No puedo dejar de pensar :)

jueves, 18 de abril, 2013

I’ve totally started establishing new roots now back in the U.S. …  I moved to Indianapolis for an internship, and am really loving my life starting as a young professional in a new city. But, my time in South America had quite an impact on me (obviously); these are memories I’ll never forget and things that definitely come into my thoughts from time to time. As necessary as it was to close that chapter of my life, there are moments when I can’t help but yearn to relive my Argentine life.

Today I took the text from this blog and made it into a word cloud graphic…  Words alone cannot fully describe an experience, and neither can images. But maybe together they can better preserve a memory :) 

Reflexiones

lunes, 14 de enero, 2013

Well, home sweet home.

I was originally planning on staying in Argentina one year, give or take.  But there were various factors pressuring me to stay for less time.  Yes, homesickness was a factor, as was me getting tired of being by myself (traveling and exploring is great… but it’s better with someone else).  But there were greater factors too.

My goals were to get more experience abroad, do some traveling, teach English, and improve my Spanish. I'd already accomplished all that, although of course if I stayed longer my Spanish would’ve definitely kept improving... but I had to decide what would be best for me in the long run.

I did love it there, but what I've learned from all my (various) travels is that I'm definitely an American... I enjoyed my “gap” six months, but I know my life will be in the US. Thus I had to decide when would be a good time for me to come back to reality.  I either dilly dally in the US (where there's the possibility of finding a job or other experience, meeting people/making connections, etc.), or in Argentina, where although I could keep practicing Spanish, I’d also (inevitably) keep spending more money.

In all honesty part of me felt tired.  I was tired living in a culture that wasn’t my own, tired of Argentina's political and economical problems, even tired of traveling and sight-seeing.  I lived there for 6 months. That's pretty substantial. 

I also feel like, with my birthday, and running my half marathon, and spending the holidays with Maia, and Maia leaving for Australia-- I’ve ended in a good time, on a really good note.  I have a lot of positive closure... you know?  Maybe if I went to Mendoza, I would’ve loved it, found a good job that paid well, made lots of friends, and all that... but what if I ended up hating it?  And if I wouldn’t be putting 100% into my life there... why stay?     

Another thing is that we don't know how long my grandfather is going to live... My dad is going to visit him every couple months now.  I haven't seen him in over a year, and part of me feels like this just isn't the best time to be living abroad.

I did also just miss the U.S... my own culture... my own country... all that.

So that describes the whirlwind of thoughts that were going around in my head… and then I got a wave of news that made the decision for me.  One of my color guard girls who I taught at Legends this past summer passed away on New Years due to complications with her heart condition.  Her name was Maisie and January 3^rd would have been her 18^th birthday.  When I was informed, it was as if someone up above was proving to me that it was time for me to return.  Fortunately, I was able to book a flight home in time to attend her funeral service.

This is a picture that was taken during one of my last nights with Legends this summer, at a community performance.  Maisie is on the far left.  She was such an amazing person, with a strong spirit that inspired everyone around her.  May she be at peace now, and all of God’s blessings to her family and friends!

Immediately upon returning, I felt confident that I am supposed to be here now.  I was picked up from the airport by one of my Alpha Gamma Delta sisters, and I was surrounded by people from Legends at Maisie’s service, which provided an intense amount of support.  I wouldn’t have either of these two networks if I was in Argentina!  Even if this situation wasn’t ideal, I’m glad God used it to bring me home.

And it does feel good to be back.  I’ve been able to visit with family and friends.  Maybe more than anything this crazy flash of deciding to come home has taught me the value of the people in our lives.  Going off on adventures, and growing professionally, and doing great things, can all be amazing.  But I believe one of the purposes of life is to express the love you have for the people dear in your life.  And that’s something that’s really hard to do when you’re on the opposite side of the globe. 

Maybe this sounds funny, but I’m still having to adjust back to life in the U.S.  This is called “reverse culture shock”, and although I did experience it when I came back from my semester abroad in Spain, it feels much stronger now.  Mainly because I spent more time in Argentina, and my experiences were much stronger.  I really did immerse myself in the country and its language and culture.  And some of those cultural aspects are still sticking with me, or I’m at least comparing them with the way we do things here…

I know I’ll travel abroad again.  I don’t know when, but it will happen, I’m sure!  I hope to keep in touch with the friends I made in Argentina, especially Maia and Diego.  Hopefully I’ll get to meet up with them again, whether it be during a trip back to Argentina, or to somewhere else on the globe!

