finally finished

the mother's and my blanket, mariah's blanket, and liza's blanket

unfortunately, i was at the hot springs when the finished blankets were handed to the mothers. i did, however, write a letter to the new mother about my experience crocheting and how i have actually come to find it quite relaxing. like anything here, the blanket was a result of altibajos, lots of ups and downs, highs and lows, as i steadily tried to piece my work together. looking at the pictures now gives me great satisfaction in the volunteer project i was put into; i know my hard work will definitely be put to good use!

las termas de cacheuta

today was hot springs day. i had wanted to go to cacheuta for awhile, but had never had a single empty day that i could commit to going. well, today was that day. after dropping off my finished (¡¡felicitaciones a miiii!!), crocheted baby blanket for a friend to bring to the hospital, we headed off from the bus terminal around 10:30am. we arrived at the termas around 12, immediately dropped our bags, and ran into the water.

james and emily

we camped out right next to the lazy river. easy access.

argentine version of "old faithful"

there were lots of old people, viejos, doing laps

me and emily

cacheuta has been a popular destination since the early 1900s. hotsprings are common in the foothills of the andes mountains, and cacheuta is said to have been founded on the base of some indian story about a chieftain trying to gather treasure to protect one of his tribe. the phenomenon of the hot water expelled by the tierra, or earth, is said to have scared and defeated the enemies. although i bit more touristy than i would have liked, cacheuta's parque de agua (they also have a hotel with spa services...although we did not see a hotel anywhere close) consisted of 9-10 different sized and temperature pools. the upper level had the warmer pools, the middle level were the tepid ones, and the lower level was the cool water and the lazy river track that snaked around the area.  there were also slides on the middle level that brought you down to the lower part, which i definitely took advantage of.

like i said, there were a lot of people (both argentinean and foreign) at the park, so it was pretty crowded even though we purposely came on a weekday. it was a nice break though, and so good to get out of my hot room for the day. we came back on a 3:45pm bus, not noticing we were so sunburnt! a few of us stopped to eat panchos (hotdogs, not the actually pancho) and empanadas before heading home. when i stepped out of the shower after my run, i noticed how sunburnt i was. the rays are strong in mendoza, even though i applied sunscreen! 

llegamos al fin

Y hoy, te vas 

te vas te vas.

Pero se que por algo
me haz de recordar...

i type this as i am sitting on my small bed, looking sadly at my luggage that is about half-packed while listening to spanish reggaetone music. this weekend taught me that i actually did fall in love with a city and it's people, culture, customs, and daily life. every time i put another piece of clothing in my suitcase, i can't help but feel so sad for leaving. i guess "sad" isn't the right word, i don't know what is, but all i am positive of is that i will be miserable for at least an hour when bri and i take off for buenos aires thursday night.


i came to mendoza with high expectations. i wanted to immerse myself completely in a different tongue, something to really push me out of my comfort zone. i wanted to learn, speak, think, eat and drink, do everything in spanish. at first, when things didn't come easily, i was frustrated. however, as months and months have passed, doing everything in spanish has almost become second-nature. i am definitely not close to being fluent, but i am able to comfortably live in a spanish speaking community.  going through those frustrations has taught me that i can pretty much learn anything about others or myself, even in a different language! although the language barrier has been the most difficult thing about acclimating myself in mendoza, throughout my five months here, i have been breaking the wall down brick-by-brick. it's one of those "pat yourself on the back moments".


this weekend especially showed me how much i have grown, and simply in my abilities to speak spanish! on sunday, mariah invited bri and i to her friend's house for a pool party ("friend of a friend has a pool", she claimed). i had been complaining last week about how i had nothing to do, so i figured i'd go. plus, it was about 95 degrees out and i was hot; a pool sounded like a tranquila way to pass the lazy sunday afternoon. mariah's friend mati and his two friends picked us up in his car (a car with air conditioning!!), and we drove up behind the un cuyo, to the nicest neighborhood in mendoza: dalvian. it is a gated community, with streetlights in the calles, policemen always on watch, and a gorgeous view of all of mendoza sprawled out below. sunday was especially important because boca (the best team in argentina) was playing a fútbol game in mendoza, in the stadium which is located behind cuyo as well. so we could see and hear all the noise coming from the stadium before, during, and after the game. we immediately jumped in the "pool" to cool off, and just passed the time talking with these three basketball players. when it started to get dark, they wanted to drive us up to the hill behind the neighborhood to get a better view.

fiesta en la piletaaaaa

jesus statue on what my host mom later told me was cerro cristo. note his fingers. whattuppp in da hood mendoza.

