Happy: I GOT MY VISA! Woo hoo! I went to the Brazilian consulate this afternoon and got approved with no problems. It's kind of a weird process; you go to the consulate, show them your paperwork, and then they write down the name of a bank close by so you can pay for the visa there. Hannah and I got lost on the way to the bank, but we finally got there, paid, and I go back to the consulate tomorrow to pick up my visa/passport. Thank you all for praying!
Also, I skyped with Whitney :) Love you, Whit!
Crappy: Studying for finals has started... and we are not happy about it. On the bright side, we're done on Monday! I can't believe this semester is already over. It's very bittersweet because I'm so happy to go home for awhile but it also makes me sad that time is flying by!
Laughy: About a week ago, right before leaving for Cordoba, I was walking from my apartment to the casa and I stopped at a street corner waiting for a car to pass. These guys sitting outside of a cafe in back of me started laughing and shouting, "Caca! Casa!" Feeling like they were talking to me, I looked down at my feet and noticed that I was stepping in a huge pile of dog poop (no one picks up poop on the streets...). Needless to say, I was very embarrassed and totally grossed out.
19 DAYS UNTIL AMERICA!
Besos xoxo
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Gauchos, sunsets, and delicious food.
For my second long weekend in Argentina, 14 of us went took an 11 hour bus ride to the province of Cordoba to spend three days at a beautiful estancia in the mountains.
Day Uno (Thursday):
We arrived to Cordoba at around 8am and drove 45 minutes into the mountains to get situated in our estancia. It was a beautiful little place owned by a sweet Australian couple who picked up their lives in Sydney five years ago and settled in this 400 year old estate and turned it into a bed and breakfast type place.
We ended day one with a wonderful asado made by the owner and chef of the estancia.
Day Dos (Friday):
We got to sleep in a little bit and then we all headed over to some local caves down the street. After that, we packed up into a van and drove 3 hours to the salt flats! This was something that I was really looking forward to because some of my friends who came to Cordoba last year said the flats were unbelievable at sunset. We got a little lost on the way but made it just in time to watch the sunset. These salt flats go on for miles! Way off towards the horizon, we saw water (all the water from the rain stays on the salt flats for awhile) so we all started running towards it, with about 10 minutes to spare before the sun was gone. That sunset was definitely the most amazing sunset I have ever seen in my life.
Day Uno (Thursday):
We arrived to Cordoba at around 8am and drove 45 minutes into the mountains to get situated in our estancia. It was a beautiful little place owned by a sweet Australian couple who picked up their lives in Sydney five years ago and settled in this 400 year old estate and turned it into a bed and breakfast type place.
where our rooms were
pub/dinning area
After getting settled, we drove down the road and got on some horses! We rode pretty deep into the mountains and eventually when it got too steep, we hopped off and hiked the rest ourselves. I was pretty nervous about scaling this insanely high peak, but my wonderful friend Alexx convinced me to keep going and I'm so glad I did because the view was amazing! We were out in the sun for over 5 hours and even though I had put on sunscreen, I managed to get one of the worst burns I've ever had. Ouch!
my horse!
incredible view
sunburn... even with sunscreen.
We ended day one with a wonderful asado made by the owner and chef of the estancia.
Day Dos (Friday):
We got to sleep in a little bit and then we all headed over to some local caves down the street. After that, we packed up into a van and drove 3 hours to the salt flats! This was something that I was really looking forward to because some of my friends who came to Cordoba last year said the flats were unbelievable at sunset. We got a little lost on the way but made it just in time to watch the sunset. These salt flats go on for miles! Way off towards the horizon, we saw water (all the water from the rain stays on the salt flats for awhile) so we all started running towards it, with about 10 minutes to spare before the sun was gone. That sunset was definitely the most amazing sunset I have ever seen in my life.
After the sun set, we built a fire and the John, the chef from the estancia, made a wonderful stew and chocolate cake. The stars were absolutely incredible that night. I literally felt like I was standing inside of a planetarium. We all went out by ourselves and just laid out under the sky. That was an amazing experience for me because in that moment by myself, I realized how BIG and incredible God is and how insignificant we are compared to Him and His creation.
Day Tres (Saturday):
We left the flats at 5am and didn't get back until 8am, so needless to say, we were all exhausted. Alexx and I climbed into bed and I passed out until 3pm! I missed out on another hike, but at least I caught up on sleep! We had a great pizza dinner, then packed our bags, and headed to the bus station for our 11 hour ride back to BA.
