A few more pictures!

Now, you believe me when I said the waters were brilliant!

Awww...a baby capibara! Aren't they adorable? Sorry Adam, they wouldn't let me take one home for you though. Maybe we can buy one on ebay?

This is the lodge that we stayed at. You can't really see the lodge itself, but the grounds were gorgeous! And yes, a pool, except it was colder than the lake. But oh so relaxing to lay next to in the sun!

Some pictures of the Posada Aguape

All of us little campers in the boat ready to go out and see some Alligators!!










A gorgeous sunset and a picture of the rainforest where we saw the monkeys.










An Alligator!! And some vultures on a dead tree. (how symbolic)

So, a month went by and I hardly noticed!

Wow, so sorry for not posting more recently! This is ridiculous! I cannot believe that the last time I posted something was almost a month ago! The time is really flying by down here and I am amazed that I only have less than two months left! It seems like I just got here. And at the same time, like I have been here for a lot longer than only two months.

But anyway, I made it through my midterms which were unbelievable! I had to write a 5-page paper for my "History of Argentine Politics and Government" class as well as an 8-page paper for my "Cultural Icons of Argentina" class! I have never written so much in spanish in two days in my life! And then on top of that, I had to take a test in my Spanish class on verbs and conjugations. It was quite the week.

Then after killing myself for my midterms, we had a week break this past week. I took a trip to Ibera, a marshy area in the northern province of Argentina, Corrientes. It was GORGEOUS!! I have lots of pictures to upload, so make sure you look at them! But, we stayed at this wonderful lodge that was right on the lagoon and I have never been so pampered for a week in my life! We slept in comfortable beds with good sheets and blankets (which I am not used to at all in my homestay) and I ate myself silly every day! Toast and biscuits, freshly squeezed orange juice, homemade yogurt and cereal for breakfast everyday. Lunch was a complete three course meal with an appetizer, a main dish (usually pasta or a casserole) and then a scrumptious desert. Then after we came back from our afternoon activities, there would be coffee/tea and cakes waiting for us. And promptly at 8:30, dinner would be served which was another three course meal. The last night (Thursday) we had an asado or a barbecue with lamb, chorizo (sausages) and steaks accompanied by a huge salad bar. It was fabulous!

During the day, we took two little excursions out on boats, walking, or canoing to see the wildlife in the lagoons and the jungles. I saw capibaras (carpinchos, the largest rodents), tons of alligators (caymanes), howler monkeys (monos), and lots of other bird species. It was so nice to be out of the city and breathing fresh air! The lake was gorgeous hence the name Ibera which means brilliant waters in Guarani (the native language in the north of Argentina). And it was so nice to be in such a comfortable and relaxing place for a whole week! Sorry mom and dad, you guys get the bill in the mail when I go home!! But, I think it's only $300 total, which is a steal because this resort was $320 a night normally!!

So, I'm back in Buenos Aires now and just finished making some scrambled eggs with Maria. Our outing today is to take a random bus to somewhere we don't know and then walk back. Sounds like fun!!

Besos and I miss you all!
Ciao Ciao!
Audrey

TIA

The air has a slight hint of smoke, for the past two days! They started a controlled burn of the grasslands in the delta yesterday, and of course, this being Argentina, it got OUT of control! So, there has been smoke in the air here since yesterday afternoon! We Americans have a saying that we use for situations like this, as well as many other ones....TIA (This Is Argentina). It pretty much explains any situation that happens to you here. Like for example, you are late to class one day by about ten minutes. So, rushing into the room, you quickly take your seat and get out your homework only to realize that the teacher isn't there yet either! TIA, TIA.

Another example: I take the bus (un colectivo) to class on Wednesdays when I go to my ceramics class, and it's always an experience. The bus drivers (los colectiveros) are some of the best and the worst drivers I have ever seen! So, I was got up before my stop to go ring the bell to signal that I wanted to get off, and the driver slams on the breaks because we hit a red light. I topple into the ladies in front of me with all of my ceramics gear, a little embarrassing, but it happens all the time so no one seemed to care. Then, the doors open and the bus is still moving at about 20 miles per hour. The bus driver slams on the brakes again and signals with his hand for me to get off...while the bus is still moving!! So, I fling myself out onto the street and almost fall onto the sidewalk. It must have been quite the sight. TIA, TIA. That is all that can be said of situations like this.

Some more pics.

Myself and some IES people in front of the Casa Rosada in Plaza de Mayo.

This is a picture from inside the Reserva Ecologica del Rio outside of Buenos Aires. But, you can still see the sky scrapes of Puerto Madero in the background.

This is a picture of the Pampa grass in the Reserva Ecologica del Rio. Mom, I thought you would appreciate these! They're as tall as I am and beautiful in the setting sun!

This is El Obelisco in the center of the city. Look familiar?

Although Argentines don't like this sculpture, I think it's interesting! It's called the Flor de Lis and is across Avenida Del Libertador from the Museo de Bellas Artes which has a surprising good collection of impressionist and modern artworks! A good place to go for free on a Sunday afternoon!

a little update...

Because I know you have all been wondering, we have meat again in the city! From what I understand, there are going to be 30 days of negotiations between the farmers and the Government. If an agreement is not reached by then, then they go on strike again. So, we here are all hoping for this to end. Vamos a ver!

Other than that, things are moving right along. School is getting more difficult as I am getting more and more huge packets of Spanish to read. I started my ceramics class yesterday and am really excited to get going with it. They are going to teach us lots of techniques for working with different kinds of clay and glazes, as well as on aesthetics and design, so it should be really interesting! Hopefully my works will make it back to the states in one piece. But this art school is crazy! It's this kind-of dilapidated old building in the heart of La Boca (a neighborhood in BA) that is completely covered on the inside with drawings, paintings, sculpture, graffiti, you name it! There are people milling around there all the time just drawing on the walls and working on their artwork. Quite an inspiring place!

This past week, I did lots of exploring around the city. On Saturday, I went with some friends to a town outside of Buenos Aires called Tigre. This is in the heart of the Delta so there are rivers all over the place, and they use them almost as much as the streets to get from one place to another. They had a huge market (una feria) there that had lots to look at. I also went to Palermo (another neighborhood in BA) to their feria and picked up a couple of gifts ;)

Tonight, I am going to an Argentine folk music event with a friend and a group of Argentines, so Castellano, here I come!!

Keep in touch!
Ciao Ciao!!

Plaza San Martin

Here is a quick pic of one of the parks by my house, Plaza San Martin in Retiro.