I could use a bit of technical advice
So yesterday my computer declared war on me. All of my outlines and reading notes for my upcoming mid-term are locked on a piece of silicon, deep in the heart of my little VAIO and I have no way to access them!!! Even worse is the fact that I have no access to my pictures, DVD player or music. Happiness in my life is a direct corollary of having an abundance of good music to listen to. I am truly sad. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do with a laptop computert that won`t start up? I push the power button and...nada.
I have been doing nothing but studying for Derecho Internacional Privado for three days now. I think I almost have it down, now it`s time to start writing practice essays in español. But first, it`s a little kickboxing and a glass of wine...
Me and Sean
Me and Greg
I have a big smile on my face because we are eating mexican food and drinking margaritas!!! Yummy :)
F-F-F-Finally
Yesterday I finally started feeling like a true law student. I woke up early and went to a cafe where they had wireless (!!) internet. I have a great study group and we are breaking up the reading so that we can make an outline...yes, it gets quite scary when law students congregate. Things don't change, even in South America.
My burnt hand is getting better day by day but washing my hair has been quite an endeavor. My brother got his Aggie ring today (whoop) and it made me think of how quickly time flies. I have already been here for over two months...3 more to go! The travel bug has definitely hit me. After midterms/"parciales" I will begin planning my next trip. Patagonia?
The other big news that I forgot to post is that my favorite Egyptian, Hassan Elrakabawy, is now working for the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas!!! Can I just brag for a moment and say that my friends are so amazing.
And in other news- after much anticipation, I finally received my absentee ballot for the November elections...
Here's a funny link
April sent me this link...thought some of you would like to play with it :) You can build your own George Dubya!
http://funny.ansme.com/politics/bush/build.html?648
A happy crew...we had just made it to the peak!
We trekked through this strange landscape
Me and Anne viewing the Aconcagua
fun fact: the Aconcagua is the highest peak on the continent...almost 7,000 meters high!
Wine Country and Mountains
Mendoza had been on my list of places to visit ever since I arrived in Argentina (two months ago!!) Almost all of the wine that is produced in Argentina comes from this region and we all had our wine-tasting palates ready. The group was comprised of me and Aurelien, Greg and Michele (friends from Seattle), and Sean (Aure's best friend from France) and his girlfriend Anne. What a mix of languages we spoke!
After another enjoyable night-bus trip we arrived in the western provincia of Mendoza and hopped on another bus to begin visiting the bodegas (vineyards and production centers). I started chatting with a couple on the bus and the next thing I knew they were inviting us to an asado at their house...not to worry, we bought the wine to match the mountain of meat, salad and empanadas that Miguel and Asusana prepared for us. YUM.
The rest of our week was spent outdoors in the beautiful mountains and valleys- trekking, mountain biking, touring mines and rapelling. For anyone who doesn't know- rapelling is, at least for me, an experiment in defying one's fear of heights. You are attached by a rope to the top of a peak and you descend the face of the peak on a pulley. The second time we did it I got a severe rope burn on my hands and fingers. I went straight to the local clinic to be bandaged and my friends helped me self-medicate by buying a round of shots. We also visited a tiny mountain village where we talked to Regggie, saw natural hot springs (Greg took a bath in them!), and were amazed by the view of the Aconcagua, the highest peak on the continent.
I hope you all enjoy the pictures...now it's back to school. 9 days till mid-terms start!
Spring is Upon us In Buenos Aires!
My showers have been coooooold. Freezing cold. Finally, today as I was listening to some good dancehall (okay, cheesy pop- Sean Paul- I have a weakness!) I noticed that my landlord had a professional, yes a PROFESSIONAL looking at the problem. Por fin!!! Now maybe I’ll be able to have a shower of more than 3.4 minutes. Last night a group of us went to Maluca Belleza (CrAZy Beautiful in Portuguese). We had a yummy dinner, heard live music, had limey Brazilian cocktails, and watched stunning Capoeira (a strange form of fluid martial arts).
Even though I love it here and I have only had stints of homesickness, I thought I’d make a list of things I miss about home:
1) MY Family...I want to meet my brother’s girlfriend and see him in his boots, I want to have lunch with Natalie in Jester and do Step/Yoga marathon sessions, I want to fight with my dad about politics, cook and drink wine with mom and Aly…I love you and miss you all dearly…can’t wait for salmon and mimosas for Christmas!
2) MY friends, being able to talk and TEXT MESSAGE (what, hassan??)
