Thanksgiving in Argentina

My friends Bridget and Jackie came to visit me this past week. They are on an adventure as well, but in Brazil. It was nice to see them, like a little piece of home was visiting me in Buenos Aires. It was a wonderful weekend!

For Thanksgiving, my friends Juan and Ana were kind enough to invite us for Thanksgiving Dinner. Argentinians do not normally celebrate Thanksgiving, however Ana's brother Gonzalo was home from the States. The dinner was incredible....lamb, beef, mashed potatoes, salad, carmelized onions, apple sauce....yummy. For dessert... dulce de leche ice cream, cake, brule, fruit medley!! Spending time with Ana's family was great. They are such nice people. Juan and Ana - Thank you so much for making it feel like Thanksgiving in Argentina! : ) You guys are the best! Pictures coming soon...Bridget (aka - paparazzi :) has all the pictures.

The Majic Family

I finally met my family in Rosario! They are all so wonderful. I was so happy to meet them. It’s definitely the biggest highlight on this adventure so far. I took a 4 hour bus ride to Rosario and stayed with Sofia. Luckily, Sofi speaks perfect English and I was able to communicate with my other 2 cousins, Sandra and Cintia. Even though we come from such different places, I noticed similarities right away.

Cintia - A hippie and free spirited. She’s very funny and natural. She has strong beliefs and stands up for them. She’s a social worker, and very passionate about her career. She is adorable with her boyfriend Martin. And you can see the love between them.

Sandra - She is tall like me. She definitely looks like a Croata. She’s sporty yet very girly at the same time. She believes in positive thinking and envisioning what we want for the future (exactly what I believe in). I went into her room, and she had a vision board (just like in “The Secret”). Sandra has a Hamsa key chain, I have a Hamsa necklace : ) Hamsa brings good luck and wards off evil.

Sofia – I was able to spend a lot of time with Sofi, and she is absolutely amazing. I can’t believe she is only 19 years old. She’s so mature, intelligent, independent, and logical. She is studying in Rosario. And I know the future only holds the best for her. And she is the reason I am able to meet and communicate with my family here in Argentina. Thanks Sofi! It means the world to me.

Friday night, Sofi and I went to Sandra and Cintia’s for dinner. Cintia’s boyfriend joined us as well. Martin is very nice. We had delicious empanadas and pizza. They brought out a wipe off board and we wrote out the Family tree. Sofia, Sandra, and Cintia’s grandma (Iva) is my grandma’s (Anica) sister. So, these girls are my second cousins. And our fathers are first cousins.

On Saturday, Sofi’s aunt took us on a tour of Rosario. It’s a small city, and very calm. It was nice to get away from Buenos Aires for the weekend. The Parana River is very peaceful. It was nice to be close to water. Saturday night went out for Mexican food with Sofi, and then headed to a bar with a few of her friends.

Sunday morning we had to be up for Tia’s Birthday. It was the first time I was meeting my Tio and Tia. Sofi and I headed to the restaurant to meet up with them. I was nervous since I wasn’t sure how we were going to communicate. However, I was surprisingly shocked, my Tio speaks perfect Croata!! It was so comfortable, and so natural. I felt like I was home with family. My Tio could be my father’s brother, they look so similar. We had a wonderful lunch with the girls. After lunch, we went back to Cintia and Sandra’s for cake (Tia’s Birthday) and Mate. The tradition of Mate is wonderful. There is a Mate cup with Mate yerba. It is filled up with hot water, and you take turns drinking it. It’s bitter, but I like bitter. Afterward, all of us girls went out to a street artesian market. My primas bought me a ring and Mate cup with a leaf on it. It is adorable. I’m going to start drinking Mate on a regular basis. It’s an energy booster without the downfall (like in coffee). My Tia is sweet, and we were able to communicate with my little Castellano and hand gestures of course. Her and my Tio look very happy.

