So, on Mayday, I was on Spanish overload. I had an hour long private class before school started. Then, I was the only one in my specialized law class. So, it was just me communicating my my favorite professor, Nadia, for 4 hours. Then, during lunch, we were speaking Spanish. And then, Jane and I went to the Buenos Aires branch office of Amnesty International--where we listened to and asked questions during a presentation about their campaign to end the use of the death penalty worldwide. So...I spoke in Spanish consistently for about 8 hours. It. Was. Intense.

L-R: The Director of Amnesty International, me, member of the Amnesty International Staff, Jane

In the evening, people came over and we all went to La Bomba Del Tiempo.... Presently, I feel the need to list and briefly describe all the people who went. Mark--the Hawaiian medical student who is just really down to earth, super nice, and lots of fun at a party. Glen--the soon to be medical student from Southern California who graduated from Princeton. He is super down to earth and a really nice guy. Jussier--my wonderful friend from Brazil who always has my back when I'm down here and who always makes me laugh. Milton--Jussier's best friend and quite a nice guy. We have this deal where I help him learn English and he works on helping me with my Spanish. Luisa--my other amazing Brazilian friend from Recife. She is well traveled, really smart, and just a boat load of fun. I'm really going to miss her when she leaves. Actually, I spend the majority of my time when I go out and about the city with Luisa and Jussier and Milton. Jane--my darling housemate from San Francisco who is just very similar to myself. We have the same birthday. We were both aiming for taking the LSAT in June before similar life circumstances got in the way. We were both the president of our pre-law societies at the same time. We have very similar tastes regarding various things.  We have lots of in-depth talks. And, she is my best girl friend down here. Plus, she is the BEST at imitating peoples voice. I swear, this girl is spot on every time. It's so funny. Anne--my lovely housemate from Holland. She is 18 and has traveled so much. She is incredibly kind and generous. She is always the life of the party. Plus, she has connections with different people all over the city. I just don't know how she does it. Victoria--my newest housemate from Dusseldorf, Germany. She is really laid back and incredibly sweet. Plus, she knows how to tell a story about mundane things in a manner that makes it seem like the funniest thing in the world. Rolf--my other housemate from Holland who just left to go backpacking through various parts of South America. He was super chill and quite nice....Needless to say, there are lots of awesome people here. In fact, I have not met a single person that I haven't liked. 


Below is a video of La Bomba del Tiempo. It is a bit hard to describe, so I thought a video would do a better job.

I'll upload two more videos about this later. 

Right now, I'm going to go to China Town! Heck Yeah :) 

Today, I talked to my Dad, my Mom, my Soul Sister (Megan), and one of my dearest friends (Gabrielle). Actually, I even talked to Megan twice. Because of this, I'm realizing that I will be happy to be home in two weeks. I love it down here, but it will soon be time to go home. I really miss home, and the people that make home home.

Also, this evening, the boys (Jussier and Milton) came over at like 9:30pm and we ordered in some absolutely terrible Mexican food. I swear, Los Portenos have NO idea how to cook with any spices. Spices just don't exist down here. It's rather frustrating. And, after dinner, Milton gave me another dance lesson in the art of Forro. But, I'm too stiff. Apparently, I need to learn how to relax my arms. It's just such a free form dance--which is the exact opposite of the structured and semi-structured Latin Ballroom dances that I love so much. Nevertheless, I will perservere and hopefully add Forro to my repertoire. Hopefully.

Then, once the boys left, Jane and I went to McDonald's to get McFlurries....at 11:30pm. Yep...we had ice cream two nights in a row super late at night. Actually, Jane and I consume such high quantities of sweets, especially ice cream. We eat SO MUCH ice cream--specifically the kind from McDonald's or the kind we get delivered to our house. It's becoming a problem, haha.

Protests in la Plaza del Mayo

Symbol of the Madres del la Plaza del Mayo

Jane and I posing with one of the fake guards at the Museum housed in the restored customs building behind the Casa Rosada.

Peron y Evita

Painting depicting a mother reaching for her missing child that was taken during the last dictatorship. 

Me in front of the Casa Rosada (which is where the President works, but doesn't live)

Me in front of the monument that symbolizes Argentine freedom. The soil surrounding this monument is even made up of soil from all the provinces in Argentina. Son muy linda. 

