In Classes Again?

For the first time since December I am taking classes! Between my co-op and coming to Argentina, I was getting pretty comfortable not being a student anymore... college is easy! But last Monday we started our spanish classes. We all had to get to school early with our host mothers. It felt like the first day of kindergarten where all the nervous kids huddle together and the mothers meet eachother and compare notes on their children. My class is with two other girls from our trip, Lauren and Robyn. We switch teachers every two or three days, which is good and bad. It's nice to get comfortable with a teacher but it's also good to experience other teaching styles. The teachers are men and women, most in their twenties, but there a few older ones also. Class is very laid back and we go on tangents constantly, talking about whatever interests us. It's so unlike Spanish classes in high school and college. Since there aren't any grades we can just focus on what's happening at that moment and trying to understand it.

We have class from 9am to 1pm every day. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays we have "charla" (lecture) on subjects like the economy, history, el tango, etc. from 2:30 to 4:00. Some days the charlas are interesting but others it's impossible to stay awake, especially with the night life schedule they have here! On Tuesday night we all went out to an American bar where drinks were only seven pesos- $1.75 in the U.S.! After that we went to a dance club which we got into for free and danced until 4:30. We got home at 5:00 and woke up at 7:30 for class. It was so much fun, but we all paid the price the next day.

On Saturday we went to an "estancia" (ranch) to see the guachos (Argentine cowboys)! It was so nice to get out of the city and see open land again. We ate empanadas, drank wine, rode horses, watched a baby llama and a confused lamb play together, ate a delicious meat-filled lunch, and watched a dance show performed by the guachos. Riding the horses was so much fun and a few of us went back later to try to go again. While we were waiting for everyone to come back with the horses, one took off galloping at full speed with a woman on it. There were three guachos following as fast as they could and trying to stop the horse,

but they couldn't catch up to it. She was screaming and pulling on the reins as hard as possible, but when the horse turned her feet came out of the stirrups and she fell off. Considering what could have happened, she was lucky with just a few bruises. Needless to say, we all opted out of a second horse ride after witnessing that.

For lunch, all 18 of us fit at a long table where guachos walked around with buckets of meat and potatoes for us to eat. The steak and chicken were awesome, with chimichurri sauce to top it off. For dessert we were served fresco y batata, a traditional Argentine dessert that is a fruit flavored jello-like food served on top of cheese. I'm not quite adjusted to it, but it reminds me of having cheese in a pastry... it mostly makes sense! After we finished eating they showed us their traditional dances and we went back outside to watch them race on their horses. They finished, then awkwardly and unexpectedly asked for tips... we got back in our van and drove the hour and a half back to Buenos Aires. Though the whole day was very touristy it was still a very fun and unique experience.

Sunday was rainy and cold, but my roommates and I went to a mall we hadn't visited yet. The clothes were nice and affordable, and the leather was amazing everywhere. I've decided that I at least need to get leather boots here... and possibly a bag too? I mean, it's a must when you're in Argentina, right? Well, I'll keep telling myself that anyways! I'm sure there are a few people reading this and shaking their heads.

Tuesday after lunch we went to El Ataneo, possibly the most impressive bookstore to exist. It was originally a theater built in 1919, and had many tango musicians and performers, including Carlos Gardel. It later showed the first sound films in Argentina in 1929. In 2000 it was renovated into a modern bookstore. The seats were taken out and shelves were put in, and the stage became a cafe/restaurant. It is amazing and beautiful. I thought of my papa, who will sit in Borders for hours. I can only imagine how long he would want to stay in this bookstore!

Yesterday was Dia del Amigo (Friend's Day), a day when man landing on the moon is celebrated by friends connecting and reconnecting with eachother. It is mostly celebrated in Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil. In honor of the "holiday", most of our group went out to a bar and then to a club. Every place was crowded with friends! The men here are much more aggressive than those in America, and take any eye contact, however brief, to be encouraging. As long as we stay in a group we can just ignore everyone else, but it's comical how they grab girls and try to get them to dance; as if that would work on any normal girl! We still enjoy ourselves, of course, and just dance with the three guys who came with us! Well that's all I got for now. As you may have noticed, I'm not too good at keeping up with this blog, but I'm doing my best! Adios!