3) Yoga, yoga, yoga (especially with Natalie)
4) Frozen Margaritas and Mexican Food
5) Peanut Butter (okay, okay…you get the point!)
6) Austin, Texas…JP’s, FlightPath, Waterloo Records, Trudy’s, Central Market trips with Michelle
7) Eggrolls and Hassan’s deep fryer…okay, it’s a joke, but late night munchies and cheesy t.v. with a “smart cookie”
8) bowling and bingo with Heather
9) ABE GEORGE- crude, but funny…RED SOCKS, what??
10) REGGIE …
6:40 in the Morning
He finally arrived, after being detained in Buenos Aires and then spending the weekend in Paris...Greg made his appearance at 2070 Aguilar! (Don't worry mom, he didn't bring peanut butter). After a quick lunch and lots of laughter, as is the norm with Greg, I sped off to school for a long day of classes.
Things have been steady lately, apart from the intermittant lack of hot water at my apartment and the fact that my favorite roommate is moving out!! :( I still don't have a cell phone yet, I apologize to those who leave messages that go unwritten...my roommates don't seem to have grasped that concept yet. All in all, I don't have too many complaints- the wine is still tasty, the beer and CDs are still cheap, and the weather is improving daily. I didn't make it to club-style kickboxing yesterday because I had a Spanish grammar course. Hopefully I'll get back to the gym soon!
I miss you all very much!
Kickboxing and an Airport Detainee
So my roommate and I went to a “Tae Bo”/kickboxing class at our gym last night and it was quite the experience. Not only did we get a good work out, we got a simulated night at a boliche (dance club). The instructor, Sergio, was quite good looking and definitely fit the aerobics instructor stereotype. Without any warm up or stretching he started whistling and bouncing around the room, in sync with the LOUD techno/club music that was blaring out of the speakers. The next thing I knew he was turning off the lights and we were kicking and punching in the dark with nothing but red and green lights to see by. In between my giggles I managed to get a serious workout (which I can definitely feel today!) They definitely take Tae Bo to the next level here in Buenos Aires!
Greg was supposed to arrive from Seattle yesterday…but we had major drama! About two hours after he was supposed to land I was pacing around my house worried about what could be taking so long. Finally about four hours after Greg was to arrive, he called and told us he was stuck in customs with an EXPIRED passport! Can you believe it? They would not let him into the country at all…they wouldn’t let him leave the airport and we couldn’t see him without boarding passes. What’s more- he can’t return to the U.S. with an expired French passport, they’d never let him back in. So he flew to France to get an emergency renewal…hopefully we’ll see him on Monday! I wonder if anyone has interesting weekend plans?
Los Piqueteros
Here's a protest in the Plaza de Mayo. Of course Aurelien wanted to get close to the action. It was complete chaos, but not too violent while we were there. They had shut down the roads and even started a mini-bonfire in the street.
La Tigre
Last Saturday we went to La Tigre with Rachel. It's 45 minutes by train and we took a ferry out to a nice little spot for lunch. We had parilla (grilled meats) and beer, walked around and enjoyed the scenery from the river.
A Few Random Observations
1) mullets are not a fashion no-no here, for some reason they can pull it off because of the weird/funky/hippy vibe that is prevalent among the younger guys (My brother and his friends would have a hey day!). PS- for those of you who don't know what a mullet is, email
estolpman@hotmail.com to find out).
2) 80’s music from the states is VERY popular here
3) the traffic lanes do NOT exist…which makes for very interesting/frightening experiences when riding in taxis or collectivos (city buses)
4) they have dog walkers here…and when I say dog walkers I mean people who walk up to 10 dogs at a time (perhaps more) for pay…that explains all of the dog sh$#*t en las calles
5) the students in my classes carry pencil/pen cases to class (remember 5th grade), and they take their notes in multiple colors using white out to correct mistakes; I can’t say that I blame them- my multi-colored bic pen is a staple
6) when you order a pop or a bottle of water in a restaurant…they come in glass bottles!! (my mom would be so happy) and sometimes they ask if you want ice for you wine. (What?!)
7) there are very few fat people here, but so many that are beautiful!
8) they do NOT eat peanut butter (to my dismay)…if you feel like sending some you know my address!!!
9) copyright laws are either unenforced or non-existent…instead of buying books we take the books from the library down to the fotocopería (I think I made that word up), they photocopy everything we need! I don’t understand how it’s legal, but it’s saving me a fortune!
10) The McDonalds are EVERYWHERE and lots of them have McCafes (keep in mind the cafe culture) that are actually quite cute…people spend time chatting and studying.
