40℃ ≠ 40℉.

I know you’re all probably surrounded by chilly, rainy weather but I want you all to take a moment and remember the heat, the misery and the sweat we experienced this summer. The week when your clothes became glued to your body the moment you sat down [especially in Volkswagens]. The week when fan custodial rights were debated. The week of horrid hotness.

Now imagine that heat and throw in massive amounts of humidity. Doesn’t that sound peachy? This my friends has been life in Rosario these past few days.

Hot.

Humid.

Hyenas.*

Friday may very well have been the peak of the heat thus far, it was also the day of our Gaucho Party! None of us actually understood what that meant until we finally experienced it. We were driven an hour and a half outside of Rosario into the countryside. There we took over someone’s ranch, had a massive asado** and enjoyed being in nature again. I love moments when I get the opportunity to reconnect with green rolling hills, fresh air and serenity. Every moment was surreal for me: Hanging out in the Argentine countryside, on a hot spring day, the day before Halloween. I don’t do that very often.

All in all this day was very enjoyable for me. Except when I produced 2 liters of sweat. Or when I walked into our inferno apartment and Marta informed me the water was out.

Fun Fact: Tomorrow (Sunday) Lacey and I are running in a 10K race. Why? Because we get shirts.

*Hyenas weren’t actually involved - although we did talk about them in my Che class the other day... But really I just needed a third “H” word.

** Think of a BBQ, except better, and Argentine.

USA.

I don’t say this very often so prepare yourselves... I’m proud to be a citizen of the United States of America. I would say “American” but I figure it’s better to be specific, and politically correct.

Argentines love to talk about politics. Seriously, it’s a sure-fire way to get Marta chatting when I don’t know what else to talk about. This past week my Human Rights class has been going over Argentine history since Peron’s first presidency. The dictatorships, the disappearances, the corruption and the controversy. It’s riveting.

I wish so badly this was a Disney movie and I could end it with a blissful happily ever after but truth be told I don’t know how much things have changed. Sure, people don’t mysteriously “disappear” and I don’t have to fear for my safety on a daily basis, but things are still so different than in the states.

A few examples: During the 1990s under the reign of President Menem - people here refuse to say his name because it’s bad luck - pardons were issued for people involved with the mass torturing, disappearances and killings of the Dictadura during late 70s. In 2001 there was a mega economic crisis in Argentina. I believe it was also this year that they set a record for the most presidents in a week: five. Five presidents in one week. Now the President is Christina Kirchner, the wife of the previous president. Confused? Probably. I’ll wrap this up. I’m gonna go ahead and say it: Argentina under Christina reminds me an awful lot of what is happening in Venezuela right now. In December a new law will be enacted in which news and media will be restricted. One of the most basic rights for us in the US will just be gone in Argentina.

Sorry for my little rant, I could really go off about this for hours. All I really wanted to say is that I am suddenly so grateful for all the rights and freedoms we have in the states. Things which I’ve never seriously questioned or thought twice about. Things which I loathed learning about in the 8th grade. Things which are now... precious to me.

Empanada Night!

I think I’m the only person in the world who updates their blog this much.

Yesterday I had one of those surreal, “I’m in Argentina” moments when I caught myself singing along to Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Somehow I found myself in an outdoor cafe decorated with hanging lights, local artwork and retro TVs with Lacey, Aniela and Malen. I felt like I was in a secret world within Italy. Best of all though there was a live concert as well.

While we wished we could’ve stayed there the rest of our lives Lacey, Morgan and I had to get back to my place for.. Empanada Night! Marta is a pretty competitive host-mom and she always gets sad that I never bring friends to our house so she made dinner to celebrate the end of Midterms. It was adorable. She got all dolled up - yep, makeup included - and set the cutest dinner table for us. Then we feasted.

This woman made 40 empanadas. Ten for each person. I lost count after 6 but I’d say I slammed a solid 10+. Of course we also needed dessert so she ordered a kilo and a half of our favorite ice creams: Frutilla strawberry, Banana Split, Oreo, Chocolate Almond, Chocolate Rochera and Coconut. I know we don’t use the metric system in the states but rest assured it was A LOT. We ate it all too.

Somewhere between all our eating we also had some hilarious conversations. It was fun getting to share her with Morgan and Lacey. It was also cute when only I could understand what she was saying - not because I’m good at Spanish but because we understand each other. By the end of the night the four of us had made a pact: Hermanas de Sangre Blood Sisters. Marta said it was like the Mafia and she’s the “Godmother.” I’m hoping the Argentine Mafia is nicer than the Italian one.