The tomb of San Martin, the liberator or Peru, Chile, and Argentina. It is housed in the church in the Plaza del Mayo--which is the first Catholic church in all of Argentina.

Protest about the rightful Argentine ownership of the Malvinas (the Falklands) hosted by the Madres de la Plaza del Mayo. They Marched counter-clockwise around the monument signifying Argentine freedom.

The Madres de la Plaza del Mayo

Me posing in front of two actual guards standing in front of the "Governor" of Buenos Aires' office

Oh, and as a side note, this is what Burger King looks like down here. Be Amazed.

Tigre Pictures

T is for Tigre...or rather, Tiger.

Tigre House

Beautiful house in Tigre...plus the backs of everyone's heads.

Jussier :)

Notice the way that Denise is looking at her sleeve in disgust? Well, it's because a pigeon just pooped on her. Haha.

The three amigos, a Brazilian sandwich, or simply Milton, Myself & Jussier.

Boats that belonged to the Tigre Rowing Club

The big thing in the center is used for bungee jumping. Right before this picture was taken, someone jumped off that narrow little platform between the two poles. Fortunately, they didn't jump to their doom. Praise God

Milton, Jussier, Denise, Mark, and Alisa

Pretty, right?

Ok...so It's been a couple days since I've updated this. Lo siento.

Well...the other night (either Thursday or Friday), Jane, Jussier, Milton, and I went to Palermo around 11pm to go to this going away party that one of Jane's friends was having. We went to this adorable little restaurant that was Italian themed. Had some pizza. Had a bunch of laughs. Enjoyed the music--which was interesting because it would switch from a song popular in South America, to a cover of the Beatles, to a jazzified version of When the Saints Go Marching In, to another popular US hit...So it was just all over the map. Also, we settled a misunderstanding between Jane and I and the boys that had been discussed over the course of the previous week. I will sum it up: We were all at one of our favorite restaurants and the waitress came to take our order. One of the boys made a comment about out waitress being very pretty, and Jane and I just thought she was average. So, in order to better understand their male perspective, Jane and I asked the boys to rate her on a scale of one to ten...and she was given a 7.5 and an 8...which just really blew my mind. Consequently, over the next week, Jane and I would pester the boys and try to figure out what they thought was attractive or not. But, it wasn't until this night at the going-away party that Jane and I finally figured out the whole issue. Basically, for them, the waitress looked more exotic; but, for Jane and I, the waitress looked more like a normal person from the United States. Therefore, after further comparing our tastes, we all agreed that we find people more attractive if they appear exotic to us and are not the norm. And, I guess that's kind of a common thing for people, to like someone because they are different from you. After all, the expression "opposites attract" had to come from somewhere, right?

Then, Friday night, a bunch of people came over to celebrate one of my housemate's last night in Argentina. People came over around 10:30pm and stayed until about 1:30am. Then, they all went out and celebrated some more--which is just soooo typical of the Porteno lifestyle. I ended up not going out because I needed to get up in the morning to spend the whole day in Tigre. Nevertheless, I had a good time while there were at my place, haha.

