Abril Sosa

MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC TIME!

Tiffany (right) and I seeing Abril Sosa @ Boris Club de Jazz

He's cute, isn't he? I will never admit that his good looks were the reason my friend Tiffany and I attended his concert. Never! He goes by the name of Abril Sosa and is native to Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

I could classify his genre of music as rock alternative, but I don't want to do that. Some of the songs he played sounded like a few from my favorite band, Radiohead. And then, some sounded like the Police cerca 1983. Abril is talented in that he doesn't seem to have a specific genre or list of influences. He's very capable of captivating a crowd solely by smiling while he plays the guitar. All in all, I really enjoyed the show and since Abril is fairly popular amongst young people in Buenos Aires, I thought I'd share! 

¡Día del Campo!

Día del Campo is a typical excursion organized by study abroad programs around South America. Why? There's such a distinction between everyday life in the city and everyday life in the countryside. Specifically in Argentina, there is much to discover and learn about daily rituals outside of this massive capital city.

So, we flew! Just kidding..our destination was close enough to reach in only 4 hours by omnibus (Argentine way of traveling in style). In total, we were three buses of American students at maximum capacity. The word overwhelming doesn't begin to describe it. We journeyed to visit Estancia "La Mimosa", just outside of Luján. Luján is located on the outskirts of the Capital Federal city of Buenos Aires, but still in the province of Gran Buenos Aires. Porteños are very proud of where they come from. So, it's very important to realize while living here the difference between Argentina's capital city and province with the same name.

Basílica de Luján

On the way to Estancia "La Mimosa", our three buses stopped at a very important location in Luján. La Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Luján, or simply Luján Basilica, was built by French architect, Ulrico Curtois, who began around 1890 and finished in 1935. It was built in honor of Argentina's patron saint, the Virgin of Luján. Luján is actually noted to be la Capital de la Fe (Capital of the Faith), because of this large neo-gothic building. Every year, more than six million people make pilgrimages to the Basilica, many of them walking all the way from Buenos Aires!

Aside from our ISA group of 200, the plaza in front of the Basilica was packed. The entire area was busy with buzzing tourists. So, I took as many photos as I could then ordered some medialunas and hot chocolate at a cafe next door. Once an hour passed, we hopped back on our buses en route to La Mimosa, finalmente. I was anxious to see La Mimosa. I love animals. I love green grass and flowers. I love gaucho pants. And that's exactly what greeted me once we arrived.

Estancia "La Mimosa" is a family run business of sorts. They open their doors to the public for special occasions, such as birthdays or anniversaries. They also organize tours for groups such as ours. Because this ranch organized a very detailed tour..I can't say that we learned the everyday lifestyle of a gaucho living in the countryside. I only mean that much of our day consisted of "show and tells" versus "natural observations". However, I'm in no way complaining! This ranch is definitely authentic with gauchos who've run away from the effects of the city and chosen to live on their own, secluded. They have the freedom to do whatever they please and only have to answer to themselves.

Chorizo..I dressed it up myself haha. A little salad atop to garnish
and chimichurri sauce to the right.

The air was clean and clear. The peacocks ran with the dogs, while the dogs ran with the goats. I tried my first Argentine asado (barbecue more or less). Argentine asado is known to be the best in South America. These people love their meat! I told myself that I'd try as much of it as possible. I'm not really a fan of beef, but I wanted to keep my mind wide open. The first portion, chorizo (a type of sausage), came around the table and I enjoyed it. But, after the second portion, which was some cow part that I couldn't identify..I gave up. I feel bad that I can't tell you what the blood sausage tasted like or the names of the 5 or 6 other slivers of beef they served. I did try. In the end, the vegetarian plates of pasta and grilled vegetables looked so appetizing. I'm used to the countryside and I've spent tons of time on secluded land in Alabama, where my dad is from. However, I was not prepared to eat beef whilst listening to cows mooing just outside the windows.

After lunch, we watched traditional, folkloric dancing! Of course, I adored anything that had to do with music and danced with a gaucho as well. Someone took a video of my dancing skills, so as soon as I find it..I'll let you take a look. Día del Campo was an experience to say the least. It took me out of my comfort zone for just a minute and showed me all the wonderful things that Argentina's countryside has to offer. I'm extremely happy that ISA organizes this trip every semester.

