It's the middle of July and my semester just started. Wait, what?

First off, my apologies for SLACKING with this blog. Still no internet in casa, BUT it is coming soon. For real this time though! So once that happens I will have more time to fill all of you in on my crazy adventures.


Let's see... I started my semester officially! In the middle of July...who does that? However, the feeling that I am on vacation has yet to wear off haha. UB is a great school, and by that I mean I rarely have homework, but yet I am still learning a ton. Why can't TCNJ figure out a way to do that???? No but seriously, every Thursday, I take tango lessons in one of my classes. I'm not talking about our professor standing up in front of the class and showing us, I'm talking we leave the classroom to go to a big open space in the basement of the university to learn the dance. Needless to say, there's a slight chance I will NOT return to the wind and grind of The College of New Jersey. Why did I not come here for school in the first place!?? Haha only joking, I love TCNJ, but UB is giving me a much needed and appreciated break from good old debits and credits. What's also strange here is the way that they keep attendance records. For instance, at home during the first couple of weeks of classes most teachers will record the attendance at the beginning of class. There is no such thing here. We all have student id cards that we swipe on these machines before our classes start and that is how we are counted present everyday. Rather, I shouldn't say we swipe them before classes start because that is not the case. If I haven't mentioned before, everything and I mean EVERYTHING starts late here. And obviously that goes really well with my pet peeve of always being early for everything, but that's besides the point. And so, if I have class at 1 pm I have to wait until 1 pm to swipe my card. Therefore our classes don't usually begin until at least 1:15, which is nice because we usually get out early as well. So instead of having an hour and a half of class as we should, it is usually only near an hour. SWEET deal, no? So while all of my friends at home are sitting through an hour and fifty minutes of tax class and advanced accounting theory in the fall, I will be dancing the tango or watching an argentine film (one of my other classes is latin american cinema where we watch movies every Monday and discuss them on Thursday). As you can see, I'm really living the tough life down here :-) In case you were wondering, my two other classes are latin american history and latin american literature.

By now I've had 2 weeks of classes, so I'm obviously due for another vacation right? Haha, I think so and for that I am headed to Paraguay this weekend!! Totally random, but I just really want to go! A group of 4 of us are leaving tonight actually! We are visiting Asuncion (the capital) until Sunday night when we leave to come back to the city. Because the United States has to be so expensive for everyone else in the world, we in turn have to pay to go to other places, so we ended up having to get a visa (which I don't mind because it is pretty cool looking and gives my passport some style!). Getting the visa was an interesting experience to say the least. Keep in mind that NO ONE (and by that I mean tourists) ever goes to Paraguay, so I was obviously sticking out like a sore thumb when I went to the Consulate. But $65 later, I'm ready to go! We've done some research and think that there are a lot of things to see in the center of town. The reason why Paraguay doesn't attract many tourists is because it is not the "typical" tourist spot, meaning it is land-locked 100% and doesn't have the usual beach and touristy scene. However, I think it is going to be pretty cool to check out a place that's different from the rest of South America!

So besides vacationing every 2 weeks (love it so much!!) I've been chilling in the city and seeing everything I can! I am finally learning shortcuts for getting to places and I am also getting used to riding the bus because it is so cheap! I've also found my favorite empanada place that makes the most delicious FRIED empanadas I've ever tasted. Oh yea, and it costs me a dollar for one. Great success! I've explored a few malls, and they are so much nicer/cleaner than at home. I've also found out where I can buy peanut butter. So I am pretty much set for the next few months haha.

Two weekends ago I went to La Feria de Mataderos. I really had no idea where I was going, but I just decided to hop on the bus with the ISA group and check it out. Good thing I did because I had a great time and I bought some really cool stuff! It was pretty much this huge flea market with great food, and horse races--look to the left. There was music, people dancing, and I have some unique souvenirs (I bought something cool for my lovely sister as well!). Everything was so cheap there! I bought a really cool journal that I also starting writing in in spanish. Pat on the back for me :-)


For some reason (which I have yet to figure out) the art scene here has completely cultivated me. We all know that I have never been into art whatsoever, but here I think I've been to at least 5 different art exhibitions, which is more than I've seen in my entire life haha. One night I went to this thing called "Gallery Night". This was located in a certain part of Retiro where most of the art galleries are concentrated, and all of them open up their doors to the public, and they have champagne for you to drink as well. I was able to see at least 6 or 7 different galleries with different types of art. It was really cool! And even better, it was free!! Luckily, Ivonne (my host ma) keeps us in the loop about the cultural happenings in BsAs! I also went to El Museo de Bellas Artes the other day, which included argentine art, european art, and an Antonio Berni exhibit. Ivonne also has an exhibit coming up! The opening is this weekend, and I am super bummed that I am going to miss it, but I am going to see it on Tuesday so it will be pretty cool to see all of her work hanging in a gallery! She also changes all of the works that she has in our apartment on a bi-monthly basis, so it is almost as if I live in a gallery haha.

I've also seen 2 really great shows the past 2 weeks as well!! One is called Fuerza Bruta, which was so good, I am in fact going to see it again! There is really no way to describe because it was one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen, but it was so awesome! Everyone stands in this room and the show basically comes down from the ceiling (and by show I mean real people). I am for sure taking pictures when I go to see it again, which will give you a better idea of what it is. So stay tuned :-) I also saw a FANTASTIC piano concert in Teatro Colon. This theatre has been closed for the past couple of years, but luckily I was able to go and see it! Thanks to Ivonne giving me the heads up. Oh, and did I mention it was free? The lady that was playing the piano was incredible (but not as good as my Daddy!), and she played mostly classical music. The theatre was so pretty, I can't even describe it. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera on me (this was right after I went to get my visa for Paraguay) so I will just have to go back and see another show there because it is really nice!

This past weekend I went to the zoo!! I don't even know how long it's been since I've been to the zoo (last time I was there was in San Diego...)! Well, it was really nice, clean, and right smack in the MIDDLE of the city. It was kind of funny because we were walking around forgetting that we were in urban central, until we look in another direction and see the high-rise apartment buildings right outside of the zoo. To the left is a picture of a cute little giraffe that I saw :-) When I get the chance I will be putting up the rest of my pictures from this day on the fb!

Did I mention I also took my first yoga class a couple of weeks ago?? Yea, that was interesting.... Christina (my roommate) and I went together. She is a yoga pro, and me... I've never done it before haha. I thought I was terrible at it, but Christina later informed me that I wasn't half bad. I think I'll stick with my gym membership and my reggaeton dance classes, thank you. Speaking of reggaeton, one of the bolilches (aka club) I was in the other night played my FAVORITE song from Spain (and oh yes, I sang all of the words, in spanish). Needless to say, this club is obviously my new favorite night spot ever, and I officially love, love, love Argentina.

I am getting to the point down here where I feel like I already have too little of time left!! There are so many things and places that I want to see that I started planning it out and designating which weekends I want to go where. And I believe my next stop will be Uruguay!!! Chau chicos! Besitos!