outside liso's house in the most beautiful neighborhood ever

mariah, liso, bri, and mati

top of cerro cristo, with todo el grupo de la pileta

casually cutting the pizza with a butcher knife

afterwards, all three of the boys wanted to go out dancing because monday was a holiday here (apparently cristina wanted to celebrate being argentinean, but don't quote me on that one). we debated whether we should return home to the world of computers, facebook, and loading cuevana shows online or extending our stay and accompanying the basketball team. quite obviously, we chose to stay. around midnight, the entire basketball team came over to liso's house for pizza. it was one of the funniest things i've seen here: a group of about 15 chicos our age eating pizza, making fernet and cokes, and just goofing around. i've realized that no matter where i am, boys will be boys. they act pretty much the same wherever you go. one of the guys brought his guitar and played/sang for us which was awesome. after hacking the pizza to pieces with a butcher knife, mati and his friends from the basketball team drove us to mariah's house and bri's house to get changed out of our bathing suits and into proper boliche attire. around 2:45am, we headed to iskra, the boliche i blogged about after our thanksgiving dinner.


because it was so late, we ended up going completely sober, after not drinking anything since the wine we had with our "pool party". i wasn't sure if i had the energy to stay up later to dance, but the thrill of going out so late with just two friends completely overrode my exhaustion. we roll up to iskra blasting spanish reggaeton and got in easily, because it just so happens that mati is friends with the security guards/bouncers; so we skipped the long line and went right in. iskra was hopping and the music was fabulous. it was so fun to dance and not get tormented by random argentinos. instead, bri, mariah, and i had our own team of bodyguards to keep us from going astray and into the arms of a stranger. we taught the argentinos how to dance like americans and they helped us with our poor vuelta (spins and turns) skills. we ended up staying until 6:30am and walked outside to a light, blue-grey sky. the boys invited us back to liso's house to swim again, so rebelliously, we chose to go with them, figuring we had nothing to do monday either. we went back to the gorgeous neighborhood and watched the sun rise from the balcony. mariah, bri, and i were curled up in the grass, just appreciating everything about the situation. i think that's when it hit me that we were leaving in 3 days (and now 2!). around 7:15, we called a taxi, getting me home about 8am. no one was awake in my house, so i went to bed and woke up around 2pm, ready to start my day.




writing this now, i just want to cling to that moment of lying in the grass with two of my friends, laughing about the night and simply enjoying some good company, food, and dancing. our afternoon/night/morning completamente embodied argentina; it was just so fun. fun to make new friends, fun to be occasionally lost in translation, fun to use spanish slang, fun to dance until the break of dawn, fun to watch the sunrise, and fun to crawl into bed (still awake and functioning) at 8am. it's times like these that make me want to stay in mendoza for longer. to cement my friendships and make more connections all over the world, while still drinking malbec and enjoying a nice café con leche with a medialuna.

And today, you go

you go, you go

But that is something

I do remember.... 

(from the song Te Vas. too bad the singer is chilean, and not argentinean)

 

soy un pavo

happy thanksgiving! i've had a few, dim-witted people ask me via facebook chat whether or not south america celebrates thanksgiving. really? think about the fact why we celebrate turkey day. still comical nonetheless. since argentinos don't celebrate the mass genocide of the american indians after the first "thanksgiving" dinner they had when the pilgrims arrived, it was just like any other day. however, ifsa-butler had kindly planned our cena de despedida (goodbye dinner) for thanksgiving, knowing how much turkey and cranberry sauce mean to americans. i knew it was going to be fun..the program had reserved the 14th floor of a ritzy hotel in downtown mendoza and the emails convinced us that we would be eating pavo, or turkey. i left my house early, just as the sun was beginning to set and cast the dusty glow on the streets. i took the elevator up to the 14th floor and was absolutely blown away by the view. we had the entire upper floor and balcony to ourselves and the vista was incredible. the entire city of mendoza was sprawled below us, lit up and bustling and the andes were silhouetted against the now darkening sky. 

the andes mountains were beautiful

sunset

the pictures, like most of them i've taken here, don't do it justice. it was bittersweet to look down upon this city that has become my home and life for the past (over!) 4 months. now that we know most of mendoza like the backs of our hands, we could point out certain landmarks like the parks and plazas that we have passed so much time in. when we were called in for dinner, josé gave a nice speech about the semester, and then we ate! i was skeptical of the said "turkey" that was on the menu, but my worries were quelled after the first course...salad with real vegetables!

greens, parmesan cheese, tomatoes, and grilled sweet potatoes!

then, we got a nice chunk of turkey which definitely raised the spirit in the room. it was covered in some sort of winey-cranberry sauce, accompanied with onions, a tomato, and potatoes. the turkey was delicious. it was, like most meat here, juicy and flavorful, but without the excess of fat found on most bife here. 

dessert. i think we were all expecting some sort of pie after the turkey, but this was a torta-like concoction. cat remarked that the "artistic" chocolate swipe on the plate looked like a poop stain, so that kind of killed the dessert, but the fruit topping was good!

after a wonderful dinner, one of the spanish classes did a presentation about turkeys to a popular argentinean song, flaca. it was so funny and encouraged other people to show off their talents afterwards. we then were herded onto the balcony for a photoshoot with our respective spanish professors. however, before that, elizabeth and i presented gaby (our spanish professor) with her favorite dessert (a lemon pie) because she is retiring this year.

