Hola!

I'm writing to you from the lovely confines of my home in Green Lake, Wisconsin.  I've been home in the U S of A for a little over a month, and have had a very pleasant time.  All the jobs I applied for said I was just too good and they couldn't bear the thought of hiring me, so I've been jobless and loving it.  Lots of grueling hours on the lake--swimming, skiing, jetskiing, tanning.  But I'm doing the best I can.  Tomorrow I enter back into reality, well not really I'm going to the concert Lollapalooza for 3 days which will be absolute madness, but I'll be back in Winnetka then back to Richmond a few weeks later.  SO I figured now is a wonderful time to wrap up my blog.  Many of you may be wondering what took me so god damn long, especially if I've been doing nothing with my life, and I honestly don't know the answer.  I tell myself, nearly everyday, that I need to wrap it up but can never bring myself to do it.  I guess I just don't want to part with my baby.  It took a rainy day and a whole lot of boredom to get me here, but I'm quite proud of myself for finally doing it.  Some may say I have a procrastination problem, I say they have no idea what they're talking about.  

Before I get too off track talking about god knows what, I would like to re-iterate one last time how much I enjoyed my time in Argentina.  Since returning home, I've been asked countless times (I have so many friends) about my trip, and almost every time I say something along these lines--"It was amazing.  It was so much better than I anticipated in every way, and am so glad I went.  It was really an incredible experience."  Okay, when I'm at a party I don't sound that intelligent, but you get what I'm saying. Instead, we just cheers our warm Busch Lights and continue on.  I'm will be forever grateful for being able to be apart of this wonderful program, and want to thank everyone in my group for making the trip so fun and entertaining, and most importantly my profesor, Thais, for organizing such an incredible 6 weeks.  Lastly, I'd like to thank my parents, for always supporting me...and most importantly, the Academy, for allowing me to win this Oscar.  (The last part was a borderline funny joke, but everything before that was true, I promise.)

Most importantly, thanks to everyone who cared enough to keep up with my blog week by week.  As of today, August 2nd, there are 916 hits and as soon as I hit 1000 I'm buying everyone a Prius...seriously.  But in all honesty, I originally created this with a very small audience in mind--my parents, brothers, dogs, grandpa and a few of my friends.  Through some networking by some of my besties, the blog went semi-viral...and although Barak Obama's dog probably has more followers on twitter than I do on this blog, I am glad I could provide you all with some entertainment during my adventures.  I've thoroughly enjoyed writing in this blog, way more than I ever imagined, and who knows maybe if my life gets a little more exciting I will blog more regularly...a girl can dream, right?  Well anyways I hope you all had a WONDERFUL summer and thanks again for allowing me to share my experience with you all.  

Nothing quite says goodbye like a cheesy cactus solo shot (vans included):

It's the end of an era, but as my boy Kanye says, "All good things gotta come to an end."

Chau!

Kris

buenos tardes!

I have returned from my afternoon in the city, and despite being torrentially down-poured on, it was very nice to walk around.  I purchased some wonderful gifts, and had a good lunch at this all natural, vegetarian restaurant.  Gotta get ready for bikini season which begins in t-24 hours. But really, based on my bread baby, I'll be waddling around in a wet suit all summer so if anyone has an extra one, beep me on my pager.  Enough about my astonishingly good looks, and now onto this awesome city that I have been living in for the past 5 days....

On Sunday, we arrived in Buenos Aires around 11 after an hour long plane ride.  We hopped into another Mystery Machine, which I will refer to as the Magic School Bus, because Ms. Frizzle met us at the airport since she lives in Buenos Aires all summer.  Our bus driver has the raspiest voice I have ever heard in my life, and for me that's saying a lot.  I am convinced he eats cigarettes.  We then went to this HUGE artisan market that is held every Sunday called Feria de Anteguidades, which consists of blocks and blocks of stands and thousands of people.  This might have been one of my favorite parts of being in Buenos Aires, and for the first time in a 5 weeks, I didn't feel like the only outsider in the city, because there were tons of tourists.  After we ate, I walked back through alone to go buy my friend ANDREW TURNER STEPHAN a present, and suddenly everyone started clapping.  I looked around and everyone had moved to the sidewalks, and there was a little boy of maybe 3 years old sitting on a mans shoulder crying.  I had absolutely no idea what was going on, until I heard someone say that the little boy lost his parents, so everyone joined together to clap so the parents would know that their child was safe and looking for them.  It was pretty amazing--hundreds and hundreds of people all joining together to try to help this little boy.  It lasted about 5 minutes, and he amazingly found his family.  To me, this simple act demonstrated the togetherness and kindess of Argentinian culture that I have seen countless times.  

After walking around the fair for a while, I felt a sudden warm, tingly sensation arise in my heart.  My spider senses ignited, and after having a That's So Raven vision, I turned my head and saw it.  Starbucks.  My insides lit up, and I felt like I was home.  I didn't actually buy anything, because I had just bought a fresh squeezed OJ from a stand, but I used the bathroom and let me tell you it was great.  My only criticism of this country is their lack of hygiene when it comes to bathrooms.  I've encountered some rather nasty situations, and have many times sat on the toilet, only to have the seat fall out from under me.  It's a shitty scenario.  Pun very much intended.  That evening, the nine of us ate dinner next door at a restaurant named Henri, and shared wine and good times.  The next day we went to a really beautiful Opera House, and toured through that for over an hour. We wandered through the city the rest of the day, and took advantage of the beautiful 70 degree weather.  I bought a cookie. I ate the cookie. I took a nap.  That night, 4 of us were in charge of finding a dinner place, and found this wonderful little restaurant called Meridiano58.  I had the best pumpkin and mozzarella ravioli I've ever put in my belly.  I had a nice glass of Torrontes vino, and will stop now because I'm even boring myself.  

HATE to end in the middle of such an enthralling post,  but I have a very important date with a bakery down the street.  I'd hate to stand my favorite cookie up, so I must leave...I will resume blogging once I'm back to my homeland and wrap up my wonderful trip to Argentina.  

GOD BLESS AMERICA i will see you very soon. 

Hello World!

