A plaza in Nueva Cordoba, near where I'm staying.
Another view
The window of a store in the "chopping." I have no idea what it's supposed to mean.
I was SO excited to see an Xterra. I never once saw one in Spain.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Some pics
A plaza in Nueva Cordoba, near where I'm staying.Another view
The window of a store in the "chopping." I have no idea what it's supposed to mean.
Lines, lines, lines (Day 2 in Cordoba)
Somehow I managed to get up pretty early this morning (at least for me anyway). I had lots to accomplish and wanted to get started right away. It was a beautiful, sunny day, so I made sure to put on some sunscreen before I went out because I knew that if Argentina was anything like Spain, random senoras in the street would tell me "ooo hija, I hope you put on sunscreen because you are very white." :)
My first stop was the shopping center, appropriately called "un chopping," to pick up a SIM card for my old cell phone. After I got that set up I went to the Plaza de San Martin where all the banks are located to change some money and to make a deposit at the hostel where I'm staying in Buenos Aires. If I had known how crazy the lines were going to be I would have brought all my money to change so as to never have to go through the process again! I stood for about 30 minutes in a line, only to be told I couldn't change money if I didn't have my passport on me. Luckily, I found another place that was willing to change the money anyway (after another good 20 minute wait of course). Then I had to head to a specific bank to make the deposit. After waiting about 30 more minutes I realized I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Fortunately these two guys behind me were extremely nice and (mostly) instructed me on what to do. Then when it was my turn at the kiosk thing the lady who was helping everyone disappeared so I was kind of just standing there until a girl about my age came up and basically did it for me (though I believe she was motivated more by wanting to get me out of there than by good will).
Feeling a little better having accomplished those tasks, I headed to the bus station to buy my tickets to Mar del Plata, the beach town where I'm heading on Thursday night. I thought it was going to be an easy task, but I soon discovered that there were about 40 different companies selling tickets and the vendors were generally pretty miserable people. It's kind of surprising because everyone has told me that the people in Argentina are the nicest people you will find anywhere, but I haven't really gotten that sense yet. Except for the one incredibly nice man who helped me in the bank and then pointed me in the direction of the bus station, most people simply seem to tolerate my questions and maybe respond with a polite smile and a short answer. My Spanish is fine, but people seem kind of impatient when it is difficult for me to express my thoughts. So far, I think the people in Sevilla are much nicer, but maybe I'm just still a little nervous and self-conscious about being in a new place with a new kind of Spanish.
I got lunch at a bar close to my hostel, and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a young boy (obviously Argentine with the mullet he was rockin') sporting a Jerome Bettis Steelers jersey!! I wanted to take a picture but I thought that might be creepy. After lunch I was too exhausted to go to the zoo so I think I'm going to go on Wednesday instead. I came back to my hostel, took a nap, showered, and then went out to the patio of the hostel (where it is much cooler than in my room) to read the second Twilight book. As I was reading, my friend Marcelo called me and asked me if I wanted to do something, so in about 15 minutes we're going to get some food and maybe see a movie.
Tomorrow, as mentioned in the last post, I am going to Villa Carlos Paz to hit the lake, so by the time I write the next post I should have some color (hopefully brown, not red). Hope you all are safe and well. Hasta manana...
Kate
My first stop was the shopping center, appropriately called "un chopping," to pick up a SIM card for my old cell phone. After I got that set up I went to the Plaza de San Martin where all the banks are located to change some money and to make a deposit at the hostel where I'm staying in Buenos Aires. If I had known how crazy the lines were going to be I would have brought all my money to change so as to never have to go through the process again! I stood for about 30 minutes in a line, only to be told I couldn't change money if I didn't have my passport on me. Luckily, I found another place that was willing to change the money anyway (after another good 20 minute wait of course). Then I had to head to a specific bank to make the deposit. After waiting about 30 more minutes I realized I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Fortunately these two guys behind me were extremely nice and (mostly) instructed me on what to do. Then when it was my turn at the kiosk thing the lady who was helping everyone disappeared so I was kind of just standing there until a girl about my age came up and basically did it for me (though I believe she was motivated more by wanting to get me out of there than by good will).
Feeling a little better having accomplished those tasks, I headed to the bus station to buy my tickets to Mar del Plata, the beach town where I'm heading on Thursday night. I thought it was going to be an easy task, but I soon discovered that there were about 40 different companies selling tickets and the vendors were generally pretty miserable people. It's kind of surprising because everyone has told me that the people in Argentina are the nicest people you will find anywhere, but I haven't really gotten that sense yet. Except for the one incredibly nice man who helped me in the bank and then pointed me in the direction of the bus station, most people simply seem to tolerate my questions and maybe respond with a polite smile and a short answer. My Spanish is fine, but people seem kind of impatient when it is difficult for me to express my thoughts. So far, I think the people in Sevilla are much nicer, but maybe I'm just still a little nervous and self-conscious about being in a new place with a new kind of Spanish.
I got lunch at a bar close to my hostel, and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a young boy (obviously Argentine with the mullet he was rockin') sporting a Jerome Bettis Steelers jersey!! I wanted to take a picture but I thought that might be creepy. After lunch I was too exhausted to go to the zoo so I think I'm going to go on Wednesday instead. I came back to my hostel, took a nap, showered, and then went out to the patio of the hostel (where it is much cooler than in my room) to read the second Twilight book. As I was reading, my friend Marcelo called me and asked me if I wanted to do something, so in about 15 minutes we're going to get some food and maybe see a movie.