And now for my Spanish revelation of the week: I don’t have to translate Spanish to English nearly as much anymore. In fact it’s when I consciously try to that I get into trouble. The trouble is responding. I still have to formulate a sentence or question in English and then translate it. But at least I’m getting closer to victory?

Viernes.

I swear everyday feels like a year here. Every night I reflect on what I did and it always amazes me how much I can do and experience in one day. It’s a drastic change from my relaxing, tranquil Monmouth life.

First, a fun little apartment update for you. Thursday night just before dinner I was reading in my room when I overheard Marta frantically calling her son on the phone, “Tengo un problema de la casa.” Literally, “I have a problem of the house.” For the past week or so we’ve had a water problem. It started as a slight drip, then progressed to a drizzle, then she got a bucket out... Then, full on, non-stop steady stream of water in the kitchen sink.

While I was freaking out about the money aspect, Marta was terrified we were going to single-handedly drain the water tank which supplies the entire building. Luckily though on Friday morning, Juan, the door-man-porter-guy was able to come and fix it so rest of the building, and I, could take showers. Go Juan.

Once I was nice and sparkling clean it was time to go to the elementary school and serve up some hot lunches - on a hot, humid Rosario sauna day. It kind of defeated the purpose of the shower... Also, someday I’ll give you all a better explanation of what we do there, but not today.

After volunteering I didn’t want to go home so I ventured out on my own to do some shopping. At one point I went into a bookstore. Out of nowhere a waiter about my height, bald and probably 30 years old showed up. I was a little confused as to how he was going to help me find books but then again everything baffles me here. I quickly ditched him though and went on my way. However, when I was leaving he was waiting at the door. Long story short, about 10 minutes later I had convinced him that I don’t have a cell phone but rather a house phone, which I don’t know the number of. I’d also received his digits and may have implied that I’d actually use them. Sorry, Estanis Lao but it ain’t happenin’.

Later that night I met up with Lacey and our friend Belen - who’s probably reading this. Hola Belen! We intended to watch a movie but got distracted by talking and by the weather. At some point in the day it switched from overwhelming sunshine to blinding lightning, thunder and tropical rain storms. November in Rosario is going to be interesting.

Once we had sufficiently discussed the weather we went to dinner with our other friends Aniela and Malen. We ended up being at Oh Carols for about 5 hours that night talking about everything under the sun, in every language under the sun. Music, movies, boys, Quinces... In Spanish, English, Japanese and Arabic. Kind of. Also, they played the some awesome music there. Spice Girls, Oasis, Guns ‘n Roses and.. Coldplay. It’s safe to say I got excited.

At one point we agreed to switch and let them practice their English with us, which turned out to be incredibly challenging. For the first time in my life I actually felt more comfortable speaking Spanish than English. It was also fun for them to realize what we go through everyday and how exhausting it is. Ah, life abroad.

In the educational world: It’s worth noting that I officially survived Midterm Exam week. Holla. Also, not that any of you really care but I have unofficially decided to double major in Social Science and Spanish. Double holla.

Nerdy Coffee.

Me gustan palabras.

Words are pleasing to me.

Tuesday was a good day. Here are some words to give you an idea of what topics I discussed: Che Guevara, Juan & Evita Peron, Richard Nixon, the Cold War, Vietnam, Woodstock and Alcatraz.

Confession: I’m a nerd.

Dinner was good too. We had bratwursts, they call them choripan but let’s be real, the Germans clearly beat Argentina to this sausage in a bun. I asked Marta about everything I had learned today, basically so she could tell me the same things and I would already know what she was going to say. It’s a trick I use so she thinks I understand her. Anywho, then I rocked her world by informing her that the US CIA are the ones who killed Che Guevara and that Alcatraz is no longer an active prison but rather a tourist island.

Don’t worry, the night only got better from here. I then busted out pictures I have of Monmouth - thanks Kate! - including Rick’s Coffee, The Scoop, Kate’s cell phone, country roads and uhh.. my bedroom. Needless to say, I think Marta might move in with us.

Naturally this lead to a discussion of Rick’s and of US coffee in general. Marta is officially the first person I’ve ever met who doesn’t know what Starbucks is. Gold star. I then had the honor of explaining “coffee” in the states. Frappuccinos, mochas, tall-grande-venti - to which she replied, “You wouldn’t sleep for a year after drinking that!” - and most revolutionary of all, iced coffee.

