Ok, because I'm not sure what else would best sum up this grand weekend, here are some pictures. Enjoy :)
BIKE TOUR -- MAIPU
PARAGLIDING
RAFTING
RAPPELLING
THERMAL SPRINGS
Friday, April 30, 2010
Mendoza!
Greatest wine-producing city in Latin America. One of the nine Great Capitals of Wine. Next to the Andes Mountains. Full of outdoor adventures. A 14 hour bus ride from Buenos Aires. YES PLEASE!
Ok, because I'm not sure what else would best sum up this grand weekend, here are some pictures. Enjoy :)
BIKE TOUR -- MAIPU
PARAGLIDING
RAFTING
RAPPELLING
THERMAL SPRINGS
Ok, because I'm not sure what else would best sum up this grand weekend, here are some pictures. Enjoy :)
BIKE TOUR -- MAIPU
PARAGLIDING
RAFTING
RAPPELLING
THERMAL SPRINGS
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Theme of the week: GAUCHOS!
Last Sunday I went to a gaucho fair in Mataderos, which is on the edge of Buenos Aires. It's basically a big market that's all about the gaucho culture in order to keep that spirit and history alive in the city.
Vendors sold traditional gaucho clothing, tons of leather goods, cheeses and meats, dulce de leche, jewelry, guitars, books, everything. I bought a pair of traditional gaucho shoes, which are actually the shoes that TOMS shoes are modeled after.
There was also a stage where they played traditional music and a blocked-off road where they showed their horsey skillz. The atmosphere at the fair was really fun, and I'm planning on going back. It's a nice Sunday afternoon event.
Yesterday IES took a day trip to an estancia in Lobos called La Candelaria. Lobos is an agricultural area 100km from Buenos Aires. I felt like I hopped on a bus and got off in Sparta... that's exactly what it looked and smelled like (minus the apple trees and plus palm trees). When we got there we were greeted with hot empanadas and gaseosas (soft drinks). Then we ventured over to a polo exhibition match that was just ending. La Candelaria has a castle which has turned into a hotel. It was pretty sweet and we got to tour a little bit of it.
After the castle tour we found a fallen tree which we played on, of course.
Then it was time for lunch (aka meal that will fill me up for a week). The parillada was delicious!! We also had apple crisp for dessert (ahem, Sparta).
After the meal the gaucho guys and girls put on a dance show for us. I loved it.
The rest of the day we spent walking around the estancia and watching the gauchos ride their horses. I talked for about a half hour to (or actually listened to, it was kind of one-sided) an older guy from Detroit. He was visiting Argentina with his wife and another couple. I learned a lot about his son being an attorney and his wife being a teacher. Cool. Ok. Then my friends and I rode horses around the estancia. My horse was the slowest one of course and I got separated from the group quite a bit. After the guy in charge came and yelled at my horse to speed up though, I was towards the front of the pack the rest of the way. I hadn't ridden a horse since Girl Scout camp! I forgot how relaxing it is.
Then after tea time we said goodbye to Sparta, I mean Lobos, and took the bus back to Buenos Aires.
My life this past week hasn't been ALL gauchos all the time. Starting on the 7th of April and ending today was an independent film festival called BAFICI (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente). You can check this link out if ya feel like it: http://www.bafici.gov.ar/home10/web/en/index.html. I saw three films, one from Peru called Paraiso, one from Argentina called Rodriguez, and another from the United States called Bummer Summer. BAFICI is a really popular event and every movie that I went to was packed, some people didn't even have seats. I enjoyed Rodriguez the best. It was a film about two girls who took a trip together, and not everything turned out how it was planned, but they learned a lot about themselves and the world. The shots in the film were really cool and it had good music too.
