Its been 10 whole days since I've blogged last! While I could think about that, and say, "Wow, self. That just indicates that you haven't done anything worth sharing with the world!" It actually indicates that my adventures around the city are so integrated into the normal patterns of my life here, that they feel like daily business.
Quick summary of last weekend/week:
Friday night and Saturday were spent in services, due to Yom Kippur. Sunday was a beautiful day, in which some friends and I welcomed in Art Week in Buenos Aires with some free symphony in el Parque del Centenario and another movie at the secret movie theatre in San Telmo.
(note: I really wanted to upload a picture here, but my internet connection would not allow it)
The week was only a three day week, with Tuesday off of school for "Dia del estudiante." Then, volunteering at Hogar 4 (with the viejos) as usual on Friday.
The highlight of this weekend, however, was a trip to Rosario!
Rosario is the third largest city in Argentina, and four hours away from Buenos Aires. Well, technically, its 4 hours away, but there were some sort of protests on the route to Rosario causing us to take the "long way," or the 5 and a half hour route. I didn't really mind, Argentina has certainly made me tolerant of long bus rides. These days, anything shorter than 20 hours is ok in my book.
On the bus ride to Rosario, I somehow managed to be the only person to stay awake. But the advantage of that was that I got to watch "Nueve Reinas," a great movie that had my favorite Argentine actor, Ricardo Darín, basically the Argentina George Clooney. We watched two movies, on the bus back to BA today as well. Both starring Darín. I guess the bus company bought the box set?
Anyhow, when we arrived in Rosario, it wasn't too sunny, but we did get to go on a boat ride on the river Paraná! This was great fun and there was singing and dancing to Juanes and other Latin American hits that Americans know, like La Bamba. Awesome! We had a free night, and some friends and I ate a delicious dinner in a cute restaurant outdoors, under a large tree with cascading branches. My friend Saba and I shared a giant fish called Dorado and we ended all up eating and talking at the restaurant for over three hours!
Today, it was a sunny, perfect day! We took a city tour this morning, ending up at the gigantic Monumento a la Bandera (flag), since Rosario is known as the city where the flag was born. We had some free time, spent enjoying the coast and the sun and then made our way back to BA in another 5 hour bus ride.
(note: I wanted to post pictures here too, but my internet would not allow it! sad.)
A very short trip, but a lovely one! I loved the beautiful architecture and the laid back, coastal feel of Rosario.
domingo, 26 de septiembre de 2010
martes, 14 de septiembre de 2010
שנה תובה & Parciales
Thursday-Friday Festing & Saturday-Wednesday Studying
I'll let you guess what the better part of my week has been.
Yes, thats right. The festing.
Celebrating the Jewish New Year actually began on Wednesday night. I went to Chabad again, and had a deeeeelicious meal! It of course included traditional apples and honey, as well as salads, soup, red meat, (for the first time in almost three months), and desert, and lots of wine. There were about 20 people there, so it was fantastic just to meet new people and be in such a warm environment for the start of the holiday season.
On Thursday morning, I went back to Chabad and met up with some friends at services. After services and hearing the shofar (yay!) we were invited to lunch at the house of the parents of the woman who runs the "Chabad for Students Abroad in BA" program. Sorry that thats so confusing! Well, anyhow, we ate lunch and it lasted until 6:30 pm. Needless to say, I did not make it to my afternoon classes as I had planned. After lunch, we went to go participate in Tashlich. Here, however, they don't use bread for Tashlich! They just stand there and look at the water. It was a little unusual, but I wen't along with it. I mean, any way to symbolically throw your sins away is a good one, right? After all of that activity, I headed on home and pretty much straight too bed. Eating and relaxing and celebrating all day can get exhausting.
On Friday morning, I knew I probably wasn't ready to spend a whole new day stuffing myself with food, but I plunged ahead anyhow. I made it to services, on the later side and met up with my friends Talia and Natalie. Talia had received an invitation to lunch from a girl that she met at a Jewish Center for Women's Study (again, complicated, sorry haha). And so we all walked over to her family's apartment for lunch. Talia was invited at 1, we showed up at 2, and the girl didn't show up until 3! The message here is that the combination of Argentine time and Jewish time is fatal. That gave us an hour to talk with the girl's parents- who didn't know who we were, but were so excited that we had come/that we were from the USA/that we were sitting and talking/that we were going to eat her food. Eventually, the daughter showed up with some friends, including two girls from Caracas, Venezuela. The family was Sefardi and originally from Syria, so there was a slight variation on food but still maintaining the theme that it was delicious and there was a lot of it!