Although, I must admit, I’m rather dreading returning to the states and having to pay $5 for a cup of coffee again. Here you only have to scrounge up 5 pesos ($1.30) to get a coffee and two medialunas. Amazing.

Also, a disturbing fact: I think I live with a woman who enjoys Fruit Cake. She calls it Pan Dulce (sweet bread) but it sounds disturbingly similar to the infamous Fruit Cake: A tough, durable, strong bread with fruits which is only consumed during Christmas season.

Wow. Who knew I could write so much about history and coffee.

Las Madres!

FELIZ DIA DE LAS MADRES!

This here is the one and only Marta Malla. Quite the character, eh?

Today is officially Mother’s Day in Argentina. I got mega points for buying Marta flowers - off the street at 11:50 PM last night. I enjoy that that was even an option for me. I then started the day off this morning by making her cry at breakfast. We were chatting about her neighbor who has some sort of mental illness, then she began talking about her deceased husband and well.. tears. I wish I had understood what she was saying better though, it's obviously important.

Either way, Mother's Day of course means family lunch. I’m getting more comfortable with everyone but it still so tiring and discouraging to realize how little I understand, and even worse how little I can speak. It’s really just a slap in the face when you get school’d by 4 year olds... During lunch though we had a picture taking session and looked at old photos which was fun. Then we ate my favorite Argentine postre before hitting up the park and feria across the street. All in all it was a good, relatively normal, Mother’s Day.

On another note, I cannot wait to get back to the states and force mate on all of you. This tea is a massive part of the culture down here. On Saturday after I got in some good family Skype time I went to the park to meet up with Lacey, Morgan and our Rosarino friends, Romina and Belen. We then all spent 3 hours sitting in the grass, sipping mate and eating snacks. It was the perfect spring day.

Bruises and Baileys.

Get out the record books kids, October 16th is going down in history.

I unsuspectingly began my day with a bang - literally. The water in my building was being shut off for maintenance in the late morning so I had to shower early which left me with an awkward chunk of time before I went to the elementary school. I decided to go to the local cafe, get some coffee and read my bible. I also decided to take the stairs since I only live on the second level and am feeling pretty gorda lately.

Don’t be deceived though, this was a bad choice on my part. I was half a flight from the bottom when all you-know-what broke lose. My flip-flops slipped, I ate it and slid down the entire flight. As if that wasn’t bad enough a woman from my building witnessed the entire thing - check out the foreigner flying down the stairs. Go me. I had no choice but to forget the pain, laugh and pretend like I didn’t feel a thing. Ha. Tell that to the black and purple bruise on my toosh.

I’d tell you the other details of my day but they’re pretty boring compared to what I did that night. Lacey, Morgan, Skylar and I went out to get a late night coffee. We headed to Oh Carol’s [Katelyn shout-out!] for the first time and instantly fell in love with the atmosphere. A sort of Hollywood glam mixed with 50’s diner, if you ask me. What happens when friends get together to talk about relationships in a Hollywood bar while living in Rosario, Argentina? Baileys Milkshakes.

That’s right folks. On October 16th, 2009 Wendy Marie Bryant lost her alcohol virginity. Don’t worry though, I made sure to specifically ask for more ice cream and less alcohol because ice cream is obviously more important. The verdict? I still don’t understand why, or how, people drink.

Life and Photos.

Ahh... Back to normal life. I’ve become strangely accustomed to life in Rosario. I’ve got a good routine going and it’s safe to say that I’m finally content here. Monday I had tons of homework to do but I made time to go to family lunch with Marta. I got to meet my brothers, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews and grandparents. It was a lot of people, a lot of Spanish and a lot of nodding... One of those days when I realized I definitely do not know this language.

Monday I gave a presentation in my Conversation class. It was a free topic so I used it as an opportunity to tell everyone about my new found love for Uruguay and show off my pictures. Speaking of which, you can now find a link to those very photos on this here page. As well as my Buenos Aires photos and a new exciting album dedicated to... cars. Anywho, during my presentation a GIANT spider - en serio, we’re talking 2 inches across including legs - showed up. Needless to say the entire class freaked out and it really helped add some excitement to Uruguay.

Some other note worthy events. Last night Marta and I had a neat little chat about money. Then we both busted out our coin collections - mine only consisted of Uruguay but I was still able to contribute. She has coinage from all over the place that people have given her. Including oodles from the states. I cannot express to you how weird it was to see US money again. It’s safe to say I got a little too excited about it.

