so, i am in my room at home, and i guess that means that the trip is over. the flight was not that bad, except that we were next to this huge beeping thing for alot of the time. (the beeping thing was people calling the flight attendants). so i guess the lesson is never sit in an exit row or near a bathroom.
nicky and i made up a game on the plane, and it made me realize how hard it is to actually create a well balanced game that had a purpose. our game had 9 circles and then a bunch of mini circles where you had to group them around certain enemies and hold certain other 'bases'. it took alot of tweaking to even be playable, so i guess next time i play a bad game i will think of how hard it is to make a good one.
one a more pertinent note, i want to thank everyone for reading. like, and actually thank you. it was fun to do, but the writing is much more enjoyable when people you know read (it also made us feel long distance love, however weird it is that a website can do that). so thank you.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
caturday
i think nicky is doing a write-up of colonia stuff, so i wont go to much into the details of that. except that it was really nice to get out of the city. i dont hate bigt cities but i dont think i am ever going to live downtownish in one for an extended period of time. buenos aires is nice, but it feels cramed to me because there is not much visible sky and also because the buildings have no space in between eachother. every shop, hotel, store, restaurant on a block, share walls with the adjacent buildings. i guess the crampdness makes sense because the city is a walking one.
but anyways, getting out to the short buildinged and open colonia was awesome, and getting close to the sea, however cold, was a nice break.
also, on the way back from the colonia on the express boat, we were getting peeped really hard. it happens here more than any place its ever happened to me in the world. i dont think people are even ashamed of it, its just natural. so like, nicky and i catch people peeping us or the other all the time. guys girls, whatever. its strange, and pretty funny.
also, an overview of the hostel, which we have been staying in. we found some rooms that were not as cold and cheaper as well, so thats been pretty solid. but the people staying here are pretty priceless. one calls herself the breakfast bitch, and i thought it was funny at first, but then it wasnt. because she was serious. she got super drunk the first night, and not funny drunk. just loud and in your face and annoying. so we werent really feeling that. also she is crazy and british which makes it way worse, because you cant even understand what she is shouting at you half the time.
but there are two awesome british couples there as well, who seem fairly embarassed by her and are really nice to us, so thats good too. we impersonate their accents and they do the same, one guy is particularly acute in his representation of american mannerisms and intonations.
ps, alison if you read this you better wait for harry potter, because we didnt watch it and watched some bad jon travolta movie instead. your promise is now public, and if you break it, your mom and her friends will know and you will be grounded
but anyways, getting out to the short buildinged and open colonia was awesome, and getting close to the sea, however cold, was a nice break.
also, on the way back from the colonia on the express boat, we were getting peeped really hard. it happens here more than any place its ever happened to me in the world. i dont think people are even ashamed of it, its just natural. so like, nicky and i catch people peeping us or the other all the time. guys girls, whatever. its strange, and pretty funny.
also, an overview of the hostel, which we have been staying in. we found some rooms that were not as cold and cheaper as well, so thats been pretty solid. but the people staying here are pretty priceless. one calls herself the breakfast bitch, and i thought it was funny at first, but then it wasnt. because she was serious. she got super drunk the first night, and not funny drunk. just loud and in your face and annoying. so we werent really feeling that. also she is crazy and british which makes it way worse, because you cant even understand what she is shouting at you half the time.
but there are two awesome british couples there as well, who seem fairly embarassed by her and are really nice to us, so thats good too. we impersonate their accents and they do the same, one guy is particularly acute in his representation of american mannerisms and intonations.
ps, alison if you read this you better wait for harry potter, because we didnt watch it and watched some bad jon travolta movie instead. your promise is now public, and if you break it, your mom and her friends will know and you will be grounded
Colonia
We went to Colonia yesterday, and had a blast. Something about getting away from the big city felt very good for both of us. The town was had cobblestone streets, lots of greenery and tropical type flowers, a few old Spanish ruins, and houses in pastels just like the Bahamas. I took a lot of pictures, but yesterday my camera phone died so they won´t be up until we run into nikki or get home.
We went up to the top of a tall lighthouse where you could see the whole city, and the ocean, though very muddy and brown, was nice to have close by. The plazas were calm and relaxed, and Markham and I threw frisbee a fair amount in them while young kids watched on in awe. Young kids are really fascinated by frisbee I have started to notice. Belle Meade, parks in Buenos Aires, Colonia - anywhere we go kids really want to learn how to throw.
At the lighthouse we met a girl named Morgan who is a sophomore at UPenn. She was very nice, but something seemed really off about her. It was like her brain had lag or something, she would answer questions and say things but she seemed like she was in lala land or somehthing because it always took her a while and she just was giving off a weird vibe. She was nice though, and we ate lunch together. In the restaurant, when markham took his jacket and sweater off and was just wearing a tshirt, the big Argentine family next to us was amazed by this and talked about it amongst themselves before asking us what crazy place we must be from to do such a thing.
The boat going to Colonia and back was huge. We didn´t notice that it had started moving until we saw trees going by. It also had a mall inside of it.
We are going to frisbee tonight, and then doing a tango class at a cultural center which should be loads of fun.
I don´t recommend the Taking of Pelham 1 2 3. We saw it on thursday because we´re saving harry potter and Ponyo for after we get back.
We went up to the top of a tall lighthouse where you could see the whole city, and the ocean, though very muddy and brown, was nice to have close by. The plazas were calm and relaxed, and Markham and I threw frisbee a fair amount in them while young kids watched on in awe. Young kids are really fascinated by frisbee I have started to notice. Belle Meade, parks in Buenos Aires, Colonia - anywhere we go kids really want to learn how to throw.
At the lighthouse we met a girl named Morgan who is a sophomore at UPenn. She was very nice, but something seemed really off about her. It was like her brain had lag or something, she would answer questions and say things but she seemed like she was in lala land or somehthing because it always took her a while and she just was giving off a weird vibe. She was nice though, and we ate lunch together. In the restaurant, when markham took his jacket and sweater off and was just wearing a tshirt, the big Argentine family next to us was amazed by this and talked about it amongst themselves before asking us what crazy place we must be from to do such a thing.
