The Beauty of Being Young

Prayers for Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp

2011-06-14T00:26:00.000-07:00

As my European adventure comes to an end, I've been busy enjoying the finer parts of Parisian life, including (but not limited to):
-girls' nights out, including a trip to Favela Chic in Oberkampf, one of the coolest and most unpretentious places I've been in Paris
-afternoons in parks with new friends, involving a mandolin, a guitar, 1 Euro bottles of red wine, an American football, plus some of the cutest French kids on earth
-salades chevres chaudes and indulgent chocolate desserts with my girls
-rock climbing adventures with some Colorado boys (a taste of home...)
-one last Boca Mexa trip
-dressing up and making music videos with the girls of Chez Glacière, whom I will miss so much
-Paris in the rain...
-etc.

Despite all of the wonderful things I've been up to during my last week in Paris, some sad news has come to my attention (as well as my Facebook newsfeed)...my favorite place in the entire world is just 3 hours south of Denver in the Sangre de Cristo mountains outside of Westcliffe. Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp is where I've spent nearly every summer for the last 5 years. The staff is my family and it is as close to home as just about anything for me. They started their first week of camp on Sunday, and within an hour of the beginning of registration were forced to evacuate all 180 people on site, due to a forest fire blazing about 1/4 mile from camp. The staff have been super heroes and have kept camp running for all those kids, basing programing out of the Westcliffe High School gymnasium. The fire is still not contained and the behavior is considered "extreme" but the firefighters are working tirelessly to keep the site safe and as of right now no structures have been burned (Associated Press article).

If praying's your deal, then RTLC needs all you've got! This place is home for so many, and although buildings can and will be rebuilt, a little prayer never hurt anyone :) And if it's not your thing, then please, keep them in your thoughts and keep your fingers crossed for any sign of success any time soon.

Paris va me manquer

2011-05-08T03:40:00.000-07:00

What will I miss the most about Paris? Is it that smell of freshly baked breads and pastries every time you walk past a boulangerie? Or maybe it's the long lazy afternoons in Luxembourg Gardens or Champs de Mars. Maybe it's bus rides that take you past Notre Dame and the Louvre. Or it could be breakfasts of pain au chocolat in front of la Tour Eifel. What I do know is that as these spring evenings get longer and warmer, all I want to do is wander along the Seine and profiter of all the Paris is.

These past few weekends have provided some of the most perfect examples. There was the trip the amusement park Foire du Trone, and a ferris wheel ride that took you so high above Paris that you could see the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Coeur from the other side of the city (trop jolie!). And then there have been the picnics involving lots of baguette and cheese and wine on the bridges and the banks of the Seine, with all the quintessential views of Paris. There have been the long walks home in less-than-sober states, and even the time when I was walking home with my roommate Tracee, we heard live music coming from a bar and had to stop. I went upstairs, and the windows were open to reveal the typical French balcony, view of the Seine and the sounds of the Frenchman with his guitar and beautiful voice drifting lazily out of the open doors downstairs, onto the street and then up through the windows. I stood there, soaked it up, and thought how much I will truly miss Paris when I'm gone.

Sure, there's plenty of things that get annoying. Sure there's days when I hate France. When people make fun of my accent or can't understand me. When I get tired of how dirty Paris is, how expensive things are, how rude the people can be, how hard it is to do anything. But those days are far outnumbered and outweighed by the days when nothing could go wrong and everything is just so...Paris. I'll be crushed when I can't walk around and hear French surrounding me. I know I've lived abroad before, but there's just something about French that makes it so much different than anything you could ever hope to imagine.

So as the nostalgia sets in as I charge into my last 4 weeks in the City of Lights, I'll try and profiter of everything the loveliness of Paris has to offer. If there's one thing I've learned from the adventures I've had in all of my travels abroad, it would most likely be to cram as much as possible before the time is up, because there's never enough time and there's always too much to do. So, Paris, let's do this.

Kicking it with Oscar Wilde

Picnics on the Seine

Breakfasts at the Eiffel Tower

Look at the sky

Typical.