It was a great weekend filled with awesome friends, great food, and incredible scenery. God has truly blessed me this semester with the opportunity to see some amazing places in Argentina and I even though it was hard being away from family for Thanksgiving, I couldn't be more grateful for my life here in Argentina.
Besos xoxo
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving!
Last night, we had our very own Thanksgiving dinner at the Casa! Everyone either made a dish or helped other people make stuff and it was delicious. It was so great having everyone together and being able to celebrate the best American holiday ever :)
FOOD!
num num! Thanks Claudio!
Tomorrow, I'm off to Cordoba for the long weekend!
Besos xoxo
Friday, November 19, 2010
Dan FINALLY surprises Hannah!
While we were in Iguazu, Blaire and I got a facebook message from Hannah's boyfriend, Dan, telling us that he was coming to BA to surprise Hannah in November and that he needed our help planning everything. Obviously, we were beyond excited and couldn't wait for the day to come. Dan and I kept in touch throughout October and throughout this month, just figuring out how he was going to surprise her. We decided on him coming to the Casa and waiting outside for her, while Blaire went and told her that there was a "package" outside that she needed to sign for. I've had this day on my calendar for a long time so when yesterday finally happened, I was SO happy/relieved! Everything went perfectly and she could not have been more surprised. David captured it all on video and it is just absolutely precious.
(Check it out on my facebook page)
Han, I am so happy for you and even though it was SO hard keeping everything a secret, it was so worth it! Dan is a keeper! :) Love you!
(Check it out on my facebook page)
Han, I am so happy for you and even though it was SO hard keeping everything a secret, it was so worth it! Dan is a keeper! :) Love you!
Cutest couple in Argentina.
Han: "How did you keep this a secret!?"
SO happy for you both!
:)
Besos xoxo
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Boca vs. River
It's late and I'm exhausted, but I have to write this all down while it's embedded in my memory because the Boca vs. River fútbol game was the most epic and insane sporting event that I have ever been to in my entire life.
*A little background on the two teams: Boca Junior and River Plate are the biggest rivalry teams in all of Argentina. When they play each other, the game is called the Superclásico and it's unreal. "The Observer newspaper said it's the number one sporting event that anyone should place on their sporting 'bucket list'" (bocariver.net). The rivalry is so intense that the Boca fans had to enter the River stadium before any of the River fans, and they were in their own little section with police and barbed wire fences. People have died at these games.
Now for the crazy details: (Bear with me because there's a lot to tell.)
A group of about 20 of us walked the couple miles to the stadium not really knowing what to expect. Rafa had told us not to bring any cameras and to not wear any Boca colors (blue and yellow) because we would more than likely be punched in the face. So we finally get to the stadium and it's PACKED. They had police (I would guess there were about 500 officers there in the whole stadium, but that may be an exaggeration) lined up pretty far away from the actual stadium and we all had to be patted down. We went through about 2 other security stations before actually being able to walk up to the top of the stadium where we would watch the game. After finally walking up the stairs to the top of the stadium, we all had assumed that there was assigned seating and that our whole group would be together. We soon realized that it was general admission and we had to squeeze our way in to find a place to stand. At first, we tried to move so we could find a place with more spots, but there was a massive crowd of people singing and jumping all around, so we had no way of moving. We all ended up splitting up, but a handful of us got some really great seats.
We stand in our spots and not only is it very crowded, but everyone starts throwing stacks of newspaper. We obviously had no idea what it was for until these guys in front of us start ripping all the paper into little pieces and putting them in stacks. They hand us a few and we catch some that were soaring in the air, and start doing the same. Then what we thought was the Boca and River players, but was really just a warm up team, came on the field and played a really short game. The crowd was still pretty rowdy but not enough to really be the epic game that we had all heard about. After about 10 minutes of them playing, we realized that they weren't actually the real teams and we got nervous about how the crowd was going to react when the real game happened.
The Boca team comes out and the crowd goes wild. Every single person around us was screaming cuss words and yelling at the team and their fans. When the River team came out, that's when we started throwing the newspaper. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. Bits of newspaper were flying EVERYWHERE and then the fireworks started. Not professional ones, mind you. The kind that fans bring and blow up themselves. Imagine billions of pieces of paper and hundreds of fireworks filling the sky. That's right. We couldn't see a thing. The air was completely filled and we couldn't see the sky or the field in front of us. Then this MASSIVE flag thing comes over our heads and covers our entire section of the stadium. We have no idea what it said on the outside but we stayed under that flag for a good 5 minutes, just cheering along with everyone else.