Then, Saturday morning I met everyone (Jussier, Milton, Kayla, Denise, Mark, and Alisa) at the Burger King by school. Then, we hoped on a bus and went to the Retiro train station. The tickets were suuuuuper inexpensive, ringing in at about 3 pesos for a round trip--for me (because I got a really really good exchange rate), this equates to 50 cents. But, I guess we ended up sacrificing quality for the service that we got. For instance, on the way to Tigre--which is a town an hour outside of the city--our train broke. We started out the ride going the speed that paint dries on a humid afternoon. Then it started to rock back and forth. At this point, we were by the race track for horses, and the boys--specifically Jussier and Mark--started fussing about the terrible ride and joking that our train was going to die and fall into the lake by the race track. THEN, the train completely stopped. After about 20 minutes, employees with grease all over their hands and faces walked by in a frustrated state. Actually, the one guy looked like a football player because of the placement of the grease on his face, haha. Then, the train started moving again at a snail’s pace...which, believe it or not, was quite an improvement. Then, the train stopped again at this random station in the middle of nowhere. All the people were forced off the train, directed across the tracks, and told to board the next approaching train. So, needless to say, the next train--which already was filled with people from the Retiro station--was filled with the same amount of people from the evacuated train. So, my friends and I decided to just stand and not bother looking for an allusive seat. Upon Mark's direction, we all formed a tight circle so we could hold a better conversation and prevent each other from falling. To pass the time, Mark (who is a medical student from Hawaii) told really bad jokes that were so lame they were funny. For instance, what do you call fake spaghetti? An impasta....What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear......I was trying to think of the plethora of lame jokes that I looked up with Noah during this past semester, but nothing concrete came to mind--which was sad. But anyways, the jokes were funny and helped pass the time. Actually, there was this one lady that understood English and was cracking up because she thought we were funny. So that was nice. Then, after an hour, we made it to Tigre--which is located at the mouth of the delta for the Rio de la Plata. The town was beautiful. The architecture was very European. For instance, there were even Tudor style houses. And, there was a rowing club. Boats were everywhere. There was even an amusement park. The houses were beautiful. There was a wonderful market that housed a wide variety of Argentine merchandise: mate gourds, leather products, purses, food, woodwork, furniture, etc. While there, besides taking lots of pizza, I bought myself another mate gourd that is easier to clean and I bought my Dad a present. Then, we went to this terrible pizza restaurant and ate outside. While we were waiting for the super average tasting pizza to arrive, the weather went from sunny to absolutely chilly. So, we were cold, consuming displeasing pizza, and ready to go home. So, we paid la cuenta (the bill) and started walking home. It was golden hour, so the sunset was just stunning. The sky was a crystal blue, scattered with clouds, and tinted a pastel orange and yellow. It was an incredible sight to look over the boats, the European style houses, and see that sky.

Once we made it back to the station, we boarded another incredibly crowed train. Because there were no seats and barely any standing room, we decided to wedge ourselves against the back wall. Apparently, we were in an area specifically designated for bicycles and their riders. So, I was pressed up against one of my friends on one side, and had the metal rim of a bicycle biting into my hip on the other side. So, every time the train lurched from side to side--and of course, this happened often--I would fall forward into my friend, narrowly miss slamming my head into a metal bar, and then fall backwards into the warm metallic embrace of the bicycle behind me. Now, this sounds traumatic and very uncomfortable, right? But, I was just so darn amused by the ridiculous situation that I actually enjoyed the train ride...Although, there was the one dramatic incident. This older man's bike got stuck in the door because this one woman would simply not move and let him in the train. She was a local who understood train etiquette, but decided to sit on a portable stool and do a sudoku puzzle. Now, this lady in no way resembled a string bean, so she took up a larger amount of space than was tolerated by this man. So, he started screaming at her to get up and to move. I swear, I thought he was going to punch her in the face. And, I am not exaggerating. He really tried to move through the sea of bikes to hit her. But, fortunately, this one lady intervened and calmed him down. He was still very angry, and tried to confront this woman who refused to respond to his request. But, it all calmed down. His bike got removed from the door. And, all turned out well.

After the hour long ride, and after being advised by one very kind lady bicyclist to avoid the Retiro station at night, because it is a very seedy area after dark, we got off at the Libertador stop and walked home. Jussier and Milton and I walked to my place--which was probably several miles. During our walk, I fussed the entire way about wanting to go to Freddo to get ice cream. Well, we didn't pass a Freddo. Consequently, once we got to my place, we ordered ice cream to be delivered to my house. Basically, we were too lazy to walk the 7 blocks to the ice cream place and, therefore, decided to be fatties together. Then, we just chilled with Jane and watched Wedding Crashers in Spanish. 

So, all in all, Saturday was a really great day. 

So, today I went to the Plaza del Mayo, which is the plaza in the seat of Argentine executive power. We (meaning, Jane, myself, and our lovely tourguide Natalie)toured the restored original customs building. Then we went in the first cathedral in Argentina. And, we stood in the center of the plaza, by this monument signifying freedom and liberty from oppression and watched a protest in motion. I was put on by los Madres del Plazal del Mayo--who were protesting the rightful Argentinian owernership of the Malvinas islands. It was actually really cool. A super passionate, 98 year old woman spoke about the strength of her commitment--both to finding the desaparecidos and to protesting the rightful ownership of the Malvinas (or rather, the Falkans).

