Gracias!

Back in the states now and missing my friends in Córdoba! also catching up with american friends here and thankfully 2 of my best friends speak spanish!

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who kept up with my blogging in argentina. It's been as fun for me writing about my experiences as i'm sure it was for you reading about them. If you ever have the opportunity to go abroad I would highly recommend Argentina-there are just so many things to see and the US dollar to Arg. peso exchange rate cannot be beat!

As for the future, i'm starting my senior year at W&J this fall and will be looking for a job this semester too. Hopefully I can work in some sort of translation position for a company, that's the goal anyways.

It's been fun!

Final day in córdoba

So today was my last day in Córdoba. Last night was a surprise despendida con los chicos de la iglesia en alfonsima- un restaurante cerca de la feria artesanía. Fue lindisimo y me surpreso mucho porque estabamos ‘buscando’ un lugar para comer empanadas supuestamente. I thought sadly as I looked down the table of about 40 or so friends from church that this will be the last time that we are all together. But we have the bond of Christ and it’s like a brotherhood. I was comforted by the thought that we could have this dinner again in heaven. Today was my last day and I made my way to the center in plaza españa to meet up with Raquel and I got a caja feliz at mcdonald’s and she got her last grido ice cream cone con dos bolchas. funny how us Americans spent our last lunch in Cordoba at a mcdonald’s. After that I headed over to caro’s apartment to hang out with her, micaela, and alexis for the last time- These girls helped me through the tough times with the passing of granny. I love these girls so much! We drank some mate, exchanged some gifts, and took some fotos. I will see alexis tomorrow in the airport because we have the same flight to Santiago. After stopping there I walked to my bus stop and was a little annoyed to see a manefestacion/protest making its way down the street – which meant that my bus would be arriving very late so, I decided to walk home which kind of sucked. The 45 min walk reminded me of the time when I had to do it when the center was flooded by people after the argentine win in the mundial. That time I had been walking away from crowds cheering for victory. The people of argentina are very in touch with their government and making their voices heard. I will for sure miss the people and their ability to not lay down judgment on others. I’ll miss those darn colectivos that I waited for every single day. I’ll miss walking and getting to know my city better. I headed over to the Field’s house (the australian missionaries/my vecinos). We ate dinner and I met an Australian girl who’s going to work in an orphanage until December. Later on I hung out with the abua group from my business faculty at the university. A perfect day to say goodbye

I late post update from my travels around Argentina in July

So I just got back to Córdoba recently from my trip with my parents to visit the most beautiful places in Argentina. The trip was amazing and God blessed our entire time traveling. First we headed to the southern most city in the world Tierra del Fuego, Ushuaia and avoided a plane crash which was a little terrifying- we were arriving at night in the dark and right before the pilot was going to land he shot the plane almost straight vertical into the air and aborted landing- we think that he almost hit the water because the airport is kind of an island. Surprisingly it wasn’t extremely freezing cold and we were able to trek in the national park of tierra del fuego and sail the Beagle Canal which connects the pacific and atlantic oceans. The national park was incredible and we were followed by giant wild foxes at one point which was kind of scary but luckily they were distracted by some other tourists. I think in total we trekked 8 miles on the icy paths. The next day we went on a boat excursion to sail the Beagle Canal, which is picturesque in every direction that you look. We saw wild seals, penguins, and the lighthouse ‘at the end of the world’. We also were lucky and stopped at an island to trek around and see where the indigenous people settle. Some history about tierra del fuego is that the argentine government used to send the absolute worst criminals there and you can still see ruins of the prison (kind of like shutter island I guess). Next, we spent 3 nights in El Calafate, Santa Cruz- home of the national glaciar park. We got to see the most famous glaciar Perito Moreno which is actually blue. It’s amazing and you can actually hear the ice cracking which sounds like avalanches. The next day we took a boat tour to see all of the glaciers in the national park. This excursion was one of the most memorable for me because we were lucky enough to see the whole front of a glacier collapse in front of the boat AND I caught it on video. After those 3 nights we headed north to Iguazú- national park in Puerto Iguazú, Misiones- home of some of the tallest waterfalls on earth. I had already been there before on a trip with some friends in May so I knew my way around town. The pueblo was so crowded with people because right now everyone in Argentina has vacation. The weather had been rainy there but we managed to have a descent 2 days in the national park and saw wild monkeys. We headed back to Córdoba by bus on the 24 hr. ride on Friday. My parents stayed with the Australian missionary family-my neighbors- whom I have been able to connect with here through friends. They are one of the sweetest families that I have ever met! We brought them and their kids gifts from the states and showed them how to make s’mores which was pretty memorable. Today, Tues, my parents left córdoba to head back to Pittsburgh in time for my sister’s 24th birthda. I think they liked argentina and I couldn’t help but to compare myself to them. I think that here I’ve learned not to expect much from people or quality of things and just to live simpler. In the states it’s so easy to get around and live. Here for example you might have to go to 2 or 3 supermarkets to get groceries because they don’t have selection because everything is imported and more expensive. And hardly anyone owns a car and people take buses and walk everywhere. It’s just different and I’ve really enjoyed living here for the past 6 months. Looking back at my time in córdoba I’ve had so many opportunities that I never imagined for myself. I’ve traveled basically everywhere in argentina that’s well marked on a map and I also had time to volunteer with poor children in a local pueblo every weekend. I guess I’m just grateful.