Before we knew it, it was 7:00 pm and time to return to Chabad for Shabbos services/dinner. Yes, thats right, another meal. So Talia and I started trudging over to Chabad when suddenly, torrential downpour appears from above. Great. So, we attempted to wait it out, but eventually, we just had to run for it, arriving at shul with dripping hair, soggy clothes and saturated shoes. Services then food. DInner was lovely, at first it was small, only about 7 of us, but people kept joining and some Argentine Jews even showed up toward the end. Again, I ate too much and by the end of the two days of festing, I was ready never to look at a plate of food again. Only now do I think I have partially recovered from the amount of food I ate. Good thing Yom Kipper is anti-food!
So, after all of this fun holiday celebrating, I had to head into midterms. School here is not as challenging as OSU- it doesn't even come close. But, I had four midterms (parciales, here) in two days and needed to look over some material. Sunday-Wednesday was spent hanging out at home, studying, hanging out with my roommates. Really nothing very exciting. On the upside, I did learn from studying! I now know all about Argentina's history in the 70s/80s ie the Dirty War. Scary stuff!
I survived my midterms, they weren't tooo bad. Although having three hours of essay testing in Spanish can make your head spin a little bit. To celebrate finishing, I went to a cafe (surprise surprise) called Quimbombo with some friends. I had a delicious sandwich with brie cheese and zucchini!!! Yum! Then, my roommates and I watched El Secreto de Sus Ojos (The Secrets in Their Eyes) which won the Foreign Language Oscar this past year. It was AMAZING. Having lived here in Buenos Aires for the past couple of months, I could recognize some of the places scenes were taking place. I understood a lot of the Argentina-specific spanish words they were using and many of the historical references. Even if I hadn't had those recognitions, the movie would have been fantastic. Go see it! Its great!
Anyhow, upcoming in the next couple of weeks: Yom Kippur, traveling to Rosario with ISA, going on a Salta/Jujuy adventure! and daily adventures in this lovely city :)
I'll let you guess what the better part of my week has been.
Yes, thats right. The festing.
Celebrating the Jewish New Year actually began on Wednesday night. I went to Chabad again, and had a deeeeelicious meal! It of course included traditional apples and honey, as well as salads, soup, red meat, (for the first time in almost three months), and desert, and lots of wine. There were about 20 people there, so it was fantastic just to meet new people and be in such a warm environment for the start of the holiday season.
On Thursday morning, I went back to Chabad and met up with some friends at services. After services and hearing the shofar (yay!) we were invited to lunch at the house of the parents of the woman who runs the "Chabad for Students Abroad in BA" program. Sorry that thats so confusing! Well, anyhow, we ate lunch and it lasted until 6:30 pm. Needless to say, I did not make it to my afternoon classes as I had planned. After lunch, we went to go participate in Tashlich. Here, however, they don't use bread for Tashlich! They just stand there and look at the water. It was a little unusual, but I wen't along with it. I mean, any way to symbolically throw your sins away is a good one, right? After all of that activity, I headed on home and pretty much straight too bed. Eating and relaxing and celebrating all day can get exhausting.
On Friday morning, I knew I probably wasn't ready to spend a whole new day stuffing myself with food, but I plunged ahead anyhow. I made it to services, on the later side and met up with my friends Talia and Natalie. Talia had received an invitation to lunch from a girl that she met at a Jewish Center for Women's Study (again, complicated, sorry haha). And so we all walked over to her family's apartment for lunch. Talia was invited at 1, we showed up at 2, and the girl didn't show up until 3! The message here is that the combination of Argentine time and Jewish time is fatal. That gave us an hour to talk with the girl's parents- who didn't know who we were, but were so excited that we had come/that we were from the USA/that we were sitting and talking/that we were going to eat her food. Eventually, the daughter showed up with some friends, including two girls from Caracas, Venezuela. The family was Sefardi and originally from Syria, so there was a slight variation on food but still maintaining the theme that it was delicious and there was a lot of it!
