15 minutes away. but first we visited her university which was this Buetiful old building with open courtyards and palm trees. We went for lunch  in Vina and I got a seafood soup, in Chile the seafood is half off EVERYDAY! Very very cheap! We walked around checked out the beach and went for icecream that afternoon. We moisied back to Valpo and made dinner of local fish and fresh veggies mmmm! Was feeling a bit ill so stayed in that night and got some good rest.


The Boat fixer!

 Day two we stayed in Valparioso and Josolyn showed us around!  We went down to the Harbor and took a tour on a little boat. Valpo is port of the Chilan Armada, so lots of gray boats. I would not want to mess with the Chilan Armada :) Another highlight of the boat tour was the boat fixer. its this huge U shaped boat, open on both ends. When a boat needs to be fixed, it lowers and ship goes in it and get fixed! so cool! The size of the ocean liners had me in shock!  I thought the boats on lake Superior were big but boy was i wrong! That day for lunch we got the local special of steak bits on fried onions, over a bed of fries. mmm soo good! That afternoon we saw a movie at the theater but because there wass some sort of Chilan time change we missed it and had to see Resident Evil 4. lol im not really into zombie movies but it was pretty good. That night we had a good time drinking some litros at josolyn's house with a friend of hers!
On monday we took the elevators! which instead of being vertical they sit at any angle and go right up the side of the hill, we had lunch at cute little cafe on top called Cafe Color. Soup and salad mm mm mm! They forgot about our soup but there was nothing we could do because they dont tip in Chile!  We spent the after wandering in and out of shops and and just lOOking at stuff the hillside was beautiful because all the houses are these bright colors! That night lauren and i made seafood dinner while Josolyn did homework.

The last day spent in Valparioso Josolyn had class so Lauren and i wandered around doing a bit of shopping and sight seeing. Stopped at an internet cafe. Mom and Dad are in Italy so I wrote them a little email, we headed back to Josolyns for dinner and then went out for Margaritas for our last night in town and to celeberate the Miners successfully getting out! Woohoo!

This is the top of one of the elevators

The next morning we packed up and flew back to BA. We returned safe and sound and on thrusday and took two midterms! keeping busy!


VALPO!

 love you all- Anna

The Hurlingham Club

David: "Today we are Democratic."

Anna: "Well what are you usually?"

David:  "An Aristocracy!"

This last weekend our friend David, a 75 yr old Bacholer that sits in on our classes, invited us to a fair happening at the Hurlingham Club. The Hurlingham is an English club; it has 4 Polo fields, an 18 hole Golf course, 2 Cricket greens, clay Tennis courts and futbol; this covers about 8 km of land!  It is located in Buenos Aires and took us about a hour to get out there by train and subte.

When we walked in we laughed because they had the Beatles blasting on the loud speakers. Most of the people there spoke with a British accent. There is a saying that  goes; A true Argentine eats like Italian, dresses like a Spainard and speaks with a British accent! We ran into David and he gave us a tour of the club. We ate Chirrizos, which are like bratwurst, and had a lamo sandwich, which is more meat. We were  introduced to some of the club members, and other friends just in for the day to enjoy the fair.

The rest of the afternoon we spent strolling around the grounds looking at the what the venodors were selling. A percentage of the profits that day went to a local charity. What a Bueatiful sunday afternoon taking in the English culture!
Cheerio loves!

Jesuit Ruins + Mate plantation + Iguazu Falls = Paradise!

This weekend we went to Iguazu Falls in Northern Argentina in the provience of Misiones, the Falls border Paraguay, Brasil and Argentina. We took an overnight bus and arrived in Misiones Friday morning. We toured the Jesuit ruins in the area. They were absolutly beautiful. The rock is red from the Iron and Bauxite in it and the climate is tropical, so everything is very green. Muy lindo!

