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.

Me llamo Malena

I've decided that while in Argentina, I will go by Malena. I think it's a lot easier than going by Malaina because Malena is a lot more familiar to people here, and it's easier for them to pronounce...

It's also fun to go by Malena- it rolls off the tongue nicely.  We saw this poster for a missing dog named Malena (have to italicize it, don't know why, but I have to) when we stopped for a drink last night. 

 

We found the most AMAZING handicraft market last night; it was like going to the Salt Lake Arts Festival or Portland Saturday Market and being able to afford to buy stuff!  I was TWITTERPATED (twitterpated: 1. to be completely enamored with someone/something. 2. the flighty, exciting feeling you get when you think about/see the object of your affection.)

I found a purse... 

And talked to the artist that hand-crafted it. 

It's a soft, beautiful leather purse, with a hand- painted portrait of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (who was married to Diego Rivera).  I asked about it, and she said excitedly, "Me encanta (love) Frieda Kahlo!" or something to that effect. (did you notice the hand-blown glass earings that I bought only moments earlier?)

The purse also has really beautiful hand stitching.  I LOVE this purse, it's exactly the type of thing I was looking for- good quality/handcrafted; this doesn't mean I won't buy another one...or two.  I'm also in the market for some nice leather shoes... good thing the market is open every weekend.

Earlier that day:

We were walking around the city and nothing was open.  All of the shops in the area were closed, and street vendors with jewelery, clothes and pirated DVDs were out.

We decided to do the tourist thing and take a city tour on one of those double- decker buses.

As we first began the tour we were thinking, "great... tourist trap."  It turned out to be a lot of fun though- everyone is so friendly.  Five or six different groups of guys waved, honked, or shouted, "Hola Chicas!"  

On the tour we stopped to see another really neat cathedral.  This one was built in the 1930's but was architecturally designed to look Gothic (there are really, really high walls and vaulted arches).  There is only one steeple- representing the perfection of God; the side without the steeple represents the imperfection of man.

There were some beautiful stained glass windows.

Later that night (after the awesome handicraft market) we walked through the Plaza San Martin to briefly watch the tango dancers.  

I originally recorded some of the dancing, but for some reason can't figure out how to rotate the frame so you can watch it right- side up.  I'll post some dancing later- Amanda and I are going to a tango class Monday evening at a cafe/hang-out near the handicraft market.  We are also starting our Spanish classes at the language school tomorrow- I'm hoping to really improve this week.

We went to church this morning; everyone was extremely nice to us.  I love the South American tradition of kissing acquaintences and friends on the cheek when you meet and say goodbye. After church was over, it seemed like we kissed everyone two or three times as we made our way towards the door.  

More to come later, I gotta' go to bed.

We started the day by seeking out a language school because we want to take Spanish lessons (Translation: I NEED to take Spanish lessons).  I feel like all I do is listen, smile, say "Sí" or "Está Bien."  Maybe I'm exaggerating a bit.

We then went to La Universidad Nacional de Córdoba- the National University of Córdoba, and found the lab where we will be working while we are here.  Valería, Andrea, and Pía are all PhD students that will be working with us and teaching us what to do.  We got to the lab early so we asked Valeria and Pia (in broken Spanish) what restaurants around the school are good.   They were very sweet and walked us to a favorite of theirs called Alfonsia.

I ordered Ňoquis de Papas or potato Gnocchi.  I figured that I wasn't being picky by choosing a food that is relatively familiar to me because a lot of Argentines are of Italian descent, so Italian food therefore, is Argentine food. I also had seen Giada de Laurentiis make them on the Food Network and had always wanted to try them- they were good and enough for lunch the next day.  The Ňoquis were thicker and softer than a regular noodle and the bolonese sauce was good.  

I had read in the travel book before coming that being a waiter in Argentina is a profession, not just a job to get you through school; it is very obvious by the service that this is true.  When ordering drinks (specifying with ice) they bring them on a nice tray, the ice in a bucket with tongs, they set each drink down one at a time, place the glasses down, open each bottle of water and pour separately. The whole process is kind of graceful and relaxed- very unlike a rushed American waiter trying to get the food out before people complain.  The waiters also take the leftover food into the back and package it up nicely for you- it doesn't appear to matter whether or not the restaurant is a fancy place or a student hang-out.

