Hola Amigos!

I know it’s been a really long time since I’ve posted anything on here so I’d just like to apologize for that first off. Last week was pretty hectic with everything getting finalized with classes, the internship, and whatnot, and on top of all that, I get sick for the first time down here. We’ll start out with the positives first though Monday = DAY OFF! Yes, my first two weeks of classes were three day weeks. I may or may not get extremely spoiled down here and have a tough time adjusting back to five day weeks come second semester! I believe it was a day to honor San Martin, influential liberator of South America. I chose to spend my day off by sleeping in, eating a nice lunch, and walking to the park to enjoy the beautiful weather. Tuesday was our field trip to the main plaza in Cordoba with my Argentina History class. At this point, I’m sure you’re all wondering if this is seriously college right? Day off followed by a field trip? In case you were wondering, it was completely awesome and I think field trips should be reincorporated into college curriculum! We learned all about the history behind the layout of the plaza in colonial South America and the reasons behind the location of each of the buildings. Do you know why there are stairs to get up to the Cathedral? Fun fact for the day: the Cathedral was raised above ground level to show that it was where the most important power resided back in colonial times; this being in the Church. Here’s a cool pic Sarah took of the Cathedral one night so you can get a glimpse of just how beautiful it is: All of the main events/necessary information in colonial times was distributed via bell towers. The bells would ring at all the important parts of the day, time to wake up, any emergencies, and time to go to bed. I wonder what happened if the person ringing the bell forgot one day…

The rest of the week was pretty low key, like the first part. I spent a lot of time enjoying the semi-warm weather as spring is just around the corner down here! Oh my! I almost forgot! Sarah and I decided to try the infamous panqueques con dulce de leche con helado this week. Here’s a pic of what it looks like and let me tell you, it’s like a little taste of heaven in every bite! Also, it was that dreaded time of the year when you have to buy textbooks, so I made my final purchases at the end of the week. All of you in college/graduated from college/parents paying for their children’s books for college are going to hate the following math equation. $50AR + $68AR = $118AR. $118AR / 4 = $29.50 US. Yup. That’s how much I spent on books this semester I would not mind spending that much next semester, or next year either, but I’m not going to hold my breath.

Friday morning was when I woke up with a stuffy nose and a throbbing head, just in time for the weekend. Nearly everyone in my group has been sick at least once while being here, some multiple times, and my family here seems to be perpetually ill, so I knew it was only a matter of time before I got the Argentinian bug that’s been going around. Luckily, I came prepared with some good old ibuprofen to counter act the headache and I was able to sleep a lot this past weekend to get over the cold without too much trouble. Look mom, I got better all on my own

This was just a quick update on last week! In the next day or two, I’ll tel y’all about my weekend and fill you in on how Argentinians celebrate birthdays because I did more than just lay in my bed sick all weekend! I hope all is well back home. Goodluck to everyone going back to school and welcome to all the Tommie Ambassadors moving into to campus today! Miss you all lots!

Chau Suerte!

Danny

Hola amigos!

So last week was my first full week of classes down here in Argentina, although it wasn’t actually a full week because we had Monday off. First week of classes and a day off of school? Yup, I’m ok with that  Two of my classes here are with other students who are studying abroad so there isn’t much of a difference between these classes and any other Spanish class I’ve taken in the past. It’s really nice though because my classes consist of 8 students in one and 4 in the other including myself. My two classes with other international students are Argentine History and Latin-american Culture. The first day of class for Argentine History, our professor asked us if we had learned about Christopher Columbus, who is actually Cristobal Colón, and his discovery of the Americas. Follow the link if you’d like to read about the differences in names, which is actually quite interesting! We, of course, boasted that we’d learned about this in school and new all about the history of the first explorers of the Americas. I mean, it’s the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria right? Our professor then proceeded to ask us specific details about who explored what region, what they encountered, what the requirements were to travel back then, motives of the explorers, and other questions like these. The entire time I was thinking that if you asked me this 10 years ago when I was back in elementary or middle school, I could have probably answered all of your questions, but I haven’t used this information in years so it may take a little bit to remember.  My culture class only met once last week because it’s a Monday/Wednesday class, but I think it’s going to be a fun class. We’re going to learn about all of the different cultures in Latin America, starting with the indigenous people of Bolivia. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of fun facts to share with you all in the weeks to come. On top of that, we’ll be making many field trips to museums around Cordoba for our class. Field trips in college? Count me in