The next stop was this Beautiful Mate Plantation. We arrived and looked like a party/spa day! there was a rolling lawn of green grass with vollyball, soccer, swiming pool and pavilion sort of thing with hamocks, pingpong and fuseball. We were introduced to the lady of the house and she told to relax and have fun! They had 2 horses outback along with a set of oxen pulling a cart that you could visit with, pet and ride! We all went swiming and then they called us for lunch, which was a delicious BBQ with all sorts of meat and salads. They had cold Mate to drink, tasting like ice tea! After lunch they took us on a tour of the plantation and we saw how Mate yerba is made. Mate yerba  is the National Drink of Argentina.  It tastes like the bitterest of all tea and it is served hot in a cup called a Mate and drank with a metal straw. It is a social drink. The mate cup is passed around the group. one person will drink the whole cup. It will then be refilled and passed to the next person, same straw and all! People that work in the country will strike if they do not get a Mate break, it is very important! after thanking the lady of the house and cook for dinner we headed to the hotel and had dinner and went to bed.

On Saturday we went to Iguazu Falls. SO PRETTY!! We toured the upper falls in the morning and slowly worked our way down to the botton throughout the day. There really is no way to describe the falls except to look up beautiful in the theasurus. I will try to get up some pictures later this week!

Our last part of the tour was a boat ride under some of the falls! I wore my raincoat and my top stayed dry but my legs got soaked! We would yell MAS! MAS! MAS! to get the baot driver to take us under the falls again. It looked as if we had all gone for a swim when we got off the boat!

We travelled back to the hotel all soggy wet cleaned up and went for dinner. This morning we caught a flight back to Beunos Aires and I'm back safe and sounds plus a couple bug bites but ready for another week of school!

Besos- Anna

Urugauy Part 2

I woke up this morning to another beautiful day in Punta Del esta but unfortanutly our last day. The boys went surfing this morning and I went down to the beach to watch for a bit. I did not think it was warm enough to get in the water, I was in pants and a light coat. So when they asked me if I wanted to learn I politly declined and took a rain check for a warmer day.

I walked Back to the hostel with one of our new friends Marcos. He was also surfing that morning with my two friends.  He was from Urugauy and I asked him how long he was going to stay at the Chela's hostel and he said, "until I dont feel like it." A very easy-going lifestyle :)  We made Breakfast and caught the city bus into Punta Del Esta and got bus tickets to Montevideo. We went down to the beach to get some last pictures and ended up almost missing our bus! All the sudden its 2:12pm and our Bus leaves at 2:15! So we run to the bus station, we watched the first bus to Montevideo depart, as the driver yells at us to catch the second one. As he says this the second bus for Montevideo pulls out and starts to leave, and Chris and Andrew start running after  it. Begrudging I ran too. A half of a block later it stopped or should I say it slowed so we could hop on. How Crazy! The rest of the trip home went off without a hitch and I'm safely back in Buenos Aires!  What an Awesome trip!

A picture of  Most everyone at the hostel! New Friends!
from left to right: Chris,Maxi, me, Marcos, Andrew and Chela in the front :)





On Thursday we are taking a Group trip to Igauzu! No time to put my backpack away! Do laundry, go to class and we are off!

With love,
Anna

Punta Del Esta, a Vacation Within a Vacation!

Hi! I’m writing this to you from a hostel in Uruguay! Punta del Esta to be exact. It is a small tourist town right on the coast. So beautiful!

