la meca norteamericana

Buenos Aires, la meca norteamericana - lanacion.com  

I read this article the other day in La Nación, one of the national Argentine newspapers. Thought it would be interesting for everyone to read and get a taste of what BA is like! (Google translate will be very helpful for most!)

Chau,
audgentina.

la vida vale más que el oro

I just got back from an amazing week in Bariloche. However, before I was able to witness the serenity of Argentine Patagonia, I had to spend nearly an entire day on a bus…alone. I can sum up my twenty-two hours of solitude with: four runs of Madonna’s concert video (each time more unpleasant than the last), an almost drug bust, lots of melatonina, swollen ankles, and some re rico ravioli. Upon arriving in Bariloche, I may or may not have misunderstood where the bus station was in relation to the central part of town, thus walking nearly five kilometers with all of my stuff, wind in my face, sun destroying my retinas. But at least I ended up getting some exercise after legitimately not moving my cuerpo for almost an entire day. (Seriously, too much melotonina. Didn’t even get up out of my seat ONCE. Fail.) Staying at a beautiful hostel right on Lake Nahuel Huapi, I couldn’t have been more relieved when I finally arrived. (Seriously…backyard is the lago. Unreal.) It always surprises me how easy it is to meet people in hostels. I spent most of that night in the kitchen making dinner (homemade macaroni and cheese OBVIOUSLY. Which also lasted me three days. So frugalicious.), and met so many people from all over the world, some of which I ended up hiking with the next day.

I woke up early the next morning to hike through Cerro Otto and Cerro Chico. Two completely different hikes, both so beautiful, and both so full of FOLIAGE! April falls right in the middle of otoño in the Southern Hemisphere, so I definitely came at the right time. Being from New England, I’m a sucker for foliage, so I felt right at home in Bariloche. From Cerro Otto you are able to see all of Bariloche, the lake, the islands, the mountains…everything! It was incredible and I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t spend a solid hour at the top absorbing the vista. Cerro Chico had the most surreal, serene vistas…I honestly felt like I was dreaming.

The next day was the end of the world. Actually. Torrential downpours, high-speed winds…if my vacation hadn’t been so short I probably would have spent the entire day seeking refuge in a cellar with canned food and bottled water. However since that wasn’t the case, I decided to risk my life and explore El Bolsón, a hippie town two hours south of Bariloche. When you get into El Bolsón you see a sign that says la vida vale más que el oro, a true testament to their hippie status. There is a big, nice market with the usual food, clothes, jewelry, and it even withstood despite the rain. People were running through the streets, loving the rain. Being surrounded by so many people loving life had really surprising effect on me, and left me really contemplating la vida as I pulled away from El Bolsón. Deep stuff, I know. Sarah, Valentín, and Kelsey had rented a cabaña in Bariloche for the week, so when I got back from my hippie experience I went straight to their lugar for lots of music, leftover macaroni and cheese, Pisco, Fernet, and Malbec.

The next day was COLD. I’m not talking I’ve-been-in-BA-for-three-months-and-now-I-have-no-tolerance-for-cold cold, I’m talking Vermont-in-late-fall cold. The winds were only getting stronger and it was so cloudy that it would not have been worth taking the well-anticipated Tronador hike. (¡Qué lástima!) I met up with Sarah, Valentín, and Kelsey for some late-morning helado at Jauja, which apparently has the best ice cream in Bariloche. I went for the dulce de leche bañado en chocolate…sinful. Because the weather was so awful, we decided to rent a car for the day. It wound up being $53AR apiece, INCLUDING gas for 200 kilometers…an INCREDIBLE deal. (…albeit two of the doors didn’t open and the car really struggled up/down hills…) We drove around the Bariloche area, exploring what we wanted to explore without freezing to our very cores. Hotel Llao Llao (PS Mom and Dad…we are staying there.), a puerto near Isla Victoria, Lago Escondido...¡a todos lados! I came back to the hostel for a maté sesh with some of my hostel friends, then made a big couscous mezcla for dinner (obviously accompanied by some Malbec). Actually, in Bariloche I discovered a Malbec that might just rival my usual fav (Santa Julia). Terruño Andino: FIFTEEN PESOS, and so, so smooth. I will obviously need to hold an official taste test…hopefully I can find Terruño in BA!

Sarah and I spent Saturday exploring Bariloche since the weather unfortunately didn’t allow us to hike. We wandered through a few artisan markets, finding a huge one inside (where we were able to seek refuge from the blustery conditions outside). After getting little artisan leather wallets, we headed back to my hostel and ended up drinking maté for two hours, sitting by the window in the lounge that looks right onto the lake. Drinking maté for such a long time, we both for the first time felt the REAL effects this mysterious yerba has on people. It was such an amazing, natural feeling. We now know why Argentines love maté so much...

Bariloche is the chocolate capital of Argentina, so we’d be silly not to indulge. After our extended maté sesh, we wandered back into town for some Malbec and chocolate. We went to Mamuschka, which allegedy has the best chocolate in all of Bariloche. Walking into the store there are tons and tons of glass cases filled with all different kinds of chocolate. Obviously I didn’t resist my urge to buy EVERYTHING I wanted, and it only came out to $35AR. Incredible. My favorite chocolates were the banana and dulce de leche covered in milk chocolate, and the cashew and dulce de leche covered in white chocolate. Okay fine you caught me…I’m OBSESSED with the dulce.