Gypsy Tales

2011-03-30T01:26:00.000-07:00

It's happened again, as we all knew it would. Blogging is one of those activities that gets tucked away in a corner when anything more exciting or important happens to come up. Although I'd love to say that documenting all activities is something I find amusing, that would be a lie. But to satisfy those who happen to be curious, the last month or so in Europe has been quite a whirlwind. Sometimes I forget that I'm studying abroad in PARIS, considering that I've been everywhere but during the last weeks. I have mixed feelings about the whole situation. On the one hand, I want to get to know Paris better, improve my French, and experience the city where I am "living" for several months. However, à l'autre côté, there's so many places to explore in Europe and with such a limited amount of time here, I want to go everywhere. So that's the dilemma, now here are the tales:

Normandy
Our program took us on a weekend trip to Normandy, and although being stuck on a tour bus with 60 Americans for an entire weekend isn't exactly my ideal traveling situation, the trip was beautiful and absolutely worth it. We had the chance to visit the Normandy Museum, the American Cemetery, Omaha Beach, and Pointe du Hoc, all of which were surprisingly sad yet meaningful. I mean, I had never really thought about World War II in such a personal and human sort of way before and it made it all seem so much more real. The night we spent in the city of Caen was uneventful, although it did include a dinner comprised of massive amounts of the best mussels I've ever eaten and a little too much wine. The following day we went to Mont Saint-Michel, a monastery built on a tidal island connected to the mainland via a natural land bridge which makes it often unaccessible when the tide is too high. The architecture was beautiful, as was the weather which made the trip a great success.

The American Cemetery: Normandy, France

Mont Saint-Michel: Normandy, France

Belgium
The following weekend I went to Belgium to meet a friend from home who is studying in Barcelona. We met in Brussels (after several hours of searching for each other around the city because we had misunderstood one another about which hostel we were staying at and my phone wasn't working!). Brussels was quaint but...unimpressive? I've heard that it's not the best place to go in Belgium, and after walking around the city (which consistently smelled like fried food) for a day, we agreed on this sentiment. I ate some delicious waffles, french fries and chocolate of course so I suppose that made it worth it. We also took the train on Saturday to a smaller city called Hasselt to go to an enormous electronic music concert called Sensation White, which was an impressive amount of fun. Everyone wore white, the venue was gigantic, and the effects were amazing: at one point they handed out neon colored gloves to the 60,000+ attendees and periodically had us bend down, then raise our hands in the air so the venue went from a sea of white to thousands of colored hands.

Sensation White: Hasselt, Belgium

London
I spent the following weekend in London, visiting my friend who is studying there. I absolutely loved London. The city has such a different feel to it than somewhere like Paris but in the best way possible. I was having an extremely hard time getting used to the fact that I could say "Excuse me" instead of "Pardon" on the Tube and I could order in English anywhere I pleased! We saw everything you could really ever want to see in London (Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, the London Eye, Hyde Park, Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, the British Museum, St. Paul's Cathedral, Tate Modern Art Museum, the Globe, etc.), went to an Evensong worship service at Westminster Abby, and even saw the London Philharmonic Orchestra on Saturday night (for 4 pounds!). I ate fish and chips of course and absolutely went the the CHIPOTLE in London (I'm a Colorado girl at heart). I could have spent so much more time in London.

Springtime in Londontown

St. Paul's Cathedral: London, UK

Houses of Parliament: London, UK

London Eye: London, UK

Hyde Park: London, UK

Thames South Bank: London, UK

Chipotle: London, UK

Italy
This past weekend I flew to Milan with my best friend Valerie, where we met one of my other friends who is studying in Grenoble, France. Milan was uneventful at best, although we ate some really delicious pizza. It's the fashion/business capital of Italy and not much else, so there wasn't a lot to see there. On Saturday we took the train to Venice, which was beautiful. It's a touristy city, but absolutely worth the trip. The tiny alleyways, streets that dead end in canals, and absence of cars made the city something to see. We wondered and got lost most of the time we were there, ate some more pizza and gelato of course, and laughed at ourselves for the zero Italian we spoke (I learned the essentials: per favore, grazie, prego and "non parlo italiano"). Italian was actually so easy to understand because of the French and Spanish I speak, although communicating was something entirely different.