Be sure to check Shutterfly for more photos of this excursion.

San Carlos de Bariloche

Semana Santa is a celebratory week in Spain and all of Latin America. For students, it translates to..no school, no obligations and a break from reality. In reality, it translates to Holy Week. Semana Santa is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter. There are a number of Christian holidays observed within the week that excuse class attendance. So, my friends and I decided to embark on yet another journey. When thinking of travel in Argentina, there are many things to consider. Decisions take time because there are so many fantastic choices. Would you rather visit penguins or baby seals? Would you rather tour Mendoza's infamous wineries or take photos of Patagonia's natural landscapes?

You can see by the title and picture that I didn't choose seals, penguins or grapevines. I chose Bariloche- land of breathtakingly natural sights! San Carlos de Bariloche is situated in the province of Río Negro, Argentina..right below the province of Neuquén, where my friend Gabby was born!  It's the largest city located in the the Lakes District of Patagonia and offers a wide range of activities for every tourist. I chose the destination because of the diversity of excursions available.

Bariloche sits at the foothills of the Andes and on the southern shores of Lago Nahuel Huapi.

Lago Nahuel Huapi

I'd never vacationed in a group of seven before! Six friends and I traveled by bus, el Rápido Argentino (turned out to be not so rápido). The trip took about 23 hours total. Once we arrived, exhausted and dirty, we found our hostel, Hostel Pudu. This hostel took my breath away solely because each room had an enormous view of Lago Nahuel Huapi.

View of Bariloche from our room

We had the best vacation together. I hiked up a mountain for 6 hours! Cerro Catedral is a mountain that has one of the biggest ski centers in all of South America. We hiked Refugio Frey, a trail which ends very close to the Torre Principal, the mountain's highest point. So proud of myself, because I felt like collapsing every 30 minutes or so. Luckily, I walked with Linette, aka the funniest person in the world! She kept me giggling and the view atop the mountain was well worth my pain and suffering.

Tonček Lagoon, atop Cerro Catedral

Giant chocolate egg!..being built for La Pascua (Easter)

As you'll see in my photos, the next day we went to a chocolate museum/factory. Bariloche is the Chocolate Mecca of Argentina. Though I despise the taste of that creamy substance, I was interested in why barilochenses (people from Bariloche, Patagonia) love their chocolate! 

We did many things during our long 8 day vacation. We attempted to mountain bike around Circuito Chico; "chico"..it was not. This 4 hour, bike tour indeed holds the most beautiful sights of Bariloche; however, I grew tired of my mountain bike within 20 minutes and instead ate at a restaurant that served empanadas de trucha (trout empanadas). I ordered my group to bike ahead of me, since they were clearly more skilled in changing gears and not crashing into sand dunes. So, naturally I thought they were halfway around the circuit. When I finished my lunch and returned to the bike rental shop to give them their stinky piece of metal, my entire group awaited me. They were exhausted as well and turned around only 5 minutes from where I broke down. 

We all laughed about our blunder. At that moment, I was truly happy to have traveled with the group that I did. We kept positive attitudes and managed to see my favorite sight in all of Bariloche. We climbed Cerro Campanario, which only took about 40 minutes. This panoramic view offers sights of every lake and mountain in Bariloche. 

View atop Cerro Campanario 

All in all, I had the best time! And...I like cats now.

Don't forget to visit Shutterfly to see all of these photos!

¡JUANA MOLINA!

Juana Molina, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is a world-renowned singer, songwriter and actress. I fell in love with her album, entitled Son, five or six months before beginning my trip. I spent an entire day researching local Argentine music that resembled what I love listening to at home. Juana Molina's music became my new obsession..this international star's talent is remarkable. Wikipedia says her genres are ambient and electrofolk. I have to agree. The lyrics, melodies and rhythms in her music reflect her Argentine heritage; however, her methods of delivery are nothing more than modern/electronic. This mixture of both modern and folkloric make her especially unique!

One of my favorite songs from the album, Son, is "Rio Seco".

Her newest album, entitled Un día, is also phenomenal! This video is of "Un día", the title track from the album.