The game started and we (River) didn't score until the second half. But when we scored, the crowd went absolutely insane. People were jumping, screaming, crying, you name it! We threw even more newspaper! Less than 5 minutes after the goal, the Boca fans start throwing fireworks (the flare type ones) at the River fans below them. They would catch on fire and all the people would stomp them out before it spread. This went on for a good 15 to 20 minutes and as far as I know, no one caught on fire. The huge flag came down again and this time, the guy standing next to my friend Taylor (who was standing in front of me) decided to roll up and light a joint. Me, being the naive drug expert that I am, was so confused as to what that horrible smell was and when Taylor told me the guy was smoking pot, I thought to myself, "Is that even allowed?" It's a Boca v. River game. Anything goes. It's a miracle we all didn't leave high because I swear I practically inhaled that joint myself.
The game starts coming to an end and when the final whistle blew, the crown went crazy, of course. We had to wait about half an hour or so before we could leave the stadium because the Boca fans had to be let out first, to avoid riots. It was madness trying to get out of that stadium, but we finally did and had to walk on the side of a freeway, through 2 sketchy parks, until we finally found our way back to the Casa. On the way back, my friend Bridget and I were talking about how weird it was that we weren't hit on or touched once while we were at the game. Taylor then told us that at River stadium, there's this unspoken "no touch"rule where no man is allowed to harass a woman (not that there were very many women there). It's funny how safe we felt at such a crazy event where people have actually died.
I'm sure I didn't even do a half decent job describing this experience because my mind is still blown. Even though I was skeptical about paying 290 pesos (around $70) for a game that I didn't know much about, it was SO worth it and was something I will never forget.
Pictures I stole from Uri Hong (you da best, girl).
smoke and newspapers
under the flag!
the flag coming down!
Besos xoxo
*A little background on the two teams: Boca Junior and River Plate are the biggest rivalry teams in all of Argentina. When they play each other, the game is called the Superclásico and it's unreal. "The Observer newspaper said it's the number one sporting event that anyone should place on their sporting 'bucket list'" (bocariver.net). The rivalry is so intense that the Boca fans had to enter the River stadium before any of the River fans, and they were in their own little section with police and barbed wire fences. People have died at these games.
Now for the crazy details: (Bear with me because there's a lot to tell.)
A group of about 20 of us walked the couple miles to the stadium not really knowing what to expect. Rafa had told us not to bring any cameras and to not wear any Boca colors (blue and yellow) because we would more than likely be punched in the face. So we finally get to the stadium and it's PACKED. They had police (I would guess there were about 500 officers there in the whole stadium, but that may be an exaggeration) lined up pretty far away from the actual stadium and we all had to be patted down. We went through about 2 other security stations before actually being able to walk up to the top of the stadium where we would watch the game. After finally walking up the stairs to the top of the stadium, we all had assumed that there was assigned seating and that our whole group would be together. We soon realized that it was general admission and we had to squeeze our way in to find a place to stand. At first, we tried to move so we could find a place with more spots, but there was a massive crowd of people singing and jumping all around, so we had no way of moving. We all ended up splitting up, but a handful of us got some really great seats.
We stand in our spots and not only is it very crowded, but everyone starts throwing stacks of newspaper. We obviously had no idea what it was for until these guys in front of us start ripping all the paper into little pieces and putting them in stacks. They hand us a few and we catch some that were soaring in the air, and start doing the same. Then what we thought was the Boca and River players, but was really just a warm up team, came on the field and played a really short game. The crowd was still pretty rowdy but not enough to really be the epic game that we had all heard about. After about 10 minutes of them playing, we realized that they weren't actually the real teams and we got nervous about how the crowd was going to react when the real game happened.
The Boca team comes out and the crowd goes wild. Every single person around us was screaming cuss words and yelling at the team and their fans. When the River team came out, that's when we started throwing the newspaper. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. Bits of newspaper were flying EVERYWHERE and then the fireworks started. Not professional ones, mind you. The kind that fans bring and blow up themselves. Imagine billions of pieces of paper and hundreds of fireworks filling the sky. That's right. We couldn't see a thing. The air was completely filled and we couldn't see the sky or the field in front of us. Then this MASSIVE flag thing comes over our heads and covers our entire section of the stadium. We have no idea what it said on the outside but we stayed under that flag for a good 5 minutes, just cheering along with everyone else.