I deeply apologize for my lack of pasts in the past few days...I was quite busy with my last few days in Cordoba and have been in Buenos Aires since Sunday morning.  I'm writing to you from the lobby of our hostel, with all my bags packed and 6 hours until we leave for the airport.  My flight doesn't leave until 9:30, so I'll be kickin' it in the Buenos Aires airport for about 5 hours.  Hopefully I don't miss my flight! For those of you lucky enough to receive a souvenir from me, you know where I'll be doing my shopping. So many shot glasses and key chains.  I believe I last posted on Flag Day, so I'll fill you in on the scuttlebug that has been my life since then.  

Thursday: Rocked my oral midterms.  Aced that shit.  Not really however I did get A's on both so I was quite proud.  The thought of speaking one on one with my professors in spanish made me want to piddle my pants, but it was actually not nearly as frightening as I had imagined.  I was so lucky to have great professors, and I learned a lot in their classes about the material but also about Argentine culture.  I honestly don't remember what I did Thursday night, but I believe it was along the lines of napping and studying on the top bunk in the Ladies Lounge.  

Friday: Showed my finals who's boss.  It's quite odd that we took a midterm one day then a final the next.  It was horrible but I can't complain seeing that I only had 18 days of classes, with an awesome group of people and wonderful professors. 

Spanish in Negocios (business) with Rosana.  Self timer pic!

Friday evening, I celebrated graduating Argentina School by attending a concert.  Before, the whole family came over since the Chiavarro's son from Buenos Aires was visiting and had a big dinner.  Earlier that evening, I was incredibly bored so I decided to hang out with my 8 year old friend Gregorio.  We shared some laughs over some Need for Speed on Neil's ipad, and he even bought me a tricked out porsche with flames.  It was basically the car version of my tandem at home, which I cannot WAIT to break out tomorrow.  I'm sure you all miss seeing me cruising on that bad boy alone, leather tassels blowing in the wind, at questionable hours in the evening/early morning.  After I got last place in every game, me and my room mates helped him study colors and days of the week in English in the Ladies Lounge.  If you can't tell he's quite the ladies man.  He lived up to this reputation later that night, when he decided to pursue the hottie in the alpaca sweater, who obviously was this chick.  Anyways, he was making moves left and right...a little tickle here, a hand on the shoulder there.  It was thoroughly entertaining for everyone, and certainly a nice reminder that I still have game despite being in such foreign territory.  After dinner, I went over to John and Perry's house, where we hung out with his house brother, Lucas, and his friends before the concert.  We went to the concert around 1 and I returned home at the early hour of 6:30 a.m.  Their older son, Ramiro, was up and getting ready for the day when I waltzed into the house.  I jumped in the bunk and woke up all of 2 hours later to meet the group at the University so we could go on an excursion to a Concentration camp where they held the Desaparecidos (the disappeared).  Despite my complete lack of sleep, I really enjoyed the place.  They did a wonderful job commemorating those who dealt with all the injustice in the Argentinian government in the 70s and 80s.  However, the best part of my day came when the tour was over.  A cute little nugget puppy, probably about 6 weeks old, waddled over and played with us.  I was completely captivated by his good looks and soft fur...the feeling was clearly mutual based on the photo posted below. 

 

When I returned home around 3, I walked in and the family was just finishing up lunch with about 10 friends.  Just as I was about to pass out in bed, Pepe said "6:30 a.m.?! Chocola!" and gave me a high five.  If only I got that kind of support and positive reaction at home when I come home late...take note Dad. On Saturday evening, our last night in Cordoba, we had a good bye dinner at this great Tango restaurant in the city.  Our professors came, and the directors of the program.  Afterwards, we went to a boliche called Studio Teatro, where we listened to some Avril Lavigne and the Rolling Stones.  My two faves!!!

We returned home at 3, and woke up 3 1/2 hours later to head to the airport.  For those of you who can't do math, like myself, that's a whopping 5 hours of sleep in two nights.  I not only looked good, but I felt good, and sounded like Marge Simpson after smoking a pack of cigs.  That morning, we had a tearful farewell, and it was extremely sad saying bye to the Chiavarros.  They were the perfect host family, and could not be more loving and caring.  I am so thankful for them opening their house to us for those 5 weeks.  Not to worry, I've been messaging Mama on FB.  She's dying to score some tags from the ginormous album that will be coming your way rather soon.  

Cordoba was a perfect place to study--the family, the school, and the friends I got to know so well really helped make this experience so memorable.  I honestly would not change anything, besides the disgusting amount of white bread I have consumed.  But it tasted sooo gooooood.  Leaving Cordoba was bittersweet; I was sad to say bye to it all but the memories will stay with me forever.  

Don't worry, I'm not done yet.  I still have to inform you on my wild escapades in Buenos Aires, but I'm going to need to take a break and do some shopping in our neighborhood.  

chau chau chau,

kris

Buenos tardes!

I'm writing to you from the patch of grass in the backyard of the house, soaking up the 60 degree sun to the best of my ability in my pants and sweater.  Today is flag day, which is taken a little more seriously here than in the U.S. (no drinking at the beach in red white and blue swim suits) so I have no class, and everyone takes the day off; therefore, most of the stores are closed.  As a result, I have been hanging out at the house all morning.  After taking a run, I came home to possibly one of the greatest surprises of my life (other than the time I got a purple bike for my 6th birthday, sans training wheels).  I was standing in the porch area with Mary, trying to figure out why my body entire was literally letting off steam.  I know I'm hot, but this was weird.  Before we could figure out the answer to said phenomenon occurring in my flawless body, we were interrupted by the dog, Manchita, who had been missing for 2 days.  Manchita plopped her no longer pregnant body on the stoop outside the backdoor.  We obviously freaked out, and were taken aback by the absolutely enourmous size of her nipples which now look like full on utters.  Thinking she could understand us, we started asking her questions in english, along the lines of, "WHERE THE HELL ARE THE PUPPIES MANCHI?!?!" Despite the obvious language barrier, she seemed to get the message just fine and led us to the sketchy shed in the way back of the yard.  Outside the door, we heard little whimpers and cries that were just so freaking cute.  We followed her to the way back, shooting down cobwebs right and left, until we saw it...6 little nugget puppies all piled up on top of one another, eyes still closed, making freakishly human-like cries.  I'm going to be honest, they look kind of like rats right now, so I refuse to touch them but still from about 3 feet away they're such love bugs.  But I'm their aunt, so I will love them no matter how disgusting they look.  Mom and Dad hope you don't mind if I bring one home! I shall name it fluffy.  It's important you know that In the Rincón Bonita neighborhood, Manchita is currently plagued with the reputation of being somewhat slutty.  She has already unloaded a batch of puppies this year, and it didn't take her long to get her little ass back in the game.  If you saw her right now, lying next to me in the grass, you'd want to ask her how she got her body back so quickly.  If I could answer for her, I would say it's undoubtedly the breast feeding.  I just went and checked on the puppies, because I am such a responsible caregiver, and they look adorable.  It's siesta time for the sextuplets, and they're in a puppy pile in the corner, with 4 in a row, head to feet, and two lounging on top.  I'm currently drafting some names for the little guys, but I will have to get to know them on a more personal level first.