My class at the actual University with all Argentine business students is a marketing class, and so far it’s going wonderfully. There are only 32 students in my class, so it feels just like a good old UST business class. All of the people in the class I’ve met so far have been extremely helpful and friendly. Going back to to UST, I will definitely have a new found respect for international students. In the past, I’d never really thought to seek them out and make sure that they understand exactly what’s going on in the class, but now being one of those students, I can relate to what it is they’re experiencing when they step foot in our classes. This is a note to all you Tommies heading back to classes in the next couple weeks here: seek out international students in your class and help them out! Trust me, they will for sure appreciate it and on top of that, it’ll be cool to learn about a different culture!

On a final note, I found out where I’ll be working for my internship, which will be starting here in the next few weeks, Pluto’s Jugueteria… A TOY STORE! Every little boy’s dream come true, working in a toy store I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to be doing there, but I’ll be working about 8 hours a week for and it will count as my fourth class this semester. I figured the best way to learn about Argentine business is to work in an Argentine company. Toy store was not the first business that came into my mind, but I’m sure it’ll be a great experience and I’m sure I’ll have plenty of great stories that go along with it! I apologize for the lack of pictures in this blog and I’ll be sure to get some for next time! I wasn’t exactly sure how to fit pics into a blog about my classes, which I know you were all dying to read about =P Four months from tomorrow I’ll be on my way back to the US. Man has the time flown here! I hope all is well back home and I miss you all very much!

Chau Suerte!

Danny

Hola amigos!

Wow this weekend was incredible! We had Monday off, and seeing as I don’t  have class on Fridays down here, that means perfect weekend to head up north to the province of Salta and get out into fresh air. Sarah and I went with two of the girls  from our group, and none of us really had a plan for the weekend. Our mini vacation started out a little rocky because my debit card didn’t work at the bus terminal, and seeing as I’m on the other side of the world, I wasn’t able to just call my bank and get everything sorted out. Rather than leaving me behind, my wonderful girlfriend said she would spot me some money if I needed it; problem solved! We bought our tickets approximately 2o minutes before the bus left. Like I said, nobody really had a solid plan, but it’s more fun to travel spontaneously sometimes. The bus ride to Jujuy, a city in Salta, took about 12 hours, but the buses are much nicer than a city bus. Dinner was provided on the bus, however, “dinner” was a triple breaded ham and cheese sandwich. Needless to say, there are worse travel meals than airplane food. Also on these buses, they show a movie with dinner, but the movies are off the wall American movies that nobody has ever heard of . Aside from all of these negatives, bus fares are reasonably priced so it’s the most affordable way to travel, and I guess you get what you pay for.

Friday morning, we arrived in Jujuy, and after not seeing much outside the bus terminal, we decided to look for a bus to Purmamarca, a city north of Jujuy. We hoped on a bus about 15 minutes after getting off of the first one and were on our way once again. This trip was much shorter, only about an hour or so, and it was amazing to drive through the mountains. When we arrived in Purmamarca, we thought it would be a good idea to make sure we had a place to stay for the night before getting ahead of ourselves and going out on an excursion. We walked to the tourist information station to get a list of hostels in the area where we could stay the night for a reasonable price. The woman working the information desk informed us that her family rents out rooms for 50 pesos a night, with private bathrooms. For those of you unfamiliar with South American lodging, 50 pesos for a private room with a private bathroom is a BARGAIN! To top it all off, she told us that her son could take us to the Salinas Grandes, which are giant salt planes, at our convenience that afternoon. This woman was definitely a prime example of small town Argentina hospitality at its finest. After grabbing a quick bite to eat, we went with our guide, Martin, to las Salinas Grandes. The trip took about an hour, but it was so cool to drive through the mountains. Here’s what we saw the whole way: While there, it is pretty much a requirement that you take epic photos. Google Salinas Grandes poses and you’ll see what I’m talking about. This was an idea I came up with You can decide on whether or not the frog became a prince We had some time before dinner so we decided to go hiking in the mountains just outside the city. I cannot get over how beautiful the mountains are here, and it’s not even the Andes. Have you ever seen the moon rise over the mountains while taking a little rest on a different mountain while in Argentina? I would highly recommend it!

