¡Hace demasiado tiempo!

So it's been quite a while since I've blogged and I truly apologize for this. Now I'm completely lost and don't know where to begin, especially because so much has happened within the past month and a half. I believe I left on Valentine's Day weekend. We had an Anti-Día de los enamorados fiesta/asado, which turned out to be quite fun. Then came my 3rd week of the Spanish class, during which nothing exciting really happened except reviewing how to give commands and say things in the past tense. Friday, February 19th, I went to Mina Clavero with my "American" friends Becky, Allie, Kelsey, and Patrick, which is a little town in the Sierras. Córdoba is surrounded by mountains, which is why a lot of people take advantage of short weekend trips to small towns in the sierras during the summer where they have houses on lakes and such. In Mina Clavero, we went out on Friday night and saw a live band. They played a lot of classic rock, which is funny to hear sung in with a Spanish accent. Then on Saturday we went kayaking on a river, saw some rock formations, went swimming, and did a little shopping. It was a really fun, relaxing day. We were supposed to leave in time to go out in Córdoba that night, and when we bought our tickets the lady told us that the bus got into Córdoba at 21:00 (9 o'clock), but we found out that it didn't actually leave Mina Clavero until that time. Add on 3 hours on the bus, and that gives you an arrival time of midnight. Oh well, I'm beginning to realize that things work a little differently down here and aren't as dependable/efficient, but nevertheless they make for some great memories. It's all part of the experience. However, it did only cost about $50 USD for bus fare, hotel, and food, which I would say is pretty cheap. Sunday, my friend Karina from USF got in, so Patrick and I went and met her at her house to give her a big welcome. She lives less than a minute away from me, which is great. After Patrick and I had had a few confusing conversations with the locals, it was nice to finally have a native Spanish speaker who could translate for us in case we get lost. But I still realize that I shouldn't only rely on her. Unfortunately, that same Sunday night/Monday morning, I woke up really sick and stayed in bed all day with a fever, body aches, and a little bit of delirium. However, thank God it only lasted a day and I was much better on Tuesday and could finally give my presentation on Juan Perón, a very influential Argentinean president. The end of my Spanish course went really well, and I was said that it had to come to an end. The weekend that it ended and before our orientation week started, a bunch of us took a 4-day trip to Mendoza. It took about a 10-hour overnight trip to get there. Saturday we did a tour of the bodegas/wineries on bicycles. It was one of the coolest things that I ever did. Picture a beautiful day in Napa riding a few miles (actually several) on a bicycle and stopping at a bunch of wineries, olive oil factories, and chocolate/liquor shops. So much fun! Sunday we walked around Mendoza all day, went to a few museums, plaza, and the main park. Then Monday, four of us went white-water rafting in the Andes. It was super cool! It was very nerve-wracking at first, but it didn't take very long to get used to. It was just hard to believe that I was rowing down a river with the huge Andes mountains all around me. Overall, the weekend in Mendoza was amazing and really enjoyable. We returned to Córdoba on Tuesday (03/02) just in time for our first day of orientation. It was so great to meet the other exchange students. There are people from all over, Germany, France, Mexico, Brasil, Italy, Spain, Austria, England, Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica, Japan, and of course the States. The one thing that I've been learning about myself after having met and gotten to know people from all over the world is just how interesting and powerful language is, especially one's own language. I'm taking a class called Contemporary Linguistics and we've been talking a lot about how one learns and practices languages and the things that influences this. Anyway, just wanted to throw that out there. March 9th was my first day of classes. The first week, as they told was, was just to go to a bunch of classes that seem interesting to us and then decide we wanted to actually take at the end of the week/beginning of the following week. Well, needless to say, I had a few issues with this little process. They didn't tell us until the census date that we have to pay extra for the courses that are offered by the study abroad office, and I was planning on taking 3 of these courses (History of Argentina I & II, and Latin American Literature I). After having to pay all these other hidden costs (visa, translation of documents, etc.), I was a little irritated and gave them a little piece of my mind. In the end, they told us USF students can take 2 of the classes for free and the rest we have to pay. So now I'm taking History of Argentina I, Latin American Literature I, History of Latin America of the 20th Century, Contemporary Linguistics, and Communicative French Level I. I've always wanted to learn French, and I've figured that seeing as the majority of my friends here are French it would be a great time to learn while being able to practice with natives. Despite the practially 3 week delay of classes, I feel like I've gotten into somewhat of the academic groove. As far as traveling since Mendoza, I've been to La Quebrada del Condorito en el Parque Nacional. and Chile. The National Park and Condor Reserve was super cool and had amazing views. My friend Becky and I hiked (and I really mean we hiked) for a good 6-7 hours. As exhausting as it was, it was totally worth the amazing views. There was a huge mountain valley with a river where the condors soared around. I was able to get a lot of great shots that I'll share in my next post. As far as Chile, we went during Semana Santa (Holy Week) from Holy Thursday until the following Monday. It took a good 17 hours to get to Santiago de Chile. We stayed in, what they say, is the best hostel in Chile for only $15 a night and met a lot of cool people who come from and are traveling all over the world. We spent a day in Valparaiso and Viña del Mar. Valparaiso is an old port city that used to be a very vital port for Pacific trading and commerce. Viña del Mar is an upscale beach town set right on the pacific ocean. Here we finally found Mexican food that actually tasted Mexican (and some half-decent margaritas). We also randomly stumbled upon a Starbucks. That was very exciting, especially for my friend Patrick who is addicted to coffee. And mind you, this Starbucks was the nicest one I've ever seen, go figure that of all places it's in Chile and not the States. It had an upstairs with nice sofas/Lazy Boys and a sunroom/screened in porch. I finally fulfilled my 2-month-long mocha craving. The rest of the weekend we spent exploring different parts of the city. The city was very quiet due to it being Holy Week and Latin Americans loving Jesus so much, so we did a lot of walking. Also, a couple of museums that we had wanted to go to were closed due to internal damage that they experienced from the recent earthquake. Other than that, we didn't see much evidence that there had been one. Santiago has some really cool hills that you climb and get awesome views of the city, so I have some great picks of those. I would even go as far to say that it was better than Twin Peaks in SF. Also, Chile has a lot of Asian immigrants and therefore a lot of Asian restaurants. We ate at this really great Chinese restaurant, and I finally fulfilled my craving of Mongolian beef and sweet and sour chicken. However, we did notice that it was very hard to find what exactly was "Chilean culture." We only found one restaurant that served true Chilean food (this corn casserole, chicken soup, and various meat dishes). What they did lack in true Chilean culture, they did make up in having the things that we've been missing in Argentina (Starbucks, Mexican/Chinese food, and KFC). So we ate our way through Chile, oh well. Overall, it was a successful and enjoyable trip. Well I guess this is all I have to tell for now. I plan on getting back into the more frequent blogs (hopefully!). I'll post another one with various pictures from the past 2 months. Until next time chicos! Besos y abrazos a todos :)