Manchi last week. She was a little camera shy due to her weight. 

My new neices and nephews getting their milk fix in for the day.

Tomorrow I have midterms in my classes, which are both done one on one with the professor speaking in spanish.  Then on Friday I have final exams, and Sunday I leave Cordoba and spend 5 days in Buenos Aires before returning to the wonderful U S of A.

Chau!
Kris

hola!

Tonight i've decided to stir up the pot a lil bit and change my blogging technique.  Instead of informing you on my days events, which have been pretty atypical, I am going to tell you a little bit about my host family, the Chiavarros.  Disclaimer: this may be boring to some, but as I begin my last week in Cordoba, I am beginning to realize how lucky I am to have such a wonderful host family.  They've provided me with such a warm and accepting environment these past 4 weeks, and have taught me so much about Argentinian culture and the importance of family.  In my house, there are 5 exchange students, Mamá (Adriana) y Pepe (José).  I'll start with the latter...Pepe.  I can honestly say I have never met someone with such a big heart in my life.  Ironically, he had heart surgery 9 years ago, which he not only survived but thrived.  He is incredibly nice, and has an ample amount of love for life, and most importantly, his family.  His face lights up every time anyone in his family comes over, and his love for his youngest granddaughter, Laurianna (2), is truly one of a kind.  During dinner, she'll sit on his lap and say, "Pepe, me amo!" and recite a short poem who's last line translates to "if I didn't have you in my life, I would be lost forever."  His love doesn't just end with his immediate family, but also extends to all the students the Chiavarros have hosted in their house throughout the years.  I believe they have had around 60 students in total, and I get the impression that they are known as one of the best families in the program.  So for that, I am eternally grateful.  Although it's custom of the culture, every time we enter the room, Pepe (and Mamá) give us a big kiss on the cheek and a hug, and immediately ask "How was your day? I hope it was beautiful."  He can go on for hours about my "hermanos", Neil and Maxúm, and loves reciting the few lines of english he knows.  They consist of: Very Good, Very Good (berry good, berry good), Thank you very much (tank you berry much), and his all time favorite: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10.  I hope to take home with me some of Pepe's contagious spirit and love of life.

Mamá is a very strong, powerful woman who does not mind telling people the way she believes things should be run, especially around the house.  Her job has always been taking care of others, whether it's her own family or her exchange students.  What I admire most about her is power to overcome tragedy, by focusing on the good in life, instead of dwelling on the bad.  I have learned about her family briefly, but tonight we spent about an hour talking after dinner.  This kind of conversation is what I love to refer to as "real life" and I believe that these experiences are the most important way to learn and grow.  In the span of 1 year, Mamá lost her father, her youngest sister, and her only brother.  At the age of 33, when her sister was 6 months pregnant, she complained about having heart pains.  Her heart was failing, and the stress of the baby only added to the problem.  After her birth, the doctors discovered that the baby's aorta was not functioning correctly (completely unrelated to the mom's issue) and sadly, the baby died 12 days later.  Her sisters illness worsened, and she spent most of her time in the hospital awaiting a transplant.  She was a small woman, so she could only accept a heart from someone who was an adolescent or child.  One day while waiting at the hospital while her sister underwent therapy, Mamá was trying to cheer up her father, who was becoming increasingly sad about his youngest daughter's illness.  While in the waiting room at a hospital in Buenos Aires, Mamá spotted the famous Dr. Rene Favaloro, who had been the first doctor to ever perform heart bypass surgery. Mamá recognized him immediately, and she flagged him down. She told the receptionist about her sister, and that her Aunt had been friends with the sisters of Eva Duarte (the first lady of Argentina in the 1940s) who Dr. Favaloro had had as his patients.  This caught his attention, and he sat down with Mamá and her father, while she told him how her father was losing hope in his daughter's illness.  He told them. "Nunca pierdan la fe" which means "never lose faith."  At this point in the story, Mamá was crying and I was taken aback by how incredible her story is.  Her sister received a transplant, and recovered physically by not emotionally, because 3 months later her father passed away.  Meanwhile, her brother was suffering as well from Leukemia, and battling the depression that was brought upon by his father's death.  After a few months, he passed away, and the sister could not overcome the pain, and died in November from anorexia.  It's a horribly depressing story, but Mamá finished by telling me about how despite all the obstacles she has faced in her life, she has overcome them thanks to the love she has for her family.  She said (in spanish obviously) "I don't need money to be happy.  Just the love of my children, family, friends, and you guys."

After this talk with Mamá it made me so thankful to be able to stay with the Chiavarro's during my time in Argentina.  The trip has been amazing in so many ways, and I think their hospitality has had the most significant impact on my experience.  And obviously, made me miss my amazing family at home and my friends.  I miss everyone but don't you worry, this chick will be back and in your face before you know it.  So enjoy the quiet while you can.  Buenos noches!

love,
kris

I'm baaaaack.