..And here is a video that I've created of her performance in Buenos Aires! A surprise to me! My friend Preston saw an advertisement for a Juana Molina concert on the back of a bench one day. I assumed that it was a mistake...an old poster meant to be taken down. Thankfully, I was wrong. I was able to see Juana Molina's performance on March 30th at the Teatro NDAteneo in the center of the city. It proved to be one of the best concerts I've ever been to..and that's hard to say as an avid music lover. 

Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay

I journeyed to Uruguay in order to relax for the weekend. I wanted to get away from the rapid city life in Buenos Aires. My first few weeks in Argentina were absolutely crazy! There were so many things that needed to be done..so much paperwork to fill out. I decided to take a short break right before classes started and life became even more insane.

Lighthouse in Colonia

It's very simple to travel from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Uruguay, because the distance between the two is impeccably small. Furthermore, a trip to Uruguay is rather inexpensive! Three friends from the program and I chose to visit Colonia del Sacramento, a city that sits on Río de la Plata and faces Buenos Aires. Colonia's historic district, a downtown of sorts, is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Colonia is noted the oldest town in Uruguay and former Portuguese colony. Montevideo, Uruguay's capital, tends to be another typical spot for tourists to visit, but we thought it would still feel more or less like a busy city. We chose Colonia for its small size and quiet demeanor. In my opinion, it was the the greatest spot for a girls' weekend getaway!

Historic District

 The perfect word to describe Colonia would be antique. This small town is filled with ancient artifacts and architectural influences that perfectly illustrate its former Portuguese rule. Tiffany, Linette, Hilary (you can see photos of them on my Shutterfly) and I traveled to Colonia by Buquebus. ¡BUQUEBUS! Not only is the company's name really fun to repeat, but I must say the Buquebus is the best method of transportation when visiting Uruguay from Buenos Aires. Buquebus is a ferry boat company. We chose to take the ferry because it was the cheapest and fastest method (only 3 hours to Colonia-1 hour back to Buenos Aires). The Buquebus was facyyyy! I'd speculate that it is only a small step down from reaching cruise ship status. We were very pleased.

We arrived in Colonia and began searching for our hostel: Hostel Oriental. Hostel Oriental is run by the sweetest and most helpful couple, located only about 6 blocks from the bus terminal and 4 blocks from the historic district. If you ever plan to visit Colonia del Sacramento, I recommend staying in this adorable abode. Los dueños (owners) of the hostel gave us a quick tour of the town and set us off to enjoy ourselves. Every point of interest is within walking distance in Colonia! During our stay, my friends and I enjoyed visiting the artisans' fair, located directly behind our hostel. We enjoyed spending time by the water. There were so many sandy spots to stop and watch the waves crash. We danced, we ate, we relaxed, and we saw one of Uruguay's most notable sights: la puesta del sol uruguaya (Uruguayan sunset)!

Hilary has a blog as well, filled with amazingly detailed videos. So, after seeing my photos of the trip..please take a moment and watch her video documenting our stay in Colonia del Sacramento.

Hilary's Blog: Click Here

Tigre and Rosario

Club de Regatas La Marina

The past 2 weekends that I've lived in Argentina, we've taken excursions to the prettiest places. First, ISA took us to Tigre in the Buenos Aires province.

Tigre is a typical weekend destination for locals and tourists alike. It only took us about a 30 min train ride to reach the town. Tigre is a perfect place to visit when the weather is nice, warm and sunny. As you can see by the picture on my left..our day wasn't such a case. But, I enjoyed taking photographs nonetheless. We took a smooth boat ride through the entire delta.

Tiffany and group while entering Puerto de Frutos

Afterwards, we visited Puerto de Frutos de Tigre, a huge open market filled with vendors selling just about everything!..trinkets and souvenirs, clothes, candles, plants, mate gourds, etc. Mate [mah-tay]: what a typical porteño drinks daily. Porteño: local from the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Mate is a delicious tea whose herb, yerba mate, is placed into a special cup/gourd and drank with a special bombilla (straw). It's just special haha! And particular to Argentina..which is why every visitor should try it. Drinking mate here is like a social activity. A group of friends will get together, talk and pass mate around the table. I've left my apartment here many times and seen couples downstairs on their stoop, passing their mate gourd back and forth. I still haven't bought one for myself. They're sold at almost every street market, as well as every store. But, I haven't seen one that's jumped out at me..that's unique.

