In their natural state.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
National Dessert
In their natural state.
Monday, August 15, 2011
La Estancia, Iguazu Falls, and the Guarani village
This weekend was a busy one. We set off from the bus station in Buenos Aires at 6pm, boarding a double decker 'sleeper' bus. The seats reclined waay back and a footrest pulled out from the seat in front of you. Travelling by bus is a cheap and popular option for travel, even though it takes a very long time (Same in Rio, that's how we got to Buzios, Sao Paulo). We were served dinner in our seats and I slept through the night. We were awoken for breakfast around 7 am, too early for everyone. Our first stop were the ruins of a Jesuit mission. We learned some about the history of the Jesuits in South America and saw the houses (actually just rooms) they constructed for the Guarani to live in so they could learn Spanish and the ways of religion.
After, we private bussed it to an estancia/ tea farm. Here we had some of the most delicious food I've eaten yet. First we had beef emapanadas with a delicious flaky crust with fresh squeezed lemonade. Then we had choripan (chori for short), which is chorizo sausage on a crusty little roll with chimichurri sauce (sage, spices, etc, flavorful but not spicy) and homemade pico de gallo (I think they call it something different, but it's chopped onions, tomatoes and not very spicy jalapenos). Delicious. This was followed by salad, rice, tomatoes, and manioc (like a potato) and asado (grilled meat). The best I've had by far. Then we went on a tour of the black leaf and yerba mate tea plants.
(An aside, 80 % of the population is addicted to yerba mate. They drink the green tea constantly out of little gourds (mate, pronounced MA-teh) with a metal straw (bombilla). Our program guide, Coqui, is never without her mate filled with tea leaves and a thermos of hot water to make tea. There are specific ways to prep your mate and it can be made with only water, with sugar added, or even cold with lemonade.)
We saw a huge machine used to dry the tea leaves, a secador, and piles and piles of yerba mate leaves. When I post all of my pictures on Picasa you'll be able to see the huge sacks of tea leaves in a pile in warehouse. There was also a carpentry business near the secador that made the tables and chairs we sat on at the estancia. When we returned to the eating area there was freshly made orange cake waiting for us and the most delicious ice tea I've ever had. It was a black tea with orange and mint. It probably tasted so amazing because the leaves were freshly picked and dried on site. After all of the delicious estancia food we got on the bus for a few hours ride to Puerto Iguazu.
Once in Iguazu we checked in to the Hotel Saint George and unpacked before a tasty buffet dinner. Saturday was all Iguazu Falls National Park. The Falls (las cataratas) are on the slate for being one of the new 7 wonders of the world. Understandably, because it was as if many Niagara Falls were spread out in the rainforest. The first we visited was the Devil's Throat, Garganta del diablo, on the way to which we spotted a crocodile relaxing on a sandbar. Luckily we were quite far away on a raised metal bridge. La Garganta was impressive because it was so large, and there was a lot of mist, but it was seemingly in the middle of a river so there wasn't much rainforest around it. I think the other falls were more picturesque because they were framed by greenery and we could see all the rainbows the light made in the mist. We walked all the trails in the park and saw so many lovely panoramic views.
As soon as we entered the park we came upon some interesting looking animals. Coatis are about the size of raccoons, with striped tails, bit the noses and faces of anteaters. They have little pig noses and claws that look like they were made to dig. Our guide warned us not to feed them, since the food wasn't good for them and feeding them made them less afraid of humans and more likely to bite. So I took pictures from afar and near the end of our visit saw how crafty and vicious the creatures could be. A couple was taking pictures of the coati and the woman held out her potato chip bag to tempt them closer. One coati reached out its snout and snatched the bag from her hand (luckily he bit just the bag and not her hand). As soon as the bag hit the ground another few coati leaped on it and began fighting for the chips. Soon a whole group of them had gathered and they were fighting amongst themselves with teeth bared and high pitched squeaking noises. A little while later a woman sat down to eat with a sandwich and coffee. Just after unwrapping her sandwich a coati crept over under the table. She saw it and started taking pictures of it. The coati jumped on the table, which didn't bother the woman as she kept taking photos. But as soon as the coati could, it snatched her untouched sandwich from her plate and bolted. We were sitting next to a pile of backpacks and purses and one coati started to play with the chain of a small purse and might have run away with it if we hadn't stomped and clapped to scare it away. Luckily no one in our group had any trouble with the animals and we all kept our distance after seeing the potato chip grab.
Sunday we visited a Guarani village near Iguazu. The Guarani are the indigenous tribe of the region. The village runs tours and sells crafts in order to raise funds for the community. Our guide spoke Guarani (which is only spoken and not written) and Spanish. He told us all about their unique religion and medicine, closely tied to the environment, and how life has changed for them over the decades. For example, our guide showed us a number of traps used to catch armadillos and deer but they are never used nowadays because their small bit of land is pretty much devoid of these animals. It was very informative and we were encouraged to ask questions and take pictures throughout the session.
After, we private bussed it to an estancia/ tea farm. Here we had some of the most delicious food I've eaten yet. First we had beef emapanadas with a delicious flaky crust with fresh squeezed lemonade. Then we had choripan (chori for short), which is chorizo sausage on a crusty little roll with chimichurri sauce (sage, spices, etc, flavorful but not spicy) and homemade pico de gallo (I think they call it something different, but it's chopped onions, tomatoes and not very spicy jalapenos). Delicious. This was followed by salad, rice, tomatoes, and manioc (like a potato) and asado (grilled meat). The best I've had by far. Then we went on a tour of the black leaf and yerba mate tea plants.
(An aside, 80 % of the population is addicted to yerba mate. They drink the green tea constantly out of little gourds (mate, pronounced MA-teh) with a metal straw (bombilla). Our program guide, Coqui, is never without her mate filled with tea leaves and a thermos of hot water to make tea. There are specific ways to prep your mate and it can be made with only water, with sugar added, or even cold with lemonade.)
We saw a huge machine used to dry the tea leaves, a secador, and piles and piles of yerba mate leaves. When I post all of my pictures on Picasa you'll be able to see the huge sacks of tea leaves in a pile in warehouse. There was also a carpentry business near the secador that made the tables and chairs we sat on at the estancia. When we returned to the eating area there was freshly made orange cake waiting for us and the most delicious ice tea I've ever had. It was a black tea with orange and mint. It probably tasted so amazing because the leaves were freshly picked and dried on site. After all of the delicious estancia food we got on the bus for a few hours ride to Puerto Iguazu.
Once in Iguazu we checked in to the Hotel Saint George and unpacked before a tasty buffet dinner. Saturday was all Iguazu Falls National Park. The Falls (las cataratas) are on the slate for being one of the new 7 wonders of the world. Understandably, because it was as if many Niagara Falls were spread out in the rainforest. The first we visited was the Devil's Throat, Garganta del diablo, on the way to which we spotted a crocodile relaxing on a sandbar. Luckily we were quite far away on a raised metal bridge. La Garganta was impressive because it was so large, and there was a lot of mist, but it was seemingly in the middle of a river so there wasn't much rainforest around it. I think the other falls were more picturesque because they were framed by greenery and we could see all the rainbows the light made in the mist. We walked all the trails in the park and saw so many lovely panoramic views.
As soon as we entered the park we came upon some interesting looking animals. Coatis are about the size of raccoons, with striped tails, bit the noses and faces of anteaters. They have little pig noses and claws that look like they were made to dig. Our guide warned us not to feed them, since the food wasn't good for them and feeding them made them less afraid of humans and more likely to bite. So I took pictures from afar and near the end of our visit saw how crafty and vicious the creatures could be. A couple was taking pictures of the coati and the woman held out her potato chip bag to tempt them closer. One coati reached out its snout and snatched the bag from her hand (luckily he bit just the bag and not her hand). As soon as the bag hit the ground another few coati leaped on it and began fighting for the chips. Soon a whole group of them had gathered and they were fighting amongst themselves with teeth bared and high pitched squeaking noises. A little while later a woman sat down to eat with a sandwich and coffee. Just after unwrapping her sandwich a coati crept over under the table. She saw it and started taking pictures of it. The coati jumped on the table, which didn't bother the woman as she kept taking photos. But as soon as the coati could, it snatched her untouched sandwich from her plate and bolted. We were sitting next to a pile of backpacks and purses and one coati started to play with the chain of a small purse and might have run away with it if we hadn't stomped and clapped to scare it away. Luckily no one in our group had any trouble with the animals and we all kept our distance after seeing the potato chip grab.
Sunday we visited a Guarani village near Iguazu. The Guarani are the indigenous tribe of the region. The village runs tours and sells crafts in order to raise funds for the community. Our guide spoke Guarani (which is only spoken and not written) and Spanish. He told us all about their unique religion and medicine, closely tied to the environment, and how life has changed for them over the decades. For example, our guide showed us a number of traps used to catch armadillos and deer but they are never used nowadays because their small bit of land is pretty much devoid of these animals. It was very informative and we were encouraged to ask questions and take pictures throughout the session.
Recoleta, El Tigre, La Feria de Mataderos
We went on a wonderful free walking tour of Recoleta last Wednesday. We heard about it from some of our friends at ISA and decided we had nothing to lose since it was indeed free. We were at the meeting point, the Plaza de San Martin, a little earlier than planned so we passed the time by taking pictures of the huge statue of San Martin that gives the plaza its name. General San Martin, along with Simon Bolivar, is a South American hero due to his part in liberating Argentina, Chile and other countries from colonial Spanish rule. While waiting at the statue we met a nice couple from Brazil who were in Argentina on holiday. Our guide appeared right on time. She introduced herself as Sol, a native porteno and spoke perfect English (that being our shared language with our Brazilian friends since Allie, Steph, and Amy didn't speak Portuguese and some in our group were still beginning classes in Spanish). Sol recounted the story of San Martin, explaining his defeat of the Spanish armies by a surprise attack from the Andes and noted that a love for San Martin was one of the few things they had in common with their Chilean neighbors (dislike has continued since the Chileans aided a foreign invader in a war against Argentina some time ago). We continued a few hundered meters from the Plaza and had a lovely view of the 'little Big Ben,' which is a clock tower that the British gave to Argentina. It looks nothing like Big Ben but since it's a clock and it's British, it earned that nickname. Then we proceeded down a few steps to a striking memorial to those that fought and died in defense of the Faulklands. Apparently the British navy was occupying them and an Argentine ruler thought it would boost morale to oust the foreigners and retake the lands but the war was a disaster. The memorial is guarded during the day by two soldiers in uniform and there is an 'eternal flame' burning there also. We came at the perfect time because we saw the removal of the flag at the memorial and the official dismissal of the guards/closing of the memorial. A soldier played a very nice tune on the trumpet throughout the process. In contrast to the careful folding that usually accompanies taking down an American flag, the Argetine soldier simply wadded up the flag as his fellow lowered the flag.
After that we saw a number of beautiful embassies, including those for France, Brazil, and Vatican City. The Vatican City embassy was once home to a wealthy woman who once hosted the Pope on a visit to Buenos Aires. After that ever member of the church from Vatican City who visited also wanted to stay with her. After hosting the umpteenth guest she donated her home to the Vatican. We also saw a beautiful building that was a hotel for the rich and famous, playing host to Madonna, Michael Jackson, and apparently the Jonas Brothers. We visited a fountain that is a replica of one in Barcelona. Legend has it that if you drink from the fountain you will return to Barcelona. In Buenos Aires, you'll return to Buenos Aires. All in all it was a beautiful tour and we saw many buildings with European architecture, Buenos Aires being the Paris of South America and all.
On Saturday we went to El Tigre, a popular vacation spot for busy portenos. Most of the houses are built right on the islands that make up the town so all of them have docks because the only way you can get to them is by boat. We toured the islands by boat and say lots of pretty houses. We went to a craft fair there that the area is famous for and I did most of my souvenir shopping there.
The Feria de Mataderos on Sunday was another craft fair, although closer to Buenos Aires. There I sampled some locro, which is a thick stew made with corn, potatoes and sausage. It was delicious on a chilly day. I also bought the Argetine version of a tamale. Just like the ones in New Mexico but lacking in spice. Argentinian cuisine is not spicy in the least. Our only trip to a 'Mexican' restaurant was a bit of a dissappointment because the 'nachos' were tortilla chips with cheese melted on them and a bottle of hot sauce on the side. The sauce was hot, finally!, but the nachos were pretty depressing.
After that we saw a number of beautiful embassies, including those for France, Brazil, and Vatican City. The Vatican City embassy was once home to a wealthy woman who once hosted the Pope on a visit to Buenos Aires. After that ever member of the church from Vatican City who visited also wanted to stay with her. After hosting the umpteenth guest she donated her home to the Vatican. We also saw a beautiful building that was a hotel for the rich and famous, playing host to Madonna, Michael Jackson, and apparently the Jonas Brothers. We visited a fountain that is a replica of one in Barcelona. Legend has it that if you drink from the fountain you will return to Barcelona. In Buenos Aires, you'll return to Buenos Aires. All in all it was a beautiful tour and we saw many buildings with European architecture, Buenos Aires being the Paris of South America and all.
On Saturday we went to El Tigre, a popular vacation spot for busy portenos. Most of the houses are built right on the islands that make up the town so all of them have docks because the only way you can get to them is by boat. We toured the islands by boat and say lots of pretty houses. We went to a craft fair there that the area is famous for and I did most of my souvenir shopping there.
The Feria de Mataderos on Sunday was another craft fair, although closer to Buenos Aires. There I sampled some locro, which is a thick stew made with corn, potatoes and sausage. It was delicious on a chilly day. I also bought the Argetine version of a tamale. Just like the ones in New Mexico but lacking in spice. Argentinian cuisine is not spicy in the least. Our only trip to a 'Mexican' restaurant was a bit of a dissappointment because the 'nachos' were tortilla chips with cheese melted on them and a bottle of hot sauce on the side. The sauce was hot, finally!, but the nachos were pretty depressing.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Dogs
Unfortunately with all the dogs around you have to be careful of walking in poo on the sidewalks. Since there are so many dogs around there are also lots of dogwalkers. A friend on mine said she just found out her family had a dog because the dog stays with the dog walker during the week but comes home on the weekend.
Week highlights
Highlights of the week include my SUBE card, tango and salsa lessons, and very nice maps of bus routes.
The current president began a system where all public transportation was to accept a single form of payment (as well as cash). That is to say, with a SUBE card (sistema unico de boleto electronico, neat acroynm for 'going up') one can ride the colectivos (buses), subte (underground metro), and the above ground trains. As I take the bus at least twice a day I had to make sure I had change because the buses don't except bills, which was kind of inconvenient. But now with my handy dandy SUBE card, which I got at the post office, I can just put money on the card and swipe my card to board all types of public transportation. Sweet.
More on everything else, have to get up early for a field trip tomorrow!
The current president began a system where all public transportation was to accept a single form of payment (as well as cash). That is to say, with a SUBE card (sistema unico de boleto electronico, neat acroynm for 'going up') one can ride the colectivos (buses), subte (underground metro), and the above ground trains. As I take the bus at least twice a day I had to make sure I had change because the buses don't except bills, which was kind of inconvenient. But now with my handy dandy SUBE card, which I got at the post office, I can just put money on the card and swipe my card to board all types of public transportation. Sweet.
More on everything else, have to get up early for a field trip tomorrow!
First Monday
Monday was quite a busy day!
We had a placement exam in the morning at the University of Belgrano. It was an interview with Sofia Loren about her life and we had to fill in some verbs. Very informational.
The University of Belgrano is off a main avenue, Cabildo, down Zabala. It's a very nice 10 story building in a residential area. There are, interestingly, elevators for professors only. The rest of the elevators only go to the 7th, 11th, and 17th floors. Important to remember that is South America the ground floor is the planto bajo and the second story is counted at the first floor.
(This is the fancy first floor lounge I was politely kicked out of, apparently it's not for students. They should put signs up...)
Monday I also went on an adventure trying to recharge my phone. My host mom has hosted another girl so she gave me a phone to use while I was here, I just needed to put minutes on it. First I went to my specific phone company kiosk, but he couldn't recharge phones. Then I went to another corner store (kiosko) and he said the system wasn't working. Just to check we also tried to recharge it at a pharmacy. System was still down and they suggested we try later. On our wanderings I did find a nice knit cap and gloves. There's a beautiful bakery next to the ISA office (my study abroad program). They had all the pastries laid out in glass containers and on tiered dishes. I bought a few mini ones to try and they were all so good.
At ISA we had a meeting with a psychologist who is from Argentina but had worked in the US for a few decades to talk about cultural difference. She mentioned the tendency towards physical contact when communicating (always a kiss on the cheek when meeting someone new or an old friend) and less personal space in daily life. Meals are leisurely and a time to talk, the waiters never rush you by bringing the check unsolicited. The time after the meal when you talk to others is the sobremesa, which is also the word for dessert in Portuguese. She mentioned that sometimes Americans feel they're not getting things done and they feel unproductive after a day. This definitely happened to me trying to buy minutes for my cell phone. She also mentioned relationships were very deep and strong. Someone might have the same group of friends from childhood to old age and their children would then be friends also. Also many people will live in Buenos Aires their entire lives and never leave. She advised us to be direct with service people in stores because customer service isn't always a priority.
Fourth attempt at putting minutes on my Monday was the charm. FarmaCity, a pharmacy with stores all over Cabildo, charges them at the register. This time it finally worked!
At our Orientation on Saturday Guillermo taught us how to recognize fake bills. Apparently it's a sneaky scam the taxi drivers pull where you give them a large bill (A$100 or $50) and they accept it and sneakily change it for a fake one and show you the fake one and say they can't accept it. Then you pay them again and they keep the first (real) bill you gave them. $100 and $50 bills have threads with the denomination on them, watermarks, and like all the bills, color changing ink on the top left number that is the denomination. Useful stuff to know.
We had a placement exam in the morning at the University of Belgrano. It was an interview with Sofia Loren about her life and we had to fill in some verbs. Very informational.
The University of Belgrano is off a main avenue, Cabildo, down Zabala. It's a very nice 10 story building in a residential area. There are, interestingly, elevators for professors only. The rest of the elevators only go to the 7th, 11th, and 17th floors. Important to remember that is South America the ground floor is the planto bajo and the second story is counted at the first floor.
(This is the fancy first floor lounge I was politely kicked out of, apparently it's not for students. They should put signs up...)
Monday I also went on an adventure trying to recharge my phone. My host mom has hosted another girl so she gave me a phone to use while I was here, I just needed to put minutes on it. First I went to my specific phone company kiosk, but he couldn't recharge phones. Then I went to another corner store (kiosko) and he said the system wasn't working. Just to check we also tried to recharge it at a pharmacy. System was still down and they suggested we try later. On our wanderings I did find a nice knit cap and gloves. There's a beautiful bakery next to the ISA office (my study abroad program). They had all the pastries laid out in glass containers and on tiered dishes. I bought a few mini ones to try and they were all so good.
At ISA we had a meeting with a psychologist who is from Argentina but had worked in the US for a few decades to talk about cultural difference. She mentioned the tendency towards physical contact when communicating (always a kiss on the cheek when meeting someone new or an old friend) and less personal space in daily life. Meals are leisurely and a time to talk, the waiters never rush you by bringing the check unsolicited. The time after the meal when you talk to others is the sobremesa, which is also the word for dessert in Portuguese. She mentioned that sometimes Americans feel they're not getting things done and they feel unproductive after a day. This definitely happened to me trying to buy minutes for my cell phone. She also mentioned relationships were very deep and strong. Someone might have the same group of friends from childhood to old age and their children would then be friends also. Also many people will live in Buenos Aires their entire lives and never leave. She advised us to be direct with service people in stores because customer service isn't always a priority.
Fourth attempt at putting minutes on my Monday was the charm. FarmaCity, a pharmacy with stores all over Cabildo, charges them at the register. This time it finally worked!
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