Sorry for the delay--each time I have attempted to blog (all two of them) I have been interrupted.  On Thursday night, I had a little military time mix-up...If you know me well, you know I can't count, so imagine how hard it is for me to tell the hour with any number above 12. So it was 9:17 and I decided to quickly ask google, "what is 21:30 in military time" just to double check and make sure I had ample time to blog before departing.  Basically I had a mild panic attack in the midst of typing because I thought 21:30 was 11:30, not 9:30.  That night we had a FEAST and i'm pretty sure, if I translated their words correctly, I ate baby goat.  So that was weird, but pretty tasty.  My second snafu occured last night, and just as I started brewing up some wonderful posting material, the power went out.  Which tends to happen a lot here, I'd say about 3 times a week.  Last night's outage lasted longer than normal, which I actually really enjoyed.  I oftentimes refer to our bunk room as the Ladies Lounge, and not in a bridge at the country club kind of way, but more in a chill lets hang out in Argentina kind of way.  The power outage really amplified the whole coolness factor of the LL, and me and my roomates (shout out to Mary and Jenni) cracked open some wine and contemplated life in candlelight.  It was quite nice, and later that night we headed downtown to a boliche called Cuba Inc.  It looked nothing like Cuba, I was pissed.

Enough of that, it's time to finally finish telling you about the final days of my trip.  I believe I left off at the hotel...trust me, this was no Holiday Inn Express.  At around 10 p.m. on Thursday night, the Mystery Machine made it's way into the sprawling Altalaluna Hotel.  Despite the fact that it was pitch black outside, the lights lit up the building perfectly so I could make out a sprawling Spanish Riviera-esque estate.  After we settled into our rooms, we ate a wonderful feast (literally...the table was about 15 feet long and 5 feet wide) with delicious hot soup, vegetable stuffed beef, and warm quinoa mixed with veggies.  It was delectable.  Oh wait, I forgot to mention that the hotel was located on a vineyard.  Therefore, I once again took full advantage of my age (19) and ordered a glass of vino, called Terremonte which is a light white wine who's grapes are only found in Argentina.  Everyone ordered the either the house red or white, teachers included, and we had a great time.
The next morning we met up around 10:30, where an entire breakfast buffet of fresh croissants, marmalades, cereal, fruit, pastries was at our disposal.  After demolishing said buffet, we hopped in the van and headed out to....a vineyard! The group went on a tour of the winery, where we learned (in spanish) about the wine making process.  Following the tour, we had 4 glasses of wine set up for each of us to do a lil taste testing.  I have never put so much thought into each sip; however, Cupcake wine from the drug store doesn't require extensive background knowledge.  After four glasses of wine (my tuition going to great use) I discovered a newfound consideration for vino- red, white, rosé you name it.
Needless to say, these activities captivated my attention way more than the rock walk.  I was 4 glasses deep all before noon, and feeling GREAT.  So what did we do? Go to another vineyard.

Add caption

The drive was delightful, and the cloudless skies made it a perfect day.  We arrived at our second vineyard, where we went through a similar tour and tasting at Finca las Nubes vineyard.  This one was a little more rural, and after we enjoyed an amazing lunch on the porch of the house overlooking the mountains and the fields of grapes.  The food was unbelieveable--fresh beef, grilled vegetables, and dessert.  After a strenuous day of drinking and eating, I took a nice cat nap on the grass in the sun.  We then went to a small, rustic town, where we visited a house where 8 local women wove lovely tapestries, and had a little tour.  They die their own yarn with various vegetables, roots, and leaves, and work hours everyday on the pieces.  The women were incredibly nice, and we spent a generous amount of pesos there.  It's interesting how it all started--in 2001, the Argentinian economy underwent a huge crisis, so women with no education or work experienced were forced to join the work force in order to support their families.  These women are an example of a success story, but unfortunately there is still so much poverty here, especially in the rural towns in the northwest.  We then went to the desert, where we went on a 2 hour hike in one of the coolest places I've ever been.  Salta, the town we were in, is known for its absolutely massive rock formations, that are a deep orange and incredible high. It's hard to describe how amazing it was to walk around in such a natural, untouched piece of land.

Be-a-u-tiful. Not just me

View from the porch.  I've seen better.

I could end here and tell you it was the best day ever--but I shall not because it got so much better.  The hotel was not only located on the vineyard, but it also had an award winning spa.  Therefore, I took full advantage of the accomodations and got an hour long massage...for $30.  I then met up with the group, where we walked around in robes and slippers, testing out the steam room, sauna, and "resting room."  It honestly was not real life.  That night, I slipped into my brand new alpaca sweater, and enjoyed yet another delectable meal with everyone.  That night I don't think I have ever laughed so hard in my life--it was a perfect way to finish off such an amazing day.  On Saturday we went hiking for a few hours to this place that is kind of like the Machu Pichu of Argentina, except it's all rocks.  As I stated earlier, rocks were a very common theme of the trip.  It was awesome, and that afternoon we had a nice lunch in the park and drove back to where we first got on the Mystery Machine in Tucuman.  A few hours later we arrived and explored the city for a little.  Then we headed to dinner, which was tasty, and one of the teachers bought us all a little night cap of champagne before we headed back onto the 7 hour bus ride to Cordoba.  It truly was an unbelievable trip, and I saw parts of the world that I would have never even known existed until had I not been able to travel to Argentina.  Unfortunately, this is all for tonight...the boliche called, and they want their best dancer back.  Seriously, thanks to everyone for reading I love sharing with you my experiences here, and I'm glad you are all enjoying reading this as much as I am living it. Buenos noches!

Love,
Kris



p.s. hi turner

Hooooola,

Everything down here is wonderful.  I had class yesterday and today, and tonight had an hour and a half dance class.  I have decided that I am a really great dancer, and my true calling lies during the decade when my mom wore bell-bottoms and my dad wore short shorts--DISCO.  I don't know why I'm learning the American dance from the '70s while I'm in Argentina, but I just don't care because I love it.  Maybe there's something in the water, but when I hit the dirty gym floor every Tuesday night at 6:30 I really channel my inner Beyonce and constantly cut the rug for an hour and a half.  Anyways, last post I promised to continue with the Northwest trip so here it is....

Thursday: We woke up bright and early to snow, and headed in the Magic School Bus to our next destination. I call it the magic school bus because one of our chaperones looks/speaks/acts identical to Miss Frizzle.  As we ascended the mountain, we drove above the cloud line and the day suddenly turned sunny and beautiful.  Once we stopped the van near the top, you could see a "mar of nubes" or a sea of clouds. 

