You know you live in Argentina when....

I found this group of Facebook. It may sound rediculious but actually its rediculiously true!



Facebook You know you live in Argentina when....:
"dogs are walked in groups of at least 20

dog shit is everywhere and you are considered lucky if you step in it

You stay out till 6 am at a bolinche but are still fresh as a daisy for your class at 9

You mix ketchup and mayo, slather the beastly concoction on everything, and have the audacity to call it 'salsa golf'

the solution for squeaky breaks= turn up your radio

buses whistle

“Spice” is no longer a condiment to be put on food, but rather a sci-fi television channel

doors do not fit in hinges

doors do not have locks

You get mugged and ask for something back

At any time of the day, a café con leche and 2 medialunas can be considered a square meal


people dress for t

he winter even if its 75 degrees

you've witnessed a car accident or a robbery and are the only one surprised

you are responsible for paying with exact change

your bed is hard as a rock

youve lost your phone in a taxi

veggies do not exist

girls do not eat, they only drink mate

you've eaten eaten 20 empanadas in a week

your host mom asks you what went wrong when you come home at 3:30 AM

a typical facebook status reads: 'Robbed at gun point, luckily I wasnt not carrying much and I'm fine. 200-300 pessos gone. Not too bad.'

buses do not return to their origin, or come to a complete stop

you've almost been hit by a car on numerous occasions

you constantly are tripping on sidewalks"

Marty Hanna TIA #87... When I called to place my order with a restaurant that claims to have delivery they told me their "delivery" consists of them sending my food in a taxi that I would have to pay for. Genius idea.

Meseum has become my favorite of Buenos Aires clubs. Wednesday nights are their "big night" and you must be dressed accordingly. It's mostly an after work crowd that ends up sticking around for the rest of the night. The music was great. Even when it got late, or should i say became early you could still sing along to familiar songs rather than being forced to listen to electronic for the remainer of the night. super fun!!!

river vs boca

Yesterday went went to a huge soccer game between River and Boca. Huge BA rivals. In fact the rivalry between these two teams is so big there were sections of the stadium kept empty (except for policia) between the the two teams. not only that but after the game, each team is let out of the building at seperate times. We were sitting on the river side which meant after the game we waited more than a half an hour for the boca fans to leave the stadium and get out of the area before they would let river fans out among them.

going to the game we were warned counless times about not wearing another teams colors and make sure not to bring anything except the little money we may need. Three security pat downs later, we were in the stadium. The game was awesome. the whole game was singing and chanting with somesort of funny backward handed fist pump thing. you need to know about 10 different song in order to join in the singing. If you think we take our college football seriously, look out, these people live and breath their soccer team. Unbelievable.

movie night

i can not believe i though it would be ok to go to the movies and not bring my camera!
before recieving my ticket, i was handed a seating chart in order to choose my seat. some were more expensive than others. i mean, its a movie theater for pete's sake.
the movie itself was 26 pesos (around $7) and my mini pizza and coke was 16 pesos (around $4). not sure how much the beer cost but yes, the movies here serve quilmes and stellea. too funny!

Mendoza

So i just got back from an unbelievable trip to Mendoza. It's about 13 hours west of Buenos Aires kinda on the Chilean border and in the foothill of the Andes.

my new favorite form of travel in south america is the buss. For just a little bit extra you can have a seat that lays completely flat to turn into a bed, pillow, blankie, dinner (with wine of course), breakfast, and a couple of movies (Spanish Memory Work?). We left around 7ish and arrived bright and early the next morning having saved on dinner, breakfast, and a nights stay.

Once there, we headed out to Miapu, a small town just outside of Mendoza. The got dropped off in front of a bike shop who gave us a map of 11 winerys and sent us off on our bikes. we spent the day drinking and riding and drinking and eating. P.S. The more wine you drink, the easier the ride back got 11kilometer.

we headed back to the hostel for showers and dinner. then next morning we were awakened by what i like to refer to as the "sock inquisition". my bunkmate's laundry seemed to have come back a few pairs of socks short Whick all were meant to be questioned relentlessly. We laughed and headed out for spa day!