Venezia, Italia

I've had someone tell me that I am a gypsy-the worst type of person to fall in love with. I suppose the wanderlust in me has been the driving force of my time in Europe, but I'm ok with that. I'll be in Paris this weekend (maybe I'll finally make it to the Louvre?), but then it's off again, to Amsterdam the following weekend and then the Greek Islands for Spring Break. By the time all of that is said and done it will be May, and hopefully I'll spend my last 6 or so weeks in Paris to really enjoy the city, particularly now that spring is upon us and Paris in the springtime...well, you know. A trip to Spain might be inserted in there somewhere as well, we'll see. I'm sorry this was the most monumental blog entry known to mankind, as I have so much to tell with so little time! I love and miss you all!

SamasthiWHAT?

2011-02-23T08:33:00.000-08:00

Yoga in Paris. Quite the experience to say the least! My roommate Ellie and I found a yoga studio online that's close our apartment and offered a 10 day open pass for 35 euros, so we decided to try it out on Monday night...whether that was a good choice or the opposite is still up in the air!

The yoga studio was adorable, and quite possibly one of the most international places we've been in Paris (it makes sense because I'm fairly certain yoga is a much more American trend than it is French). The manager was a beautiful French man who spoke absolutely perfect English, so we were excited to see what the class would be like. We went into the locker room to find one PACKED room with both men and women changing in the same tiny little space. Surprise number 1 (although it doesn't seem that strange when you think about the fact that bathrooms almost everywhere in France are unisex and nude beaches are the norm...).

Class started while people were still walking in, out and through the room so the "peaceful" vibe that I've always experienced at yoga class at home was definitely lacking. The course was instructed entirely in French, and Ellie and I realized after we had put our mats down in what we thought was the back of the room that we were actually front and center. I was lucky enough to have taken lots of yoga classes in the States, so I could just casually (or not so casually at many points during the class) glance around and figure out what people were doing. Ellie has never taken a yoga class before, so the instructor kept approaching her and trying to get her to fix her positions, to no avail unfortunately.

At the end of the 90 minutes we were sore and more stressed out than we had been before the class even began (seems like taking one step forward and two steps back if you ask us), but we're giving it another shot tonight (although the class tonight is taught in English!)

BeYoga, Paris

Morning is my favorite time of day...

2011-02-21T01:11:00.000-08:00

I think that morning is my favorite time of the day. It's just past 10:00 AM in Paris and I'm sitting out on my balcony wrapped up in a blanket on a beautiful February morning. The sun is shining for the first time in at least a week and it's making the beginning of today so much better.

I'm finally starting to get into the swing of things here. Life seems so much more normal now that I've been here for just over three weeks. I finished my intensive language course last week and start my real class schedule today, so I have a lot more free time during the week to explore Paris. I love to wander and get myself lost only to discover that Paris really isn't that big after all. There are so many different neighborhoods and places to see and little things to find, but it's all so very Paris. I'm so happy to be here and to explore everything that France and Europe have to offer.

My roommate has a French boyfriend and we taught all of his friends how to play beer pong and king's cup the other night. None of them speak English so that was quite the interesting ride, especially when you think about how many of the rules in those games appeared to just be made up so we would win, hahaha. But, as my father so insightfully pointed out, if you can teach somebody how to do stuff like that in French, you can probably do anything :) On Saturday of this week my best friend Valerie and I went to an AWESOME concert in the Netherlands (with over 60,000 people in attendance) and it's having the chance to do stuff like that that makes living in Europe so amazing.

King's Cup rules...French style

I'm going to Normandy in two weeks with my program, then Belgium with some friends, London the weekend after that to visit another friend, and before I know it March will be over! I have two weeks off in April for Spring Break so I'm planning on visiting Amsterdam and then going to Spain and Portugal. I also need to fit in Italy after that and maybe Prague or Istanbul, oh and I'm probably going back to Barcelona in the end of May for a music festival called Primavera Sound.

These next four months are going to go by so fast, it's amazing. I miss home more than I expected, which is understandable because I left a lot of people who I love and care about there, but I'm also so lucky to be here and I can't wait for how many more adventures this semester will bring.

What we can see of Paris from our balcony this morning

Le Nouvel An Chinois

2011-02-06T10:21:00.000-08:00

So today was the Chinese New Year, and since we live right near the Chinatown of Paris, we went to the parade:

Valerie and Ellie at the parade!

Paris!