Here's the view--ignore the special girl trying to jump in the middle of the pic

The rest of the drive was beautiful as we passed through mountains with picturesque landscapes.  One time when we stopped to take pictures these three goats came running up the road from the opposite direction, and as soon as they saw our van they charged towards us.  One of them even jumped up on the drivers door.  I guess they wanted in on the party.  Also a little while after at another stop, Miss Frizzle got out to take a picture of a twig or something, and a wild goat started to chase her so she had to high-tail it back into the van. Super entertaining. It turns out there are a lot of cactus (cacti?) here in Argentina.  We even saw the oldest cactus in the region, called "abuelo" which means grandpa.  It is over 300 years old and has tons of arms.  Pretty crazy stuff, right?! Now onto more interesting happenings...a few hours later we arrived in a small village at the base of the mountain where we went to a museum that was made completely of rocks. I'm going to be completely honest, I didn't listen the whole time when the guide spoke in english because it's so easy to zone out in other language.  So instead I walked around and took a lot of pictures--

To get an idea, the guy in the last pic is Stanley, the one who is 6'5

Needless to say, the museum ROCKed.  We then went to a nice restaurant and ate Locro, which is argentine specialty and is kind of like a mix between stew and soup, but it's orange.  Sorry for that elaborate description.  After lunch we had some time to kill, so Louis drove us about half hour away to this indigenous site tucked away in the mountains.  The towns we visited were pretty insane; I wouldn't say they were impoverished-- it's more that they don't know any other way of  life.  They don't have much, but they make do with what they have.  It sounds terribly obvious, but being in Argentina, or any foreign country for that matter, has really made me appreciate how lucky I am to live the life I do at home.  It was a perfect day, in the 60s without a cloud in the sky, and the guide took us on an hour long hike.  The most amazing part was when we finally made it to HUGE rock formation, and there was a 10 foot crack in between the two.  Sand, water and rocks separated the two, and we walked on the rocks as we further ventured into the mountain.  It was very Finding Nemo-esque...but instead of going over the trench, we went through it.  We were able to see one Cascada (waterfall) which was so cool, but then our teachers made us stop because they were scared it was too dangerous.  They don't know how adventurous I am with nature because I promise I was totallllly fine in my vans.  

That afternoon, we drove to an observatory and went on a geology walk where we basically hiked down a mountain and learned about the history of earth since it's creation.  That's about all I could tell you about those 3 hours on the walk.  Rocks are cool, but they just don't grab my attention as much as other activities, like wine tasting at a vineyard (see future posts).  However, after our walk, we went into the observatory and watched the reflection of the sun hit a board above the huge telescope, and we counted down as we watched the sun set quickly over the mountain. We then had snacks and watched a video on telescopes.  My favorite part was when they spoke about the the VLT (Very Large Telescope) and the ELT (Extremely Large Telescope-coming in 2018).  The former is actually the largest and most popular telescope in the world, and is located in the neighboring country of Chile.  The other one is expected to be constructed soon, and I hear it's going to be extremely large.  Despite the fact it was so cold, the stars were unbelievable.  Never in my life have I seen so many stars, nor have I looked into such a powerful telescope...I even saw Mercury! If you didn't think I was a loser before, I can only imagine your impression of me after reading that sentence.  It was great though, and my one goal of the night was to see a shooting star.  I saw what I like to call walking stars, where they slowly went across the sky but was kind of disappointed that I never saw the real thing.  However, as we were walking down the side of the mountain, in the uneven gravel, I saw an orange ball of fire out of the corner of my eye and peered up.  There it was, a freaking shooting star.  Unfortunately, I got so excited that I screamed and jumped in the air, landing oh so gracefully on the rocks that I twisted my ankle.  Don't worry, I made a full recovery after about 6 minutes.  

That night, we arrived at our super swanky hotel.  I'll elaborate more on it in the next post, but to give you an idea it was surrounded by mountains, and located on a vineyard.  Thanks Richmond! The next 2 days will be coming to you soon.....

Chau,

Kris

To clear up any confusion, I have been verbally attacked a few times in the past few days regarding my use of the word ciao/chau.  Upon arriving in this country, I learned that most people say caio/chau here instead of adios.  So I obviously typed "how do people spell ciao in argentina" and was told by a questionable (yahooanswers.com) source that it was CHAU.  So for those of you who disagree, my apologies, but I'm sticking with chau. 

buenos noches amigos!

First of all, I understand that my fan base is reaching new levels at a freakishly increasing rate.  So a big thanks to all my loyal readers who have been there since day one, and a warm welcome to all the new ones. That being said, I am currently lying in the top bunk, under 5 blankets, 2 pairs of pants, an alpaca sweater (literally and figuratively--it's made from their fur and has lil llamas walking around all over it) and my furry neck pillow.  It's a little brisk down here.  It doesn't help that the house has no heat or hot water, but ya win some and ya lose some. 

 Anyways, these past few days have been pretty remarkable.  It all started on Tuesday night at 12, as I cuddled in a ball in seat 26 of the 50-row coach bus we chartered for our 9 person group.  I don't remember the next 6 hours, for the sleeping pill seems to have taken away my memory, but next thing I knew we had arrived in lovely Tucuman for breakfast.  Not only did I look good, but I felt good.  After enjoying a nice breakfast, the group packed our bags into a more modest Mercedes-Benz truck and started our trek north.  About 30 minutes into the trip, we started ascending a mountain into the Selva (rainforest).  It was surreal, and the landscape changed immediately as the roads got narrower and the turns were sharper.  For nearly 45 minutes we drove uphill-- actually I was just sitting in the middle seat pointing at every thing I saw and yelling out its name. If you have ever driven with me, you know I have a tendency to do so.  "A cow! A tree! It's so green! Look at the cloud! That's a big rock!" Unfortunately (for the group) nobody has the cajones to tell me to shut up, so I was unstoppable.  A few hours later, and a few stops to take pictures, we arrived at hotel Lunahuana in Tafi del Valle.  We were the only people staying in the entire hotel, which turned out to be a common occurance during our trip.  They must've heard I was coming to town.  The room was great, I stayed with the same girls I live with here, Mary and Jenni, and we had a big room with 4 beds, and a loft.  We changed, walked around town, went to an ATM to withdraw some pesos (I thought my atm card was broken for 3 days because I forgot to type in the pin every time; however, pin is spelled the same in both languages so I don't know how I let that one get past me).  Anyways, once my wallet was heavy again, we headed in the van with our tour guides, Luis and Maru, and drove to La Estancia Las Carreras.  It was m-azing.  We pulled into a long gravel driveway, surrounded by mountains, where cows, horses, dogs and llamas were hanging out in the fields.  We went inside to the little cabin, with high wooden ceilings an a huge fireplace, and were served super fresh food that all came from the Estancia, even down to the llama meat that was in the stew.  After the delicious meal, we went on a 2 hour walk around the property, saw workers peel thousands of potatoes, watched some cows get their utters tugged at, learned how they made cheese, looked at llamas doing literally nothing because that's all they do, and rode a horse for about 3 1/2 minutes.  We each went in a circle, thanks to my extensive horse back riding experience as a child, I had no problem directing that black stallion around.  This is totally irrelevant and unimportant, but I reached my hand into an unidentifiable piece of poop while I was getting ready to pose for a solo shot.  Luckily I had on my new alpaca gloves (to match my sweater), so the damage was minimal but it was still pretty rank.  All I could think was "I have a belly full of llama meat, and now you lay this shit on me?" 

