With two more months of Argentine experiences under my belt, I have become used to most of the customs of this culture: canceled class for elongated holidays or World Cup games, nights that turn to morning with both young and old awake and partying, and subsequently an abandoned city every day during siesta from 2pm to 5pm each day, but the one thing I am still surprised and excited about week to week is the food. Some days what gets me up is the thought of a good meal with good dessert. Some examples of the deliciousness of Argentine food: home-made ice cream on every corner, alfajores (imagine super-awesome moon-pies with dulce de leche inside), lomos (a huge slab of fried meat on arabic bread), milanesa (breaded beef), drinkable yogurt, and every kinda of breakfast pastry you could think of. My parents recently visited, and my mom put it very well, in between bites of "bon-bon" (vanilla ice cream covered in a chocolate shell and chocolate syrup), noting that "Those Argentines love their sweets. I think it would be dangerous for me to live here for over a month. Everything would go straight to my hips." In fact, as I right this post, I am munching on bread and crackers with cream cheese, soon to be followed by the maid Gladys's famous rice patties. After I told them about my trip to Asia last year, my family has started making more and more rice dishes. Thankfully I enjoy rice, but my complaint of having to eat rice for every meal in Laos must have been lost in translation and taken as advice on what dishes I like the most.
To combat the seemingly inevitable weight-gain that occurs after eating loads of carbs, sugar, and fat, I have been training for my first marathon. I have not been following the suggested schedule, which has made my parents a bit worried, but nevertheless next Monday, June 21, I plan to run the race in Rosario, Argentina. The race is on Argentina's Flag Day, and the city is where the flag was first sewn, so it should be an interesting place to be. AND Lance Armstrong is apparently running the race as well! Hopefully there will be pictures of us together on the next post! Once again, the only reason why I am even allowed to run this race is because we do not have class on Monday. Though technically Flag Day is Sunday, they decided to cancel class the following day for good measure. This makes at least 5 days of class canceled for bicentennial events, holidays, or World Cup games.
Argentina celebrated 200 years of the patria, directly translated as "fatherland," this year on May 25, and though many people traveled for the long weekend, I chose to stay here and celebrate with friends in a city I knew. Also, friends came to visit, one, Taylor, who is studying abroad in Valparaiso, Chile, and another, Caroline, who sings in my a cappella group and was visiting Taylor. We had tons of fun walking around town, eating, catching up, biking around wineries, and going out. They stayed in my host family's house because we have an extra room, which my host mom was more than happy to offer, because she grew up in the city where Taylor lives. I have decided that I enjoy serving as a host to visitors, because I can give an insider's view of the city, as well as explore parts of the town that I never get around to exploring.
As I briefly mentioned, my parents also came to visit last week, which they will tell you was definitely full of ups and downs. Though they experienced a multitude of travel difficulties, we were able to spend quality time together, the first time in quite a long time - maybe ever - that I got my parents all to myself, and vice versa, without other people and activities to distract us. It has been fun talking and discussing with my parents at this next stage in my life, because it becomes less of an authoritarian relationship and more of a mentorship. Though Mom still occasionally gives unwanted advice and I admittedly still back-talk every now-and-then, the vast majority of the time we spend discussing the future, developing political and personal views, and sharing stories. They spent 4 days in Buenos Aires, where I met them, slept in a SUPER nice hotel, and explored the capital city of Argentina. We went to the Casa Rosada (their White House) where Evita Peron gave her speeches, an antiquities fair in another part of the city, a busy pedestrian street market, a Tango show, and a variety of art exhibits, but by far the best thing we did was attend a concert at Teatro Colon, the newly renovated (as in one-week new!) concert hall of Buenos Aires. It is the second largest in the world, and is compared to Carnegie Hall or the Kennedy Theater, though bigger and now, much more beautiful. The performers were amazing, with acoustics that perfected the sound.
After I left to go back to class in Mendoza, my parents rode an omnibus the the Iguazu Falls - magnificent natural waterfalls on the border of Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina. They had a blast and convinced me to go after I finish the program here. After Iguazu and a couple of travel delays later, my parents met me in Mendoza, where we ate traditional Mendozan meals, went out with some of my friends, learned about the making of and tasted different types of wine in a local wine vineyard, and played at the orphanage. But my favorite part was the asado (bar-b-que, but MUCH better) my host family cooked for my parents. We ate until we were full, then ate some more, while speaking in two different languages. I tried to translate in between bites, which served as an interesting way to converse with my two families. This visit was an exciting way for me to share what I have been experiencing for the last few months, as well as a much-needed vacation for my hardworking parents.
Only a month left in Mendoza before I start traveling around the world again to start research on non-profit and governmental agencies and the ways in which they address poverty. More to come on my summer later!
Will
PS e-mail, or even snail mail, is always welcome! :)
PPS I forgot to add some fun events: I had a fun birthday week, full of parties, people, and of course, FOOD! I also ran a "Maraton" 5k and came in 4th place in the city! I climbed the "Hill of Glory" for the second and third times with the visitors, and went to the last local soccer game in Mendoza this year!
