Wait, what? I have a blog??

That is a damn good question: one I just had to ask myself when an old friend inquired if I was going to update it soon. Oh yes, what do you know, I DO have my very own travel blog! Oh and look, according to this "great-way-to-keep-in-touch", 2010 hasn't happened yet. Woops. I warned people this would happen, didn't I?

How in the world do I get 10 months caught up here? I'll make it short (and include pictures for those of us who are ADD):

-my dad visited in November! My first family visitor!! The highlight was the amazing Thanksgiving dinner we made for 11 Argentines who had never eaten turkey before. I will for sure be repeating this next year. You down, Dad? :)

Thanksgiving Dinner

-Summer rocked hard core. It was hot, and my pool and house parties cooled off the sizzle. I am counting down for summer 2010. Christmas in summer was strange (not to be repeated) but amazing: Christmas Eve and New Years parties are unforgettable. And so is drinking sangria by the pool on Christmas Day (but if you start early you'll need a midnight nap to make it to the clubs by the 3am entrance time).

Santa by the pool

post-sangria, pre-nap

-I spent 10 days traveling the beaches of Uruguay before heading to my first Southern Cone AIESEC conference. Beautiful. I got the harshest burn I have had in my life. And AIESECers are just as crazy down here as they are everywhere in the world.


-I drank a lot of great wine (meaning I worked. a lot.).
Vineyard Salentien

-I took part of my 2nd Vendimia (Wine Harvest) festival and got to see harvest first-hand in the wineries. Impressive shows, lots of grapes, even more wine.

the show! wine-making

-I got a visit from my mom! Which was wonderful and even adventurous since we had to drive to Santiago to pick her up right after the earthquake. Santiago airport = two large tents. Having her see the drive back through the mountains made it totally worth it. And of course, having her with me for a week made my life.

(drinking Andes beer in the Andes mountains)
The tearful welcome in Santiago's tent

-I saw AIESEC begin to take over my life. Being in charge of all incoming exchange keeps me busy. Worth it 150%. Most days.

AIESEC!

-I experienced the most beautiful fall I have ever seen in the vineyards of Mendoza and in my backyard. If it were fall all year round, I would be the giddiest, happiest gringa living here.

in Uco Valley vineyards

-I spent 3 1/2 weeks with the most amazing people in the world: family and friends in Missouri!! Also, having my car back made me realize I think I miss that almost as much as my people (and I say almost because "my people" will be reading this blog). That next to Taco Bell, American beer, and spicy Mexican food. I gained 5 pounds at least. Thanks, grandma. I can't wait to go back.

some of my favorite people in the world

Our matching tattoos

-I then backpacked solo around Colombia and Ecuador for 3 weeks where I had the most amazing experience of my life. My suggestion to everyone: Travel alone at least once. It will change your life.

Tayrona Park in Colombia (aka paradise)


At the Middle of the World (0-0-0) in Quito.

-I bought a Spanish mastiff puppy that is quickly becoming the size of my poor Colombian roommate. I am in love.
Jeronimo!

-And during all this time, I've continued to watch AIESEC suck many hours out my day, my week, my months. Every second is worth the experience and satisfaction I get from it. Not to mention the badass people I get to spend my time with.

Aiesec recruitment 2010- Universidad de Cuyo

-And of course, I boast my wine expertise about five times weekly to anxious tourists who want to know how the hell a Missouri girl came to give high quality tours in Mendoza. Yes, New Yorkers, Missouri actually has PEOPLE living in the state. And not just in-bred, red-neck, Bible-lovers who own farms and are missing teeth. Some of us did go to college, travel a bit, and know the difference between North and South America (unlike you idiots who don't even know where Missouri is.. and you call us ignorant?). I just wow them with my charm, knowledge, and passion, and crank every peso tip I can out of them. And of course, drink the wine.