So, it was my first protest. It was super cool. And, it was refreshing to see people banded together for a cause so deeply rooted in the hearts of an entire people. People could learn a lot from the passion of the Argentinian people. They're incredible.

So today way terribly overwhelming. My law program went to the Navy Mechanical School that was used as one of the detention centers for Los disaparecidos during the last dictatorship in the 70's and 80's. The officers' quarters functioned as the detention center for the political prisoners. The basement was used for many different things, mainly torture...the wall of that place saw so much darkness. You could still seethe residue of past evils clinging to the walls and hiding in corners. Honestly, I almost started crying multiple times during the tour. My emotions were just on a roller coaster because, as the turgid explained how the prisoners were taken in and paraded around this grand reception area with marble pillars and luxurious rooms, they were taken to a metal door laced with chains leading to the basement--although I didn't see the door in the lobby because the officers remodeled to hide the staircase and elevator leading to the basement in an attempt to avoid international scantions that were brought about by testimonies of some survivors...but I saw the corresponding door in the basement. It spoke of death and inability to escape.

The officers called themselves the "Lords of Life and Death." They forbid the prisoners from even taking their own lives, because that free act of will was removed from the individual and given to the oppressors.

To make matters worse, it was. Clandestine detention center housed in a functioning military school for young me. Both the students and the officers were involved with the torture falsification of documents. Even the prisoners themselves were tasked with forging papers that erased their own identities--which just added a whole new terrible level of hopelessness.

Also, this clandestine center was so terrifying because it was located on a prominent street in a building that housed sound trained members of the most powerful group in the country, the military. The general public had a hazy understanding of what happened behind closed doors, and they were terrified. And they had a right to be. Political "subverters" were kidnapped in broad daylight--whether at work, at home, or in public. There was no warning. You were just taken.


But I think the worst part is that the dictatorship resulted because the country was experiencing economic property and growth; thus, the reign of terror was established to stop the diminishing of the gap between rich and poor, the gap between the controlling power and the people. And one of the main civilian groups aiding And supporting the mility was the catholic church. They donated their places of "spiritual retreat" on El Tigre island to the military to use as detention and torture centers. Plus, during the torture, priests would come and bless the torture instruments. However, all priests weren't bad...but the ones fighting for justice got tortured for helping the poor because it was classified as organizing subversive action.

So, today was just...emotionally overwhelming because I was just so disgusted by the corrosive effects of power that leads to morally apprehensible destruction of the entire individual life...a life that is simply erased from existence.

Even the babies born in captivity were taken from the mothers and given to the officers to raise as their own. The children's true identity was shoved under the rug and forgotten. And, because of this, there is presently a campaign called Abueles del Plaza del Mayo to recover the identities of the lost children. So far, 105/500 have been uncovered. Nevertheless, it is incredibly controversial because the lost children are now 35 to 40 year old adults. And sometimes when they are "found", they have no desire to meet their true family.

It's just all such a mess.

We have it so good in the United States. You should all be so incredibly grateful to kbe granted the privilege to live in such a place. I know I am.

Oh. And I just wanted to mention that I saw The Amazing Spiderman in 3D last night. And, it was pretty darn fabulous. You all should see it. I was happy I did...although I was slightly miffed that I had to pay 50 pesos to do so. But it was a jolly good time. I got incredibly involved in the movie, just like I always do. So I jumped when things surprised me, slid down in my seat and put my hands in front of my face if something scared me, and I reached towards the screen in horror when spiderman was rescuing a child from the bad guy. 'Twas intense, haha.

But, I'm sure when you see the movie you will have a less dramatic experience. Haha.

Today was interesting. I thought it was going to go differently. I thought it would go better...especially because I had a really good conversation with a friend about something. But, it seems that my day went in the opposite way than I expected....so instead of having a wonderful and happy day, I was rather upset. And, I even did stuff that was enjoyable today--like going out to lunch with friends and running around in the evening with Jane in search of sweet things to devour. So yeah. Today was just weird and I wish it had gone differently. And I really hope that I'm wrong about what I'm kinda thinking happened.