Before we knew it, it was 7:00 pm and time to return to Chabad for Shabbos services/dinner. Yes, thats right, another meal. So Talia and I started trudging over to Chabad when suddenly, torrential downpour appears from above. Great. So, we attempted to wait it out, but eventually, we just had to run for it, arriving at shul with dripping hair, soggy clothes and saturated shoes. Services then food. DInner was lovely, at first it was small, only about 7 of us, but people kept joining and some Argentine Jews even showed up toward the end. Again, I ate too much and by the end of the two days of festing, I was ready never to look at a plate of food again. Only now do I think I have partially recovered from the amount of food I ate. Good thing Yom Kipper is anti-food!
So, after all of this fun holiday celebrating, I had to head into midterms. School here is not as challenging as OSU- it doesn't even come close. But, I had four midterms (parciales, here) in two days and needed to look over some material. Sunday-Wednesday was spent hanging out at home, studying, hanging out with my roommates. Really nothing very exciting. On the upside, I did learn from studying! I now know all about Argentina's history in the 70s/80s ie the Dirty War. Scary stuff!
I survived my midterms, they weren't tooo bad. Although having three hours of essay testing in Spanish can make your head spin a little bit. To celebrate finishing, I went to a cafe (surprise surprise) called Quimbombo with some friends. I had a delicious sandwich with brie cheese and zucchini!!! Yum! Then, my roommates and I watched El Secreto de Sus Ojos (The Secrets in Their Eyes) which won the Foreign Language Oscar this past year. It was AMAZING. Having lived here in Buenos Aires for the past couple of months, I could recognize some of the places scenes were taking place. I understood a lot of the Argentina-specific spanish words they were using and many of the historical references. Even if I hadn't had those recognitions, the movie would have been fantastic. Go see it! Its great!
Anyhow, upcoming in the next couple of weeks: Yom Kippur, traveling to Rosario with ISA, going on a Salta/Jujuy adventure! and daily adventures in this lovely city :)
miércoles, 8 de septiembre de 2010
¡Vamos Argentina!
On Tuesday there was an Argentina vs. Spain fútbol game. Now, since "sports" are not my strong suit, this is all I knew going into the game. Spain won the Mundial, now they are playing Argentina. Any of the why ? who? where? Unknown. Thankfully, I have more sport-savy friends (in that they at least know the rules of soccer) with whom I bought tickets and went to the game on Tuesday.
The game was awesome! The River Plate stadium (where the game was held) is in Belgrano, not too far from our Universidad. We walked there, and slowly started seeing more and more people in jerseys. Eventually, the roads were closed off so that everyone could walk. After passing through the masses- more or less successfully. I got asked for directions, which was a misktakeee for that person, but always gives me a small feeling of pride. Anyhow, we eventually made it into the stadium- thousands of people, although it seemed smaller than the Shoe (OSU stadium). The game started off with a magical moment- before we knew it, hundreds of thousands of paper strips were shot into the air, slowly floating down and covering us in blue and white.
I was surprised by how quiet the game seemed. After OSU games (my only benchmark of comparison) which are loud, boisterous and full of standing and jumping, sitting down during the game- with only an occasional cheer or chant, seemed strange.
Nevertheless, it was a great game, with a great atmosphere, and I'm really glad, after that whole World Cup madness, I got to experience what a "world cup-esque" game would feel like!
domingo, 5 de septiembre de 2010
La vida pluricultural
The theme of the end of the weekend was definitely multiculturalism.
On Saturday, I went to an amazing Deli & Juice Bar in Palermo Soho called bBlue (http://www.b-blue.com.ar/). I ate a delicious smoked salmon sandwich and had an unbelievably amazing Strawberry-Orange licuado (smoothie). Between the bagel the day before and the lox on Saturday, I joked that I completed my need for a bagel and lox. Haha.
Saturday night, I went to a really great movie. My friend Saba, is an intern for a website called What's Up Buenos Aires and her boss told her about a "secret movie theatre." Basically, a tiny one-theatre place in San Telmo that is completely unmarked and shows indie films. A group of us went, stopping at a DELICIOUS ice cream shop beforehand, called la Nona Bianca (the white nun, in Italian), and we arrived at the address of the theatre, where the only indication that something was going on was an older man standing in the doorway. I am convinced that this city loves "secret" places! From the infamous closed-door restaurants, to the unmarked clubs I always seem to pass when I walk home, to even secret movie theaters. This city is all about who is in the know, and when you end up finding something off the beaten path, you feel like you are part of that BA elite.
