Sitting in my
apartment in Denver is much different than my bright green bedroom in Mendoza
as far as this blog is concerned. I’ve been back in the States for a bit over a
month now and there’s definitely been some ups and downs as far as readjusting
to life at DU.
First of all, what’s
up with this homework business? You mean I have to keep up on schoolwork now? What is this madness?
Second, why are people
in bed and clubs shutting down at 2am? Don’t you realize you’re missing out on
lots of South American clientele?
And along those lines… Where’s
my 18 peso wine? (Approximately $3).
These among other
things are just a few of what erk me as I make the transition back to an “American”
life here in Colorado.
Luckily what I am
grateful for is that Ryan and I are as happy as ever together and make a point
of trying to get outside as much as possible, just like we did in Mendoza.
Snowshoeing in RMNP
for example (see right).
This blog is actually
about my crazy month of October while in Argentina which included all of the
following and consequently explains my lack of postings during the month:
My first mid-term
exam: This was a terrifying experience because it was for my hardest class
(being the only exchange student makes things far more difficult) and it’s over
complex topics and ideas (criminology, the definition of crime and how society
creates it). What was more stressful was the exam format consisted of four
short answer questions, which were given to all of us students orally. So I had the added bonus of a
Spanish listening test which more or less deteremined my success on the actual
exam even before I could prove any of my knowledge about Criminology. Needless
to say, I was pretty ecstatic when I managed to pull off a C+ on the exam.
Phew! Who knew I’d be proud of being average?
Oktoberfest in
Córdoba: No I didn’t make a trip to Germany, Argentina actually supports a
large European population, and among that population are a considerable amount
of Germans. This population especially surged after WWII though we spotted no
swastikas luckily at the event. We traveled overnight to Cordoba, where
Oktoberfest occurs due to the German-majority population, which is a lovely
city that is actually the second largest in the country. Oktoberfest was quite
the cultural blending of Argentine meets German (now that made for some interesting accents) and we had quite a bit of
fun trying various beers and watching various performances of German(ish)
origin. (The CanCan dancers were questionable, though it made for probably the
best Paul picture ever – Paul being my friend who believes in awkward
selfies/photos with anyone/anything that’s made remotely awkward by his goofy
grin – and this all the better because he dragged poor embarrassed Ryan into it
too).  |
| Yessssss |
The Strawberry beer was my favorite, but due to the price of the beer and
the relentless rain that started to pour, we headed back to the main city a
little earlier than expected. This actually made for one of the more exciting
events of the night, which was the nail-biting mini-bus ride back in which Ryan
and I seated ourselves in the front row, then proceeded to cling on to one
another as the extremity of the weather became more apparent (as in torrents of
rain, lightening, and hydroplaning).
A tip from your
friendly Argentine mini-bus driver – If ever your windshield fogs up due to the
20 some passengers in your care and you don’t have a Defraust option (come on
now these are Renaults were talking about), don’t hesitate to pull out a towel
and wipe down the windshield on the inside. Do not stop driving. Do not slow
down. Just use quick fluid movements while standing over the steering wheel in
order to clear your windshield and continue driving through any freakish,
hellish storm.
Watching our bus
driver do this I could only think of the giant dam we had crossed over to get to
the festival and the giant drop on the side we would be crossing on. Poor Ryan’s
fingers were probably crushed from my gripping them. Luckily we managed to make
it back safe and sound (must have been all the good ale the driver sampled).
Just kidding!
Buscando Nemo was
another highlight of this trip (Finding Nemo in Spanish) and resulted in
hilarity from us Estadounidense folks that had the Argentines scratching their
heads wondering where the humor was. Some things just don’t translate (right
dad?) Oui missiour!
Lots of sightseeing of the city was fun for all of us including an array of art museums and beautiful churches.
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| One of the adorable citizens of Córdoba |
 |
| One of the beautiful churches of Córdoba |
We also found a sweet park that featured an art project with 200 large circles commemorating the bicentennial of the city. (Big kid playground anyone? Ryan and I think so.)
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| I also committed my first act of graffiti-ing. |
Another nondescript
memory from Cordoba was a fun night out dancing late on the town before leaving
for home in Mendoza. Lisa learned in this instance how Vodka affects her and
how she should probably not drink that much again to avoid the silliness that
ensued. Ryan agrees (though he does a marvelous job of keeping track of me
somehow when I’m bound and determined to meet and be friends with everyone in
the club).
But that’s enough of that story…
October also consisted
of Mom and Dad arriving in Mendoza (see their guest post below) as well as
general day-to-day hilarity with the Chicas (we never stop inventing ways to be
silly and have fun) as well as adventures with Ryan (such as adopting two stray
dogs via hot dogs and playing with them in the park all night). Ryan and I also
joined a local swimming pool along with my incredible friend Erin Hecht in
order to prepare for our Aconcagua trek (more on that later). I subsequently
proved my athletic ability in this way while humbling my run-twelve-miles-a-day-baseball-tennis-football-soccer-playing-heck-of-an-athlete-boyfriend.
He’ll be able to do a full 50 meter free soon enough!
Stay tuned for more
blogs in the future (though I know they may come far and in-between). Up next:
Sola in Bariloche – Lisa takes a week to herself to explore Argentina’s Lake
District in Northern Patagonia. (Sneak peek photo below).