Fútbol Americano

So as I said, I attended a Superbowl fiesta on Sunday night at a bar. We brought food (bread, guacamole, and salsa) and had a great time. Apparently, people down the street could hear us cheering. The cheering was kind of a joke because most of the people there weren't from the U.S., so it was their way of impersonating how Americans like to yell at TV screens. It was even more ironic that there was this ex-Marine from Texas there who kept hitting the TV screen because he was so angry with how the game was going (he also had some opinions of French people). We just brushed him off our shoulders and continued to enjoy ourselves. I uploaded pictures below. Monday I had class, per usual, took my normal siesta, and then went and bought a cell phone finally. It's really expensive to make international phone calls so I'm only using it to call people here. But I do have skype, email, and this blog to keep in touch with everyone. My skype name is bsburgess in case you don't have it. Tuesday, my roommate Yvan took my to my university's (La Universidad Católica de Córdoba- UCC) other campus that's a bit farther away. We had to take a bus (5 pesos roundtrip) and it's about a 20 minute ride. It was nice learning how to get there because chances are I might have classes there. It was a very nice campus with lots and lots of space, which is a bit different from USF. I'll take pictures next time I go so you can see them. Wednesday, Patrick and myself worked on our presentation for Thursday. We presented on the different neighborhoods of San Francisco. It went really well and made me miss SF a lot. We also went to an asado (barbeque) Wednesday at our friend Loic's new pad. It's super cool with a terrace on the roof. We also went to a club after, but I only stayed for a little bit. Thursday, the girls in my class and me spent the afternoon and most of the night at Patrick's place eating, drinking Quilmes/Brahma (the brand of beer here), and studying for our exam that we had today. Funny story: my friend Kelsey left Patrick's and then called us all flustered because a bird pooped on her head. So she came back to Patrick's and washed her hair. It was quite a scene. Our teacher reassured her today that in Argentina, people consider it good luck if a bird poops on your head. Kelsey replied that she's going to get a BB Gun and show them "good luck" (I guess that's how people from the South handle things). Today we had our exam, which was muy facil (very easy). After, we went to the Jesuit Crypts. It's a place that they found not too long ago where they would bury the bones of Jesuits and pray. The Jesuits have a huge influence on Córdoba. There was a lot of controversy over where the Jesuits could bury their dead and I think at one point they had to remove the bones. Feel free to look up more info if you're interested, because all I know is that the place looked cool. My friends took photos so I'll try and steal theirs sometime soon and post them. Okay I have to get ready to go out. I plan to go to a few museums and churches this weekend so hopefully there will be some good updates on Sunday night, or Monday because we're having an anti-enamorados fiesta Sunday night. I hope this blog finds everyone well and that you're all enjoying yourselves in whatever part of the world that you may be in :)

