Mendoza, anyone?

The gate to the park Independencia

Vineyard

Wine Cellar at Familia Zuccardi

Andes Mountains

"In This Moment You're Exactly Right Here"
quote on the wall at our hostel

Pretty

Grapes everywhere!

If you say so

Walking in the vineyard



I'll make this one short (but probably write more tomorrow). =)
This past weekend a few of us took a trip to Mendoza, Argentina. For those of you unfamiliar, it's basically the wine capital of Argentina (maybe even of S. America)! As you can probably imagine, I was in heaven.
First of all, Mendoza is beautiful! It sits about 1.5 hours away from the Andes Mountains and has several parks, plazas and, of course, bodegas (vineyards).
We left on Friday evening around 7:30pm - we were all freaking out because we thought we had missed our bus (yes, we took a bus), but it actually was just running late. So after we recovered from our almost panic attacks, we boarded the bus and settled in for a 15-hour ride. I'd be jealous too if I were you...
The bus ride wasn't too terrible, I slept the majority of the way - thank goodness for Dramamine. The only bad part was the 'dinner' they served us. No joke, I don't think there was a single edible thing they gave us: there was a piece of bread that you could probably use as a doorstop, something fried (not chicken) that I have no idea what it was, a piece of ham that had a slice of hard-boiled egg in the center as part of the ham as well as carrots interspersed in it. And then there was the main course. A heap of instant, grainy, overly salted mashed potatoes, and something fried - I think it was supposed to be meat, but I couldn't find any...this meal was unbelievable - I took pictures! Needless to say, we were all pretty hungry by the time we arrived.
So we get to Mendoza the next morning, probably around 10ish and check into our hostel. We stayed at Hostel Independencia, which was actually very nice. We showered and changed and then went on our first wine tour. But it's not what you think - we rode bikes from vineyard to vineyard. It was so fun! We got back to the hostel around 6pm, relaxed a little, then went out for a nice dinner.
The next day we went on a long walk through San Martin Park (this place is huge!), past a zoo, and up an incredibly steep hill to an observatory. The view was breathtaking. Imagine just a panoramic view of the Andes and the towns below. Gorgeous!
After we got back we rested a little more before going out for the night. The plaza we were closest to was Plaza Independencia and at night they had several people do crazy things for money - we saw a man juggle fire, a guy jumprope on a unicycle, people spraypaintng pictures on the sidewalk (and they were really cool), bands, etc etc. And then there is just the general public - I definitely enjoyed people watching there.
After another fun dinner, we finally made it back to the hostel around 1am.
Our last day was a journey for sure. We walked around the city for a while (we had to check out of the hostel by 10am) and decided to go to another bodega. We had a brochure for one that looked unbelievable. So we get a taxi and ask the guy if he knows how to get there. He says sure and that it isn't too far (40 pesos = a little more than $10). Perfect. Turns out, he knew how to get there, but he definitely lied about the distance - it turned out to be about 75 pesos each way. Fantastic.
But we made it. The bodega we went to is called Familia Zuccardi and is the largest vineyard in all of Argentina! It was incredible! They talked about the wine production, process, harvest, their different lines etc. and we got to see how it was done. And, of course, we got to sample it! (they export to the US...) Overall, it turned out to be a fun day.
**If you want to check out where I went: http://www.familiazuccardi.com
That evening, we caught our bus at 6pm and drove back to Buenos Aires. We got in around 10am this morning, took a taxi home, dropped my stuff off, and went straight to class...only 2 hours late. (class starts at 9:30am).
I guess this wasn't as short as I thought it would be, but there was alot to say :)
Happy late VDay everyone!

Who needs sleep?