I was talking to a friend on Thursday night and he asked me if I wanted to go to Uruguay for the weekend and I said I would love to come along.
So on friday morning i woke up and got all packed up, go over to the residencia to pìck up these boys and at about 1:00pm we got a taxi to take us to the ferry dock to catch a boat to Colonia, Uruguay. We thought the boat left at 2:30 but it didn’t it left at 2 and we missed it. Take into account we are
relying on Andrew's guide book and my Friend Chris’s Spanish! So funny! we couldn´t even
figure out how to make a call on a payphone! haha. We finally managed to get tickets for
7:30 pm to Colonia. In the time we had in Buenos Aires we tried to secure some beds at a hostel in Montevideo but couldn’t because, as I said before we couldn’t figure out how to work a payphone! We needed a country code and a city code, we had neither! We couldn’t call Uruguay!
   We got on the boat at 7:30 arrived safely in Colonia and went through customs, they let me walk through’ customs with my huge backpack but because Chris and Andrew had 2 boxes of empanadas they almost didn’t let them in! We thought we were going to miss the bus but we hopped on just as it was taking off. The situation was so crazy; it was dark we didn’t have any Uruguayan pesos, none of us had a real good grasp on the language and we had no place to stay!  We arrived in Montevideo and we   got tickets  for Punta Del Esta but the bus didn’t take off until in 4:45am so we had some time to chill. We got a couple Uruguayan beers, waited for our bus and stayed up unitl the it came! In that time my two friends, who are surfers, made some friends with two people that had a surf board and got us a place to stay for the night at hostel Iguana. So we hopped on the bus to Punta Del Esta with our new friends. and all the sudden I woke up and the sun is rising over the Atlantic ocean, we arrive in Punta Del Esta very sleepy at 7 in the morning. Thank goodness we had our new friends that got us on one more bus, a city bus to take us to La Barra the town right next to Punta del Esta. we get to the hostel and met Chela, the lady that runs it. we slept unitl 1pm.
   We got up and Chela fed us breakfast which only is supposed to go until 11:30 :) We then took a bus into town and checked things out. We got some Uruguayan pesos. The exchange rate is 20 to 1 US dollars. So to take the city bus it was 23 pesos! I have never experienced inflation like that! Wow! we Ended up going out to lunch at a place called La Fonda Del Pesca. We ate a beef with ham and cheese and fried egg on top and french fries.It was the off season so everywhere was very quiet, and we were the only people in the place. That’s how it was almost everywhere, we spent the rest afternoon wandering around town checking things out. my friends looking for a place to rent surf boards and me checking out the out the shops. We went back to the hostel and made raviolis for dinner went out for a bit. The bar we went to had no one in it but the three of us got a bottle of wine and enjoyed the concept of BEING IN Urugauy!
 We got up the next morning and decided to rent bikes. We cruised up the shore, we tried to make it to Casa Blanca which is about 40 km up the shore. We didn’t make it or should I say I wasn’t going to make it, I’m very out of shape ;) The boys were very nice about it and we came back and made a dinner of steak and pasta and just hung out at the hostel, we played cards with Chela and a couple other people staying at the hostel.



The Hand in the Sand!



I ended up going to bed early last night but woke up feeling great! We rode our bikes into town and returned them, the boys went surfing and i did a little shopping around. I went to the fish market and saw these HUGE seals. So cool! Tonight we are just going to stick around the hostel and make some homemade pizza. Tomorrow the boys are going to go out surfing and then we will get on the bus and head home!





ARG-EN-TINA!

Me, Amamda and Phillip at the back of the stadium overlooking Belgrano

On Tuesday night I went with some friends to the Spain vs. Argentina futbol match and Argentina kicked butt 4 to 1!!  The stadium was located in Belgrano, about a 20 minute walk from my appartment. I never would have guessed there was a  stadium over the train tracks and right in my own backyard!  Coolest soccer game I have ever been to! The players were  awesome! Messi played like a dream and all the goals were so clean.  The fans were crazy and had all these really cool chants, I wish I could have understood them, im sure it will come with time :)  My favorite was; ARG-EN-TINA!  ARG-EN-TINA!  ARG-EN-TINA! 40,000 yelling fans! so cool! And after the game we rushed to the back of the stadium and watched a celabratory fireworks show as the sun went down!

besos :)

The San Telmo Flea Market

A street band with accordians and fiddles and pianos!

On Sunday we went to the BIGGEST FLEA MARKET I HAVE EVER SEEN! It was really cool! they had everything from La Boca socks to jewlery. Elf Sculptures and sweaters from Patagonia to flattened Quilmes beer bottles. The market takes place every Sunday and seems to go for blocks and blocks! So many people too! We got there at about 2pm and stayed until 5 just lookin at all the STUFF! I didnt get anything this time, other then an empanada, but I hope to go back and pick up some little goodies :) 

A look down the Avenue.

Second week of school! I have a bit of homework here and there but mostly just keeping up with the reading. I bought all my books so I am ready to rock and roll. I also got the Subte system down so getting to and from school is super easy! I also want to do my laundry this week but here you don't do it yourself you bring it in to the launderer and they wash it up, dry and fold it and you come pick it up the next day. Ill have to give it a try!

I hope all is well at home and I am thinking of my family and friends everyday.

I send hugs and kisses from Argentina :)

Buenos Noches :)

A Tour of the City

Finally we went on a tour of the City this weekend! We started in the Barrio of Belgrano and took a bus down through the northeast side of the city. Through Palermo, Recoleta, San Nicolas, Monserrat, San Telmo, Boca and hit up Puerto Madero on the way home.