After being out all day, we came back to the apartment and ordered 1 kg of ice cream. And we ate it all! It was delicious! We hung out and listened to Latina music, it was hilarious. Lots of laughing and great conversations. Before I knew it, the time was midnight and it was time to say goodbye. The weekend flew by so fast and I was sad to say goodbye. But, I know I will be seeing all of them very soon.

I never imagined it would be this great meeting my family. They are great people. Baba Iva and Baba Anica are looking down at us smiling : )

I'm a slacker

I'm slacker with my blog, but not with going out : ) People barely sleep in this city, and I'm starting to adapt to it. Not sure if it's a good thing, since I love my sleep.

I'm going to wrap up my fun filled week and a half.

Tigre - I visited Tigre with my friend Benjamin. It's about an hour away from the city. I was going with him to check out some boats for his business. We were able to ride 2 boats, fast boats. It was nice to get out of the city for a day. Then, we chilled at a cafe and walked around the area. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't too great.

Running - Went running through the Ecological Reserve by Puerto Madero with Amy. Well, I walked most of the way and chit chatted. We met some new people, some expats and locals. We're always meeting new people, which is great.

Monday night came around and I went out. And ended up staying out until 5 am, very crazy. There were about 8 of us. We had drinks and then dancing! The music is amazing in the clubs, all the Latin music I enjoy.

Tuesday - Grabbed lunch with friends and spent the day with Ernesto, a new friend.

Wednesday - I stayed in most of the day trying to recover from being out so much. Then, went over to Nate's for Mexican food with the expats

Thursday - I taught English for 2 hours (well 1 hour, since the first person canceled on me). It went ok. But, I'm definitely wanting to work. I'm ready to work full time. This will determine how long I stay here. I want to stay in Buenos Aires. After my classes, I went to an art exhibition with Senora Marta. Met some nice people, and polo players. Marta kept pushing me to talk to them, hahaha. It was funny. I'm becoming very close to Marta, which is great. She's becoming my second family. Thursday night met up with a friend from Chicago (well, Colleen's friend). And then went over to Benjamin's for dinner and then out dancing. It was a late night once again, came back home at 5 am.

Friday - Slept in. Job searched. Stayed in most of the day. Then, went out to dinner with the friend from Chicago (Victor) and his friends. We went to a new area, somewhere in north Palermo. Afterwards, we went to a Salsa club. LOTS of Salsa dancing. It was an overdose of Salsa. Got in at 5 am AGAIN.

Saturday - I met my cousin Sofia and my aunt!!! They are both very nice. And it was amazing to think I have such close family here. And that Sofia's baba and my baba were sisters. I could see resemblances. They came over to my place and we had coffee/medialunas.
In the evening, I went to my first asado. It was about an hour away from the city. My friend Ernesto invited me, Amy, and Stephanie. There were about 20 people. The food was delicious, mostly meat. Basically, an asado is huge grill over a coal fire with all sorts of meat. Once the meet was down, I never saw people attach so fast. It was cool. The asado reminded me of the days on the farm with my family roasting a lamb on a spit. I wish we did more of this back home, now that I'm older. It's a great bonding experience with family and friends. We sat around the bonfire talking about everything and anything. And then the Karaoke began, it was great to watch and many laughs. I'm very glad I met this group of guys: Ernesto, Augustine, Jimmy, and Benjamin.
We stayed up until 5 am. Luckily, the house had many beds, so we crashed and woke up this morning to a house full of family and kids. Hahaha, they were all so nice. We through the rugby ball around, and then drove back to the city. I took a siesta of course.

1 month in Buenos Aires!

I've been here for 1 month! Time is flying by so fast, which means I'm having a great time.
I'm feeling good about everything and learning so much! I'm learning about a new culture and even more about myself. No regrets at all, and I never imagined it would be going this well!
I'm happy : )

I miss my family and friends back home. I love you all. Lots of Hugs and Kisses!

Oh Wednesday, what a day!

So, Wednesday comes along and I'm ready to go on my interview. The night before, I asked Senora Marta about directions to get to Belgrano. She told me Bus 67, and the route it would take, and where to get off. I got on the bus, and everything was going well until the bus started going in a different direction. I got off right away and jumped into a cab, I told him where I was going in my best Castillano. After 5 minutes, my instincts told me he had no clue where the cafe was located. So, I got out of the cab and called the person I was interviewing with. I explained the situation and she was cool. She told me to get into another cab and make sure they knew the intersection. Luckily, the next cab driver knew exactly where to go, but then we hit a closed street where they were filming a movie (another obstacle). He told me it was very close by and I could walk around the corner. I somehow understood, the hand gestures helped. I found the cafe!
I was 10 minutes late, but the lady was totally fine with it. She was glad I made it. The interview went extremely well and I hope I got the job. I should be hearing from them this week for another interview next week. I only met with an HR lady (outsourced).
I took the train back home, and it went very smoothly.

I had plans to meet another expat. We decided to go to Patio Bullrich (a very nice shopping mall near by). We had a very nice conversation at a cafe. After a few hours, we decided to leave. She left her money on the table and went to the bathroom. I left my portion, and I asked for 1 peso back. The waitress came back and handed me the 1 peso. Her thank you was extremely nice, and I thought for a second after I left.....Why was she so nice saying thank you? I just left her a regular tip. I stopped thinking about it after a few minutes.

My friend and I decided to go to MALBA, a museum near by. We spent a few hours there, and then went home. I walked home alone and I kept thinking about that waitress. I thought I was going crazy.

I finally reached home. Ate a snack. I had dinner plans with Amy. Before I was about to leave, I checked to see how much money was in my wallet. Shit!!!!!!!!!!!! I gave the waitress 100 pesos, instead of 10 pesos!!!!! That's why she was so nice. I couldn't believe it. I was so mad at myself. How could I do this? I never do something like this? Then, after being pissed off, I told myself it's ok. I've been very fortunate in many other things, this is not a big deal. It technically is only $25 USD, but 100 pesos here goes a long way.....it's like $100 USD in the USA. I can't do anything now, so what's the point of thinking about it. But, then I was angry because the waitress didn't say anything to me, even though it was my stupid fault. What a day.

Dinner with Amy was nice, much needed. We stopped for some heladio (ice cream) after dinner. And then headed over to her place afterward, chit chatted with Benjamin and Jimmy. Those 2 are very funny.

Today, I slept in. I was really tired for some reason. Senora Marta was still home, so we had our everyday normal conversation about what I did the day before. I told her about the 100 pesos mix up. She was more upset than me and said we would go to Patio Bullrich to talk to them. I told her it was ok, it was my fault. I've learned my lesson, I need to be more careful. Also, I've been VERY fortunate with everything in BsAs (meeting wonderful people, my living arrangement, getting around the city, etc)...so this is no big deal. She insisted we still go this afternoon, I told her ok. I had a training session for teaching English since I'm subbing for someone next week. It was ok.
Afterward, I went to Galeria Pacifico (another shopping mall) and walked around. Senora Marta called and said to head home so we could go to Patio Bullrich.
We arrived to Patio Bullrich, and the waitress from yesterday was not there. Senora Marta talked to another lady and she was really nice. We left our number, they're going to call us once they talk to the girl. Senora Marta left her business card, and she was confident they would call back because of her name. I'm still convinced she's a famous person.

Running in Palermo

On Tuesday, I went for a run in Palermo. There is a park called Parque 3 de Febrero, it's beautiful. People run around on a track and in the middle is a garden with roses/flowers. The day couldn't have been anymore perfect. I walked by Argentino Tenis Club as well, it looks great from the outside. I'm curious to see what it looks like inside, I will paying a visit shortly.
I made my Israeli salad, I posted a picture on the last post. It was delicious and Senora Marta was impressed. I thought there was a little too much lemon, but it was still good.
I received a call back from the phone interview. They want to see me Wednesday for an in-person interview at a cafe in Belgrano.