Also, two more confessions and realizations. Firstly, I’m not sure if I remember how to drive. Secondly, I honestly cannot remember the last time I wore a seat-belt.

I'm Moving to Uruguay.

These past five days have been some of the most memorable and surreal days of my life. Here is the Sparknote version of my trip: Presidents, beaches, jazz concerts, Atlantic ocean, ferias, roller-coasters, storms, parks and MUN friends.

Getting to Uruguay

The moment I stepped off the elevator Wednesday morning I knew this was going to be a good trip. The door-man-ish-man stopped me and told me he had something for me. That something turned out to be a postcard from Miss Kate Arnold. Not only was I excited that I got a postcard but also that he knew who I was - I’m beginning to realize how often people in my building, mostly Marta, talk about me.

After my postal happiness I made it to the omnibus station and the five of us - Lacey, Morgan, Nicki, Skylar & I - began traveling to Buenos Aires. We then had a few hours to kill before our “Buquebus” ferry left so we grabbed some lunch and started homework - skipping school comes at a price... The ferry to Uruguay was a short 45 minute journey and we docked in Colonia around 9 PM Wednesday night. On our walk to our hostel we discovered a massive political rally that we were forced to walk through with all of our bags. Naturally, this was difficult and strange. A few days later we found out that political rally was actually one of the presidential candidates giving a speech, kind of a big deal.

The Ultimate Scale

We decided to spend Thursday exploring Colonia del Sacramento, which is an adorable port town. The historical district is complete with cobblestone streets, vintage cars - I saw hundreds of Volkswagens - and amazing architecture. We had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the bay. Then we went back to the hostel and grabbed some of the bikes they had there. These bikes turned out to be quite the experience: Lacey’s brakes broke on her way down a hill, the seats were horrid and the pedals were nearly falling off. Needless to say, they got us to the beach in a hilarious fashion, but it felt good to at least ride some form of bicycle again. The beach was gorgeous on Thursday and I got my first sunburn in the southern hemisphere! On my neck too, I’m officially a red-neck. Ha.

After reading for a few hours we went off to find an ice cream shop. Luckily we knew of one right next to a park so we spent some more time relaxing and enjoying nature. Naturally, after such an exhausting day we then had to take some naps. Unfortunately, for some freaky reason I wasn’t able to sleep so I ended up doing more homework. Then it was off to dinner which normally wouldn’t be worth sharing about except that I ordered a salad. Only to find out it was a salad without lettuce. Also, there is no such thing as dressing here. I’m having major ranch withdrawals...

Lacey, Nicki and I then decided to go on a late night walking excursion. We ended up finding an awesome park to explore. This brought us to the ultimate childhood scale: The Teeter-Totter. Turns out Lacey and I are the exact same weight. Just so everyone knows. When we finally got freaked out by sketchy cars and shadows we booked it to a cafe to enjoy a live jazz concert. Classy.

Punta del Este

Punta del Este. The vacation and resort hotspot for South America. Getting to such a place comes at a price though, we woke up at 4:30 AM on Friday to begin our adventure. We then took a 2.5 hour bus to Montevideo, followed by a 2 hour bus to Punta. It was worth every bit of it though.

I love beaches. It’s a serious addiction and Punta did not disappoint me. We were greeted by a giant hand sculpture protruding out of the sand, as well as crystal clear skies and, like all good beaches, some serious wind. It took me about 3 seconds to accomplish my number one mission of this trip: touching the Atlantic. I almost pee’d my pants of excitement. Two months ago I never would’ve believed that I would be in Uruguay touching the Atlantic ocean. Just another one of those surreal, God is amazing, moments.

We spent the rest of the day laying on the beach, shopping and eating massive desserts. Countless times I had to step back and just take it all in though. I can only describe it as bliss and awe.

Montevideo

Saturday we declared to be Montevideo day. The only trouble was we only had 7 hours to spend in the capital of Uruguay and we had no idea what to do. We got in a taxi and made our way to the local feria (Saturday market). It was a massive one and occupied a good chunk of our time.

I couldn’t justify leaving after just seeing the feria though. So, we did what we do when we are looking for places to go: Get ice cream and ask the locals. The only flaw in this plan was that the locals said there was nothing to do. Nothing to do in Montevideo? I didn’t believe it. Earlier I had seen a map though so we meandered back to it and found out there was a Holocaust memorial within walking distance. Lacey and I were immediately interested and decided to drag the others along.