My first weekend was nothing short of spectacular!
On Friday night we went to Puerto Madero, which is an upper-class area with ritzy restaurants and nightlife. So of course we had to go.
The restaurant we went to was called La Isla. It was absolutely amazing. We got there at about 11pm, which isn't out of the ordinary at all. I had chicken stuffed with gruyere cheese and spinach, covered with a cream sauce. I could have sworn I was in heaven. We also bought a bottle of wine to go with our meal. Between the conversation and the food, it was the perfect way to start off the night.
After dinner, we went to a boliche called Asia de Cuba, where we met some more people from our program. Even though the cover charge was a little more than I thought it would be, we had a blast. We got there around 2am and didn't leave until about 6 in the morning. By the time I got home and in bed it was close to 7.
I love BA.
Saturday I didn't do much (I wonder why), but it was also good just to have a day to rest and not do anything. But there's no way we were going to stay in on Saturday night! Trying to figure out what we were doing took longer than expected though. It didn't help that the first taxi we were going to take had possessed doors that slammed my fingers into them. Needless to say, the taxi driver heard a few choice words (in English) as I walked away. Don't worry, nothing is broken - just a little bruised and larger than normal.
After getting some ice, I was good to go. We ended up going to a bar called Shamrock. The vibe was just relaxed and we shared a couple bottles of wine and just talked. I love nights like those. We made it home around 5am and went to bed.
On Sunday I went to basically a giant outdoor flea market where you can find anything and everything you ever wanted and never needed! This thing is huge. I'm talking a couple miles long - and it happens every Sunday! I didn't end up getting anything, due to the fact that I had no cash on me, thanks to the previous two nights. But I'll probably end up going back one of these weekends.
We bought our bus tickets to Mendoza today!! I'm super excited about that. We leave Friday at 7:30pm and take the 14 hour bus ride overnight to Mendoza. We'll stay in a hostel on Saturday night and go on the wine tours over the weekend. We're looking at one that is a bike tour and a wine tour all in one! Whatever we decide will be fun I'm sure. We get on another bus on Sunday at 6pm to get home early Monday morning. Just in time for classes...yay.
This week is going to be another busy week filled with class, cultural events, dancing, tango lessons (we get one on Thursday!) and whatever else comes.
For now, though, sleep sounds pretty good.
To everyone back home: miss you and love you!
Besos!

P.S. For those interested, the links below are blogs from some of the other people in my ISA group. Enjoy!

http://chicaconfundida27.blogspot.com

http://blogs.bucknell.edu/studyabroad/schwitz/

http://www.coligoesabroad.blogspot.com

La primera semana

Superbowl Sunday at an "American" bar

The ceiling at Club Museo

Dancing the night away

Puerto Madero all lit up at night

Me.

Surviving la primera semana (& class): Check.
I would have to call my first week (semana) ----- interetirinexcitissful. For interesting, tiring, exciting and successful.
Of course.
I'm learning a little every day - even if it's just a vocab word here or there. Spanish 24/7 is definitely frustrating and difficult sometimes. It's hard not to revert back to English with the other people in my program. Most of the time, that's what happens anyway. And even though it may not help our Spanish, it's nice to have a break, especially after a long day.
Classes are going well. I'm relearning the things that I forgot that I forgot, which is good (most of the time). Stepping stones for improving. There's nobody from my program in my class; I'm with students from other programs, or who are studying individually, which I don't mind because it allows me to meet different people.
On Wednesday night, I went to my first boliche, aka nightclub, with some people from my program. The boliche was called Museos.
We had a blast!
Museos has 3 levels and it was absolutely packed with people! It had disco balls and strobe lights and disco/80s/reggaton/techno/spanish music! We stayed for a couple hours danced the night away. We finally left around 2:45 in the morning - we had to leave early because we had class, of course. :) I definitely had a siesta the next day.
We're going out tonight to Puerto Madero, which is an upper-class barrio in BA. We're going out to dinner and then hopefully another boliche. Or two.
Today after class, I went to a Japanese garden in Palermo (another barrio) and just walked around. It was so peaceful and pretty.
I'm starting to get to know my way around the city. Kind of. I've only been lost 3 times and left my keys in the apartment once. I think I'm doing pretty well!
After being here for only 1 week, there are definitely some things that I miss and that I'm craving:
*a big, fat hamburger. scratch that. a big, fat cheeseburger. with everything
*a salad (kind of cancels out the hamburger, but whatever)
*iced tea. can't find it anywhere
*knowing where i'm going. and where i'm at
*my own bed - hard beds and lumpy pillows just aren't my thing
*coffee to go
*warm showers. sometimes the water's warm, sometimes it's cold. it's like a guessing game - keeps things interesting
*family/friends. of course
*dryness. praise colorado for not being humid!
*the mountains. (see knowing where i'm going)
*doing my own laundry

Ok. So just because I can, here are some things that I love so far:
*no matter where you are, there are at least 3 cafes on every block. maybe more! hello coffee heaven!
*warm weather. in february :)
*the night life
*the people i'm getting to know
*not having a cell phone that works. weird, i know. but it's kind of nice. (same thing with tv)
*the ice cream. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
*discovering new places
*walking everywhere
*fresh fruit
*sangria

Some things I might change/don't particularly care for:
*theres dog poop EVERYWHERE on the sidewalks
*cockroaches are real. i'm a believer. i've seen them
*the drivers are crazy
*pigeons
*the humidity. forget trying to straighten my hair. ever.

