Y'all are champs!!

Almost done with a whole week of classes! This week has been wonderfully exhausting – exhausting but in a wonderful sort of way. To prevent you from falling into a terribly deep sleep, I am going to change up this week’s blog entry. It is inspired by and dedicated to all my lovely readers and followers, to whom I want to extend a big THANK YOU for sticking with my blog over the past week – you are all CHAMPS! J

Here we go:

Classes – Classes have commenced. So basically have seminars in the morning and Spanish class in the afternoon. The seminars are taught by various professors from universities in Buenos Aires. So far I like all of the professors, and I am enjoying the classes! However, we are covering topics such as economic development and the political history of Argentina which ideas that I probably wouldn’t fully understand in English, so to have everything taught in Spanish means that my skillz are being put to the test! Spanish in the afternoon has been fun so far. We have to take the subway (subte) over to University of Buenos Aires (UBA –pronounced ooobaaah!) for Spanish, and the classroom we are in is spectacular. We have a balcony that overlooks part of the city and during our 10 minute break we go outside and enjoy the fresh air and the view! Love it!

Happy Birthday – Wednesday night was the birthday of one of the guys in our program! It was decided that we would all meet up at Taco Box, a restaurant in “Palermo Hollywood,” a hoppin’ part of town, to celebrate. Gloria, my host mom, did a great job of making sure I would get there safely, as she helped me call a Radio Taxi (the safe ones) to bring me there – when I first called the taxi company it was a huge struggle because I couldn’t understand anything on the phone, and was just saying random phrases in Spanish that seemed appropriate ;). Gloria ended up calling the company back to tell them what I actually wanted. Anyways, it was comical and somehow it all worked out. Basically our entire group showed up (because we all love each other so much) and enjoyed the evening. Afterwards, I wandered around with some friends and found a heladería (ice cream shop). It was splendid, I had Banana – a- la- crème, a fantastic choice. I think every night needs to end with ice cream.

Arts and Crafts and Office Supplies – On my home from class today I had to stop by the cell phone store to pick up my receipt, because when I first bought my phone one of the machines wasn’t working and didn’t print my receipt – which apparently I need in case something happens to my phone… I know, kinda weird right? Anyways, I got my receipt and just happened to stumble upon the most excellent craft store known to Argentines, named Librerias Levalle! It is big for a store in Buenos Aires and is filled with all of my favorite things! I was drooling – so many kinds of pens, and paint and markers, and paper and notebooks. ahhhh!!! Made sure to purchase a Sharpie product as well as some other goods, twas a glorious afternoon J and you know what people? I think it’s time for an Arts and Crafts Fiesta!!

Merienda – The merienda or afternoon snack time has becomes a superb fixture to my time in Argentina. Usually after class a group of us goes to a café for coffee and media lunas con dulce de leche or I stop by the ice cream shop on my way home from school. It is a great pick-me-up after 2.5 hours of Spanish, and I am excited to explore more cafés and heladerías in Buenos Aires.

Plaza de Mayo – As many of you know Plaza de Mayo is in Buenos Aires, where mothers gather each week to remember the “disappeared” – children who were taken from their homes during the Dirty War. We walk by the plaza every time we go to Spanish class – translation – we are very important people who walk by very important places every day. J

Sponges – When I first got to my homestay house, there was a really old, nasty sponge that I had to use to clean dishes. It left that musty smell on my fingers. Recently, a schnaazzzy, fresh, new sponge has appeared. A new sponge really improves the quality of life.

Ai’ite champs, that’s all I got for now.

Keep it real,

Marie

Livin' la Vida Homestay...

So after the wonderful countryside orientation, we headed into Buenos Aires. We had a day and a half to tie up the loose ends of orientation before heading to our homestay families. Thursday night we had arrangements to stay at a hotel and for an evening activity we went to Ana Rita’s house. Ana Rita is our wonderful director, who was a great host. At her house, we had the chance to talk with some local Argentine teenagers about life in the city. She also had a live band (her daughter’s friends) come to her place, which meant the night was a ball and ended with even more singing. Excelente! On Friday we had another activity called Drop Off, where we were put in groups of 3 and given a location of the city to explore. My group and I were given the place furthest away from our base. We were excited for the challenge. We had quite the exploration. We took the subway, which ended up braking down after the 2^nd of 8 stops, (obviously because I was with them – I have terrible luck with public transportation, every other group that took the same subway line had no problems, go figure.) and wasn’t fixed for 25 minutes. We then walked to this plaza, where we found a very colorful amphitheater as well as a great place for lunch, El Hipopótamo (The Hippopotamus). Mmmm. We then began to walk through the street and ended up wandering into various shops. At one point, we walked into this little cowboy boot shop, where we spoke with Raúl. He was the owner, as well as the man who made every single pair of boots in the store. He explained that it takes him about 10 days to make each pair. He works hard and probably makes very little money, but it was somewhat eye-opening to listen to him talk about his work. On our way back we walked down this street with many shops and beautiful architecture. Unfortunately, we had to walk fast as the required return time was nearing, so we are planning to go back to really take it all in!

