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

Feliz Navidad!

“And so happy Christmas. For black and for white. For the yellow and red ones. Let’s stop all the fight.”

Those of you who know me well will know one question has plagued me for years: If Christmas is during the summer in the southern hemisphere, what does Santa wear?

Well, I have the answer. Firstly, to clarify Christmas is indeed during the summer for those in the southern hemisphere. Secondly, he wears the exact same thing. All of it. Jacket, pants, boots, gloves, massive beard... I was baffled. I thought for sure he’d wear a bikini down here. Although, I guess none of really want to see a Santa in a bikini...

You might be able to guess that Marta and I had a holiday discussion. I love Christmas. I even let her in on a secret and told her about Viernes Negro [Black Friday]. She said it sounded lovely - I think she’s crazy. We compared trees as well. Here most people hang plants and use them as trees. In the states we buy real trees, until the kids get too old and then we buy artificial ones and leave them up as the official year-round Holiday Tree. At least that’s what the Bryants did... ;)

I don’t know about you but I’m listening to Christmas music.

87 days.

Urgencias.

Last night was a fun experience for me. After a day of the Argentine BRAT diet - which consists of lots of white rice, cheese and cranberry sauce? - I still was feeling horrible and my head was on the verge of exploding. Marta then insisted that she take my temperature. She approached me with the thermometer and I instantly realized it was not my usual mouth thermometer. It's safe to say that I began questioning where she was intending to put it... Turns out it was the armpit. She informed me I was 38 degrees Celsius, for all I knew that meant it was nearly time to start snowing. Evidently it was bad enough for her to call the program director and then the doctor.

Next thing I know the doctor was grilling me about how I was feeling. Luckily Marta knew my symptoms so I didn't have to speak much. About an hour after the doctor left my antibiotics for my tonsils were delivered to our apartment. Pharmacies that deliver, and on Saturday nights. We need that in the states. Today I'm feeling much better though. I'm still on house-arrest and spend most of my time sleeping but it's raining here so it's perfect sick weather.

PS. Bryant males: Check out the new pictures in my Rosario album. The car mystery continues.

Hello Week Four.

I really need to stop making such massive posts - even I get bored reading them when they get this long. Maybe pop up some popcorn for this one?

This week has been a roller-coaster of emotions for me. Wednesday was a struggle. Now that I’ve nearly defeated homesickness my new enemy is the spanish language itself. The tricky part about this battle is that I can’t really hide from it. I was just going through some standard panicking about not learning enough, not knowing enough and not practicing enough. I wasn’t really sure what “enough” was, I just knew I wasn’t there. I pretty much broke down that night and turned to the one thing that has kept me sane here: the B-I-B-L-E. Yes, that’s the book for me. [VBS shout-out]

Thursday morning I was still feeling the after-shocks of the night before, which made my Spanish Conversation class pure torture. Everything changed for me that afternoon though: I went to my first day of volunteering at the orphanage. All week I’d been hearing terror stories from other students and their experiences so I was umm.. terrified. When Lacey and I got there we were placed in a room with 4 girls, ages 12-15. I was elated. These are my people. For the next hour we danced, made fun of my spanish and had girl talk. It was amazing. I really hope I can continue meeting with them and develop a relationship with them.

Later in the evening my program had a tango party. The greatest and worst moment of my trip happened that night. I was mingling and awkwardly avoiding having to dance - the boy to girl ratio is crazy here so it was middle school dance status where the boys chose the girls. Right, so then we formed a massive circle which I assumed was so we could be shown the next steps. Next thing I know a man’s hand is in front of my face. The instructor then proceeded to take me to the middle of the circle as an example of what we had learned. Mind you I had learned nothing during this time. I ended up tripping around for a few minutes until he gave up on me. Mortifying? Sure. Once in a lifetime awesome story? Yes.

By the end of the night we also became friends with two Rosaritos and ended up going out to tea with them till 2 AM. It was so great to be able to talk with people my age in spanish. Although I do a lot more listening than talking it’s still kind of neat to be able to understand even if I still can’t formulate sentences fast enough. Baby steps?

