from Suramérica to Norteamérica

Once we arrived back in Buenos Aires, a group of us went to get empanadas. I decided somewhere along this trip that I could live the rest of my life eating empanadas of different varieties for every meal. By the end of the trip, I knew that was not true. You can eventually get sick of even the most delicious things. A few of us met to go to the MALBA that afternoon. Because there were five of us, we took two taxis. Our taxi was weaving in and out of traffic, seemingly racing the other taxi. It was all okay in the end, though, because our taxi won.

The first exhibit was all by an artist named Marta Minujin; she looked like a seventy-year-old Lady GaGa and her art reminded me of a female Argentine version of Andy Warhol. I loved her pieces. One of my favorite pieces of art in the whole museum was the first I saw. It was called “Música acuática de Haendel.” It was an incredible blend of two of my favorite modes of art. She used the form of art which she knew (painting) to express her reaction to music. Much of her art was very abstract and exciting. Picasso said that “art is the lie that enables us to realize the truth,” and as I looked into these grand expanses of seemingly random brightly colored designs, I couldn’t help but agree. Just outside of her exhibit, there was a bench whose wooden slats twisted and twirled until they met a bench the floor down. It was really quite interesting. On the next floor, the piece that stood out to me the most was called “Manifestación,” which showed an overwhelming crowd of unemployed in shabby clothes looking hopeless. Some of the workers were looking up and pleading to God, while it felt as though others were looking straight at me. Overall, I really enjoyed that museum. For our merienda, I had my last submarino of Argentina.

That evening, we went to see Dracula, the musical. Once we were inside, we were excited by the elegance and extravagance of the theatre. There were these curtains that were incredible and the biggest chandelier I have ever seen outside of a museum. Once the show started, it was clear that I was not going to understand much of what was going on, but I accepted that. We decided that it was more like a plopera (play opera) than a play. I didn’t mind not understanding the words very often because it was wonderful. The voices were soaring and it was visually stunning. The actor who played Dracula amazed me each time he opened his mouth to sing. The play ended three hours after it started. We were all quite hungry as it was nearly midnight, so we hurried to Puerto Madero to go to the Italian restaurant that had been so delicious before. Unfortunately, we were dropped off at the wrong “La Parolaccia.” We walked painfully to the restaurant that was in our original plans. As luck would have it, our beloved restaurant was closed for remodeling. We adjusted our plans and ate closer to the hotel at around 1AM.

The next day, a big group of us went back to La Boca. We couldn’t resist its vivid colors and cobblestone streets. After wandering around for a few hours, some of us went to the famed Café Tortoni for lunch. The term café should never be used to describe something of this grandeur. It was wonderful. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was buzzing with excitement. Had Roberto Arlt written “Los lanzallamas” from this chair? Probably not, but it was still exciting to ponder. We headed back to Florida to do some shopping and wander the city for a bit longer. Bridgette and I stayed out a bit longer and got our fill of Buenos Aires to the brink. We even went back by Plaza de Mayo and saw a protest!

Getting on the plane, I had mixed feelings. There were certainly some things I was going to miss about Argentina. I was ready to go home, but I was not quite ready to leave. Some of that may have been due to the knowledge that there would be a seventy degree temperature difference between my summer in Buenos Aires and my winter in Dallas. I believe that in the few weeks I was there I accomplished many of my goals. I am reading the first Harry Potter book in Spanish; though it is a challenge, it’s a doable challenge. Despite my wishes, I only sang Evita a few times a day. I believe that was mostly to maintain the sanity of my friends. I had a wonderful trip where I learned to really appreciate some things from home. More than anything else, what I learned to appreciate were mufflers. If I had been suddenly endowed with a great deal of money whilst in Rawson, I likely would have bought the whole town mufflers. In all seriousness, I learned about how my perspective can cloud my vision of other countries and of my own. I hope in small ways that I have been developing a more open perspective, so that I can see the world with wide and freed eyes. As T.S. Eliot said, "we shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."

Chau Chubut!

