Everything In Between

Okay, it’s been a million years since I’ve written, I know. Sorry… Life’s just so nuts here that I sometimes forget there’s a life waiting for me back in los Estados Unidos.

Anyways, I’ve sufficiently settled into a schedule by now. Class, homework, hanging out… the occasional trip across the city or… the country. My friend Charlotte and I have made it our new mission to avoid the use of taxis at all costs by taking advantage of the AWESOME bus system in the city. Sometimes it makes for some interesting experiences and some frustrating ones but overall (motion sickness aside) it’s really gratifying.

In other news, last weekend a group of us took advantage of the long weekend to travel west across the pampas of Argentina to Mendoza, a city in the foothills of the Andes. The town is known for its proximity to Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the western hemisphere at around 24,000ft, as well as its… ehm… wineries… It’s about a 14 hour bus ride from Buenos Aires to Mendoza but Argentina fortunately has an amazing system of rather luxurious night buses so we were able to spend three whole days in Mendoza.

Sunrise in the window in front of me on the shmancy bus.


Wineries! We went to a bigger one and then to an organic(!) family owned one.


Foothills of the Andes


Mendoza River


And again


The group getting ready to repel. Our guide was a little jokester and liked to pretend that the rope was about to break as soon as you started down the cliff. Soooo funny.... not.


Rafting. The coldest I've ever been. Ever.




Please note the ridiculous looks on our faces. Again: so cold!



But back to Buenos Aires! In the course of our city exploration, I’ve noticed again and again the differences between the rich and poor barrios. Most Latin American countries are characterized by extreme gaps between the haves and the have nots and, though Argentina is probably the most middle class country in Latin America, it is no exception. But what is interesting is how, if you take a wrong turn for just a couple blocks or get off of the bus two stops late, you can go almost instantaneously from a beautiful street, lined with trees and billboards for luxury goods, to a dark, run down street, scattered with men digging through trash.

It’s easy to forget sometimes that Argentina is a developing country when I’m strolling through Belgrano or Palermo, barrios reminiscent of the fanciest parts of Manhattan. But all I’ve got to do is scoot over to La Boca or Constitución, and I remember that Argentina is still victim to the same underdevelopment as the rest of the continent.


Ritzy park in Belgrano - it had a guarded dog kennel
full of BEAUTIFUL pedigrees.


Beautiful houses and chic apartment complexes in Belgrano


Shantytown under the bridge close to my neighborhood





But on a lighter note, this weekend is looking pretty exciting. Aside from the masses of homework I’ve got on my plate, we’re hopefully heading to El Tigre, where the Pañara River meets the Rio de la Plata. And then on Monday… Uruguay! The neighboring country is only a two hour ferry ride away and so we’re taking a day trip to Montevideo and Colonia with the program. This is especially exciting for me as I will be living in Montevideo next spring - so it’s a bit of a preview of things to come!

Besos! Chao!