Educational Field Trip... Part Uno

Hello All!

I just had one of the most amazing weeks of my life, all courtesy of Pepperdine! I have decided to write about the trip in several parts as I want to be able to write in detail about all of it. My trip around the end of the world began last Saturday, and included a four day cruise around the end of South America, the closest places you can get to Antarctica without actually going there. After spending a night in Ushuaia, we set off on the Cruceros Australis, an expedition cruise. We spent four days on the boat and visited Capehorn, the Strait of Magellan, glaciers, a giant island of penguins, and eventually ended in Puntas Arenas, Chile where we took a tour and spent the night. We then flew back to Buenos Aires.

Now that you have a basic overview, here is how it all began...

After gathering together last Saturday at Casa Holden, we all set off in giant buses for the Buenos Aires Airport. After the hassle of cheking in 70 people for a flight, we were ready to board and off we flew. The flight was about 3 hours long, and quite pleasant. Once we landed in Ushuaia, we took bueses to our hotel, which was more of a resort. It was a beautiful top-of-the-line facility, and the view was AMAZING. I even got my own bath robe and a chocolate on my pillow. We went swimming and enjoyed the hot tub before dinner in a private room for our group. For the first night, I roomed with Diana and Natalie. It was nice to get out of the humid weather and into something a bit more like Washington! I can't even describe how beautiful it was. We spent the evening hanging out in the hotel and playing cards.

The next day, we woke up pretty early for an offroad excursion!! We all piled into Indiana Jones-like Jeeps and took off for the wilderness at the Southern most city in the world. My Jeep was a very fun bunch and consisted of Amy, Jessica, Alyssa, Becca, Mariah, Zach, Bill, and myself. Our driver was hilarious, and spoke really great English, so we had a lot of good conversations with him. He was the owner of the company, and was 35 with a rat tail. Ha ha. We listened to Beastie Boys the whole day because that was the only cassette tape that he had. While navigating through the hilly forest, we made several stops to check out the picturesque views. We drove through mud, plants, and even the lake! It was so much fun, but a bit scary at times. Finally we got to the "shelter" where we were going to have lunch. It was extremely windy, but definitely worth the drive and coldness. It was a beautiful day otherwise, sunshiny the whole time.

Once we were done wt the lake, we headed back towards to city of Ushuaia to board the cruise ship. We got to spend a bit of time in the downtown area, which was fun because we got to get souvenirs and snacks. Then we prepared to board the boat.

Part Dos will come later...!

Also, here are Amy's pictures from this first day, mine aren't posted yet, so you can look at hers:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2047117&l=f268c&id=8505998

"Senor Tengo" and Tigre

On Tuesday night we had Convo and then as a group went out to a dinner tango show at a place called "Senor Tengo." As you can imagine, it was quite touristy, but the steak was good and so were the dancers. There was more than just tango dancers, but also singers, musicians, etc. that put on a whole show about Argentina. It was fun, but it lasted 2.5 hours, which was much to long for a large group of college students! It was worth waiting though, because at the end they sang "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" in Spanish.

I am taking a class called "The International Experience" and we get to go somewhere fun in the city every Thursday for a tour of some sort that Pepperdine pays for. At the end of the course we write a paper on what we learned, and that is that. Today was our first excursion, and we went to a place outside the city called Tigre. We took a boat tour down Tigre River, which was beautiful. There were a lot of houses along the river that people use as summer vacation homes. There was also a large aumsement park on the water, which is one of the most famous in South America - kind of like their Disneyland. After the boat tour, we went to the famous market place and fruit stand and looked around. We got tired pretty quickly, because it was blazing hot. Then we came back to the Pepperdine Casa for our weekly Asado (BBQ)!

I am still really enjoying my time here, my family has been really great. She cooks pretty good meals, and we have not had anything twice since I have been here. I had my first laundry experience this week, as we take it somewhere to be done. My parents have a small washing machine in the house, and no drier, which is common. Pepperdine pays for us all to get our laundry washed somewhere near our houses. I just dropped my clothes off and picked them up the next day all ready to go. They smelled a little weird, but they were clean! I have a Spanish test tomorrow so I have been studying for that. I feel like we do so much here that it is hard to fit in school work, even though I know that is why we are really here! On Saturday we leave for Chile, and we got our itineraries, and it seems amazing! I will update you all when I get back from that trip in a week or so. We will be on a cruize most of the time, so I will probably be unreachable... just FYI. Love you all!

PS - Happy almost Birthday Tyler!!