Thank you Argentina for all my amazing adventures and experiences!  Both the good and the bad have helped to grow me.  And my next life adventure (whatever that may be)… may it do the same!  

Entre Rios, entre caminos

sábado 5 de enero, 2013

I spent 10 days in Concepción de Uruguay with Maia and her family…  Wow, ¡qué fantástico!  I had such a great time!

Maia was with her mother and two brothers in Concepción, which is in the province Entre Rios, on a river (Río Uruguay, along the border with Uruguay).  They also have three dogs, which are all very cute, but muy molestos (obnoxiously annoying!)

From left: Eimi, Enzo, and Mora

When I arrived, it was SO HOT.  Like, if you moved, you’d start to sweat.  Definitely a climate change from Bariloche!

My Christmas experience this year was quite different from my norm.  On Christmas Eve we had dinner and then stayed up for a midnight toast—followed by fireworks.  And opening presents.  Then Maia’s brothers and their girlfriends went to the city plaza for some all-night partying.  I wanted to go, but they didn’t leave until 4AM… I just couldn’t do it, I went to sleep, haha (like I said, quite different from a typical American Christmas!)

Our week was filled with…

lots of beach days:

This is Maia and me at the beach.  It’s not a lake or a sea beach, it’s the beach along the river—which makes for a different beach experience, but it’s beach all the same.  Actually, at this time the river was really high—we were lucky to find the strip of beach that we did, because a lot of it was covered with water!

Okay, this technically is not the beach, but we still went swimming and laid out in the sun.  This is Las Termas, an aqua center just outside of Concepción.  They had lots of different pools, each a different set temperature—from cold swimming pools to pools that felt like you were swimming in a hot tub!

Temperature: 39 degrees (Celsius!)

Our final beach day consisted of taking a catamaran to an island in the river.  Really nice beach there, but again… due to high waters, there wasn’t as much beach as usual!

I went to the beach and tanned a bit… in December… can’t do that in Michigan!

a couple asados (barbeques):

The boys supervising the backyard asado

and lots of mate drinking (it took me six months… but Carolina has finally acquired the taste of mate!)  Mate amargo (with hot water, no sugar) is still not my beverage of choice, but there’s nothing like having the late afternoon merienda with friends and/or family, sharing mate and some galletitas or pan dulce.  I might just bring the merienda back to the States with me…  I also had terere for this first time; this is a cold version of yerba mate, made with orange (or your fruit of choice) juice.  I know, sounds weird—but it’s actually quite delicious and refreshing.

New Year’s Eve was similar to Christmas.  First, we had dinner:

Maia’s mom prepared a super creative dinner!  She made little masitas with three different fillings (chicken, tuna, and veggie)… topped off with some smiley faces!  And that mouse?  An ornamented hard-boiled egg!  Our dinner was paired with the wine I brought from Chile… which the family loved!

And for dessert, more masitas, this time with a delicious fruit filling :)

Then we had a toast and watched fireworks from the roof… followed by partying in the city plaza (I actually stayed up this time)!  That was so fun.  There was this huge vehicle equipped with music that slowly circled the plaza all night.  Maia and I left before the rest of the crew, but staying out till 6AM was still an accomplishment for me :)

My last night in Concepción was really tranquil and pleasant; we had some pizza and watched Amores Perros (a really good Mexican film).  The next day (January 2) I took a bus to Buenos Aires.  I was sad to leave Maia and her family… I really enjoyed spending the holidays with them, sincerely!

This week was a really nice break from traveling.  I love seeing new places, but it’s also nice to stop the running around and just enjoy one place for a while (and if there’s a beach to lay out at, even better).

And, amidst all my travels, a bunch of thoughts whizzed through my head, and a lot of things back home happened too, which all made me rethink where I want to be in this moment in my life.  Eventually, I decided that moving to Mendoza wasn’t actually my next best adventure.  In fact, I’ve decided to come home, and as I publish this new post, I'm... well, home, back in DeWitt, Michigan. 

Maybe this sounds cold and abrupt.  I’ll follow up with another post elaborating on exactly what I’m going through in a little bit.  But for now, I want to close saying that life is amazingly wonderful.  Sometimes it’s predictable, and sometimes it’s absolutely not.  But it always manages to grow and teach us.  I am so thrilled with all the blessings I’ve experienced in Argentina, and I came home content and proud of what I’ve done there.   