But don't worry, all you lovely people who are reading my blog. I'm just being dramatic. Nothing is really wrong. I love life down here. I am safe. I am happy. I am loving life....today was just an off day for me.


But, as of two second ago, my day got brighter. I just got a phone call from my grandma and my cousin Jacklyn. And, I got a chance to talk with Jacklyn for the first time in a loooong time. And, I feel really blessed simply to have heard her voice. She is an incredible girl and I am privileged to have her as part of my family.

It's funny how simply hearing the voice of a loved one can change your feelings from negative to positive. But, I guess, love can do that. Love is just pretty darn great.

So, my grandma just called me. And it brightened my entire day when I heard her voice. But then it just made me sad.

For instance, when I heard her voice, I realized just how much I missed her. It was like I just got slapped in the face by a hand tattooed with "homesick" in gigantic, boldface letters. And, now I'm sad and sitting in my room and missing my grandma. And when I get home, I won't even be able to see her until Thanksgiving or possibly Christmas. And, it makes me so terribly sad.

Ok, so I want to post some pictures of some fun times and interesting sights during my time in Buenos Aires...


This is Mafalda--the  innocent child in a beloved Argentine comic strip who is concerned about politics and the concerning things going on in the country.

And, below, are my lovely Brazilian friends whom I adore will ALL my heart. From left to right: Jussier, Elaine, Me, Luisa, and Milton.  This picture was taken the day that we went to the San Telmo market. I believe it was Sunday, July 8, 2012. We had a great time, filled with laughter and many memories. We took pictures with Mafalda, ate at this quaint little Italian bistro, and then we just walked around the open air market. We saw street performers, a man who dressed up like Jack Sparrow who looked eerily like Johnny Depp, people tango-ing, and an Argentine swing band. 'Twas a jolly good time :) 

Although, looking at this picture makes me miss Elaine. She went home yesterday morning, and there is consequently a Elaine-shaped hole in my life. Sadness.

And, below is a video of people dancing Paso Doble--which is just utterly adore-- in the streets of La Boca. It was much more exciting to watch in person; nevertheless, a video will have to suffice. 

Then, outside of the Recoleta Cemetery, there is a street fair on Sundays. I actually bought stuff for the first time since coming to Buenos Aires outside of delicious food, haha.

I bought a mate gourd--which totally brightened my day. I wanted to buy some art too, but that will have to wait until my last week here because I need to budget my money.

The following is a picture of my super-duper awesome mate gourd and bombilla (straw). Also, notice that the mate gourd is sitting atop supreme court cases for Moot Court. Typical...

And, I also got a present for my madre. She will LOVE it...hopefully. Well, I love it and think that she will as well.

And then, after buying things, I came across this hysterical hippie van.

And, I also came across this wonderful little troop of men performing in the street. I simple adored them!

exploring at the Recoleta Cemetery.

So I went to the Recoleta Cemetery today with Leah and my new housemate Leisle (who is from Holland). And, the cemetery contained, by far, some of the most beautiful architecture that I've seen since coming to Buenos Aires.

The following picture is me standing in front of Evita Peron's grave. Happiness and tourist-y-ness all wrapped up in one photo...

And the following are a few of the many pictures that I took of the cemetery. Be prepared to be amazed.

And, this picture was taken at my house last week when we had a party before going out to a hip-hop dance club. Front row: Elaine, Susan, Kayla, Milton. Second Row: Erica, Jane. Third Row: Me. Hanging over the banister and about to plunge to his doom two stories below: Jussier.

This picture was taken at the salsa club we went to last Wednesday night. The three girls with me are all my housemates. From left to right i will list their names: Susan, me, Jane, and Kayla. All three are pretty darn incredible. Susan is from Atlanta, Georgia and is leaving tomorrow to start Med School. She is probably the funniest person that I have meet since coming here. My favorite thing she does is when Susan imitates the way her Bulgarian boyfriend talks. SOOOO funny. Jane is this spectacular girl from the Francisco Bay area in California. She is in the Legal Spanish program with me. And, honestly, I would be quite miserable down here if I hadn't met her. She continually makes me laugh and, past that, we just connect on a deeper level. I'm blessed to call her my friend. And, Kayla is my actual roommate. She is from Wichita, Kansass. She is just so darn fun. I especially love being around her when we go out. But sadly, she will no longer be my roommate after tomorrow night because she is going to be staying with a family in Buenos Aires for the next two weeks.