Soy córdobesa now and I will be planning a trip to come back in the future, I don’t know when, but I will be back!

It's Been 5 Months!!

Es loco a pensar que hace cinco meses que he vivido acá en córdoba y falta un mes más. Así q voy a pasar mucho tiempo con mis amigos argentinos y viajar con mis padres cuando vienen a visitarme en dos semanas! Ya terminé con clases y falta un examen final de comercio exterior en lunes. Me parece que la mayoría de los examnes finales son orales y por eso tenemos que entrevistar con unos profes de la facu. Aun esta manera es diferente es a mi ventaja porque puedo hablar mejor que tomar examenes escritos jaja Argentina juega mañana con alemania así q vamos a celebrar!! vamos argentina!

ciao

So all plans for traveling with my parents are set! We'll be traveling/flying for about 2 weeks straight- first to Tierra del Fuego (the southern most point in South America and close to Antarctica), then to El Calafate (home of the parque nacional de los glaciares/glaciers), then to Iguazú (tallest waterfalls in the world). Can't wait!!!!!!!

El mundial/world cup has been celebrated like crazy here. Argentina is just, well, the best! Yesterday after we won the center of the city was blocked off because everyone decided to flood the streets chanting, setting off little bombs, and waving banners and flags. I love Córdoba so much lol

We have a good bye dinner/despendida tomorrow night en el centro and then people from the states will be heading back different times in julio. Also, im finished with all classes menos un examen final en julio.

BUENO, CIAO

So to keep you guys up to date, I spent my 21st birthday here and had such a great time! I should have known that Argentines don't RSVP so of course I was shocked when 50 or so people showed up. It's been a little tough getting through classes and being so far away from family but I know it's for the best. This week I finish up clases en la uni and I have all of my examenes finales. I have plans with friends to go away this weekend to Carlos Paz again and probably will have some time to watch la mundial. Yea, so forgot to mention that people here, and most parts of the world menos USA are obsessed with futbol/soccer. The streets are draped with argentine flags and in every store window are the blue and white colors. Something strange is that the uni provides students with tv's on campus to watch games because they would rather have them skip a few hours of class en vez de skipping days of class. so loco! jeje.

Ahora, estoy haciendo planes de viaje cuando mis padres vienen en julio. Creo que vamos a Iguazú de nuevo y el sur (el calafate y tierra del fuego)-el punto mas sur en todo de sud america que no toca antarctica. He visto muchas fotos que parecen muy lindas y será una experiencia de la vida segura!

sorry don't know what happened with the sound for the video!

bueno, ciao

RIP Anne Ruhlman, i will always love you Granny :)

I had to face some unexpected news recently when i found out about the passing of my granny this weekend. I am having a very hard time dealing with this while I am thousands of miles away from my family. The news came as a shock to me and I will not be able to fly home. I know that it is the right decision to stay in Argentina because my mom had been recently telling my granny about all of my trips and experiences here and she was very proud of me. She would have wanted me to finish strong here and enjoy this time as much as I can. I really understand what it means to truly love someone, and I have truly loved my granny my whole life and I pray that she has found peace with God in Heaven. I have not been able to make it to classes but I am still hanging out with friends for support here. My granny never wanted a ceremony for people to remember her so when I get back to Pittsburgh I will visit her with flowers where she is buried. I truly believe in Heaven and an afterlife with God that lasts forever. It is my hope that I will see her again :)

IGUAZÚ! tallest waterfalls in the world!