We took a nice walk through the parks next to the river to the memorial. It was a few walls, sculptures and stones honoring the story of a local town of Holocaust victims. By the end of the walk people were starting to lose steam though so we agreed to walk and find a taxi. Well, while walking we found a beach, which I had to explore, then we found the best thing of all... A carnival. Yep. Lacey, Nicki and I wasted no time boarding a "Montana Rusa", an unexpectedly scary roller-coaster. It was really only scary because of the safety regulations, or lack there of. We survived though and can now say we rode a roller-coaster in Uruguay.

During our bus ride home a massive thunder, lightning and rain storm began - I was elated. We also got to walk back to our hostel in it, which was a blast. Puddle jumping and fresh smells of rain. I was happy.

El Fin

Sunday was our final day in Uruguay. We decided to spend the day sleeping in and putzing around Colonia until our ferry left in the evening. All of us were broke though because we didn’t want to get out more of the local currency - which by the way is gorgeous. We found out the oldest church in Uruguay was located a few blocks from our hostel so we went to visit it. We just barely missed the start of morning mass too, which was a bummer but it was still cool to see the outside of the building. Then we went to snag a cheap pizza lunch.

With full tummies and happy wallets we went to local park to sit in the sun and work on homework. After a couple hours dozens of kids and their grandparents started showing up to feed the pigeons. They were all adorable and entertaining to listen too. I couldn’t help but be jealous of them though since their spanish is better than mine...

The journey back to Rosario was largely uneventful until the last hour of the bus ride. We made a stop and picked up a dozen high schoolers in fancy suits. They heard us speaking english and started talking with us. It turns out they had been at a Model United Nations (MUN) conference. We bonded over languages and international events for the next hour. One of the boys also looked exactly like a Jonas Brother too so we got a kick out of that. New friends was an awesome way to end and amazing vacation.

These past five days were exactly what I needed: God, nature and tranquility. Now it’s back to reality though and midterms are around the corner...

Adventure Dos.

I just thought I'd let you all know that I'm leaving for Uruguay in the morning and will be gone till Monday. We're hoping to visit Colonia, Montevideo and Punta del Este. Feel free to Google those if you want, if not, all you need to know is I'll be hanging out on some beaches for a week. Rough, I know. This will also be my first experience with the Atlantic, hopefully it's a good one!

I hope you all have a grand week.

Buenos Aires.

This weekend was Buenos Aires weekend, because this was one of our AHA sponsored trips we had all our days scheduled for us which meant LOTS of tours and things to see.

The trip began Saturday morning at 5 AM when I had to snag a bus. I tell you this because at 5 AM while I was preparing to go out for the day everyone else was drunk and trying to find their houses for the night. It was interesting. We then took a 4 hour bus ride to BA. Our first stop was the neighborhood of La Boca. It was insanely colorful and cheery, but also really touristy... After some time there we checked into our hotel and got lunch. The mall also had a Starbucks, I wanted to get some but at this point I began feeling like death.

This pain continued as we went to the MALBA (Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires). I wish I could have enjoyed this more but I was in a lot of pain and wasn’t really feeling up to looking at art. I did however manage to find an awesome exhibit next to a bench that I sat and looked at for a good chunk of time. After museuming it was off to The Recoleta Cemetery. I love cemeteries. This one was especially neat because so many historial Argentines are buried there - including Eva Peron. Unfortunately I was still feeling ill for this portion so I couldn’t enjoy it as much as I would’ve liked. When we finished touring the cemetary we had some free time to go shopping at the local “feria,” basically just artisan booths.

At this point in the day I was exhausted, to say the least. We had a chance to go back to the hotel for an hour and I sneaked in a quick nap before we went out to dinner - at an all you can eat buffet. Delicious. I still wasn’t feeling any better after dinner but wasn’t about to miss out on my second Argentine concert. We went to a local bar to see “Orquesta Tipica Imperial.” My Che professor’s sister is a member of this band and they were pretty much amazing. On our way home we got to drive down “9 de Julio” - the widest avenue in the world. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9_de_Julio_Avenue As if this day wasn’t full of enough memorable moments, I then went to sleep watching Saturday Night Live in spanish with special guest, the Fleet Foxes!