The boat going to Colonia and back was huge. We didn´t notice that it had started moving until we saw trees going by. It also had a mall inside of it.
We are going to frisbee tonight, and then doing a tango class at a cultural center which should be loads of fun.
I don´t recommend the Taking of Pelham 1 2 3. We saw it on thursday because we´re saving harry potter and Ponyo for after we get back.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
its been
so right now we are in a locutorio because we just checked out of the hostel. also there is no spell check on this computer so this could get pretty pathetic becuase the little red line has made me dependent, so i think i have forgetten how to spell and type words in the last three years without it.
anyways, we are planning on going into uruguay right now, but arent sure because the weather there is bad and the weather here just cleared up. last night was bearable, not freezing. i plugged the cracks in our doors and windows which helped alottt, but the night itself was warmer anyways than the one before. it was nice to not wake up in a closed room with a breeze on my face.
we are about to go to the california burrito kitchen and figure out the rest of the trip, but we come home pretty soon.
last day-night we hung out with nick carter and since i dont like using the word awesome or cool for stuff that is really awesome or cool, i´ll sayy it was fetch (mean girls, im brining it back). probably the best thing we did was a reallly long dinner at this brazilian place called afuego. unlimited meat, and a bunch of varieties of it as well. combined with great apatizers drinks and friends, it was definitely my favorite meal of the trip. there was a little button that we could flip green or red, and lets just say it was green alot, and there was constantly food coming our way. the sausage and sirloin were incredible.
its nice to now that some things never change between friends though, and even though we hadnt seen nick in a while, by our standards, it didnt slow us down at all, and we fell right back into it immediately.
anyways, we are planning on going into uruguay right now, but arent sure because the weather there is bad and the weather here just cleared up. last night was bearable, not freezing. i plugged the cracks in our doors and windows which helped alottt, but the night itself was warmer anyways than the one before. it was nice to not wake up in a closed room with a breeze on my face.
we are about to go to the california burrito kitchen and figure out the rest of the trip, but we come home pretty soon.
last day-night we hung out with nick carter and since i dont like using the word awesome or cool for stuff that is really awesome or cool, i´ll sayy it was fetch (mean girls, im brining it back). probably the best thing we did was a reallly long dinner at this brazilian place called afuego. unlimited meat, and a bunch of varieties of it as well. combined with great apatizers drinks and friends, it was definitely my favorite meal of the trip. there was a little button that we could flip green or red, and lets just say it was green alot, and there was constantly food coming our way. the sausage and sirloin were incredible.
its nice to now that some things never change between friends though, and even though we hadnt seen nick in a while, by our standards, it didnt slow us down at all, and we fell right back into it immediately.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Hostel Livin
So yesterday Nikki abandoned us to adventure in Colonia - luckily, before she had left, she helped me find some hostels. The weather was miserable yesterday with insane amounts of rain. We ended up staying at a hostel called Tango Backpackers Hostel or something in Palermo. The 6 person room smelled really funky and there was a guy in it sleeping at 2pm so we just dropped our stuff off and went looking for food.
Later that day we came back and read (Markham is now immersed in Enders Shadow) and met the guy who had been sleeping in our room for the last 24 hours. Supposedly he was feeling really sick and has a cough, and he said the smell had been here for a while. It smelled like propane or mold or medicine, Im not sure which. Anyhow, we told the front desk we wanted to switch rooms and they upgraded us two a 2 person room for no charge, which was sweeet.
We grabbed dinner and some delicious menta granizada ice cream (mint chocolate chip)before making it back to the hostel where this gorgeous blonde girl asks markham and I to go party with her and other hostel people. So we meet a lot of random people (Ireland, Holland, England, Austria) and then ended up playing Farmers Bridge with some girls from Holland.
Everything was going fine (one of them cheated accidentally and then the other two started calling her German - that is what they call cheaters), until two ´"cool dudes" from california came over to "hang out." Thus began the bropocolypse. Though they were what one might call nice, there was no stopping them. I wont go into it now, but they were pretty ridiculous.
Anyhow, we went out clubbing with a lot of people from the hostel, a brazilian woman tried to give us dance lessons at the club, and then we went to sleep around 3 at the hostel. It was cold, very, very cold during the night. And loud and windy. But it was fine.
Later that day we came back and read (Markham is now immersed in Enders Shadow) and met the guy who had been sleeping in our room for the last 24 hours. Supposedly he was feeling really sick and has a cough, and he said the smell had been here for a while. It smelled like propane or mold or medicine, Im not sure which. Anyhow, we told the front desk we wanted to switch rooms and they upgraded us two a 2 person room for no charge, which was sweeet.
We grabbed dinner and some delicious menta granizada ice cream (mint chocolate chip)before making it back to the hostel where this gorgeous blonde girl asks markham and I to go party with her and other hostel people. So we meet a lot of random people (Ireland, Holland, England, Austria) and then ended up playing Farmers Bridge with some girls from Holland.
Everything was going fine (one of them cheated accidentally and then the other two started calling her German - that is what they call cheaters), until two ´"cool dudes" from california came over to "hang out." Thus began the bropocolypse. Though they were what one might call nice, there was no stopping them. I wont go into it now, but they were pretty ridiculous.
Anyhow, we went out clubbing with a lot of people from the hostel, a brazilian woman tried to give us dance lessons at the club, and then we went to sleep around 3 at the hostel. It was cold, very, very cold during the night. And loud and windy. But it was fine.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
yoyo
so, we are leaving in a little more than a week, which is pretty quick, and we move out of our apartment tomorrow. nicky and i are going to go travel around a bit, which should be pretty solid, not sure other than that. also nick carter is coming down here so it should be pretty sweet to meet up with him for a few days before we leave.
also iguazu was incredible and i dont want to just copy everything that nicky said but he left out a pretty funny story. after our first day at iguazu falls we went to wait in line for the buses which come every thirty minutes, the line got pretty long and we were on the border of whether we could get the last seats or have to wait a whole new thirty minutes. anyways a little before the bus arrived about four or five people cut the line, and we werent very happy about it. so we started yelling 'ladrones de sillas!! ladrones de sillas!!' and pointing at this one couple that was about thirty years old. the guy seemed to think it was pretty funny, but i havent seen anyone in recent memory as pissed as this girl was. she stared us down for the whole ride back, nicky didnt stop yelling it for a while as well.
also, yesterday we played our second day of ultimate here, no injuries this time and the place was nicer, but the best part of the day, apart from all of their players worshipping us, was the music. close to the fields there was like a 60 person dance troup, playing the drums really really lound and dancing a capuera type of beat. so it made the point feel super epic and strangely important. also, argentinian players a pretty bad, so they honestly thought we were the best players ever. like actually ever.