In Palermo is a very wealthy Barrio, with one of the most expensive shopping avenues in Buenos Aires. It also has a Beautiful city park called Palermo Woods with some of the oldest trees in Buenos Aires. It's no forest but a nice park none the less.

In Recoleta we saw a monument of Evita who is a very important lady politically. She worked for the worker’s and women’s rights starting in the 1940s. We also drove past the National library and the Recoleta cemetery. It looked like a small town because all of the bodies are buried in tombs.

Then we drove through downtown. We saw the Opera House and all the government buildings including the pink house where the president supposedly “works.” The people of Argentina seem to dislike Christina the current president. We also saw where the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo march. We are going to go watch them march on Thursday, which they have been doing for the past 30 years every Thursday.

La Boca was next. That’s where my team is from! I can’t wait to see a match! Go Boca Juniors! This Barrio also has beautiful buildings of all different colors. Originally the people that lived here didn’t have enough money to buy paint so they asked for the leftovers. Now they keep painting the buildings various bright colors for tradition. You never stay in La Boca after 5 pm. It can be a very dangerous part of town.

Our last stop was Puerto Madero which is a very nice part of town. It used to be part of the port but they have gutted all the buildings and turned them into restaurants, shops and apartments. This is where the TGI Fridays is, I hear it is very pricy to eat there.

That’s all for now! But I hope to revisit all these places to get some good pictures for you all to see! :)

Rain Rain go Away!

Hola Amigos!
Happy Spring from Buenos Aires! It has been raining here for the last three days. I asked my host Mama if this was normal and she said "feliz primavera!" I knew I should have brought my rain boots! The Subte D that I take home from school was flooded yesterday so i had to try and find a taxi home which was very hard because when its this cold and rainy nobody walks. I thought I was going to have to arm wrestle this dude for the taxi. I thought about taking a bus but last night I got very lost taking a bus and ended up on the southwest side of the city about a 40 minutes or about a 70 pesos taxi ride back to my barrio. Dios Mios!

My classes are wonderful and I'm very excited about them! I have: Food and Wine of Argentina, International Marketing, Contemporary History of Argentina, and Culture and Civilization of Buenos Aires. Oh and of course Spanish class. But just waking up in the morning is like a Spanish class! I took a taxi home from a friends house last night and the cab driver started joking with me that he has two jobs; one is to be taxi driver the other is a professor of Spanish! I try to talk to everyone i can;  it's so much fun to practice my Spanish :)

They Deliver Ice Cream on Rollerblades to your Appartment!

I have made it! The flight went very smoothly and we arrived on time. I'm living in a nice neighborhood with my host mama and her nephew in a barrio on the north side of the city. I'm having the most wonderful time and spending just as much time laughing as trying to figure out what everyone is trying to say. My host moma and her nephew don't speak much English and me es Espanol muy malo. We have been using lots of Googliee translate.

It is just the begining of Spring so everyone is walking around in winter coats, hat and mittens, it is about 50 degrees F. My host mama insists that I wear a my coat hat and scarf, and i am still trying explain how cold it gets in Minnesota. The people here are all very good looking, Argentinean beautiful.  The city is a bit overwehlming because of its size, but there is always someone to ask for directions from, that is if you can understand spanish. :)  There is an extensive bus and subte(subway) system but i have yet to master it. We went out on Friday night and ended up catching taxis home, which are everywhere as well. You just have to be careful not to get run over by one! Pedestrians do NOT have the right of way here. La ciudad es un comodín!

I start school tomorrow! Primer día de clases! Primer día de clases! Primer día de clases! My host mama  took me on the bus today so I would know how to get to the University, it's about a 20 minute bus ride. So i'll get up tomorrow morning, stop at the supermarket to pick up some lunch and hop on the bus and off i go!

Buenos Noches :)

Off and Away!

Well folks this looks like the biggest adventure I have ever embarked on. My flight leaves tomorrow afternoon and I think I am ready. One spends so much time preparing and thinking and speculating it gets to a point where you just want to be on your way or better yet there NOW! I am really excited to meet my host family and check out the city! Wish me safe travels :)