Rosario, Argentina

Sept 19-Sept 22: Rosario, Argentina
This weekend I went to visit one of my friends in Rosario. Rosario is about a 4 hour bus ride from Buenos Aires. I boarded the bus at 9 am and arrived at 1 to a smiling welcoming committee of OLIVIA! We took a taxi to my hostel (which turned out to be pretty nice, even though I was a bit worried). I had booked cheapest room (a co-ed shared dorm with 10 other people yikes!) my first roommate I met was a 50 or something year old Brazilian man (he was a plant biologist and a bit odd). Luckily more people came so I didn’t just have to share a room with him. We unloaded my stuff and then we walked over to and ate lunch at the place that all the students who are in Olivia’s program eat. I met some fellow UOers and we skipped out on the dessert there only to eat some fantastic ice cream. We started out splitting a 3 scoop dish, and then we got another one to split. We made our way back to Olivia’s homestays apartment and then she headed out to cello practice. I was on my own. I visited the flag monument, which was really cool. I got to go up to the top of it and view the whole city and river. I walked to a café and spent a good amount of time enjoying my café con leche y medialunas while perusing my argentina book and the local newspaper. (I love the café culture here, no one would ever tell you to give up your table even if you are done eating). I headed back to my hostel to do some journaling, and met Rob from Holland. We started chatting, which was a little hard due to the fact there was LOUD rock music and the sounds of a tattoo needle going right next to us---oh hostels you never know what you will get. This has been the first time one has changed into a tattoo parlor. Then I went over to olivia’s homestay for dinner. Her family is a single older woman named Emilce. It was a great dinner, and it was fun to see that I could communicate pretty well, and even add to the conversation. After dinner we went looking for something to do, and ended up at a restaurant with a massive ice cream sundae. We ventured back to the hostel and after we were ready to call it a night we ended up going out for drinks with Rob. (it was nice to walk around at night with a HUGE –something like 6’7’ guy and it was funny how no one gave us any trouble, looks or remarks). After visiting the monument at night—which was so cool! It was lit up all blue we all went home and got a couple hours of shut eye before waking up for a full day on Saturday.
Hostel breakfast consisted of media lunas, cereal, tea, coffee and jam, and dulce de leche. After a breakfast like that (only of carbs and sugar) I felt myself dragging a bit, after we hit the shopping drag, a pedestrian street called Cordoba. We both were on a mission. Buy boots. Boots here are the shoe of choice and I have felt a bit frumpy in my nike athletic shoes since I have arrived. Now that the boot season is almost over everything is on sale, and that is when we swoop in. After a long time, Olivia found her perfect pair of suede boots for 100 pesos (33 dollars). And I was still looking. We ate lunch at a little café off the beaten road, and then returned to our mission. I found my pair a little while later for 99 pesos! Seeing as we had accomplished our mission, we returned to her apartment where we had a bit of time to chill out before the big night. We went to a place called brownies, where we enjoyed a nice coffee/media lunas and a particularly good conversation. After that we had to find some real food, which ended up being 2 empanadas and a yogurt at a cafeteria type place. We were scheduled to go out with olivias host moms younger friend but it ended up being that we were just introduced to her and her friends at the place we went to. We then headed over to another bar, which is where the hostel people were supposedly hanging out. We didn’t end up finding them, but we did find another person from olivias program and all chatted (unfortunately most of our chatting was in English since rob doesn’t know spanish). I broke my record and we got back at about 5.30am. Slept for a couple hours then got up to finish off the weekend strong. Sunday we went down to the river and walked around the fair, we ate a true argentine lunch of a chorpan, its like a spicy sausage sandwich and then we split up for siestas and reconvened to get coffee at our new favorite place, brownies. After coffee we headed back to olivias home stay where we ate dinner, which was pizza with cheese and eggs.
Overall the weekend was a very good one. It was nice to get out of the hustle and bustle of Buenos Aires, and get to connect with someone who knows me, and I know her. That alone takes a lot of the stress off. Good food, good company, and some odd experiences that will make for some good stories.
Today I arrived home around 1, and then read an email that said I had a tutoring session at 4. Yikes! I hurried to prepare and then went and returned and now am having to prepare for my intercambio session tomorrow with a high school. I have a busy 2 days until Thursday, when I take off for Northern Argentina, Jujuy! Then I am really going to have to get to work on my papers, and my homework because all this traveling and enjoying myself will not translate into two well written papers.
!Una gracias especial para Olivia por esta fin de semana fantástica!