-markham
also iguazu was incredible and i dont want to just copy everything that nicky said but he left out a pretty funny story. after our first day at iguazu falls we went to wait in line for the buses which come every thirty minutes, the line got pretty long and we were on the border of whether we could get the last seats or have to wait a whole new thirty minutes. anyways a little before the bus arrived about four or five people cut the line, and we werent very happy about it. so we started yelling 'ladrones de sillas!! ladrones de sillas!!' and pointing at this one couple that was about thirty years old. the guy seemed to think it was pretty funny, but i havent seen anyone in recent memory as pissed as this girl was. she stared us down for the whole ride back, nicky didnt stop yelling it for a while as well.
also, yesterday we played our second day of ultimate here, no injuries this time and the place was nicer, but the best part of the day, apart from all of their players worshipping us, was the music. close to the fields there was like a 60 person dance troup, playing the drums really really lound and dancing a capuera type of beat. so it made the point feel super epic and strangely important. also, argentinian players a pretty bad, so they honestly thought we were the best players ever. like actually ever.
-markham
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Iguazu Falls
We got to the bus station about two hours before the bus left because we wanted to make sure we could get tickets. When we are about to buy tickets, they ask us for our passport numbers. Before we'd left, we had decided not to bring passports b/c we didn't want to loose them and we weren't going to go in to Brazil while we were there. So we made up passport numbers (Nikki's suggestion, apparently she does it for everything). I felt so Jason Bourne when I did it. And just as he is entering the first fake passport number on Markhams thing, he calls Markham over like there was a problem. Turned out he was just curious about how Markham spelled his name. He then asked us what nationality we were, and after we told him US, Martin (our traveling companion) said he was UK, the guy then laughed, and said whatever. He didn't care about the passport numbers at all.
Traveling cama (they have semi cama, cama, and cama ejecutivo prices) was awesome. The seats were like mini beds, and they provided pirated movies and disgusting alcohol during the trip, which was around 17 hours.
We get to the Puerto Iguazu, the little town near the falls, and then eventually find a hostel with the help of this random guy named Fabio. Anyhow, we checked it out, and it was fine.
The falls were amazing. We paid for the truck/boat tour, which was recommended in the book Mr. Shofner gave us, and it was really worth it, minus the truck part which was average. The boats went up rapids, and then close to the garganta del diablo where I saw the best rainbow of my life, and several double rainbows. We then went to the other falls and the boat went under the falls where we got completely soaked. Markham and I were prepared, having brought extra clothes, but Nikki didn't have any to change into, and Martin hadn't even brought a raincoat. Martin was pretty funny at the time, I am amazed at how little he complained. Anyhow I had some extra boxer shorts which nikki just ended up wearing as shorts, and markham gave martin his jeans to wear for the rest of the day.
That night we ate some delicious food (I had some bife de lomo for 33 pesos which was sweet). The next day we went to the top of the garganta del diablo, where there is a series of metal bridges that take you over the river right above the falls, which were awe inspiring. There was also a really funny sign warning you about boa constrictors jumping on people from the trees, so I kept a lookout for the rest of the group. We also learned and played a british game called "Shit Sticks" where you race sticks down a river from one side of a bridge to another.
That's about it. Now we are back at school, had a miserably long and boring exam yesterday for our certification (Markham and I both passed the test, which was on the level we just started that lasts 2 weeks, B2.) Tomorrow we get to watch a movie in class, I think it's called Nine Kings or something. Sandra will cry when we leave.
Traveling cama (they have semi cama, cama, and cama ejecutivo prices) was awesome. The seats were like mini beds, and they provided pirated movies and disgusting alcohol during the trip, which was around 17 hours.
We get to the Puerto Iguazu, the little town near the falls, and then eventually find a hostel with the help of this random guy named Fabio. Anyhow, we checked it out, and it was fine.
The falls were amazing. We paid for the truck/boat tour, which was recommended in the book Mr. Shofner gave us, and it was really worth it, minus the truck part which was average. The boats went up rapids, and then close to the garganta del diablo where I saw the best rainbow of my life, and several double rainbows. We then went to the other falls and the boat went under the falls where we got completely soaked. Markham and I were prepared, having brought extra clothes, but Nikki didn't have any to change into, and Martin hadn't even brought a raincoat. Martin was pretty funny at the time, I am amazed at how little he complained. Anyhow I had some extra boxer shorts which nikki just ended up wearing as shorts, and markham gave martin his jeans to wear for the rest of the day.
That night we ate some delicious food (I had some bife de lomo for 33 pesos which was sweet). The next day we went to the top of the garganta del diablo, where there is a series of metal bridges that take you over the river right above the falls, which were awe inspiring. There was also a really funny sign warning you about boa constrictors jumping on people from the trees, so I kept a lookout for the rest of the group. We also learned and played a british game called "Shit Sticks" where you race sticks down a river from one side of a bridge to another.