Saturday we decided to hike around the 7 Colored Mountain, the main attraction of Purmamarca. The path around the mountain isn’t very strenuous, so we were able to stroll leisurely and take in the incredible beauty of the mountains. See for yourself: After seeing all there was to see in Purmamarca, we hopped on the next bus back to Jujuy where we’d be able to catch a bus to Salta, Salta. No, I didn’t make a mistake for all of you who are OCD about grammar like me. Salta is a city in the province of Salta. We bought our tickets literally 4 minutes before the bus left Jujuy for Salta. If that’s not living on the edge…I don’t know what is =P When we got to Salta, we found a hostel and dropped off our stuff before heading to the gondola that takes you to the top of the mountain in Salta. We only bought a one way ticket up the mountain because we heard you could walk down after you see the view from up top. Here’s the view: What they don’t tell you is that it probably takes a good three hours our so to walk down. However, this is where the mountain bikes come in! There was a mountain bike excursion company at the top of the mountain offering rides down the mountain. At first, they told us it was 60 pesos to go through the forest, down the mountain. We must have looked like poor college students because not too long after, the man asked how much we wanted to pay. Trying to be funny, I said zero, but I got lectured on how they need to live and this money pays for their livelihood; so much for Argentinians understanding American humor. He knocked the price down to 40 pesos because they had no business and we couldn’t refuse. Who passes up the opportunity to go mountain biking in Argentina for what works out to be $10 US? It was my first time ever mountain biking, and needless to say, I was pretty nervous when we got on the trail. The only questioned they asked us beforehand was if we knew how to ride a bike. Let me tell you, knowing how to ride a bike and knowing how to mountain bike are very different things. When I ride my bike, I’m typically not holding my brakes the entire time, riding next to a cliff, dodging trees, and dodging rocks. It was definitely an experience, and I loved every minute of it! I came close to falling a couple times, but I managed to hang on and make it down the mountain. Our guides were shocked that we had never mountain biked before, seeing as none of us fell or got clothes-lined by a tree. For dinner, we decided to look for a restaurant called Viejo Jack because Sarah has a guide book that says its a favorite of the locals. As we were walking down a sidewalk, we passed by a restaurant without a sign. We knew we were getting close so I tried to look to see if there was any indication of the name of the restaurant. Just as we began to start walking passed, a rather large man came out of the restaurant shouting, “Viejo Jack! Viejo Jack!” We nearly died laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. I know now why it is a local favorite. We got two platters of steak to share and it was hands down, the best steak of eaten in Argentina. The steaks were as big as the plate and boy oh BOY were they TASTY

Sunday was election day in all of Argentina for the presidential primaries, which meant almost everything was closed because elections here are mandatory for the citizens. We spent the day relaxing and walking around the city a bit, just enjoying the fact that we had zero obligations and no schedule. Our bus left Salta at nine at night and we  got back to Cordoba around ten o’clock the next day. It was so nice to be able to get outside the city and explore the northern provinces of Argentina. This week, classes start up so come Friday, I’m sure I’ll have plenty of stories to share about my experiences in my classes at the university. I hope everyone is enjoying the last few weeks of summer before y’all head back to school, wherever that may be!

Chau Suerte!

Danny

Hola amigos!

It’s been quite some time since I last posted on here so I have plenty to fill y’all in on. I’ll start with my adventure of getting to the bus terminal Thursday night. From me calling it an adventure, you can probably guess that it wasn’t the nice bus ride it should have been. Our bus for Buenos Aires left at 9:15 and we had to meet up with our group at 8:45 so I left my house at 7:45, thinking I had plenty of time to make it to the bus terminal. To my surprise, there were demonstrations along the main street going into the city, which meant the bus had to take a different route filled with lots of traffic. I honestly was not sure if I was going to make it because we were stuck in traffic at 8:45, still pretty far away from the bus terminal. I finally recognized where I was and I didn’t think it was too far from the terminal so I decided to hop off the bus and run the rest of the way. Yes, run. Me and my 20 pound backpack through the busy streets of Cordoba. I think I ran a little over 10 blocks before getting to nervous about missing my bus, resulting in me hailing a cab to take me the rest of the way. Little did I know that I was merely two blocks from the terminal. Oh well, such is life. I made it with ten minutes to spare, but I was definitely flustered when I arrived. Our seats in the bus were called “full cama,” which means they were laid down flat like a bed and boy oh boy were they comfy! Now I know what it’s like to fly first class on a long distance flight!