We went to Playa Unión to have our own mini JanServe. We picked up trash at the beach. The governor was right about the mindset of not picking up trash. So many people stared at us as if we were crazy people. They asked us why we were doing it, and once I tried to explain that it was to help keep the beach clean, they still didn’t quite understand. That night, Stephanie, Lauren, and I wanted to make norteamericano food for our families. Because we wanted them to have a full grasp of what we ate, we made breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We served lunch of macaroni and cheese and dinner of tacos fist, followed by breakfast of French toast. It worked out well and they all really liked it. It was fun playing with Ernestina as always, but this time it came with the accompanying realization that this could be the last time I have the opportunity to spend time with her.

That morning, we stopped in the panaderia we frequented to wish Valerie goodbye and eat our last media lunas. When we told her that we were leaving, her eyes welled up. After she gave us our pastries—for free, she wouldn’t take the money—she gave us big hugs and wished us good luck on our trip. Most of the day was pretty unexciting because it involved a lot of packing and getting things in order. Because Lauren’s suitcase was ripped, we had to find another. Our host sister told us that a store called La Capital sold them just across the street. When we walked in, all we could do was laugh. This store had everything, but somehow it was still so small. It had stoves, bathtubs, drumsets, suitcases, lamps, toys, bicycles, and cuckoo clocks. It seemed like such a random assortment of things. Once we were on our way out, we ran into Nora, Anibal, and Ernestina. Nora was going to drive us to school in the morning, but we said goodbye to Anibal and Ernestina. That night, we had our last dinner in Rawson with Gladys. When we talked over our meal, she started to cry. I wasn’t expecting that until the morning. I was touched that we affected her life that deeply.

They say that there’s nothing harder than saying goodbye. While I tend to disagree, goodbyes are sad. But I believe there’s beauty in that. It means that you were touched by someone and hopefully you reached their hearts as well. I wonder how much I’ll forget about my time in Rawson. Because I have traveled and lived with host families before, I don’t have the romanticized idea that I will remember each person or each story. I know that I will remember some things. I could never forget the utterly bewildered look on Gladys’ face when I would accidentally use a French word. I will remember how Nora would do everything she could to make sure we were having a wonderful experience and how quickly she would talk! I wonder how close we could have gotten if my Spanish was better. I won’t forget how Anibal would always be smiling and laughing at all of my jokes, though some weren’t funny and many were probably lost in translation. I will always remember how Ernestina would reach out her arms to me and how the slightest silly game I played with her would encourage her beautiful voracious laughter. Thinking back on these memories fills me with such joy, as I’m sure it will in a month and in eight years. Dr. Seuss—a valid diagnostician in my opinion—said “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” I believe that when you are saying goodbye (or ciao) that is the best advice you can receive.

Amy had a little lamb, marisco, and Welsh tea

I knew that we were going to Estancia, which is a ranch where we were going to eat lamb that they cooked there. For some reason, this girl from the suburbs assumed that we were going to watch them slaughter a lamb, cook it over an open fire, and we would all eat it outside. My perspective was not quite accurate. Some of the members of our group, however, did have the opportunity to help shear a sheep. The lamb was delicious, but my favorite part of Estancia was the Guanacas. Guanacas are similar to llamas, but smaller and significantly more affectionate.

That night, Stephanie’s host family invited us over for marisco (seafood). We had olives and cheese for appetizers and for the meal we had a dish that most closely resembled jambalaya, though it also had squid and octopus. Between dinner and dessert, Ernestina was playing with a big ball with her abuela. Whenever her abuela would ask “who is this ball for?” Ernestina would respond with a resonant “me!” As a joke, I went over and asked if the ball was for me, and she shouted matter of factly “YES!” It surprised us all and we laughed. For desserd we had dulce de patata con queso. It was jellied sweet potato with a slice of cheese on top, and it was very good.