I'm intersted/excited to see what the next few weeks bring. So far, all I've got to show for this week are blistered feet - bad, and peeling shoulders from a sunburn. But I wouldn't trade it! :)
Right now I'm sitting in my room with the window open. There's a slight breeze and it's just after 8pm. The sun sets here around 9:30. It's fantastic. I've got a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and some Fontina cheese.
I'd have to say I'm pretty content.

Getting to know my new home

In La Boca

Me in front of Casa Rosa

Street in Argentina

Aren't they cute? Girls in my program :)

Tango in La Boca on the sidewalks

Wow. It's only been 3 days but I feel like it's been a week! At least!
We've just done so much in a short amount of time that it seems like it's been longer.
Our day at the beach was amazing. Between volleyball, food and just getting some rays in the hopes of changing my ridiculously blinding whiteness into maybe an off-white color, it was a fun day. We got to this tiny resort area by boat. We went down El Tigre, one of the largest rivers, and then off into a separate delta to get to where we were going. It was really peaceful.
There was a restaurant there where a couple of us ate lunch. Their specialty at this restaurant is basically a mountain of different kinds of meats that you can share with your entire table (and still not be able to finish b/c there's so much). We didn't really know what was on there but it was good for the most part. Here comes the fun part: we all tried a bite of cow intestine! It was....disgusting. But I ate it!
And as for attempting the off-white color...let's just say I got some color on my face, shoulders and legs. I could potentially be related to a tomato.
On Sunday, we took a tour of the city of Buenos Aires - a good chunk of it at least. We went around to different barrios (or towns) and got out at each one and walked around for a bit. They all had different, fun characteristics. At the first stop in Ricoletta (I think) a couple of us went to this grave site and wandered around for a bit. The graves here are giant tombs with entire families who pay to have their spot reserved in advance. Apparently there are 6000 families buried there - they don't take any new reservations, but families that already have land there can expand if they have the money. There are so many intricate details in these tombs and shrines, from giant statues to carvings, to detail of the tomb itself. They are just incredible! We only had a half hour but I think we're going back there at some point. Don't worry, I'll take alot of pictures.
At one point, we drove on the widest street in the world! I think it's called Calle Flores, or something like that. We were told that it's impossible to cross it in one stoplight - I believe it. It's ginormous!
At some of the stops they had these giant outdoor flea market places where people sell anything and everything. The street performers are insane - I saw musicians, magicians, tango dancers, people who have just got to be downright crazy, singers, people on stilts, people dressed as clowns, etc, etc, etc. One of the places I really enjoyed was La Boca. It was so colorful because apparently the people there can't afford paint, so they just use whatever they have/whatever they can find. The colors are just fun. There were several tango dancers in the street for money - and some of them were just incredible!
We were all so tired by the end of the tour. Tired and sunburned. Not a good combination.
Nevertheless, we couldn't miss the Superbowl! So we showered and relaxed for a while and then I went with a few people to an American Bar called Shoeless Joes where we had some cervezas (beers) and watched the Superbowl. Props to both teams - what a good game. Anyway, the bar was crammed full of people - the majority from America. It was kinda cool to see so many people from America in one place in South America. We all had a really good time.
Ordering nachos helped too :)
Today, we took our placement tests for our Spanish classes. The written test was RIDICULOUS! I pretty much guessed on the whole thing, along with every other student there. I tested into the high-intermediate class, but I think I might try and see if I can get into advanced, depending on the syllabus and the content that we'll cover. I'll find out about that tomorrow.
Everyone will have class from 9:30am - 2:30pm. We have class with students from other study abroad programs, too. So we'll get to mix it up with different people, which will be good. Our first day of classes is tomorrow.
Caroline and I got a nice surprise today - apparently something happened with our laundry and anything white, light pink, blue, purple or yellow got dyed a nasty gray color. How does that happen?? And it's not just a light gray... my swimsuit is even dyed and those things are resilient to everything! I have no idea what could have possibly happened, but I think I'm going to wash my own clothes from now on, or at least my whites/light colors.
*Ugh*
The weather here has been ridiculously hot. But I kind of like it. Right now it's almost 2am and it's lightening and thundering and just sprinkling a little. It's beautiful.
Wow. I didn't expect to write that much but there's just so much that's happened! I can't believe it's only been 3 days.
I've taken a ton of picutres already and would post them on here, but I conveniently left my camera cable at home and there's no place for me to put my memory card in my laptop (not that I can find anyway). Maybe I'll have the parentals send me a care package with it!
Ok. I should probably go to bed considering I have class in the morning.
Buenas Noches*