Sunday. Phew. I woke up feeling better and was able to enjoy the delicious breakfast, I feel as though I can call it delicious simply because I got to eat 2 bowls of cereal. Yumm. We then wasted no time beginning out day with a walking tour visiting the cathedral, Plaza de Mayo and Cabildo. I know that probably doesn’t mean anything to you US-ers but rest assured it was super interesting. One note-able building we saw was the government building in Plaza de Mayo. This is the famous balcony where Eva Peron gave her speeches to thousands of Argentineans. The walking tour took about 2 hours, then we got to visit a local flea market. I cannot express how much this place reminded me of Walt and Sarah. You guys would’ve loved it! Old trinkets, pictures and newspaper articles from all over South America. Unfortunately everything was freakishly overpriced but still really cool.

This brings me to the last stop of our trip, finally. Of course we stopped to do what we do best, shop. This time in the Plaza Serrano in the Palermo district. Palermo is one of the wealthier neighborhoods in Buenos Aires so it was kind of like being in California. Ah. Nothing like a nice reminder of home.

Blah. Thus completes another traveling adventure. Sorry this post was long and boring. Hopefully some of you survived and made it through to the end. I’ll be posting pictures soon.

Poncho Night.

Two note worthy events from Friday...

Poncho Night! A few weeks ago I was making small talk with Marta and brought up Ponchos, better known as hot-dogs in the states. She took this to mean I loooove hot-dogs so she promised to make them for me soon. Well, then I got sick and threw off the original Poncho Night so we rescheduled for Friday night. Hot-dogs and corn on the cob. An all-American summer BBQ meal - in Argentina during the spring..

During the course of our Poncho Night date the topic of heights came up. I then wanted to explain how I’m the random “short” one in the family - unless we’re including the ladies and then I’m the awkward “middle” one. Moments after opening my mouth I realized I was heading for disaster... The dreaded DOUBLE conversion. I quickly had to figure out everyone’s heights in inches then attempt to convert it to the metric system. This of course led to... Chaos. We ended up figuring out my height and going from there. In case you’re wondering I am 166 cm tall. I think. Mom, Marta also thinks you’re a giant. And thus ends another dinner at Mendoza 379 2 D.

PS. Britta, you better have celebrated Poncho Night with us.

Jo Bros.

Yesterday I went to the orphanage. I noticed one of the girls drawing and writing a lot so I asked her what it was for... The Jonas Brothers. It took me a few minutes before I decided to divulge my secret connection to the brothers. Naturally, when they found out about Randy working for them they FREAKED OUT. Within about 10 minutes our crowd of girls had doubled and they were dying for information. It was all great fun.

Today I had three noteable experiences, two of which occured on buses. First, on my way to meet some classmates at the university. I was on my bus and was preparing to get off at my usual stop when the driver began yelling something and the entire bus stared at me. Panic. After a lot of chaos and not understanding a nice guy near me calmly and slowly explained things. Apparently there was a demonstration in the street [by demonstration I mean protesting by burning tires and paper] so we had to go around, thus my usual stop was not gonna happen.

I made it to school though and then the group of us went to volunteer at the elementary school. We served lunches to the students. It was insane but also a good experience. When we left the principal made sure to explain to us how big of an impact we were having on the students, and him, when it comes to US stereotypes.

The final adventure was our attempt to get back after volunteering. We took the same bus but forgot to go to its returning stop. This means we went an hour out of our way into an entirely different part of Rosario. At one point the driver even stopped to take his 10 minute break and we had to sit and wait on the bus. It was inconvenient but a good way to see the city, and learn about bus routes.

Tomorrow I'm leaving to spend the weekend in Buenos Aires. It'll be jam-packed full of stories I'm sure.

Month One: Check.

In honor of my one month Rosarito anniversary I have decided to make a snazzy little list of things I love, or am learning to love, about Argentina and things I’m realizing I miss from the states. Nothing like some fun comparing and contrasting to help paint a picture of the culture and life down yonder.

ARGENTINA:

1. Cafes
2. Delivery ice cream
3. Medialunas
4. Dubbed Nick at Nite
5. Abundance of late night activities
6. Kisses on the cheek
7. Focus on relationships
8. Motorcycles
9. Knowing the words to English songs
10. The stars
11. Slow, relaxed lifestyle
12. Model T’s in front of my building
13. Doctor house calls
14. European buildings
15. Shots of water con gas

LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS:

1. Smoking laws
2. Fresh air
3. Nature
4. Houses
5. Aquafresh
6. Recycling
7. Clean streets
8. Mexican food
9. Pedestrians having the right of way
10. Bike rides
11. Driving
12. Non-wax paper napkins
13. Cell phones in English
14. Making eye contact on the streets
15. Internet at home