Hola queridos, lo siento que hace mucho tiempo hasta escribi. Hello friends! Sorry I have not written in a while. Zaria and I are now in Cordoba, Argentina, which is northwest of Buenos Aires, and closer to the Sierra mountains. We took a double decker night bus here, it was about nine hours, and we sat on the top deck, right in front! It was fun until I woke up in the middle of the night and saw other buses racing towards us in the night haha.

Cordoba is a city about the size of Kansas City. We came here because we have a friend, Luciana, who is renting out two rooms to us. Luciana is a lot of fun and she speaks fluent english, so she has been a great guide for the city and Argentina. She is also sharing a lot of the history of the city with us and studied spanish grammer in school, the perfect person to hang out with! She has been helping me with my spanish.

I am starting spanish class Wednesday and I'm really looking forward to it. This is what I came here to do, learn spanish. I feel like I have already learned so much here, about cultural differences and what it takes to adjust to living in a foreign country. I have so much respect for my own ancestors that travelled to the US and made it their home, and also for the immigrants that come to the US today. Learning a new language and culture is no small feat. There are sooo many things I miss from home, both small and large. Nachos! and fake cheese haha. I'm getting used to not having air conditioning, and dealing with many bugs. I've also had to eat a lot of ham and cheese (they LOVE it here!) These are some negatives, but there are many positives. In adjusting to a diet overhaul, I've discovered foods that I really like here. One is jugo de pomelo (grapefruit juice) which at home I would never have even tried. All of the juice here is literally squeezed right from the fruit into your cup. Such a simple concept, yet in the US we can't seem to acheive it.

Everyone we've met is very friendly, with few exceptions. The Argentines are definitely night owls, it is not uncommon at all for them to be out until 6am, and get up for work at 8am the next day. They have a 'sleep whenever' lifestyle, hence, there are siestas from 1pm to 3 or 4pm, when all the stores close and everyone goes home for lunch and a nap! It is much more prevelant here in Cordoba than it was in bustling Buenos Aires.

In traveling one must admit that there are high points and low points, some higher and lower than others. here are some examples:

Low: being called gorda (fatty) by a homeless drunk man with a horrible sunburn.
High: being called bonitas divinas (divine beauties) by a man on a motorscooter.

Low: almost dying everytime you get in a car or cross a street (the driving is so scary here)

High: realizing you can make a phone call in spanish (albeit badly ;)

Low: washing your clothes and hanging them to dry, only to have the rain flail them into the mud later.

High: sunning yourself by the pool drinking mate (a strong tea, seen pictured above), all while learning new spanish words. Buenisimo!

I miss you all very much! Besos a todos!

left to right : Zaria, Luciana, Luis, and yours truly :)

Hoooola! Oh my what a crazy time its been here in BA. Zaria and I are finally settling in more, learning the bus routes, how to identify familiar food dishes, and how to avoid some of the 'pajeros.' We've started avoiding places that attract foreigners, because they also attract 'pajeros!'

Nonetheless, BA is a beautiful city with friendly people. As big cities go, its a great place to visit. I feel much safer here than I would in New York or Chicago, especially at night. There are so many people here eager to speak with us, and none of them seemed turned off by our accents or lack of language skill. It is a huge contrast with the US, where foreigners are often scorned or sometimes simply turned away. Also in major contrast, almost everyone I've talked to here knows at least a little english. They all study it in high school, and are brave enough to give it a try. I'm very impressed by this, having come from a country where studying a foreign language is seen as a trivial matter.

Finally there is a slight reprieve from the 'Golpe de calor' (literally, 'hit of heat'), so we've been out doing more sight-seeing. We've made friends with Leo and Virginia, who took us out dancing to a 'boliche,' it was hilarious and fun. On to the pictures!

In case you were wondering, no, the tip was not included, we'll put it in english for you:

Not sure how it was supposed to open the can...I just hacked and pulled until I could dump out peas and carrots....

Zaria and I with our new amiga, Virginia (pronounced Veer-heen-ee-a) ;)