On Sunday, we took a trip to the Welsh village of Gaiman. The Welsh were the first settlers here and they maintain much of the culture carefully. We, first, stopped at a teahouse called Ty Te Caerdydd, which is famous because Princess Diana visited. It was quite crowded, but still nice. We, then, went into a tunnel called Ferrocarril Central de Chubut. It was quite deep and dark, but not terribly frightening. Lastly, we stopped at the Ty Gwyn Teahouse. It was a smaller and less popular teahouse and I loved it. They served us yummy cakes and bread and Welsh tea. Many of the waitresses were Welsh, and the little gardens around it were quite beautiful.

Playa Unión, Piramides, Pinguinos, y Puerto Madryn

After an unremarkable day in class, Bridgette, Lauren, Stephanie and I went to Playa Unión. At first, I just wandered by the beach because the waves looked pretty rough. However, as Mark Twain said, sometimes you must “deal with temptation by yielding to it.” We splashed around in the freezing water for a while, and had a wonderful time. Later that afternoon, we went to Trelew to go to the Paleontology Museum. They say that every opportunity for learning is a gift, and if that is so, than we certainly wasted it that day. We posed like the different figures in the museum and acted like kids. It was fun, but I felt pretty silly as we walked out. Also, in Trelew, we went to the supermercado, which is connected to a mall. It reminded me fondly of the Big C in Thailand.

The next day class was pretty fun. We read Mafalda comics, which are the “Peanuts” of Argentina. Later in the day, Stephanie, Lauren and I went with Nora, Anibal, and Ernestina to Piramides. Lauren and Stephanie slept most of the two-hour ride, so I had lots of time to practice my Spanish and chat with Nora and Anibal. I asked them whether they liked any norteamericano music. She said that she liked “Paoooouuuul Mcautney.” Eventually, I heard Paul McCartney, and have since decided how I will henceforth pronounce his name. Anibal said “sheep.” I was terribly confused because he spoke clearly and I had never heard of a band called sheep. He, then, said “oveja“ which is sheep in Spanish. I remained confused until they both pointed out the window and said “SHEEP SHEEP!” I looked out the window and saw—SHEEP! That made much more sense. We woke up Lauren and Stephanie with our laughter. We stopped on the way there at a little museum, which shared an interesting history of the coastline. There was a wonderful viewpoint where we saw sea lions. I had been told that they smelled and that they were loud, but I was still quite unprepared. They were impressively obnoxious. Finally, we arrived at the Piramides beach, which was beautiful, but quite windy. It was really fun to play with Ernestina in the sand.

Wednesday, we watched El Secreto de Sus Ojos, which was incredible. After the film, we went to be welcomed by the Mayor of Rawson. We waited for an uncomfortable amount of time before he walked in. He smiled his election-winning smile, greeted us warmly, and sat in his chair. When questioned about the trash problem, he spoke about recycling and trash programs the city was working on, but noted that the pollution was a cultural problem more than anything. I raised my hand and asked that “if as you say, Rawson is a part of a culture that is ignorant or unconcerned with the trash problem, then wouldn’t even the best recycling or trash pick-up problem be rendered useless without public awareness programs?” He impressed me with his detailed and honest answer about the programs they were implementing. I found out later, unfortunately, that none of those programs were actually in effect. I guess that’s what you can expect in an election year. That night was our last tango class. While I’m quite glad that I took the classes, I will not deny that they were a big challenge for me.


We woke up before 6:00AM to go see the pinguinos! We got off the bus and I was in complete shock. I knew that there would be penguins, but they were everywhere. EVERYWHERE! I have often felt surrounded by nature; by mountains or lakes or oceans, but I felt absolutely encompassed by squawking, waddling, adorable animals. There were grey fluffy chicks all huddled together in a little penguin hole. There was a penguin with his/her two chicks tackling each other so s/he could vomit in their mouths. I wanted desperately to take one home, but decided that would be inadvisable. If I’m not allowed to bring nail clippers on the plane with me, I presume that the airline would object to an Argentinean waddling bird. The town where we saw the penguins was called Camarones (shrimp), so when we had lunch I excitedly tried to order them. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any. Apparently, the town is known for seafood as the national capital of salmon. To make matters even sillier, the white fish that they are supposedly famous for isn’t even salmon. Camarones was also the birthplace of Juan Perón where there was a small, but very interesting museum. Friday, we all headed together to Puerto Madryn, which is a popular tourist beach. Say what you will about tourist traps, but I’ve found that the reason some places are popular, is because they are beautiful. We had tapas at a little restaurant by the water and played by the beach for a few hours. The skyline was absolutely beautiful and the sun shone and warmed us despite the bitter wind. That night, we went to a nice little Italian restaurant and walked along the beach.