Friday was our city tour where we saw the most famous spots in Buenos Aires via bus. Here are some of the pics of places we stopped on our tour. The first one is of La Casa Rosada, which is basically the White House of Argentina, only it’s the pink house. Here’s a pic of la Casada Rosada at night, and I think the White House needs to step it up a bit! La Plaza de Mayo is an infamous place in Buenos Aires not only because it houses La Casa Rosada, but also for its rich history. For those of you who don’t know Argentine history, which I’m assuming is quite a few of you, Argentine went through a rough period during the 1970′s. Many people were “disappeared” because the government thought they were subversives attempting to overthrow the government. As a result, the mothers of the those “disappeared” began gathering in La Plaza de Mayo every Thursday to demand that the government return their children. When the soldiers told them they couldn’t stand and protest, they began to circle the plaza and here is a picture of a memorial for Las Madres de La Plaza de Mayo. On a happier note, we stopped by to see an incredible monument/piece of art, a giant metal flower that opens at sunrise and closes at sunset. Here it is! Another interesting thing we saw was el Cemetario Recoleta, which is like a city of dead people. Rather than having traditional holes in the ground with a tombstone for the dead, this cemetery had what appeared to be small houses. The architecture was really cool, but the overall atmosphere was kind of creepy. This manner of burial is extremely expensive, so it’s not very common that Argentinians bury their dead like this, but in the extremely wealthy families, it is an option. Here’s a pic of one of the “streets” To conclude the morning, we ended with an all you can eat buffet. “Tenedor libre” is my new favorite phrase in Spanish because it means all you can eat I tried every single of kind of meat they offered, as well as a number of their pastas. To wrap up our wonderful meal, there was a CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN! The chocolate festival may not have had one, but we made up for our disappointment with three skewers of fresh fruit, brownies, and cheesecake. Needless to say, I left la Bisteca with an enormous food baby.

Saturday we visited El Museo de Eva Peron, a very influential woman in Argentina’s history. During the tour I kept thinking of the similarities between Eva and Eleanor Roosevelt, and there are lots. It was really interesting to hear about her life and what she did for Argentina. Afterwards, we went to La Boca, a very colorful part of Buenos Aires where there are many artisans and craft shops. Here’s a glimpse of what this part of the city looks like All of the neighborhood is painted crazy colors like these. Following La Boca, we returned to the hotel to relax a bit before going to see a tango performance. Sarah and I took this time to make a mass run to the cathedral in La Plaza de Mayo because we weren’t sure what our schedule was going to be like on Sunday. The mass was very nice, however it was a little distracting having tourists come in and take pictures when you’re trying to pray. We thought it was pretty cool though to say that we’ve been to mass in the cathedral in La Plaza de Mayo. That night was the tango show and all I can say is WOW. Sarah and I made a pact that we were going to learn the tango while down here, and the show just reinforced our desire to learn this incredible dance. It looks extremely difficult but completely awesome. The performance was spectacular and so was our dinner! I had a salad, followed by a hearty steak, and wrapped it all up with a brownie and ice cream. I apologize if you get hungry from reading this blog. I know I’m getting hungry writing it haha

Sunday was our last day in Buenos Aires and we went to the fair in San Telmo. This craft fair is known around the world for its size and for the variety of art you can find in it. We saw some really interesting pieces of art, as well as some amazing crafts. I’m continually amazed at what people can make with the most basic things. For example, Sarah found this lady who carves figures out of match sticks and paints them. Who thinks of that??? Sunday night was terribly sad because it was the last night for the students that were here for the summer. We all went out to a bar for dinner after our flight from Buenos Aires so we could spend one last night together. I’m telling you guys, despedidas are the WORST. Just when you start getting to know people, they end up having to leave. At the beginning of the program I made a joke to my friends that were only staying the summer that we semester folk didn’t want to make friends with the summer people because we don’t want to have to say goodbye. I’m glad I didn’t stick to that philosophy because I would have missed out on meeting some truly FANTASTIC people. It’s sad that they had to leave, but the memories we share will last forever and I cannot wait to we have a big get together back in the US.