THE END! Don't forget of course the meet-ups with friends, day trips to the mountains, taco dinners, asados, lazy Sundays, random trips to Chile, and... more wine. Pics to follow:

World Peace March in the Andes
Bruno turns 26 and we celebrate 3 years

Friends! Chilean coast

End of year dinner with Tania and Porky Pine: my favorites!
With some fellow american-argentines ;)
las chicas, taco night! Bruno's family
Mi familia mendocina asado: some days I miss being vegetarian ;)

Soon to come: Finally my trip to Buenos Aires to see my lover Brad, getting Bruno back from India, taking classes, NGO-working, sisters visiting and more trip planning (next stop, South Africa?).

And next time, I will try NOT to wait 10 months...

a day off to write

It has been a busy month. Today I have a day off, but I plan on spending it only doing a small bit of writing and catching up. The rest of my day will have to be outside in my sunny yard by the pool. As much as I love keeping you all updated, there are some things my soul needs. :)

In a nutshell:

Tourists are coming to Mendoza in floods so it seems, and since I am a tour guide, I am busy working nearly everyday. I must say though that I never get tired of meeting the tourists (sometimes get tired of the wine, tho. I still don't understand how that happens..). Every morning when I look at my "guide sheet" and see the names of my passengers for the day, I always fabricate a personality for each one. I usually am incorrect but happily so, since they tend to be much more interesting that the characters I come up with.

My English classes continue to be the highlights of my week. I really enjoy my students and the stimulating dialogues we have. buena gente.

And Mendoza, of course, is still beautiful. The sun, mountains, and miles of vineyards still take my breath away. I am pretty ecstatic to show it to my dad in November and my mom in March.

I am sending sun and good livin vibes to all of you! Remember to take life easy and enjoy what you have around you.

besos to all.

soplando la vela

So lately I've been contemplating... I’ve fallen behind on the updates, so do I wait until I have time to write one long one to catch everyone up, or do I just do one short one so I don’t get completely behind? …..

I’m going with a short one, folks. My two favorite English students are on their way over, so it really will be quick. Highlights of the last few days are pictured below: Al Gore visiting Mendoza and presenting at my old University, and my 23rd birthday celebrating with two amazing families who treat me like one of their one.



(At my ex-host families house with mi mama Carmencita and baby Maxi after a delicious birthday lunch.)



Besides politician-chasing and cake-eating, I fill my time teaching English (aka my platform for social activism; this was not intentional, but that is how it has turned out) and getting trained to be Mendoza’s next tour guide! Really guys, I’m offering you all a hostel to stay at AND tours by yours truly… I’ll be waiting for your visit soon!

some more fotitos

Me and the roomies! :)



Yes, Karla broke her leg.


Karla broke her leg and likes to eat her cast. (It was too sad for us the first day to make her wear this awful lamp-looking piece of work, but when we went to the vet the next day and died of embarrassment when he found pieces of the cast in her mouth, we decided it was for her own good.)


The empanadas I made!

Greetings again from Mendoza!

Today is the eve of spring and also a nationwide holiday for students. I absolutely love Argentine holidays. The best thing about them is that they occur at least once a month. And as opposed to American holidays where most people are still working, going to school, etc., an Argentine holiday actually means a day off. No wonder the quality of life is much higher here, huh?

Holidays here (my favorite being Friend Day in July) is one thing I definitely missed about Argentina. Now that I have been back for over three (!!) weeks, I have had the chance to enjoy the small things about the city, country, and culture that I missed without even realizing it. Of course when I left last time, I desperately missed the people: host family, boyfriend, friends… I also immediately missed the night life and in general the ability to stay up late and take siestas during the day. There are other things, though, that I missed that I didn’t realize until now that I’ve been back.


The first example is the media tarde. I guess I would explain that by calling it “tea time”. It’s tea, coffee, mate, milk, or soda if it’s hot out accompanied most commonly by pastries of some sort. The media tarde (or “tomando la leche”) happens after the siesta, usually anytime between about 5 to 7pm (but when does actual time matter here, anyway?). Since dinners are served late, it’s the perfect mid-day event to boost your energy and wake you up after your siesta. It’s also a great excuse to meet up with a friend and spend the afternoon together.