There's a 98% chance that dark spot on my right glove is shit. But I still look good. 

If you are observant, you will notice that I have only gotten through day 1 of my adventure.  However, due to my lack of sleep in a real bed for the past 48 hours, it is time for me and my alpacas to call it a night.  For that I am sorry, but I promise to enlighten you on all on the rest of my travels in the very near future.  

love,

kris

Hola!
I thought I'd do a lil blogging before I head off for the Northwest tonight...Thursday was good, I had the usual classes and in the evening I went downtown to Nueva Cordoba, which is a part of the city that is mostly students who either go to my University, Blas Pascal, or the National University (which is public so it's free!).  My house "hermano", Neil, and his friends threw a party for exchange students at a bar called Shine in the Centro, so we went there.  It was a lot of fun and nice to meet some other exchange students, I even met a guy from Evanston who has been here all semester.
Friday was good, I didn't have much school work so in between classes I laid outside on the grass with the group...very relaxing. Friday night we stayed home because we had an early wakeup call the next morning to Alta Gracia.  We all met at the school at 8:30 and departed for Alta Gracia, where we visited a Jesuit Estancia that housed the Jesuits that were exiled from Spain in the 17th century.  It was really pretty, and definitely interesting.  We then walked around the town for a little; it was a beautiful day at around 65 degrees and sunny.  I bought an awesommme fanny pack and this little rock tree thing, everything is incredibly cheap here its hard not to sometimes.  However, I surprisingly haven't bought too much....yet. After eating a wonderful steak lunch, we drove to the house that Che Guevarra grew up in.  It was beautiful, and it had a lot of interesting items from his childhood.  The coolest part was his motorcyle, that represented his infamous ride through south america.  Although he was a brutal ruler, he has a lot of respect in this country because he fought for what he believed in.

Outside the Jesuit Estancia

Me and Che as a child!

After about an hour I we headed back to the city, and ate dinner at the house.  That night, we went to one of the tutor's houses (Tomas) where he made us homemade pizza and we drank beer. Because I can.  It was soooo good and despite the fact that he had 4 cats, I really enjoyed it.  I then went to another friends house, who has a ginormous dog.  He makes Riley Rosen look like a puppy. However, he thought he was a lap dog so he was all over the place, moving the table and knocking everything off every time he walked under it.  After hanging out there for a while, we went downtown to a Boliche which is essentially a night club.  It was ginormous, and I'm guessing there were at least 300 people there.  They even had dancers on the stage looking a little like NTDT.  Unfortunately, I didn't see Joanna (sorry Ian).
Sunday was very relaxed, me and my roomie Mary walking to the Mall and I bought a pair of Vans.  I also bought a skate board and some cargo shorts.  For those of you who don't know, Vans are skate board shoes but no worries I haven't changed too much, they basically look like converse.  I'm desperately trying to look Argentinian.
The foods been great, I haven't been disappointed, and my favorite part is how fresh everything is, especially the vegetables and fruit.
Recently I've been witnessing some pretty weird things on the bus.  It seems to be more crowded every time I ride it, and I end up being squished in between two people holding the bar on top.  Due to my severe lack of height, it ends up looking like I'm hanging on the monkey bars.  The most obscure thing happened yesterday, and while I was trying to get into an athletic position so I wouldn't fall on the baby sitting behind me, my friend elbowed me in the side.  I looked over to see a woman full on breast feeding her baby, boob out and all.  I obviously started laughing at the sight, but was still very taken aback by the r-rated action occuring in the second seat of the bus.   I understand it's all part of the circle of life and all, but to me that crossed some sort of line.  However, I totally understand on the babies part--if you're hungry, you gotta eat.
The last tid-bit of info I've been meaning to share with you all is the manner of which people greet one another.  Like many european countries, instead of hand shakes, hugs, or high-fives, their greeting consists of a kiss on the cheek.  What I didn't know until I came here was that EVERYONE does it, even if you have never met the person.  So needless to say, I've been getting a lottt of kisses down south.  I think it's a very cool custom though, and it makes it seem like people are actually interested to meet you.  Maybe I'll bring it back with me up north, and use it until I creep too many people out.  On the same note, this morning Laurianna, the 2 year old grand daughter, came over while we were eating breakfast and getting ready.  I've been trying to teach her how to high-five for quite some time now, but always forget the word so I end up just sticking out my hand, slapping it with my other, and motioning towards her to do it.  I'm really great with kids.  So this morning, I was hanging over the edge of my bunk like the monkey I am when she burst through the door yelling "HOLA!" I reached my hand over, and instead of slapping it, she gave me a nice, firm hand-shake.  She even said mucho gusto, which translates to "it's nice to meet you."  If her manners are that good at age 2, I can only imagine how awesome she'll be when she gets older.  Kinda like me.....
Tonight we're taking a bus overnight to the Northwest of the country, where we will be traveling, hiking, going on tours and going to vineyards.  I'm incredibly excited and will definitely will update you all once I'm back.  Now it's time for me to go get my tango on and look like a total fool. Chau!