That's about it. Now we are back at school, had a miserably long and boring exam yesterday for our certification (Markham and I both passed the test, which was on the level we just started that lasts 2 weeks, B2.) Tomorrow we get to watch a movie in class, I think it's called Nine Kings or something. Sandra will cry when we leave.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
pics
cama bus. seats recline really far and are pretty cushy. complimentary wine and whiskey, but it was apparently pretty bad tasting. markham loved the cama.
waterfalls #1
closer up
where we are about to be in 5 minutes
devils throat far away
three musketeers
devils throat from the boat
post boat ride. soaking and freezing. but happy.
nicky is going to be the next art wolfe.
devils throat from the boardwalk above it
devils throat falls
martin on the right, english fellow who joined us in iguazu
markham is so happy to be back to his cama
Monday, July 13, 2009
we're alive!
we have returned from iguazu, had a great time, the waterfalls were wonderful, and we're starting our final week of school! Lots of great pictures.
pictures and more details and stories will be forthcoming within the next day :)
pictures and more details and stories will be forthcoming within the next day :)
Friday, July 10, 2009
iguazu
we are about to go to iguazu falls and will be out of contact, so if we dont post or contact anyone by monday night, then try and come save us or something.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Pictures from el fin de semana
looking good
pre boliche
boliche
sleeper courtesy of markham
tsk tsk nailbiting
kitty!
eva peron's grave
Pictures and Weekend Plans
We went to the Recoleta Cemetery on Sunday which was amazing - it was like a city full of tombs and mausoleums - there were little narrow streets and loads of cats roaming around, which nikki loved. Anyhow we took a lot of pictures. Other things that have been going on... classes have been pretty normal; we have the same crazy teacher. I love the ice cream here - the raspberry is delicious.
This weekend we are planning to go to Iguazu falls which lies on the borders of argentina, brazil, and paraguay. We are traveling on comfy buses that leave at night and get us there in the morning. Anyhow, I'm pretty excited, and we are definitely bringing cameras.
Nikki will post pics from the cemetery and party soon.
This weekend we are planning to go to Iguazu falls which lies on the borders of argentina, brazil, and paraguay. We are traveling on comfy buses that leave at night and get us there in the morning. Anyhow, I'm pretty excited, and we are definitely bringing cameras.
Nikki will post pics from the cemetery and party soon.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
weekend
in school we have been writing stories as our main practice recently, just comprehension and writing practice. nicky's and my stories were on the same grammar level as everyone else, but they were definitely way more creative, so i think we get some sort of credit for that. anyways, our teacher loves us and thinks americans are the best.
sadly, laura left buenos aires because of the swine flu.
we had a dinner party for our class and a few other students at the apartment on friday night. (nicky will probably put up pictures to this). we left to go out to clubs at like...2 in the morning, and we got there early. there was a live techno/electronica band which i thought was awesome but the nicky's didnt like. all the other europeans and brazilians we were with liked it though. turns out nikki is an even worse dancer than nicky, so i felt pretty comfortable when compared to them. i left at like 5, so my internal body clock got pretty messed up, considering we usually go to fleep around 1.
for the fourth we just ate bugers and corn. we also tried to go get some real american patriotic movies, but they didnt have anything we were looking for (independence day, remember the titans, mr smith goes to washington). so we got hp 5 to get ready for the 6th! also two pierce brosnan movies.
the nicky's tried to claim that hermione is not attractive, which is just crazy talk. she said b-, which is just crazy. that type of talk gives girls complexes. ginny is a creatch though....
also, wimbledon looks awesome!
sadly, laura left buenos aires because of the swine flu.
we had a dinner party for our class and a few other students at the apartment on friday night. (nicky will probably put up pictures to this). we left to go out to clubs at like...2 in the morning, and we got there early. there was a live techno/electronica band which i thought was awesome but the nicky's didnt like. all the other europeans and brazilians we were with liked it though. turns out nikki is an even worse dancer than nicky, so i felt pretty comfortable when compared to them. i left at like 5, so my internal body clock got pretty messed up, considering we usually go to fleep around 1.
for the fourth we just ate bugers and corn. we also tried to go get some real american patriotic movies, but they didnt have anything we were looking for (independence day, remember the titans, mr smith goes to washington). so we got hp 5 to get ready for the 6th! also two pierce brosnan movies.
the nicky's tried to claim that hermione is not attractive, which is just crazy talk. she said b-, which is just crazy. that type of talk gives girls complexes. ginny is a creatch though....
also, wimbledon looks awesome!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
dog
random and short post. firstly this city is has alot of dogs, definitely more than any other first world city i have ever been in, but not a ridiculous amount.
anyways we were walking back to the apartment and by this dog walker. one dog was standing around the corner when we turned and the wind was in its face, blowing like crazy and it just stood there like a statue, really defiant. nicky and i stared at it for a while and then it just dropped its pose and walked by us.
i cant really do it justice, but it was probably the most epic moment of the dogs life.
anyways we were walking back to the apartment and by this dog walker. one dog was standing around the corner when we turned and the wind was in its face, blowing like crazy and it just stood there like a statue, really defiant. nicky and i stared at it for a while and then it just dropped its pose and walked by us.
i cant really do it justice, but it was probably the most epic moment of the dogs life.
To the Sea!
Today we watched a movie in spanish called Aparencias (Appearances) about a man who likes a woman who has a boyfriend - she thinks he is gay, so he pretends to be gay to hang out with her. It was weird, a couple funny moments, but overall meh.
After class, we went to the Ecological Reserve with Frederic (german in our class), Martin (english guy in our class), and 3 brazilian girls from our classes. Before we entered the reserve, they had some really cheap and delicious hamburgers (4 pesos, with a ton of crazy toppings - mini french fries, and a lot of other stuff I didn't know). Anyhow it was a lot of walking - but when we got to the Rio del Plata - which seemed like the ocean, it was quite beautiful. (Sorry I didn't have my camera)
Anyhow, the swine flu is getting pretty serious down here. The minister of health resigned because of his lack of action, and the mayor of Buenos Aires has cancelled classes at all the schools and universities for the next two weeks to keep people from going out and stuff. Several brazilians have gone back to Brazil (but they think their news over exaggerates the situation). Also Maddy Hamilton is going back to the states on Saturday because of the swine flu. We think most of the fear is exaggerated, and it doesn't seem that bad.