Now, I know everyone at home wants to associate people's face's with the wonderful people that I talk about. Therefore, I will alleviate the mystery...

This picture was taken at the bowling alley last night. Elaine is wearing the pink sweater in from. Jane is wearing the leopard print cardigan. Milton is next to Jane and is wearing the leather jacket over the grey Columbia shirt. Luisa is standing behind Elaine and myself. And, Jussier is in the very back, wearing the black shirt with the white and read print. 

I had a wonnnnnnderful week. On Wednesday, I went to the Pallacio Judicial (the Supreme Court) and had a private guided tour as part of my law program. We went all over the building and into the main courtroom. Then, as a very unexpected bonus, we were permitted to go behind the very large and ornate bench and enter into the 7 justices private chambers. We saw the Bible that they lay their hands upon. We saw the circular table, with the beautiful red leather chairs encircling it and with the red leather and gold leaf binders that they write their decisions in. Then, we went into the room where their receive foreign dignitaries and important people. Then, we won't into their informal meeting room. And unexpectedly, a security guard let Jane, Leah, and myself out onto the Grand Balcony overlooking the Plaza del Valles--which only the justices have access to. So apparently, only the supreme court justices and us three girls have ever been permitted on the balcony. So basically, I was in awe of everything. And I know for sure that God's blessing and favor rested upon us during this tour. There was just something special going on on so many levels.

Wednesday night, we (me, Jane, Jussier, Elaine, Milton, and lots of random people from school) went to this tango club called La Viruta in Palermo. I learned the baaasic steps for argentine tango--which is wayyyy different than the international tango that I have been previously exposed to. Then, instead of learning more tango, Milton taught me how to dance Forro--which is this super fun dance from the region of Brazil that he is from. Then, the club started teaching some west coast swing classes. I was learning a little bit in the beginner level, BUT I got bored with the slow pace and escaped along with Milton from the dancing line of swing dancers. After that, we (meaning, Jane, myself, and the three lovely Brazilians) left the club in search of dinner. We walked all over Palermo in search of something good and cheap to eat. Dissatisfied with the options, we attempted to walk to the Avenida de Santa Fe in order to get something to eat at McDonalds. Well, we got hopelessly lost and had to stop and ask some very nice police officers for directions. But even after all this, we ended up in Plaza Italia...which is like 30-40 blocks from our houses. Nevertheless, we found the McDonalds and stuffed ourselves full of not-good-for-you food. Then we simply took the bus home.

The next day, Thursday, we ( myself, Elaine, Jussier, Milton, Luisa, and this lovely young lady from Norway named Camilla) went to lunch at La Cholita and then saw a show at the Planetarium. It was was really cool show, but...the seats reclined, the room was toasty warm, and we all almost fell asleep. Correction: Jussier actually did fall asleep so Elaine slapped him awake--which was quite hysterical in of itself.

On Friday--because it was Elaine's last day in Buenos Aires--we (Elaine, Jussier, Milton, Jane, Camilla, and myself) went to La Cholita to get a huge lunch a la parrilla. So basically, we all stuffed ourselves on the complementary bread that comes before the meal and then we further stuffed ourselves on big slabs of grilled and sizzling meat. Needless to say, it was pretty delicious. Then, because we had to further celebrate, we all went to Freddo to eat the most delicious ice cream in the entire world. Seriously, no other ice cream will ever satisfy me after this wonderful sundae topped with caramelized sweetened condensed milk, this buttery sweet whipped cream, and these chocolate dipped cookies. So after experiencing ice cream paradise, Jane and I accompanied our wonderful Brazilian friends to their apartment--which was absolutely adorable, by the way. We just hung out their for a while, talked, used google street view to show each other what our homes look like, and looked up ridiculous videos on youtube. While Elaine was packing to go home, Jussier feel asleep on this extra small couch in this all scrunched-up position. Noticing this, I totally called that he was going to complain AS SOON as he woke up. And, I called it right, haha. Then, once Elaine was all packed and ready to go out for the evening, we all stopped by my house so Jane could get ready. While Jane was getting ready, I had my regular several cups of tea, and Jussier made fun of me like always, calling me a "tea-er". Which means that if I am what I eat, I'm going turn into a big pit of tea.