El Fin De Semana

Whew what a weekend it's been, and it's only Sunday afternoon! Friday, Patrick and I went to this restaurant 2 blocks from my house that our teacher recommended to us. It's called "Betos" and they sell lomitos. Lomitos are a type of sandwich with thin beef, ham, melted cheese, and awesome flavor. And we also had French fries with scrambled eggs on top. I've succumbed to the fact I'm gaining at least 20 pounds while down here because the food is so amazing, and cheap. Another Argentinean food that is awesome are empanadas. They're basically mini calzones with all different kinds of fillings. My favorite is ham and cheese, for now that is. After dinner, we had a few people over before going out to the club. The club was a lot of fun. It was all electronic music, without words, so it got a little redundant after a while. I tried to request Lady Gaga because even though I don't really like her I knew the DJ would know who she is, you know because everyone here knows who she is, and at least I could say I knew one of the 300 songs they played that night. But alas, the DJ just stared at me like the stupid gringo I am. Oh well, but I did get to dance on stage! We didn't get home until 4:30/5? And the taxi that took us about 20 blocks, only cost 10 pesos in total, which is about $2.50 USD. Hella cheap down hur! Yesterday was a full day of rest, as in I woke up at 2 and then took a little siesta sometime shortly after. But I called up Patrick and told him we had to be productive. So we met the American girls from my class at this thing called the "Paseo de las Artes," or the Fería, which had a bunch of artisan booths where people were selling their handmade crafts. There were also a lot of booths with antiques. Mom and Dad, brace yourselves for an entire night (and a lot of pesos) spent there. I bought this cool wallet for $6 USD and this guy also made us little things out of colored wired (he made me sunglasses). I'm posting pictures at the bottom so keep reading, or just stop listening to me and scroll down. We all ate together at the Paseo and had a few beers. I tried pizza for the first time here and it was really good. Not as good as the East Coast, but I'd definitely say better than San Francisco. Pretty impressive. Then we all went home so that we could meet up later. Flor and Sebastion (my French amigos) came over and we all hung out, including Yvan and Patrick. Whew what a weekend it's been, and it's only Sunday afternoon! Friday, Patrick and I went to this restaurant 2 blocks from my house that our teacher recommended to us. It's called "Betos" and they sell lomitos. Lomitos are a type of sandwich with thin beef, ham, melted cheese, and awesome flavor. And we also had French fries with scrambled eggs on top. I've succumbed to the fact I'm gaining at least 20 pounds while down here because the food is so amazing, and cheap. Another Argentinean food that is awesome are empanadas. They're basically mini calzones with all different kinds of fillings. My favorite is ham and cheese, for now that is. After dinner, we had a few people over before going out to the club. The club was a lot of fun. It was all electronic music, without words, so it got a little redundant after a while. I tried to request Lady Gaga because even though I don't really like her I knew the DJ would know who she is, you know because everyone here knows who she is, and at least I could say I knew one of the 300 songs they played that night. But alas, the DJ just stared at me like the stupid gringo I am. Oh well, but I did get to dance on stage! We didn't get home until 4:30/5? And the taxi that took us about 20 blocks, only cost 10 pesos in total, which is about $2.50 USD. Hella cheap down hur! Yesterday was a full day of rest, as in I woke up at 2 and then took a little siesta sometime shortly after. But I called up Patrick and told him we had to be productive. So we met the American girls from my class at this thing called the "Paseo de las Artes," or the Fería, which had a bunch of artisan booths where people were selling their handmade crafts. There were also a lot of booths with antiques. Mom and Dad, brace yourselves for an entire night (and a lot of pesos) spent there. I bought this cool wallet