First, I will fill everyone in on my "pasantía" a bit more.
On the second day, I anxiously approached the door of my building (this time, the RIGHT door), and I walked up to my desk. It was filled with all sorts of goodies! I have my own coffee cup and the staff left me some beautiful flowers to add some life to my space. I even received some delicious (yes, I already ate them) "alfajores" from the local Havanna (way cooler than Starbucks!). My confidence is surely increasing as I am trying new things. Like maté. Maté is a very social drink here in Argentina. It is a traditional South American infused drink that is prepared from steeping dried maté leaves in hot water. Everyone here seems to have his or her own mate cups, which are conveniently sold in every shop or street corner. One mate cup is passed around between the group and it is quite the process to drink, as each cup has a tin filtered straw. While most Americans think the taste is a bit too much, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was nice to be included in the ritual at work and fit in with everyone.
Here is what a maté cup looks like:
Work is already feeling a little more like home. Oh yeah, except for that part where everyone speaks Spanish.
The speaking, by far, has been my greatest obstacle. I constantly have been asking my team to repeat directions to simple tasks, just to make sure I am on the same track. Being a perfectionist, I have to constantly ask questions to make sure I am doing everything right. I can feel myself slowly getting better at all of this, despite the challenges I have faced. Actually, my internship is my favorite part of this "Spanish immersion."
This weekend, my group members and I had a chance to see some new things here in Buenos Aires. On Saturday, most of the group agreed to head over to the racetrack in hopes of winning some big money on the horse races. No such luck. After a few group members bet and lost a few pesos, we started craving Mexican food and took a walk to the nearest Mexican restaurant (a real rarity here).
The Hipódromo (racetrack):
On Sunday, we had high hopes of waking up early and heading to Colonia for the day. It is a few hours from here by ferry and we just felt the need to get away from the big city for a bit. Ann and I slept through our alarms (go figure) and a few other group members didn’t make the ferry in time due to some passport troubles. Us four decided to make the best of our day and spend our “Colonia money” on shopping. We bought some handmade FOMS (fake TOMS shoes) at the market just down the street, which started the successful day. The weather screamed, “stay outside,” so naturally we passed by a famous site in the area, "La Flor" and then headed over to the local zoo. After waiting in line with a bunch of 5-year-olds and grabbing some roasted nuts (a sweet smell that fills the air on every block….how can you resist), we made it inside. Let me tell you, the zoo here is NOTHING like home. The only animals that are legitimately in cages are the monkeys, birds, and felines. Everything else is either guarded by a thin railing or nothing at all. For instance, the elephants just hang out on a platform for all to see, just feet away from you.
La Flor:
The Zoológico:
We wrapped up the fun filled afternoon with a trip to Palermo (one our favorite spots in the city) and shopped until we dropped. Enough said.
This week has been pretty tame. Class, work, eat, hang out, sleep, etc. The weekend is slowly, but surely approaching and we just booked our trip to Villa General Belgrano, which is just outside of Córdoba. The weekend is packed with some solid adventures! If you have a few minutes to spare, read up http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_General_Belgrano
I can’t wait!
Un beso!
Thanks for sharing! it was very nice reading this.
ReplyDeleteYou remind me when I "worked" as a South America volunteer and the place I liked the most was Argentina, I had so much fun there...
I remember "the flower", I have pictures in that same place too :)