A Weekend in Buenos Aires

I had an amazing weekend exploring the city! On Friday I went out to dinner with Amy, Lauren, and Jessie to a great restaurant called Broccolino, which was the best Italian I have had in a long time. The restaurant is very well know and recommended by all the guidebooks. We also went to Florida street and baught soccer jerseys. Later that night we met up with a large group of Pepperdine students and went to a restaurant/bar that had board games and really cool decor and furniture. We had a ton of fun and were there until the wee hours of the morning. On Saturday, we slept in, but then Amy, Jessie, and I all met up to have lunch and then we ended up going to the zoo. It cost $8 pesos to get in (about $2.50 US). They had all the normal animals: giraffes, elephants, lions, snow leopards, a polar bear, flamingos, llamas, etc. But they also had a few weird animals I had never seen or heard of before. One was literally called "the large rodent" and it was basically a dog sized rat. It was creepy. They also had these animals that roamed around the zoo that looked like rabbits/dogs/deers. The were about as tall as my knees. It was extremely hot at the zoo, so afterwards we went for ice cream. On Saturday night, myself along with Amy and two other students had dinner with the Pepperdine visiting faculty member, Kendra, and her husband Scott, and their new baby. After dinner we had dessert and we played Scrabble, and Amy and I won! (We played on teams). The game was very competitive, and so it was a very exciting victory. Afterwards, we called it a night. On Sunday Amy and I went to San Telmo, an antique fair/flea market/craft fair. It covered a span of about ten blocks and shut down the whole street. It was fun to experience, but it was pretty touristy, and a lot of people spoke English. I wasn't very thrilled with that aspect of it. I enjoy practicing my Spanish when I go places around the city, so when people automatically start speaking English to me, it makes me angry. We had a very lovely time overall though. We then came back to the Pepperdine Casa for "House Church" with some of the other students. Then came the most exciting event of the weekend: my first Futbol game!!! A group of about fifteen of us went to see one of the top two Argentinian soccer teams, the name of the team was Boca Juniors. They were playing Argentina Juniors, a less popular team. Boca won 4 to 0, so it wasn't a very stressful game. Of course, we were rooting for Boca, and they just happen to be my host Mom's favorite team, so she was thrilled I was going to see them. Soccer is much different here than in the US: the stadium was packed, people were cheering, and it was crazy - much more like what you would experience at an American Football game. After the game it took us forever to get home because the busses were packed and slow at coming, but eventually after a cab and bus ride, we made it!

Just Another Week in Argentina...!

So, this week has been pretty chill. We have had classes this week, and I started Tango lessons last night! They are really fun! My classes are all fine, hopefully not too hard. My history class gets pretty boring, but other than that they are great. The weather has been amazing, and we have been experiencing a lot of nightlife and different kinds of food this week. Although the meals are far from thrilling, I think I will be able to live! We had Convocation on Tuesday night and all went out to dinner at an "Italian" restaurant which was certainly not my favorite. This weekend we are all planning to stay around Buenos Aires and experience the city!

Here are some pictures finally...!!

Just copy and paste the link, then click on the photos. You don't need a facebook to do it, so here you go!

Buenos Aires:
http://pepperdine.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046368&l=979fc&id=8506204

Uruguay:
http://pepperdine.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046369&l=1d821&id=8506204

My weekend in Uruguay!

On Friday night at 7pm we left the Pepperdine Casa to catch the Supte! After the subway ride down to the port, we got on our "ferry" and set sail for Colonia, Uruguay. There was quite a large group of us on the boat together, so it was a lot of fun. We even got to sit in first class! The ferry was quite unlike Washington ferries, this was more like a cross between a Washington ferry and a cruise ship. In BA they call ferries "Buquebus". The ride was only about an hour long, and then we arrived! Once we got their, our very large group split up to go to different places. My group, which included Amy, Lauren, Diana, and myself, opted for a relaxing weekend in Colonia. The other groups went to various other places such as Montevideo, but they had to take long overnight bus rides to get there. On Friday night we went to the hostel where the lady in charge said that "they had no reservations for that name" and that there was not enough space for four of us to all be in the same room. After some lengthy chatting in our lovely Spanish, a room for four suddenly opened up! Ha Ha. So we ended up being able to have a room with two bunk beds in which we shared a communal bathroom. The place was actually pretty nice and safe considering we only paid $11 a night.

On Saturday we decided to get up fairly early, got ready, and had free continental breakfast of bread, jam, and dulce de leche. Then we went exploring. We went to a crafts fair, which was very cool, and we walked to the beach. Colonia has a beautifully famous historical down town, so we spent the remainder of the day there. We even met a couple from Pacific Palisades, which is 10 minutes from Malibu! We had lunch at an amazing little restaurant, and I had Spaghetti, soda, bread, and dessert, all for $7. The conversion rate of the US dollar to the Uruguay peso is 23 to 1! It was very beautiful there and the people were extremely nice and very friendly. I very much enjoyed the atmosphere of the town. We then had a siesta around 6pm, which is a nap. Then at 8pm we set out for dinner at a place we had spotted earlier that had amazing french fries. I had the biggest steak I have ever seen! We made friends with our waiter Diego, who thought we were quite hilarious. After 2 hours of dinner we set of for dessert, and met a very nice women at the restaurant who we chatted with for awhile. We had our desserts in a park where we listened to a live band and just relaxed. Then we headed back towards our hostel and there was a huge concert a block away so we went to check it out. The "King Bandas" were playing in front of a huge crowd. We stayed for awhile until the show was over. In Buenos Aires, there are many different nationalities of people, so I do not feel out of place being blonde and fair skinned, but Uruguay was a bit different. I was definitely one of the only ones of my type around. I got several stares, which Amy found to be quite hilarious. Then we went back to our hostel and called it a night at about 2am, which was early!!