Well, anyhow, we saw this movie called Soul Kitchen. And here is where the multicultural aspects start to come in. The 2009 comedy was directed by a Turk, starred two Greek actors, was set in Germany and had Spanish subtitles. Woah. The movie was great though! It was hilarious, and really original (I will let you google the movie if you are interested in a plot summary).
Today, Sunday, was beautiful and sunny, like that spell of rain had never even come through. I had heard that there was a feria (outdoor festival) to celebrate Rosh Hashannah, the Jewish New Year that starts on Wednesday of this week, near my house. A couple of friends and I went to check it out. What did I find? Falafel, klezmer music, and many stands selling Judaica! How awesome! The combination of the Argentine feria (so popular, there are dozens of ferias around the city every weekend) and the Jewish holiday was fantastic! I think this was the first in a set of ferias celebrating those who have emigrated to Argentina, as a part of the bicentennial celebration (Argentina takes this bicentennial business seriously, I think they are going to celebrate for the entire year). Anyhow, it was the perfect end to a lovely weekend.
Multiculture summary: On Saturday night, I went to an Italian ice cream place before seeing a German movie with Spanish subtitles about Greek brothers. On Sunday, I went to an Argentine-Jewish festival. I think thats pretty good for one weekend :)
On Saturday, I went to an amazing Deli & Juice Bar in Palermo Soho called bBlue (http://www.b-blue.com.ar/). I ate a delicious smoked salmon sandwich and had an unbelievably amazing Strawberry-Orange licuado (smoothie). Between the bagel the day before and the lox on Saturday, I joked that I completed my need for a bagel and lox. Haha.
Saturday night, I went to a really great movie. My friend Saba, is an intern for a website called What's Up Buenos Aires and her boss told her about a "secret movie theatre." Basically, a tiny one-theatre place in San Telmo that is completely unmarked and shows indie films. A group of us went, stopping at a DELICIOUS ice cream shop beforehand, called la Nona Bianca (the white nun, in Italian), and we arrived at the address of the theatre, where the only indication that something was going on was an older man standing in the doorway. I am convinced that this city loves "secret" places! From the infamous closed-door restaurants, to the unmarked clubs I always seem to pass when I walk home, to even secret movie theaters. This city is all about who is in the know, and when you end up finding something off the beaten path, you feel like you are part of that BA elite.
Well, anyhow, we saw this movie called Soul Kitchen. And here is where the multicultural aspects start to come in. The 2009 comedy was directed by a Turk, starred two Greek actors, was set in Germany and had Spanish subtitles. Woah. The movie was great though! It was hilarious, and really original (I will let you google the movie if you are interested in a plot summary).
Today, Sunday, was beautiful and sunny, like that spell of rain had never even come through. I had heard that there was a feria (outdoor festival) to celebrate Rosh Hashannah, the Jewish New Year that starts on Wednesday of this week, near my house. A couple of friends and I went to check it out. What did I find? Falafel, klezmer music, and many stands selling Judaica! How awesome! The combination of the Argentine feria (so popular, there are dozens of ferias around the city every weekend) and the Jewish holiday was fantastic! I think this was the first in a set of ferias celebrating those who have emigrated to Argentina, as a part of the bicentennial celebration (Argentina takes this bicentennial business seriously, I think they are going to celebrate for the entire year). Anyhow, it was the perfect end to a lovely weekend.
Multiculture summary: On Saturday night, I went to an Italian ice cream place before seeing a German movie with Spanish subtitles about Greek brothers. On Sunday, I went to an Argentine-Jewish festival. I think thats pretty good for one weekend :)
viernes, 3 de septiembre de 2010
Rain, rain, here to stay?
In my previous blog post, I talked about wanting to take advantage of my time in Buenos Aires.
However, as soon as I developed this crucial mentality, it began to rain. Not just rain, but pour. From Tuesday through Friday. A great way to welcome in the month of September. But honestly, September showers brings November flowers just doesn't have the same ring.
