Well, I am sad to say that it's the end of my weekend here in Buenos Aires...but it has been an exciting, fun filled couple of days. Also, today I found out that I will be getting a roommate in 2 weeks...I have mixed feelings. I like having Jorge and Mercedes all to myself...it's good for me to speak Spanish with them every night. I'm also nervous that maybe I won't get along with the girl who is coming here. I have gotten into my own routine here and it will probably be thrown off once she arrives. But, also, maybe she will be really cool and we will get along really well. And it will be nice to have someone around who understands my jokes/culture/feelings, because sometimes I feel like I can't communicate what I'm thinking with people because my Spanish skills aren't strong enough. Let's hope it is a positive experience...and that she doesn't steal all of the attention...I tried emailing her, but it returned as not deliverable.
Today I visited the feria de mataderos again. This time the entertainment was a really sweet drum and dance folklore group...their performance was really cool. The women wore red, black, or olive green dresses with capes and the men wore traditional gaucho outfits...complete with sombrero, gaucho pants, and cowboy jacket. I really enjoyed watching them. Also, today marked the 25th anniversary of the feria, so it was packed...I didn't buy much and by about 3 p.m., there were so many people it would have been impossible.
For lunch I had 2 fried empanadas (even better than the baked ones), and locro, which is a sort of thick stew with beef, sausage, corn, beans, and potatoes. It's very very good...and nice and hearty. I also bought a strawberry juice drink, which was sweet and hit the spot.
After lunch we watched a horse racing show...the gauchos had to make their horse run as fast as they can to the finish line where the rider has to hook some sort of stick thing to the nail at the finish line...it's kind of like pin the tail on the donkey, but on a horse racing at high speeds. Whoever gets the best time wins. It's pretty fun to watch...the horses all had their manes and tails trimmed very short...probably to make them aerodynamic.
At about 4 p.m. we caught the bus home...and let me tell you it was probably the worst bus ride I've ever had in my life. There were seats available, but they were facing backwards, so I think that is what contributed to the overall feeling of nausea, but I thought I was going to die. The bus is so jerky, the exhaust fumes are so strong, the ride is so long...I was so carsick by the time we got off I could barely walk. I bought a Coke on the walk home and I'm starting to feel a little bit better, but still I could barf at the idea of sitting on that bus for one more minute. Colectivos are rough...only a true porteño can handle them so well and for so long.
Mercedes and Jorge aren't home yet...they might have gone out to the park or a movie or something. They are cute and still in love so they like to do things together...this is very common in Argentina. Older couples are always out together holding hands and talking sweetly and gazing lovingly into each other's eyes...my host family is no different. Yesterday they went to the big park in Recoleta together for the afternoon because it was so nice out. It has been very warm these past few days...however, they still keep the heat a blasting so I am literally sweating my ass off in my apartment.
Some interesting things that I haven't yet blogged about are the garages, the milk, the window shades, and the volcano.
The garages here are very strange...they are all underground, but that isn't the weirdest part. When a garage door is opening there is a red light that blinks and a beeping sound like an alarm clock to warn people that a car is going to be crossing the sidewalk to enter the garage. IT'S ANNOYING!!! Anyway...these things go off all night...they never fricken stop...sometimes I wake up thinking it's the alarm...but no, it's just someone leaving or entering their underground garage.
The milk here comes in bags. Not gallons, not cartons, not boxes...bags. They are little bags, too. So in order to make the bags stand up in the fridge so that the milk doesn't spill, they have these little plastic holders for them. It's quite interesting.
Also, on the windows they have these things on the outside that you can open and close depending on what you feel like. They are like wooden slats that open kind and close like an accordian. You can pull on a rope in your room to open them for the day and then at night you pull the rope the other way and the close...it's interesting. Most people don't have curtains...just these little wooden window doors. I don't even know what to call them.
For those of you who don't know a volcano erupted in Chile and Argentina is feeling the effects. In the forecast, they are calling for volcanic ash...which at first I thought was quite a stretch, but they weren't kidding! Some areas get it worse than others, but when you go out on the street in the morning the cars are covered in dust...some kids say the whole street looks like it has been sitting in the attic for 20 some years because of all the ash. It's quite interesting to see...I never thought I would say that I have touched and seen volcanic ash and that it has affected my life. Argentina actually doesn't have any flights domestic or international...the ash affects the airplanes because it is so thick they cannot see. Just on Friday they started opening flights to Miami, Mexico, and Barcelona, but nothing else...I guess in about a week everything will start clearing up and more flights will be resumed.
Although Chile is having somewhat of a disaster, it won't feel any sympathy from Argentinians. I learned this weekend that Argentina and Chile have a somewhat tense relationship...and that's putting it nicely. Not as extreme as Palestine versus Israel, but they are fighting over a particular city and I don't think either one is going to let up. The city is Patagonia, which originally belonged to native Chilean tribes back in the dinosaur times...but they crossed the Andes and founded what is known today as Chile. Argentina later claimed it as their own, and for many many years it has been a very famous city in Argentina. Chile, however, wants it back...some speculate that their reasoning for wanting it is because their country is bit by bit falling into the ocean due to the tectonic plate sitting just underneath Chile, which is causing all kinds of earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, etc. So, they want to reclaim Patagonia to ensure that Chile will always be a country...they also have done a similar thing in Bolivia. Argentina and Chile almost went to war about it, but some old ladies wrote the pope and asked for his help. So he decided to plant a giant Jesus statue on the peak of the mountain that divides Argentina and Chile. I guess this held things off for a little while. Tensions still run hot, however, as both countries have fighter jets aimed at the other just in case someone gets any bright ideas. In 1990, the Argentinian president made a deal with the Chilean president...he would give him another city in exchange for them giving up on every getting Patagonia forever. Chile agreed, and Argentina gave them some tiny city way south that is basically an ice cap and that no one would ever want to live in. Basically, Chile got robbed. So Argentinians and Chileans hate each other, and Argentinians talk smack about Chileans day and night and don't really give two craps about the volcano.
Jorge and Mercedes just got back from visiting Mechi, so I will probably go socialize while they are still all mine!!! Have a good start to the week, all!!!
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