A little about my weekend--Well, to start we stayed in Rosario and didn't have a travel weekend, which is sort of a relief sometimes to know we'll be able to relax a little. Although there's always so much going on that I want to take advantage of that I don't really get to rest! On Friday my friend Alecea invited me and 2 other girls from our group to go out with her host brother Damion, who is about 25 years old. As funny as it sounds (and it is funny because it's totally true) she warned me that he looks like a viking. To validate that statement, I saw for myself he's practically a giant with a bunch of facial hair and could give the NFL MN Vikings mascot, if we even have one?, a run for his money. For the first time ever I felt safe walking in the streets at night because he could probably stop a bus with his pinky if he wanted to. Anyways, we went to a previa (my 67-year old host mother explained to me a couple weeks ago that that is the "pre-game" of drinking before you go to the bars!) at Damion's friend's house which was really fun. There were quite a bit of people and it's always fun to talk to people in Spanish/English about what's popular here in Argentina and back in the U.S. to find similarities/differences. I also like being at people's houses because I'm just used to being in an apartment in this city. At 2am we then left for the bar that Damion and his friends go to every weekend. I gotta say, I felt very uncool because of how hipster it was. Everyone had the big-rimmed glasses, plaid shirts, combats boots, dark colors, dark hair, red lipstick thing going on and here were 4 American girls, 3 of them blonde, on the dance floor! We all still had the greatest time though and they played all this "counter-culture" music (definitely no pop or cumbia) all from the 80s-90s! Go figure. We're talkin Whitney Houston, the musical Grease, Smash Mouth, Aerosmith, etc.! It was fun to dance to songs I knew for a change. Most of the guys were really nice but as they got drunker they began creeping quite a bit so we ended up parting ways around 5:30 am to head home (new record!) We did meet a guy that looks EXACTLY like Fez from That 70s Show. He didn't speak any English but when we asked him in Spanish if he had seen the show, he said, "You're going to tell me I look like Fez, aren't you?" but it is so true! He was the butt of every joke and super crazy so the personality matched as well. Here's a pic, he's of course the smiley tan one in the back:
Saturday night I was initially planning to go to my friend Bianca's house for a movie/girls night, but Yuppy actually had her family over and we for once ate dinner at the normal Argentine hour, which is about 9:30-10:00. Pretty late for what I'm used to, except for those of you that have experienced the practically midnight dinners with my Dad and Shelly. Anyways, the night was a success and I had SUCH fun time meeting her two daughters for the first time (Andrea, 40; Marcella, 39, although they look much much younger.) I also met Marcella's boyfriend Jose who was quite the character as well as Andrea's two sons, Pío (13) and Ciro (10). Yuppy warned me I would hardly be able to understand the boys because they mumble and talk so fast--she was definitely right. She constantly had to remind them to slow down when she saw the blank look on my face during conversations. She said that she can't even understand them sometimes, so imagine how difficult it was for me! As the night went on I was able to understand the boys better and everything was just so fun, and they also brought their little white dog, Lupita. They have 4 dogs and 2 hamsters at their house about 45 minutes away from Rosario, and what I saw from pictures they have a very nice house with a big yard and a pool. Between the adults, we all drank a lot of wine (the boys attempted since that's socially acceptable here by adding a little bit of wine into a lot of water, but eventually they just wanted plain water instead.) I watched Yuppy get smashed for the first time which was hilarious, and Marcella's boyfriend Jose was totally egging her on the whole time since he's basically like the crazy uncle already. After Yuppy opened the 4th bottle of wine at 1:30 a.m., she kept telling me we had to finish it now that is was open, so every 2 minutes she'd ask if I wanted more even if my glass was still practically full! In the morning she told me she was hungover since of course she is tiny and I've never even seen her drink hardly before. Too funny.
The little boys reminded me of my little cousins and after dinner we spent a long time on the Youtube showing each other music that we like. Ciro, the younger one, basically looks like a 10-year-old Justin Bieber with the hair and everything. He showed me some pictures that he draws and he's a really good artist! He's young enough where he's still outgoing and liked to ask me a bunch of questions consecutively like, "Do you know this song? Do you like David Guetta? What is fútbol called in the United States again? Did you know that I'm going to Disney World in a few months? Does cumbia exist in the U.S.? Can you speak in English so I can hear you talk?" I still really liked talking to both of them though. Neither of the boys know much English though, only a few words. Pío is at the age where he's shy and hates everything except sports and electronica music (Shrillex is his favorite), and Yuppy calls him a pavo (turkey), which I thought was funny. I showed both of them my glory days of old gymnastics videos and they thought that was super cool. I told them that they both need to learn English in school because they like American music but don't know what the lyrics are saying! In the end, the family didn't end up leaving until around 2:30 am, and I'll get to see them again one of these weekends when we go to visit Andrea's house. I was a little nervous for the night with the thought of being overwhelmed with the Spanish but I think I handled myself well as soon as I got used to it. I'm excited to see them again within the next couple weeks!
