En Serio, Es El Final!

Probablemente para la última vez, voy a decir que no puedo creer que mi experiencia está terminada ahora! Bueno, como podés ver vos, estoy escribiendo en español porque quiero mostrar la cantidad que aprendí acá. Si hables español, perdón porque estoy seguro que hay muchos errores gramaticales, pero sin embargo continuo.

No tengo mucho para decir hoy porque conté a ustedes mucho anoche y durante todos los mensajes en mi blog a través de 3 meses. Es un sentimiento raro, porque me parece que hablaba de todo y nada al mismo tiempo. No obstante, pienso que tengo mucha información para mirar atrás y reflejarme un día en el futuro. Solo tengo algunas cosas más sobre la experiencia--mantengo un mensaje corto y dulce!

Una noche durante la cena, Yuppy me preguntó si tengo ganas de volver a Argentina en el futuro. Creo que sí! Especialmente porque quiero conocer Patagonia en el sur del país. Pero, no me arrepiento de nada, aunque tuve la meta para conducir o ser pasajero en un moto con un Argentino lindo...bueno, puedo hacerlo en los Estados Unidos también pero es probable que no con un argentino. Está bien.

Estoy emocionada para regresar a mi país hoy, aunque oí que había tormentas fuertes anoche y sigue toda la semana. Espero que no interfiere con las aviones.

Este viaje abrió los ojos míos... ya tengo "una agenda de viajes de mis sueños" para el futuro. Sin orden, son...
Canada, Alaska, Hawaii (otra isla de antes), Ireland, London, Montana, Czechoslovakia (Prague)...

Bueno, creo que es todo que quiero decir hoy. Mi omnibus viene en 45 minutos y me voy. Otra vez, gracias para la apoya y las que me ayuda durante esta oportunidad. Definitivamente hay una mezcla de sentimientos hoy...voy a extrañar a Argentina, pero es la hora para continuar con mi vida que ya tengo.

Chau, Chau, Besos, Besos, Un Besito grande, Suerte, Suerte, Nos vemos ;)

http://www.pacovskyphotography.blogspot.com.ar/

Potentially My Last Post (That You'll Understand)

So it's 1:30 a.m. and I'm sitting here at my desk on my last night in Argentina, looking at the luggage to my right that is pretty much all packed up. Every "last" thing is starting to feel sentimental now--the last time all 15 of us students were in a group together on Wednesday night, my last time making empanadas for lunch this afternoon at Brett's apartment with the few of us that are left in Rosario (I've made empanadas elsewhere so it was technically just my first time making empanadas in that particular location..but still), my last dinner with Yuppy, my last shower, my last trip to the lavandería, my last visit to the vegetarian place for my favorite dried banana chips, and the list goes on. Basically anything that is ordinarily insignificant begins to have meaning when you know it is nearing the end!

What I mean by the title I chose for this post is that tomorrow before I go, I decided I want to write a final farewell on my blog in the best Spanish I can muster. Who knows about where my future will take me, maybe I'll have the opportunity to improve my language skills even more at some point in my life, but for now I can easily say that I'm at the top of my game in all my history of learning Spanish. Thus, tomorrow I'll be at my smartest (does that even make sense??) for one last day before I go back to the states.

I know when I get back, I'm going to be asked probably a lot, "HOW WAS YOUR TRIP?!" Umm...where in the world do I begin? Do you have a month to sit down and talk about it? I'm not really sure where I'm going to start when I get asked that question because it was about the experience as a whole. As for the memories, I tried to record them here as much as I could, but most of them will be something kept specially for me in my mind, unless something reminds me of it in which case I'm sure I'll be more than happy to share.

For starters, here's a video we made our last week in my conversation class. I'm fully aware of how uncomfortable it is at times but I still love it...definitely going to be something I still laugh at years from now to look back and remember. We are even missing some of the best videos--like a few of us drunk at a boliche singing along to a song we learned about in class--but perhaps it's better it got left out :) It is in no way representative of the majority of things I encountered here in Rosario, Argentina, but it's still a fun project that I had the pleasure of editing and putting together with imovie. The director of the program, Beba, was swooning over it for days and I guess submitted it to the University of Oregon study abroad program to be used to show future students who are considering coming here. Imagine if I had spent more than 45 minutes putting it together--I can't imagine what her reaction would have been then! Regardless, here's the link to the "masterpiece":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AfY7XaYSaM&feature=youtu.be

Final Things I've Noted and Want to Say In One Loooong Sentence Without Elaboration:

My feet may be torn up from walking on uneven streets for 3 months, the people may use different gestures/noises when they communicate, despite inflation they may also think everything is SOOO expensive when in reality an umbrella costs like $5, Yuppy may have struggled with my battery-operated wine opener gift from the USA more often than not but that baby got a lot of laughs/uses of out it, people may proudly walk down the street with bandages on their face from plastic surgery operations, my English vocabulary may have shrank to fit all the Spanish I've learned into my brain, these Italian/Latino families may allow their kids to live with them until they're 30 and that's totally socially acceptable, they may shamelessly spread rumors that all the Chinese grocery store owners shut off electricity to the refrigerators overnight thus spoiling the food and allowing them to price it cheaper, I may have chopped 5 years off my life from inhaling cigarette smoke, pollution, and eating/drinking things that were made from a powdered form, my computer adapter may have the tendency to make my computer shock my skin/shake when I plug it in here, people may also hold each other in a frozen embrace in La Plaza de San Martín for hours on end, they might close every single store in the city on a "holiday" like flag day here, they may also say "whiskey" instead of "cheese" when taking a picture, AND mate may be the greatest thing since sliced bread, I may have been secretly remembered by the other students as the girl who ordered onion rings and bacon for lunch when we found an American restaurant here (they just told me a couple weeks ago about how they still remember that about me and thought it was hilarious), BUT WOW WHAT A RIDE IT HAS BEEN! Whew, what a sentence. Sorry about all that, but I think it was worth it!