Rachel's Reflections
As I've been having all these new experiences in my life, I've been thinking a lot about what makes a person unique. Even though so many new things have been happening to me lately and I've been discovering so much that to me is new territory, someone has done it before. It's all been done before. So many students have studied abroad in Buenos Aires. Each one has had to go through the experiences of living in a huge city, speaking a different language that maybe they don't know so well, interacting with tons and tons of people on a daily basis, traveling around the area. Two girls have probably even taken a train to Otamendi and realized that it wasn't exactly where they wanted to be. It's like this all around the world. Nothing's new. Everything that I'm going to do today, someone has done before. So what makes me different than the other 6.7 billion people in the world? I came to a conclusion, which even in itself is not original, someone has already thought of this, but that's not important. To me, it's my own thought. Although very, very few experiences in the world are unique, it's not the specific experiences but the combination as a whole that makes the person. Each life consists of an infinite number of interactions that in no way can be repeated exactly. That is what makes each person an individual. That is how we can go to sleep at night knowing that while we have a connection with those around us in experiencing similar hardships and happinesses, we are also our own person. We have grown and been exclusively molded by the combination of seconds in our lives that is without a doubt unmatched by any other life. This is why I believe it's important for us to keep searching for those things in life that are difficult, that take us out of our comfort zone, that appear scary, that are unknown. It is these experiences that are going to shape us even more into the unique people that we are.
Vendors sold traditional gaucho clothing, tons of leather goods, cheeses and meats, dulce de leche, jewelry, guitars, books, everything. I bought a pair of traditional gaucho shoes, which are actually the shoes that TOMS shoes are modeled after.
There was also a stage where they played traditional music and a blocked-off road where they showed their horsey skillz. The atmosphere at the fair was really fun, and I'm planning on going back. It's a nice Sunday afternoon event.
Yesterday IES took a day trip to an estancia in Lobos called La Candelaria. Lobos is an agricultural area 100km from Buenos Aires. I felt like I hopped on a bus and got off in Sparta... that's exactly what it looked and smelled like (minus the apple trees and plus palm trees). When we got there we were greeted with hot empanadas and gaseosas (soft drinks). Then we ventured over to a polo exhibition match that was just ending. La Candelaria has a castle which has turned into a hotel. It was pretty sweet and we got to tour a little bit of it.
After the castle tour we found a fallen tree which we played on, of course.
Then it was time for lunch (aka meal that will fill me up for a week). The parillada was delicious!! We also had apple crisp for dessert (ahem, Sparta).
After the meal the gaucho guys and girls put on a dance show for us. I loved it.
The rest of the day we spent walking around the estancia and watching the gauchos ride their horses. I talked for about a half hour to (or actually listened to, it was kind of one-sided) an older guy from Detroit. He was visiting Argentina with his wife and another couple. I learned a lot about his son being an attorney and his wife being a teacher. Cool. Ok. Then my friends and I rode horses around the estancia. My horse was the slowest one of course and I got separated from the group quite a bit. After the guy in charge came and yelled at my horse to speed up though, I was towards the front of the pack the rest of the way. I hadn't ridden a horse since Girl Scout camp! I forgot how relaxing it is.
Then after tea time we said goodbye to Sparta, I mean Lobos, and took the bus back to Buenos Aires.
My life this past week hasn't been ALL gauchos all the time. Starting on the 7th of April and ending today was an independent film festival called BAFICI (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente). You can check this link out if ya feel like it: http://www.bafici.gov.ar/home10/web/en/index.html. I saw three films, one from Peru called Paraiso, one from Argentina called Rodriguez, and another from the United States called Bummer Summer. BAFICI is a really popular event and every movie that I went to was packed, some people didn't even have seats. I enjoyed Rodriguez the best. It was a film about two girls who took a trip together, and not everything turned out how it was planned, but they learned a lot about themselves and the world. The shots in the film were really cool and it had good music too.