Chilean Family Vacation

jueves 27 de diciembre 2012

Well, the Chilean family vacation (apart from a faulty GPS system which led us astray in our rental car every once in a while…) was a success!

I arrived a day earlier than my parents and stayed in a hostel that night.  Sebastian, one of the English students from Bridge back when I was in Buenos Aires, had moved back to Santiago (he’s Chilean, was studying in Buenos Aires, and returned to be with family for a while).  So he met up with me and we went out for a couple drinks and strolled through downtown Santiago.  That was great!

The next afternoon, my parents and I met up in our hotel.  It was SO great to see them!

We had some coffee and then walked through a more residential area of the city until we reached a set of restaurants along the river where we eat dinner. 

The  next morning, we visited Pablo Neruda’s house.  Neruda is a famous Chilean poet.  He actually had three houses, one in Santiago, one in Valparaíso, and another in Isla Negra (which, although it translates to “Black Island”, isn’t actually an island…  When I asked if you could organize a boat trip to get there someone laughed at me and said it’s just the name of a city… silly).  That was really cool, and as my mom said, “we got our dose of culture in early.”

Then we hopped into the car and drove towards Valparaíso, our next destination.  On our way, we passed through Casablanca and visited the vineyard Casas del Bosque, where we enjoyed a tour and (the most important part) tasting.

Me, Mom, and our tour guide

When we reached Valparaíso, we were immediately introduced to what the city is known for: its hills.  Basically, the only part of the city that’s flat is the small business district and what’s immediately along the coast.  Besides that, the city is divided into different cerros, or hills.  Most of the residents live in the cerros.  The houses are built so they fit on the hills, and the people adjust to live that lifestyle.  It’s really quite fascinating.  There are even ascensores or trolley lifts that can take you up or down a cerro.  I personally didn’t mind walking the hills (although I was only there three days), but driving up and down was quite frightening sometimes…

On Monday (Dec 17), we had a personal tour guide drive us around to see Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, and Reñaca.  That was a fantastic day!  All three cities lie just a few kilometers from each other along the coast.  Reñaca and Concon are popular vacation towns, with a lot of tourist rentals or part-time homes and sunny beaches.  My favorite city was Viña del Mar.  Valparaíso is cool because of the hills and colorful houses (it’s a historic city protected by Unicef), but to me it seemed kind of dirty, and I didn’t think it had that much to do.  Viña is much more like an actual city.  It was developed, with nice looking buildings, parks, a river, and the coast too, of course.  

Valparaíso

Look how skinny this building is!

acensor

Boats in the port. I’m particularly fond of the yellow one.

We saw a sea lion colony as we drove along the coast! 

and pelicans too!

As we were driving back, the clouds were resting just on top of Valparaíso across the water… it was a spectacular image!

After three nights in Valparaíso, the last activity we did was visit the botanical gardens just outside of Viña del Mar, which were really lovely.  Then we headed towards the “mountain lodge resort” that Dad had told us he booked.  We drove south to Chillán, and then east into the mountains, past the town of Pinto, until we reached Roca Negra (the name of the lodge).  Roca Negra reminded me a lot of Walter and Miriam’s house.  It was constructed completely out of wood and lava rock (hence the name Roca Negra, which means “black rock”).  There are ten guest rooms, a bar, small restaurant (breakfast and a three-course dinner each day were included… score!), a swimming pool, and two hot tubs.  Normally Roca Negra operates as lodging during the ski season, when people come to hit the slopes in Termas de Chillán, about a 20 minute drive away.  In the summer, Ruben and Roberta (the couple who owns and supervised the construction of the lodge) are trying to draw more guests in by offering trekking, mountain biking, and other summer activities. 

As soon as we arrived, it started to snow (even though it’s summer down here; that’s what going into the mountains can be like!)…  So, even though it wasn’t quite the 25th yet, that was the closest I came to having a white Christmas. 

The place is quite isolated from anything that looks like society, but it was nice to have a two-night getaway.  We were the only ones in the lodge… which was kind of weird but nice at the same time.  We had some nice family time.  We took full advantage of the lodge bar, played some pool, watched some movies, and had a nighttime hot tub session.  Ruben even drove us to Termas de Chillán (the ski resort) Thursday afternoon where Mom and I enjoyed a massage in their spa ;)  Overall, we really enjoyed our stay.  The staff were super friendly and it was just a really great atmosphere!

 The backyard after the snow

The hot tubs—heated by burning wood!