I just got back from one of the most amazing trips in my life to Iguazú, home of las cataratas- some of the tallest falls in the entire world!! I am still amazed just thinking about them. These waterfalls are located in Puerto Iguazú (Argentina side) in the middle of the jungle. I left with a group of friends on Thursday and we arrived after 24 hours on the bus. On Friday we decided not to go to the Nacional Parque because it closes at 6pm and instead went to las fronteras/borders of Brasil, Argentina, and Paraguay- which was actually only a 15 minute walk from our hostel. There is a lookout sight over a river where all three countries meet and you can see flags from each country in the distance from there. The pueblo is very jungle-like and most of the roads are paved but covered in dirt that is more like clay. TREES TREES TREES! In the rainforest/jungle there are trees everywhere and the air seems so fresh. I would HIGHLY recommend our hostel: Stop Hostel (Avenida Victoria Aguirre 304, Puerto Iguazú, +54-03757-15547703), it’s a 10 minute walk away from the bus terminal, 15 min walk from las fronteras, in the center of town, great accommodations/desayuno, and across the street from all of the important bus stops. There were people from all over the world at our hostel and meeting them and talking was great!--If they didn’t know spanish you spoke in english and vice versa. Friday night we went to an wild orchid sanctuary in the pueblo and saw exotic jungle plants. On Saturday we went to the Nacional Parque, where las cataratas/falls are, for the day. This place is incredible and absolutely beautiful—words don’t do it justice. So basically there are all of these huge waterfalls in a row all leading up to Diablo Garganta- the highest one (4 miles of waterfalls) and there are paths that guide you through the park. There is a rainbow there every single day that it's sunny. We walked along the upper and lower circuit of the falls and above and under the falls themselves. I have no words to describe how it was standing on a tiny platform above on of the tallest waterfalls in the world, with the water rushing beneath that drops down hundreds and hundreds of feet. It was hard to hear each other because the falls make noise like thunder. We also took a boat ride called ‘la gran aventura’ which I really recommend. It takes you on a speedboat along all of the falls and under some of them. I took a lot of video and fotos from this. We saw a lot of species of butterflies, birds (like tucanes), and these animals that kind of look like raccoons but they’re friendly and roam the entire parque. It felt like everyone there was there to have an adventure and see the falls and even go under them. On Sunday we went on a jungle excursion which included rappelling down the side of a mountain ( in the jungle), tirolesa (zip-lining across four different platforms ( in the jungle), and trekking ( in the jungle). It was one of the most memorable experiences of my life—especially the zip lining through all of the trees and seeing tucans!! The pueblo in the jungle was so isolated but there were kids playing in the dirt clay streets and in the rivers. It was also pretty humbling to see how the people live- with hardly anything. We got to meet so many people from Europe, s. America, and the uk- it was awesome! We left Monday for another 24 hr bus ride back home to córdoba. Tuesday, today, I went to a volley/futbol tournament en the campus of a Bible institute. There were teams from basically all of the churches in córdoba and most people were wearing their argentine world cup jersey, aka la mundial- which is 2weeks away. Also today is a holiday in argentina- la bincentenario: 1810-2010. We had such perfect weather for everything and I just feel so blessed to have had this opportunity to see God’s amazing creation.

I had dinner last night with a local missionary family from Australia that just happen to be my neighbors! And then tonight met some missionaries from around the world: Korea, Australia, China, and Bolivia- they have been passing out free copies of the new testament on campus for the past week and held a meeting in a local córdobes home. I think it's great that they've felt called to spread God's word here in Córdoba.

Graciela has been in Las Sierras for the past two days on a free trip from PAMI, her special healthcare for diabetics. Qué más? we're leaving for Iguazu in 10 days!!!

Update:

So it's feeling like fall here, cold, the leaves are changing, and it's crazy that everyone's housekeeper is in the streets thinking that they can sweep up every single leaf that falls. Last night for dinner I almost threw up as my host mom ate cow brain. She told me it makes her smarter... right. In Argentina, they find ways to eat every part of the cow, for example the tongue, which apparently is some kind of delicacy. I told you about my experience in Buenos Aires accidentally trying octopus thinking it was chicken, then realizing that the little pieces of "chicken" were tentacles--absolutely disgusting. Don't even mention the blood sausage here feo feo.