Finally it was Friday night – the night we were all anticipating. We actually found out who are homestay families would be on Thursday, as we all received envelopes with info and photographs. It was a nice way to come into it more mentally prepared. But Friday was when I would actually meet my host mother – Gloria!!! I would be living with a single widowed woman, who is 63 years old and an English teacher with an apartment in Recoleta, an older, but still very nice neighborhood in Buenos Aires.

This is how it went down. All of us students were in a room, debriefing the Drop Off activity while the families started showing up. They entered the room next to ours. After the debriefing, we had to wait a minute… just so the anxiety could build up I think. Eventually, we were sent into the room with the families to mingle and find the people we would now be living with for the next however many months. I entered the room, walked around, and didn’t see Gloria. I asked a few older women if their name was Gloria but no luck. The homestay director didn’t see her either. I stood waiting by the door while everyone conversed with their families for what felt like an eternity. (aheeem…. Reminded me of another incident a few summers ago, involving a late family….) Thankfully, I didn’t cry this time, but the uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach was welling up so I think I was on the verge. Finally, a women walked through the door who I knew right away was Gloria and after an extra big hug and a kiss on the cheek – I was reassured that all was well. She actually wasn’t late to the building but was looking around on the floor below… I told her it was not a problem and off we went!

We ended up taking a taxi to her apartment. A very nice, “antique styled” place. My Spanish was immediately put to the test. I think the main problem at first was that I couldn’t hear her while we were walking down the street because I’m at least a head taller than she is. It was a bit of a struggle but I made sure I understood all of the things that seemed important. I would say things like, “Necesito repasar…” (I need to review) and then I would try to repeat back to her what I had understood…usually only partially correct, so she would explain it until it made sense. I have to ask a lot more questions then I normally would and I am much more direct when I ask for things. I really can’t assume she will know what I want or need, so I am doing my best to communicate that from the beginning. But so far I cannot complain! I’m keeping a positive attitude and am trying very hard to be patient, especially with my Spanish - so far, so good. Gloria really cares about me and is always making sure I’m ok with everything we’re doing. We have gotten along very well, and I am very grateful to have her hosting me.

Right now, (I am writing this on Saturday night, but don’t have internet so I’ll upload tomorrow) I am actually not at Gloria’s apartment. I am with her, at her son’s house, about 40 min. outside the city. It is an amazing house. It’s colorful, gorgeous, big and very modern. I’m fairly certain her son is quite wealthy. I believe he received a scholarship to play golf at a university in the U.S. I’m not sure what he does now. He is married and has three boys, Juan Mauel, 12yrs; Tómas, 9yrs and Felipe 6yrs. I have good things to say about them J It was a last minute decision to come here because (long story) her son’s wife’s mom (so Gloria’s daughter in law’s mom) recently had a heart attack, and her son's wife was away helping her mom. So, Gloria came to help with the children and asked me if I would like to join her. Why not? So I did. She didn’t want me to miss my first weekend in the city and the program also had an optional get together for all the families that I would miss, but, I was happy to come along. Besides the fact that I actually didn’t have any problem missing the weekend, I didn’t think it would make the best impression to ditch my host mom on the first day. So here I am, and today has been great! We ended up going to this country club/university thing (don’t ask…I don’t know) that had a rugby match going on! I had never seen a game of rugby and it was SO LEGIT!! I have so much respect for all y’all rugby players. I enjoyed it much more than American football… not only was it very intense but the opponents were so respectful to each other. I even saw a guy from one team stretching the hamstring of a guy on another team in between plays. So much skill and strength and guts, it was cool to watch! Then, when the boys were all home we played fútbol in the backyard. Fantástico! Man, do I love that sport. I hope to play it more often. The oldest boy had great footwork and ball control – very impressive for a 12 year old – and the youngest one is just hilarious – he always displayed some crazy dance moves to the music playing outside before running away with the ball. They are all so cute!!! Dinner tonight was excellent, as always, and it ended with a banana con dulce de leche. I feel as if I have already had invaluable experiences and that I have learned so much. Right now, I am feeling very thankful for this opportunity. I am doing my best to appreciate all of it. I hope all is very well, updates wanted!