Just gotta throw it out there, what would I have done without this lady in the photo below?! Yuppy, my host mother, helped me so much here during my 3-month stay--both with the language and making me feel at home in her home in a foreign country. So happy to have been placed with her :) I went and printed this picture today and framed it in this frame I bought to give to her as my going-away present. She was so happy! I also plan to leave her with a nice written note tomorrow as well before the bus company, Tienda Leon, picks me up at our departamento to bring me to the Buenos Aires airport. At first I thought, "how boring that we are in her kitchen..." but honestly that is where we spent most of our time together watching the news, eating and conversing.

But wow, talk about a cultural experience! I learned so many things about myself...like this...

Just kidding, but actually--an Argentine pointed out that Americans only dance with their upper body and don't move their legs. It's true...just overall awkward. It's okay though, I kinda love that about us.

Also, who would have thought that I could meet someone who doesn't know who Oprah is (it was Yuppy...I tried not to lose my shit and look at her like she was an alien. Now that I think of it, it is kind of refreshing that someone doesn't know who she is. We are not the center of the universe!)

Going along with feeling like the center of the universe, the other night my other two friends/blondes from the group and I were reflecting that this is the last time that we will ever feel special for being "rubia" again together...when we return, we'll just be yet another one in a million!

GETTING THE BAD OUT OF THE WAY: AT THE BOTTOM OF MY LIST/WHAT I'LL MISS LEAST

• Too. Much. Bread. I could probably do without it for a year.
• The kissy noise/hoots and hollers on the streets from the nasty men...self-explanatory.
• Corruption in the government. It's just sad to see for all the people here, honestly. The US government keeps a lot of stuff from us, but at least they probably aren't hoarding vaults of cash in their houses, then refusing to comment on it, and then after a remodel claiming the vault is for a wine cellar. That would be the presidenta, Cristina.
• The dirty streets/littering/dodging dog poop piles
• Losing money in the exchange rate...re: corrupt government refusing to admit there is inflation
• Insecurity/robbers
• Having about 8 hours between lunch and dinner. Here, they normally have a snack between lunch/dinner like how we do after dinner before we go to bed...it sounds silly writing it down right now but it was a difficult adjustment the whole time I was here!

AT THE TOP OF MY LIST...WHAT I'LL MISS MOST

• Ok, I'll be the first to admit I bashed the food quite a bit here. But this particular product deserves some sort of recognition or an applause or something:
  

--To give you the idea of their significance, my friend Joe once left a bag of 3D's and his wallet with us while he went to the bathroom at a gas station while we were traveling. His command? "Watch my 3D's!" I think that gives you an idea of the level of importance they hold with us. They are painful to share, then again I'm a bad sharer in general when it comes to food :) I think doritos had a product long ago that sort of resembles these, but I really stand by my claim that there is no comparison. But if that's what you want, I'd compare to doritos 3Ds that used to exist or perhaps a less oily bugle that is topped off with a delicious cheese flavor. I'd probably pack 50 bags of these to bring home with me if it weren't for the absurd amount of air, and thus wasted space, that is blown into these chip bags :(

• Hacer sobremesa- I've mentioned it in a previous post, but there's no direct translation so it's a tough one to explain. It means the time that you spend with a friend in a cafe, drinking coffee and eating and catching up. No wonder that expression doesn't exist in the U.S.--we're too busy that we don't have time to do things like that! I really wish that this is something I could implement into our culture...the slowness of life can really open your eyes sometimes. Not to be cheesy, but you only have one life, so I see no other way to live it other than enjoying the company you have in front of you while you can.
• The panaderías, which is essentially a bakery. I hope it's not too obvious when I return just how much I've enjoyed the sweets here, but let me tell you it has been a treat. Dulce de leche took some getting used to, but now I think it's going to be weird going back and not having it in everything sweet that I eat! I have missed our chocolate though, just like a good ole' fashioned hershey bar. 
• It sounds sad and like it wouldn't fit in this category, but I've learned to love the street dogs here. When I think about it, they never really ever bothered me. Probably because they keep to themselves for the most part and seem pretty happy. I do worry for them though as today is technically the first day of winter. Poor little pups get cold during the night, I'm sure. 
• How lucky I've been to have had a group of 15 students as special as ours. We had very minor problems together and can't wait to see when/where I see everyone down the line in our lives.

Soo, I guess this is this it?? Until tomorrow that is. But, I'm curious, how did I do with this blog? I only know for sure of a few of you who told me you were along on the adventure with me by reading about what I've been up to. I am studying journalism after all, so I hope I have at least mediocre talent in my writing. I made an attempt to keep it exciting while also being able to document for myself what I felt this experience embodied.

Ok, this feels super weird ending this. But I'll leave you with this: Un besito grande ("a big, yet little, kiss." It's gotta be one of my favorite expressions from here...), and to all my peeps who feel they may be worthy--get ready for alfajores and fernet. But really, I feel so lucky to have had all your support and kind words throughout the whole journey. Can't wait to report back IN PERSON, and I hope you all really felt it was "Like America...But South" as you rode along with me the last 3 months in Argentina. Now, please send some REAL good luck my way as I stressfully travel tomorrow, not whatever bullshit you guys sent on my way here when I temporarily lost my purse with my passport and all my money in New York ;)

Much love, Mackenzie

Finals Week

Just stopping by quick after my first final of this week, grammar. FOREVER done with that class! I really didn't like the structure of it and all of us students got frustrated with the teacher and her methods that weren't helpful for us to learn. Anyways, I have 2 more finals tomorrow which I'm not worried about and then marketing is on wednesday along with a short presentation about our 10 page paper about a marketing plan for a product. Marketing is going to be the hardest for both the paper and the final. Oh well, thank god it's a pass/no pass for me!

My blog entries are dwindling and will officially be done by this weekend. I haven't done anything for Pacovsky Photography the last couple weeks either because I have just been trying to take it easy for the remainder of my time here. Plus if I'm not feeling it, I don't want to force it--I think inspiration has to come naturally.