Today, buying bus tickets to Iguazu, the tallest waterfall in the world that borders Uruguay, Brasil, y Argentina- a 24 hr bus ride each way but definitely worth it. At the end of May there is a 10 day break so it's ideal for traveling. Hope you are enjoying the videos! I just figured out how to post them and it's a lot quicker than posting to facebook. Look for some great ones when I get back from las cataratas/waterfalls!!

hasta luego!

Taking a stop in las Sierras. 360 view of some of the most beautiful mountains in the world.

On the tour through Tucumán, Juyjuy, and Salta, we stopped at a Bodega/winery and learned how to drink, pour, taste, and appreciate wine!

Tiny gaucho boy dancing at la peña in Salta. Dulce jeje!

There was a holiday in Salta with a parade to remember los argentinos who fought in the Falklands war. Basically there was a war between la Argentina and Great Britain over who laid claim to las Malvinas islands off the coast of South America.

This was from our bus ride to San Rafael, Mendoza-- a whole 12 hours. Got to hear lovely Hendrix singing and playing guitar!

Took this video on our trip to Salta. This mountain has 7 different colors and people from all over the world come to the Province of JuyJuy, on the border of Quebrada de Purmamarca, to visit. Absolutely stunning!! Enjoy

I took this video when we went to una peña, which is basically dinner with a show. This a a typical Salteño dance with gauchos.

I took this video when I traveled to Salta, Tucumán and Juyjuy. We stopped while driving through las sierras and this band of musicians played inside of a cave-like crevice in the side of the mountain. Just amazing!

Just got back to córdoba last night from San Rafael, Mendoza! This pueblo is beautiful & is about 10 hrs south. We left Friday night from the center and went directly to white water river rafting the next morning in Cañón del Atuel (valle grande). I had never tried this before but it was actually pretty awesome and out of our whole group of 40-ma o meno- only one person fell out of the raft in the rapids. The river was surrounded by las sierras mountains on either side and I couldn't believe how beautiful it was. Next we ate asado and then took off to the mountains. We had to climb up a mountain to do repelling and tirolesa/or zip lining across the range. It was so amazing and I want to find a place to do these things in the states when I get back. Sunday we toured una bodega/vineyard/winery where we tried the wines (merlot, cabernet, etc) They eat dried fruit with the wine there which is actually a good combination. the ride back took longer than expected but it was worth the trip! I still want to visit the center of the medoza province sometime in julio!

ciao ciao

Just finished dinner and had the hardest time trying to explain to Graciela what a marshmallow is and what a smore is. If I can find the ingredients I'm going to make some for her. Also, she showed me her wedding pictures and when she was 20 she was drop dead gorgeous! (ahora tiene 70 años) I couldn't believe it was her.

This weekend I went to Carlos Paz with Graciela to visit her friend that has a casita/(little house for the weekends) there. There are five houses on the same property and they all belong to the brothers and sisters in her family. So pretty much every weekend they all drive out of córdoba to stay at their casitas and pass time with family. The weather was great and it's feeling like fall here. I went online to look for winter boots on an american website and realized that it's summer in the states so of course no one is selling them. Sin embargo todo bien porque voy a comprarlas acá, unas de cuero-ojalá!

This weekend everyone in our program is going on a trip to San Rafael, Mendoza!! Basically in any pueblo of Mendoza you drink wine, go river rafting, ride bikes/horses, and tour vineyards. Can't wait!

ciao ciao!

I scheduled for fall classes last night online== bad idea since the wifi (pronounced wee-fee acá) no funiciona todo del tiempo. Scheduling at W&J kind of sucks because classes are first come first serve. So I was supposed to sign up at 10, got ready to and then realized I forgot to factor in the time difference here!! Sin embargo, todo bien, I got into everything...after taking a half hour of searching for a signal!

