Buen Dia

I finally stole some pictures from my friends, so I have horseback riding pictures! This picture is of my horse Picassa and myself. I'm also uploading more pictures that I've gotten from them. I had a really successful day in ceramica yesterday. I ended up buying a book on ceramica because I was having a hard time grasping all the concepts visually. The book definitely helped fill in the wholes, and the first time I sat down at the turno yesterday, I made a vase on my first try, all by myself!! It's not very tall, but it is so pretty, and I am SO proud!
We have our cooking class tomorrow, and I am also very excited. I really hope that I don't burn anything and that the food is edible. I think Liliana is hinting for me to cook something that I like cooking at home for her. Little does she know that my cooking skills are very inconsistent! I have no clue what to make? Please help me with some suggestions. If I can find some peanut butter at Walmart, maybe I'll make peanut butter cookies? She inhaled the peanut brittle I brought from home. Peanut butter is very rare and hard to find here. Dulce de leche is the peanut butter of South America. Also, they mayonaise like we eat ketchup. And it comes in these gross bags that you squeeze out! Thank goodness I don't like it! And also, another weird factoid, they have this stuff called "Salsa Golf" that is a mayonaise and ketchup mixture and it comes in packets like ketchup! So gross. I stick to mustard.
Have a great weekend! Hasta Luego!

El Zonda

Has anyone anyone ever heard of the Fohn in the Alps or the Chinook of the Rockies? Well, there is El Zonda in the Cuyo region and Mendocinians talk about its effects all the time. According to my guidebook and verified by Liliana, the Zonda is a strong air current that occurs in this region because of the Andes and my cause light headedness because of a drop in air pressure and can cause migraines. Because the Andes are so huge, we don't feel the strong winds in the city, there are actually taking place in the air above us. But, we still feel the effects. I got a lot of headaches when I first arrived, and I blamed it on various things, but yesterday, out of no where, I got the worst migraine I've ever had. I really never get headaches, but I was miserable yesterday and into the night. I ended up going to sleep at 8:15 until 10:30. Liliana swears its the Zonda. El Zonda also raises the temperature and lowers the humidity. But I don't think that there's anyway to predict it's coming? I'm really puzzled by it, but it obviously effects me a lot!
This weekend we are taking a cooking class sponsored by our COPA group. We are going to learn to make some of the regional foods here, empanadas, locro, flan, etc. I'm looking forward to it. Everyone knows I need all the cooking help I can get! Hasta Luego!

Ceramica y Flamenco!

Yesterday, I was very artsy. I finally had my first day of ceramics class AND I saw a Flamenco show last night! Ceramics was a lot of fun & I got reallllllly messy. They don't have electric wheels here so you have to keep the momentum going by kicking the wheel with your foot. And, as a novice, I was slinging clay and water everywhere trying to get the hang of it! It was fun though, and after three tries I actually made a vase! It's more of an abstract work of art. The teacher must think I'm creative and talented, when really I just didn't have the vase centered so it was crooked. Nonetheless, he told me that I could "fire it." So I guess by next class I'll have my first handmade piece?! We will see. Hopefully, my mistakes will continue to go in my favor. I'm definitely going to the supermarket (similar to our walmart) to buy a smock and pants of some sorts.
Last night, some of the girls and I went to Teatro Independencia and watched a Flamenco performance. It was really entertaining and intense! They danced for about 2 hours with an intermission. The theatre was really cool and really old. It was a great excuse to dress up. Horseback riding is tomorrow, so hopefully I will be able to get some interesting pictures! Also, I am uploading some of my skiing pictures from a few weeks ago, so check them out. Hasta Luego!

It's not 30 degrees anymore!!

Hola!! I have had two beautiful days in Mendoza! I finally don't have to wear my Northface, which is good because it smells like every place I've been the past month! I have finally uploaded all of the pics from my Jujuy, Purmamarca, and Salta trip. I think they are mostly in that order. There is a picture of the Alpaca!!! And of the infamous Graciela. She loved Natalie, and they are hugging in one of the pictures. Natalie is the type of person who will talk to anyone and joked around a lot with Graciela. Graci asked her if she was Jewish or if any of us were, Natalie replied "No, I'm Catholic" and Graci said, "Good..but I'm okay with the Jews, too." Haha, welcome to a Roman Catholic country! We also had trouble with our estufa, as you can tell in one of the pics. Katie Rae tried to demonstrate that the heater was falling off the wall.
Fortunately, we have learned our lesson and have already started planning our September trip to Bariloche! We've found nice Hostels and have already bought our bus tickets! We are an organized and focused group of girls!
Everyone told us that the Art department at the University was very organized, and I have witnessed this first hand. Our "first day" of ceramics class has been moved again to tomorrow afternoon! Hopefully, I will be able to report soon. The best dance company in Mendoza is performing this weekend, and we are all going to the show tomorrow night! It is supposed to highlight Flamenco and Tango! Saturday we are horseback riding in Mendoza near the Andes. I hope the weather continues to be perfect! It looks like I am going to have an exciting fun-filled weekend in Mendoza!
Molly Dillon, good luck at Elon this Friday!! I can't wait to hear all about it! xoxo