Secondly (which is similar to the first example) is the culture of going to cafes. This is the best when it’s warm out, so you can sit outside of a café with a friend, coworker, classmate, family member, etc., etc. and sip on a café con leche (my favorite) while enjoying conversation or people watching. The best thing about this is that everyone is doing it. If you are sitting at a table, you are surrounded by people who are likewise enjoying a drink and the company of a loved one. If you are just walking by the café, you can watch the Argentines take a break in their day to sit and chat, which is almost just as fun as being there yourself. Coffee to go is extremely rare (hopefully it stays that way despite the fact the Starbucks is attempting to take over Buenos Aires); the culture of sitting and enjoying the coffee and the company is highly valued. I have been able to enjoy many a café with some of my favorite Mendocinos these last few weeks, and I always leave feeling extremely energized and refreshed.


The last example of things I missed is the crazy things Argentines say. Most of the idioms used would be considered dirty or inappropriate when translated to the English language, but here they fill the conversations of just about everybody. For example, if someone is bugging you, being demanding or in any way annoying, feel free to say they are making your balls swell or call them a “ball sweller”. If you don’t give a shit about something you can say “me chupa un huevo”. In order to keep the blog PG I won’t go on anymore, but it is refreshing to hear people speak their minds (of course with a wide variety of hand motions to go along, just in case the words didn’t get the point across) whenever and however they want to.


On a more update-ey note things in Mendoza are still going very well. Besides enjoying all the things listed above and the company of some amazing (and I mean AMAZING) Argentines that I’ve been reconnecting with, I have kept busy planning for our hostel (update soon), taking care of Karla who has broken her leg (pictures soon… be ready for a good laugh/cry moment), networking for jobs (stay tuned, it’s getting close!) and getting paperwork done to get legal residence. I also have been experimenting with cooking/drink-making and am extremely encouraged after making a successful batch of empanadas de pollo and some tasty (yet fatal) margaritas for some friends. Enjoying life here has definitely not been a problem for me. Not being employed has let me get back in the swing of Argentiness, and I am enjoying it while I can. Oh yes, and I drove yesterday (and lived to tell about it)!


In addition to what’s above, this coming week I am going to take some wine classes, volunteer at the Food Bank, and get our yard ready for springtime and our hostel. Yippee!


Maybe next time I will make a list of things I did NOT miss about Argentina…. That would be entertaining to say the least (especially if you want to hear about near-death situations in public busses, waiting in line for just about… everything, and getting ardently followed by stray dogs). Until then, I’ll stay on my cloud nine!


Besos to all!

pictures as promised

This is a picture I took from my front door. Behind the trees is the pool, that of course isn't in use yet. I didn't take a picture of the front yard entrance because they are re-modeling it now.


Same thing, different angle, different day.



A place for cooking asados...



Entrance to la casita:



Yes, you've seen this, but isn't it cute with Karla in it?



Taken from the front door. To the left is our room, to the right our roomie's



Kitchen area. Only one at a time, please.



Living room/dining room.. haha



My room! So cheery!



The bathroom. I've included this just to share a daily laugh of mine... it's so narrow in there that I have to sit to the side on the toilet. It makes me laugh every, every time.



And it's meeee. I thought maybe you'd want to see my face, maybe. It's for you, Mom and Dad. xxoo.

wishing for winter's goodbye

No, Dad, not falling behind!

Here I am warming up from the chill Mendoza has brought me the last two days. I hear it's the last cold front of the winter, so please keep your fingers crossed that that is the case.

I am attaching some pictures to give a less verbal and more visual effect of mi vida mendocina. The highlight of the week is a new addition to my house, Karla (see pictures). We found her on the street and she is now the newest resident of our apartment. The decision for her name was difficult, since we wanted to keep up with the political trend we had, but after she went a few hours without a name (and "Hillary" sounded too painful with a Spanish accent), we decided to simplify things. I am training her in English and so far she knows sit and stay.

I also have been taking pictures of the apartment, but I want to make sure to take them on a sunny day so the beauty is captured the best way possible. That should be tomorrow, so keep a look out!

Besos to all from a happy me!