All the Haps

Hands down one of the coolest things I have done in Buenos Aires was seeing a movie in one of their movie theaters.  I saw Valiente (Brave) the other night and the whole movie was in Spanish.  This is what I was expecting until one of my friends told me that many of the movies here are shown in English, but have Spanish subtitles.  Anywhoo, I LOVED IT!! #1 it is a Disney movie which are always good #2 it is mainly for children which is a check plus for me because it was easier to understand #3 well I don't have a third reason...just go see it!

A couple days ago my friend, Brittany and I were stumbling across websites on the internet and we found this pilates studio 2 blocks down from our homes.  We decided to drop by yesterday and see what it was all about.  The told us that we could try out the class for free sometime to see if we would like it and then we could join if we wanted.  Well folks, today was that day! I tried out the pilates class. It caused quite a stir when my friend and I walked in because I could tell what everyone was thinking, "These girls are definitely not from Argentina." It might have been my hot pink work out top that gave it away.  Sidenote --> everyone wears darks clothes here in the winter! The only acceptable colors are black, navy, and gray.  Missed the memo on that one and stuffed my multicolored clothing in the back of my closet.  Ok back to the subject at hand...pilates.  This quite possibly might have been one of the funniest experiences I have had while in Buenos Aires.  My friend and I ended up being the only ones in the class which meant special attention...at let me tell ya that was definitely needed.  I don't know if any of you readers are avid pilates class attenders, but it is HARD! First of all all the technical vocabulary in spanish was a rough beginning and then to throw in the exercises.  Woah I needed a siesta after that one.  All in all, I totally recommend doing an exercise class while abroad because 1) I am eating so much food and sweets here and 2) It helps you get to know the local people.

This afternoon I met up with a guy named Alan who lives in Buenos Aires.  Alan stayed in the United States with my Uncle Scott and my Aunt Deanne a year and a half ago! My aunt messaged me on facebook and told me about Alan and how I should meet up with him.  Today we went to a cafe and it was so funny to hear him talk all about my family who lives what seems a world away.  Here are a few remarks he said:

1. Gosh I miss that Dr. Pepper nothing compares
2. I met your grandfather. (He immediately points to his chin as he forgot the word "beard") For those of you who do not know my grandfather, he looks very similar to Abraham Lincoln.
3. I gained 15 pounds in the U.S. because I always ate Sonic, McDonlads, Whatabuger and all the fast foods.
4. I miss it very much and your family was so kind! He wants to return so get ready Aunt Deanne and Uncle Scott!!!

What does wealthy mean?

Wealthy.  This is a term that I have been reflecting on for the past week I have been in Buenos Aires.  There is a great difference in the the definition of this word depending on the person you ask.  In the United States, I believe many people would say that wealthy is an exuberant amount of money and (unnecessary) items.  It has been so interesting to see a different meaning to the word here in Argentina.   There is a great difference between the people that are considered wealthy in the U.S. and the people here.  However, there are many families here that are wealthier than those in the United States and I am not talking money wise.  My host mom considers herself wealthy because she has a family and 2 grandchildren.  And let me tell ya...those grandchildren are her LIFE! She constantly is telling me about them saying, "Son divinos, que carinosos, perfectos!"  My host mom has lots of friends and is able to watch her nightly television show.  She is considered wealthy.  

Just a little side note about the nightly television shows...every single dinner we have the t.v. on to watch the nightly news, then after dinner comes the shows.  We have watched House, Law and Order, CSI, and many other shows in spanish.  Lets just say you have not experienced the full entertainment of a television show until you have watched it with my host mom.  There is constant shouts, squeals, and occasional spanish phrases.  This has been highly entertaining!

Something else that I have learned a lot about lately is SOCCER.  When I saw soccer is life here in Buenos Aires, that is an understatement.  There are 2 teams that I have grown to know a lot about: River Plata and La Boca.  They are famous teams here in Buenos Aires and their fan bases are enormous!  I really hope I can go to a game while I am here and experience the craziness! 

See for Yourself

This video was from the other day when we went to the Fair at Recoletta! Today We went to an industrial fair at Plaza Italiano.  There were many sheep, horses, cattle, and cows being shown.  Check out my facebook for more pictures!

This was a little excerpt of the tango presentation that I saw at the University of Belgrano yesterday.  Friends...how bout we be trying a lil of this at the next date party??!