What an Adventure!

My first traveling adventure in Argentina has been a success. Our buses were pretty spectacular and were actually more spacious than any airplane I've ever been on, don't get me wrong, 19 hours is still not very much fun! Jujuy was a pretty boring town, so about 2 hours after we got off the bus, we got on a different one and traveled to a neighboring town called Purmamarca. We hiked along a trail called Camino del Colorado and it was amazing because all the rocks were different colors. It was really beautiful. The town was very small and had a lot of artisans. Alpaca is really popular there, and I am proud to say that I have fallen inlove with Alpacas! They are absolutely adorable; miniature llamas! In Salta, I got to take a picture with one! He didn't have much personality, but he was a lead rope like a horse =( but he was cute. Hopefully, I'll be able to upload a picture. I got a lot of great pics.
Our housing situation was a little sketchy in Salta. The Hostel "lost" our reservation and it was a holiday weekend so, we had a lot of trouble finding a second place to stay where we'd all be together. Long story short, we rented an apartment from a lady name Graciela (there's a pic of that too). It was dirty and cheap, but we had a blast! I think I went the longest without showering than I ever had. I missed my bed in Mendoza SO BADLY! I didn't sleep under the covers and since the heater didn't work, I slept in just about everything I brought with me. We got back at 8:30AM this morning and I scrubbed every inch of myself, slept for four hours, and feel like a new, well traveled person!
I am lucky to have such a great group of girls to travel with; we definitely made the best of the situation, and Graciela loves us! We are sending her a copy of our group picture, and she's mad that she didn't have a chance to put on any make-up. She couldn't say Austin's name, and kept trying to prounounce it and one time I snickered a little bit (because it was really funny sounding and everyone thought so) but she playfully turned around and popped me on the arm! She was a fireball!
I hope you enjoy the pictures! Have a great week, and good luck to everyone starting school!

Jujuy & Salta tomorrow!

Tomorrow, I begin my 20 hour bus ride to Northern Argentina! I am very excited! Fortunately, my History teacher assigned us a book to read by September, so I'm going to go buy it. What perfect timing, :/. I hope the picture link on my blog is working okay..wireless is slow, so it's taking me awhile to upload pictures, but I am doing it as fast as I can! I can't wait to take some pictures while I'm in Jujuy and Salta. I will be sure to fill everyone in on Monday or Tuesday of next week. My ceramics class also starts next week, so that will be exciting too! Have a great week and weekend! Chao!

Penitentes

Our skiing adventure yesterday was successful. We rented equipment and got transportation from a local place that picked you up at your house the morning of and handled all your equipment for you. Basically, my rentals, transportation, lift ticket, and food for the day cost $95 USD! Pretty unbelievable. The one downside was that I was the last person to be picked up and the attempts by mis amigas to save me a good seat, failed. I had to crawl in the VERY back of this church van sized bus and squeeze in between two gigantic Portuguese men. It was very cramped. They smelled of cheap cologne and the other girls swore they remembered them from the boliche. I don't know, but we made sure we were the first ones on the bus when it was time to leave!
The ski resort was completely different from anything I've ever skiied before (granted that's only Wintergreen), but even some of the other girls from out west said it was different too. There are no signs-none that distinguish difficulty, names, or even where the slopes are. It's just mountains and a ton of snow. You can pretty much go wherever you feel brave enough skiing. There was one sign that "showed" where the slopes were and it was just a bunch of different colored squiggly lines going down the mountain, but it's all the same hill! It was an interesting structure, but nonetheless, breathtakingly beautiful. And...we are all sunburned! My nose hurts so bad, I look like rudolph!
Our big Jujuy and Salta trip is Wednesday. So, I will write again before then (hopefully) then probably won't be able to until Monday or Tuesday. I hope everyone had a great weekend, and have a great week!