I can see Chile from my hostel!

It was freezing on the bus to Esquel. Although we didn’t leave until almost midnight and didn’t arrive until around 8, I hardly slept at all. Once we arrived, they told us we would be served breakfast. At this hostel, breakfast consisted of small pieces of bread toasted until they were croutons with some marmalade. I ate four of them and was not satiated. Emily, Lauren, Victoria, Bryan, and I decided we wanted to go hiking around Esquel. Esquel is a small town with a Colorado feel. There are beautiful gardens and you can see the Andes Mountains from every point in town. Even though it isn’t Russia, and hostel doesn’t have the same ring as house, I think it’s nice to look out my window and announce to the world: “I can see Chile from my hostel!” We wandered around Esquel for a while and hiked. We saw a little waterfall and the train tracks of La Tronchita which we were to take the next day. It was beautiful. More than anything in Esquel, however, I loved walking down the uneven streets and feeling like a part of the town. For lunch, we ordered empanadas from a local pizza place and ate in a park close to the Hostel. At first I thought that the empanadas tasted like perfection because I was famished, but after the fourth one I decided they really were just that good. That evening, the group went to Trevelin, a small Welsh town. We went to probably the smallest museum I have ever been to in my life, then we had delicious ice cream.

The next day, we went to ride La Tronchita. It was a really nice train ride and the view was wonderful. There was a little Patagonian town we stopped at near the top of the mountain, which was really nice. The ride back on the train was just as terrific. After the train, we headed together to the Parque Nacional Los Alceres. The Andes Mountains are absolutely breathtaking. There is no way else you can describe how epic it is to be surrounded by those mountains and lakes. The beauty of the water made the water in El Dique seem muddy. I love how mountains can simultaneously make you feel so physically small and your worries so miniscule and make you feel incredibly complex, importamt and carefully created. We crossed a suspension bridge, which I thought was fine, but many members of our group did not enjoy it very much. We walked around the hiking trails and I was surrounded by view after view of amazing sights. I know what Belle meant when she talked about “adventure in the great wide somewhere.” This was it. Once we returned our bus drivers made us asado for dinner (after midnight) which was delicious! The bus ride back to Rawson was lovely; Patagonia is filled with such beauty. From sandy canyons to glaciers to rocky beaches, it never fails to fill me with wonder.

A small town and cold greenbluey water

We arrived in Rawson pretty late on Sunday night and were dropped off at our host home. Our host mom, Gladys, was there to welcome us with open arms. She asked if we were hungry, and once I answered in the affirmative, she gave us empanadas. They were quite delicious. While we were eating, she asked us about our families and ourselves. So this is what immersion feels like. Lauren and I went upstairs to our room and went to sleep only to wake up a few hours later for class. Gladys walked us to class the first day and we took so many turns that we were sure we would never make it home. I know that Robert Frost advised taking the “road less traveled by,” but when it is moderately important that you make it back home at a reasonable time for lunch, I’m not sure it’s quite as necessary. Class went well, and surely enough we made it home just fine.