After class, we went to the Ecological Reserve with Frederic (german in our class), Martin (english guy in our class), and 3 brazilian girls from our classes. Before we entered the reserve, they had some really cheap and delicious hamburgers (4 pesos, with a ton of crazy toppings - mini french fries, and a lot of other stuff I didn't know). Anyhow it was a lot of walking - but when we got to the Rio del Plata - which seemed like the ocean, it was quite beautiful. (Sorry I didn't have my camera)
Anyhow, the swine flu is getting pretty serious down here. The minister of health resigned because of his lack of action, and the mayor of Buenos Aires has cancelled classes at all the schools and universities for the next two weeks to keep people from going out and stuff. Several brazilians have gone back to Brazil (but they think their news over exaggerates the situation). Also Maddy Hamilton is going back to the states on Saturday because of the swine flu. We think most of the fear is exaggerated, and it doesn't seem that bad.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Pictures from the Day (June 30)
pictures are of us + laura getting helado (ice cream) that was delicious - picture of markham and me with our teacher - and some shots of the sweet bookstore "el ateneo" where we got some books and read today.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Update: Laura = super cool
So she loves lord of the rings, harry potter - she read all the books the night they came out and was psyched we did the same - loves disney movies and songs and michael jackson - especially the jackson five. we (markham and I) did a streetside rendition of "can you feel the love tonight" for Nikki and Laura. Anyhow, dinner was a lot of fun and delicious - sadly my iphone (camera) turned out to be dead, for which I am sorry. I will charge it tonight and upload pictures tomorrow.
Ordering Pizza and Other things
On Sunday I ordered pizza in spanish for the first time - I forgot the word ninth (our floor) and I didn't know how to say breadsticks at the time. Stickos de pan doesn't really work (neither does un vaso de tap water as andy, will and I learned in madrid.) Markham and I both did well on our exams, and moved up to level B1. We have 4 new people in our class, three of whom are girls from brazil, the other is a guy from england. They are all pretty cool, but it's very different having 8 people in a class (as opposed to 4).
Today went well though and included discussion of invisible dragons, midget thieves, women of the night, and much more - all in spanish. We also talked about the elections - supposedly the Kirchners party (who were the incumbents) lost a ton of seats in their congress which our teacher is psyched because she doesn't like them - they are pals with Chavez - and she said they are all about controlling media and various evil things.
Also Laura, mentioned in Nikki's post, is muy guapa (very beautiful) and our teacher teased Markham about her. Anyhow, we are about to go meet her for dinner, and I'll take pictures and post them here later.
Highlights from the weekend:
1) Learning to dance like a brasileira
2)seeing our brazilian classmates partying really hard
3) more to come
Today went well though and included discussion of invisible dragons, midget thieves, women of the night, and much more - all in spanish. We also talked about the elections - supposedly the Kirchners party (who were the incumbents) lost a ton of seats in their congress which our teacher is psyched because she doesn't like them - they are pals with Chavez - and she said they are all about controlling media and various evil things.
Also Laura, mentioned in Nikki's post, is muy guapa (very beautiful) and our teacher teased Markham about her. Anyhow, we are about to go meet her for dinner, and I'll take pictures and post them here later.
Highlights from the weekend:
1) Learning to dance like a brasileira
2)seeing our brazilian classmates partying really hard
3) more to come
elections
Article on yseterdays Argentine elections:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/30/world/americas/30argentina.html?hp
From what I've heard Argentines say about the elections, Nestor Kirchner's bid for re-election to a position in Congress was really the only important/interesting thing that was happening in this election.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/30/world/americas/30argentina.html?hp
From what I've heard Argentines say about the elections, Nestor Kirchner's bid for re-election to a position in Congress was really the only important/interesting thing that was happening in this election.
second week of school
so our class has eight people in it now. me, nicky, german guy, brazilian girl from last week, swine flu girl, two more brazilians, and an british guy. everyone is about our age and the class was a little raucous today because we have the same teacher. its easier to focus and speak spanish when class is fun, so doing skits and making up stories helps alot. we had a fight with all the brazilians about the soccer game. also i think nicky weirded them out a little at one point, i guess even though a good amount of humor is universal, that some jokes just dont make sense.
we planned on going to the casa rosada (pink house), its a really famous landmark around here, but the weather was bad so we are going to go later. going out to dinner tonight and doing some homework
somebody besides my let me know whats going on in nashville!!
seriously though
we planned on going to the casa rosada (pink house), its a really famous landmark around here, but the weather was bad so we are going to go later. going out to dinner tonight and doing some homework
somebody besides my let me know whats going on in nashville!!
seriously though
class started at 10 today, which was great. in spite of that, we still managed to be late (Nicky needed his beauty rest). our classes all have new people, which is cool. one of the new girls in my class is a very attractive and nice 19 yr old brasilera named Laura. Markham made me invite her out to dinner with us tonight (he was too scared to do it himself in spite of us all having spent time together at lunch). but seriously, she's legit and seems pretty cool - dinner should be fun.
siesta/snack/work time
siesta/snack/work time
Sunday, June 28, 2009
brasileras
Ok so I'm being coerced into posting ("but you have the pictures on your computer"). We had a pretty good albeit lowkey weekend. The above are pictures from our excursion to some of the parks in Palermo. You need to really zoom in, but if you can I recommend checking out Markham's expression in the picture of him reading on the park bench. He has a pretty goofy reading face. Anyway, we did lots of things. We went to the parks (above) on Saturday, and they threw the frisbee around (no injuries), and read and enjoyed the weather. Headed out Saturday night to dinner and then a party some people from the school were hosting. Today was election day in BA, stores stopped selling liquor at 8 pm on Saturday, and bars stopped serving at midnight, hence all the clubs were dead. Apparently they wanted people voting sober. So, we ended up at the student party. Swine flu girl was there, and must have been feeling much better, since she looked on track to finish about a 5th of vodka all on her own. The other girl in their class, Kelly, was also there, and was trying to teach them dances of sorts to Spanish songs. Nicky, for his participation, was told that he was an awesome dancer. Given how much she'd had to drink at that point, her judgement is debateable. We ended up leaving circa 3 (early by BA standards) because Markham was tired (not enough siestas :( Sunday was spent recuperating and in my case baking and doing work. In Nicky and Markham's case it was spent eating and reading. And of course, watching some GG. Nicky also braved the ordering-in experience and took it upon himself to call a pizza place and order delivery of pizza. We ended up with a different pizza than we expected, but it did show up at our apartment, which was a win.
We also met up with Maddy and her friend Jordan sometime in the past week, for dinner and drinks. Lots of GG discussion ensued.