Rachel's Reflections
As I've been having all these new experiences in my life, I've been thinking a lot about what makes a person unique. Even though so many new things have been happening to me lately and I've been discovering so much that to me is new territory, someone has done it before. It's all been done before. So many students have studied abroad in Buenos Aires. Each one has had to go through the experiences of living in a huge city, speaking a different language that maybe they don't know so well, interacting with tons and tons of people on a daily basis, traveling around the area. Two girls have probably even taken a train to Otamendi and realized that it wasn't exactly where they wanted to be. It's like this all around the world. Nothing's new. Everything that I'm going to do today, someone has done before. So what makes me different than the other 6.7 billion people in the world? I came to a conclusion, which even in itself is not original, someone has already thought of this, but that's not important. To me, it's my own thought. Although very, very few experiences in the world are unique, it's not the specific experiences but the combination as a whole that makes the person. Each life consists of an infinite number of interactions that in no way can be repeated exactly. That is what makes each person an individual. That is how we can go to sleep at night knowing that while we have a connection with those around us in experiencing similar hardships and happinesses, we are also our own person. We have grown and been exclusively molded by the combination of seconds in our lives that is without a doubt unmatched by any other life. This is why I believe it's important for us to keep searching for those things in life that are difficult, that take us out of our comfort zone, that appear scary, that are unknown. It is these experiences that are going to shape us even more into the unique people that we are.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Weekend fun... That was fun, right?
Everyone should come visit because they will have a personal tour guide. At least of Palermo and Recoleta neighborhoods. My friends and I explored those barrios over Easter weekend. Even though I was hoping that we could have taken a trip out of the city for the break, it turned out to be really great to stay. Since everyone leaves the city for the holiday, everything was a lot less crowded. It was nice to be able to do the touristy thing and actually visit those places that I thought before, "Oh, it'd be nice to explore that someday!"
Recoleta Cemetery
A town for the dead. It's beautiful, but also kind of creepy to walk through. The cemetery is huge and it would be so easy to get lost. There are a lot of small alleys and some of the mausoleums have broken glass and tattered curtains. I wish I knew more about Argentine history so I could recognize more of the important figures who are buried there.
Evita Peron's tomb -- always graced with flowers and a crowd
Jardin Japones -- Palermo
Five acres of Japanese flora, sculptures, and a lake filled with carp. Very peaceful, a nice little stroll. The garden also has a Japanese restaurant.
El Rosedal -- Palermo
The rose garden... my friends and I have marked this as our favorite running spot. It's so beautiful at sunset, with people out in paddle boats and having picnics around the lake. We finally took a trip to go inside the garden and it was gorgeous.
On to the next weekend! (Mom... sorry in advance, I don't mean to make you worry...)
So my friend Mallori and I decided that we wanted to take an adventure out of the city on Saturday. The train is really cheap, about 1,10 pesos... so we figured it'd be a nice cheap day trip. We met up in the morning at a bakery and bought some medialunas (of course!) and took the subte to the Retiro train station. We had read about a nature reserve, and thought it'd be a really cool place to check out. So, we bought our train tickets and hopped on a train.
Well, first problem... we were chatting and discovered that we had missed our train transfer. No worries, we got off and took another train heading back to the transfer. Hopped on another train. Got off at another transfer station, bought another ticket, and got on another train. Ok. That was confusing. Anyway, so we eventually made it to Otamendi (where the nature reserve is).
Second problem. Otamendi is in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. No shops. Hardly any cars. Hardly any people. Dirt road. Yeah... now what? When does the next train leave for Buenos Aires? We don't really want to be here anymore...
So we stood for about five minutes in shock, contemplating what to do, where we should go, if we should even try and find the reserve or find a taxi. Then we encountered two people, one of which would come to be a life saver in our kinda crazy, potentially dangerous, poorly planned day. After laughing hysterically that we would want to come to the nature reserve if we were from the United States (I'm not sure why it was so funny), our new friends walked with us to the nature reserve, which was up these stairs through the woods and down a dirt road. The guy, Gustavo, then decided to be our tour guide through the reserve, and actually was very knowledgable.
The reserve was actually very pretty, and it was nice to be out of the city. We probably would have appreciated it more if we weren't so frantic about not knowing where we were or how we were going to get back home.
Ok, Gustavo, so we love the reserve and we love your guiding skills, but we're really hungry and want to go back home. When does the train leave? Third problem. The train doesn't actually stop in Otamendi on its way back to Buenos Aires. Right. Ok. This is when my three-year-old instincts kick in and I have a temper tantrum and cry that I'm hungry and want my mommy. Just kidding, but really, how are we going to get back home?