Once Jane was all ready and Luisa came over, the 6 of us headed to a bowling alley for dinner and funnnnn. We literally had the BEST time. We were singing along to all the songs on the radio (which were all popular music from the states) and we were dancing around like the spontaneously fun people that we all are. In fact, we were being so loud and laughing so much that everyone was kinda staring at us. But, that didn't matter because we were enjoying ourselves veryyyyy much. Jussier and I got extra competitive and whatnot, and we had this little taunting game going on. He continually towered over me and told me that I was going down, while I cheered and smiled whenever he messed up. 'Twas a jolly good time...Although, I will grudgingly admit that Jussier won the game. BUT, the only proof of the score I have is a picture of the scoreboard where I am winning by several points--so I will just imagine that that was the case, haha.

After leaving the bowling ally, we went out and got ice cream AGAIN. That's right, we were living the crazy life! Haha, just kidding.

But, the night did have a rather sad ending. Jane and I had to say goodbye to Elaine--which was pretty darn awful. But, despite the sadness, we are all confident that we will stay in touch and remain friends. In fact, there are already plans for visiting each other in the works.

So I had an awesome day of Spanish classes, ate this amazing vegetarian style lunch with Jane, Jussier, Elaine and Milton, and went to La Universidad de Salvador to listen to a private lecture on the structure of and problems with the Argentine judicial process. The lecture was just so incredibly fascinating. Apparently, the lawyers submit written arguments to the judges, then the judges just read the material and make a decision. Also, there is no use of precedent, and each case is considered anew on its own merits. Also, only one province employs the use of juries--but even then, the people are too afraid of the reprecussions to actually show up when summoned. And to put the cherry on top of the cake, the whole process takes 3 to 4 years on average. Therefore, people are just held in prison until the judge reads and decides their case. Consequently, many individuals are held in prison for years more than the allotted punishment for their crime--which results in serious overpopulation problems within Los carceles. It's just all really terrible.

But now...I'm just settled down for the evening because it's all rainy and cold outside.

Ok. So here's my embarrassing story for the day...

I was just laying down for my nap that I referenced in my last post, when I rolled over on my right side to get comfortable. Well, as I rolled over so did my entire mattress. Yeah, you read that right. My mattress literally fell off my bed with me on top of it. Needless to say, I went crashing to the floor, almost rolled into the heater, and had all of my blankets fall on top of me. Basically, I was just laying there, stunning into silence on the floor--all the while thinking, "only I could end up in a situation like this". I swear, I literally had to shake my head at myself...

So, Jane , Luisa, Jussier, Elaine, Milton, and myself spent the ENTIRE day walking around the city. We met at El Ateneo at 9:30, we took the subte (the metro) to Plaza Italia---which was the first time I rode the subway in my entire life. Then, we went to the botanical garden, an over-priced mexican place for lunch, and the rose garden. We were going to go to the zoo, but is just kept filling up with people and the price was raised because it is independence day in Argentina. Then, we walked by the Japanese garden, passed the US Embassy, went to see this GIGANTIC mechanical flower, passed the law school (which was astoundingly beautiful and had impressively tall pillars supporting the roof), walked down the street that contained TONS of embassies from other nations, took a respite at a gas station, walked some more, went to the Recoletta Cemetary, saw Evita's mosuleum, walked through an open air market/plaza festival, stopped by the mall for some McDonal's, then we made our way home.

Now, the plan is to nap for like two hours before the lovely Brazilians come over to my house to make a communal dinner and play Extreme Spoons.

So, now I'm off to bed because we walked for about 5 or 6 hours all over the city today. And, I am consequently exhausted.

Nevertheless, despite the tiredness sinking into my limbs, I had a wonderfully lovely day :)


....I'll post pictures eventually.