This morning the four of us awoke to a massive thunder storm and lightening flashes outside our window. Our hostel even started to leak! We had to call a taxi to take us back to the ferry, because it was pouring rain. We had a pleasant trip back, and I have just spent the afternoon at the Pepperdine Casa. Amy, myself, and some others went to ice cream at Persicco, the best ice cream place around. I am not much for ice cream, but Argentina ice cream beats everything else hands down. It is amazing! Tomorrow I have a full day of classes, and tonight is dinner with mis padres. Talk to you all soon.

PS... I have tons of stamps in my Passport now!!

The Subte and Uruguay

Today I rode the subte for the first time, which is like the subway. It was crowded and hot, and definitely something to avoid if possible! This weekend a huge group of us are going to Colonia in Uruguay. There are a lot of beaches and other fun things to do...! I will update you all when I get back!!

Food, Class, etc.

Last night I had the best dinner with my family so far... it was pasta with pesto sauce, salad, bread, and peaches. I could actually eat everything on the table without wanting to spit it out! Two nights ago after Convocation we went to a restaurant called Kansas, and it was amazing. We can order anything and everything we want, and Pepperdine pays for it. It is an American restaurant, so Amy and I shared a huge steak, mashed potatoes, french fries, and caesar salad. The steak was only 39 pesos, or $13 US dollars! I am amazed with how cheap it is to eat here. Everyday our lunch costs around 10 or 15 pesos, which is $3 to $5 dollars. We start real classes tomorrow, which should be nice. I just want to start being on a more regular schedule. Spanish boot camp is going well, it is a lot of review and it is really helping me to pick everything back up quickly!

Spanish Class

We started Spanish Boot Camp yesterday and it is going pretty well. I am getting used to all the grammar again, but Spanish in Argentina has several main differences than the Spanish I have previously learned. That gets confusing, but for the most part it is okay. Tonight we have our first convocation and then Pepperdine is taking us out to dinner. Everything is going well! I miss American food already, but some of the food is pretty good. Miss you all!

A Few Days In...

So, after 16 hours of flying and travel time from LAX to Chile to Buenos Aires, I arrived! The flight was extremely long, but yay, I randomly got to sit next to Amy. Yesterday Pepperdine picked us up at the airport and brought us to Casa Holden, the Pepperdine house, and we had a BBQ and orientation. Then our families came to pick us up! My parents our older, mi madre es 60 and me padre es 70, but they don't look it. My mom speaks some English, and my father speaks a small amount. Communicating to them is hard, but I always understand what they are saying to me. They have had many students that have lived with them before. Between them they have 6 children, all in there 20s and 30s. I have my own bathroom, which is very nice, and a huge closet in my room. All my clothes fit! They live in an apartment, and it has a nice view and they have wireless internet, but I have yet to get it to work. They cooked me dinner last night, which was alright. Kind of plain tasting, and a some weird side dishes. We had pork roast, spinach casserole, salad, and bread. She also made mousse for dessert. We also talked about what kinds of food I do and do not like, which is a very good thing!

Last night we went out, which was fun. I am enjoying seeing the city and I live in a very nice and safe area. This morning we went on a tour of the city and Pepperdine took us out to lunch. We also get an allowance to use for whatever we want. The city has two distinct sections, the North and the South. The North, where I live and where Casa Holden is is considered to be the fancy area where rich people live with lots of shopping, while the south is for the working class and has many homeless people. We went to Boca, which is a a tango and soccer neighborhood, and one of the two main soccer stadiums is there. There were lots of tango dancers there and street performers. We also went to the cemetery where the famous Eva Perron, or Evita, is burried. Casa Holden es muy bonita y grande. We start Spanish boot camp on Monday and classes start on Friday. I really love the city, and getting around is quite easy as a lot of things are in walking distance, taxis are very cheap, and there are subways and buses. There are always people to hang out with, in total, there are 60 Pepperdine students altogether. It is very hot and humid here, but I am loving it! My hair is so curly and it is driving me crazy. We haven't yet decided what we are going to do the rest of the day, but we will probably go to church and some street fairs tomorrow.

Hasta Luego!

I'm Here!

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am safe! I love my family and I am still working out the communication stuff. I will write more soon!