In the meantime, here's a funny video for some comedic relief that has been circulating around our group since we first got here. It's an SNL skit with Andy Samburg, Kristen Wiig, and Zach Galifianakis about bidets. It had us all cracking up. It's repetitive but we all still think it's funny since bidets were a new thing for us :) Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNcmtqCVVgE

The First Farewell ;(

Yesterday I had to say goodbye to one of my best friends from Argentina, Bianca. She went back home to New Jersey a week earlier than the rest of us because she has an internship awaiting her in Pennsylvania with Macy's corporate. She's awesome and smart and very business-savvy so I know she'll be successful even though she was a little nervous for it. 

Little B and I immediately clicked within the first few days here in another country when we were both scared to death and had no clue what we were doing. We were able to experience a lot of fun and new things together--like cooking an asado! (Ok not really, we just posed with the meat for the picture, but we sort of helped at least!) Basically, we have a lot of fun together. I watched her innocence shatter as she got her first body shot taken off of her by a random guy at a hostel in Mendoza (she agreed to do it for a free drink, but didn't know what a body shot entailed so she was a little scarred afterwards...but hey she got the awesome nickname of BodyShot B for the rest of the trip.) We planned the chaotic trip of Cordoba together. She talked me into paragliding for the first time over the Andes mountains in Mendoza. She always took charge with the bill when 10 of us went out to eat and had no clue how to get our separate change. We spent random days wandering around Rosario shopping and eating ice cream. She always told me how to walk home if we were somewhere off of my normal path (I get turned around really easily in directions/cities/life...) We were able to learn a lot about each other cause we have 3 out of 4 classes together, live close to each other and walked home together, and thus also always shared quite a few fun and drunken cab rides.

Speaking of which, one of those random memories you have for no reason at all is of me, Bianca and Alecea getting back from some trip late at night. From the bus station we took a cab home and were a little delusional from exhaustion. This song came on, and we all started singing along in the back seat. When I glanced up, we had the cab driver laughing and he turned it up. It was just one of those goofy memories that you carry with you and smile about when you remember it.

December, 1963 (Oh What a Night)

After going out to eat at an insanely delicious parrilla (grilling meat, what else is new?) restaurant and once again drinking a lot of wine on Wednesday night, going out again with her on Thursday night, and a secret rooftop breakfast/mimosa morning at the university on Friday morning, we finally had to say our official goodbye. Once I saw her tears rolling down, I couldn't stop my eyes from welling up too! I'm going to miss her constant smile, kind heart and caring nature that she has about her.

I've been pondering that studying abroad is like going away to camp--you are put with people that you would have never met otherwise, and amazing friendships can blossom from it. How else would I have met a girl from New Jersey who goes to school at the University of Oregon and whose main interest is color guard?! Yes, the flag flippy thing at football games. That's the thing, we never would have met and became friends unless some force of nature brought us together--and that was us separately choosing Argentina as our study abroad destination and luckily having the chance to meet. I truly believe that some people are meant to enter your life at a certain time for a reason and Bianca was one of them for me. I also believe that with true friendships, you are meant to see each other more than once in a lifetime. Although no official date is planned since she lives on both opposite sides of the country from me, I know for a fact I will be seeing her again at some point in my future.

She's already back in the states and posted on our group facebook page some advice for the trip home (always so responsible, she is) and a picture of pancakes and bacon (love and hate her for that one.) I'm glad she made it back safely and I'm excited to keep in touch with her like real friends when I can use my phone again! Funny how we all realized that we're going to want each other's cell phone numbers after this trip. Pretty crazy that we'll all be in her boat within the next week as we say our final goodbyes. I'm torn between being ready and not ready to go back to the US--can't say I won't miss the memories from this life-changing experience, however my life awaits me back home too. 

New Vocab of the Week
sótano- basement
sabanas- sheets
ser zurdo- left handed
temaso- a hit single (music)
extraterrestres- aliens
apuestas- gambling
esconder- to hide
batir un record- to break a record
recaudar fondos- to fundraise
remera- shirt (only in South America..otherwise it's camiseta)
esta/este/esto- this
esa/ese- that (always get this and the above ones mixed up!)
aquellos/aquel- those
a lo largo de- throughout
demás- the rest, and more, etc.
piloto- raincoat
morder- to bite
luto- grief
para llevar- to go (for food)
resbaladizo- slippery
inmobiliaria- real estate company
alquilar- to rent
trago- drink
jubilación- retirement
genial- great, wonderful, fantastic, brilliant
buen provecho- bon apetit!
almohada-pillow
inodoro- toilet
ascensor- elevator

Conversation Partners
Speaking of farewells, my friend from Ball State Erin and I have basically said ours to our conversation partners from the law school, Sofía and Florencia, as well. The law school planned a goodbye meet-up for us on Tuesday where we met officially for the last time and talked about what we liked/didn't like about the set-up. Then, a couple of the program directors took us to a café/bar called Be Green, where we have the option of going to lunch to use our pre-paid tickets during the week. But anyways, a big group of us went there and the program bought us all a beer which was nice and we watched the national Argentina soccer game against Ecuador. Again, way too funny to watch the Argentines in our group plus the other locals that were in the bar that night just go crazy over the game. There was another game playing too with Colombia's team, and right when we walked in the restaurant a big group of (pretty attractive guys) pointed me out and said, "Now SHE looks like she's from Colombia!" sarcastically, once again due to being a blonde here in a world of dark hair (what else is new?! what hasn't being a rubia done to me here?!) Although it was sarcastic, it was funny and I just blushed and smiled and said nothing as usual.