Ok. So my day was pretty darn fabulous--apart from the picture uploading. And, I know some of the pictures still look a bit misshapen, but I am too tired to care about fixing them anymore.

Early this morning--meaning 12:01 am--Jussier, Elaine, and Milton came over to our house. So Jane and I and the three Brazilians all played card games and talked until after 3am. We played "Spoons", which the Brazilians had never heard of but enjoyed very much. We played "Go Fish", which was ridiculous because we all talked in voices like a little valley girl would use (which we did because the card game was meant for children and we all needed to be in the right frame of mind to play a game meant for ninos). We played rummy. And, then we ALL told stories about out technology challenged parents/grandparents that call us and ask for help doing simple technological things. The story telling was my favorite part--especially because Elaine's father cannot figure out how to use the remote control for the television and he spends hours at a time trying to learn, all the while asking Elaine how to use the remote.

So the Brazilians left at like 3:10am. Then we all went to bed with the intention of meeting at 11am the next morning. Somehow, I woke up an hour before I had to leave and got ready. That was not the case with Jane--who slept in past noon.

Consequently, I walked to El Ateneo to meet 4 of my Brazilian friends (although, Luisa call themselves the Brazilian crew that I hand out with, haha). Luisa and I got there a little earlier then the other three, so we had some coffee y facturas (which are thiese sweet cressants). Then, when Elaine, Jussier, and Milton arrived, we got on a bus and headed to San Telmo Market. We just walked around in the random way that tourists do that have no intention of buying anything. But we really enjoyed ourselves. The Market was filled with glass antiques, vintage items from the 50's and 60', mate gourds, street performers (like statue people, a very convincing Jack Sparrow, a puppeteer, musicians, and tango dancers). Then, we all realized that we were starving. I was made fun of because I said I could eat the world the other night, and the Brazilians just thought that was hilarious. So, apparently, I was going to literally take a bite out of the world before we got to the restaurant...I wish I could have done that. But, 'twas not the case.

We went to this amazing Italian inspired little cafe on a side street. It was just so quaint and wonderful. I had the BEST bruschetta I have ever had in my entire life. And, I'm not just saying that. It was literally the best. Ok, picture this. Wonderfully thick and delicious toasted bread topped with vinegar and oil soaked tomatoes, black olives, and basil. Then I had two other pieces topped with fresh and slightly melted mozzarella cheese, grilled peppers, grilled sweet potatoes, and grilled eggplant. Yeah. It was pretty darn phenomenal. And apparently, all the other food that people got was amazing. Elaine said she got the best pizza she had ever eaten. And I tried some of the steak that the boys got--which was pretty tasty as well.

After the deliciousness that was our lunch, we headed to take the 29 bus to La Boca. It was quite a long bus ride, but it was only 1.25 pesos, so it was totally worth it. La Boca was pretty nifty. It was JAM PACKED with tourists from all over the world. There were people dancing all over the streets--I specifically noticed tango, paso doble, and this native Argentine dance. So, we basically just wandered around and took a bunch of pictures like the tourists we all all. So that was super fun, until we got on the bus to take us back to Recoletta (which is the barrio that we all live in). The bus driver was just horrendous. At one point during the ride, we all flew out of our seats and into the isle because the driver made this ridiculously, jerky, sudden stop. Nevertheless, we all made it home in one piece.

Then, when I got home, I ate some of my favorite food--that is the food made for bunnies to consume. It was some granola, Quaker oat cereal, dried fruit, nuts, yogurt, and bananas all mixed together in this delicious mesh of yumminess.


But, other than that, I was asking my friends all these questions about Brazil. And, from what Luisa described about the coastal area of Recife that she lives in, I now want to travel to Brazil so very badly.

And, it's safe to say that I caught the travel bug. I want to travel EVERYWHERE and ALL THE TIME.

oh my goodness. It took two and a half hours to upload those pictures. But I so dearly wish the hassle had stopped wit the slow uploading process. Additionally, the pictures were all the wrong size because, for some reason, blogger didn't resize the pictures for me. Consequently, I had to adjust the html code by hand for 58 pictures--which took FOREVER. So, I hope you all enjoy the pictures because they contain my blood, sweat, and tears. Haha.

Museo Historico del Buenos Aires, San Telmo, & La Boca