Also I'm pretty sure Argentinian MTV hasn't played anything other than Michael Jackson music videos for about 3 days straight. Apparently he was well loved here.
Friday, June 26, 2009
wow
that annoying brazilian in my class came back after not being there yesterday.
but wait, she came in late, during the exam. and guess what, she had a fever. and a cough.
this girl freaking had swine flu. she was coughing and laughing, and we left. i took my exam into the other room and asked the teacher if we could leave afterwards. she was more scared of the girl than we are so she was fine with it. i really hope she doesnt come back next week.
i mean... honestly. dont come to school when you have the two main symptoms of swine flu, or atually any contagious disease.
but wait, she came in late, during the exam. and guess what, she had a fever. and a cough.
this girl freaking had swine flu. she was coughing and laughing, and we left. i took my exam into the other room and asked the teacher if we could leave afterwards. she was more scared of the girl than we are so she was fine with it. i really hope she doesnt come back next week.
i mean... honestly. dont come to school when you have the two main symptoms of swine flu, or atually any contagious disease.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
You know it's thriller, thriller night
The small brazilian girl (who i dont like) didn't show up today and class was so much better.
This other brazilian girl (who is pretty cool but i dont know her name) in our class of four missed the back of one page of homework and we were all joking around about it, me the most. And then twenty minutes later when we were checking other homework i realized that i too had not seen it! I was caught quickly attempting to complete it and got my fair share of chistes.
Tonight we are about to go eat with maddy and co. in Palermo and afterwards go out. Apparently thursday is the best night to do so. We shall see.
i couldnt find a good version of the best jackson five song 'i want you back' but if you find one listen to it.
not his most famous, but solid - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zpTQCQEFhg
En paz descanse
This other brazilian girl (who is pretty cool but i dont know her name) in our class of four missed the back of one page of homework and we were all joking around about it, me the most. And then twenty minutes later when we were checking other homework i realized that i too had not seen it! I was caught quickly attempting to complete it and got my fair share of chistes.
Tonight we are about to go eat with maddy and co. in Palermo and afterwards go out. Apparently thursday is the best night to do so. We shall see.
i couldnt find a good version of the best jackson five song 'i want you back' but if you find one listen to it.
not his most famous, but solid - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zpTQCQEFhg
En paz descanse
kelly and class
There is a cute brazilera named Kelly in our class who might have a slight crush on markham - our teacher proclaims that he loves her a couple times every day, because he messes with her calling her la mascota de la professora (teacher's pet) and telling on her if she hasn't done her homework or little things, its all joking in good humor. Also markham and her share views on the brazilian soccer team.
When you get tickets here you are assigned a seat. We, having bought them right before the movie, sat at the very front for transformers. the seats were really big and comfy though, which was nice. McDonald's is a place you take a girl on dates here which is kind of silly/awesome. The burgers here are better.
We have a mini exam tomorrow to move up in to level B1, and we are about to go out to dine and dance with maddy and her friend in palermo. Nikki and I made some food that involved potatoes, onions, peppers, and pork today which turned out to be quite delicious. Siestas all around, that's about it for now.
Also our teacher is not a fan of Nikki - whenever nikki is around and can't see her she silently screams no at me. I'm not alone though, she also harasses Frederic, the german guy in our class.
When you get tickets here you are assigned a seat. We, having bought them right before the movie, sat at the very front for transformers. the seats were really big and comfy though, which was nice. McDonald's is a place you take a girl on dates here which is kind of silly/awesome. The burgers here are better.
We have a mini exam tomorrow to move up in to level B1, and we are about to go out to dine and dance with maddy and her friend in palermo. Nikki and I made some food that involved potatoes, onions, peppers, and pork today which turned out to be quite delicious. Siestas all around, that's about it for now.
Also our teacher is not a fan of Nikki - whenever nikki is around and can't see her she silently screams no at me. I'm not alone though, she also harasses Frederic, the german guy in our class.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
t2 and hw
today was a good day, except for two things
1. the girl in our spanish class of 4 (without her) came again. when she didnt show up for the first hour and a half, i was hopeful. but she arrived late and thought it was funny and totally sucks. she doesnt understand grammar and pronounces everything wrong, she gets by in the real world because she is familiar with the language (from brazil) so thinks she should be will us but she should be in a lower class tbh. also the other 4 (me, nicky, german guy, girl) move at very similar pace to eachother and are dedicated. its not that she isnt fit to work either, I dont like her because she doesnt try and slows the class down like crazy because she doesnt care. hopefully she fails out. im not even joking.
2. transformers two was not that good. i was not expecting an improvement on the first but this one was definitely worse. i love jon tuturro though, solid acting and gave the best performance. megan fox is also rediculously good looking. sadly they did not bring back the australian techie. the movie was worse because it was so streamlined instead of having multiple lines going at the same time.
good things
1. weird hot chocolate
2. crazy big mcdonalds (two storied and huuuuge)
3. siesta
4. megan fox
homework time
1. the girl in our spanish class of 4 (without her) came again. when she didnt show up for the first hour and a half, i was hopeful. but she arrived late and thought it was funny and totally sucks. she doesnt understand grammar and pronounces everything wrong, she gets by in the real world because she is familiar with the language (from brazil) so thinks she should be will us but she should be in a lower class tbh. also the other 4 (me, nicky, german guy, girl) move at very similar pace to eachother and are dedicated. its not that she isnt fit to work either, I dont like her because she doesnt try and slows the class down like crazy because she doesnt care. hopefully she fails out. im not even joking.
2. transformers two was not that good. i was not expecting an improvement on the first but this one was definitely worse. i love jon tuturro though, solid acting and gave the best performance. megan fox is also rediculously good looking. sadly they did not bring back the australian techie. the movie was worse because it was so streamlined instead of having multiple lines going at the same time.
good things
1. weird hot chocolate
2. crazy big mcdonalds (two storied and huuuuge)
3. siesta
4. megan fox
homework time
Akward Pubcrawl
Updates - We went to the place for the pubcrawl and there were nearly no girls and the set up was really bootleg so we decided to leave. Unfortunately the guy welcomed us while we were scoping it out and offered us some beer. There was an awkward pause where none of us said anything because we hadn't decided whether or not to stay at that point. We ended up telling him that we needed a minute and then bouncing.