2011-02-06T09:32:00.000-08:00

So here I am, from the Paris of South America to...Paris? I can't believe I'm abroad again, it still feels like I'm dreaming, living in Paris, but I'm really here!
It's been a whirlwind of a week since I arrived in Paris last Sunday. I'm doing an intensive language program for 3 weeks so I got here and jumped right into orientation stuff on Monday and classes Tuesday. I have class from 9:00-5:00 every weekday, so it's been hard getting used to the idea that I'm actually IN Paris, since I've mostly been sitting in class every day at the University. But I've been getting a hang of the public transportation and I'm kind of getting my bearings in the city (which is surprisingly confusing!) Yesterday though I went to the Eiffel Tower with a girl I met in one of my classes and then we walked along the Seine past a lot of the really famous sites of Paris all the way to Notre Dame. It was beautiful and the architecture was absolutely amazing! Most of the people I've met so far have been here since September, so they've already done all of the "touristy" things, but I'm ok with being a lame tourist for a few weeks at least :)
The rest of the people in my program (I'm one of 3 who are here early for the intensive language class) arrive next week, so that will be nice to have more people to do things with, and I start regular classes in 2 weeks. I'll only have class for 3 hours a day once the language program is over, so I'll have so much more time to explore the city.
I'm living in an awesome apartment with 3 other girls, including my best friend Valerie, so it's great to have her here. I'm excited for the semester to start and to really get into the swing of things, and I also can't wait to travel a bit (I'm already talking about trips to Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Italy, England, and maybe a few other places, I want to go everywhere!). We all know I'm a terrible blogger, but I'll try and keep this kind of sort of up to date! Love you all and miss you!

Home Is Wherever I'm With You

2010-08-24T09:25:00.000-07:00

I just returned home from my favorite place on earth. Spending my summers at Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp in the beautiful Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Southern Colorado has been one of the most rewarding and incredible experiences I've ever been lucky enough to have. My best friends in the whole world are my camp friends and I'm pretty darn sure that it is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.

Springtime on Kearney Street

2010-05-16T14:11:00.000-07:00

A beautiful day outside after such terrible "springtime" weather in Denver (aka snow on MAY 12?) led to some photography therapy for me as a distraction from my various final papers...

Location: Our House, Denver, Colorado

Adventures in Peru and Chile

2010-01-12T09:31:00.000-08:00

I finally uploaded the best of the 1500+ photos I took while traveling in Peru and Chile. We flew to Cusco, then took the train to Aguas Calientes where we saw Machu Picchu. Then we took a bus to Puno and visited Lake Titicaca (quite a tourist trap!) and took another JANKY 40 hour bus trip to Vina del Mar to spend a few days at the beach. We went to Valparaiso and Santiago before ALMOST not making it back to Buenos Aires (a gas truck had tipped over on the only road out of Santiago through the Andes Mountains, so we sat on a bus in the mountains for 5 hours and thankfully got saved by a little old Argentine lady). It was quite the adventure, and here's some pictures to document the South American travel!

http://picasaweb.google.com/Lizzaaaaaay

Some of my favorties

2010-01-10T21:06:00.000-08:00

I've been inspired lately by several photo blogs I've stumbled upon while reminiscing on my time in Buenos Aires (I miss it so much!). I want to get back to the city and an action-packed lifestyle!! Anyways, I wanted to pick out a few of my favorite pictures from the city to have something to enjoy and remind me of one of my favorite places on earth.

Don't Cry For Me, Argentina

2009-11-03T23:45:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it, I'm done with my semester here, well I mean virtually! I had 1 final last week, 2 yesterday and 1 today and tomorrow I just have to take my Spanish oral before I will be completely finished with school at the University of Belgrano in Buenos Aires. I cannot believe how fast my time here has literally flown by. I mean, I think back to that first day in the Buenos Aires International Airport and it seems like yesterday on the one hand and so long ago on the other. I mean, life here has just become normal. It's become normal to walk down the streets of the city, to take the bus or the subte, to lay in parks and visit ferias on the weekends, to speak Spanish every day, and to live my life in a Latin American city. I don't know what it will be like to go home back to life in the United States, but I know it will be different. It's a bittersweet feeling to be going home, I mean I can't wait to sleep in my own real bed and to see my family and friends, and to eat Chipotle, Pinkberry, and all the other delicious things that I miss from home, but I also know for a fact that the minute I step off of that plane in the Houston airport it will be all I can do not to cry to have left Argentina (don't cry for me, Argentina!)