for $6 USD and this guy also made us little things out of colored wired (he made me sunglasses). I'm posting pictures at the bottom so keep reading, or just stop listening to me and scroll down. We all ate together at the Paseo and had a few beers. I tried pizza for the first time here and it was really good. Not as good as the East Coast, but I'd definitely say better than San Francisco. Pretty impressive. Then we all went home so that we could meet up later. Flor and Sebastion (my French amigos) came over and we all hung out, including Yvan and Patrick. Then everyone but Yvan (he was too spent from Friday night) went out to meet the girls at a bar in Nueva Cordoba. Nueva Cordoba is such a cool section of the city. It's where all the students go out to bars and discotecas. And it's pretty bumpin until about 6AM. We did a little bar/club hopping, and also bought hot dogs. Hot dogs are popular here. They call them Panchos. I ordered one with like 5 sauces and mini fries on top. SO GOOD! We all called it a night around 4:30. Today we're all meeting up at a bar to watch the Superbowl. The girls somehow found a guy who would play it for us. He even said we can bring our own chips, salsa, and guacamole. That's the only way that I'll be involved in any sports watching. Okay that's it for now. Thanks for listening to me ramble! Chau!!Then everyone but Yvan (he was too spent from Friday night) went out to meet the girls at a bar in Nueva Cordoba. Nueva Cordoba is such a cool section of the city. It's where all the students go out to bars and discotecas. And it's pretty bumpin until about 6AM. We did a little bar/club hopping, and also bought hot dogs. Hot dogs are popular here. They call them Panchos. I ordered one with like 5 sauces and mini fries on top. SO GOOD! We all called it a night around 4:30. Today we're all meeting up at a bar to watch the Superbowl. The girls somehow found a guy who would play it for us. He even said we can bring our own chips, salsa, and guacamole. That's the only way that I'll be involved in any sports watching. Okay that's it for now. Thanks for listening to me ramble! Chau!!

The first picture is the wallet and min glasses that I got from the Fería. The other is of Sebastion, Flor, and Yvan. Yvan is too cool to look at the camera.

The Adventures of 2 Yankis Part I

So I've been meaning to blog much much more since I've been, especially with having so much free time (therefore, this one may be a bit lengthy, please bare with me). But it's actually been filled with a lot of (what I believe is) useful activities, like figuring out how to go grocery shopping, walking 5 miles around the city for a few hours, figuring out how to take out/change money, and just meeting/talking to people. One of the reasons I chose the program in Córdoba, which I'm really beginning to appreciate, is that is seemed very independent and culturally immersing. For example, because I'm here a month early, I have no one (i.e. from my school) taking me by the hand and showing me how one goes about doing simple day to day tasks here. I really have to figure it our for myself, and at times it can be a bit challenging and make me wish I had a manual on how to do it all, or at least a chaperone with all the logistics. But it also is good for me because I know that if I ever want to live abroad in the future in a country in which I have no connections, it will be a fend for yourself kind of a deal. But it's definitely nice having my friend from USF, Patrick, with me down here because at least there's some solidarity. So a little tidbit of info relating to the title of this blog: not only am I a gringo (a white person usually from the U.S./Europe), but I'm also a yanki (yankee, but pronounced 'junkie'). Soccer is definitely very popular (an understatement) because people are always wearing team jerseys, holding a soccer ball, or watching it at restaurants and bars. Because it's summer here and about 80 degrees during the day and 70 at night, people sit outside restaurants on the sidewalks and share a beer and just hang out. And I thought San Francisco was laid back. It's so nice that people sit for a while and enjoy each other's company instead of rushing around trying to make every appointment.