A waterfall on the way to Termas de Chillán

Our next stop was Santa Cruz, where we stayed one night.  After dinner, I ordered mote con huesillos for dessert, which I heard was a typical Chilean dessert even though I had no idea what it was.  Well, here’s what it turned out to be:

It’s peaches, in a glass with peach juice, and wheat (yes, that’s what those floating white things are).  It was… quite weird.  Kind of refreshing, but I would have enjoyed it more if it didn’t taste like I was drinking the high fructose corn syrup that comes with canned peaches.

Before we left Santa Cruz, we visited another vineyard, Viña Santa Cruz.  No tour this time, just wine tasting accompanied by a cheese platter, cracker, and mixed nuts and dried fruit.

The last night of our trip was fairly tranquil, back in Santiago.  We went out for pizza and a couple last pisco sours (typical South American drink made from pisco, a grape-based liquor, and egg white, among other ingredients), then had a mini Christmas in the hotel room.

It was really nice to see my parents, even just for 11 days :)  Sunday afternoon I flew to Buenos Aires, and then met up with my friend Anna (who was in my TEFL class) for a drink and a chat.  We talked about our experiences thus far, both the good and the bad, and it was really nice to talk with her, it was kind of exactly what I didn’t know I needed.

Next, I caught a bus to Concepción de Uruguay, where I am now, spending the holidays with Maia and her family...  More on that adventure later!

Puerto Madryn (aka Real-Life Pokemon Snap)

viernes 14 de diciembre 2012

This blog post is also written from inside a bus. 

Unfortunately, the bus is currently not moving.

We just crossed into Chile and went through customs, but before we had gone for another five minutes, the bus came to a stop, behind a long trail of stopped vehicles on the road.  We haven’t moved for at least half an hour.  After much complaining and question-asking from various passengers, the bus staff finally informed us that apparently they’re repairing the road… and they couldn’t advise us beforehand…  And no one knows how long we’ll be stopped here.  No one’s allowed to get down off the bus.  We’re stuck here inside for who knows how long…  On the bright side, we won’t die of hunger, as we’re stocked with bus food, although it consists of solely cheap alfajores and white-bread sandwiches. 

Ya gotta love South America.

I guess this gives me plenty of time to write out this post…

Well, okay, first things first, I have to recap on my trip to Puerto Madryn.  Puerto Madryn is a city on the eastern coast of Argentina, and it’s a wildlife wonderland.  Its main attraction are the southern right whales, which come into the bay for part of the year for reproduction.  Well, when I learned December was the end of the whale season, I decided, “Heck yes, I’m going!”  I left the day after my half-marathon (my legs were still painfully sore… it was a rough bus ride, haha), and Ramon came with me.  We arrived Monday morning and headed directly for Puerto Pirámides, which is the only town in Peninsula Valdés (a protected reserve).  From there, we booked a tour to go whale-watching.  That afternoon we went out in a boat with about 12ish other people.  Even though it’s the end of the whale season… we still had success!  We spotted five different whales, including a new mother with her offspring.  

 its mouth is open to feed… sooo cool

After the whale tour we went back to Puerto Madryn, where we stayed at the Hi! Patagonia hostel (which was fantastic…! If you ever travel to Puerto Madryn, stay there. It’s a really friendly environment, and the owner Gaston is super awesome).  Tuesday, we booked a tour to Punta Tombo, which is a protected area that houses the world’s largest colony of Magellan penguins.  We got to walk through their territory… and at times were close enough to be able to touch them (although we weren’t supposed to)!  The best part was it’s egg-hatching season… and we saw lots of adorable little fluff-balls, aka baby penguins or pinchos.

 ¡Pingüinos!

 In the nest with the youngsters

  Hellooooooooooo!

Punta Tombo was an all-day tour, and after seeing the penguins, we went to the port of Rawson where we went on a dolphin-watching tour.  We saw Tominas (sp?), which are really small (the smallest dolphin in the world), black and white dolphins.  They were so playful… they were chasing our boat and jumping and diving the whole time we were out there!  And they were so fast too…

And, as an added bonus, we passed by a sea lion colony on the shore on our way out to sea :)

These little buggers were so fast… it was so difficult to get a good picture!  (This one I got by pure luck)  I tried for a while and then put the camera away to just enjoy the ride

In the final part of the excursion, we were taken to the city of Gaiman, which is known for its preservation of the area’s Welsh heritage.  There wasn’t too much to see, we just stayed long enough to enjoy a merienda of traditional tea and some pastries.