I've never been more grateful to have the experiences that I've had here. It's incredible the things I've done, and I know that when I get home I will feel like I am unstoppable, I mean, I've lived in a Latin American city of 12 million people for 5 months. If that's not something to be impressed by I don't know what is. My time here will definitely have an impact on the way I live at home, and I'm not sure if I'm happy, sad, mad, anxious, dreading, or excited about going home, particularly about going back to CLU. I can't wait to tell everyone about all of my experiences here, but at the same time I know that they won't really understand most of what I have to say. That's the way my life has repeatedly been, as it's broken up into little compartments where one group of people from my life doesn't really understand what happens in any of the other experiences in my life, but I honestly think I prefer it that way, because I can understand more of myself when I have varied experiences to allow myself to grow. It makes me appreciate everyone in my life and everything I've ever been able to do monumentally more and I've never been happier to be living my life!

My adventure is not quite over yet, as on Friday I'm off to Peru to see Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca, then on to Chile and Vina del Mar and Santiago. Machu Picchu has always been one of those mysterious far away places that you never think that you'll be able to see in real life, so I don't think it's really set in yet that I'll be there in less than a week! I feel like the luckiest girl in the world right now that I am doing all of these absolutely life-changing and unforgettable things and I couldn't be more appreciative of all of the people that have made that possible! Of course there will be pictures of all of the upcoming adventures! (there are a few more up right now from around Buenos Aires as well as our incredible trip to Iguazu Falls: http://picasaweb.google.com/Lizzaaaaaay to see them!) and I'll make sure to update at least one more entry about those adventures!

"To live is the rarest thing in the world"
-Oscar Wilde

You know you're in Buenos Aires when...

2009-10-01T11:08:00.000-07:00

-you get cat-called by policemen
-you almost get hit by a colectivo every day
-you can't breathe
-dogs are walked in groups of 20
-and their poop is EVERYWHERE
-you stay out until 6am
-then you go get pizza...
-your life revolves around how you will get monedas for your next bus ride
-you eat alfajores, medialunas, empanadas, milanesa, and helado
-you plan grand adventures, but either get lost getting there, or wherever you were going is closed that day (for no particular reason)
-everyone loses a cell phone
-if you haven't lost one, you've DEFINITELY been stranded somewhere with no credit
-you've gone to McDonald's for a dulce de leche sundae
-you step in dog poop and get pooped on by a pigeon in the same day
-you've had an Argentine tell you "I love you", "I want to marry you", or "will you be my girlfriend?"
-you drink mate
-you go into a clothing store and can't fit into a large...
-your host mom is surprised when you're home before 3
-the guy that works at the gym makes out with you
-you can't buy peanut butter
-people LOVE that you're foreign
-you've been robbed
-salsa golf is a diet staple
-you don't know what you will do without kioscos
-or ferias
-you just want your pants to be dried in a dryer
-you have to take 2 subways and wait an hour and a half to pick up a package
-you've been on a bus when it has gotten in an accident
-you spend long afternoons in parks
-you've been to Retiro, and dread going back
-you've lost something at Lost
-waking up by 8am sounds CRAZY
-you've been pissed when you've accidently bought agua con gas
-which is surprisingly starting to grow on you
-ordering a coffee involves 8 dishes, served with a little cup of water and cookies, brownies, or any other dulce
-you're amazed that you don't have to order anything to sit in Starbucks, or pay for their internet
-sometimes, a trip out of the city is the most relieving thing you've ever been able to fathom
-you get weird phone calls and text messages in Spanish from people you don't know
-men wear rastas, mullets, rat tails, and the best: rasta-rat tail-mullets
-all the women have that bun on top of their head
-and they all wear those pants...
-your hot water always turns off in your shower
-you just want to eat something spicy
-it takes 2 months to figure out how the Guia-T works
-you get on a jam packed bus at 4:00am
-you complain about third world internet
-it's normal for someone to put a pen, scissors, a flashlight, or some other useless object on your lap on the subway, trying to sell it to you...you just wait patiently for them to come back around and pick it up
-you've tried to sit at the flower until it closes, unsuccessfully
-you've been to La Bamba
-La Boca and San Telmo scare you
-you go to the oddest places and meet the oddest people
-your life is weird

And that is why we love this city!!
:)

The Monedas

2009-09-28T14:08:00.000-07:00

Check it out, it's seriously an issue!!

