Monday, June 4, 2012

Oh it's winter here

Yesterday was one of the first days I felt genuinely cold, and today was the second. I'm very glad I finally bought a jacket yesterday! This weather makes me miss Illinois' steamy hot summers.

Well its been an eventful few days since I last wrote. I learned how to drink mate, a local tea that is extremely popular here, and have eaten more empanadas than I ever thought I would in my life. I also avoided getting pick-pocketed by being late to a pub crawl and not knowing where to meet the group, so that was a success in my book!

Friday las chicas went to a club (boliche) called Crobar that was absolutely insane. There were girls dancing on platforms, smoke being blasted into the crowd and confetti. Needless to say it was a lot of fun. I think the clubs are where the men here earn their pushy reputations, although as was pointed out to us the next day, what do the girls expect when they are grinding on a guys crotch. I must retort, however, that I was not grinding on crotches and still got asked if I was "feeling horny tonight". Um, no, thanks. Luckily my terrible white-girl dancing skills scared off few touchy men. No one wants to get "accidentally" knocked in the face while trying to cop a feel.

Somehow we managed to stay out until about 530AM, and when we got a cab outside the club (stupid, I know) we got ripped off by the cab drivers who were bumping up the fare two or three times at every light. As annoying as it was, they really only stole about US$10 from us total. The transportation here is really cheap so even a crook can't get away with too much, unless you give him a 100 peso bill. In the end, we all made it home in one piece with [most] of our money and all of our possession intact.

Saturday we went to the Tigre Delta on very little sleep. Tigre is really lovely, with a lot of rivers (hence why its a delta), and green grass. Its pretty much the opposite of BsAs and it was a nice change of pace. We went on a boat tour that took us around to some of the main attractions and by a house in a glass box in which Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, an Argentina president, once lived. He is the president that made education free and universal and has a street and holiday marking the day of his death, 11 de Septiembre. They encased his house in glass because it was cheaper than repainting it every year in the humidity of the region. I didn't go out Saturday night because I was so exhausted I took a "nap" that was over 12 hours. Oops.

Sunday a few of us when to the Feria de San Telmo, which is a huge market which starts at Plaza de Mayo and goes all the way down Defensa. We didn't even reach the end by the time it closed at 5PM. We did have a late start though, in part because we fed pigeons for about 30 minutes. They sell corn at Plaza de Mayo and you can feed the birds from your hand. Some of them will even land on your arm and you can be like a human birdfeeder. A little gross, yes, but it was cool at the same time. Lots of hand sanitizer followed. I finally bought a jacket at the market because it was so chilly, and I'm really glad I did or I would be out of luck today.

Today I had class, which is going well. Most of it is review of grammar for me, but apparently I needed it since I didn't place higher. My teacher is very nice and energetic, so even a 5 hour class doesn't seem too bad. I was thinking about going to Villa Crespo, which has a ton of outlets and leather stores, but it has been so cold and icky today I think I might stay in instead!

Ciao!

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