Con Amor,

Marie

The Life of An Argentine Country Girl... Aww Yeah

Time for countryside stories from the Estancia. As soon as we arrived, we were all in love with the place. (Will post pictures soon!) It’s about 45 minutes outside the city, so en el campo (in the country) and is now one of my very favorite places in the whole wide world. It has everything I could have thought of, and was the perfect place to be welcomed into Argentina. There were 2 big house like buildings, a pool, tennis courts, a big field, a building for eating and meetings. There was also a horse barn and an enclosed space to practice polo. And, believe it or not, I had the chance to give polo my best effort. Ok, so not on moving horses or anything, only a wooden one, but I think it still counts. Emiliano, the guy in charge/man of the hour, was our coach – he is also probably the most suave and dreamy Argentine men ever. (All the guys in our group are working toward his standards, perfecto!) He taught those of us who wanted lessons, all the techniques and whenever we would swing he would say “Exaaaaaacto” (exactly) even if we completely missed… if only someone would be behind me saying that every time I did something, good or bad. But he was a great coach. In the field we had spent our free time playing Frisbee and soccer. Again, my favorite.

The meals I ate there were like none other. I could talk about the food for days. The first afternoon we had lunch and they brought all of us a plate of these fried cheese patty things – they were really good, and filling. Little did we know we had 2 more courses to go. SO MUCH FOOD! I was never hungry. At lunch the next day there were 5 different courses of meat! Yes, 5!! Whaaa… I could not believe it. One of them was blood sausage. If blood sausage makes up 1% of the Argentine diet then all I have to say is 99% of Argentine food is incredibly delicious. But seriously, the rest is delectable (knock on wood). I also discovered “los media lunas” and dulce de leche. Media lunas are basically half moon croissants with a sugar topping and dulce de leche is the best dessert spread in the world, similar to caramel… very sweet, very rich and very good with everything…media lunas, bread, fruit, EVERYTHING! Today I learned that it was invented by accident - a servant left milk and sugar in the oven for too long and it turned into Dulce de Leche… people are thanking her for the mistake to this day, including me!

Morning runs were also perfect. While running through the countryside with new friends I saw a jackrabbit, a groundhog and of course cows and horses. Oooo I also saw los gauchos (cowboys) in Argentina, they are a very quintessential Argentine item – and yes, one day, for those of you who are unaware of my life dream, I WILL be be una gaucha (a cowgirl). The dogs from the Estancia also made sure we were safe as they ran close by and protected/herded us the whole time!

While all of this was beyond believable, the most amazing part for me was yet to come. On Wednesday night, our last night at the Estancia, we decided to star gaze, as it would be one of our last chances for a while due to the city lights and pollution we would likely encounter. We went out to the field and a group of us decided to lay down and enjoy the view, even though the ground was wet and a bit chilly (oh yeah, I don’t think I ever explained, it’s winter here – almost spring) In time, we realized we made a pretty darn good quartet… that is if anyone was interested in hearing the latest version of A Whole New World and Don’t Stop Believing. But along with the singing came my most favorite thing of all –SHOOTING STARS! It’s hard to explain why I am so fascinated, but I can’t get over them… they are so extraordinary and somehow inspiring. They are humbling, as they make me realize how small my problems and I are compared to the whole world… and universe. And, at the same time, they remind me how closely connected this whole universe is -- if you think about it, us humans are made of the same basic particles as stardust. Cool huh? I believe I saw about 3 or 4 stars falling, carefree through the night sky, WHEN, all of a sudden a star that was falling out of the sky BURST into flames and shot through the air like a meteor!! (It may have actually been a meteor) It left a long, thick, bright mark in the sky for a moment before disappearing. I am certain this explanation is not doing this shooting star the justice it deserves, but know that it was such an exhilarating thing that the four of us laying down who saw it, literally gasped, screamed, yelled, hugged each other and completely freaked out, all out of joy for about 5 minutes. The other people in our group who didn’t see it thought we were trying to play a trick on them. Not the case, we couldn’t help it. It was truthfully one of the most incredible things I have ever seen and I don’t plan of forgetting about it for the rest of my life. I’m going to take it as a sign, and I will try to remember that when things start “falling down” the light will somehow shine!