After an exhausting night, on top of my current sickness, I was not amped to get up early on Friday morning, but I did it anyways. 5 of us from the program had a meeting with a local Catholic school principal about volunteering at his school. While we were there the ultimate jefe [boss] showed up, which I think is something like the superintendent. Anyways, turns out he’s actually kind of famous for the work he’s done in the schools around here. So, cool points for me in getting to meet him? I’m going to start working there on Fridays serving lunches to the students. It should be an awesome experience.

I spent the rest of the day being exhausted... I attempted to go shopping but quickly decided I can’t shop here unless it’s in a grocery store. All the stores here are like boutiques with insane customer service - I don’t even like that when I understand the language. No need to worry though, I did find some things at La Callega, the local supermarket, including Pasta de Mani [Paste of Peanut]. I snagged one of 3 overpriced, dusty, sticky jars hidden under mountains of Dulce de Leche on the bottom shelf. Naturally it is actually completely different than USA peanut butter but it got the job done. Lacey, Morgan and I spent the rest of the day hanging out and being lazy. This also included dubbed Happy Days. I wish I could bring that home as a souvenir for all of you.

As I found out Saturday morning though, US peanut butter may be worth waiting for. During the course of the night I became good friends with the porcelain king in the bathroom. Marta now has me on a strict Argentine diet to combat the sickness. Kind of one of those times when you wish it was your real mom taking care of you though.

Weekend in Cordoba.

FELIZ PRIMAVERA!

Today is officially the first day of spring in Argentina.

This weekend I spent traveling around the provence of Cordoba, which means one things really: This post is going to be massive but it has some potential for excitement.

We left by bus Thursday night at 2 AM. Things were going well until 6 AM when we were awoken by the bus stopping and everyone exiting. Naturally we assumed we had reached our destination of Cordoba. I was the first one of us to get off and the driver said something to me. Mind you I had just woken up and wasn’t really in spanish mode yet, so I nodded my head like I knew what he said and followed the direction he pointed. Turns out we were on a shoulder of the highway - not exactly the bus station I was expecting. Then we were asked to get on another bus waiting for us. All the natives seemed unscathed by this event but we are still baffled as to what happened. Either way we made it to Cordoba by 7 AM Friday.

We then awkwardly figured out the line for the taxis but our driver didn’t know where our hostel was. He ended up dropping us off 2 blocks past it - not that we knew that at the time. We plopped down on the sidewalk, busted out our map and asked some locals. After a little work and some minor panic control we finally arrived at the Tango Hostel by 8 AM and passed out till the afternoon.

Once we awoke we decided to go exploring and visit the smaller town of Villa Carlos Paz in the mountains. Miraculously we managed to figure out an entirely different bus situation and made it without much trouble. Then, we were in Carlos Paz. Without any idea of what was actually there we did what any 4 girls traveling would do: Find ice cream. There we met some locals who told us where the good shopping was. We spent the day shopping, walking and exploring. Dinner was quite possibly the best part though.. Mexican food. Oh how I miss thee.

I hesitate to tell you about my Saturday only because I broke the rules: I traveled alone. Morgan, Lacey and Nicki went horseback riding but I’m cheap and a nerd so I went to a museum instead. I got on a bus and went to the town of Alta Gracia. Upon arriving I made my way to the Information Center and got myself a map and directions, then stopped for some pizza. The destination? The childhood home of Che Guevara. Although it felt disturbingly like a religious pilgrimage, this was still the highlight of my weekend. Getting to see his home, hand-written letters, his bicycle, his motorcycle and countless other things made his iconic life seem real. It’ll also give me something to talk about in class this week.

Obviously, I successfully survived my solo adventure and reunited with the others. Saturday night we intended to go out and hit up some boliches, but that didn’t happen. Instead we had some amazing conversations with people at the hostel. We met an awesome couple, one from Cyprus the other from Italy, traveling for 6 months through Africa and South America. I cannot count the ways in which they inspired and intrigued us. Around 2 AM we went out for ice cream, because we can. I don’t know why it still surprises me to see 4 year olds and 80 year olds out getting ice cream at 2 AM - I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to it.