We met up with Leslie and Stephanie to go to the beach. Once we arrived, we were taken quite off guard. The beach was beautiful. Instead of sand, Playa Unión was covered in small pebbles similar to Nice. The most overwhelming part of the beach, however, was undoubtedly the waves. Little red flags lined the beach warning beachgoers of the dangerous rip tides. When we were just standing to our ankles in the sea, a huge wave would suddenly come and we would be thigh deep in water. We chose an uncrowded spot to sit and relax about a dozen feet from the sea. After we were sitting for a few minutes, a wave came about four feet from us. I halfheartedly said “Oh man! It’s going to happen again” while I slowly gathered my bag, towel, and book. I zipped away at the lost moment more out of procrastination than ignorance of what was to happen. Evidently, the others did not hear what I said and were soaked! After an hour or so, we met up with Hallie, then Bryan. It started out as a sunny and beautiful day, but the wind had stirred and it became cold, so we went back home. For dinner, we had pizza, which was muy rico. We chatted with Gladys, and her 16 year old son Nico for a while, but eventually went upstairs to go to bed. The next day after class, we decided that a siesta is quite necessary. We wake up at 8AM and dinner doesn’t finish until midnight, so we knew the long days would catch up to us. We had tango in the evening, which was fun. After tango, a few of us headed to the bus station to go to la Playa. It took us a while to get there, but once we did, it was quite nice.

Thursday was a very exciting day. I knew it was going to be a good day because Lauren and I started off the morning with dulce media lunas. We spent the first hour in my class talking about Argentina’s political and economic status. It was fascinating to hear Mila’s perspective as an Argentine. Our classes talked about the differences between our current and home countries. I believe that when you travel, it is important to develop more appreciation for your home while recognizing its flaws. I think that a beautiful aspect of enhanced global awareness is the willingness to see greatness and weaknesses wherever you are. Stephanie’s host family took Stephanie, Chas, Adam, Bryan, Lauren and I to El Dique Ameghino. It was absolutely incredible. The dam was massive and there were mountains! The most impressive feature, however, was most certainly the water; it was crystal clear yet somehow deep. The water was such an incredible color. When I asked Nico what to call the color later on, he said verdeazulado or greenbluey. I like that answer. We climbed the rocks and canyons for a couple hours, which added more excitement into my life than the small town of Rawson could give. When we were by the lake, I put my feet in the greenbluey water; it was freezing. I was shocked that water could be that cold without freezing! We wandered around for a while longer, had a picnic, and then went home to prepare to leave for Esquel!

New Year's Eve and Beyond in the Paris of the South

We went together to a fondue restaurant with a lot of the group; there were 21 of us all together. They started us off with white wine and some appetizers including these scrumptious blue cheese balls. Then, they brought us out some cheese fondue. It was delicious! In the middle of the main course, we rang in the New Year with fireworks and champagne and happy times. 2011 is going to be a wonderful New Year, and I was excited about ringing in the new year in Buenos Aires! After it settled down some—and what felt like an eternity—they brought us chocolate fondue. We had dark chocolate, white chocolate, and dulce de leche. Words cannot describe the scrumptious joy that fondue brings into my life.

After dinner, we went to find a boliche or a bar to celebrate it in. We had some trouble finding a good one, but went to a few for a while. We were exhausted, but Hunter Thompson said that “life’s journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting ‘Holy shit…what a ride!’” and I certainly agree with him. We decided that we would check out a boliche on our way back called liquid. We tried for a couple dozen blocks to get a taxi to go there, but eventually we were just ready to go home. BUT AHOY THERE! We saw a taxi after forty minutes of searching. Our hearts leaped; smiles spread across our faces. But alas, someone got into it before we reached it. Luckily, he got out as quickly as he got in because the taxi driver didn’t go there. We almost fell asleep on the way home and went to sleep after an incredibly long day.


The next morning, Bryan and I went to a tango lesson. It was so much fun, but quite complicated and difficult. Calvin Coolidge said that “nothing in this world can take the place of persistence,” but I think that some semblance of talent would have been helpful! We had a great time, though, and after that we had a picnic in the park. While in the park, there was a homeless man with an incredible beard and bushy hair and leather-looking skin. The most remarkable facet of his existence was that his only item of clothing was a “skirt” made entirely of black garbage bags.