Skipped class at the uni tonight to go with some friends on a ghost tour of Córdoba. Perfect night- cold and rainy. The tour was free and is offered every Tuesday the 13th. Acá in córdoba Tuesday the 13th is like our Friday the 13th- so how apropos is a ghost tour! First, we went to a haunted mansion that is now a museum and our tour group was so big the local news crews followed us. Then we went to el centro, underground, and below one of the busiest streets of córdoba to visit a crypta/crypt. The stairs to the crypt look like stairs to a subway and usually go unnoticed by everyone. Below are these cave like rooms that are supposedly haunted by sacerdotes/priests and the jesuits-- people who founded Córdoba. Supposedly the lights shut off by themselves, there are walking shadows on the ceilings, apparitions of priests, and black cat sightings. Regardless of if you believe in ghosts it was still awesome to see because most córdobeses don't even know the crypt is there. The guide told us that calle Belgrano (a well known street) has ghosts of caballos/horses and people have claimed to hear galloping of horses por las calles por las noches. Great tour!

-random but I was talking with Graciela at dinner about Christmas and she told me that Santa Claus/Papá Noel is a pagan and is not celebrated here!!!!! Pobres niños!

Hasta luego

Salta!

Just got back from Salta/Tucuman/Jujuy and had an awesome time! This area of argentina is one of the most beautiful places in the entire world. Basically our bus drove us through mountains of every color imaginable-purple, green, black, yellow, etc, vineyards, desert lands, and the pueblos in the surrounding provinces. Our hotel was in center of Salta, se llama Alto Parque (great hotel, cheap, in el centro) and we traveled on the bus every day of our trip. We left from Córdoba on Wednesday night and drove 12 hours north, stopping in Jesús María y Río Hondo. We got the best seats on the whole bus- 2^nd floor, first row with a panoramic view. Thursday, we drove through what looked like a rainforest that actually has wild pumas and monos/monkeys. We arrived at ‘Abra del infiernillo’ the top of a mountain at 3042 meters high and took pictures and met some of the locales. Note, the people of these regions are indigenous and look like what Americans would call Indians. The land is absolutely beautiful but also poor. It was hard to see tiny children begging for pesos, anything, one little boy said he would tell me a poem for 5 pesos!!! Adorable!! The mountain tour continued as we headed to Amaicha del Valle y la city of Cafayate en la Provincia de Salta, then to Valles Calchaquíes. The mountains are so beautiful and you can see the erosion up close. There were wild alpacas, llamas, and goats in the road and land. We stopped at a little area on the side of the road with a few artisan tents selling souvenirs and crafts. Some of the locales brought their animals- alpacas there for the tourists to take pictures with for a small donation. In the part of the mountains where we were, there lives hardly any people because there is limited water and no electricity. It was so sad to see that the only way people could make money was for tourists to take fotos with their animals. Next, was the pueblo of Tefi del Valle- muy lindo! We finally got to the hotel Thursday night and got dinner there. We met some of the nicest people on our tour bus that were from Córdoba. We shared mate and talked about our time in Argentina. Friday was a city tour of Salta and we stopped at a local artisan feria. There are two main cathedrals in the city on is called Iglesia Cathedral and it is completely painted pink with white pillars. The other, Iglesia de San Francisco, which is completely painted in Red with gold pillars and was built 500 years ago. That night we went to una peña folklórica- a dinner with a show of dancers and music of the culture of Salta. There are about 50 songs that every argentine knows and the musicians on stage kept playing them and inviting people from their dinner tables to come on stage and sing- which lasted all night/early morning. Saturday we went to Quebrada deHumahuaca- Purmamarca, Uquía, Humahuaca, y Maimará. We visited the Cerro de 7 colores- a famous mountain that has 7 colors because of the different minerals and erosion. This mountain is famous and stunning. Along the drive we stopped at the side of one mountain that had a huge crevice on the side that led to this cave area inside. We walked in and saw some musicians with native instruments and we stayed for a while to watch them play. It was incredible- we were inside of a mountain with hardly anyone except for these local musicians playing- I took a video. We didn’t end up seeing the woman who supposedly sees visions of the Virgin María/Mary. One woman took a taxi drive for almost an hour up the mountain to the house of this woman, but she wasn’t there because of the Easter/Pascua holiday. This may sound weird to Americans, but the people of Salta/Arg. really believe that this woman speaks to the Virgin Mary/ sees her and that she can heal people. Sunday we toured some more in San Miguel de Tucumán and visited the house of Independencia of Argentina. We arrived back in Córdoba late that night.

Overall great trip! If you travel to Argentina you must take a trip to Salta WITH A GUIDE. If you go without a guide it is impossible to see everything because the provinces are so spread out and you’ll waste time trying to make reservations.

This week back to clases at the uni and we are going to an international feria north of Cordoba that happens once a year and a music show.