The game started and we (River) didn't score until the second half. But when we scored, the crowd went absolutely insane. People were jumping, screaming, crying, you name it! We threw even more newspaper! Less than 5 minutes after the goal, the Boca fans start throwing fireworks (the flare type ones) at the River fans below them. They would catch on fire and all the people would stomp them out before it spread. This went on for a good 15 to 20 minutes and as far as I know, no one caught on fire. The huge flag came down again and this time, the guy standing next to my friend Taylor (who was standing in front of me) decided to roll up and light a joint. Me, being the naive drug expert that I am, was so confused as to what that horrible smell was and when Taylor told me the guy was smoking pot, I thought to myself, "Is that even allowed?" It's a Boca v. River game. Anything goes. It's a miracle we all didn't leave high because I swear I practically inhaled that joint myself.
The game starts coming to an end and when the final whistle blew, the crown went crazy, of course. We had to wait about half an hour or so before we could leave the stadium because the Boca fans had to be let out first, to avoid riots. It was madness trying to get out of that stadium, but we finally did and had to walk on the side of a freeway, through 2 sketchy parks, until we finally found our way back to the Casa. On the way back, my friend Bridget and I were talking about how weird it was that we weren't hit on or touched once while we were at the game. Taylor then told us that at River stadium, there's this unspoken "no touch"rule where no man is allowed to harass a woman (not that there were very many women there). It's funny how safe we felt at such a crazy event where people have actually died.
I'm sure I didn't even do a half decent job describing this experience because my mind is still blown. Even though I was skeptical about paying 290 pesos (around $70) for a game that I didn't know much about, it was SO worth it and was something I will never forget.
Pictures I stole from Uri Hong (you da best, girl).
The River group before we had any idea what we were getting into.
GOALLLLL RIVERRRRRR!!!
Yeah, Boca starts fires.
SO many police officers!
Besos xoxo
Monday, November 15, 2010
"Be still and know that I am God."
A few days ago, David gave me some words of wisdom: "Do what you are capable of doing and trust that what you are capable of doing is enough." We have been bombarded with all different kinds of assignments, papers, and tests, and I have yet to take a step back and try to breathe. Along with that quote, there are two things that I have started to repeat in my head the moment I feel overwhelmed: "Be still and know that I am God," and "Lord, give me strength." These three simple statements are what's going to get me through this week and next and my prayer is that from now on, I can give my worries and anxieties over to God and trust that He will take care of me.
Lo siento for the depressing post. It's just the life of a stressed college student.
Besos xoxo
Lo siento for the depressing post. It's just the life of a stressed college student.
Besos xoxo
Friday, November 12, 2010
Last Saturday...oops.
I have been waiting on pictures until I made this post and I finally got them!
Last Saturday, my friend Alexx and I went to my youngest hermana, Brisa's, birthday party! We piled 13 people in a minivan and drove to a super sketch part of town, until we pulled up to a beautiful location that ended up being the military school where my padre works. We stayed for 6 hours, because that's how Argentines do it, and just ate nd hung out. Jesi and Eli (the oldest hermanas) and their friend Flor, introduced us to some Argentine boys. I know what you're thinking, Daddy. But no, I did not fall in love. They all ended up being around 16 years old, so they didn't even have a chance. One of the guys, Ramiro, told me that he really wants to learn english, so he and I are meeting up at a cafe next week so I can teach him and I can practice some spanish!
All in all, it was a wonderful day celebrating precious Brisa and I loved spending time with my familia.
Last Saturday, my friend Alexx and I went to my youngest hermana, Brisa's, birthday party! We piled 13 people in a minivan and drove to a super sketch part of town, until we pulled up to a beautiful location that ended up being the military school where my padre works. We stayed for 6 hours, because that's how Argentines do it, and just ate nd hung out. Jesi and Eli (the oldest hermanas) and their friend Flor, introduced us to some Argentine boys. I know what you're thinking, Daddy. But no, I did not fall in love. They all ended up being around 16 years old, so they didn't even have a chance. One of the guys, Ramiro, told me that he really wants to learn english, so he and I are meeting up at a cafe next week so I can teach him and I can practice some spanish!
All in all, it was a wonderful day celebrating precious Brisa and I loved spending time with my familia.
Thank you for coming with me! :)
my beautiful sisters! I wish my real sister was there too!
Awesome sparkler candles!
me and the birthday girl!
sweet girls
Sweet story: I came home from school today crying because I was really stressed and overwhelmed. Brisa and Jazmin came into my room and ask if I was okay, then both of my padres came in and asked the same thing, and then the grandparents who are visiting for the week (love them, by the way) came in and asked me too! When I told them I was stressed, my madre said, "Oh don't worry, we'll all help you with your spanish homework on Sunday when you get back!" They made me feel better right away :)
Off to a spiritual retreat for the weekend! Please be praying for our group and for sweet Blaire as she has her surgery! Love you!
Besos xoxo
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