We spent Sunday putzing around Cordoba and being lazy until we got on our return bus that evening. After a 6 hour bus ride we made it back to Rosario by midnight. This weekend was such an amazing refreshment for me. It was wonderful to be able to visit small towns again - towns with neighborhoods, trees and clean air. If there is one thing I have already learned from this experience it’s that I am not a big city kind of girl.

Also, I got my first chance to really look at the stars last night. I have never seen stars from the southern hemisphere. It’s moments like that that still seem surreal to me.

Rainy School Days.

Firstly, I realize that some of you - okay probably only one of you [Wes] - might care what my daily school routine is like. Get excited! It’s super fascinating, except not. Here we go... Every morning I shower and then have breakfast with Marta. This meal typically consists of toast and coffee for the “cold” days. When it’s “hot” outside I get to have cereal - I LOVE these days. After breakfast I bus it to school and start classes around 10 AM.

I’m taking 4 classes: Spanish Grammar & Conversation, Human Rights and Che’s Roads. Spanish classes are... spanish classes. Today in my Conversation class we went to the grocery store and then made Pinonos! My Human Rights class is fairly generic and watered down compared to IHS, but we go on field trips so I can’t complain. While it is entirely in spanish, my class on Che Guevara is by far my favorite and most challenging. We read and discuss the original texts of his diaries and today we’re even watching Motorcycle Diaries! His face is spray painted throughout the city and everyone has an opinion about him. Learning about Che in his birth-city is probably one of the coolest things I’ve done in awhile.

I finish classes around 7:30 PM and then bus home. At which point I bust out some homework and Marta begins making dinner. We eat around 9 PM, which is early, and then talk for a hour or so. Dinners are very unpredictable but always tasty. Last night I got to have fresh corn on the cob. Score! After dinner I do homework, read and sleep. Right, there you have it a day in the life of Wendy.

On another note: Last night while consuming my corn on the cob Marta and I had a brilliant conversation - I think. We covered all of my interests, and all the Bryant family interests too: Che, Castro, Hitler, Volkswagens, old cars, jobs and work ethic. It was just like family dinner, except in spanish, and in Argentina, and with a crazy little blonde woman. As for the mysterious disappearing vehicle she said two young men took it to restore it.

One more thing. Monday is the first day of spring so we don’t have classes - seriously, it’s actually called the Day of the Students - this means extended weekend, which means traveling. So tonight at 2 AM, which is technically tomorrow, Lacey, Morgan, Nicki and I are jumping on a bus and going to Cordoba. Ah. The first adventure.

Hey Sunshine.

Hoy rompí mis gafas de sol. Bummer.

Today I broke my sunglasses. Bummer.

Mindless Rambling.

Life with Marta is going well. She’s helping me a lot with my spanish and is incredibly patient with me while I sit and conjugate verbs in my head. I wish I understood everything she said though. I can often see in her eyes that she’s telling me something important and meaningful to her but I can only catch the gist of it, at best. There are a lot of moments when she stares at me waiting for my response when I didn’t even know she asked a question. I’m excited for the day when I’m better at spanish and can have her repeat all her stories to me.

While I’m bragging about Marta I should include some examples of how sweet she is so you can get to know her better. She puts left over food in a clean plastic bag before she puts it in the trash to “dumpster divers” can have a clean meal. Every night she also takes food to our neighbor across the hall because she can’t cook - I didn’t catch why though. I got in the elevator the other day and a woman got in a few floors after me. It was quickly obvious that I couldn’t keep up with her spanish. When I told her which floor I lived on she instantly knew who I was living with and why I was here. She couldn’t stop raving about Marta and how sweet she is.

Also, for those of you who are interested in pictures - visual proof that I’m still alive and consuming way too much meat and bread - I’ve posted a link to the left that connects to my Facebook photo album. Hopefully it works.

Unrelated fact: I think I might be back in the states just in time for the WOU Holiday Tree lighting - all you Monmouth-ites know how much I am obsessed with it. Needless to say, I about pee’d my pants when I discovered this.

Boys.

