I started out this week with my History of Art exam. The exam was oral, so the professor had to talk with each student individually and it took forever. I was in the middle of the group and had to wait almost four hours. It was really easy though and I got an 8 (A-) in the class, so I was really happy about that.
The rest of the week has just been packing, hanging out with friends, saying goodbyes and preparing myself to come home. I'm really excited to come home, but I'm a little nervous. I'm definitely not excited for the whole 18 hours of travel. I hate flying and airports, and I'm going to have to lug around my two almost 50lb suitcases, my backpack and a messenger bag.
It's definitely going to be really different once I get home. I've developed a routine here. I have certain restaurants I go to, I have certain brands that I prefer when I go buy something at the supermarket, and I can either walk everywhere or take the bus. After tomorrow, that's all gone. I will have to re-adjust to the US, driving everywhere, being able to speak in English everywhere, and things like going to restaurants and supermarkets are going to feel completely strange for a while.
Studying abroad has been an incredible experience. I met some wonderful people, I learned a ton about Spanish and about myself, and overall, I'm very happy with my experience here. At this point, I'm not sure that I'll miss the city itself, because the big city is definitely not the place for me, but I will miss the friends I've made here. Luckily three of my friends here go to my CMU with me.
I fly out tomorrow night at 9pm and should arrive in TC around 3pm on Sunday. I will do a quick update when I get back! Thanks for reading this for six months! Chau!
Friday, July 22, 2011
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Week 23
Not a very exciting week due to studying for exams, but I got to get out and do a few things.
I spent all day Sunday studying psychology with my friend Travis and it paid off! I took my exam on Monday morning and got a 9 (which is equivalent to an A in US grading)! I was very excited! Afterwards, I went to China Town with Travis and Mora (our friend from our psychology class) to get churros and donuts at this place that our friend Janell had showed us a while ago. It's really good, but becoming a bit of a problem as it's cheap and easy to get to! :-p
Tuesday was pretty boring with nothing but studying.
Wednesday I met up with Travis, Emily and Mora to get Chinese for lunch, followed by more studying afterwards.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 came out on Thursday here (a day earlier than in the US), so I went to that with Travis and Karen. It was an incredible movie, and while I would have liked to go to the midnight premiere with my friends in the states, it was a fun time.
I dedicated most of Friday to studying and on Saturday, I met up with Emily and Travis to see the Casa Rosada (Pink House), which is the governmental building in Argentina. We didn't end up doing a guided visit, because the line was really long and it was a nice day, so after seeing the parts we were able to see without a guide, we headed over to the fería in Recoleta since this is the last Saturday that we can go. We shopped for a while there and enjoyed the sunshine.
And now we have one week left! After my exam on Monday, I have to start packing and get ready to go back to the states!
I spent all day Sunday studying psychology with my friend Travis and it paid off! I took my exam on Monday morning and got a 9 (which is equivalent to an A in US grading)! I was very excited! Afterwards, I went to China Town with Travis and Mora (our friend from our psychology class) to get churros and donuts at this place that our friend Janell had showed us a while ago. It's really good, but becoming a bit of a problem as it's cheap and easy to get to! :-p
Tuesday was pretty boring with nothing but studying.
Wednesday I met up with Travis, Emily and Mora to get Chinese for lunch, followed by more studying afterwards.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 came out on Thursday here (a day earlier than in the US), so I went to that with Travis and Karen. It was an incredible movie, and while I would have liked to go to the midnight premiere with my friends in the states, it was a fun time.
I dedicated most of Friday to studying and on Saturday, I met up with Emily and Travis to see the Casa Rosada (Pink House), which is the governmental building in Argentina. We didn't end up doing a guided visit, because the line was really long and it was a nice day, so after seeing the parts we were able to see without a guide, we headed over to the fería in Recoleta since this is the last Saturday that we can go. We shopped for a while there and enjoyed the sunshine.
And now we have one week left! After my exam on Monday, I have to start packing and get ready to go back to the states!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Week 22
On Sunday I decided to check out the Museo Evita, which is a museum dedicated to Eva Perón. She was first lady to Juan Perón and was very politically involved. She is very controversial here. People either love her and worship her as a saint or they absolutely hate her. It was very interesting to learn a little more about her and to see a different side of things since I had learned a few things about her in my classes this last semester.
On Monday, I met up with my friends Emily and Travis to go to the Museo Casa de Carlos Gardel (Carlos Gardel-House Museum). Carlos Gardel is probably the most well known tango singer in Argentina. The museum was small, but was still interesting. After the museum we went to a big mall in the area. It was enormous! There was a kid's area with amusement park rides and it was crazy. We didn't stay long as we didn't intend to buy anything, but it was still cool!
Tuesday I met up with Travis to study a little bit for our psychology exam that we have on Monday. After a few hours of studying, we went to get Chinese food in Barrio Chino and then we went to a churrería (a place that specializes in churros), to get donuts filled with dulce de leche. So good.
Wednesday was a pretty boring day with just a bit of studying.
Thursday I met up with Travis and Emily to go to Plaza de Mayo downtown to see Las Madres de Plaza de Mayo. Every Thursday at 3:30 p.m. a group of mothers and grandmothers meet up in Plaza de Mayo to remember their lost children. During the dictatorship in the 1970s, many children were kidnapped and either killed or adopted. They call them the desaparecidos (disappeared). The mothers used to meet up in hopes of finding their children. We also stopped at the cathedral downtown where Saint Martin is buried.
Friday I had to study all day for my Psychology exam and Saturday I went to a few ferias with my friend Travis since time is running out to get gifts and souvenirs!
*I will try to put some pictures up once my friends post them. Not only is my camera screen broken, but all of the pictures I took last week didn't turn out, because the lens cover won't open all the way unless I manually do it.*
2 weeks left! Crazy, but I am ready to go home.
On Monday, I met up with my friends Emily and Travis to go to the Museo Casa de Carlos Gardel (Carlos Gardel-House Museum). Carlos Gardel is probably the most well known tango singer in Argentina. The museum was small, but was still interesting. After the museum we went to a big mall in the area. It was enormous! There was a kid's area with amusement park rides and it was crazy. We didn't stay long as we didn't intend to buy anything, but it was still cool!
Tuesday I met up with Travis to study a little bit for our psychology exam that we have on Monday. After a few hours of studying, we went to get Chinese food in Barrio Chino and then we went to a churrería (a place that specializes in churros), to get donuts filled with dulce de leche. So good.
Wednesday was a pretty boring day with just a bit of studying.
Thursday I met up with Travis and Emily to go to Plaza de Mayo downtown to see Las Madres de Plaza de Mayo. Every Thursday at 3:30 p.m. a group of mothers and grandmothers meet up in Plaza de Mayo to remember their lost children. During the dictatorship in the 1970s, many children were kidnapped and either killed or adopted. They call them the desaparecidos (disappeared). The mothers used to meet up in hopes of finding their children. We also stopped at the cathedral downtown where Saint Martin is buried.
Friday I had to study all day for my Psychology exam and Saturday I went to a few ferias with my friend Travis since time is running out to get gifts and souvenirs!
*I will try to put some pictures up once my friends post them. Not only is my camera screen broken, but all of the pictures I took last week didn't turn out, because the lens cover won't open all the way unless I manually do it.*
2 weeks left! Crazy, but I am ready to go home.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Week 21
Sunday was a pretty calm day. I met up with my friend Travis to go to la Fería de Mataderos about an hour away from where we live. It turned out that his host family and one of the students that he lives with decided to go as well, so we met up with them at the fair, ate choripan (chorizo-a type of sausage, on bread with a chimichurri sauce- So good and cheap!), and then wandered the fair for a bit. When we decided to head on home, my friend's host parents offered to drive us, so that we didn't have to take the bus, which was really nice of them! The bus is fine, but it seems to take forever. After I got home, I spent most of the evening on my computer following the soccer game. One of the main teams in Buenos Aires, River Plate, had an important game yesterday. They needed to win by 2 points to stay a principal team. They didn't, and are now a secondary team. The fans here are crazy about soccer here, so of course there was a riot in and around the stadium. Luckily, I'm far enough away from the stadium, so it wasn't a problem for me, but watching a video of the riot was crazy! There were over 2,000 police officers using tear gas and water cannons to try to stop the rioting, but they were unsuccessful. There were fires, injuries, cars destroyed and the people even resorted to throwing things at each and at the police officers. A crazy, but historic day in Argentina.
Monday I got to sleep in since I don't have classes anymore. I went to a cafe near my house for lunch and to use their internet since it works much better than the internet at my house. I also finished my book! It was called "La Sociedad de la Nieve" (The Society of the Snow). It is a book about 16 men who survived a plane crash and seventy two days in the Andes Mountains in 1972. It was a fascinating story and I was able to read the entire book without any problems! This is the first book I've read in Spanish that wasn't for a class or meant for children. Besides finishing my book, Monday was pretty uneventful.
Tuesday- I got out and did something. I met up with Travis to eat lunch in China Town (the BEST place to eat here) and then we went downtown to La Manzana de las luces (The Apple of the lights). It was a series of old buildings that I think were used by political heads a long time ago? I don't know. It was kind of confusing and boring. There are a set of tunnels underneath the buildings and they don't know why they are there or what purpose they served. That part was kind of cool. Luckily the tour was only 10 pesos and only took about an hour out of our day. At 7:30, I met up with Travis again and our friend Mora (from Argentina) to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. The cinemas here were doing a marathon of the first 7 movies. It was nice to see a movie in English and to get out of the house some more.