Tomorrow, as mentioned in the last post, I am going to Villa Carlos Paz to hit the lake, so by the time I write the next post I should have some color (hopefully brown, not red). Hope you all are safe and well. Hasta manana...
Kate
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Trip and Day 1 in Cordoba
After months of planning I finally arrived in Cordoba, Argentina, at around 11:30 this morning (7:30 am Chicago time). My flight from Chicago to Miami (luckily with all the crappy weather and my mom telling my some flights to Miami were canceled) went off without a hitch. We boarded the flight from Miami to Santiago, Chile early, so I thought we were in good shape. Then we got an announcement from the Captain that we had to wait until Peru or some country gave us permission to cross its airspace, so I started to get worried as I only had a 1.5 hour layover in Chile. While we were waiting I started talking with the woman sitting next to me. She's American but she's been working in Santiago for 15 years and has her own wine distribution business. There was also a group of really nice college students from West Virginia who were flying to Chile to do a 2 week hiking trip through the Chilean Pategonia. One guy said he was looking at William and Mary Law so I was talking to him for awhile and trying to sell him on coming.
We finally got up in the air and I somehow made my flight to Cordoba easily and my luggage actually arrived as well. A chauffeur service took me to my hostel and on the way I realized that, while seemingly impossible for those of us who have lived in Europe, the drivers are actually worse here. There are lines on the street delineating lanes, but apparently they are invisible to all the Cordobeses (the people from Cordoba). Still, I arrived safely at the hostel and was greeted by a really skinny guy with a sweet mullet and a name I couldn't decipher. I got up to my room, called my parents to let them know I made it, and passed out for a good two hours. Then I woke up and tried to take a shower, but all that came out was scalding hot water, so I got switched to another room.
After my shower I went exploring. Most of the restaurants and bars were closed as it's Sunday, but I managed to find an open one and tried my first "lomito," which is basically like a hamburger but with thiner beef. As all my friends in Spain know I love to make crazy sandwiches and this one had an egg on it, so of course, I loved it.
All of you reading this likely know that I am a pretty (alright, extremely) outgoing person, but I just felt really nervous being here by myself. Luckily, before I came, a friend had put me in touch with this really realllly nice guy from Cordoba and so I called him after I ate and he came to pick me up and took me around the city. We went into the Cathedral and then took a walk around the city and ended up at a cafe where we had a couple beers and talked for about 4 hours. He invited me to spend New Years Eve with his family (and luckily he's my friend's friend so he's vouched for), so I'm excited that I won't be alone!
We stayed at the cafe until it got dark (about 10:30 PM...amazing!!) and then he brought me back to my hostel, which is where I am right now writing this first entry. Tomorrow I am going to the bank and buying a sim card for my cell phone, and then maybe going to the zoo. Tuesday I'm planning on taking a day trip to a town called Villa Carlos Paz where there is a big lake and apparently a huge kukoo clock ("reloj cu cu" in Spanish hahaha), so hopefully I can get started on a tan!
I'll try to write again tomorrow, and hopefully post some pictures. Take care and I miss you all!
Kate
We finally got up in the air and I somehow made my flight to Cordoba easily and my luggage actually arrived as well. A chauffeur service took me to my hostel and on the way I realized that, while seemingly impossible for those of us who have lived in Europe, the drivers are actually worse here. There are lines on the street delineating lanes, but apparently they are invisible to all the Cordobeses (the people from Cordoba). Still, I arrived safely at the hostel and was greeted by a really skinny guy with a sweet mullet and a name I couldn't decipher. I got up to my room, called my parents to let them know I made it, and passed out for a good two hours. Then I woke up and tried to take a shower, but all that came out was scalding hot water, so I got switched to another room.
After my shower I went exploring. Most of the restaurants and bars were closed as it's Sunday, but I managed to find an open one and tried my first "lomito," which is basically like a hamburger but with thiner beef. As all my friends in Spain know I love to make crazy sandwiches and this one had an egg on it, so of course, I loved it.
All of you reading this likely know that I am a pretty (alright, extremely) outgoing person, but I just felt really nervous being here by myself. Luckily, before I came, a friend had put me in touch with this really realllly nice guy from Cordoba and so I called him after I ate and he came to pick me up and took me around the city. We went into the Cathedral and then took a walk around the city and ended up at a cafe where we had a couple beers and talked for about 4 hours. He invited me to spend New Years Eve with his family (and luckily he's my friend's friend so he's vouched for), so I'm excited that I won't be alone!
We stayed at the cafe until it got dark (about 10:30 PM...amazing!!) and then he brought me back to my hostel, which is where I am right now writing this first entry. Tomorrow I am going to the bank and buying a sim card for my cell phone, and then maybe going to the zoo. Tuesday I'm planning on taking a day trip to a town called Villa Carlos Paz where there is a big lake and apparently a huge kukoo clock ("reloj cu cu" in Spanish hahaha), so hopefully I can get started on a tan!
I'll try to write again tomorrow, and hopefully post some pictures. Take care and I miss you all!
Kate
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