So… those were my wildlife-watching adventures!  I was really happy to have a two-day vacation with a bunch of animals :)  Most of the time I spent with my camera in hand, ready to snap a good shot if the opportunity arose.  At times I felt like I was playing real-life Pokemon Snap… waiting for the animals to appear, hoping to capture them in a pose worthy of a high-score…  And yes, I am referring to the N64 game I used to play all the time when I was younger.

Our last night in Puerto Madryn (Tuesday) was really nice.  Gaston put on an asado in the hostel, so all us guests got to eat and chat together.  Plus there was chicken, so it was an asado I could actually eat at :)    (I stopped eating red meat about a year ago, not the most convenient timing, as beef makes up a hefty portion of the Argentine diet).  After the asado, Ramon and I took a stroll through the city with two other Americans from the hostel.  We enjoyed the views of the coast at night, as well had some tasty drinks at Las Margaritas Bar.

The funny thing about Puerto Madryn is that it was not as tropical as I imagined it would be…  The reason being that it’s in the desert.  That’s right, a desert beach town.  It was pretty strange, to me anyway; the town itself, and the coast, were really pretty and nice, but before the town appeared, we were just driving through what seemed like wasteland.  It was really dry and dirty and… kind of ugly.

Well anyway, that was my Puerto Madryn getaway :)  On Wednesday I left at 1:30 on my bus to Mendoza (I was supposed to leave at 12:30 but the bus was late… go figure, Argentina…).  That bus ride was 23 hours long… oof… the longest bus ride I’ve taken since Luke and I came to Bariloche from Bs.As.  But, I mean, it wasn’t that bad…  Even though they’re long, the nice thing about bus rides is you get to look at the countryside.  Plus years of drum corps have taught me very well how to sleep on buses… definitely a perk.

I arrived in Mendoza around noon yesterday.  And… I went directly to an apartment complex.  This Argentine girl named Paula, from CompartoDepto.com, and I had been messaging about living together.  She had to work that evening, so I went directly to her place after arriving to avoid missing the chance to meet her and see the apartment.  Her other roommate Gabi was there too.  Really nice girls!  They showed me the place and then we cooked some pasta and had lunch together.  The apartment was really nice too… nicer than any option I’d ever looked at in Bariloche.  When I told them I was staying with a Couch Surfer, they asked me who, and it turns out Gabi knew Laura (my host)!  They had gone to the same church group years back or something.  Haha, coincidences like that happen in Bariloche all the time… and it’s kind of comforting to know that, even though Mendoza is a much bigger city, they still say “Mendoza es chiquita" (it’s a small world).

After meeting Paula and Gabi, I headed to meet Laura, who lives in an apartment with her mother, Mercedes.  They’re both really lovely people! 

Later I headed out for a stroll to explore what I could of Mendoza.  Without even trying to scope them out, I passed by three English institutes.  Haha.  Then I headed to see another potential roommate and her apartment.  She was a nice girl, but felt better vibes about Paula and Gabi…

From what [little] I saw of Mendoza, I liked it.  It’s not as open and naturalistic as Bariloche (I mean, it’s hard to compare with Nahuel Huapi Lake and the surrounding mountain peaks)… but it possesses its own kind of beauty.  The downtown is adorned with five really nice plazas; it has a ginormous, beautiful park (el Parque General San Martin); the streets are wide (and all paved) and water canals run along the sidewalks.

**I have to interrupt my thought… our bus started moving finally… On our way to Santiago (again)!
It’s now 2:45; we were supposed to arrive 15 minutes ago… oh well**

Continuing: And, even though the heat is pretty strong in Mendoza, the city was really well planned; planted trees line all the streets, so walking down the sidewalks, you’re under a forest of shade.  In an odd way, Mendoza kind of reminded me of Sevilla… albeit smaller and more, well, Argentine.

My [one] evening in the city was quite awesome.  Laura had invited some friends over for dinner, and she made homemade pizza.  So I met her friends and we all had pizza and drinks, I listened to them have a heated discussion (debate, really), and then we played Uno (yes, the card game, of all things).  Typical of Argentine get-togethers, we didn’t close down the festivities until late (about 1:30-2ish).  But even though I had to get up at 6 this morning to catch my bus… I didn’t really care… The fun night was worth it.  And actually, I’m not really that tired right now…

But, I think I’ll put away my computer and try to have a South American siesta anyway.