For the Love of Monedas - Still Life in South America

Riding as a Collective - What's Up Buenos Aires

Only in Argentina...

2009-09-27T13:07:00.000-07:00

The ridiculousness of the series of events that occurred last night cannot go undocumented...sooooo a few of us decided that we wanted to go out last night, because I hadn't done much all day and felt kind of boring and they had all gone to Uruguay and just laid on the beach, so we were all a little antsy. I met Jared, Liz, and Elise around 1AM and we walked to the bus stop to wait for the good old 152. The bus system here is slightly ridiculous. Buses are called colectivos, and they're all owned by private companies so they're all different, but you can pretty much find one that will get you anywhere you need to go in the city. The problem is that they only accept change (monedas), and each company hoards the monedas because no one has figured out how to redistribute them. This has created a pretty obnoxious situation in Buenos Aires and Argentina in general, because it appears as though there's a moneda shortage and you always hear about some mafia that takes them all for one reason or another. Either way, you can't go to any store, supermarket, or kiosk and ask the attendant to exchange your 2 or 5 or 10 peso bill for monedas, because those monedas are freaking coveted. Even when making a purchase, they'll try and bargain with you to avoid having to give you your change in monedas. The whole thing is quite obnoxious and creates some very interesting situations (my host mom is friends with my friend Jared's host mom who has a house in the country...one Saturday they both told us that we were going to her country house the next day, and that we needed 10 pesos in monedas to get there. We were informed of this on Saturday, when banks aren't open, and Jared and I were forced to wander around the city for the entire day contemplating where the heck we would each get 10 pesos in monedas before 8AM the next morning...)

Anyways, last night we all came prepared with our 1.20 in monedas and waited at the bus stop for 20 minutes while we watched 3 buses zoom past us because there were SO MANY people on them that the drivers wouldn't stop to let us on (mind you, this is at 1:00 in the morning). A 152 FINALLY stops and lets us on, along with about 6 other people, and then we had the bus ride from hell. Why the other bus drivers were just fine with ignoring us because there were already enough people on their buses but this bus driver stopped for EVERYONE that flagged him down, I really could not tell you. We were literally on top of each other for the longest bus ride ever to the Alamo (this kind of sleazy American bar where my best Argie friend Rocio works), where we finally got off and could BREATHE (but not for long). We go into the Alamo, get our huge pitcher of beer, which Jared is forced to cradle and carry around while we wander upstairs and down for another 30 minutes trying to find SOMEWHERE to sit.

We finally end up making friends with some Argentine and Brazilian boys, who all didn't believe me when I told them I wasn't from Buenos Aires, and we sat down at their table. I got to practice my Spanish, which is always good, and the Argentine did a bunch of magic tricks for us, which was also ridiculous, but there was an obnoxious group of Americans sitting/standing at the table next to us (who also all thought I didn't speak English, so Jared and I played it up for a while). Anyways, they kept yelling and singing and 2 of them fell right into our table, almost killed me, and nearly spilt all of our beer. It was when one of them puked all over the floor right next to us, that we decided it was probably time to call it a night. Totally not worth my 20 pesos, plus my 1.20 monedas! Things like that seem to happen on a very regular basis here, and I can't help but laugh at how absolutely ridiculous this city can be sometimes.

FINALLY

2009-09-26T19:53:00.000-07:00

I finally found a website that lets me upload photos quickly!! I have 2 albums so feel free to look at them :)

http://picasaweb.google.com/Lizzaaaaaay

Gracias! Chau!

Ok...

2009-09-26T18:57:00.000-07:00

Ok so yes, I am officially the worst blogger ever, it's just there are so many more exciting things to do in my very little amount of time here than blog! Hahahaha, it's been another crazy month since I last posted anything (ok, I really am terrible) but my time here is sincerely flying by. I can't believe that in less than two months I will be back in the States, back to "real life". More and more, Buenos Aires has started to feel like home to me. I'm finally getting a handle on everything, and I'm finally getting used to nothing EVER being easy or going right! This place is full of funny situation, but I think it makes for better stories! Today, I went to La Boca (the kind of sketchy area of BA but it's supposed to be safe on weekends because it gets SUPER touristy). Anyways, we sat down outside of a restaurant and were about to order when all of a sudden this fight breaks out over who knows what, but there were people punching each other RIGHT next to our table-our waiter was actually a part of the whole thing. We didn't know what to do, like do we move or what? Then someone looks like they're pulling out a knife, so we get up and BOOK IT...so ridiculous hahaha. I've just gotten used to expecting the unexpected here, but still I continue to be amazed.