Walking to the Civic Courtyard- National Flag Memorial
Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina

The following weekend, ISA took a very large group of us to Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina. Rosario is the 3rd largest city in Argentina by population and we traveled only about 4 hours to reach it. The city's most notable attraction is the National Flag Memorial. General Manuel Belgrano, the man who created the Argentine flag (and whom my town and school are named after..as well as almost 400 streets in Argentina) died on June 20, 1820. This flag memorial was constructed in his honor on June 20, 1957 to honor the anniversary of his death. El Monumento Nacional a la Bandera is a huge complex with 3 different parts: the Tower, the Civic Courtyard and the Triumphal Propylaeum. Unfortunately, my camera died while traveling on the bus. Sad day. So, I wasn't able to take any photos until our second day in Rosario, when our entire group bathed under the sun at a nearby beach. Don't worry, I've taken the liberty of borrowing a friend's photos (thanks Tiffany!)

Our next day in Rosario was magnificent. We spent over 5 hours at la Playa La Florida (Florida Beach). The beach is located on the Paraná River and was the perfect spot for relaxing for the day. All of my photos from the past two excursions with ISA can be seen by clicking the Shutterfly link to the right of this blog. Hope you enjoy!

First Week in Buenos Aires

I'm starting to feel that I can call this enormous city of Buenos Aires my home. Perhaps because, I seem to have so many blessings placed before me. My host mother, Mercedes, lives in the cutest of apartments in Belgrano, a barrio north of the city. Belgrano is well-known for its leafy atmosphere. There are shady trees on every inch of the streets. A garden of plants fill the balconies of every apartment! All I see is green and more green..and I'm not complaining. This part of town is heavenly, quiet. Traffic and crazy nightlife reside within the district of Palermo, only a 15 minute colectivo (bus) ride from here, but far enough to remain separated from chaos. So far, I've noticed that Belgrano is filled with families and elderly, rather than youth. Mercedes couldn't be a sweeter woman. She is very relaxed and leads a laid-back lifestyle. She works as a travel agent in the city during the week and comes home in time to make the most delicious meals!! mmmm...I've eaten more than I expected myself to. I'm positive that I've gained 10 pounds haha. But, the food is fairly healthy. It's much fresher than what I was eating in Atlanta.

view of the balcony in my room

Food: 
Breakfast consists of a medialuna or toast with fresh fruit spread. With that, we drink a nice cup of green or peach tea. I eat lunch out usually, unless Mercedes has leftovers from dinner. My lunch is usually small, like a teeny sandwich with papas fritas (french fries, my fave) and sparkling water. Dinner time is usually around 9pm or later, so very different than dinner time in the US. The first night here, our appetizer was a salad with the reddest tomatoes I've ever laid my eyes on! The salad was served with two boiled eggs, which I don't get enough of at home. Boiled eggs have come with almost every dish that I've eaten so far. Our main course was pastel de papa (potato pie), which looked just like shepherd's pie, but made with ground beef in the center. Mmmm mmmm mmmmmMM! Kylan, the coolest roommate to have in Argentina, is just as excited about our meals as I am. Mercedes informed us that every night after dinner, she likes to eat fruit because it aids digestion..my belief as well. So after, we ate nice, big pieces of sandía (watermelon).

tortilla española..already half eaten mmm

I've had some weird combinations as well. Not everything I've eaten has looked appetizing. But, I came  here with quite an open mind. Plus, I've eaten stranger things during my trips to China. When I saw Mercedes put a casserole dish of mashed potatoes topped with 3 fried eggs on our table, I frowned on the inside. Once I dug in, I was pleasantly surprised. I need to eat more eggs! I'd never even tasted a fried egg. I would have loved to get more pictures of our meals during this first week. But, I was trying to be extremely polite by not snapping photos of our food every time we sat down. Little did I know, Mercedes doesn't care one bit. She really is so easy-going. I will start to take pictures of traditional meals, so that you see what Argentines eat on a regular basis.

Let me tell you why my first week in Buenos Aires was so busy.
Saturday: 
I arrived in Buenos Aires at 8:00 am after a very short 10hr flight. It was an overnight journey, so I slept most of the way. About one hour from the airport, I was greeted by the sweetest woman named Mercedes and taken to her apartment by taxi. There, I unpacked, slept and drank extremely strong Coca-Cola. Here in Buenos Aires, every gaseosa (soda) has a crazy amount of carbonation, which I'm not used to. I live in Atlanta, Coca-Cola's home, and our restaurants serve flat Coke products at times. Interesting. Pues, luego Mercedes and I picked up my roommate, Kylan, and proceeded to have the most excellent meal after a long day of traveling. The time difference between Atlanta and Argentina was only 2 hours (now 1 hour due to daylight savings), but I didn't suffer from any jet lag.

