A few photos

I have a lot more photos to put up from the past week, but it might have to wait until I get home because I'm sending my laptop back with my mom tonight. It's been a great week in Buenos Aires and I'm excited to see Iguazu!

BA: día uno

Most stressful morning at the airport I've ever experienced; about two weeks ago I booked a flight, got a confirmation and a seat number but the ticket didn't go through because I have foreign credit cards. However, I didn't know this and didn't print a boarding pass because I had a confirmation number. This morning when I found out. The flight was full, and I think I only I got on the flight to BA de pedo (by miracle).

It was also stressful because the woman checking us in was exceptionally grumpy and after my mother's and aunt's bags were overweight got mad at them and then me for not having a ticket. She yelled at me for having a guitar and made me wait until the last moment possible to get on the plane (though the security guard whispered to me about a minute before she ushered me over that I shouldn't worry because the mean clerk had known there was definitely a free seat for about ten minutes). But no importa because I'm here now. (Hurray!)

The rest of the day was good. The hotel is copado. It's in an old building with an enclosed, old fashioned, wrought-iron elevator, and an entryway covered floor to ceiling with ceramic tile from the 20s. (Haha, I was fascinated by the elevator). Then we walked around BA for a bit today and had a very long, very nice, dinner at the restaurant beneath the hotel. Tomorrow we're taking a ferry to Uruguay for the day and need to be up at 6am, so, buenas noches!

Arrival/Departure

Mom and Amy arrived last night and we went with Rio to an Asado restaurante at Paseo del Buen Pastor. We walked around for the day, mom and Amy shopped, and I showed them the main plaza and some of the markets and churches around the city. Tonight I'm going to take them to Paseo de los Artes- the night market/artisan fair that's open on the weekends. Then tomorrow morning we leave for Buenos Aires. That feels so surreal.

I can't believe I'm leaving and I can't believe I've been here for two months- it's so easy to adjust to a new place. Today I noticed that instead of calling it 'Cami's apartment' like I did the first week, or 'my apartment' like I did the first month, I was telling mom, 'No, home is that way, got to make a left up ahead'. I'm going to really miss it here.

It feels strange to leave without Cami. Wednesday evening she left for Buenos Aires on a night bus to visit a good friend from high school who is having a tough time. We're going to meet up with her tomorrow or Monday and she might even go to Uruguay with us, but it's strange to be packing without her around.

Aside from the general strangeness of leaving right now I'm preoccupied with travel plans, trying to figure out how to get to Iguazu and where/when to couchsurf. Though overall, I'm proud of my Spanish; proud the progress  I've made since arriving, and glad to have met the people and made the friends I did and glad to have the next few weeks to travel and see more of the country.

Suburban Claremont is looking really nice.

Today was my last day in the hospital.

The hospital was okay, but the walk over was not. I was walking by the future police headquarters (currently a construction site) and I saw from a gap in the corrugated metal that fences off the site, two guys beating up a third. The site is immediately across the street from my apartment complex so I ran to get Marcos, my friend and the building's porter. By the time I was back at the gate there was no one there. I don't know if it's been coincidental or if I'm more aware since being mugged, but over the past few weeks Cordoba has seemed a lot more violent.

I've definitely felt more scared walking around Cordoba since being robbed and it's something I've thought about a lot. But after this morning, the construction site fight is not something that hung over me during the day. I'm not sure what that says about my personality or about my experience here, but once I realized there wasn't much I could do, I pushed it out of my head and now, at about 4:30 pm, is the first time I've processed it since I arrived at the hospital this morning.

Tomorrow I'll write a post about the hospital/medicine/Cordoba, but not really feeling up for a long summary at the moment. Though, I should say that otherwise, I've had a good week at the hospital and in general and I'm looking forward to seeing my mom soon.

Jujuy

Here are a couple photos from the weekend. I had a great time in Jujuy, I really love Cami's family and I'm hoping that I'll be in S. America next summer again and will be able to visit. 

(P.S. Sorry so many of the pictures are blurry! I kind of deserve it though, I got lazy and I turned my camera on auto for the weekend...)

Natural History museum that acted as a refuge for a few hours.

Maybe a telo one day? Ask me about this story.
P.S. Don't tell Ignasio's girlfriend.

This was all dust.

I felt like I was in Beijing again. The north wind was so
powerful that it uprooted trees while I was there.

I love asado.

Jujuy day 1

Great day! It was off to a rough start when I got off the bus this morning to find that no one was answering my calls, knocks on the door or bell ringing. It also it didn´t help that once I got out of the cab I was stranded outside in Cami´s family´s completely residential neighborhood in smog I haven´t seen since Beijing and 50 degree weather. But! I started walking and eventually wound up hanging out at the natural history museum in town for a few hours and having mate with one of the curators.

Then I walked back to thier apartment and met Cami´s youngest brother, Diego, and hung out with him and Cami´s mom until my French friend Julie came to pick me up to go treking with her new Argentinian boyfriend, Sergio. Sergio exceptionally nice and is currently traveling around South America in a camper van (la camionita) that he´s named Madonna; he keeps a business suit in the back next to his mattress and mountain bike. The three of us did a short hike through the botanical gardens outside of town and then walked around the city center, got coffee and churros and walked through another street market.

Diego was playing a show this evening at a nearby restaurant and so once I got back to the house, I talked to Ignasio for a few hours (Wow, what different perspectives. And although he didn´t leave me with the best first impression, he´s really grown on me. Haha, maybe Carlos was right and I really should work on being less judgemental...). We had dinner here and just got back from Diego´s show. The band mostly covered pop songs, and I enjoyed it a lot, the girl accompanying Diego had an amazing voice and he´s a great guitarest. It was also fun because we were in Diego´s friend´s restaurant which was a place that was really brightly colored with art covering all the walls, and although it was probably meant to seat 30 people max, it had about 50 tonight during the show.

Tomorrow we´re going to Cami´s uncle´s for churipan and then the country for the afternoon!

P.S. Tomorrow is ´friend day´ in Argentina- so thank you to all my friends, I´m missing you guys who are back in Austin and Claremont and around the world/country right now. Looking forward to seeing you guys back home and at school!

As I was leaving I realized it's been about a month since I've emptied my camera, so here are some collected photos from approx mid-June until now.

Look what came in the mail today!

I think the last time I was this
happy to receive mail was my birthday in China.
Thank you. :D

Puenting.

Beat up old Jeep I road out in with the jump instructors.

Ask me about this.

Julie and Rio outside of Cosquin.