The Argentine/Buenos Aires culture is really VERY different from everything I know. It's actually a very odd place in a lot of ways, because it's a Latin American city but ever since its creation it's been a city that WANTS to be European. From the architecture, to the people, the dynamics here are so interesting to observe (for example, there really are no natives here, everyone is of European heritage). I actually really love all of my classes because we are learning about why Argentina is the way it is and all of the origins of the culture. People here are VERY proud to be Argentine, and Buenos Aires natives call themselves Portenos/Portenas. They're beautiful people, who love to drink their mate (yerba mate is kind of like a strong tea you drink from a gourd...there's lots of traditions and customs that go along with it, and there's lots of people here who you NEVER see without their mate), sit in parks, eat lots of meat, and stay out until all hours of the morning. They're never really in a rush to do anything, which I'm sure will frustrate my mom when she gets here! You have to flag down waiters in restaurants to ask for the check and wait for EVERYTHING. Yesterday, I had to go pick up a package that my aunt sent me. I got a card at my program's office saying I had a package, so I had to take 2 subways to this area called Retiro and wander around for about 25 minutes before I found the Correo building where I needed to go. Then I got a number, waited for a half an hour for it to be called, paid 6 pesos to some guy, then got another number and waited for another almost hour before it was called and I had to walk through like 3 doors and down 2 hallways to find some man who had my package. All for some tea and Cliff bars Aunt Jeanne sent me. But that's pretty typical here!

Although it's sounds like it would be a hard place to live, I couldn't be happier that I chose to study abroad in Buenos Aires. It's so different to live in a big city, especially because I never really have before. I also love exploring other parts of Argentina. I went on a trip to Cordoba a few weeks ago and this past weekend I went to Mendoza, which was AMAZING. It's a beautiful city near the Andes mountains, and it reminded me so much of Colorado! It's famous for it's wineries, and apparently is the best climate in the world for Malbec. We went on a wine tour and got to ride bicycles between three different wineries (they're called bodegas). Another day, we went paragliding, which was incredible. We also went horseback riding and ziplining in the mountains. The funniest thing about the trip was that we were doing some activities that would probably be labeled pretty high risk, and we got all of the instructions for them in Spanish! My mother loved hearing that!!! Ohhhhh the things we get into here! I love all the trouble, it makes for much better stories :)

Well I suppose that's enough for now, I'll say I'm going to update this again soon, but that might be a lie so don't count on anything!! Hahaha that's just the way things go?

Chau!!

Fotos

2009-08-23T13:50:00.000-07:00

Valerie loves Buenos Aires

Cats love the Recoleta Cemetery

We love boliches...

and mail...

and submarinos...

and the Rio

More to come, promise!!

One Month

2009-08-22T12:48:00.000-07:00

I knew this would be something that I was terrible about updating, so I'll try to remind myself to do it more often...but it's been more than a month! I can't believe that it's been 5 weeks to the day since I arrived in Buenos Aires. The city still feels strange to me, but every day I get more and more used to being here and it starts to feel a little more like home. I moved out of my first host home about 3 weeks ago into another house, with a roommate named Rachael and a host mom named Marta. It's a much better situation, because I'm in a way better location and I'm not all alone!

My best friend Valerie came to visit this past week, and it was the most amazing thing ever. Everyone kept saying "I wish my best friend would come visit me!" and we just responded "that's cuz we're ballers! jajaja" (that's hahaha in Spanish). It was a crazy week and we did all of the best touristy stuff in addition to going out and living it up in BA (it was her birthday while she was here). One of the funniest parts was when we went out one night and met up with my friend Kellen from ISA. He had randomly met this group of French people at an ATM who are also studying here and we all ended up going out together. We were all sitting at a table and people were speaking French, Spanish, and English! There was one point when I was in a cab with Kellen, Valerie, and one of the French guys. Kellen was telling the cab driver that he speaks Spanish and English, I speak Spanish, English, and French, Valerie speaks French and English, and the French guy speaks French and Spanish! Ohhhhhh the things that happen here never cease to amaze me!

