Mostly Buenos Aires

The night before leaving for Buenos Aires I found out that Alli was seriously considering staying for the year and I had a slight internal freak-out on my way home followed by an hour long conversation with Anna which made me feel better. The idea that a close friend may be staying here combined with the feeling of sadness about leaving and not having much free time left here in Santiago and having a fun couple of weeks before this just made me really want to stay. I wondered if I would regret it if I didn't because when else will I have such an opportunity. Do academics and a difference of one semester really matter in the big picture? Just made me question life and overreact for about an hour. I know that in this mindset my life here seems more fun than it actually is and I know that it's the small social things that really make or break an experience and I have plenty of fun in the US and most of my good friends from here are coming right back to Tufts with me. I'm all done freaking out now and although I will be sad to leave, Anna is making me a list of reasons to come home and I bet they will all be worth it :).

Buenos Aires
I was not a well prepared traveler but things worked out. I basically knew nothing about what we were going to do. I barely looked up or planned anything and figured we would just wing it there. We were very lucky to have KateCarpenito , who is studying abroad there right now, show us around. She did most of the research for us and spent every day tour guiding. We didn't have to worry about figuring out the crazy bus system or having much of a sense of direction. Also Emily, a Tufts friend from my program who I travelled with, had a Tufts friend, Sam, studying in BA and he joined us about half the time.

Wed 10/21 - flew in, had lunch with Kate, walked around Palermo Soho, the neighborhood where Kate lives and our hostel was. It isn't called Soho by accident. Very trendy area, lots of boutiques, coffee shops, restaurants, bars, etc. Got out onto a main street, Santa Fe I think, and just generally walked around taking in the sights since it was a rainy day and we were tired from the trip. Walked through a mall. Emily was enamored with the shopping opportunities but we decided that she would do it alone one day. After a nap, a norm on travels now, we had an Indian dinner on pillows and then went to a bar with board games where we played Taboo and Scrabble in Spanish andJanga , which were all really fun. First impressions: like everyone says it felt very European and not like I was in South America. Parts of it reminded me of New York. People are all tall and thin and well-dressed. Coffee shops are at least on every corner and in between them are leather stores. It felt like a bigger city than Santiago although I just looked it up and it isn't, maybe more densely populated or more parts are commercial rather than just residential.

Thurs 10/22 - took the metro, which they call the subte, into the center which reminded me of Times Square with a theater districts and billboards and lots of busy downtown things. CrossedAvenida 9 de Julio, which is over 12 lanes wide I think. Saw the Obelisco, a statue to 400 years since the city's founding. Lots of the key sightseeing was done this day with Plaza de Mayo, Casa Rosada, la Catedral, colonial government building, etc. Then we went to Puerto Madero and walked along the river, which reminded me of the promenade/Brooklyn Heights area back home. Had some delicious happy hour daiquiris at TGIF and felt very unauthentic but satisfied. Had dinner at an amazing middle eastern place and went to bed early for the next day's early start.

Fri 10/23 - took a ferry over to Colonia, Uruguay, the oldest town in Uruguay. It was a tiny little place but cute and we got a small city tour of the historic center, which was more of a shameless advertisement to tell your friends to come visit and think about having your wedding there. The usual lunching, wandering, running into craft fairs, etc. We spent probably too much time inspecting and admiring all of our passport stamps. We took a monster nap when we got back in preparation for an attempt at going out. In BA people don't go to clubs until around 3 so we had to brace ourselves. It ended up being just Emily and I tonight and amazingly we made it until 3, sat in a bar in Plaza Serrano for about 3 hours chatting, and then headed over to ClubNiceto , recommended by a guidebook and Sam. It was fun but not exactly my scene, as I forgot that clubs have different "themes" every night. I can't even categorize the kind of music it was but some combo of jazz, hipster,swingy, alternativey mix with the same sort of crowd. The tired hit me soon after getting there and I wasn't feeling well so I left a bit before Emily and got home around 5.