The Adventures of 2 Yankis Part II

They also grocery shop more on a daily basis than a weekly one. This is great because I feel that whenever I stock up on groceries I waste money by overthinking what I actually need for the week, and it also saves a lot of worrying about what I'm going to eat 7 days from now. Why stress over food, right? Speaking of food, they do not have peanut butter here anywhere. I mean I like peanut butter but I'm not a worshipper of George Washington Carver (cough cough LAINA cough cough). However, my friend Patrick is a little upset by the fact and is having our friend Karina transport a fresh supply when she comes in 3 weeks. So just a warning to those of you who want to visit here, spare room in your suitcase for the tasty spread or just get ready to deal with the loss of the 'PB' in 'PB & J'. My teacher told us that there's a store somewhere that sells imported goods if you really have a hankering for it. Okay moving on. I've only been here for a week and I feel like my worldview is beginning to be dismantled, only to be built back up again by having the experience of living here. I've learned so much about different parts of the world, especially having a roommate from Germany and one from France. It's also interesting to see other people's views of the U.S. A lot of the time, I share the same sentiments, and makes me a little "unproud" of some of things that we've done/are doing. To be honest, it's hard to tell people here that I'm from the U.S. without feeling some sense of guilt. It's also interesting because in the U.S., we say that our country is "America," but Latin Americans also say that they're from America, which is totally true. Just some food for thought. But at the same it's also made me aware of how important culture is, and as embarrassing as Americans can be, I value being able to have some sense of belonging to my culture. Que mas? Que mas? Patrick has cucarachas (cockroaches) in his apartment and we're having a contest to see who can kill the most. So far I'm in the lead with 8.

The Adventures of 2 Yankis Part III

I started my pre-intensive Spanish class on Monday. I have it four hours a day (9-1:30 w/ a 30 min break), Monday to Friday until the end of February. My professor, Raquel, is such a nice lady. She only talks to us in Spanish, which is making it so much easier for me to understand people when I leave the classroom. The grammar and content of the course is really easy, but it's a great review for me. It's also more than just learning how to speak Spanish, we learned how to make yerba mate (a traditional drink here), we went to the mercado to learn the names of fruits and vegetables and the best ways to cook them, and just great tidbits and stories about Argentinian culture. Walking through the butcher markets with whole pigs, skinned sheep, and whole pieces of cows is a good way to check whether or not your gag reflexes work well. On Sunday, Patrick and I went to mass at the Cathedral. It was so cool inside! Here, there's a church probably every 3 blocks. But they're not normal churches. They are all so elaborate and ornate. The mass was a bit conservative (no premarital relations!!), as was expected in a Latin American Catholic Church. I think I'll only be returning to admire the work of the slaves (we overheard a tour and the guy said all the churches were built by slaves, go figure). Another thing to be careful of is the driving. I'd say that only about 1% of the drivers would pass drivers ed. in the U.S. Instead of slowing down when people cross the street in front of an incoming car, the drivers wave their fists, shout, and speed up significantly. I was definitely a witness of this. Also, some girls in my class witnessed a guy getting hit by a motorcycle. But I'll be fine, don't you worry.

Okay I think that's enough for now. I need to start getting ready for tonight, it's going to be pretty big. We're having a fiesta in our apartment, with some Brazilian, French, and American friends and then we're going to a club. The night life here is very difficult to adjust to. People don't eat dinner until, at the very earliest, 9PM, and then they don't go out until 1 AM. Good thing for siestas. I'll have another blog coming soon. Maybe Sunday, because I'm supposed to watch the Superbowl with Patrick and some American girls in my class, but I don't know if that's going to happen because if I can barely stand watching it in the U.S., I highly doubt it's possible for me to watch it here. Oh well. Okay, nos vemos muy pronto! Chau and les extraño mucho mucho!

The Adventures of 2 Yankis Part IV