Wednesday was another lazy day. Didn't do anything terribly exciting.
Thursday I went to El museo nacional del teatro (The national theatre museum). It was a really tiny museum, but was kind of neat. Plus it was free, so it didn't really matter. I got to see some old costumes worn by famous actors. Most of the names were unfamiliar to me, but it was still pretty interesting. The only one I knew was a costume worn by Carlos Gardel in an old movie. Then I went to this art museum with works by Xul Solar (Sool Soh-lar). I was the only one in the museum and they didn't charge me, so I didn't stay for too long, but his art is very modern and strange. I really didn't have any interest to check it out, but I have all this free time and don't want to spend it sitting in my house.
Friday I went to the local zoo here in Buenos Aires. It was a pretty good sized zoo, but not all of the animals were out as it is cold here. It was definitely different than the zoos I'm used to. They had ducks and some other sort of animal just running around the zoo everywhere and a lot of the animals can be fed. They sell animal food around the zoo.
Saturday I headed out to Puerto Madero, the newest barrio in Buenos Aires. It was a bit of a trek, but I got to see the Puente de la mujer (The bridge of the woman). I also headed out to the ecological reserve, but it was essentially a giant field with a sidewalk. I grabbed some food from one of the many stands next to the reserve and kept walking for a bit. I then saw a huge rat on the side of the road, so I immediately left. Haha. It was a beautiful day and I didn't want to head home after going to Puerto Madero so I made a quick stop in Recoleta to go to my favorite street fair. I didn't buy anything, but it was nice to wander and look around. After getting home, I figured out that I walked approximately 7 miles on Saturday. Needless to say, I spent Saturday night in.
Monday I got to sleep in since I don't have classes anymore. I went to a cafe near my house for lunch and to use their internet since it works much better than the internet at my house. I also finished my book! It was called "La Sociedad de la Nieve" (The Society of the Snow). It is a book about 16 men who survived a plane crash and seventy two days in the Andes Mountains in 1972. It was a fascinating story and I was able to read the entire book without any problems! This is the first book I've read in Spanish that wasn't for a class or meant for children. Besides finishing my book, Monday was pretty uneventful.
Tuesday- I got out and did something. I met up with Travis to eat lunch in China Town (the BEST place to eat here) and then we went downtown to La Manzana de las luces (The Apple of the lights). It was a series of old buildings that I think were used by political heads a long time ago? I don't know. It was kind of confusing and boring. There are a set of tunnels underneath the buildings and they don't know why they are there or what purpose they served. That part was kind of cool. Luckily the tour was only 10 pesos and only took about an hour out of our day. At 7:30, I met up with Travis again and our friend Mora (from Argentina) to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. The cinemas here were doing a marathon of the first 7 movies. It was nice to see a movie in English and to get out of the house some more.
Wednesday was another lazy day. Didn't do anything terribly exciting.
Thursday I went to El museo nacional del teatro (The national theatre museum). It was a really tiny museum, but was kind of neat. Plus it was free, so it didn't really matter. I got to see some old costumes worn by famous actors. Most of the names were unfamiliar to me, but it was still pretty interesting. The only one I knew was a costume worn by Carlos Gardel in an old movie. Then I went to this art museum with works by Xul Solar (Sool Soh-lar). I was the only one in the museum and they didn't charge me, so I didn't stay for too long, but his art is very modern and strange. I really didn't have any interest to check it out, but I have all this free time and don't want to spend it sitting in my house.
Friday I went to the local zoo here in Buenos Aires. It was a pretty good sized zoo, but not all of the animals were out as it is cold here. It was definitely different than the zoos I'm used to. They had ducks and some other sort of animal just running around the zoo everywhere and a lot of the animals can be fed. They sell animal food around the zoo.
Saturday I headed out to Puerto Madero, the newest barrio in Buenos Aires. It was a bit of a trek, but I got to see the Puente de la mujer (The bridge of the woman). I also headed out to the ecological reserve, but it was essentially a giant field with a sidewalk. I grabbed some food from one of the many stands next to the reserve and kept walking for a bit. I then saw a huge rat on the side of the road, so I immediately left. Haha. It was a beautiful day and I didn't want to head home after going to Puerto Madero so I made a quick stop in Recoleta to go to my favorite street fair. I didn't buy anything, but it was nice to wander and look around. After getting home, I figured out that I walked approximately 7 miles on Saturday. Needless to say, I spent Saturday night in.
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| Puente de la Mujer- Puerto Madero |
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