Kris

Hola!

These past few days have been great, and it's nice to finally be on a set schedule.  Sunday night the nietos (grandchildren-Gregorio is 8 and Laurianna is 2) came over for dinner and we ate Choripan, which is an Argentine specialty that is basically a huge grilled sausage.  Pepe, my host "dad" was in charge of the grill and we helped him with the fresh vegetables.  As he said, it's all about presentation and making the food look as good as it tastes...and it sure did.  Although the food was delicious, my favorite part was just relaxing outside while the food was grilling and talking with the family.  

                     Jenni, Me, Mary, Maxinne, and Gregorio helping Pepe with dinner

If you know me well, then you know how much I love food.  So when I am writing these posts, the easiest way for me to remember what I did each day is by the food I ate.....

Monday started off on an exciting note, since it was our first school day in the new house we had to take a different bus line.  We were not sure which side of the street our bus picked us up on, so we waited for 10 minutes at the wrong stop.  However, we didn't know this until we had swiped our cards and got on the bus. To be safe, we quickly asked the driver in spanish if the bus was going to Blas Pascal.  He looked at us with confusion and just shook his head and said "NO" and pointed to the door. So we ran out and crossed the street, waited another 15 minutes and finally got on the right bus.  You should also know that I despise being late, so showing up 20 minutes late to class was not ideal, but people here are much more laid back and our profesor got a good laugh out of it.  The rest of the day was pretty standard, and we had rice with parmesan and cheese omeletes for dinner, which was greaaaaat. 

Tuesday morning went much more smoothly, and the school day was pretty uneventful. Things got much more interesting at 6:30...our first dance class.  Its called "Ritmos Latino Americanos" and to say I was in for a surprise is an understatement.  First off, I thought it was a Tango class seeing that Tango is the dance of Argentina.  I've dabbled in Tango during a spanish field trip in high school, and I remember it being a somewhat slow dance with a partner, that focuses mainly on little steps.  Like 6th grade Social Dance and the Fox Trop.  Easy enough, right? Well this class was a little more Zumba than Tango.  I arrived in my green skinny jeans and leather boots.  That was my first mistake.  Within 6 minutes, I was sweating my ass off.  After accepting the fact that I would be disgusting, and looking around at my sweaty amigos, I had a blast.  We did all different kinds of dances, and literally did not stop moving for an hour and a half.  My favorite part was watching the guys get SO into it, especially during Salsa with partners.  The most animated dancer was definitely Stanley, the 6'5 guy in my group.  I found out today he used to Irish Dance as a boy, and he can really cut the rug.  Despite the 13 inch height difference, when Stanley and I danced it was pure magic.  Until the end when he spun me and I almost knocked him down.  All in all, I had an awesome time and am looking forward to tearing it up every Tuesday while i'm here. And most importantly, bringing my new moves to the Boliches (nightclubs) on weekends.

Today was good, classes were interesting and the weather was beautiful.  I went on a run this morning and got chased by a few stray dogs but survived.  We had eggplant casserole and salad for dinner, which was very tasty.  Tomorrow night there's a party downtown for all the exchange students and whoever else wants to come, with free sangria and american drinking games.  Friday night is my Flor's friends birthday, so I will most likely attend that party. And Saturday during the day the group is going to the mountains, which are about an hour away, and visiting the house Che Guevarra grew up in which will be awesome.  It should be a fun few days! Time for bed....

buenos noches!

kris

View from Flor's apartment in downtown Cordoba:

Flor, Sofia, and the Chica Americana (I'm tall in Argentina)

Buenos tardes!

I can't believe I've already been gone one week; it's gone by quickly but it's been exciting nonetheless.  I feel like I have finally settled down, and am sooo happy to be in such a cool place.  To make things easier, I'm going to break it up by day so you can hear ALLLLL I've done....

Thursday--
It was a pretty typical weekday for me, I had my Argentinian Short Story class from 11-1 and Business from 3:45-5:45.  For lunch, we go up to the register and say our names, and since we're a part of a program, they have a set menu for us that's prepaid.  Argentinians love their bread, starch, and meat...and not much else.  I had "papas bombas" which means a potato bomb, and its basically mashed potatoes, fried with melted cheese in the middle. Super healthy.  I went out for the first time on Thursday, and ended up keeping in touch with my American roots for I found myself at a bar called Johnny B Good's.  Photos of every american musical icon from the past 50 years are posted on the walls, and american music blasts through the speakers.  After feeling like such a foreigner for a few days, it was nice to be back with my people...even though they were fake.  I enjoyed a 17 peso glass of vino, which translates to about $3.86 USD (mom and dad are you proud?).  It's all about quantity, not quality.

Friday--
On Friday I spent the majority of my day in downtown Cordoba which is called the "Centro" here.  My room mates and I took the bus and spent a few hours eating lunch and shopping at the mall.  Total mall rat move.  I then met up with my tutor, Flor, and her friend Sofia.  When we were leaving, I was walking down the stairs that were in the center of the mall, and tripped about halfway down.  Luckily I am extremely quick and agile, so I caught myself before I ate it.  The three of us then walked Sofia's dog, a boxer named Uma, along the river.  It was nice to be outside, and a lot of fun being with thoroughbred (can't think of a better word) argentinians.  Although they spoke sooo fast, I understood most of their convo and Sofia actually lived in Virginia for a year so her english is good, but she only used it if I was really stuck.  We then met up with the group and had meriendas (snacks--bread and marmalade) and Mate, which is Argentina's most famous drink, which it is basically really strong tea.  That night I went to Sofia's house and met all their friends who were all super nice and loved american music.  Two of the guys there were obsessed with the Bulls, and said when he was younger (in the 90s) he watched all the games and loooved Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman.  If you asked a player from the Bulls now, chances are I would name one of those three so I pretended like I was a huge fan.  However, we all reminisced about one of our favorite movies, Space Jam, starring the one and only Michael Jordan. The drink of Cordoba is called Fernets, and it is alcohol that is typically mixed with coke.  It was pretty gross at first, but it tasted better as the night went on haha. All in all, the day was so fun and I loved spending time with all of Flor's friends and learning more about their customs and fiestas.