Anyways, Erin and I went to Sofía's apartment on Friday afternoon to cook a goodbye lunch for ourselves. However, Florencia didn't show up and her phone was off when we tried to call so we aren't sure what happened with her. She's older, like 25, and doesn't have a facebook and already graduated and works as a lawyer, so maybe something came up with work. She definitely looks like she's 16 though! Moral of the story, all 4 of us will probably end up meeting up once more next week so we can all be together one last time. It's sad to say goodbye to them because we live in different countries! How can you determine when we'll see each other next? Sofía and a few others from the law school have inquired to our director about starting up the program again so that the study abroad goes both ways, meaning they would have the option to go to the states (U of Oregon) if they wanted. It'll be interesting to see where that goes and if they can start up the program again. They used to have that option, but when things got so expensive with inflation and the students would pay the same as we did for only 5 weeks of travel without scholarships, it got cancelled. I really like Sofía and I think Erin and I get along with her best. She's younger like us, speaks English really well so we have the option of talking both languages, and I think she used to do dance of some kind so she is also interested in gymnastics and followed the Olympics and stuff. She also loves Queen, Green Day, and American rock--doesn't like any music from Argentina she said. "Bohemian Rhapsody" is her favorite song.

Me and Sofía paddle boating. Excuse the sun ring over my eyeball. If the whole lawyer thing doesn't work out, she could always take up modeling....

Americans on the left, Argentine's on the right

Música
I talked a little about music in this post tonight, so I figure I might as well continue the trend with the small playlist I'm bringing home with me. The big forms of music here are cumbia (kinda the upbeat pop/party music like we have), reggaeton, and rock nacional. As I mentioned before though, the 80s music from the USA is a big deal here too. Also, as they are a little behind, when we first got here in March Gangnam Style was like a huge deal--which was a big deal in the fall for us! Anyways, here's a good list I think you should listen to for an idea of what I hear cars bumpin' in the streets, what's played in boliches, or what has been suggested to me/I've found on my own!

Let's Party!
Calabria Remix (funny because this was a popular floor music for gymnastics a few years back)
Nene Malo/Como Me Gusta la Noche (it's got a lot going on, but it's catchy!)
Limbo (Not your average limbo song, but you actually create a human limbo with your friends in the club during this one. and it has almost 105 million views on youtube. WHAT?!)
Fuera - all the girls go crazy for this song when it comes on! Complete with the flick of the wrist arm movement that can be seen during soccer games.

Chill it Down a Bit
Mirenla- Argentine rock nacional
Quiero Verte Bailar- I like this one :) Even though judging by the picture during the vid I think they may be the Spanish version of One Direction but that's fine.
Un Nuevo Sol- Axel is Argentine, pop singer I'd guess?
Paisaje- another Argentine. We listened to this in conversation class and had a discussion about it one day.

Upbeat/My Inner Lady-Rapper
Te Pintaron Pajaritos- Argentine cumbia by El Villano. All our law school friends played it a lot at previas.
Atrevete te te- so yeah, some of the music vids are graphic, but what else is new these days?
Muerte en Hawaii- same group as above, Calle 13. Not sure the Argentines like them so much, but for latin american music in general, they are pretty popular.
Corazón Mentiroso- another girl power ballad by Karina, who also sings "Fuera." She dates a famous soccer player, so that's what made her a famous singer. She's not horrible though, I guess.

I've got a few more songs in my playlist but these are the highlights. Looking back, these should remind me the most of my stay here in Argentina. I think I'm gonna call it a night--I have a semi-big day tomorrow planned with preparing for FINALS WEEK. Can't believe I am saying that already. But hey, an early happy father's day to my dad tomorrow! Can't wait to see you in almost exactly a week. Looking forward to some cabin nights for the remainder of my summer :)

And Here I Write of 12 Weeks of Language Observation

Before I get into my original thought, I gotta say that only in South America would you learn that a soccer team won the game not by watching the news or listening to the radio...but by all the cars that start honking to a beat outside! To officially confirm it, I opened the window and heard the occasional "Dale Newell's!" Many things I'll miss about this country, and enthusiasm is definitely one big part. I think in the states a lot of us are afraid to show emotion out of embarrassment, shyness or courtesy to avoid making others feel uncomfortable or whatever else it may be. I think I'm guilty of that sometimes. Here it is embraced and I think that's cool. Gotta respect it.

Anyways, what inspired me to blog today was a video that one of my friends found and I immediately thought had to share it. It had me laughing quite a bit at the reality of it. I realize that if you don't speak Spanish, especially Spanish from Argentina specifically, it won't make much sense, but it may be entertaining to you nonetheless. Or at least informational to get an idea of what I repeatedly hear here with the language! Just like the tumblr page from one of my other recent posts, this is SO TRUE. I thought it was just stuff that we as a study abroad group picked up on, but apparently this guy and an audience of over 1 million viewers watched and probably thought the same. Before you watch and waste time staring and wondering like I did, yes, I think he's wearing a wig. 

Here it is: Things that Argentinians Say According to a Yankee (what they call people from the U.S., although I've tried to tell the Argentinians that we don't really identify with Yankee unless you're from New York. But hey what do I know? No matter what I say isn't going to change the mind of everyone here that uses the word.) Whenever we meet new people, they go on calling us "Shawn-keys" as they pronounce it. Whatever :)

Explanation of Highlights/The Whole Thing in Which We Died Laughing:

• "boludo" direct translation is idiot, but it essentially means asshole. You can say it nicely in a joking manner with friends, like "Ché mi boludo!" (Hey my asshole friend!) but of course in a mean way it can be an insult. 
• "Escúchame" over and over and over again ("listen to me"...one of those conversation fillers)
• "esteeee..." another conversation filler that I probably hear the most of anything else. It's our version of "ummm.."
• Freaking out during anything soccer related or anything that interferes with it...like a commercial on TV. Going along with that are the expressions "Dale!" (Let's go!") and "la concha de tu madre!" in soccer.
• All the hand gestures and the drama in his voice throughout the video is spot-on.
• Me entendés?= "do you understand?" Yuppy is a frequent user when she's trying to explain something to me.
• "Ya fue" means "forget about it, nevermind" and it's yet another common expression
• The sipping noise with the metal bombilla (straw) in the mate (traditional drink)
• "Ojo/Ojito/Ojitito"all mean "look out." Whenever you add "ito" or "itito" to a word, it means making it smaller. For example, ojito=look out a little and ojitito=look out an itty bitty bit. It makes sense for more material items like a reloj=relojito (little clock) and not so much in this case, yet all Argentinian's use all 3 forms. I think that's what makes it funny--all essentially mean the same. The pulling down on the eye is essential if you're gonna say this to someone, like our culture topics professor Stela does to us on a daily basis.
• Pasa por acá- "it happens here" or "pass here"...hard to explain this one but I hear it a lot
• Que bárbaro- "How fantastic!"
• Talking about leche=milk. It's all about the carne (meat), leche, azúcar (sugar), café (coffee), pan (bread) and anything of that sort here! An expression I've invented that I think should be implemented more here is "la panza de pan" (bread belly)...rolls off the tongue for both languages, doesn't it? Thank god I found a gym here, and I say that in the most unsure/insecure way possible as I prepare to come back for the summer swimsuit season..yay... In my defense, trying to be healthy only goes so far when you don't have much control over meal choices :/ For which reason I give you these:

Replace cupcake with alfajore and call it golden. I'm bringing those back as gifts so you'll soon understand.

• Sos/Vos= verb usage that only exists in Argentina and occasionally other South American countries. The vos form means tú, which means "you." Sos is the form for eres, which means "you are."
• Nene/nena/pibe- babies/kids/children 
• Tranqui= short for "tranquilo," which means calm.
• Buena onda= cool, good-looking, getting along with someone. Lots of meanings.
• "No, por favor"= "No, please" an expression you say to someone to be polite. The use of "Pooorr favorrrr" super dramatically is used as well and always makes me laugh. For example, I went to the top of the flag monument with my conversation partners a couple weeks ago and they had binoculars to get a closer look at the all the surrounding buildings. One of the girls, Florencia, saw that there was a pool on top of one of the roofs and said "Mira eso! Cómo pueden pensar que es necesario?? Porrrr favorrrrr!" and shook her head. ("Look at this! How can they think that this is necessary! Pleasseeee!") It's like us saying, "Puhhh-leaseeee" and rolling our eyes at a situation, but they always use it in such minor situations that they get super worked up about which makes it comical.
• "Noo, esa es una mentira!"="No, that's a lie!" isn't usually used literally, mostly when you can't believe something someone is telling you because it's so outrageous.
• "Un beso"= "a kiss" as a salutation. Yuppy always says to me or anyone she says goodbye to on the phone "Chau, chau, un beso, suerte, suerte, besos" and I am not exaggerating. Suerte means like good luck with your day. Little things like that make my day!

Woofta, too much learning for you all? I think I like to analyze a lot. When I'm an outsider to a foreign language, it's all I have to pick up on sometimes! Okay sorry, I think I need to get the rest of the word usage stuff out of my system since I've been here. Hang in there! This is more for my benefit although I'm not sure it entertains any of you :/

The Never-Ending Lunfardo (Slang) of Rosario/Argentina

As fun as it is to learn, it's difficult because there sometimes is no direct translation so we have to learn more about the use of it in everyday contexts. Also, other Spanish-speakers in the states will have no clue what I'm talking about when I use it...but oh well.

• •                Okay this isn't really slang, but as graffiti we've seen D10s written in a few places (Dios=god with the number 10 in it). Our conversation professor Karina explained this relates to fútbol, which I should have known. #10 is like the sacred jersey--a number reserved for the "Gods" of soccer. For example, Messi and Diego Maradona, who was like the earlier Messi from Argentina back in the day.
• •                In addition to "que lindo," which is the most popular phrase here, there's also "que hermoso" which all essentially mean how cool, awesome, fantastic something is.
• •                "Hacer el aguante" can be used in many different contexts, but from what I understand it means "to have an interest in something" or "to support someone." Yes, those are completely different meanings, which is why learning slang is so difficult! Google translate gives me the following for the verb aguantar: to support, stand up for, endure, put up with, etc. I think it means you either won't put up with something or that you will endure a hardship with a friend, meaning "I'm here for you."
• •                "laburar/laburo"= to work, job. Usually trabajar/trabajo is used in Spanish, but Argentinians use this verb/noun instead. With the English word "labor," obviously this one isn't too difficult to understand or remember.
• •                "Dinero" is used rarely for money and more frequently I've heard "plata," "guita" or "cash."
• •                Instead of "cigarillo," I've heard "pucho" or "faso" for that nasty habit that practically everyone has here...
• •                Calling someone a "mina" is a piropo, or flirtatious compliment. The word is closely related to mining for precious stones, so the translation I came up with is our use of "what a gem" to describe someone.
• •                "Buen mozo" means a good-looking man, but "mozo" also could mean a "waiter" at a restaurant, so use that one with caution?
• •                 "Mira vos"= "look at you" in the semi-sarcastic sense when you do something cool. We use it more sarcastically I think because I've realized sarcasm doesn't really exist here.
• "Pobrecito!"="you poor thing!"

• "No me digas!"= "you don't say/you're kidding me!"
• el facha- good-looking. There's so much slang for talking about people's looks!
• Nada que ver- "nothing to do with/they didn't correspond"
• Qué sé yo- instead of saying "no sé" this is a common filler for "I don't know." Yuppy uses it a lot!
• Por la duda- Yuppy always uses this to tell me each night that she'll leave breakfast early in the morning for me. "Por la duda, dejaré el desayuno en la mesa" meaning like "I don't know what time you'll wake up for class, but I'll leave breakfast on the table.." which is almost always a piece of fruit that I take, bread with butter/dulce de leche/jam, and coffee with milk.

FOOOOOODDD!