We found a pretty cool bar/restaurant in the area that was very, very red - the couches, the lights, the bar. They served some mexican food that was decent (the states definitely have the best mexican food in the world) and we ordered una jarra (pitcher) of quilmes.
It wasn't easier to wake up this morning so we ended up taking a cab to school (which costs ~11 pesos so roughly 3 dollars, and split between the three of us it becomes a tempting option). My class with Markham went pretty well until the irritating girl showed up an hour and a half late. She just makes everything go very slowly, and butts heads with the teacher. Anyhow Sandra, our teacher, told me to stay away from Nikki because she has a cough and therefore swine flu.
Markham and I ordered chocolate milks at a cafe during the break and received hot milk and a bar of chocolate. It was alright - you drop the chocolate bar in the hot milk and then stir it until they mix. Nikki made us scrambled eggs and country potatoes which were pretty delicious.
We are about to go see Transformers 2 and hang out with Maddy Hamilton and her friend.
We found a pretty cool bar/restaurant in the area that was very, very red - the couches, the lights, the bar. They served some mexican food that was decent (the states definitely have the best mexican food in the world) and we ordered una jarra (pitcher) of quilmes.
It wasn't easier to wake up this morning so we ended up taking a cab to school (which costs ~11 pesos so roughly 3 dollars, and split between the three of us it becomes a tempting option). My class with Markham went pretty well until the irritating girl showed up an hour and a half late. She just makes everything go very slowly, and butts heads with the teacher. Anyhow Sandra, our teacher, told me to stay away from Nikki because she has a cough and therefore swine flu.
Markham and I ordered chocolate milks at a cafe during the break and received hot milk and a bar of chocolate. It was alright - you drop the chocolate bar in the hot milk and then stir it until they mix. Nikki made us scrambled eggs and country potatoes which were pretty delicious.
We are about to go see Transformers 2 and hang out with Maddy Hamilton and her friend.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
to crawl?
last night we went to dinner at a restaurant on Santa Fe. I decided to get all the vegetable that i havent been getting and ordered a massive salad. Nicky is going all buenos aires and got the steak and a bottle of wine (to share with us). The meal was great and slow but not annoying, everything here is just slower. The only time the lack of organization/efficiency has been annoying was yesterday when we went to the grocery store and i bought what i thought was an eight dollar baileys but it ended up being a little under fifteen because it was mislabeled (still not that bad though). at dinner the wine was a little heavy so we had to start doing toasts to incentivize ourselves to finish it (as nikki does not enjoy the taste as much). toasts went to: safety, hucks and headshots, will spiva, guillermo, there were some others but i cant remember.
today at school i moved up a level into nicky's class and out of nikki's. The teacher was hilarious. She made fun of anything and everything that was not from Buenos Aires. All the spanish speakers especially brazilians, and constantly was correcting our pronunciations into the form spoken here. She actually got a little mad when i joked that kaka was a better footballer than messi. But she liked me because i was the only single guy in the class, and according to her, the only smart one. Surprisingly she was not a fan of siestas, and right after class we walked back and took one. I woke up after about and hour and a half and have been eating and reading around the apartment. Nicky woke up and took a second siesta (its getting out of control).
We are probably going to go on this touristy pub crawl tonight but we arent sure yet.
here is a picture of my dog
today at school i moved up a level into nicky's class and out of nikki's. The teacher was hilarious. She made fun of anything and everything that was not from Buenos Aires. All the spanish speakers especially brazilians, and constantly was correcting our pronunciations into the form spoken here. She actually got a little mad when i joked that kaka was a better footballer than messi. But she liked me because i was the only single guy in the class, and according to her, the only smart one. Surprisingly she was not a fan of siestas, and right after class we walked back and took one. I woke up after about and hour and a half and have been eating and reading around the apartment. Nicky woke up and took a second siesta (its getting out of control).
We are probably going to go on this touristy pub crawl tonight but we arent sure yet.
here is a picture of my dog
Monday, June 22, 2009
siestas
today was the first day of school so we (nicky and I) woke up at seven thirtiesh (five thirty central time) and walked to class. School usually starts at nine, but the first day you have to go at eight. Sadly enough, my spanish was so bad/rusty at the test that I got put in level two of six. We spent the day learning things i already knew but had not looked at in a while. So I dominated all the games and felt like a badass, and the chicos destroyed the chicas doubling their score in all the games. I talked to the teacher and am going to switch into a harder level tomorrow.
Despite the fact that walking around this city can be unfortunate as the motorists love running over people and weaving in and out of one another, the walk to school was very nice (30 min). The main road 'Ave 9 de Julio' is a sixteen lane road split into four sets of lanes. So the open space there is huuuuge. And its nice because I had only seen pretty cramped roads/areas for the first few days. We could actually see the skyline and a sweeping view of the sun and old school big architecture.
I just woke up from this siesta during the 10 minutes where there is not much light around right before sunset but you can still see very well. it feels really good to not wake up in total darkness (to avoid feeling lazy and see the sunset).
Sadly, the level of girl attractiveness at the school could improve.
Personally I want to keep our siesta to fiesta ratio below five but i dont think Nicky is having it, he is all about the siesta (Andy do you have any tips on how to control that).
rules of the apartment
1. wash hands upon entrance/exit and food (no swine flu/illness)
2. fully clothed in the main room (Nicky is the only one who breaks this rule)
3. 30 second cleanups randomly
4. keep siesta to fiesta ratio low
currently listening to "christmas 2008 mix" song "pinch me" . oh the 90s
Despite the fact that walking around this city can be unfortunate as the motorists love running over people and weaving in and out of one another, the walk to school was very nice (30 min). The main road 'Ave 9 de Julio' is a sixteen lane road split into four sets of lanes. So the open space there is huuuuge. And its nice because I had only seen pretty cramped roads/areas for the first few days. We could actually see the skyline and a sweeping view of the sun and old school big architecture.