ESTOY AQUI!

I made it!
And I'm still in one piece!
Talk about a loooooong trip. I didn't realize that our flight from Houston to Buenos Aires was 10 1/2 hours. That was fun.
Waiting in the Houston Airport forever had to have been the most emotion torture ever. First I was really excited that I was almost to my final destination - except I was at the airport 3 hours earlier than everyone else (at 3pm). Well, Henry and I were together - I'd have to say we made the best of it by eating fish, trying on ridiculous sunglasses and just being tourists in the airport. When people finally started showing up I was more than ready to get on another plane and get out of there. The plane from Houston to Buenos Aires didn't leave until 9pm that night. So I had another 3 hours to go.
Everyone seems to get along really well so far - it should be a good group. There are alot of people from the Midwest and then a few from the East. I think there are 15 total. It'll be interesting to see if people maintain the first-impressions that I got from them or if they turn out to be completely different. Who knows...
Argentina greeted us on our first day with rain and clouds. And a chilly 60 degrees - oh wait, that was the nice part :). Once we figured out customs and money changing, etc., we got on to a bus and drove another hour to Belgrano.
I slept.
In Belgrano, we met our host families. I'm living with a single lady in her 50s - her name is Nilda. She reminds me of a spunky grandma type - blue eyeliner and bright red lipstick included. So my roommate, Caroline, and I loaded our suitcases into Nilda's car and drove to our new house for the next 2 months. Except it wasn't that easy. Picture this:
4 suitcases, 2 backpacks, purses, miscellaneous items, and 3 people packed into the tiniest red VW car (no idea what kind it is. Is microscopic a type? If yes, then that's what she has) and making our merry way to our apartment.
The first lesson I've learned is that people in Argentina are CRAZY when it comes to driving! Apparently the lines in the road are just there for decoration and if you feel like driving inside them, great! If not, no problemo! And whoever gets to an intersection first, goes first! Duh...
And pedestrians don't really matter that much; the world can do with a few less. No harm, no foul.
Our apartment is pretty nice, though. Caroline and I each have our own bedroom. They're tiny, but at least they're our own. Between broken English and Spanish, we're all making pretty good progress communicating so far. Nilda is just great and I'm definitely happy with our living situation.
I also rode a subway (or the Subte, here) for the first time in my entire life today! Talk about playing the dumb, American tourist. You can probably imagine it.
We had a 2 hour ISA orientation today after getting settled in. I think they just wanted to see how many people they could catch falling asleep at the first meeting. They got a few. At our orientation we just talked about safety, money, transportation, etc. And then they had a surprise for us: tomorrow we're going to a summer getaway destination just to relax and get to know everyone in the group! Beach, here I come! (And it's January!!!) For those of you braving the snow and cold weather, yes, you read it right:
BEACH! (and yes, I'm gloating a little)
I'm still trying to figure out if I want to get a cell phone while I'm here or not. I kind of like not being so accessible - it's liberating. For safety purposes, and for the parental freak out purposes, I'll probably end up getting one anyway.
It's definitely been a long day, but a good day, and I can barely keep my eyes open anymore. And we're getting up early tomorrow to go on our surprise trip. YAY! I just still can't believe I'm actually here. After all the waiting and talking about it, it's finally happening! Even though it's only been one day, amazing is the only word to describe it.
So far, so good.