Food in BsAs

Here are some photos of food....
-The Israeli Salad I made, inspired by the movie
-More carne and papas fritas
-Bife de Lomo I had for dinner
-Empanadas Senora Marta bought the other night

Honduras Club

It was another great weekend in Buenos Aires.....

Friday night I had plans to go out with Emilio, a friend of Bridget and Jackie's from back home.
He said we would go dancing, horrahhhh! The plan was to meet at his friend's at 11 pm.
He said I could invite friends, so I asked Amy (an expat from D.C.) I ended up going to Amy's place and meeting 2 more locals. We ended up drinking Fernet/Coke and dancing with tennis racquets, haha. It was a blast, but we were also late meeting up with Emilio. And worse than ARGENTINE late, we were 2 hours late. By this time, Nate and Sarah (2 more expats) were at Amy's. I made everyone drink their drinks really fast so we could leave. I felt a little weird bringing 5 people with me, but it worked out great. 1 of the locals in my group knew one of Emilio's friends, phew!
We did some more dancing : ) Around 2 am, we left for the club. There were 9 of us, and we were sticking together like a herd. Especially, since it was late, we made sure to walk on streets with lights. But, by the time we found cabs, 2 had disappeared and went home. They didn't even say goodbye : ( Our herd separated.
We made it to Honduras Club. The music was great, lots of Latin music!! Just the way I like it. The club was completely packed, but we found a semi-packed dance floor upstairs. Emilio is a fantastic dancer, I was very impressed. I danced all night long : ) We ended up leaving the club at 5 and headed home sweet home.

This is for the ladies......On Saturday, Amy and I went to get manicures/pedicures. The manicure was excellent. They do pedicures very differently here than back home. I felt like I was having surgery. They kept bringing out these drill machines, I was a little terrified. And not knowing the language doesn't really help in situations like this, good thing I had Amy by my side. They don't soak your feet in water either, instead they put swabs of alcohol on your feet. Fortunately, everything turned out ok.

It rained all day Saturday, and it was hard to get motivated to go out. But, I did. Amy and I went out for dinner at a local place, I don't remember the name. I had Bife de Lomo, it was enormous! I need a break from carne, I'm not use to it. Afterward, we met up with the expats. They were all dressed up for Halloween. Amy and I weren't. All 15 of us took the bus to Milion, a club in Recoleta. It looked like a mansion with several floors. Amy and I left early since we were tired. I was home by 2 am, it was an early night.

I stayed in all day yesterday, since it rained. And, I studied Castillano! I'm proud of myself. Senora Marta also spoke with me, in Castillano of course. I'm slowly getting there people, very slowly. For dinner last night, I had empanadas with Senora Marta. They were delicious.

Today, I went to a cafe and job searched. I sent out an email for a job posting, and received a response automatically. It's amazing how fast they respond here. I was even able to set up a phone interview with them today. I thought it went well, I'll find out this week if they want me to come in for an in-person interview. It's nothing like this in Chicago.

I went to the cinema today, first time going alone and it wasn't weird at all. There were other people alone in the cinema as well. It was actually nice. My friend Laura back home always talked about going solo, and I never did it. The movie was called "El arbol de Lima" (The Lemon Tree). There was only 5 minutes of English. The rest was in Arabic, Russian, and Hebrew. I understood some of the Hebrew words. Shalom, nishekot, Toda...thanks to my Israeli friends : ) I read the subtitles in Castillano and understood a lot of the story. I couldn't believe it!!! It's clicking.
Castillano homework = Cinema once a week : )

So, I've realized it's very difficult to understand the Portenos.
I spoke with a Columbian the other night, and I understood a lot.
Portenos speak so rapido!!

The movie inspired me, I'm going to make Israeli salad tomorrow. I'm craving salad all the time!

(I found out the name of the jamon, mayo, sweet pastry sandwiches Senora Marta bought last Monday. They are called "Fosforitos"!