Buenos Aires

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Buenos Aires was our first stop on an amazing adventure. We arrived the morning of the 15th of May and were greeted with beautiful sunny weather. After a rather nail biting van ride and our first experience in Argentinian traffic, we were greeted by Jen at our lovely hostel in the heart of the city. Buenos Aires is very European influenced city, which is noticable in the architecture and the food to name a few. The first day was spent exploring the city and practicing Spanish. On our first night, we had a traditional Asado meal, complete with a meat plate that included intestines...not everyones first choice! At the hostel, we had our fist taste of Mate, a traditional tea type drink that has a traditional way of being drank and shared among people. After visiting a tango club where we watched couples dance, including some pacific challengers, a few people went out to experience the nightlife in a city that definitely never sleeps. Club America was our destination, and although we arrived at 12:30, we were almost the only people there. A gay nightclub seemed a good choice for us to dance and have fun, and that we did. We met a couple of flight attendants from Woodbury, MN of all places and mingled with some other club goers.
Boca is a very touristic but poor neighborhood in Buenos Aires that is characterized by bright buildings and tango dancing in the streets. The group toured some more of the city on the walk to Boca which is at the mouth of the River Plate. After an extreme game of ultimate frisbee and Alfahores in a local park, we explored the Boca neighborhood and got a taste of Argentinian culture. That evening, we had our first taste of Empanadas, a pastry filled with meat and or vegetables that is traditional fast food of Argentina, followed by a game of Catchphrase and another night out on the town. We went to a club that strangely played out of date American music, such as Bon Jovi and the Village People, complete with a Brittany Spears type dance show on stage...
The next day, a group of students went to a Boca soccer game. After finding our way on el Subte to meet our host families, we headed back to the hostel to get a bus ride to the game. We were told not to bring anything because tourists and those who don´t know the chants are targeted and may be pelted with spit and or pee... Our guide took us back to the Boca neighborhood where the atmosphere was very hyped and there were Boca fans and merchandise everywhere. After eating in a family run restaurant type place, we headed to the game and were surrounded by Boca fanatics! The game was very intense, as Boca was playing a major rival, and the game ended with Boca winning 2-1 in the last 30 seconds!
The next 3 nights were spent with host families or single hosts, where some students spent learning to Salsa or simply practicing Spanish.
The most humbling part of Buenos Aires was spent during a day of volunteering with L.I.F.E. Argentina, a non-profit organization run by one of the host parents. During the first part of the day, we explored the impressive Recoletta cemetary, a landmark of Argentina where the most important people are buried in tombs, including Evita.
That afternoon, the group took a van to a very poor suburb of Buenos Aires where we prepared a birthday party for some of the children. It was shocking to see such run down buildings and roads. There were dogs and children everywhere. We went to a church where we set up balloon animals and hats, streamers, presnts and cake. After playing with the children for a while, and taking lots of pictures, we headed inside to sing happy birthday, open presents and enjoy some cake. It was amazing to see the excitement and appreciation on the childrens faces.
Buenos Aires was a great first experience of Latin American culture, and a wonderful start to the adventure of a lifetime!

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Comments

[Jen]

Marocc
One cannot forget about the yummy ´Marocc´candy bars, and of course alfajores, yum yum , who misses them now, I DO!!!!!!!