Last dinner- amazing- we are stuffed- Laura, Sami and Margaret and I <3

Andres and I in El Ateneo!

Sarah and I in the botanical gardens- would’ve been prettier in the summer…oh well!

I’ve got about one hour before I have to meet with the IFSA group to get bused to the airport- I think it is funny that we were thrown into the city in taxis, but we get to leave on a big comfy bus- how ironic?!? Anyways, there really hasn’t been all that much to do the past couple of days- it is that awkward stage where we are all trying to shift into the mindset of leaving and there is nothing planned out to do and just a big city to explore. Yesterday (Saturday), I walked around the Recoleta ferria once more and also just around Recoleta. Yesterday was 9 de Julio which is Argentinas Independence Day- interestingly, they really don’t make a big deal out of it- it basically felt like a normal day, just a few stores were closed. For lunch, I went out with my Ateneo friend Andres. We had a good time talking just about random stuff- and lets put it like this, it really really challenged my spanish! He knew no english and being 23, he speaks with alot of slang- therefore, I had to think hard to keep up with him! Anyways it was fun and after lunch we walked around some and talked more until he had to go to work. I then met up with my friends Sarah, Conner and Margaret to check out the Botanical Gardens and to have some ice cream! Then Margaret and I went to El Ateneo once more to find a book to buy and for me to visit the waiters. I got a cool book about Argentine Geography but it is written like a story- so educational but not a text book- I’m excited! It incorporates physical and human geography too- YAY! I was really hoping there would be an Ateneo poster so that I could bring it with me- but there wasn’t. So, I took a 360 degrees video so that I will never forget the atmosphere! It really hit me as I was sitting in the cafe for the last time that I am leaving. And lets put it like this, I got really sad- thankfully didn’t cry, but could have! After saying goodbye to all the waiters, I made sure to get a picture with Andres- but it was really bittersweet. They are all going to miss me and I am going to miss them too. Perhaps I’ll visit if I’m ever back down here in this Southern Hemisphere :) I then met up with a larger group to get dinner at this incredible endless buffet of salads, meats, cheeses, breads, and deserts- I ate a ton but it was delicious! We were all going to head to a bar to have a drink and just hang out- but- since today is elections day, all bars closed at 8pm and are closed for 24 hours- so you couldn’t even go to a bar and get a non-alcoholic drink- such a bummer! :( Since everything but restaurants were closed, we called it an early night.

Today, I woke up and walked around the city for an hour- found a mail drop box to send off a couple things to use all my expensive stamps I bought- and then I just didn’t know what to do. Noone was doing anything, nothing was open- so I walked around some more. Since today was election day (for gobenor)- there were lots of people out. In Argentina it is a legal requirement that everyone has to vote. I was by a couple of schools and basically you are assigned a school- outside the school there are lists of people and all their information- you have to check in, go to a specific room and then vote. Quite an ordeal and very interesting to see!

Obviously I also finished packing up- everything fits perfectly and my fingers are crossed that my bags aren’t overweight! I really didn’t buy that much, but not having my mom here to help me out made it all more complicated! Anyways, since the wind has shifted directions, no ash should be stopping my flight from leaving on time- so hopefully all goes off without a hitch and I arrive in South Carolina by 3pm tomorrow!!! This afternoon, I met up with Julia for one last Freddo ice cream run- I’m gonna miss it- but its a good thing that I’m getting away from the horrible diet here! Now I’m just waiting and waiting until 5:30 when the bus leaves. I’ve got all sorts of reflections that I will be posting over the next couple of days…but this is my last post from here in Argentina. It has been a fabulous trip and I’ve obviously come to love the place. I’m very sad to leave and can 100% say that my biggest regret of college is not studying abroad for a whole semester- I might have already said it…but I mean it! Okay, well, chau and I’m just so happy that I have this experience- simply AMAZING! :)

Zoo Friends :) Chris, Lincoln, Patrick and I!

See the roses!?!- beautiful despite the chilly temps!

Recoleta Flower!