We met up with the group and went to the Cemeteries at Recoleta. It’s incredible to me how much money and how much work these family members put into the tombs of their loved ones. I quite agree with my sister, Kela, that death does not deserve that much pomp and circumstance. Everyone was crowded around Evita’s tomb as was I to pay my respects, but I preferred walking in the less crowded corridors. After that, we went to see the Japanese gardens and saw a Dakar race. That night we went to Puerto Madero and the lights were gorgeous! We also had the best Italian food I have eaten since Italy. The next morning—and our last day in Buenos Aires—we went to the San Telmo street fair. It reminded me of Thailand and made me feel so happy! Also, on the way there I talked with an Israeli girl who was vacationing after her time with the IDF. I was glad to be in touch with a new perspective.

Stand Back Buenos Aires!

The airplane ride went by fine, but slowly because I did not sleep well. Once we got on a bus to go to the hotel, looking around I thought that the outskirts of Buenos Aires looked more like Alexandria, Egypt than anywhere I have been. The same unfinished apartment buildings and eclectic mix of trees. Experts say that when you are someplace new, your mind subconsciously tries to connect new experiences with familiar ones. Once I realized how I was making connections, it made laugh to think that Alexandria was a familiar experience.

Once we settled into the hotel, we went to find some Argentine food! We hadn’t eaten a meal since breakfast on the airplane several hours before, and we still needed to exchange or withdraw money. Getting pesos was a long-winded and painful experience, but it was standing between me and my lunch. I was eventually the victor in that battle and we went to Pizza Guerrín, which was quite famous and very good. That evening, Lauren, Bryan and I went to see the Congress building and walked around there for a while. It was Bridgette’s 21st birthday that night, so we went to a steak restaurant. The twelve people there took up most of the restaurant, which was fun.



The next morning, the group had media lunas for breakfast and got ready to go on a tour around the city. Until this point, I had never been on an open bus tour. I know it sounds silly, but I have always thought I was being more true to the city by not being that kind of tourist. GK Chesterson said that “the traveler sees what he sees, the torist sees what he has come to see.” After a lengthy day of touring on a bus, however, I will say that it was pretty nice to see what I came to see in Buenos Aires. Also, at the end of the year, the banks throw paper out their office windows to celebrate the coming of a new year, so it felt like we were in a parade. We saw some pretty cool sights and we also visited my favorite barrio—La Boca. It is an exciting place where the houses form a rainbow of vivid colors.



I noticed when I was wandering around just how many bookstores there are in Buenos Aires. It feels as though there are a few of them every block. I think it reflects positively on Argentina when there are more bookstores than bars in the capital city. A famous Argentine author—Jorge Luis Borges said “I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library.” That day, we also all learned about the hole in the ozone layer over Buenos Aires—the hard way. Most of the group was sunburned that evening.




We had a lot of free time over the next few days and as Walt Whitman would say that “the beauty of independence, departure, actions that rely on themselves” are freeing. The next morning, we slept in and went to see la Plaza de Mayo and Casa Rosa. In the Plaza de Mayo I delighted anyone in a three-foot radius with a charming rendition of “Buenos Aires” from Evita. We, then, went to go eat lunch at Café Tortoni. It’s famed because world leaders and thinkers have been going there for centuries. It also is supposed to have pretty good food. The line, unfortunately, was around two hours long. We decided that seeing the outside was sufficient for us. We went to a café a couple blocks down the road, which was delicious. I had a tropical salad with salsa golf dressing. It was interesting. The tropical salad was palm hearts, pineapples, tangerines, and apples, and the salsa golf dressing was mayonnaise and ketchup mixed together. I also had a submarino, which was absolutely delicious. They give you hot milk and a chocolate bar to melt in it. Basically, it is hot chocolate, but it feels much more unique and appetizing here.
Earlier we had noticed that many of the nearby streets were blocked off, but we didn’t know why. All the sudden, there were dozens of runners on the street. There was a marathon. It was very exciting. We all cheered for them as they passed. At that point, I thought about how refreshing the winds were in the sweltering city. It occurred to me, Buenos Aires… Los Buenos Aires de Buenos Aires. I have never been in a more aptly named city. Then, we went back to the hotel and got ready for New Year’s Eve celebrations.