I just woke up from this siesta during the 10 minutes where there is not much light around right before sunset but you can still see very well. it feels really good to not wake up in total darkness (to avoid feeling lazy and see the sunset).
Sadly, the level of girl attractiveness at the school could improve.
Personally I want to keep our siesta to fiesta ratio below five but i dont think Nicky is having it, he is all about the siesta (Andy do you have any tips on how to control that).
rules of the apartment
1. wash hands upon entrance/exit and food (no swine flu/illness)
2. fully clothed in the main room (Nicky is the only one who breaks this rule)
3. 30 second cleanups randomly
4. keep siesta to fiesta ratio low
currently listening to "christmas 2008 mix" song "pinch me" . oh the 90s
Counterfeiting and 1st day of School
So after the game last night I tuve mucho hambre (I was really hungry) - Markham and Nikki were less so - but Nikki agreed to go out to dinner with me while Markham opted for the ice cream (strawnilla of course) + chocolate sauce route, a respectable choice. Anyhow, Nikki takes me to this sweet little place without any tourists where there were a bunch of portenos our age eating argentine food. They had a cool tablecloth that you could draw on, and most everyone was drawing. The empanadas were pretty delicious (they are like big dumplings with stuff inside; the one with mozzarella was quite heavy) and because they were out of tamales we got a calzone. They brought out the biggest calzone I have ever seen in my life. Skip to the end of the meal and I try to pay with a 100 peso bill I got at the airport and... it's FALSO! fake, anyhow the waitress was super nice (and attractive) and she showed nikki and I how to tell if bills are counterfeit - and I have a picture for you all of the bill. Anyhow - I think I'm going to have difficulty unloading it on anyone here because they all check - but I plan to get the airport back when I leave and change money to American dollars.
First day of school was good - even though we had to wake up super early (cerca 730) to take a placement exam (which was much harder than Nikki made out). Markham ended up in Nikki's class for the day, but is moving up a level. I was in a class with two other students (one owns a flower shop in Brazil, the other is from Germany) and a cute teacher (markham needs to take her out to dinner.) It was good - basically non stop spanish for 4 hours - and we took some serious siestas afterwards. (Nikki didn't nap because she has a real job.)
Anyhow that's what has been going on.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
'second day'
late wakeup and adventures around. there is this incredible tree in a park that we need to get pictures of and put on later.
the soccer game started at 7:30 but before that we went into boca with the group. there was a street dance in front of the restaurant that put dancing with the stars to shame. these two dudes had a kicking dance off stomping the floor extremely loud. intense.
the boca juniors lost the game, but riquelme was clearly the best player on the field. he used to be this huge baller on argentina's international squad, but now he is old. so its awesome that he can still dominate younger up and comers. we had to wait around for an extra half hour after the game so the visiting team would have time to leave and not get beaten up. apparently things around here get a little much, so they get extra precautious
just finished gg season 1...
the back feels better and nicky thankfully didnt go natasha richardson on us
the soccer game started at 7:30 but before that we went into boca with the group. there was a street dance in front of the restaurant that put dancing with the stars to shame. these two dudes had a kicking dance off stomping the floor extremely loud. intense.
the boca juniors lost the game, but riquelme was clearly the best player on the field. he used to be this huge baller on argentina's international squad, but now he is old. so its awesome that he can still dominate younger up and comers. we had to wait around for an extra half hour after the game so the visiting team would have time to leave and not get beaten up. apparently things around here get a little much, so they get extra precautious
just finished gg season 1...
the back feels better and nicky thankfully didnt go natasha richardson on us
Saturday, June 20, 2009
first day Struggle
so everything was going pretty smoothly - we got in, hung out, took a nap, then decided on a sweet place for lunch. It was a nice sit down pizza place about 20min walk that was very affordable - markham and i sampled the quilmo (argentine beer) and it was alright.
We get back, commence the second nap of the day, then decide to drag ourselves awake for frisbee. After a really long bus ride we get to Ciudad Universitaria and find some really nice people who we are ready to lay some pwnage upon. Anyhow a couple points of domination later we are both sidelined. I incurred a concussion - which was the weirdest crap ever, the whole day seemed like a dream trying to remember at first, and it was just weird/scary not remembering everything clearly. About 15 minutes later i remember everything, and when we get off the bus going home i am feeling solid. Nikki (EMT) also checked me out a bit.
Markham strained his back (lower back) which had been bothering him a couple weeks ago - it was bothering him so he stopped playing and nikki carried his backpack home. Anyhow we are super happy nikki is here to take care of us - and glad to be back in the apartment.
I think its gossip girl, food, and relaxation for the next couple hours before bed.
We also met this girl who is from memphis and goes to UTK with rose and notor.
atlanta and getting there
so atlanta airport we had way longer than expected. so looking back, we totally should have gone to the krystals, one last goodbye and stuff.
we walked through four gates of soldiers in uniform just hanging around everywhere. it was strangely normal in that they had laptops and were on phones and stuff. but were huge and could beat us up really easily.
the flight was not bad, no babies. watched a few episodes of gg and read this tight book 'confederacy of dunces'. slept a lot.
when we got into ba we were pretty obviously tourists and our spanish was rusty but we made it to the apartment fine. nikki had food waiting for us and the place is definitely nicer than i expected so it was just a great time to go to sleep.
now we are up and ready to run this city.
we walked through four gates of soldiers in uniform just hanging around everywhere. it was strangely normal in that they had laptops and were on phones and stuff. but were huge and could beat us up really easily.
the flight was not bad, no babies. watched a few episodes of gg and read this tight book 'confederacy of dunces'. slept a lot.
when we got into ba we were pretty obviously tourists and our spanish was rusty but we made it to the apartment fine. nikki had food waiting for us and the place is definitely nicer than i expected so it was just a great time to go to sleep.
now we are up and ready to run this city.
Arrival
Got to wear some thug face masks b/c of the swine flu in America - lines weren't that bad - got charged a bit too much for the taxi to the apartment, whatevers. Anyhow here are some pictures of the apartment. Also everyone loves telling this joke about things costing a lot. Like - can i borrow that pen - sure,... if you pay me a million dollars ; how much does the taxi cost? about 1500 dollars!
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