Well that pretty much sums up my weekend! This week is the start of classes at the university and I’m heading to Jujuy and Salta this weekend because we don’t have classes Monday so I’ll have another beefy blog for y’all early next week! I hope all is well back home

Chau Suerte!

Danny

Hola amigos!

I’m sure all of you are wondering what a despedida is right now so I’ll go ahead and tell you in hopes of preventing any added stress to your life. A despedida is basically a goodbye party that everyone has before they leave here. Sarah and I have gotten to know several of the students that spent the spring semester here through various outings, and also because they were the ones who took us under their wings and showed us the ropes when we arrived. Sadly, this was their finally week in Cordoba, which resulted in Thursday night being the despedida night. It was really depressing seeing them leave, and it was weird to think that this is going to be me in about five months. Sarah and I connected with them because they were our age as well. Most of the students from our group are younger than us, so it’s definitely different being the old ones. I’m not even 21 yet! After a long of night of chatting, reminiscing, and advice sharing, we said goodbye. Actually it was more like a see you later because we will be reunited in the United States

Friday was a free day so I decided to sleep in and enjoy my extended rest. Even though it was freezing cold (remember it is winter on the other side of the world), Sarah and I decided ice cream was in need. This is us all bundled up, sitting in the park after just finishing our ice cream: How cute right??? One of the girls from our group had her birthday on Saturday, and seeing as the nights start so late here, we had to go out Friday night if we wanted to say we were going out for her birthday. We met up with our group after dinner and walked to a bar in downtown Cordoba. I think everyone from our group was a bit surprised when we heard the YMCA being played on the radio and people were dancing along. Honestly, I cannot say I’ve been to dance, or anywhere for that matter, where they have busted out the YMCA for people to get down. After downing some delicious milkshakes as well as Fanta, which is FANTASTIC here by the way, we decided to head to a boliche. Naturally, the search started around 2:30 in the morning, I mean, who doesn’t start their nights at 2:30? Because it was somebody’s birthday, we were able to all get in for free and dance our little hearts out. I couldn’t refrain from breaking out some extremely retro-lacking-dancing-ability-white-boy dance moves, and they were well received by our Argentinian friends. Who knows, maybe I’ll start the next dance craze down here like the Cha-Cha slide or the Macarena? I finally made it back home at 5:30 in the morning, and it took me about two seconds to fall asleep haha

Saturday was another freezing day down here in Cordoba, but that didn’t stop us from getting ice cream for Steph’s birthday! The rest of the day was pretty low-key; just wandering around the city and passing the day. Staying out til 5:30 in the morning the night before is a pretty valid excuse to stay in on a Saturday night in my opinion haha. Sarah discovered a website where we can watch episodes of Modern Family for free, so we are well on our way into the first season. Yes, we are that couple that skypes each other while watching a TV show on their computers

The weather kept its streak going Sunday, but unfortunately Sarah and I did not keep the ice cream streak going. We had finally decided it was too cold to walk to get ice cream before mass; that and we’d eaten ice cream both days beforehand. Sarah came over to my house and we spent the afternoon watching Pirates of the Caribbean and keeping warm inside the house. Mass, once again, was fantastic, and the parish continues to amaze me. Sarah and I are slowly learning the songs, the prayers, and the creeds in Spanish. I’m sure the regulars get a kick out of us starting the creeds and then getting lost halfway through and resorting to finish the creed in English in our heads.

This coming week is my last week of my intensive class, and Thursday we leave for Buenos Aires for the weekend! I won’t be doing a post for what went on this week because I’ll be on a bus to Buenos Aires Thursday night. However, I’ll have plenty of stories to share from the week/weekend when I get back on Sunday I hope all is well back home and I miss you all lots!

Chau Suerte!

Danny