Saturday night Lacey, Morgan and I went to La Fluvial - a bumpin' dance club next to the river. We got there around midnight, which was evidently too early for dancing, but we weren't really in a dancing mood anyways. So, we plopped down and ordered some late night coffee and "yoghurt" - I cannot express to you how excited I was to have yogurt again. I miss it almost as much as peanut butter and burritos. Around 1 AM more people started showing up and a pack of 4 guys hunted us down. They came over and we had some awkwardly funny conversations in Spanglish. They were all 28 and baffled that we were eating yogurt and drinking coffee instead of getting drunk off cervezas. We chatted for awhile before they got tired of trying to get us to dance and moved on to some new prey. It's hilarious how forward guys are in foreign countries and it definitely helped ease some of those homesickness pains.

Welp, I'm off to find me an Argentine boy..

Mi Amor.

Thursday, was for sure the hardest day I’ve had since landing in Argentina. A full day of classes plus overwhelming homesickness... It was all I could do to not bust out crying in class. Then, when I got home from classes and was about to explode, Marta immediately thrust the phone at me and had me talk to her son and his daughter. That was chaos. After my first spanish phone call, I went to cry in my room because that’s what I do when I cry.

Well, Marta is one smart cookie and she caught me. That is when I was confronted with one of the strangest, greatest experiences of my life: Balling my eyes out with a woman I’ve known for 3 days and then having to explain my feelings in Spanish. She was holding me in her arms and saying "mi amor, mi amor" [her "nickname" for me] over and over again. Then, to ease the pain even more she instantly began feeding me cookies slathered in dulce de leche then rolled in coconut and having me drink mate.* We then also had an awesome conversation about sunscreen. She’s a big advocate for slathering on the SPF too. Score! Now I’m feeling much better, it’s probably the drugs in the mate, but either way I’ll take it.

You know, just some fun facts for all you back home.

Side-note: The spanish version of "Man in the Mirror" just came on the radio at the bakery/cafe I'm at. Awesome.

*Some helpful definitions:

Dulce de leche is similar to a carmel spread and everyone in Argentina is obsessed with it. They put it on everything. Bananas, crackers, cookies, toast, spoons... Also, thanks Mac for including it in my wisdom teeth care package. I got major bonus points when I already knew what it was.

Mate is the national tea of Argentina - that might not be a fact but if it isn’t it should be. They drink it 24/7. It looks like weed but I’ve been told that it’s not. While I’m still not convinced, I down the stuff because it’s tasty.

Recycling.

Yesterday I wore my last pair of clean underwear.

Fortunately, us Bryants are experts at recycling, especially clothes. If I understood her correctly, Marta is taking my laundry to be washed right at this very moment. Unfortunately it takes them a day to do it so it looks like I have another day of.. recycling to do.

It's been cold here lately. By cold I mean 50 degrees, which I know most Oregonians would say that isn't actually cold, but rest assured - it is frigid when the only clothes you have are spring time clothes.

I'm also learning the art of taking the bus. They really show no mercy. I literally step off onto the pavement and it's already moving down the street. It also doesn't help that the entire bus stares at me as soon as I get on. I'm really a freak of nature down here: blue eyes, short red hair and WHITE skin.

Last night I ran for the first time since the Hood to Coast. I went to the gym with some of my friends, and well, I think I'm made for the streets. You really haven't lived until you've ran on a treadmill set to the metric system and in Spanish. It's great fun. Then of course the one I was on sounded like a train wreck if I went above 6 kilometers per hour. This led to me going for a brisk walk for about an hour. It was embarrassing.

Finally, for all you soccer fans Argentina played Paraguay last night. We lost, again. No bueno.

Mi Marta.

Last night I moved to a new house. It was crazy awkward having to explain to why I was leaving to Alicia, my old host mom, but I survived and made it to my new home. Now I live a few blocks from the river but 20+ blocks from school so I get to be adventurous and figure out the bus system. I'm not gonna lie, I miss being so close to school and the Parque de Independencia but it's worth it.

My new mom, Marta, has two older sons and 3 grandkids. She takes care of them during the day and they come over for dinner on the weekends. The neighbor across the hall from us has two younger kids as well who are adorable. I'm really excited to get to know them and attempt to interact with them. Marta doesn't know any English so that's been a challenge of course but I'm really good at nodding and agreeing with her.

My new address, for the third time:

Mendoza 379 2 D

2000 Rosario, Santa Fe

Argentina