Lucky for us, Gustavo has a lot of friends, and he called us a taxi. The taxi driver took the three of us to a store where we bought some sandwich fixings. Gustavo then kissed us goodbye and sent us on our way with the taxi man. It was actually kind of sad saying goodbye to Gustavo since we had spent the whole day with him. He was such a godsend when we thought we were completely lost.
So, the taxi man took us to a bus station in another city, Campana. He then helped us buy tickets for a bus back to Buenos Aires. We said bye to the taxi man and the bus came. An hour and a half later I was back in my room. Thank God.
That was exciting... Maybe next time we'll do more research. Like I said, sorry Mom.
Recoleta Cemetery
A town for the dead. It's beautiful, but also kind of creepy to walk through. The cemetery is huge and it would be so easy to get lost. There are a lot of small alleys and some of the mausoleums have broken glass and tattered curtains. I wish I knew more about Argentine history so I could recognize more of the important figures who are buried there.
Evita Peron's tomb -- always graced with flowers and a crowd
Jardin Japones -- Palermo
Five acres of Japanese flora, sculptures, and a lake filled with carp. Very peaceful, a nice little stroll. The garden also has a Japanese restaurant.
El Rosedal -- Palermo
The rose garden... my friends and I have marked this as our favorite running spot. It's so beautiful at sunset, with people out in paddle boats and having picnics around the lake. We finally took a trip to go inside the garden and it was gorgeous.
On to the next weekend! (Mom... sorry in advance, I don't mean to make you worry...)
So my friend Mallori and I decided that we wanted to take an adventure out of the city on Saturday. The train is really cheap, about 1,10 pesos... so we figured it'd be a nice cheap day trip. We met up in the morning at a bakery and bought some medialunas (of course!) and took the subte to the Retiro train station. We had read about a nature reserve, and thought it'd be a really cool place to check out. So, we bought our train tickets and hopped on a train.
Well, first problem... we were chatting and discovered that we had missed our train transfer. No worries, we got off and took another train heading back to the transfer. Hopped on another train. Got off at another transfer station, bought another ticket, and got on another train. Ok. That was confusing. Anyway, so we eventually made it to Otamendi (where the nature reserve is).
Second problem. Otamendi is in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. No shops. Hardly any cars. Hardly any people. Dirt road. Yeah... now what? When does the next train leave for Buenos Aires? We don't really want to be here anymore...
So we stood for about five minutes in shock, contemplating what to do, where we should go, if we should even try and find the reserve or find a taxi. Then we encountered two people, one of which would come to be a life saver in our kinda crazy, potentially dangerous, poorly planned day. After laughing hysterically that we would want to come to the nature reserve if we were from the United States (I'm not sure why it was so funny), our new friends walked with us to the nature reserve, which was up these stairs through the woods and down a dirt road. The guy, Gustavo, then decided to be our tour guide through the reserve, and actually was very knowledgable.
The reserve was actually very pretty, and it was nice to be out of the city. We probably would have appreciated it more if we weren't so frantic about not knowing where we were or how we were going to get back home.
Ok, Gustavo, so we love the reserve and we love your guiding skills, but we're really hungry and want to go back home. When does the train leave? Third problem. The train doesn't actually stop in Otamendi on its way back to Buenos Aires. Right. Ok. This is when my three-year-old instincts kick in and I have a temper tantrum and cry that I'm hungry and want my mommy. Just kidding, but really, how are we going to get back home?
Lucky for us, Gustavo has a lot of friends, and he called us a taxi. The taxi driver took the three of us to a store where we bought some sandwich fixings. Gustavo then kissed us goodbye and sent us on our way with the taxi man. It was actually kind of sad saying goodbye to Gustavo since we had spent the whole day with him. He was such a godsend when we thought we were completely lost.
So, the taxi man took us to a bus station in another city, Campana. He then helped us buy tickets for a bus back to Buenos Aires. We said bye to the taxi man and the bus came. An hour and a half later I was back in my room. Thank God.
That was exciting... Maybe next time we'll do more research. Like I said, sorry Mom.
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