So, during the week of rain, I spent many afternoons and evenings sitting on my bed, with my window cracked, listening to drops of rain hit the patio behind the house. It was lovely. However, by Friday, I was antsy for the cursed rain to stop, so that I could return to exploring this wonderful city.
Therefore, on Friday morning Christine and I went to go pick up our visas. We had turned in the necessary paperwork months ago, but hadn't wanted to wake up early to beat the rush and get to the Office of Immigration at 8 am. Friday though, we bit the bullet and woke up to light rain, caught the subte and headed down to Retiro to become legal residents of Argentina. The process went fairly quickly. With some wild gestures, pointing, and asking questions to many uniformed Argentines, we finally figured out what to do and where to go. Forty-five minutes later, we exited the building into now torrential downpour to get back to the subte.
Since it was only 9:30, and class didn't begin until 2:30. We decided to go to Oui Oui, a French breakfast-place/cafe not too far from home. (http://www.blackbookmag.com/guides/details/oui-oui) We arrived at Oui Oui soaked to the skin but had a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs and BAGELS (my favorite part), as well as a "proper latte," according to Christine.
We trekked home to rest, then I trekked to class in the rain (everything is a "trek" when its raining). By Friday evening, however, the skies were still grey but they were not longer leaking!
On Friday afternoon, my friend Sam told me that one of her Jewish friends was also studying in BA and that we should meet up. Lo and behold, 10 minutes later there is a message in my inbox from Talia, Sam's friend, inviting me to a Chabad Shabbos dinner. So, I took the bus and headed over to Recoleta, where we had services then a dinner where I met about 15 other study abroad students from the USA.
It was so nice to have a Shabbat dinner, and before I knew it, I was eating chicken, yes chicken! So long pseudo-vegetarianism! Also, I was really excited to find other Jewish students here, and just in the nick of time- before the holidays. I assumed there would be a lot of Jewish exchange students here because of the huge Jewish population in BA, but the Rabbi told me there are only about 200 per semester that study here!
It was really reminiscent of being back in Columbus and a great way to spend a Friday night.
However, as soon as I developed this crucial mentality, it began to rain. Not just rain, but pour. From Tuesday through Friday. A great way to welcome in the month of September. But honestly, September showers brings November flowers just doesn't have the same ring.
So, during the week of rain, I spent many afternoons and evenings sitting on my bed, with my window cracked, listening to drops of rain hit the patio behind the house. It was lovely. However, by Friday, I was antsy for the cursed rain to stop, so that I could return to exploring this wonderful city.
Therefore, on Friday morning Christine and I went to go pick up our visas. We had turned in the necessary paperwork months ago, but hadn't wanted to wake up early to beat the rush and get to the Office of Immigration at 8 am. Friday though, we bit the bullet and woke up to light rain, caught the subte and headed down to Retiro to become legal residents of Argentina. The process went fairly quickly. With some wild gestures, pointing, and asking questions to many uniformed Argentines, we finally figured out what to do and where to go. Forty-five minutes later, we exited the building into now torrential downpour to get back to the subte.
Since it was only 9:30, and class didn't begin until 2:30. We decided to go to Oui Oui, a French breakfast-place/cafe not too far from home. (http://www.blackbookmag.com/guides/details/oui-oui) We arrived at Oui Oui soaked to the skin but had a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs and BAGELS (my favorite part), as well as a "proper latte," according to Christine.
We trekked home to rest, then I trekked to class in the rain (everything is a "trek" when its raining). By Friday evening, however, the skies were still grey but they were not longer leaking!
On Friday afternoon, my friend Sam told me that one of her Jewish friends was also studying in BA and that we should meet up. Lo and behold, 10 minutes later there is a message in my inbox from Talia, Sam's friend, inviting me to a Chabad Shabbos dinner. So, I took the bus and headed over to Recoleta, where we had services then a dinner where I met about 15 other study abroad students from the USA.
It was so nice to have a Shabbat dinner, and before I knew it, I was eating chicken, yes chicken! So long pseudo-vegetarianism! Also, I was really excited to find other Jewish students here, and just in the nick of time- before the holidays. I assumed there would be a lot of Jewish exchange students here because of the huge Jewish population in BA, but the Rabbi told me there are only about 200 per semester that study here!
It was really reminiscent of being back in Columbus and a great way to spend a Friday night.
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