the signs say "soy un pavo" (i'm a turkey)

ben, ali, and brooke

kathy, bryan, and jamila (not pictured) did a really funny tango dance

LOS FELIPITOS! this was my spanish group

giving gaby a group hug

bryan and me

los hombres del grupo

after all the group pictures were taken, we headed to aristides as a group of 30 gringos to get a drink. then, we headed to iskra, a popular thursday boliche. i will let the pictures do the explaining:

selfiezz in the bathroom

selfiezz in the boliche

boliche in full force

where would we be without a late night (or really, early morning) pancho run!?

all in all, it was a great night. it's sad that it's our weekend, but as my host mom keeps telling me, my time here is just an época, just another part of my life that i have accomplished. i'm sure that i will crash later on today because we got back at 6am, but for now, i am going to try and make the most of my 6 remaining days in mendoza!

the altibajos of life

one of the altos: an asado with my amigas!

the word altibajo has come to be one of my most favorite words in the spanish language. it is a combination of alto, which means high/tall, and bajo, which means low/short. combined, the two become alti-bajos: the highs and lows. it's a word that simply embodies my experience in mendoza. i have lived through so many altibajos since i arrived in more than 4 months ago in july. to fill you in on the highs: my host family and pancho, my week long excursion to patagonia, rafting in san rafael, and planning out my last few days here. and the lows: getting robbed at knifepoint (rip ipod), not seeing my real family, and having a miniature mental breakdown last week. and the fact that i have to push the "l" button really hard when i type, probably attributed to the amount of dust and dirt that has accumulated on my laptop from the desert-y dust that floods mendoza.

not only does the word sum up my experience as a whole here, but my day to day life (or so it seems in the past week or so). i go through daily, even hourly, phases when i am conflicted about how i feel here. some parts of the day, i can't wait to be home in vermont, sitting on the couch with my family and watching really bad reality tv. other parts of the day, i have a strong urge just to stay here in mendoza. it's difficult because feeling either way makes me feel slightly guilty. when i say i want to go home, i feel as if i'm being selfish: i've had this once in a lifetime opportunity to spend a semester completely immersed in a different culture, and here i am wishing to go home?! however, when i feel the desire to stay i can't help but feel as if i'd be leaving my life which i have already established at home and at school, which makes me even more conflicted. can you see why the word altibajos has so much meaning now?

this past week was one of the altos: last weekend, bri and i took the bus to shopping, an american-style mall just to explore the outskirts of the city and get out of our houses. when i told my host mom we were going to the mall, she corrected me and said that the place we were going is called "shopping". she actually said "shopping" in english. then she tried to explain the difference between a mall and shopping. what i got from it is that "shopping" takes place in an enclosed building, while a mall is an outdoor facility that you walk around outside to get from shop to shop. on sunday, my friend mariah's parents came to visit from the united states. she invited us all over for an asado, or an argentine style barbeque, where you eat meat...all kinds of meat. thankfully, i got there late (she lives on the opposite side of the city), and missed eating the cow gland and blood sausage. dang. it was really nice to chat to her parents and hear their opinions on mendoza and argentina in general. it reminded me of my own parents (a slight bajo), but it was a good way to start my final week of academics here. this past monday, i had my spanish presentation. on tuesday, i had my final exam for my music class, which was a 4 page paper in class...with notes. for a final. as you can see, school here is completely different from the united states. today (wednesday), i relaxed and went for a nice walk because it is too hot to run here now. the past week has been really nice: 60s and 70s with some great cloud cover. today was over 90 and this week is supposed to be brutal. i'm trying to drink more water, and less soda products, which the argentinos think is so weird.

another one of the altos: spending more time with people from the ifsa-program! (this is sarah. she is from mount greylock, ma and plays squash at brown!)

bri and i are finally making our travel plans a reality! iguazu falls was just named one of the new 7 wonders of the world, so we are excited to head over there. it's coming up soon... we leave on december 1st! i just started a huge load of laundry to figure out what i should pack away for good and what i should leave out for the rest of my time in mendoza and argentina.

the container our water comes in. it makes the water slightly carbonated. you push the white lever down (veryyy gently, unless you want the water to go all over the table and you...which i have done), with your cup under the red spout. the water goes up the white straw in the middle of the container, becomes carbon-dioxide-ated, and into your cup.

my real family will be glad to know that...

... i bought you all three boxes aka over 20 alfajores and two bottles of wine yesterday. the man at the register definitely thought i was a gordita. good thing is, though, i only paid $20 USD for it all. america needs to get on their game with the cheap wine and good sweets.

la universidad de cuyo

this is the universidad de cuyo. although it lacks the charm and aesthetic grace that bowdoin's small campus has, who can complain about going to school at the base of the andes mountains?

 

ciencias políticals y sociales. aka poli-sci building

the university is riddled with graffiti

trash is also scattered everywhere

"quad".

eureka. the building slash dungeon where my castellano class is

"E.T telefono mi casa"

trash picker

the university really does blend into the park. this is where the two worlds converge

yummmmy. a trash filled/blocked acequia