It wouldn’t be a vacation in Argentina without a massive feast at a parrilla, so we met up with Kelsey’s host brother Agustín and his friend (who is from Bariloche), and the six of us made our way to El Boliche de Alberto, a famous restaurant in town. We started off with some chorizo y morcilla (both SO AMAZING! I’m addicted to morcilla), then we had some bife de chorizo, vacío, and tira de asado. So much delicious meat, I was stuffed for a solid 24 hours. The whole meal, including vino (and lots of it…), came down to $73AR a piece…less than $20USD! The meat here is so delicious and flavorful, I almost feel guilty paying so little.

I woke up early the next day for my bus back to BA. Yes, I spent all of Easter on an omnibus. The bus rides really weren’t that bad. By no means am I saying that I recommend wasting an entire day sitting in a moving metal box, but it could have been much worse. Argentine bus companies actually are legit: seats recline pretty far back, pillow and blanket included, decent food, and …variable…movies. If you are going to subject yourself to a bus ride over six hours, you have to be comfortable doing it. Plus, because it was Easter, everyone got huevos de Pascua when we boarded the bus! Sweeeeeet.

It’s safe to say that I’m in love with Patagonia. Everything is so serene and simple; I can seriously see myself going back down there for an extended period of time while I attempt to avoid the real world.

Off to las Cataratas del Iguazú tomorrow!

Chau,
audgentina.

¿existe la naturaleza en la ciudad?

In an effort to break-in my hiking boots pre-Bariloche, I decided to take a stroll through the Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur yesterday. I ended up walking close to 10 km throughout this fresh and natural ambiance. Situated on the coast in Puerto Madero, it spreads along the Río de la Plata, where many people were sun tanning, picnicking and enjoying the allegedly fresco day we were having (mind you: it was 68ºF). It was pretty wild to see all these trails, as well as a wide variety of trees and birds, while in the backdrop I could still see the BA skyline. In a city of 10 million people, it is still possibly to escape from the polluted commotion and escape to a fresh place of tranquility.

Off to Bariloche tomorrow, be back the 25th!

Chau,
audgentina.

palabritas.

“Y así es la Vida. Quejarse siempre de lo que fue… The Struggle for Life, che… Unos se regeneran, otros caen…¡Así es la Vida!” 

-Roberto Arlt, Argentine novelist and journalist

¡no quiero estudiar!

April 14th: a date that I would typically associate with the end of the school year, final exams, final essays, etcetera. Not in Argentina. Here I am, sitting at Chef Leon, writing my FIRST research paper of the semester. Well, at least attempting to. Wish me luck, it seems that I have brought my tendency (or habit...) of procrastinating allllll the way to Argentina.

Chau,
audgentina.

la gripe

Tos + dolor de garganta + estornudo + congestión = una receta para la gripe.

I have lived away from home since I was fourteen, thus have become accustomed to taking care of myself when I get sick. Because I have essentially been taking care of myself for the past seven years, I have forgotten how nice it is to be cared for by someone else.

It started as a slight cold when I got back from Chile, but only proceeded to get worse and worse. I began sleeping as much as eighteen hours throughout the day, my sinuses started acting up (as my family will tell you, they always do…), and developed a wicked cough that would wake me up in the middle of the night. I get these standard colds all the time, but when this one started getting worse I began to long for the care of my mom.

Luckily, it’s not as if I’m completely alone here in BA. From the moment I started getting sick, Silvia immediately became re preocupada and went above and beyond to take care of me. She began insisting that I allow los vapores decongest my system (by sticking my head over a pot of boiling water), and made me comforting meals such as sopa de miso.

Unfortunately I missed out on a trip to Rosario this weekend, but Silvia’s comfort made me realize how grateful I am to be in such a loving home. I have been here only a little more than two months, yet I felt as though I was being taken care of by someone who has known me for much longer. Porteños sometimes get a bad rep of being cold, dismissive, and unfriendly, but I find that if you choose to reach out and form relationships with them, they will show you a warm, cariñoso side that will allow you to see the world from todos lados. I didn’t even realize that I was 6,000 miles away from home, because the love and care I received in this foreign country was all the same.

It’s true: I really do feel at home.

Chau,
audgentina.

locapalooza

Last week was Amanda and Abbie’s last week in BA before they moved to Lima (Peru…not Ohio) for the remainder of the semester. Every night of the week we managed to have an adventure of some sort to commemorate our amazing two months together. Monday night we went to Sálvame María, a local favorite of ours (in Belgrano) that serves an amazing chocolate mousse cake as well as our favorite Malbec, Santa Julia (hey stewn!). We usually come to Sálavame once a week and enjoy sitting outside until one in the morning (or later!) just chatting and enjoying the still fairly warm night breeze. On Tuesday we met up for a night out in Palermo, starting at Sugar Bar and eventually making our way to Kika Club. Paloma and I managed to stay out until 7:30AM…a true accomplishment coming home in broad daylight. Inevitably the next day was a first-class struggle, but we survived.