Packing might be a good thing to start thinking about

ONLY 6 MORE DAYS!!!!
Have I started packing?
Nope.
Have I gotten all of my stuff together?
Nope.
Have I gotten everything done and bought, etc.?
Nope.
Bottom line - I feel REALLY prepared right now. Good job, Melissa. :)
At this point, all I can really do is laugh and know that in less than a week, I will be soaking up the sun! I finally got my departure packet from ISA, which included info about my host families in both countries. In Argentina, I'm staying with a single lady in her 50s who is the manager of a company. I will have a roommate - and get this! - my roommate is a girl who goes to CSU! How crazy is that?! There are going to be 3 people in my group who are originally from CO (including me, of course). In Peru, I'll be with a family with a Mom, Dad and a Daughter. And a different roommate.
On my flight to Houston, there's a guy in my group who's on the same flight! Apparently he's coming from Wisconsin and has a layover at DIA, and from DIA to Houston. I've been in touch with a few people from my group so far - Facebook is good for something.

But by getting ready to leave, there are definitely a few things I've learned in the past couple of days/weeks:
*NO place sells shorts in Fort Collins in the middle of January.
*International plans for cell phones have alot of restrictions and underlying stipulations. Forget that.
*CSU doesn't care if you pay an arm and a leg for your study abroad program - since I'm not a 'fee-paying' student, I can't use the student facilities for free. Fantastic.
*Certain people and places are better left behind. Good riddance.
*I have alot of amazing people in my life who I'm really going to miss.
*There are SO many things to do before I leave the country for 5 months.
*I've spent alot of money in preparing to leave - where I will be spending alot more money.
*Cleaning out closets and getting rid of stuff is very liberating.
*Picking and choosing what to take with me is more complicated than I thought it would be.
*I forgot how easily I get stressed out about stuff. Don't worry, I've been reminded.
*Everything is going to be so different when I come home - alot is going to happen in my friends and family's life in 5 months.
*This is really happening!!

So I'm just taking it one day at a time right now and slowly but surely getting things together and done. There are alot of little things to remember - and the little things are what keep adding up. I just downloaded SKYPE today so that I can talk to people through that while I'm gone, too. ...if I can figure out how to use it - and my webcam.
I've loved seeing alot of my friends in the past couple of days, and I still have a few days left to say goodbye to people.
*sigh*
There's still so much to do...
I think I'll start packing.

Getting ready to leave...kinda

It hasn't quite hit me yet. 

I only have 25 more days before I get on a plane and leave for 5 months. I haven't brushed up on my Spanish yet (which will probably come in handy), haven't even thought about packing or what I'm going to bring, and I'm still waiting on information about my host families and finalizations concerning my program. The only thing I've done so far is quit one of my two jobs, which, knowing me, is a pretty big step in and of itself. 

All of that aside, every time I think about leaving I just get overwhelmingly excited - I would get on a plane tomorrow if I could! Not many people get the option to visit 4 different countries in 5 months and I plan to take full advantage of this opportunity. My itinerary is as follows:

1/29 - get on a plane to Houston and from Housont to Buenos Aires, Argentina

1/30-3/28 - studying at the University of Belgrano in Buenos Aires

3/28 - go to Lima, Peru!

3/29-5-23 - studying at the University of the Pacific

5/24-5/31 - staying in Peru for an extra week b/c my mom is coming out

5/31 - flying to Madrid, Spain to meet my friend Kira - Viva Espana!

6/1-6/12 - spontaneously traveling around Spain

6/12 - going to Rome, Italy!

6/12 - 6/24 - spontaneously traveling around Italy (good thing we speak English and Spanish)

6/24 - flying back to Colorado

It's definitely going to be the trip of a lifetime and I couldn't be more ready for it. However, in these next 3 weeks I plan to work a little, but set aside more time for me. I don't know how many of you have told me I haven't done enough of that so I'm going to give it a try before I leave. We'll see how it goes :) I'm also going to spend more time with family and friends since I won't be able to for a while. 

I am planning on downloading Skype and getting a webcam so those of you who have that should let me know! My roommate needs to teach me how it works though... but it will be one way for me to keep in contact while I'm away. I should also be updating my blog quite a bit to keep people informed of what I'm doing, where I'm going, who I'm meeting, what I'm eating and other random adventures! 

For now, though, I'm going to work on getting everything together and squared away (which could be difficult considering how much of a procrastinator I am), and enjoying my time not spent at work. 

It should all start to sink in pretty soon.