It's been such an incredible month that I can't even fathom the fact that I only have another 3 ahead of me! Living in a foreign country never stops throwing me off...especially when Valerie was here, I started to notice the real differences between here and living in the US and there are so many! I've just gotten used to how long everything takes here and how you really can't do ANYTHING without something going wrong, it's all really is just part of the adventure. I love the hustle and bustle of the city. I love trying my hardest to communicate in Spanish. I love how often I just make a complete fool of myself and how I've learned to laugh about anything and everything. There's been a few times in the last few weeks when I've been too exhausted for words and have just NOT wanted to put in the effort that doing ANYTHING here requires, when I've just wished that I was home where things were easy, but every one of those times has been dramatically outnumbered by the incredible and amazing adventures I've had thus far and will continue to do so! I miss home, but I couldn't be happier in BA :)

Since it's been a month I'm going to probably start to get a few trips in during the next few months. We're talking about Cordoba, Mendoza, Montevideo, the beach with my Argentine friend Rocio when it gets warmer, and maybe Patagonia...I can't wait to explore more of Argentina and South America! I'm loving life, and I wish everyone could share these incredible experiences with me! I'll update this again very soon (or at least that's what I'll tell myself now...)

Chau y un beso!

Me encanta Buenos Aires

2009-07-28T17:02:00.000-07:00

Things I like about Buenos Aires:
1. sitting in cafes listening to people speak Spanish
2. being able to walk to anything I could possibly need
3. successfully communicating in Spanish in a surprisingly large number of situations!
4. dulce de leche
5. public transportation
6. "que linda"
7. getting buzzed into places
8. people watching
9. Cabildo, Libertador, Zabala, Jose Hernandez, Santa Fe, Juramento, and the like
10. physically opening elevator doors
11. getting used to the oddest sleeping habits ever
12. dog walkers
13. finishing your umpteenth cafe con leche of the day
14. weekend fairs in every park or square
15. stop lights turning yellow BEFORE they turn green
16. etc., etc., etc.

Welcome to Buenos Aires...

2009-07-18T23:24:00.000-07:00

Welcome to your first day in BA:
1. Navigate your way through customs in Spanish
2. Get stranded in your terminal and be forced to figure your way way through the airport until you find the ISA people
3. Meet your host mom (Tita doesn't speak any English)

All in one day. No, but in all honesty, Buenos Aires seems like a beautiful place to be...and, I mean, apart from having to use broken Spanish to find my way through the Buenos Aires airport, not understanding a word my host mom says, and dropping my money on the bus so I looked like a total fool, I'd say things are going pretty well, considering. The other ISA students I've met seem great and the city just makes my heart want to burst with happiness, if only I spoke any Spanish...

But sincerely, there have been more than several moments today when I have wanted to bawl my eyes out but I keep reminding myself that this is what I have dreamed about and now I'm actually living it! Sure, there are going to be plenty of uncomfortable situtations. Sure, I'm going to be absolutely terrified for the better part of the next month, and sure, the frustration with my beginning level Spanish will probably be overwhelming at times, but I'm so grateful for the opportunity to have this experience. It's going to be beautiful and I'm determined to enjoy every last bit of this adventure. I can't wait to make this city of cobblestoned streets, cozy cafes, crazy bars and clubs, mate, old traditions and modern people my home and that's exactly what I'm determined to do. I promise to walk everywhere and get lost as much as possible, and go out as much as possible, and meet Argentines as much as possible, and be enamoured and astounded by the vibrant Latin combined with the traditional European culture that exists here. This is where it starts and I'm excited to see where it goes!

Chau, y un beso!

The Sky Is Calling

2009-07-16T01:29:00.000-07:00

I've never been much for blogging or anything of the sort, but I guess that there are enough people in my life who I've promised I would keep updated on my adventures and happenings in Buenos Aires that is justifies taking some time to document such events online :)

Packing is also not something I've ever been much for, but that's an unavoidable necessity also! Now if I could only figure out how to get my 61 pound suitcase to miraculously weigh under 50...

Departure: FRIDAY!