School Days

School has officially started. My schedule is pretty hectic on Mondays- I´m in class from 1 until 9! But then I have an easier schedule on Tuesday, 1- 8ish, and Wednesday is my last day of class, 1-3! I think I can deal with hectic Mondays if it means I have 4 day weekend! Two of my friends are in all of my classes, so that works out well. Since the classes are so long, we get breaks, so during those breaks we chat in English and try to piece together the parts of the lecture we didn´t understand. I´m taking an International Relations class and an Argentine History and Politics class. Then I have my program´s spanish class and ceramics starts next week. I´m pretty happy with it, and I think it´ll go well.
We have a Thursday, Friday and Monday off next week so about 7 of us are going to northern Argentina from Wednesday to Monday morning!!! We are going to Jujuy and Salta. We bought our bus tickets today. Going, it´s a 20 hour bus ride (to Juyjuy pronounced whoo-e-whoo-ee) haha. I´m really excited. Supposedly, it´s warmer. Salta is a really old town and there lots of preserved buildings and churches. There are also impressive, colorful, salt dunes. Interesting..I will keep you updated on that!
I am planning on taking a Tango lesson tomorrow night at the Fitness club a bunch of us joined. I think there are about 6 of us going. I hope it goes well..hopefully, I´ll learn something! I want to add more pictures soon..thanks for the comments and the emails! I really enjoy getting them! =) Just know if you send an email Monday, I may not get back to you until Wednesday!! =) Keep reading! Chao!

Hi everyone! This is a picture from the vineyard Alta Vista where we had a tour this weekend. We learned about the process and early that day we visited local artists. We had lunch after the tour at a museum and learned to tango (kinda). It was a very fun Saturday! I'm glad the Andes show up in the background in this picture; I was hoping they would. It was really breathtaking to always look to my left and see those huge mountains! I hope that when Mom, Dad & Molly come in October we can go back to the same vineyard and I can get a summer picture. It's going to be interesting to see how everything has changed from Winter to Spring. Ignore the date on the picture, I figured out it was like that after the picture was taken. I am going to try to make a separate website for my pictures and I will put the link on here as soon as I can. My battery is low, so I will blog later and give an update on how the classes go this week! Hasta Luego

Snow!

Let it snow! The past two days, I have enjoyed (kind of) snow in Mendoza! It hasn´t been sticking, but it has been really pretty-really big snow flakes. The mountains look really pretty, so hopefully I can get a pick this afternoon from my apartment rooftop. I didn´t have my camera the first day it snowed because I didnt know and the second day, you couldnt really tell in the pictures. Hopefully, the snow capped mountains will show up! Wednesday, we had a 2 hour break, so my two friends Mary and Krysia and I were going to take the bus to the Regata Club, which is a fitness center in the Park that we can join monthly at a student rate. Since it was snowing, we didn´t want to walk the whole way and we thought the bus we got on would take us closer to the club. Well, unfortunately, we ended up in Godoy Cruz, the neighboring town, 6 miles outside of Mendoza. The bus driver literally stopped the bus and said ¡Chao! We had to get off, walk to the next bus stop, in the snow, and take the bus back to campus for an orientation. Our little adventure lasted an hour and 45 minutes, hence, we didn´t join the club. It was quite scary at moments, but thankfully we were all together, so it was mostly amusing to us. We are all a little timid about getting on another bus now, haha, we survived.
My public university classes start on Monday, so that should be interesting. I changed my schedule around, so I have classes on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday only. Sweet! A lot of us are taking a ceramics class and it´s for 12 hours a week, Monday and Tuesday, but you only have to go a minimum of 2 hours a week! I think as long as you can get your pottery made, you are fine. Our director told us that the art department is the most unorganized facultad in the university and to not get frustrated. Supposedly, all of our classes are going to be pretty different than what we are used to. For instance, there is no tardy policy. Professors dont´care when you arrive to the class because they figure it´s your loss, not theirs. They also will allow you to answer your phone and they will answer there. Students and professors can smoke in class, sleep, drink, eat, make out. (PDA is very socially acceptable here). Hopefully, I´ll have some good stories to share next week! All I know is that I am sitting in the front, like the geeky foreign kid, and not looking around!
Tomorrow, we have a wine, art, and tango excursion in Mendoza. I´m pretty excited, I think it should be a lot of fun. I will give you a report Monday or so. Have a great weekend! xoxo