This last week has been filled with Argentine traditions and customary things that are part of the culture. The first experience that I had was walking down to “La Fluvial”, which is similar to waterfront, and enjoying a snack with my cousin Matias. We were able to communicate well because of the English he knows, but I had to keep telling him to speak in Spanish so that I could do some learning. On our walk home we had the opportunity of walking by the Flag Monument. I was told this was a beautiful site in the evening and I must say that I agree. Although the picture doesn’t capture the full effect it will have to do.
The following day we had ice cream, which is delicious here! While I was walking around, I also managed to step in a pile of dog poop. I say that this is a customary thing that is part of the culture because literally every time you walk outside you have to be cautious about this and you are bond to step in it at least once. There is so much poop because of the obscene about of stray dogs that are located in this city.
Some friends and I decided to take an adventure into the plaza right across from our school. (By the way, this is what my school actually looks like…
It is a part of the other building that I put up claiming to be my school.) Anyway, the plaza is called Plaza Civico and it located at in the center of a government building. This building used to be a place where people were murdered, so some of the stuff in the plaza has relation to the history of the building. Here are some of the paintings that you can see:
That night was the first time that I actually went out. I met up with some Americans to head to a concert that one of our classmates was participating in, so that was rather fun to watch. Afterwards we went to a house party. This is where I did to other very typical Argentine things. I drank Fernette, and I danced Cumbia. Cumbia is very fun and easy. If you have ever danced 2 Step, or Night Club in the states, it is very similar to that.
The following day I went to the beach with Elizabeth, Lucas and Daniel. We stayed there most of the afternoon. It is only about a 30 minute drive, but it was quite an adventure because we not 100% certain which bus to take. (Riding buses is just another typical Argentine thing to do.)
That night was my “real” Argentine experience. A very common weekend night for an Argentine young adult is to enjoy dinner around 10 pm, then head out for drinks at a café or bar around midnight, following that is “la previa” which is a small gathering as you wait for the dance clubs to open, then you go to a boliche-dance club- until about 6 in the morning, followed by breakfast. That is when the night ends, which seems completely crazy to me, but I managed to make it through almost all of it. The first step was managing to take a taxi all by myself. :) Then the night began with dinner at La Vendetta, a very good pizza restaurant, and then around 2 am we went to someone house to hang out. Around 3 we headed out to the boliche to dance our morning away. We stayed there until 6 or so and I managed to make it home and crawl in bed a little after 7. I must say that it was rather fun, but definitely exhausting! Not something that I plan on doing every weekend. I think the best part about that evening was that I was with all Argentine, not one single American. :) Talk about practicing your Spanish skills. By the end of the night I felt so much more confident and I knew that if I really want to learn I’m going to need to keep hanging out with people who speak Spanish the majority of the time.
At my family gathering the next day I was able to help make and eat homemade empanadas. Empanadas are HUGE here. Not only are they a typical Argentine meal, but there are even stores that specialize in making empanadas. Definitely a meal that I want to bring back with me to the US. I also ate kiwi for the first time in my life. Yes, I know that we have kiwis in the United States, but I’ve never actually tried one and well, I guess it is different when your grandparents stick it in front of you and you don’t really have a choice. To no one’s surprise I actually liked it, quite a bit. :)
So a couple side notes before I go:
Ben- It makes me super happy to know that we’ve been together for a month and I can’t wait for all the months to come :)
Mom and Dad- Can we please go out to Chinese Happiness when I get home??! K, Thanks :)
I love you all!
Estoy en las manos de Dios. :)
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