Today I had a typical Argentine lunch of Corizpan! My Argentinian friends in Cordoba would be so proud of me because when I tried this with them last December, it was not my fav at all, but today it was FABULOUS! It is fresh bread with cow meat in the middle.  Add a little salt, throw on some of the mysterious pesto and pepper sauce and you are good to go!

Firsts

There have been a lot of new things that I have tried or learned lately.  I'll let you in on the good and the bad.
1. Some of my friends and I went to the Recoleta Fair yesterday.  It was amazing and was an explosion of culture in one single park.  There are tons of venders that set up shop in the park every sunday and it is an excellent place to buy artisan goods and souvenirs.  (maybe you will be one of the lucky ones who gets one!)  There was also lots of musicians and carts selling food from cakes to corizpan (it is like subway sandwiches but 1000 times better!).  Actually, get the subway image out of your head because you can not even compare it to that.  But you know what kind of sandwich I'm talking!!

2. I attended a Catholic mass last night with one of my friend's host mom.  I have never attended an actual mass service so it was very interesting.  The priest talked super fast so it was often difficult to understand what he was saying.  There was a lot of up and down movement of the congregation.  What I mean is that we sat and then we stood up many times as they recited prayers.  After the service everyone exits out the main door and gives the priest a hug and exchanges a few words.  I thought this was a pretty cool gesture because the priest was not just someone in the front of the church giving a message, but makes a conscious effort to know everyone that attends.  It is cool to reflect on the fact that God knows every single language in the world. GEEEZZ thats a lot of knowledge!  Here is one of the verses that I love.  (It is in Spanish, so LOOK IT UP! You won't be disappointed!)

"Siempre pido en mis oraciones que, si es la voluntad de Dios, por fin se me abra ahora el camino para ir a visitarlos." Romanos 1:10

3. IT IS A LOT COLDER HERE THAN I THOUGHT! holaaaa winter!

El sello de mi universidad nueva

4. Today I went to my orientation at the University of Belgrano.  This is where I will be taking half of my classes.  It was awesome and the orientation consisted of all the international students from all over  the worlds.  I talked to many people from Sweden, Germany, and France.  One of the neatest phrases the director told us is that, "we are not citizens from our specific country, rather, we are citizens of this world."  Once I got home today, I remembered him saying that and what a powerful phase that is.  There are no lines of division, but we are are here to be educated and learn from each other about different cultures and customs.
5. I saw a demonstration of Tango today! woah. oh. my. word. I do not think that will be possible in my book.  Especially thinking back to my time as a cheerleader (that lengthy time of 1 year in high school), I was off by either 1 or 2 beats for every dance and chant.  I'll let you know how it goes when I go to a Milonga (Tango dance bar).
6. I got a Subway card! Now I will be flying in the undergrounds!
7. The ravioli here is not your typical 3 cheese, but it had a meat and other ingredient mixture inside.  Not a fan.  
8. Ok so here is the history lesson for today. (Feel free to zone out if this is not your thing)  Buenos Aires is a very old city.  For instance, one of the churches I visited was built in the 1700s.  In the beginning many residents in Belgrano lived in La Boca (neighborhood).  However, when yellow fever hit Buenos Aires decades later and wiped out 1/3 of the population, the rich folks moved to a distinct neighborhood in Belgrano.  They did this because it was less population which created a smaller chance of them catching the disease.  Therefore, as you can imagine, this neighborhood is like the Beverly Hills of Buenos Aires.  The starting price for many of the smaller residences is 5 or 6 million dollars.  The majority of the houses have their own private security man that stands in front and many video cameras.

The city that does not sleep

So before I embarked upon this new journey, many people told me that I would expect to find Buenos Aires very similar to NYC.  As far as I can tell, this has proven to be completely true.  Some similarities: there are lots of dogs with sweaters, mass amounts of people walking everywhere, tons of restaurants, beautiful parks, and a huge night life!

Yesterday we had our orientation and meet many people in our group.  There are also other students from California and Michigan.  After lunch we took a wonderful city tour through many of the neighborhoods in Buenos Aires.  We went through Puerto Madera, Palermo, Belgrano, and La Boca.  La Boca was one of the first ports and all of the buildings are different colors and made from a wide variety of materials.  This is because when new inhabitants first got off the boat, they did not have many materials or a large quantity of paint, therefore all of there buildings are a mish-mash of items found on their boats and on land.