My study abroad program is organized by ISA (International Studies Abroad). I chose their program because the courses they offer perfectly correspond to the ones I should be taking at Georgia State for my major. In my opinion, ISA also offers more affordable trips than others. The staff was incredibly helpful before my departure from Atlanta and has been very kind and welcoming since I've been here. BUT, I will never forgive them for making us wake up so early the day after our arrival (just kidding..they're already forgiven)! The day after we arrived in Buenos Aires, we had to meet at the ISA office at 10am! I am not really a morning person.

Sunday: 
Sunday wouldn't have been so draining, even with the early meeting, but our city tour was scheduled for the same afternoon. Directly after the meeting, where we received a ton of information about safety, housing and transportation, we ate for about 5-7 minutes. And then we were off!..headed to every part of the city that the bus was capable of taking us. We drove around Belgrano a bit, where my homestay is located.
We visited Palermo, which is totally a tourist hotspot. Palermo's streets are flooded with restaurants, hotels, pubs, designer stores and clubs. Palermo Soho and Palermo Holywood are divisions within the barrio (neighborhood) that are supposed to be mirror images of New York City, New York and Hollywood, California. They do have a lot of the same attractions. On the contrary, the pubs and designer stores are not Palermo's main attraction. Bosques de Palermo are a beautiful line of parks located around the edge of the barrio. Bosques de Palermo are filled with rose gardens, lakes and on the northeastern side, Río de la Plata and Costanera Norte. These are just beautiful features that you cannot miss if coming to Buenos Aires.
Next, we visited Recoleta, a ritzy district with French-style architecture and constructions. Almost everything in Recoleta is expensive. We were able to get off of the bus and walk about the Cemetery of Recoleta, where Eva Peron is buried. I didn't get to view her marble mausoleum because time ran short, but the experience was overwhelming. Graves in this cemetery are designed for entire families and their descendants and most are adorned with various sculptures and monuments to show off the capabilities of Argentina's elite class.

Recoleta Cemetery

We visited the city's Microcentro, where the world's widest avenue is located, Avenida 9 de Julio. There, in the center of the avenue stands the Obelisk. We visited the Plaza de Mayo, Buenos Aires' political center since Argentina's independence in 1810. Most of the political demonstrations that scare my parents back home take place in the Plaza de Mayo. They are very routine for natives here in Buenos Aires...one reason being that la Casa Rosada Presidential House is located in the center of the Plaza de Mayo. There are tons of political banners, signs and graffiti that cover the street across from where Cristina Fernández de Kirchner can easily see them.

La Casa Rosada Presidential House (the pink one)

We lastly visited La Boca, a very popular tourist attraction. My camera didn't want to stop snapping photos of the Caminito area. Caminito is a teeny walkway lined with plenty of arts markets. Live music fills the streets as natives dance the tango. The buildings and monuments in Caminito are full of vibrant colors that create life within images. While walking about the cobblestone streets, I felt each building had its own personality.

Caminito

I wouldn't have been able to see any of these amazing sights without the help of the Gilman International Scholarship Program, offered by the U.S. Department of State. I also received the IEF (International Education Fee) scholarship from Georgia State University and could not be more honored to represent my university by studying in Argentina.

The rest of my week revolved around registering for classes at the University of Belgrano and processing paperwork to receive my student visa. My week was packed with academic orientations (we had 5 orientations total), meetings with academic advisors and super early appointments with immigration services. I apologize for the delay in updating my blog, but now that I have a more steady schedule, my posts will be more frequent.

If you want to see all of the photos from my first week in Buenos Aires, you can visit my Shutterfly page. The link is on the right-hand side of this website and says Shutterfly. From there, you are able play a slideshow of the images (Play Slideshow button above the photos). I will update you soon with details of where I spent my first weekend in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Here's a hint:

The boat is named El Ceibo, after Argentina's national tree and flower..just like my blog :))