Wow, I can’t believe that I am scheduled to be back in the US of A in about 3 days! I say scheduled because of this volcano ash that is looming in the area and cancelling flights left and right. Fingers crossed that I can leave on time- otherwise my connections will get messy and complicated! Anyways, I’m really trying to enjoy my last days here as fully as I can. Yesterday, I got up early and decided to walk around Recoleta/Palermo parks and visit the zoo! I met up with Margaret and we started by going to see the big metal flower in Recoleta- I saw it in the guidebooks and passed it on a run one day, so it was very exciting to see and get pictures of! It was in a United Nations Garden which I thought was interesting, but I’m not entirely sure of that significance. Anyways, it was pretty impressive- supposedly it opens and closes wtih the sunlight- if it were closer, I would totally go watch it during a sunset and see the 20 minute closing…but it probably isn’t going to happen this trip. Anyways, we then continued our walk past some pretty fancy neighborhoods, some nice dog walkers (which my mom kindly informed me this is normal for cities…), and finally made it to the Palermo park district. We went to the big lake and to the rosedale where there were actually many roses being grown- even though it is winter- pretty incredible! I really wanted to go out on a paddle boat, but it is kinda chilly for that! Anyways, we then made our way to the Japanese Garden to meet up with Patrick, Chris and Lincoln for a Japanese lunch. It was delicious and a lovely environment! We took our time relaxing before heading over to the zoo- who doesn’t love a zoo, and all in spanish made it that much more interesting! It was fun to see polar bears and all the other animals- but it was sad because I don’t think that they are taken very good care of- so that was sad to see. Anyways, we felt like kids just laughing at the animals and finding delight in them- and of course we topped off the wonderful day with an ice cream cone of deliciousness! I’m pretty sure that I walked miles and miles yesterday- I want to try to map it out and see how much, but I was pretty tired after it!

 I headed home and relaxed for a bit and then had dinner with Mary. Our conversations have begun going in circles- I think she has relative memory loss (mom, WAY worse than yours- I won’t give you a hard time anymore, at least I’ll try not to!)- but we have the same conversations over and over and each time she is surprised by my responses…it is kind of amusing actually! Anyways, after dinner, I headed to El Ateneo because I told all my waiters friends that I would try to visit most days at the end of this week- I showed up as the cafe part was closing, but they allowed me to come in and get something to drink and I got personal attention and conversation- and 5 pieces of chocolate…not 1/2/3- haha- it was kinda cute! Anyways, I am now facebook friends with Andres, the waiter that I know the most, and we might be meeting up to get some coffee or something another which would be awesome- too bad I only have 2 days left…oh well! But I know that if I do come back, I’ve got friends here :) After that, I wandered around El Ateneo again just looking at books- haven’t bought anything yet- still looking for the right thing. Today has been pretty chill, went looking in some stores- but not really buying much…various reasons, but its all good- I’m enjoying looking. Stopped by the IFSA office to pick up a letter that I got from mommy, a month after she sent it. I was shocked that she got my mail from here in about a week or two…I’m still waiting on stuff to get here from MAY! Oh well! Then I met up with some friends for a famous pizza lunch- and it sure was yummy :) Then I walked around some more just exploring- and am back at Ateneo working on my blog. Stuff has really slowed down here and honestly, I’m exhausted- it has been a busy 6 weeks in all respects. Tonight I’m planning on getting some churros and chocolate with some friends and trying to figure out my last full day here! Be on the lookout for more reflection type blog posts- and I suppose that soon, this blog will come to a close- hard to believe!!!! :)

I was having a conversation with Allie while in Mar del Plata that really made me begin to critically think about Argentina and my experience here. Our discussion began by generally talking about our time here in Buenos Aires and how something just hadn’t clicked or laid right. For me, I think that first off, it is that I am not used to such a big city environment and second, that I really don’t feel like I’m in Latin America most of the time and when I do- it is for the ugly reasons, not the charm or character. Don’t get me wrong, I have had a great experience and learned lots about a new culture, city living and myself and my Spanish has really improved- but on the other hand, this program country was not really what I had hoped for a second study abroad program in Latin America. Yes, I knew that to some degree I was settling for this when I picked Argentina over Chile or Peru or Ecuador- but, still. While I have tried to get to know Buenos Aires as much as possible, I realized that I have totally missed the bigger picture of Argentina. Allie told me that Argentina was basically a Third World Country. After doing some research, this appears to be debatable but a reasonable statement. Did I know this, I’m not sure…and if I did- by having the experience that I’ve had, I never would have guessed it. I feel like I have not learned about Argentina as a whole really at all…and I feel blinded to many of the realities here. Granted, I was living with a middle class family in a nice part of town and on no excursion was I exposed to real poverty- but I suppose I hadn’t thought about everything that I hadn’t seen and I did not learn about the broader history in any of my classes. For me, having such a love and interest for Central America (Honduras and Guatemala)- this was a blow. I must say that I am pretty disappointed that I was so close minded to not have researched more, but I now have a desire to learn more and to explore more of Argentina- this would be more meaningful and interesting for me :)

4th of July cooking :)