Amanda and I have been really busy since our Spanish classes started yesterday; we take about a 45 minute walk to school, spend four hours working on Spanish, walk to the lab and then spend another 5-6 hours working there.  I think the Spanish classes are helping- I'll need lots more practice but they are a good review.  

We went out to dinner last night with some people from our language school- we went to a tango/milonga restaurant.  We had drinks (without alcohol for us two LDS chicas), empanadas, and chicken.  Tango classes are taught at this place and a class got out while we were eating so they turned up the music and people started dancing.  To be honest, I just wasn't that into it. Everyone was friendly but I'm not an extrovert so if I don't butt myself into a conversation I'm usually content to sit and listen; Amanda is completely opposite- always upbeat, singing something, talking and seeking out the next activity.  When I don't get a lot of sleep there's very little that makes me happy- I get depressed and feel sorry for myself.  I wish it wasn't so, but I've just always been that way; Amanda must think I'm insane.  

  

More about the lab work:

Right now it seems like I'm going to be analyzing a bunch of data; I'm building a database of photos to plug into a computer program.  We're trying to quantify the average shape of a species of flower; there are samples from about 30 different populations of this flower from all over Argentina. We are going to use the photos to calculate shape- which is more specific than just measuring the width or height; we are looking for variations in morphology (shape) between populations and the factors that cause this variation.  Dr. Sersic's lab focuses on pollination biology- in my case we are looking at how pollination of Anarthrophyllum desideratum (my flower) by different birds in various regions of Argentina contributes to changes in morphology.  Different pollinators, geographic features such as rivers, lakes, and mountains- all contribute to speciation (new species branching off from each other); the over-all project is aimed at finding out what factors cause speciation in Patagonia. 

Me at la computadora:

Un photo del laboratorio (are the prepositions correct? I don't know, that's why I'm taking Spanish classes!)

Everyone's mate cups; I guess mate is as important to Argentines as coffee is to most Americans (though you can't actually buy mate at a cafe or restaurant).  Yerba-literally herb-goes into the mate (the actual cup) with hot water (I've had it before, it's not bad- tasted like herbal tea to me but what do I know?).  The straw is called a bombilla- it filters the herbs from going up.

Did I mention that La Universidad Nacional de Cordoba is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site called the Jesuit Block?  Jesuit missionaries settled and built these buildings in the early 1600's but were later kicked out.  We finished with our lab work and walked around outside for a bit... we found this really beautiful hibiscus plant/tree.

We shared a lomo (Argentine steak).

Today was a good day.