Saturday/Sunday--
The reason why I haven't spoked about my host family much is because we moved on Saturday.  For various reasons we felt it would be a good idea to move, and I'm so happy with the decision.  Although the morning was rough, once we settled into our new house it was great.  We hung around here getting acclimated for most of the day, and went to a bar called "Don't Worry" last night.  It was a cool atmosphere and I was with some kids from the Richmond group and their tutors.
Our new family consists of Adriana (mama) and José (papa) and two other exchange students, Neil from Texas and Maxinne (a boy) from Germany.  They live in a small neighborhood which is pretty rural, but there is a mall within 5 minutes walking distance which is super nice because we go there to do our laundry and buy groceries if there's something we need that is not at the house.  They are SO nice and have actually hosted over 50 students at their house.  José is super relaxed and friendly, and his favorite saying is "no hay problema!" which means "no problem".  Adriana is the same, and is also a wonderful cook.  They have 4 children who are all grown, and 5 grandchildren.  Today, 2 of the daughters and their families came over for lunch, and are staying for dinner.  They also have a little dog named Manchita who is quite pregnant.  Her chest resembles a cow, and her lady parts look like utters.  She does a lot of lying around, and is very cute.  This afternoon I went on a run, which was nice because working out is not easy here since it's pretty dangerous to be out alone as a girl.  I went with one of my room mates, and since it's a Sunday afternoon it wasn't a problem.

This week will be pretty long, since I have class every day, but the following week we'll be making our trip to the Northwest which will be awesome.  Here are a few random things that I've noticed and learned since being here...
-I've been told by 2 different people that I look Argentinian, whereas my room mates look very american.  Go me!
-Paying with debit cards is a pain because you have to give them your passport number every time.  I learned that the hard way while buying snacks today.
-There's a water crisis in Cordoba, so you have to use the water sparingly...especially since there are 7 people in our house.
-The top bunk is cool, no matter how old you are.  Even when you're sharing a 10x10 room with 2 other girls.
-People (girls especially) belt out Adele in every country, even if they don't know what she is saying
-Don't tell a cab driver you're from America, they will immediately take advantage of your "foreigness" and charge you double
-They are also very interested in America, but many people have a pretty skewed perception of life there.
-Argentina is a developing country, and although there are some nice parts of Cordoba it is predominantly poor.  The middle class in this country is way different than the middle class in the U.S.

That's all for now...sorry it's pretty lengthy but I've received a few requests from my many readers (mom and dad) to write more, so here ya go!

Chau,
Kristin

Buenos tardes!

Despite a few delays and over 24 hours of traveling, I finally arrived in Argentina!  Our host "father" picked us up at the airport in a extremely small taxi called a "remis".  My two other room mates and I managed to fit our 6 suitcases, backpacks and carry ons all on our laps.  I sat in the middle, and one of my room mates actually started crying because she was so scared, which was sad at the time but kind of funny now.  It was a good way to literally get closer with my future room mates, Jenni and Mary.

On Tuesday morning we woke up, had breakfast (Argentinians don't do breakfast like Americans do--here it consists of basically a large crouton covered in jelly and tea) and took a remis to the University Blas Pascal, which is the private university in Cordoba where I am studying.  The difference between a remis and a taxi is that remis' are green and come to your house, whereas taxis are yellow and are only used if flagged down.  My group is 9 students in total from Richmond, and there are 5 girls and 4 boys.  Once we all arrived from our respective casas, we had an information meeting with the coordinator from Blas Pascal.  Afterwards, we met with our "mentors" for lunch.  Our guide, Carlos, walked me to the computer lab, and the right when I walked out the door I tripped on the sidewalk and fell in front of about 20 students.  It was a really cool way to get everyones attention, as if my Amerian-ness enough.  Although breakfast was small, lunch definitely made up for it. We were served empanadas, chicken breast, potatoes and ice cream for dessert.  My mentor is Flor, she is super nice and is majoring in tourism here at the University.  In the afternoon, the Richmond group took a bus to downtown Cordoba, which was about 20 minutes away and we went on a tour of the city.  Cordoba has a rich history, and was the original capital of Argentina, before Buenos Aires.  We had a cute little Argentinian tour guide, who dressed to impress in a blazer, purple button down and matching purple scarf.  He tried to speak to us in english (the first time anyone has spoken to us in english all trip!) which was nice so we could really understand the history.  We visited El Catedral, La Manzana de San Martín (the main square), La Universidad Naciónal de Cordoba (first University in Cordoba, founded in the 17th century), and the cultural center that used to be a prison, located next to San Martín.

Today was our first day of classes.  We took the bus from our house to the University, and although I did not think I would make it there alive, we only ended up being a few minutes late. My first class was Spanish in Business and my other class is Argentine Short Story.  Each class is 2 hours long, and spoken solely in spanish.  I am constantly speaking in spanish, or at least my attempt at Spanish.  When I have no idea what someone is saying, my go to move is to nod, smile and say "sí".  I'd say that works about 70% of the time, the other 30% I end up getting questionable looks from whomever I am speaking with.  The University is pretty small, I am not quite sure how many students go here but it can't be more than 1000.  In Argentina, the government pays for students to attend public universities, but Blas Pascal is private so there are fewer students who study here.

Even though the weather is in the low 60's, everyone's dressed for winter.  It has been cold and cloudy in the mornings, but by the end of the day it has been sunny and warmer.   Something that is very interesting about Argentina is the European influence.  Very few people are "indigenous" Argentinians, instead their ancestors immigrated here from various countries in Europe.  The most popular is probably Italy, so many people do not have the sterotypical "Latin American" look.

Here are a few things I've noticed...
-There are SO many stray dogs. Whenever you're walking around whether its at the house, in the city or outside Blas Pascal, you're guaranteed to see at least 4 dogs.
-All the girls have long hair (kind of second guessing the haircut I got before I left)
-Everyone wears dark clothes (all my clothes are light with colors)
-There are no stop signs or stop lights, just round a bouts. It makes driving in the Chicago look easy.
-They LOVE american music, especially from the 70s, 80s, and 90s...while sitting here writing this in the cafe, they've played Livin' on a Prayer, Take Me Home by Cher, and Girl's Just Wanna HAve Fun
-Me and my entire group could not look more American

That's all for now....

Chau!
Kristin