Gotta say, something I majorly cannot wait to get back to is our American food. There's such variety and flavor! Part of me wants to come home and just gorge myself on all the food I've been craving and go absolutely insane and feel no shame. However, I would like to be in decent shape for the summer and not be mistaken for a beached whale so I'm a little torn, hence the above images from before. I'll have to manage to find a happy medium I suppose. For the record, what I would potentially consider selling my soul for right now:

-bacon

-waffles

-syrup

-cheddar, parmesan or bleu cheese

-corn on the cob

-oatmeal

-avocado

-frank's hot sauce
-these are not in any particular order, and if someone mixed all of it together, I'd probably try it. That's the desperation level right now.

 I don't know what came over me last night, but I literally sat on pinterest for hours torturing myself and pinned about 50 new recipes I found. I sat in my bed with a frown on my face, my tummy rumbling and uncontrollably salivating. I wish this were a joke but it's not. My pins ranged from quinoa salads, butterfinger cake, spaghetti squash alfredo, lemon blueberry bread, apple almond fudge, spicy crab stuffed cucumber cups, garlic mashed cauliflower, avocado/spinach grilled cheese, bacon/jalapeno deviled eggs and red wine/garlic mushrooms--I DON'T EVEN LIKE HARD BOILED EGGS OR MUSHROOMS! And I would still eat them right now! 

Don't get me wrong, Argentine food is good, but it lacks variety and flavor which is exactly what I miss from home. All of this that I've been eating is all tasting like the same old bland stuff. I like that Yuppy mixes it up quite a bit for dinner though. Part of me wants to get more into cooking and baking when I return to the U.S. Maybe take some classes? At the very least I would like to cook more recipes on my own. A girl's gotta learn! I think it's fun to do, too, I just never dedicate much time to it but I want to make an effort from now on. Someone hold me to this!

I'm going to leave you all with that for tonight. It's now less than 2 weeks that I have remaining in this country. Already talked to my dad about my flight times and him picking me up from the airport today--craziness! My good friend Bianca is leaving a week early on Friday and has to take all her finals early this week. She said she's getting sadder and sadder that less than a week remains for her--she is returning to New Jersey for 1 day to pack up/say goodbye to her family and boyfriend, and then she's off to start an amazing internship for Macy's in Pennsylvania the next day. I'm going to be sad to see her go! I've gotten really close to her and Alecea since we've met here. Luckily us 3 lived close by and always planned together with cabs and such. I think us girls in the group are going out to dinner/wine on Wednesday to say goodbye, and also an unapproved picnic on the roof of the school is planned for Friday morning to wish her off.

I don't know if I'm ready for these goodbyes! To the country, the other Americans, my host mom, the Argentine students we've met, etc. At least I'll be taking quite a bit back with me from what I've learned, but I think an itty bitty piece of me will remain in this country I've called home for 3 months too. Going to live it up while I can though!

Besos,

Mackenzie

Las Saltas/Las Cascadas/LAS CATARATAS!

Without wasting any time, I'm just gonna jump right into talking about Iguazú! Let's begin with a quick video that I was able to take before my camera practically started sparking from the rain...not really but I was afraid that was gonna happen at any moment...

I can hardly believe the force of the falling water. It was so loud too! I've probably said it about a million times now, but I think it was just so incredible. Unfortunately due to the rain a lot of my experience couldn't be captured on film but here's the facebook album anyway:
 "Do you think they sell mates here?" Rosario/Iguazú/Grande Finale FB Album

Also, I think to get a visual of it all can also be shown by lovely before and after shot...

Nice and dry in front of La Garganta del Diablo...

Anddd a couple hours later...wet dog status.

Despite the rain, going to the national park was easily my favorite day. But before we dedicated a full day to that on Saturday, we did quite a few other activities as well. Here's the breakdown:

The Horrid Bus Ride: Considering it was about 40 hours total roundtrip on a bus, I'd say "the horrid bus ride" deserves its own little section and explanation. The excitement on the way there made the time pass quite a bit faster than on the way back, but it was still miserable trying to get comfortable to sleep throughout the night. It must have been some intense sleeping too because somehow, someway, there's a little tear in my tiger neck pillow :( I was also a little concerned about permanent damage to my blood circulation with some of the positions I was falling asleep in. I awoke countless times without being able to feel the lower half of my body, so I'd say that's probably never a good thing. The seats did recline a little bit, but nothing like the big double-decker buses we took to Córdoba and Mendoza. Plus the seats are just less cushy and roomy in general. Then on the ride back to Rosario...my god...the smell. All of us had packed away our wet clothes/shoes from the day before when we were walking around the park drenched all day and it just started to smell like moldy gym clothes. Mix that with everyone's sleeping breath in a tight space and basically just call it death. Whenever we stopped at a gas station and then got back on the bus, the rancidness only increased it seemed. So yeah, overall the bus wasn't the most enjoyable situation. But hey, probably worth it to be able to see 1 of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World (are you getting sick of hearing me say that yet??)

Visiting the Ruins of Las Misiones: We did this on Thursday morning after driving all night and stopping for breakfast in San Ignacio, a town about 3 hours from Iguazú. It was a chilly, foggy morning so that sort of added the effect of it all. Pretty wild to look at structures that were built so long ago. I've noticed that the rich red dirt is all throughout Argentina and is basically like a dye--it's still on the white parts of my tennis shoes!

Rock Repelling/Ziplining: For starters, this is what we rode around in on this chilly morning--

Unfortunately I don't have many pictures of the action of doing the rock repelling or ziplining, but both were pretty awesome and new firsts for me. The rock repelling wasn't very scary in comparison to my paragliding experience! Plus when it was all said and done it literally lasted less than 30 seconds. You're at the top and then before you know it you're hopping down the rock and then you're at the bottom. As for the ziplining, there were 3 different stations that you zip to. That was really cool cause we were between all the trees and stuff in the jungle. I personally preferred the ziplining over the rock repel and I think most of the others in our group would say the same.

3 Borders: Of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, that is. I think this simple map shows the relation of where the falls and the countries are to make it more clear for you all:

Iguazú Park: Woah man, where to begin. Insane! As I've mentioned before, the rain was a little bit of a downer, but I don't think it took away too much from the amazing sight I was able to see. Definitely made me realize how special this experience is that I have in Argentina in general and how lucky I am to be able to say I've visited! Whenever I've seen pictures it's normally of the big part, La Garganta del Diablo, but I honestly had no clue about all the other subsets of waterfalls that run through the park as well. Those are pretty immense and tall as well, just without the major force that La Garganta has. Along with the aspect of rain, the majority of the people in my program are from Oregon--hence it is always raining there. One day when it rained here in Rosario I heard one of them say, "Aww, this weather is making me miss home." That sort of blew my mind, because I think that affiliating the rain as an object of comfort is a little repulsive. Who likes to be wet and cold?! Not me. I guess they could say the same for me with the frozen tundra/snowland that is Minnesota. I guess it's all about what is familiar to us. However, all of them were probably a bit more comfortable than me because they have these fancy legit Northface's (but raincoat material. I've explained that I have a Northface too... but it's fleece so that certainly wouldn't help me out even if I had brought it to Argentina...) I am also out of the Oregonian loop because I don't own one of those ridiculously large hiker's backpacks, of which I do not even wish for a second that I had. Anyways, I was thankful that I had Yuppy's "raincoat," which I am putting in quotations because it did not keep out hardly any water as a raincoat should, but it was an extra layer and better than nothing so I don't want to complain too much. I tried to put on my happy face when I was soaking wet and shivering, but for some parts of the day it was challenging. Seeing the waterfalls made me feel better though, I'll say that much. I wanted the view of a big ole' rainbow too, but what can ya do? My experience was certainly unique and memorable. Just look! As my Grandma Boomer would say, "Wow-eeee!"

Photo taken by my friend Greg. Love the GREEN!

Other than the falls, I wasn't quick enough or even able to take out my camera for some of the animals we saw. I was surprised any were even out in the open due to the rain but they were! We saw an alligator, an anteater-like creature, a huge pack of bunny/guinea pig-like creatures, one of those crazy wild monkeys with a long tail that you do not dare touch or feed because they claw and bite, and also some birds. Clearly I'm not bit into details cause I don't know the names of any of these. Oops and oh well. I can only remember so much!
In Our Free Time: We had a pool at our hotel! And a little bar where we could buy wine and beer. Enough said.

New Vocab!
anuncios- advertisements
arma de doble filo- double edged sword
milagro- miracle
la pulga- flea
peludo- hairy
desabrido- bland
rebasa/oferta- deal
destacarse- to stand out
irse- to go away, to leave
pasota- indifferent
merienda/merendar- snack, to snack
quejarse/queja- to complain, complaint
pilas- batteries
mojado- wet
maloliente- smelly
trueno- thunder
relámpago- lightning
conseguir- to get
disminuir- to diminish
arengar- to cheer on
prolongación eléctrica/zapatilla- power strip
cronómetro- stopwatch
advertir- to warn
timbre- doorbell

I think all that pretty much wraps up the trip! Looking ahead now, I only have 16 days remaining in Argentina :( We have nixed the trip to Uruguay this weekend because it was looking to be more expensive than we originally anticipated, so I think I'm done with any major travel until I come back to the USA on June 22. Within the last week I've been in contact with friends and family quite a bit and I have loved this experience but am also excited for the experience that awaits me when I return. I've learned so much about a new culture, a new language, a new country, and mostly myself. I know it's not over yet so I don't want to get into any major wrapping up of my thoughts just yet, but I'm starting to get to that point of reflection of everything I've gone through thus far and trying to make sense of it all. I'm not sure that's every really going to be possible though because when I return to the states, it doesn't mean the journey isn't still continuing, you know? I'd like to think I'll keep in touch with the people I've met and maybe we'll all follow through with a planned reunion over in Oregon. I've never been, so I don't see why not?! Plus I've really enjoyed getting to know the people in my program and would like to see them again at some point in my life! We were all on this crazy ride in South America together and I think that's definitely something special that we shared.

All right all right, I think I'm getting a little too in-depth here with my thoughts, but I think you get the gist. All of this is once-in-a-lifetime, so I think I'm trying to get out every last detail of what happens here and what I'm thinking. I suppose that's the point of a blog, right? Now that I'm all hyped up on this giant chocolate bar I just ate while typing this (surprise, surprise...), a little bit more of homework awaits me. I'll be back at some point to talk about something! There's always something :)

The Week Before Iguazu Happenings...

Hellooo everybody! I have officially returned from my Iguazu trip but would first like to dedicate a post to other things that occurred the week before that. No worries, I will tell you all about the adventure trip tomorrow or Wednesday on a specially designated post.

For those of you who can't wait, here's a preview into Iguazu Falls, one of the 7 natural wonders of the world: First, I repelled down a rock in the jungle and ziplined through the rainforest. The big day was seeing all the waterfalls at the national park, including La Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat) in a torrential downpour and thunderstorm that lasted the entire day. Due to that last detail, pictures are unfortunately limited, so I'm jacking an amazing one from my friend Ethan that he snagged on his phone!

Incredible, right? Now it's time to shift your mind a little as I continue to tell you what went on the week before Iguazu!

Thursday:  One of my really good friends here, Bianca, had her family come visit from the states for the week. Since she and I and a few others of us have been slacking on the boliche (dance club) scene, she wanted to go to one of the larger ones near the river, called La Fluvial. I met her boyfriend that she's had since middle school for the first time after hearing so much about him so that was cool. I personally have more fun at previas/kioscos when it's just our group drinking and we can talk to each other, but I suppose it's good to go out and experience the night life every once in awhile. Afterwards, we learned that Thursday nights are student night so we thought there would be people our age there instead of the older crowd, but we now had the opposite problem with student night meaning high schoolers! I'm not kidding when I say I saw a 14-year-old guy on the dance floor with a Minnesota Vikings tshirt (whaaattt?? and whyy?) and also a poor girl sitting in a booth passed out with puke all around her. She had a friend nearby standing/dancing by her and I asked what she is going to do with her and she stupidly said in Spanish, "I don't know, she's my best friend in the whole world, ya know? What can I do?" Welllllll, for starters, you could vacate her from the club so she doesn't make a bigger fool of herself or DIE for crying out loud. I glanced back in that general area about 15 minutes later and they were both gone, so hopefully they left or got help. Other than seeing all that, it was fun for all of us to hang out that night even though it was practically amateur hour but oh well, what can ya do. It's the same as going out to any bar, some nights are super fun and others kinda suck and there's not really an explanation for why.
Saturday:  This was the double-decker party bus night for Phillip's birthday! With that description, I don't know how it could not be fun. There's not really much to say about it other than we all had a great time riding around for 3 hours with all the lights and a DJ. Just to give you an image, the interior walls even had pink faux-fur. Then around midnight the bus dropped us off at a boliche called Lotus and we got a table there for all of us. The plan was to eat before any more drinking went on, but the kitchen closed right before we got there I guess. My friend Joe's boyfriend Juan is from Argentina and is fluent in both Spanish and English so he was able to be stern and persuade the waiter to at least bring him a pizza. I got to know him pretty well that night and sat next to him so he was nice enough to share a slice with me. Nothing is better than when you've been drinking and someone is able to get you food! In addition to our program group of 15, there were about 3 others from another program based out of Pittsburgh, some of which share host families with the people in our program. Then there were our friends/conversation partners from the law school and Phillip's friends he met from the gym that most of us go to. They were the ones who set up the whole deal for a free table at the boliche. I had a wayyy better time at Lotus in comparison to La Fluvial--you could go in one room where they had a live band playing mostly rock/pop music from the USA, or on the other side was the DJ with all the techo/latin/cumbia beats. Overall the night was a success and very fun--who all can say they rode in a party bus in South America?! Now I can so HA!
Sunday: Finally got out to see Rosario's other club team, Newell's Old Boys, in a soccer match! We played La Boca from Buenos Aires and crushed them 4-0. I think it's always more fun and safer when we win :) And we must be good luck because Central won when we went to their game too. Before the game we went to a bar to hang out with our law school friends who were taking us, and it was so cute because Miguel made us all little slips of paper with the fight songs on them so we could practice. We loved it! Another video of the craziness for your viewing pleasure: "DALE NEWELLS!" (let's go Newells!) Notice the hand motion that everyone does. It's all about the flick of the wrist!

Judging by my two experiences, the consistencies with any soccer game is hearing "la concha de tu madre!" over and over and over again, but at Newell's a nice old lady behind me also threw in a few "la concha de tu tía/hermana/prima!" (the *bleep/expletive* of your aunt/sister/cousin) so that was a new mashup! Also the chain-smoking was present here as well. I had a great time at this game, but I think the experience of Central was overall better because we had no clue what to expect, we were excited for our first game, we were taken there in the back of a pickup truck because la cancha (stadium) isn't within walking distance, etc. Still really fun to see both teams though! Some more photos from the game...

I like the makeshift booster seats for all the little kids...
aka tying your sweatshirt to the fence and sitting in it!

In addition to super high fences and barbed wire galore,
there's also the nasty, green, water-filled trench to separate
the diehard fans from getting on the field. Can't imagine
that at an American football stadium! 

Me and my friends :) In the background you can see more seating which
is crazy because when you're on the outside of the stadium, you can see the
people on the very, very top's backs! Meaning there is no backrest and if they
leaned back they would fall to their death onto concrete. So many things here
are NOT legitimate in the slightest. The netting in the back is also where they
quarantine the away team...probably not a bad idea. All for the love of soccer I guess?!

New Vocab List
espuma- foam
estornudar- to sneeze
"guau guau"- "woof woof" noise for dog
sacudir- to shake
llano- flat
garganta- throat
domar- to tame
rascarse- to scratch
terremoto- earthquake
ortografía- spelling
canasta- basket
invisible- bobbypin
enterrar- to bury
pozo- hole in the ground
agujero- hole in object i.e. clothes or paper
cansancio- exhaustion
resaca- hangover
huéspedes- guests
ser de mal gusto- something done in bad taste
prolijo- neat/tidy
dañar- to harm
soldados- soldiers
compromiso- promise
promocionar- to promote

Sooo I've Bought Some Stuff.......Warning: Having a Girl Moment!!!

2 scarves (love the white lace-like fringe and the
rich green color!), my first pair of ankle cowgirl-ish
boots, AND my lovely leather jacket. Feels like
it was made just for me...mission accomplished!

Argentina national soccer team jersey, cow bone
earrings, and *gasp!* My first mate cup! Got it
in Iguazu--it's quite the process to find the perfect mate
that matches your personality. This one is a pretty
blue with a strip of bark in it. Me gusta.

Had to get a bigger across-the-body purse for my camera so I could safely
carry it around in the city. Then my funky green sneakers with studs :)
Sorry Mom if you're reading, but I'm sure you're shaking your head at the
shoes right now...all that matters is I like them!

Can you hear the shopping angels singing? Me neither, but they should be. Maybe it looks like a lot, but considering I've been here for almost 3 months I'd say I did pretty well limiting myself. I'm still going to go to the market in the park one last time for some more gifts for people/I want a ring. Then a stop at the bombonería (chocolatier) to bring home bulk alfahores and other treats, the grocery store for chimichurri sauce/a bottle of fernet (the national liquor) and I think I'll be done with material item purchases! Oh, and I want to stop at this artisan shop I pass every day on my street just to see what they've got. It has been intriguing me. Don't quote me on any of that though :)

To Leave You, Here's Something That Could Not Be More Accurate. And it's hilarious:
http://whenyouliveinargentina.tumblr.com/page/4
--There's 5 pages to it so click around if it interests you, but I think I can relate to page 4 the most. Personal favorite is Lebron "when you realize your wallet is missing"--thank god that hasn't happened to me! Anyways, some of these may be study abroad inside jokes, but it definitely defines part of the experience so far!