In fact, we still managed to pull ourselves together for a night of margaritas at another favorite restaurant, Xalapa. Read up, seriously the best margz in all of BA. Their enchiladas poblanas are also unreal. We ended the night very…happy…and proceeded to have extremely deep conversations on the Colectivo ride home, followed by a mood-lightening photoshoot that resulted in me missing my bus stop. Oops.

Our last night together was Thursday night, as I left Friday morning for Santiago de Chile. We went to Club Aráoz, a boliche that has hip-hop/reggaeton nights los jueves. The music is always great, but it’s a tradeoff for the kind of people the boliche attracts. Let’s just say that this isn’t exactly where I’ll find my novio porteño. We still had a blast, staying out until about 6:30AM. I have definitely fully adjusted to the nightlife horario here in BA. Before coming here, I never could have fathomed staying out that late under ANY circumstances. (What could I possibly be doing that late?!) However, after being here two months, I have gotten used to everything running later—dinner starting around 10 or 11, people heading to the bars around 1, and to the clubs around 3—so staying out that late doesn’t phase me anymore. Sorry Mom and Dad!

BUT, I did have my flight to Santiago the next morning. Luckily I had packed the night before because after coming home at that unacceptable hour of the morning, I pretty much only had time to shower and get changed...without a wink of sleep. As soon as I got on the bus to the airport, I was immediately hit by my fatigue and was left essentially non-functioning for the remainder of my travel day. In an attempt to wake myself up when I got to Ezeiza, I went to McDonald’s and got an egg and cheese sandwich on a bagel. Best. Decision. Ever.

It was when I was sitting outside of McDonald’s, incredibly sleep deprived and inhaling my egg-and-cheese when I realized that I had NO idea where I was going once I got to Santiago. Yes, I had the address of my hostel, but that was IT. I had no map of Santiago or anything, and I was on this flight alone and had planned on meeting up with my friends at the hostel. I somehow managed to hack onto a non-secure WiFi network in the airport to figure out an ideal bus/Metro course and crossed my fingers that all would go as planned. Well, somehow it did. I arrived at the hostel in one piece, and collapsed in my bed IMMEDIATELY. I woke up five hours later to the smell of a tasty, smoky asado. For 5,000 pesos we were able to have unlimited amounts of asado and cerveza. (Disclaimer: in Chile they used fake, Monopoly-style money, where about 500 pesos is equal to one US dollar.)

We woke up the next morning and immediately rallied for Lollapalooza. Getting our tickets from will-call was a bit of a frenzy (in fact, the most inconvenient, not-thought-out process I ever witnessed first-hand), but we managed to figure out how the “sistema” worked (shoving yourself to the front of the mass of people and sticking your passport through the bars until someone grabbed it), and were out of the mess in under an hour. We returned to the hostel, changed, prepared stir-fry for our late-night dinner, and left for the festival.

The weather this weekend was amazing. Eighties and sunny, it was perfect for Lollapalooza. We arrived around 2:30PM and bounced from show to show pretty much until the festival ended. The definite highlight of Saturday (and Lollapalooza in general) was Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros. Seriously, if you have the chance to see him…DO IT. He was INCREDIBLE live and he brought this adorable little boy onstage which pretty much made me die inside, it was so precious. We came back to the hostel after a long day of Lollapalooza-ing to our delicious stir-fry that we had prepared before we left. Great decision.

Sunday we arrived to Lolla early so we could see Devendra Banhart. Kiley, Alex and I did not realize how much of a sensation he is in South America, because it was a true locura getting into that show. (We should have expected it though, considering he is Colombian…) Seriously, RIOTS. People were climbing the fence; Chilean soldados on caballos were keeping the crowds back…I have NEVER seen anything like it before. We BARELY made it into the show, but I’m so glad we did because he was amazing. Definitely one of the better shows of the weekend. Other amazing shows this weekend included Cold War Kids and Kanye West—who I had seen in 2008 (LOLZ CT chongz!).

Sarah and I had the whole day in Santiago, as we were the only ones whose flight back to BA wasn’t until the evening. We spent the day exploring the nearby neighborhoods, having lunch at a French/Chilean fusion cuisine (weird, I know), and hiking La Virgen del Cerro San Cristóbal. (I use the term “hiking” loosely; as we were too worn out from our Lollapalooza-ing to actually hike it we took the trolley up instead). The view was amazing and looks over all of Santiago. Santiago is such an incredible city and turned out to be so much different than I thought it would be. I was expecting it to be polluted and dingy, but it turned out to be a much cleaner city than BA (which really isn’t that hard), with a beautiful landscape as it is nestled in the Andes. We were so grateful to see some of the city before returning back to BA, since we traveled all that way for just the weekend.

As for this week, I have been bed-ridden trying to fight off the post-Lolla gripe. A true struggle let me tell you. Next adventure on the agenda: Bariloche (in ten days!!).

Chau,
audgentina.