Picking up from where I left off last week: The girls and I went to Starbucks to do some homework and we met an English fashion designer. Andrew is the owner of FabAfrica, a line of handbags and clothes using textiles from Africa. He and his line were displayed in Argentina's fashion magazine in February and he is currently planning on moving to New York as Bloomingdales and several other large department stores have purchased his line.
On Saturday the whole group was invited out for dinner with Max (boy from our group) and his family who came to visit him. There were about 8 of us total who went along with his parents and brother. It was a lovely dinner (and free!) That Sunday Rebecca and I went to Plaza de Mayo to visit one of the many markets in Buenos Aires. I now have Argentina coasters for my new apartment!!
The week has been somewhat uneventful as it now consists of my daily routine which is school. I did, however, receive an A on my first exam in Buenos Aires! Definitely a good start to the semester.
Wednesday morning was spend in the German Hospital. For the past month or so Rebecca has been unwell and unable to keep food down, so after much convincing that she should see a doctor, she finally went. It turns out that she has digestive problems with the foods she has been eating and must take medication for a month and eliminate a large array of foods including: bread, meat, pasta, sweets, even alcohol! It has been nearly a week and she is surviving but with great difficulty. Good thing we went to Mendoza before we found this news out!
That evening Sarah experienced an Argentine blind date! Marcos set her up with one of his friends and we went to a bar/nightclub in Palermo. It was an enjoyable night for all, however I do not believe Sarah will be seeing him again!
On Friday the girls and I did some shopping before going to school for International Night. This event included student tables with information and food about their home country as well as student dance/vocal performances. We stayed about an hour and left as it was not terribly enjoyable and we had an early start the next day.
Saturday was our trip to Colonia, Uruguay! I was up at 515 Saturday morning, so definitely a difficult morning, but an enjoyable day. We took an hour long ferry to Colonia which was not pleasant as the ferry was very compact and the wind and waves threw us all over the place. Once arriving, we took a tour through the city and spent the rest of the afternoon in the old area of Colonia which was filled with tourist restaurants, small museums, and boutiques. There was not much to do in the town so our time was spent mostly wondering around. The weather also was not on our side as the wind made it a cold day. On the way back to Buenos Aires, the ferry was much grander than before and more of what I had imagined and remembered from my trip to Jersey years ago. There was a duty free shop on board so I indulged in tea bags and a large Cadbury's chocolate bar which will cover my chocolate cravings for the next month, at least! That evening we went out for dinner and then Sarah and I went to our usual wine bar to see some friends.
Today has been the typical Sunday of homework along with a coffee date with the girls. Next week, if all goes according to plan, I am off to Chile for the long weekend! I will update with more activities then! ¡Hasta luego!
On Monday, before flying back to Buenos Aires, we lounged by the pool at the hotel, soaking up some last minute rays. Upon landing back in the big city Sarah, Rebecca, and I split a taxi again and were dropped off at a corner which is about in the middle of us all. During my ten minute walk home, there were lots of police, television cameras, and bricks in the road, something I thought was a little out of the ordinary. Anyway, after walking in the front door, my host mother looked terrified as she was watched the news about protest groups targeting the British Embassy with rocks and pellet guns as it was the anniversary of the Falklands. The Embassy is just a mere three blocks from my apartment and I made it home just in time before the group started migrating to the road that I was just walking on five minutes beforehand. Needless to say, I was American for the remaining five hours of the evening. That night, Rebecca, Sarah, and I went to a bar in Palermo to watch the championship game. The fancy place filled with lovey, dovey couples soon changed into an American sports bar after a group of American boys from my university came in to watch the game with us. It was a very sad loss, but they did far better than anybody ever thought they would, so no complaints from me! Rock Chalk!
On Saturday we got a little more adventurous and spent the day zip-lining and white water rafting through the Andes. It was an amazing day! The weather was perfect and the views were fantastic!!
Sunday was our last day in Mendoza. We purposely booked our bus to leave in the early evening to allow us time to relax and tour the city a bit before heading back to the big city. What we did not consider was that Sunday was Easter and living in a Roman Catholic country nothing was open. Everywhere was dead. But do not worry, three girls can be easily entertained spending seven hours at the bus station with a deck of cards and multiple bars!! It was a fantastic trip and we all enjoyed ourselves very much!