An hour later we had drive up into the mountains and dropped of at a beautiful hotel and spa along a river bed in the mountains. Here, hot spring flowed from small rock pool rock pool to making each one a little cooler than the last. We baked in mud, got a message, had some tasty food and 7 hours later, headed back down the mountain. ahh .... i love spa day!

we got back only to discover that the "inquisition" had now been turned into gorilla attacks. Elana was missing socks and mine were spread across the room. Also, Elana's never before been used sleepingbag had been confiscated due to fear of bed bugs.

the nights plan was to dine on super tasty tapas at a restaurant that was super recommended and then head out to a jazz club for a little live music.

the restaurant was closed.

the jazz band played two songs and called it a night.

i think the most important thing I've learned in Argentina is, do not expect things to go as planned. people here do what they want, when they want open, and close when they want.

our last day was spent touring the city and yep, more wine tasting. this place was a bit more serious. i took notes and everything. if only i had stopped at the tasting and not continued to the drinking i would have taken those notes with me. oh well, someone will enjoy them.

Bye Mendoza.

Hope to come back real soon.

catching up

ok. so I know I promised to do this before i left and at least once a week but it did not happen. most of you, i think, I received my email blast about moving down and i was in the apartment. My first week consisted of my computer saying I hated it, not knowing how to get into my apartment building,and a cell phone number debocle. All in the past.

I moved into another apartment with a british guy and his cat "Milo". The apartment is unbelievable with an even more amazing view from the rooftop pool ... wait .. i think i included a link in the last email. Sorry.
so the neighborhood is very umm "local" i guess is the best way to put it. not quite as many tourist around these parts Which makes for great food and great bargins (not so great for blending in). In the past i would have Shunn the idea of "blending in" but here, it's a little more of a necessity.

Foreigners in BA are charged more for just about everything. This includes airfare, apartments, and some shopping but with the exchange rate still very affordable. It all just seemed so easy.
Then, Was there today, where i went to eat with brooke. refused service. that's right, i said it. our orders were taken and a beverage was brought. then we watched as everyone else came, ate, and left. still no food. brooke is obviously more patient and suggested we wait a little longer. we waited ... and waited ... until i informed the waiter we would be leaving. lots of laughter followed us out.
i think this was quite possibly the first time I've really felt victim of discrimination. all i wanted to do was tell them a thing or two. and i would have too, that is if i knew how to say those things in Spanish.'m still working with a limited vocabulary. brook blames me for being blond hair and blue eyed so i, in turn blame mom and dad. You Two were the cause of my non lunch today. funny that they do not want to serve me but feel the need to call me "their love" all freakin day long!

I've met a pretty good group of "amigos" here. Most of them doing the same thing I am. Still can not get over how many people come to visit and do not go back. This city is truly amazing in how it captures people. all I'm saying is ..... ya'll when you come to visit, do not worry about packing too much cause you may stay long enough to need it all.

Last week was a bit of a partying spree. recoop week is this week. did come across some pretty awesome places though.
about 10 of us went to club "lost" last thursday night for what we thought was another posh club. we pull up to the club around 2am, see a long line of people rediculouly, witness two people being thrown out and continue to argue out in the street, to then pay to go into what now looks like an hip hop club.
we go inside and holy cow, it was like being in a dance movie!! the entire dance floor was divided into circles of dance battles. shannon, i got news for you, you need to brush up on your Techiques before coming. it was amazing!! yes, thats right, i will be attending again.
other than that the bars are pretty much like at home. most evenings in buenos aires end as the sun comes up and finish off with a nice cup of coffee 7 a.m.. the time thing here is the most difficult thing to get used to. all i can figure is that they're able to do it Because they do not drink as much. all night clubbing and thinks maybe two or three seems to make a happy Argentine night.

the weather here is finally starting to warm up. it's been around 60 with a few flirtations 70. the pool opens up next week so I can start working on the color portion of my blending in plot. this also means swimsuit shopping. Jacqueline, your dream is coming true ... I'm sure i will spend several weeks completely self conscious and unconfortable as the south american i sport swimsuit.'m still mentally fighting having to do this but i also keep getting flashbacks of last febuary here when i our bikinis were told we looked like their grandmothers. I am no body's grandmother dammit!

ok so i think that's it for now. sorry so long. i promise to keep future post a little less legnthy.

oh, and jetaun, sadly i have to report that i am not a vineyard owner .... yet.

Besos,

christi