Mucho amor (Much love),

Marie

A Whirlwind Start

I would be lying if I told you that the start of this trip went off without a hitch. Reason being, four hours prior to take off, there was a boat hitch involved. In an unexpected and uncharacteristic -- for someone who doesn’t like to be rushed -- bout of spontaneity I was convinced by dear ole dad to hit the lake for the first and last time of the summer. I skied, Amy skied, Amy and I skied doubles (took some cute pics) then watched mom ski and Dad barefoot all in a perfect 45 minutes on Lake Marion. The water was glass.

After an eventful morning, I was off. And so it began, the most loco Argentine Adventure! The past 5 days have been amazing! AMAZING! But, based on the “Emotions When You Travel Abroad” graph, I have a bit of a depression to look forward to. Goal: minimize the valley. In times of future sadness or loneliness (which hopefully I can avoid – but apparently it’s a part of this whole new culture thing) I plan to look back and reminisce on this past week. Join me.

My flight: So way back when, when I bought my ticket, I took FOREVER to decide which seat I would want (ok people, obviously not the middle) but aisle vs. window. It was tough, but I settled on a window seat I was excited to sleep against it and of course wanted the view. But, when a couple wanted to sit next to each other on the 10 hour flight I couldn’t tell them no. So, I was put in the middle section - still an aisle seat. Good enough I thought. I thought wrong, because it was the best switch-a-roo I could have made. I ended up sitting next to these 2 Argentines (Vavina y Marcos) and we chatted in Spanglish (I spoke Spanish for practice and they spoke English for practice) for hours.! It was so interesting! They were so nice!! As soon as I told Vavina that I was studying abroad she offered me her email address to contact her with anything I needed!. Then, Marcos told us all about his visit to San Francisco, pictures included. I’m hoping to meet up with them at some point. It was probably the best airplane experience ever and definitely a great way to start the trip. Un problemo: Didn’t get much sleep, if any. Maybe an hour or so? I was on a little adrenaline rush/a bit too hyper for 8am in Argentina/about to crash. Crashing was not an option.

Our program met at the airport and we were off to the Estancia: La Estancia Don Manuel. (basically a Hispanic Estate) Ok, there are so many stories from the Estancia that I have to tell y’all but I am taking a while to write all of this and it’s late. I’m going to leave you with this less than satisfying ending, but if you are looking to procrastinate a bit more google the Estancia Don Manuel J. And soon, I will tell you the tales of the Estancia. But as of right now, I’m with my homestay family which I will also tell you all about soon enough. Just remember: Patience is key, when you are following the blog de Marie. I will, however, let you know that I’m alive, happy, tired, but happy and probably about to dream in Spanish, life is good. Hope yours is too! Love and miss you all!!!!!

New Eyes

Packing is complete (if that’s possible), music is updated, the “last supper” with the family has been eaten and books for summer homework are read….errr maybe not. But either way, the date of departure is finally here. Unbelievable! How did this far off thing show up all of a sudden? Wasn’t it just yesterday I was lugging suitcases home from Baltimore to return only to a long list of errands I HAD run to prevent a graduation party from going haywire? Apparently, that is all long gone and the time for the “Good Air” to blow through my hair is nearly here. Of course I am excited and sure, I’m a little anxious too, but I think I’m ready to heed my Dad’s favorite advice, “enjoy the experience!”* And, hopefully through this blog you can take part in that enjoyment as well. I don’t have any schedule or specific plans for updating it; most likely I’ll keep you updated on my whereabouts and clued in on the juicy stories. I’d also love to stay updated about life in the States since I’ll miss you all so much -- so be sure to comment, email (mferg09@gmail.com) and write away!

In my attempt to find a deep, meaningful quote about traveling, I came across Marcel Proust and he seemed to do the job quite nicely. The genius once said, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” Here’s to a semester of acquiring a new pair of eyes.

Happy Reading!

p.s. Don’t Cry For Me – While I’m in – Argentina ;)

* The first time my Dad ever gave that advice was right before I walked out the door to go take my first AP test. Good one Dad. (I believe it’s a bit more applicable now :)

Don't Cry for Me Argentina - Glee version :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVOKYyLAoWE