Never Have I Ever

As it turns out, I never blogged about Cuzco, Peru, Montañita, Ecuador, or my week back in Buenos Aires with the Sassower clan.....woops! That's what video and movies are for!

Puno - guest entry by J

After spending almost five months at sea level, M and I shot up about 3900 meters to Puno. We arrived early in the Juliaca airport and took a beautiful ride to Puno, about an hour away. I was out cold, of course, but M saw the view and told me it was lovely, which I was able to confirm when we drove back to Juliaca a few days later. By ten am we were in Puno, which was bustling. We went to talk to the tourist police, who explained that after 8 am, our options for leaving the city to view sites were extremely limited. We booked a tour to visit the floating islands of Uros and the Island of Taquile the next then. Then we went to a mercado de artesenias, where ladies in many layers of skirts sell things they made. We each bought some alpaca, as we were both freezing. And although the hostal boasted hot showers, hot air was another matter.

To be completely honest, after the market we ate some mediocre Lonely-Planet-recommended pizza and went almost immediately to bed. We cuddled from 6 pm through the night, completely freezing.

The next morning we were up with the sun. I wore two pairs of pants, three shirts, a hat, gloves, and a scarf. M was wearing three shirts, a wool jacket, an alpaca sweater, alpaca gloves, an alpaca hat, and who knows what else. We huddled in the back of the bus that transported us to the port on Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world.

"What does that mean, highest naivgable lake?" M asked the tour guide.
"Well, we have other lakes, higher up, but not that you can put big boats on. This lake goes into Bolivia, and we can use it for transport..."
We were traveling the world's highest lake that has big boats on it.

Every time our tour guide spoke, he emphasized each syllable and used his lips. He said everything in both Spanish and English, offering direct translations after every few sentences. There was no pattern to whether English or Spanish guidance was offered first.

We arrived to the floating Islands with the warning to wear sunscreen: "The indigenous people have a problem with the skin cancer." It was true--even young children had discolored cheeks and noses from sun damage. The islands were made of a reed that grows in the lake. We recieved a brief demonstration on how the island was built.

"They start with the roots of the reed, a big block like this." Our tour guide gestured a large mud brick on display. "Then they add reeds on top." A man began to pile the reeds on top of the block. "Then they anchor it down, and then it's ready to live on." The man sets little dolls and Uros houses, made of the same reed, on top of the "island."

Then the families allow us to see inside their homes. They live in one-room villas made of reeds. Usually the floors are reeds, although at least one house had a wooden floor. The houses didn't always have real beds, but they all had TV and radio. It was strange to see wires going along a reed wall.

The women and girls were in colorful, layered skirts. The women weren't wearing shoes. I was wearing socks and flip flops, as I'd left my tennis shoes on a bus to Recife. But I was freezing--they seemed just fine. "They're accustomed to it," one man explained when I asked about their bare feet.

The Uros people were in Peru before the Incans arrived. They were enslaved by the Incans, then freed but told they had to leave. First they lived in boats, before they discovered the art of building islands to live on. Each island needs new reeds applied every few weeks.

The people were poor--their economy consisted entirely of fishing and selling small figurines for tourists to keeps as reminders of their trip to the Uros islands. They had a government-mandated school and a doctor on one island. They learned Spanish in school, even though their first language is Aymara.

We played with the kids while everyone else shopped. We gave them candy and talked to them in Spanish. I wanted to help, but I had no use or room for a sculpture of a boat made by the Uros people.

Next we went into the open water and drive to Taquile, almost two hours from the Uros islands. We walked up a brutal path to the square. At one point I passed a woman with a huge pack on her back. Later along the road, she passed me and I heard the pack whine--it was a baby, completely concealed in a piece of cloth. When we finally reached the top, Hannah asked if we were taking the pills for altitude sickness.

"There are pills?"

We made do without the pills, but we also learned that feeling cold is a symptom of altitude sickness. The pieces began to come together.

We sat at lunch with an Israeli girl named Daniela whose parents were originally from Argentina. We ate freash fish and vegetable soup and felt much better. Next we walked down about 500 stairs on the other side of the island to catch the boat. We passed a girl who was carrying a lamb. We passed an Asian man who started talking to a lamb. The scenery was unreal: Mountains over the lake, covered in trees. We boarded the boat.

That night we went out to pizza not recommended by the Lonely Planet, and it was delicious. The chef made it fresh in front of us, and we warmed ourselves by the oven as it cooked. Then we went to a bar called Positive and watched music videos. We met a man who was friends with a Shaman and we talked about the full moon. M carried on a conversation entirely in Spanish with the man sitting next to her. The vibes were, indeed, positive.

Need to Write but Too LAZY!

Must write about Puno and Cuzco in Peru. SO cool. Too lazy right now.

Besos!

Feels Like a Lifetime Later

Wow! So much and somehow hardly anything at all has happened. We left Jeri for Recife, spent two nights in Recife, and then took a long and difficult journey to Salvador. SO SO many bumps in that road. Too many to explain. Sadly, we left Ayaloosh at the bus station in Salvador, and J and I headed to the airport. We flew to Sao Paulo, where we waited for 6 hours. After 6 hours of waiting we went to check in to our flight, where they alerted us that since i didnt have the card stating that i had the yellow fever vaccine (it got stolen in my wallet) i was at risk of getting deported from Peru. But J and I decided to risk it! After all, it wouldve made a great story...twenty years down the road. But, we made it into Lima, Peru without a hitch. Be ware of the Panama City airport though, only one restaurant....with some gnarley side effects. Abbas friend Danny sent a driver to pick us up from the airport, and the driver brought us to Dannys wonderful house. We explored Lima for about a day and a half. We visited the Mercado de los Indios and saw the awesome Larcomar mall, which is literally built into a cliff. Then today we went paragliding off the beachfront cliffs, and i even got to land on the beach! At one point we ¨stalled¨ in the air and it was one of the coolest feelings i have ever had, like floating in thin air. We are now at the airport waiting to fly to Puno, but silly us, we got here WAY too early.

Happy Fourth of July! I wish I could be there....but i am SO glad im here!!

See you in 23 days!
Love and kisses

One of the Worldś Most Beautiful Beaches

Before arriving in Jericoacoara we heard that it is considered one of the worldś most beautiful beaches, which peaked our interest even further. We arrived to Jeri via a bus which took us to a trolley-like thing, because the bus could no longer drive through the ridiculous terrain. We drove for an hour or two along gorgeous beach that oddly enough featured cows and donkeys. Finally we got to Jeri. It is a beautiful beach town placed on a national natural reserve. That means that there were no real streets, hardly any cars, zero pollution, and tons of animals and such. We checked into a hostel that Ayal picked. Though it was nice, I had my eye on somethin' else. We went to the beach the next day, and afterwards we headed towards this hostel I saw when we first arrived to town called Masai Mara. It was beautiful. They showed us the master suite, and we simply could not help ourselves. It was absolutely heaven. Actually, we called it the Majestic Palace and refered to the upstairs portion that held our bedroom and fantastic bathroom as Heaven. Every time we opened the door to our apartment or walked anywhere in the Pousada (hostel) little frogs and geckos hopped all over the place! We went to the different beaches every day and hiked up the dunes. We got to see several fantastic sunsets, as if they were taken from post cards. They actually have a dune called Sunset Dune or something like that (catchy, I know) that people hike to get a higher up view of the sunset.
My favorite part, or one of them at least, was going to the Manglars. What is a manglar, you might ask. Good question! I wondered the very same thing! When we looked at the poster about how Jeri was a natural reserve we saw an icon for the manglars that had a crab, some water, and a tree growing out of the water. Then we saw another one that was supposed to represent the manglar that just had a sea horse. What could this thing be!? So one day we hired a guy with a dune buggy (that is how they drive around in Jeri--fantastic and fun) to take us to the manglars. We got to see the strange and magnificent terrain of Jeri and the surrounding area, which included a visit to the manglars. Apparently a manglar is a body of water with trees coming out of it. There were tons of crabs....so many it looked like the ground was gyrating. We also got to see some sea horses, even a pregnant one! The guy that took us on the boat told us that a pregnant sea horse holds around 700 babies. Can you imagine sending all those suckers to college!?
Aaaaannywhoo, we are now in Recife, still with Ayal and happy he is here, slowly making our way towards Salvador to catch our flight to Lima, Peru. We travelled for about 20 hours just to get here and we are staying in a shitty hostel, so now we are gonna go to the beach.

Iĺl keep you posted!!
I LOVE you!!

Miss Me?

We are in the fabulous national natural reserve of Jericoacoara. I need to write about this fantastic place, but its too wonderful to waste time by the computer!

Im sorry!
I love you!

Morro de Sao Paulo

We left Itacare early Sunday morning (around 5:30) and took two buses and a ferry boat that finally brought us to Morro de Sao Paulo. It was raining pretty hard core when we landed, but J and I are more hardcore than any rain! So we hiked with our bags through the crazy to the Black and White hostel. We chose Black and White because all of the israelis stay there :-) We got a chance to see a good portion of the island, though through the rain, but it was beautiful. The streets are made of sand and there are no cars. Stuff is really expensive here though because it is pretty much all tourists. Because of the rain we hung in our room a lot, which we shared with two other israelis. J actually got shocked by the shower....which was funnier than you'd expect. One day we ate shakshukah, another result of the strong israeli influence on this island. We met this israeli guy named Ayal and he decided to join us on our trip to Jericoacoara because he has been here for two weeks already just chillin in a hammock. So we are headed out in like an hour....gotta go eat!!

love from your backpacker abroad!

How I Love Thee, Itacare

Today is a holiday in Brazil, similar to Valentines Day, hence my appreciation for my love of Itacare. Yesterday we had our last day of surf lessons. I was a bit rocky at first, but then i conquered. J really got the hang of surfiny yesterday. Last night we ate dinner and took a nap. We picked up our certificates from the surf shop, saying we are officially AWESOME beginner surfers. Then we went to go see a friend Rut (like root) performing his reggae show at a local bar. He was great, and reggae in Portuguese is awesome. Today we woke up a little bit late because we didnt have a surf lesson. We walked all the way to the beach called Prainha. It is supposed to be a 45 minute walk, but we accidentally took the long way because someone gave us the wrong directions and we hiked for two hours! The hike was gorgeous though. We walked through and over waterfalls. We saw all kinds of animals, including the bluest butterfly i have ever seen. Finally we got to the beach...drop dead gorgeous. On our way back as we were finally leaving the jungle (we took the 45 minute short way back) these boys pointed and said the portuguese word for spider, and to our surprise there was an enormous tarantula! And i thought the massive snails at the hostel were crazy! We made french toast for dinner and now my tummy is happy. Rut invited us to see his show at Jungle Bar tonight, and I believe we will. But who knows!

Surf Day 2

So today was day two of surf lessons. We carried our boards all the way to the fourth beach (ribera or something). We first practiced how to stand on the board in the sand, and then we took a stab at it in the water. I stood up on my first try and rocked it! Surfing was not as hard as i expected, but just as fun. It is so exhilirating to work so hard at something yet feel so free. By the end of the day I was starting to turn a little and actually control my board. Maybe tomorrow they will upgrade me to a smaller board! I wish :-) After the boarding (and a lot of tough falls) we went to see a little water fall with our instructors. What fun! We then went home and showered really quick, and headed out to get a baguette at this place that had hebrew written on it in the window. I have been speaking to Adi in hebrew since I met her and she said I am really not that bad....though I often have to ask her what certain words mean and then I forget them a minute later. But, when we got to dinner the place was packed with screaming israelis and i really felt kind of awkward. It would have been nice and felt comfortable like home, but instead I was kind of embarassed that my people were acting like such animals. But, Adi was also embarassed and we carried on speaking in hebrew, which gave me that homey feelin i was looking for. Our surf instructors invited us out to a party tonight at a place called Favela so we will go to that pretty soon. We cant stay out too late though because we planned a trip for tomorrow and we have to have strength for our final surf lesson!

thinking of you all....and buying you gifts! haha

At the Hostel

There are a bunch of monkeys in the trees because we are in the tropical rain forest. SO beautiful and SO cool!

Local Surf Shop

Today we had our first surf lesson with the hottie Filipe from the Local Surf Shop. For 150 reais he will give us three days of two hour private lessons. On our first day we learned to mount the board, to sit up, several ways to turn around, and how to catch waves. Tomorrow we will stand up haha. As we were drying off from our surf lesson the guys from the Jamaican Hut invited us in for some delicious juice. They told us about a concert later in the week. I will let ya know!

salvador, ilheus and itacare

WAHOOO!! We are finally here! We landed in Salvador, Brazil and grabbed a bite to eat, then headed straight to our hostel named Alpha in Barra (pronounced ba-ha). The hostel was gross and smelled like piss so I was pretty glad to get out of there early the next morning. We chilled on the beach for a bit, then J got a Subway (they have them in Salvador!). We then hitched a bus for about 40 minutes to the bus station. On the bus we got to see pretty much all of Salvador. They have this really cool lake with statues of women dancing on it. Also, their port is absolutely gorgeous. They have a market that goes on next to the port that is just so cool. We caught a bus to Ilheus and got there just in time to catch the bus to Itacare that came six minutes later. Itacare is SO cool! It is this tiny little beach town surrounded by chill beaches. The hostels all have hammocks hanging, and you can see little monkeys from out of your window because we are in the caribbean-like rain forest. The town is filled with people traveling (many israelis!) and surfers. Unfortunately we are here for the rainy season, but we will still get up every day to learn how to surf! Tonight J and I made dinner with an Israeli girl named Adi and a German girl named Anika that are both staying at our hostel. We heard from Adi that we should try to get out of Brazil earlier than planned so we can spend more time in Peru because supposedly Peru is just absolutely awesome. The saddest news of all is that I scratched my cornea at some point in my travels, and now I cant really open my eye in direct sunlight. Hopefully that will go away soon though, because the woman of our hostel brought me to a pharmacy and helped me get drops. Here is hopin!

I am having a GREAT time!!
I hope you all are too!

And sev, I called on your birthday but nobody picked up. I hope it was a great one!!

I LOVE YOU!!

Fidel With Abbey!

Tonight we went to go see Fidel Nadal at the Niceto club with Abbey, and I took notes for a paper I have to write about Fidel Nadal. 

We're hanging out in our tiny room now listening to some songs you often hear at boliches :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBi3H70aLzo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fGk6fYcL5A

Finally!

Last night we had this horrible school party that was a mix of summer camp and a bar mitzvah...with booze. So J and I immediately aced out of there in search of something else to do. We picked up J's brother from his hotel, went to Milion for a drink or two, and then went to Zizek. Zizek is this group of DJ's that travels the world and are now at the VooDoo bar for a couple of weeks. I was SO excited to finally see them. They were fantastic! I could've stayed and danced there forever!

The End is Near...

This is a long weekend in Buenos Aires, I am not really sure why, but we have Monday off. Thursday night I went to kosher food with J and our friend Ellie at a place called Asian. Delicious!  Then we went to see our music Prof. play at a jazz place called Vilasoro or something like that. Afterwards, some kids from our school threw a benefit called Drink for the Kids, so it was mostly just a bunch of NYU kids at a bar. Pretty fun! 

The next night we went to eat at Don Julio, a delicious parilla. Afterwards we went to the really cool bar Milion, and then to the Shamrock. But, we went home early.

Last night Ellie and I went to eat at a restaurant but it was closed, so we took a cab to Kosher Bistro and ate there around 1 am!! The place was still packed. Afterwards, we went to a place called Asia de Cuba. It is a club on the port that is really fun. The music was an excellent selection of American 80's rock, which Ellie thoroughly appreciated. 

We are headed into finals, so I am going to be really busy the next week or two. Besides finals I have to pack up all my stuff and figure out about traveling.

J's parents just got here though! They are going to Jujuy to pick up her sister, and then the whole Glaze family will be in Buenos Aires rockin out! I am excited for all the fun!

Makes me miss my family though...

Another Commercial I like...

This is for a cheap and pretty nasty beer, but damn, is the song catchy or what!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKhRsQJh3R8

Galactic and.....Chali 2na!!

I know I haven't written about Paraguay yet, there isn't that much to say. But, last night I went to go see the Galactic show at La Trastienda Club. Galactic's set was way jazzier with rock vibes, whereas when I saw them in Chicago in February, they were much more bluegrass. Great either way! And to my surprise Chicago native Chali 2na of Jurassic 5 had joined the tour 4 days earlier. What an amazing show! I gave him crap for not being on the Galactic tour when they were in Chicago, but he was on tour with Ozomatli. Turns out he is promoting his album Fish Outta Water that will be out this summer, and he will be in the Chi on June 27. I recommend you go, cause it was an absolutely fantastic show!

Gotta get back to work!

Back in B.A.

I am back from Paraguay and I am fine. I am just really stressed and overwhelmed with work because I missed 2 weeks of school do to illness. Also, the semester is coming to an end so they are starting to pile stuff on us. I will write about Paraguay as soon as I don't feel stressed.

I miss you all!!

Learning to Upload Pics

This is the oldest train in the Spanish speaking world. It was built in the 30s and is still active here in Buenos Aires, I believe it is the C train but I don't really remember. You actually pull the doors open yourself! The government tried to update the train but everyone complained and so they left it.

The graffiti you see is actually a really cool art piece in the newly updated train stations of the C train. I just think it's interesting to see where old and new B.A. meet.

Dame Un Beso

I don't know why I like this song so much. I heard this guy perform it live and just loved it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDZuSSLaAAo

Baires

This weekend was a relatively calm one for me here in Buenos Aires. We went to Shoeless Joe's Alamo a couple of nights to watch basketball games. It is this very touristy pub that serves free beer to girls until 11, and it is one of very few places in town that shows American sports. Great burgers and cheap drinks! My sources tell me that the Bulls just went into second overtime. Let's go Bulls!

Friday J and I went walking around town and we went to Galería Bond Street. It is this small shopping gallery (mall-like thing) where all of the young punk kids go. It was like nothing I have ever seen before. You can hear tattoo needles going the entire time you are there, and every other shop is a tattoo parlor. Really interesting sight!

Then today I went to lunch with cousin Patricia. We met at her father's hotel, the Meliá, and had an excellent and long lunch. Then we strolled for a bit, just chatting and wandering around town. On our stroll I got to see the memorial of the Israeli Embassy that was bombed. It was really sad, as one would expect, but interesting to see.

Now I am just delaying homework time! Booo homework!

I hope all is well!

I'll keep ya posted!

Floggers

I just put 2 and 2 together and found out what this craze is. Floggers. Youtube them. They are these kids (most kids, actually) that dress nuts and dance all over the place. It's amazing and ridiculous.

The Weekend

After getting back from Brazil and having a veeery stressful week in school, we decided it was important for me to have a fun weekend. Friday night we went to a bar called Theloneous Club, where we got to groove to live jazz all night. Then we went to this arcade place called Job, where they have archery! Drinking and archery, what a combo! 

Saturday night we went to my friend Sam's drum teacher's house for a little show. There were 25 or so of us at his house. We were all sitting in this little room when suddenly the "openers" started jamming. They were fantastic! Then this guy started reading us a poem, telling us to enter into this other room. The show was literally a concert and a comedy show in one. They had these crazy Xmas lights that they synched up with the music. They had props and crazy guests. It was just ridiculous.

Sunday morning we woke up and went to the bar around the corner to watch the Boca-River game. They are the city rivals, and I root for Boca. The bar filled up quickly, and there was a huge crowd standing outside and even in the street! The game was a tie though, which kinda left the city in shambles.

Sunday night Sam, J and I went to see Fidel Nadal. He is a reggae artist that I believe is from Buenos Aires. I LOVED that show. I don't even have other words. It was love.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BABY!

Finally I can write about spring break. So on the bus from Iguazu Falls they showed the film Taken, the movie about the girl that gets kidnapped abroad. As we were 7 girls traveling to a foreign country, this was quite scary. When we got to Rio we had the other girls we were traveling with come to the apartment with us, so that we were 7 of us, not 2, in case anything went wrong. As it turned out, everything went right! The apartment was right on Copacabana beach (we sang the ENTIRE trip). We had a kitchen, a bathroom, a big ol' bed, and a GREAT view of the beach. It wasn't as sunny as I would have liked it to be, so we spent a lot of days checking things off from the great list of activities I got out of a guide book in the hostel in Iguazu.

The beaches of Rio are amazing though. The city is surrounded by mountains and beaches, and when it is sunny the beaches are PACKED. You can shop from your towel with all of the people walking around, and the beaches just have an awesome vibe. Lots of naked tooshy! I even got a Brazilian bikini and rocked it for a week.

But, there were a lot of cloudy days, so I can tell you about all of the activities we did. We went to the top of the Sugar Loaf, this really high thing that they have cable cars to. You get to see the entire city from up high, and it's just really cool. I have tons of pictures. We went to Museu H Stern and Museu Amsterdam Sauer, where they got us drunk, showed us all about gems, and let us try on EVERYTHING. A great way to make the most of a rainy day!

I wanted to go on a Favela tour through the rougher areas of town, but the drug cartels are at war, so that seemed like a bad idea. We went to a music store called Modern Sound where they have a live music place called Allegro Bistro Musical and we saw a Brazilian Jazz group and had a few caiprinias. 

Nights were VERY interesting. The two main places to be at night are called Lapa and Barra (pronounced ba-ha). In Lapa we went to a street called Av. Mem de Sá that is lined with great bars. On that street we went to a Samba club called Carioca da Gema, where we danced our pretty little asses off. Around the corner from Mem de Sá is a street lined with liquor stores. The stores put a table out in front and sell booze over the tables while they blast music out of huge speakers. The street just fills up with young people dancing. SUCH awesome vibes.

We also went to this bar called Calndestino in Copacabana that I really enjoyed. And, we went to a place called Bip Bip where locals jammed with instruments. At Bip Bip we got to hear live samba and bossa nova, which I clearly loved.

Other fun facts:

The meat in Brazil is just as fabulous as Argentina, except in Brazil they have all you can eat meat places!

Everyone in Brazil thought I was Amy Winehouse. At the beach they once surrounded me and took pictures.

Rio was pretty dull on Monday and Tuesday. Thursday through Saturday it was NUTS!

If I think of anything else I will let you know!!

Will Write Soon

I'm back from Spring Break and I'm safe!

I am sad I missed Pesach with the family. 

I have so much work to catch up on and annoying emails I have to send, but I can't wait to tell you all about the amazing trip I just went on.

Will write soon,

I LOVE YOU!!

Iguazu Falls

Thursday evening after a sadly gloomy day in Buenos Aires, J and I hopped on a bus to Iguazu Falls, which are on the border of Argentina and Brazil. After an 18 hour bus ride in the front row (what a great view!) we finally arrived in Iguazu. We walked to our hostel, Hostel Iguazu Falls, only to find out that since we were staying in a private room, we were staying in the home of the hostel owners kinda. It was actually nicer than our room in Buenos Aires! There are so many Israelis here that the woman running the hostel actually just said to a guy ¨Hamesh pesos por maim gadol.¨ I thought it was pretty funny.

Friday we got in kinda late so we spent the day sitting by the hostel pool. So relaxing! We all know I love those days. Then Saturday we got up early to head to the National Park. We arrived at the park, did a short hike, and then hopped onto a truck to do a jungle safari. After the safari they took us to the boats, and on the boats we actually went into the waterfalls! For sure one of the coolest experiences I have ever had. We hiked all around and saw the falls from different heights and different areas. Then we took a short tram ride to the Devils Throat. It is the massive waterfall at the end, where most of the water from the area meets. I took a tooooon of pictures and videos to show you all when I get back, but I really do not think you can capture how awesome that was on film.

We head off to Brazil in a short while. What a long bus ride I have ahead of me!
I will try to post as often as possible!

I love and miss you all,
but I sure am havin a blast!!

xoxo

"Symbol" of Democracy Dies

Last night Raul Alfonsin passed away. He was the first democratically elected president after the military dictatorship in the 80's. People are kinda freaking out. There is a three day national mourning going on in all of Argentina. 

Fútbol and Family

Saturday NYU took us to the Argentina vs. Venezuela fútbol match. Holy Moly!! It was calmer than most fútbol matches because everyone in the stadium was rooting for the same team mostly, but it was still nuts! We won 4 to 0. I also learned a lot of swear words in Spanish, which was hilarious. I'll teach you all when I get home. I didn't bring my camera to the game because I was sure it would get stolen, but a friend of mine did and I will try to snatch her pictures for you.

Yesterday (Sunday) I met up with cousin Patricia. I went down to her place at the Tribunales subte stop. She lives in a nice area of town, closer to downtown than I live. We met up for a coffee, but we ended up staying to eat, walking, and talking for over 5 hours!! We walked down by the port and explored the city. We even saw a UNICEF art exhibit that is in town right now. It is a bunch of enormous teddy bears painted to represent different countries of the world. I was sad to see Israel as a bleeding heart in the middle of the kotel, but the USA bear was an enormous statue of liberty and that brought a smile to my face. Patricia and I had great talks. She is an economist, studying to get her Phd right now, so she had a lot of interesting information on the local economic situation and the government. She is also a single, well educated porteña in her thirties, that has traveled the world and spent time abroad (which is unusual here), and therefore she had interesting insight into men and the social scene.

I had such a great weekend!
I hope you all did too!

Thursday I head off to Iguazu falls and then to Rio de Janeiro on Sunday. Hopefully I will be able to keep you guys posted!

Wine Country

This weekend I went with a group of about 10 kids to Mendoza. We took a 16 hour, overnight bus across the country. We saw the most beautiful stars, stars we never get to see in the Northern Hemisphere!

We got to the Mendoza Inn, the youth hostel we were staying at, around noon. We then quickly found out how the town works, and head out towards the bus. We took an hourlong bus to an area of town called Maipu, where we rented bikes from a place called Mr. Hugo. Over the two days we biked from vineyard to vineyard, and got to see about three or four vineyards. We also saw the Mendoza Wine Museum, which was totally awesome. We learned about the grapes, the local wine called Malbec, and the special system they use to water the grapes with freshwater from the Andes Mountains! We also got to visit a place that makes chocolate and special liqueurs, where I bought a Pomelo liqueur (grapefruit) and also a grapefruit marmalade. Delicious!!

Friday night J, this girl Lauren and I went to a restaurant called Azafran. They do not have a wine list, but instead you go into the cellar with their wine master (I forgot the word) and pick your wines. We got a cheese platter, two bottles of wine, steak, and some desserts, and I still spent less than $30!! What a deal!!

Mendoza was absolutely amazing. I didn't get to see everything I wanted, but I saw a lot. I would really like to go back...

Clandestine Center of Detention

On Friday they took us to see what is called the Clandestine Center of Detention, here in Buenos Aires. I will try to explain as much as I can, but it is pretty difficult. I will also try not to simply recite one horrific event after the next, while also portraying exactly how brutal the dictatorship was to the citizens that opposed the reign of terror.

Okay, so when the Army dictatorship took over the government in 1976 they made it a mission, as all dictatorships do, to destroy any opposition. In their reign from 1976 to 1983 the Argentinean dictatorship made about 20,000 people disappear, about 400 of which were children. They say disappear because no bodies were ever found. People still do not know what happened to these people, though most likely they were killed. The Clandestine Center of Detention has been kept in place as a reminder of the dictatorship and what happened when people tried to stand up against their dirty government.

At this specific center, at least 5,000 citizens (or "packages" as the soldiers called it in their cover-up slang) were taken to perform slave labor, be brutally tortured, embarrassed and dehumanized and then eventually get "transfered" (disappear). 9 babies were born in this specific camp, and they were then taken from their imprisoned mothers and given to the families of soldiers that wanted them.

Another shocking element about the camp, besides that it is on Avenida del Libertador (the avenue of the liberator), is that it is across the street from everyday life (schools, apartments, doctors offices, etc.). The people of Buenos Aires were supposed to fear their government, just one among many terror and torture elements the Argentineans learned from the French. Everyone in town knew the torture that was going on behind those gates, at times they could even hear screaming, shackles, or the loud cover-up music, but they were too afraid to do anything about it. Instilling the fear in everyday citizens was the governments goal. They did not want rebels, they did not want "packages" that they needed to "transfer."

Got the picture?

Any questions?

It was horrifying and interesting all at the same time. After all, this was only 30-some years ago! Buenos aires has changed so much since then. Though they are still victims of a corrupt government- for example, the money system here. It is nearly impossible to get coins, yet the buses only take coins. Jesse kissed me the other day when I gave her a coin. Also, nobody will break a 100 peso bill, but banks mostly give out 100's. However, the citizens of BA have learned to overcome the struggles of an oppressive government and have learned how to make a lot out of very little. 

I need to post....

I need to post about the tour I got on Friday, but I am not feeling very well right now. I will try to as soon as possible!

(I kinda just did that to remind myself :-D )

Procrastinating

Sorry that my last post was so repetitive. They really party here on Purim! But hey, it's a Mitzvah!

I have so much schoolwork to do right now, but I can't seem to do it. I feel like I am out of my mind here. There is no structure and I am just so all over the place. It sure is difficult to get schoolwork done!

Chag Purim

Today I went to Purim at the Hillel. It is the only hillel in the entire world with a private pool! We read megillah, and of course, I cried. Everyone assumes it is because I miss my wonderful family, and as much as I love you guys, it's is really because I am shocked and honored by the strength of Judaism internationally.  I am so proud that this community of people can take me across the world and translate across all sorts of cultural settings. We boo-ed at the name of Haman and dressed all kinds of crazy. I am just so proud and excited about the young community of Jews that we are able to find each other and reach a common ground. The Hillel here for sure feels like home to me, and yet again, in a completely foreign city, I am proud to consider myself at home and a Jew amongst Jews. I love it here.

P.s. mom--- I didnt write that for you. I wrote that for me.

Manu Chao

Manu Chao is ridiculous. Internationally, the man just rocks. Last night was nuts, the show was off the walls as always. I will say, I hardly noticed a difference between his show here and in the States, besides that it was longer here. I danced for literally over 3 hours. We thought the show was over at a certain point, and it was not even halfway done. Manu Chao puts on an amazing show wherever he is.

Fantastic.

A Little Bit of Gold and a Pager

So another week has gone by in wonderful BA. Again, I don't remember a bunch of what I've done this week so I'll just write whatever I can remember. 

Thursday night we went out to a reggae bar that I found once when I was walking called Instinto. It was chill and they made nice mixed drinks. From there we moved to a club called Niceto that was SUPPOSED to have a reggae show, but instead they had b-boys (break-dancers) for a while. They then shifted, quite quickly I might add, to a veeeery pornographic show. We tried to stay for a minute and enjoy the party with the locals, but it was far too disgusting for our liking, so we turned to leave. On our way out we ran into a group of Chassidim enjoy the show very much! I thought it was hilarious and pretty awkward. We went to the bar across the street for a bit because they had a gorgeous rooftop terrace thingy.

The next day I woke up and went to the Botanic Gardens to lay out for a bit, and finally caught a bit of a tan! It faded though, and now I have none...

Friday night everybody else went out, but there were a bunch of miscommunications flying around and I ended up staying in and watching Batman Begins....pretty great flick, even though it makes no sense.

Saturday morning J and I woke up and made our way to the Recoleta market. It is a booming market that lines the streets around the infamous cemetery, and it was filled with artists, jewelers, and other vendors. It was literally the Argentinean take on the shuk. Awesome!

Then Saturday night we went to a party-concert-thingy thrown by the group called Fiesta Clandestina. They throw some of the greatest parties in BA! We went there because the percussion group La Bomba del Tiempo were there and I love them. They played a set over 2 hours long and had 3 guests, including a DJ! It was awesome and I danced my petunias off!

Tonight I am going to see Manu Chao perform at the Luna Park. I'll let you know how it goes!

I love you all,

M

Punta Del Este

We returned last night from our wonderful trip to Punta Del Este, Uruguay. It is a magical peninsula, with the coast on one side and calm waters on the other. We stayed at a hostel called 1949 that was right off the water and really nice. We sat our lazy bum bums on the beach and parked it all day. Most of the kids burned, but I could hardly catch a tan! Still, it was a wonderful weekend of relaxing in the sun with friends. Also, I had an amazing steak! Funny that I left Argentina to get some great beef! The exchange rate in Uruguay was 24.5 to the US dollar, so we all felt like we were tossing around monopoly money for a bit there. 

They have a cool sculpture on the beach that looks like an enormous hand reaching out to grab beach-goers. Also, when we went to the marina to check out the boats, the local fisherman were cleaning up and selling the catch of the day. There were gigantic sea-lions waiting in the marina with their mouthes open to catch the leftovers! So cool!

I hope all is well back home,

Gotta go do homework!

I LOVE YOU!

M

Sorry.

I don't edit my posts......and I don't really plan to :-D

The Dopeness

Sorry but I can't remember what has gone on since I wrote last, but I really want to tell you guys about last night. People have been talking about this drum circle, La Bomba de Tiempo, for a while now, and I finally got to go. 

Though the show does not start until 8, we got there around 6:15 to buy 15 peso (around US$4) ticket. We pulled up to the venue, an old empty warehouse, and the streets were lined with hundreds of hippies, locals, tourists, and just general party-goers. Everyone was drinking and dancing in the streets while waiting in line for tickets, and thought the venue was enormous the show sold out!

We got in and it was just a stage full of amazing percussionists going crazy. The crowd was massive and everyone was just dancing their petunias off. What a blast!

We made a plan to go to Punta Del Este, Uruguay this weekend. I'm pretty excited to lay on a beautiful beach.

I'll keep you posted!

M

MMM MMM Good

Sorry I haven't been posting very often. I feel like the time I spend on my computer is such a waste. Anyway, I'll try to remember what went on this week.

Thursday evening I went to a bar called Los Cardones (I think). It is around the corner from our residence, and it is jam packed with locals. The bar actually rents out guitars for free, so the place has an awesome Argentinean vibe. Then we went to the hip-hop party at a club called Lost. The music was awesome, the place was great, but it was 45,000 degrees in there! I could hardly drink enough water to make up for what I was dancing off!! Friday I woke up and went to the meeting for kids that want to volunteer. I still haven't been placed with an organization, but I'm hoping for one called Crecer Con Amor or something like that. I'll let ya know when I find out. 

Friday night we went to a bar called Milion. It actually used to be the mansion of one of the aristocrats, but when yellow fever hit the southern part of the city, the family fled. It was REALLY cool and it just made me imagine what our house would be like as a bar :-) 

Saturday we woke up and wandered around the city. We ended up at the house (now a museum) of the late, great Carlos Gardel. He is the man we can thank for the evolution of tango from a dance to a song, and the locals consider him their Frank Sinatra. Seeing his house and all of the artifacts was really interesting, and for only 1 peso! As we turned the corner we saw a street packed with kids playing soccer, and I truly felt like I was off the tourist track for the first time....until they started playing "kick the ball at the gringas"

Some More Fun Facts:

• They do not eat spicy food here. I'm cravin some flava! However, when the Italians settled here they STRONGLY impacted the cuisine, so everything is infused with a bit of Italian.
• Though there are sometimes lanes on the streets, drivers do not follow them. Also, most intersections do not have stop signs (it's pretty interesting to watch). Also, at the start of 2009 they just developed a DUI policy. Also, pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way here.
• There is no law that forces people to clean up after their dogs. It's gross.
• Carnaval is not really celebrated in Buenos Aires (don't worry, we haven't gone without a party).

Please post questions and comments! I don't really know what you guys would like to hear!

I love you all,

M

Damn.

So... school started. That sucks. I have class Monday-Thursday and at least 2 hours of homework every night. I am drowning in this Spanish class, because they try to teach us by having us guess what the crap they're saying. So Spanish class is completely frustrating.

Tango & Culture class is awesome though. We will be learning the history of the dance and music and I am really excited about it. Music of Latin America is a ridiculous class thus far. The teacher is a scatter brain and didn't even remember to order our books. Also, we spent the whole class tapping on our legs and desks and what not, just makin some beats. If it weren't for Spanish class this would all be going as planned!

I'll write again soon chicos....

You're Rrrreally Gonna Love This

Hola!

Last night we went to an awesome reggae show. Well, it was funky reggae melted with rock and obviously some latin flavor. The band was called Las Umbanda and I highly recommend you look into them.

Today, since everything is closed on Sunday, we went to this antique market in San Telmo. Suddenly, after drinking fresh squeezed juices (they offer them almost everywhere!) we heard a big band of drummers marching down the road, followed by 20 or so female dancers. So cool! As we followed the band we found a long strip of some sort of hippie market that we hadn't expected. Each vendor was working on their crafts as they were trying to sell them. It was super cool.

Anyway, classes start tomorrow so I've got to go shower, chill, eat, and get organized before I hit the hay at a time that is early enough to wake up for class in the morning.

Peace&Love,

Meesh 

Week 1

Hello friends, family, and those that accidentally Googled words that brought them here!

Life in Buenos Aires is already wonderful. My best friend Jesse and I live together in a residence for international students called Master in the part of town called Palermo Soho (much like in New York) and its in the part of the city called Palermo Viejo. Our room is tiny and has no air conditioning, but we absolutely love it. Every day we meet new students from around the globe, and practice our charades skills. I don't speak a lick of Spanish, and that is probing quite difficult. Though portenos (people of the port--that's what they call people from Buenos Aires) are very sweet, and apparently English is the second language here, I fail to communicate with pretty much every porteno I meet. That part is getting quite lonely.

Yesterday we went to a town called Tigre, just an hour or so north of BA. We thought we were going to a lovely beach, and hen we got there we found that both the pool and the river were doo-doo brown. Ahh the benefits of being a functioning port! Tigre was fun though, and I got that tan I've been craving since we left Puerto Vallarta only a few weeks ago.

A few days ago it was very rainy, so we took a bus tour of the city. I learned all about the history of BA and what brought it to its current state. After driving through the shanty-towns in La Boca, they showed us a picture of an area in BA and asked us to guess what year it was taken. Most of us guessed early to mid 1800's because BA now looks so modern, but we found out that it was 1997!! This led us right into a discussion of the corruption in the local government, and how it has affected the development of the city. For example- there is an 8 block long train here, with only one car going in each direction, that cost the government US$ 22 Million. Who do you think got all that money??!!?!? One clue: the extremely wealthy aristocracy in BA also own most of the construction (steel, lumber, etc.) and real estate companies!

Other fun facts:

• Graffiti here is art. By far the coolest graffiti I've ever seen.
• Portenos eat dinner at 11, go out at 2, and go to sleep at 7am. We're really suffering over here!
• Though Buenos Aires is located on the water, the closest (actually nice) beach is 4 hours away!
• There is a specific word for horse shit in Argentinean Spanish
• The meat here is as amazing as they say-- but not nearly as cheap.

I love you all and miss you much!!

Kisses