Sat 10/24 - went to the Recoleta feria (craft market) with Kate while Emily went on her shopping day. Stopped by the Recoleta cemetery to see where Eva Peron is buried. Saw the huge famous metal flower. Then we went to MALBA, an art museum, which currently has an Andy Warhol exhibit. Dinner was a big happy Tufts family with more friends studying in BA, and some of their friends from their programs, at a very friendly family restaurant with traditional northern Argentine stews. After that we went out to Plaza Serrano again where I was horrible at darts but enjoyed trying.

Sun 10/25 - San Telmo street fair, which is only on Sundays, was an interesting mix of all the standard souvenirs and antique sections with the randomnest merchandise I have ever seen. Sam bought a ram's skull from a man dressed as a Native American, which was probably the highlight of the day. Ran into another fair in a nice large park and although I barely bought anything at any of them they were nice to see. People drinking matte everywhere - a lot of people carry around thermoses with hot water and their gourds and just bust out matte on the street. My stomach hurt for no reason and I kind of wanted to curl up into a ball for most of the day - Emily and I later discussed how we are getting old and probably have to pay attention to what we eat. Generally this whole week we ate way too much because we had to go out for every meal and because walking around a city when you get tired the best way to rest is to stop by a cafe, get a snack, etc. We had considered going to see tango, either at a fancy show or at a milonga, a place where locals go to dance tango and often before it starts a lesson is offered for curious tourists, but left it for the last night when it was late and we were tired. Unfortunately we didn't end up seeing tango, which is probably something we should have done in BA, but oh well, another time. We also didn't do the other famous tourist thing, which is go to see La Boca, the area with the famous colorful houses, but everyone told us that it is just a couple of blocks of those houses that are in all the pictures and otherwise there is nothing to do there, so we passed on that. I also didn't buy anything leather or try matte. Bad tourist?

Mon 10/26 - walked around our neighborhood some more and looked into some of the shops. We forgot to check out of our hostel and just went out for the day but it wasn't a problem. Met up with Sam and Kate for our last lunch at a parrilla, a place with the famous Argentine grilled meat. Then we all went to a large park in Palermo to see a rose garden that was closed and maybe go for a boat ride but we only found the lake without boats. Still it was pretty and afterward we stopped by the Botanical Gardens. After a slightly delayed flight, on which Emily and I made up a great movie script, we got home after 3 in the morning.

Overall: I was really tired for most of the trip and wasn't feeling fantastic. I think that objectively BA is a much nicer city than Santiago but I am happy that I chose to be here instead. I feel like I am getting a more different experience which is what I wanted. I am happy to be on a Tufts program because it is small and personal and we all know each other and get to have 20 new friends back at Tufts. Because of the timing of the trip, with how I was feeling a bit torn about leaving Chile right before going to BA, I think that I wasn't as amazed by BA as I may have been at a different time. Maybe I was a bit resistant to liking BA as a tourist, maybe I was tired, maybe I'm getting a bit jaded from all this traveling. Also because Emily is not having the best time in Santiago primarily because of her host family, is homesick and excited to leave, and was so in love with BA, I probably felt like I had to defend Santiago and maybe because of that too didn't fall in love with BA. Kate also cannot wait to go back home and really misses her family, friends and boyfriend. I'm sure that if I had studied there I would have loved it but it didn't give me that magical feeling that I sometimes get walking through cities like NY. I was happy to go back to Santiago and I've noticed a trend that I feel a bit homesick when I get back from travels, probably just due to exhaustion.

This Tuesday Alli and I baked awesome cupcakes that we decorated with a Halloween theme with different colored frosting and M&Ms as a present for Diego. It was the height of my artistic abilities and creativity.

I have come to really appreciate and like my host family. Compared to some people's stories of how their host moms tell them they are fat, snoop around their rooms, etc. my family is great. I have complete freedom but they are also always happy to see me and hear about my travels, etc. We had a good night this week that reminded me of home. My mom, my sister and I had once (teatime), which we almost never do, and talked and laughed about how "low fat" the crepes and manjar were. Then we planned out who was going to have to hide which favorite jam from whom because we all felt fat but were joking about it. Currently I have my sister's favorite orange jam in my room and she has the manjar in hers.