The People That Argentines Are Super Proud of These Days
1. Messi, the famous soccer player that plays for Spain right now was born in Rosario. Quite a few locals, like taxi drivers, have pointed out to me the high-rise apartment he still has here in the city.
2. Pope Francis, of course! I think he's visiting in the Argentine summer--opposite seasons from U.S.--so I'll be long gone by then and miss it.
Blast From The Past:
It isn't a bad thing, but for whatever reason we've realized everything is about 10-20 years behind here. For example:
1. Blackberrys instead of iPhones, although they do have iPods. I don't mind, but I think I've explained the difference between an Ipod, Iphone and Ipad to Yuppy about 10 times now. She is a grandma after all :) But to her credit, the difference between the vowels 'o' and 'a' sound pretty similar in Spanish.
2. Rollerblading is all the rage (although I shouldn't talk because I love rollerblading back home)
3. Old school rock is adored by all ages! There's merchandise, restaurants, clothes, tribute bands, etc. all related to the era of AC/DC, The Beatles, Madonna, Queen, The Rolling Stones, Led Zepplin, and every other hair band out there. I always feel special knowing all the words to these songs and knowing that (mostly) my country produced the content that people love so much.
More New Words
pitufos- smurfs
celoso- jealous
verguenza- embarrassed
embarazada- pregnant
aprobar- to pass (a test)
veranear- to spend time in summer
castigar- to punish
monja- nun
Me da igual- it's the same to me
crucigrama- crossword puzzle
denunciar- to accuse
ojeras- bags under eyes
ya fue- nevermind
alimentar- to feed
lamer- to lick
escamas- scales
leñador- lumberjack
vida diaria- daily life
cargar- to charge
cierre- zipper
perfeccionar- to perfect
vago- lazy
tengo prisa- I'm in a hurry
domar- to tame
letra- lyrics
parir- to bare a child
pulsar- to click
English Influence
When I intentionally think about it, it's hard to remember if we in the U.S. have as strong of a Spanish language influence as Argentina does here with English. Excluding garbage like "fiesta," "taco," or "nachos." The strong influence has surprised me, because I sort of assumed that every country despises the U.S. and everything about us, but our entertainment industry has a big calling here. Some observations...
1.) A few English words they use instead of whatever translation my Spanish teachers have given me back in the states: show, look (like the look of how someone is dressed), trailer (movie trailer), tupper (tupperware. By the way I silently laugh inside at the way Yuppy tells me that my dinner is in the "Tupper" in her Spanish accent), jeans, shopping, super (as in super market) and I'm sure there's more but it's hard to think of them on the spot.
2.) So many people love The Simpsons. Of all things American that we have, really? The SIMPSONS? Sorry Argentina, but there's better stuff out there. But to their credit Argentina does also translate a lot of our movies and tv shows with subtitles or voiceovers, like Two and a Half Men or The Big Bang Theory.
3.) So many people also love Woody Allen movies. I'm not huge into movies so maybe he's popular everywhere, but Yuppy told me whenever he has a movie that comes out she goes to see it at the theater. I thought it was just her but I've heard my professors reference him too.
4.) A girl we met this weekend on Friday, Rosarie, has natural blonde hair and dressed like the cutest little hipster ever. We told her she looks like a hipster and she totally knew what we were talking about and seemed a little shy, but I think deep down she knew it was a compliment that meant mission accomplished! She told us all about the American music she likes, stuff like The Black Keys and more alternative stuff. She said she doesn't like Argentine music very much, especially cumbia which is like our hip-hop with very vulgar lyrics and "provocative" beats and such. Some of the law students also said they don't like Argentine movies or tv shows because the acting isn't as good and they haven't perfected sound quality very well yet. It's even annoying to me on tv when the voiceovers don't match the way the lips are moving and the tones of voices never really match the actor either.
5.) Back in the day I've learned about the Quinciniera (15th birthday) which is really popular in Mexico, but they don't call it that here in Argentina. Just "Quince." What's similar is that they do have a big celebration for the birthday though, and that usually includes going to Disney World in Florida. When we ask the people we've met here that are our age if they've been to the U.S., almost all of them say yes and that it was to Disney for their bday. Woo fun-facts.
6.) Us students frequently joke around saying stuff like "'MERICA," usually in reference to stupid things we embrace as a nation, for example obesity and bacon. If you don't know what I'm talking about, this image below should sum it up for you...
As funny as I find all this, just an FYI that if you visit South America, it's probably best to say USA when referring to our nation because technically South America has 'America' in it too, of course. None of us have offended anyone or anything like that but it has just been brought to our attention in our culture topics class. Seems blatantly obvious but I guess I had never thought of it in that way because I've never been here in S. America before. I guess this is part of the "eye-opening" experience of learning other cultures!
In the Spirit of Midterms, Here's Tidbits of Info About My Classes:
Conversation: This has been my favorite class so far. Probably because it is the least structured yet I still learn the most. We basically have a general topic for the day and see where that conversation takes us. We basically just get to talk about our opinions, like for example last week we talked about movie theaters--our favorite movies, what annoys us most in the theater, the prices, our favorite food to eat while watching a movie, etc. We also have gone on a few field trips or activities related to class. Last friday morning we went to my profesora's English class that she teaches at a different school to talk with people 60 years or older that are learning English! They learn British english actually and say that is much easier to understand compared to American english since they annunciate. But when they talk in English I can't tell the difference because they have a Spanish accent too. It was a fun yet different experience to talk to practically senior citizen students as opposed to students our age. I think it's awesome they think it's never too late to learn. My profesora, Karina, is really nice and helpful too. Every class I walk away with a little of at least 15 new words and we are welcome to ask anything during class, no matter how random. Karina and another younger teacher, Fernanda, went with us on our Buenos Aires trip too and enjoyed watching us all get hammered off all the wine at the tango show. They're cool.
Grammar: So far everything in this class has been review, but it's still good to practice and re-learn verb tenses to clean up your speech. I do find it a bit boring though because we just go through a bunch of exercises in class and occasionally throw in a somewhat-related game. There's only so much you can do to spice up a grammar class, so it's not really my profesora's fault. She's still fairly nice and helpful. We hardly ever get homework too in comparison to the other grammar classes so I can't complain.
Culture Topics: We basically just talk about Latin American culture in this class through movies and reading literature, poems or songs. My profesora Stela is kinda crazy but in a good way. It's hard to describe, but she is basically super theatrical when she speaks and if she wants us to pay specific attention to something, she'll get really quiet, look each one of us in the eye, and pull down on her eye with her finger and say, "Ojo," direct translation meaning "eye" but she means "look out/pay attention." It's always funny and the students joke around with that quite a bit outside of class. She always starts the class asking if we have any questions about anything related to our experience so far, observations, travel questions, etc. She is the one who took our correction in good stride when we told her our friend Brett's name is not Breast.
Marketing: This is my only class that is taught in English and it is my least favorite. I'm not sure if it's the content or the fact I have it from 5:30-7:30 Monday and Wednesday nights. Plus all of my other professors give us a 10-minute break during classes to go relax outside, eat, drink or go to the bathroom but Gaston doesn't let us do that. My other professors are also very relaxed about when we start/end class, sometimes starting 10 minutes late and getting out 10 minutes early. Either way, I just find the way my professor teaches sort of dull since my interest is piqued for maybe 5 minutes total during a class period. I took the class because I think it's important to learn marketing for any sort of business and job you'll have. But I'm also taking it as a pass/no pass for the first time in my life so I know I don't have to worry too much about it. Plus c'mon, it's study abroad.
Fun Extras:
Salsa gift- For the last 6 weeks, Yuppy and I have been trying to think of what to do with the homemade salsa I gave her as a gift from the states. This is because I discovered that tortilla chips don't exist here! We've been getting creative and put it on a souffle and also used it as a dip for homemade french fries. She doesn't know the difference so it's fine. Although it wasn't the intended purpose and Argentines are definitely not accustomed to any spice whatsoever, Yuppy said she really likes the flavor so check that off as a win!
Rosario doesn't like flip flops- They were both cheap pairs to begin with, but I've broken 2 pairs of flip-flops so far since I've been here. Uneven surfaces+random holes+a lot of walking=a recipe for breakage. The worst was the first week here when a few of us walked all the way to the river and right when we got there one of the flip flops broke. Thus I had to walk home with one barefoot in the dirty streets attempting not to step on shattered glass or dog poop. Only me, I swear.
Sickness :( - Initially I thought it was allergies, but as of last night I've had a really runny nose, sneezing, changing body temperature, watery eyes, sore throat, etc. I hope it fades fast and isn't anything serious. Yuppy is convinced that the remedy of wearing a tiny scarf around my neck when I sleep to keep it warm will heal me. Yes, I'm wearing the stupid scarf as I write this. Still gotta love her.
This weekend our group is splitting up a bit for personal travel. About half the group is flying to Patagonia in the south of Argentina to see the glaciers and my half is going to the semi-nearby city of Córdoba. Patagonia would be amazing to see, but I couldn't justify spending over $1,500 for a trip that doesn't even last a week and I am so unprepared for winter clothes-wise. However, I am excited for Córdoba because on the outskirts of the city, there's nature-y stuff to do like rock climbing, horse-back riding, hiking creeks/mountains, etc. All of these travels depend on if all the bus stations across Argentina end their strike!! Yes, you heard me right. We have a friend from our group who went on a solo venture to the northern province of Salta last week and has been stuck there because of the strike (in my opinion it wasn't the smartest idea to go there alone because she went to visit indigenous cultures and plus she is a girl traveling alone so it's all very dangerous. I think last year 2 girls from France when to Salta and were murdered...so yeah...plus she is now missing midterms and we're technically only allowed to miss 3 of each class throughout the semester.) Anyways, the bus drivers want higher salaries, yet in my opinion with this economic state that the whole world is in, they should be happy they even have a job! We're waiting this week to hopefully find out that the buses start running again so that we can buy our tickets and book our hostel and everything.
Our conversation teacher Karina has said it in the past too that everything here turns into a protest. It happens so often and she is so right. I like Karina because she is very honest about the way that Argentine life is. One day I was cracking up because she told us that it's the Argentine/Italian way to see the glass half empty and also be dramatic about anything and everything. For example, "Oh it's such a beautiful day!!!!......but it's a little chilly." Always pointing out the negatives. Normally I'm not really into that so it would get on my nerves, but personally I just think it's funny so far because everything that happens is practically turned into a soap opera. Yuppy forgets to put the butter on the table almost every night for dinner and every time she'll apologize over and over and dwell on it for like 5 minutes, shaking her head in disappointment. I have to remind her that everything is going to be okay and life will go on! Or there was a protest this weekend for legalizing marijuana with a huge group of hippies in a cloud of weed smoke walking through the outdoor shopping area and an impatient taxi driver started honking his horn and got into a confrontation through the crack of his window with a high dude in dreadlocks who wouldn't move his body or bike out of the way of the car. It was just an absurd thing to watch. Definitely not necessary because there were plenty of other cars waiting too, but this taxi driver went over the edge and had to make a scene. Minor and funny stuff like that just doesn't phase me anymore!
What do you know? I've written half a novel again. I'll be back next week after my trip to Córdoba hopefully! Fingers crossed that everything goes as planned!
Grammar: So far everything in this class has been review, but it's still good to practice and re-learn verb tenses to clean up your speech. I do find it a bit boring though because we just go through a bunch of exercises in class and occasionally throw in a somewhat-related game. There's only so much you can do to spice up a grammar class, so it's not really my profesora's fault. She's still fairly nice and helpful. We hardly ever get homework too in comparison to the other grammar classes so I can't complain.
Culture Topics: We basically just talk about Latin American culture in this class through movies and reading literature, poems or songs. My profesora Stela is kinda crazy but in a good way. It's hard to describe, but she is basically super theatrical when she speaks and if she wants us to pay specific attention to something, she'll get really quiet, look each one of us in the eye, and pull down on her eye with her finger and say, "Ojo," direct translation meaning "eye" but she means "look out/pay attention." It's always funny and the students joke around with that quite a bit outside of class. She always starts the class asking if we have any questions about anything related to our experience so far, observations, travel questions, etc. She is the one who took our correction in good stride when we told her our friend Brett's name is not Breast.
Marketing: This is my only class that is taught in English and it is my least favorite. I'm not sure if it's the content or the fact I have it from 5:30-7:30 Monday and Wednesday nights. Plus all of my other professors give us a 10-minute break during classes to go relax outside, eat, drink or go to the bathroom but Gaston doesn't let us do that. My other professors are also very relaxed about when we start/end class, sometimes starting 10 minutes late and getting out 10 minutes early. Either way, I just find the way my professor teaches sort of dull since my interest is piqued for maybe 5 minutes total during a class period. I took the class because I think it's important to learn marketing for any sort of business and job you'll have. But I'm also taking it as a pass/no pass for the first time in my life so I know I don't have to worry too much about it. Plus c'mon, it's study abroad.
Fun Extras:
Salsa gift- For the last 6 weeks, Yuppy and I have been trying to think of what to do with the homemade salsa I gave her as a gift from the states. This is because I discovered that tortilla chips don't exist here! We've been getting creative and put it on a souffle and also used it as a dip for homemade french fries. She doesn't know the difference so it's fine. Although it wasn't the intended purpose and Argentines are definitely not accustomed to any spice whatsoever, Yuppy said she really likes the flavor so check that off as a win!
Rosario doesn't like flip flops- They were both cheap pairs to begin with, but I've broken 2 pairs of flip-flops so far since I've been here. Uneven surfaces+random holes+a lot of walking=a recipe for breakage. The worst was the first week here when a few of us walked all the way to the river and right when we got there one of the flip flops broke. Thus I had to walk home with one barefoot in the dirty streets attempting not to step on shattered glass or dog poop. Only me, I swear.
Sickness :( - Initially I thought it was allergies, but as of last night I've had a really runny nose, sneezing, changing body temperature, watery eyes, sore throat, etc. I hope it fades fast and isn't anything serious. Yuppy is convinced that the remedy of wearing a tiny scarf around my neck when I sleep to keep it warm will heal me. Yes, I'm wearing the stupid scarf as I write this. Still gotta love her.
This weekend our group is splitting up a bit for personal travel. About half the group is flying to Patagonia in the south of Argentina to see the glaciers and my half is going to the semi-nearby city of Córdoba. Patagonia would be amazing to see, but I couldn't justify spending over $1,500 for a trip that doesn't even last a week and I am so unprepared for winter clothes-wise. However, I am excited for Córdoba because on the outskirts of the city, there's nature-y stuff to do like rock climbing, horse-back riding, hiking creeks/mountains, etc. All of these travels depend on if all the bus stations across Argentina end their strike!! Yes, you heard me right. We have a friend from our group who went on a solo venture to the northern province of Salta last week and has been stuck there because of the strike (in my opinion it wasn't the smartest idea to go there alone because she went to visit indigenous cultures and plus she is a girl traveling alone so it's all very dangerous. I think last year 2 girls from France when to Salta and were murdered...so yeah...plus she is now missing midterms and we're technically only allowed to miss 3 of each class throughout the semester.) Anyways, the bus drivers want higher salaries, yet in my opinion with this economic state that the whole world is in, they should be happy they even have a job! We're waiting this week to hopefully find out that the buses start running again so that we can buy our tickets and book our hostel and everything.
Our conversation teacher Karina has said it in the past too that everything here turns into a protest. It happens so often and she is so right. I like Karina because she is very honest about the way that Argentine life is. One day I was cracking up because she told us that it's the Argentine/Italian way to see the glass half empty and also be dramatic about anything and everything. For example, "Oh it's such a beautiful day!!!!......but it's a little chilly." Always pointing out the negatives. Normally I'm not really into that so it would get on my nerves, but personally I just think it's funny so far because everything that happens is practically turned into a soap opera. Yuppy forgets to put the butter on the table almost every night for dinner and every time she'll apologize over and over and dwell on it for like 5 minutes, shaking her head in disappointment. I have to remind her that everything is going to be okay and life will go on! Or there was a protest this weekend for legalizing marijuana with a huge group of hippies in a cloud of weed smoke walking through the outdoor shopping area and an impatient taxi driver started honking his horn and got into a confrontation through the crack of his window with a high dude in dreadlocks who wouldn't move his body or bike out of the way of the car. It was just an absurd thing to watch. Definitely not necessary because there were plenty of other cars waiting too, but this taxi driver went over the edge and had to make a scene. Minor and funny stuff like that just doesn't phase me anymore!
What do you know? I've written half a novel again. I'll be back next week after my trip to Córdoba hopefully! Fingers crossed that everything goes as planned!
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