One of my favorite aspects of the trip has been getting to know the locals.  I was in a local coffee shop yesterday and some of my friends and I got to talk to some Argentine lawyers that were sitting next to us.  Not only does it help improve your spanish, but you get the real scoop on the best places to go in BA.

Today we all traveled to China Town (yes your read that correctly, there is a China Town in BA!) and bought some rinky dink cell phones.  This has been a problem since we have gotten here because we have not been able to contact each other in the program and therefore it has been a nightmare trying to meet up with friends because we hardly know our way around! Don't worry mom and dad, I'm getting the hang of it!

Check out this video! This is one of the craziest things I have seen in BA.  This was right outside the University of Belgrano and it is a tradition that has been carried on for decades here.  When someone graduates, their friends and family wait outside the university from them to come out and then they start throwing eggs, tomatos, mustard, ketchup, flour, and many other items at the newest graduate! IT WAS CRAZY! Apparently I ended up being right in the middle of the action and scurried out of the way fast! Not so sure I want to graduate in Argentina...plus the smell was absolutely horrendous!

Estoy aquí!

woah, golly geee that plane ride was a rough one! It was about 10 hours and anyone want to take a guess at how many hours Kelsey slept?? Ding Ding Ding, whoever said zero is correct! I was so lucky to be on a flight with 6 other members of the program I am in in Buenos Aires! A few of them I knew already, but the others instantly became my new best friends I would have for the next 4 months.  After we left the airport, I was taken to meet my new family.  I am living with a woman named Susana and she is, as they would say in Argentina, divina!! She loved the book about Texas landmarks that I brought her and when she saw a picture of some cowboy boots, she proceeds to tell me that I should have brought mine because they are totally in style here! (missed the boat on that one!)

After unpacking and taking a 1 hour nap, I went on a tour of the city with another girl in my program and her host mom, who live across the street.  Buenos Aires is beautiful, however, there is tons of trash on the streets and people are walking everywhere.  Don't expect to get anywhere in a car very quickly.  Anyways, we are having dinner in a few hours, of course around my American bedtime, but luckily Susana has lots of snacks!

Well folks...this is just about it for now.  My brain hurts from being so tired, but I promise to update you on all the haps soon! Adios!

Buenas Noticias!

I am so excited to say that I will be returning to Argentina this coming July! After my wonderful experience in December, I have decided that I will study abroad in Buenos Aires for the fall semester.  The school semester is a little different in Argentina.  My classes will start in July and I will return to the grand ol' USA in the beginning of November.  This time, I will be going with a program though the University of Oklahoma.  There are 17 students going and we will all be studying at the University of Belgrano.  I will be taking 4 Spanish classes and 1 International Area Studies class.  I can hardly wait to immerse myself into the culture again.

When I arrived back to the United States after my 3 weeks in Argentina over the winter break, I made a radical decision.  I CHANGED MY MAJOR!! It was a tough decision and really scary to drop 9 hours of class that I had been enrolled in, but looking back on the semester, I know it was the right thing to do.  I am still a Spanish major, but I am also majoring in International Area Studies.  You might be wondering, so why did Kelsey go and shadow doctors in Argentina then and give up on being pre-med?  Well lemme answer that for ya...I still absolutely love helping people and medicine, but after experiencing the culture and people in Argentina, I decided that I could not spend many more years studying in medical school because I wanted to return to a spanish speaking country as fast as I could! Therefore, my current plan is to finish my undergraduate studies at the University of Oklahoma and apply for the Fulbright Scholarship my senior year.  If awarded the scholarship, I would hopefully be teaching English in Spain for 8 months and then return to the U.S. for graduate school.  I would love to then study public health, but all of this is definitely subject to change!

While it will be hard to say good bye to everything I know for 4 months, I know that this is the path the Lord has set before me.  I will be able to volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House in Buenos Aires and I have already talked to the director, who is ecstatic to have a new American volunteer soon! I know the Lord will move in mighty ways while I am there and I can not wait to be used by Him.  To Him be all the glory!

P.S. Check out this sweet blog with tons of pictures of Buenos Aires, Argentina! http://www.akworld.net/webblog/