We went back to the lab after lunch and met Valeria, Andrea and Dr. Sérsic.  We spent time talking (or at least trying to) and getting to know one another before they started to outline what our individual projects are.  Everyone seems really nice and willing to help us with the language- they know enough English, and we know enough Spanish to get the basic idea.

After we finished at the lab, we walked around some of the many shops and came upon the church/cathedral of San Francisco.

It was very beautiful- there were pigeons in the courtyard, and people dozing on the benches under the shade.

The inside was very beautiful (for course credit one of my "tasks" will be to research Baroque/Neoclassical architecture so I can sound like I'm somewhat educated when I report back on my day).

We started in the general direction of La Plaza San Martin (where we were yesterday) and found a really neat store with wallets, purses, bombillos de mate (more on mate later), and a bunch of other neat things all made in Argentina.   I found a nice leather wallet for about 13 US dollars- which is great because it was made with genuine Argentine leather- I'm holding out for the right purse.  A big, fancy, leather purse.  We met a very nice gentleman (50s or 60s) who asked where we were from, told me I was "linda" (lovely) and gave us each a friendly kiss on cheek when he left.  I like Argentina, it's good for my ego.

We walked passed a confecteria and Amanda stopped for a pastry and I a water because let's face it, I do not need to be eating pastries, ice creams and fancy desserts every time I turn a corner.

I did steal a bite though... it was chocolate and dulce de leche with a flaky, fattening crust.

This is a view of the road we take to get home from down town.  

On our way home, we got our first catcall from a car full of guys while we were waiting to cross a busy intersection....

Alta Cordoba y La Plaza San Martin

Amanda and I started our first official day by rolling out of bed at 11:00 AM- so much for waking up early.  We walked around Barrio Alta Cordoba- the neighborhood we are staying in; we found a nice fruit/vegetable/meat shop. I guess it is like the the South American version of the Southeast Asia wet market- though not as chaotic.  We saw a sign that said that we weren't supposed to touch any of the merchandise; we watched as people would grab a ticket and wait for someone to help them.  They would point to and ask for what they wanted and then take a ticket up to the counter to pay.  The durazanos (peaches) and las uvas (grapes) were fantastic. We also stopped at a panderia and bought a nice pastry for breakfast. 

We then walked to the Plaza San Martin to look around.  I'll be honest, I don't remember a lot about who San Martin is (though I've read of him in my travel books), I think he's an important military figure that lead during the fight for Argentina's independance from Spain (It's 2:00 AM and I'm too lazy to google it).  I'm sure we'll go back to La Plaza de San Martin and we'll learn about the history in more depth.

There was an amazing cathedral in the plaza

We initially didn't think photos inside were allowed, but then we saw a bunch of Argentines taking pictures so we figured it was okay.  The inside was absolutely amazing; I've been inside dozens of Hindu and Buddhist temples but I can't recall ever going inside a cathedral- especially one so old. It dates back to the late 1700's or 1800's, I don't know because it's 2:00 AM.  (My blog is my journal, I'm determined to keep one because I regret not doing so while I lived in Malaysia; I'm making myself write as much as I can). 

We also walked around the square and towards some other cathedrals and monuments.   I saw what looked to me like an Argentine mullet.

A view of one of the side-streets:

We briefly walked through the Jesuit Block...more to come later. 

A cool picture:

Around 7:00 we stopped for a drink; I've found that you must specify that you want hielo (ice) with your drink. I loved how the ice was served in a bucket with tongs, I'm not being facetious either, I really did think it was great.

We did some more grocery shopping... I didn't buy these but thought Christina would like to see a picture.

We headed home with a banana y dulce de leche ice cream cone; dulce de leche is a very popular flavor- tastes like a caramelized milk. 

It was a great day over all.  I had forgotten how challenging it can be to do simple tasks like buying groceries, navigating where you need to go, or even figuring out how the key to your apartment works- this is the kind of stuff that is really exciting and new at first, but then builds and builds to become a really stressful part of culture shock.  They did tell us all of this kind of stuff would happen last semester in our prep-class but I figured that I'd lived abroad before and knew what to expect- in a way I did.  It didn't get through to me until now that mom and dad were there to figure out where to buy groceries, navigate us around, and everything else while I tagged along.  I'll figure it out though... one day at a time.  

"We're There!"

Okay, I couldn't resist adding this picture... you know, when Harry and Lloyd finally make it to Aspen after riding on a ridiculous scooter and Lloyd says, "We're There!"?

After 35 hours (yes you read that correctly) we finally made it to Cordoba, Argentina.  It used to take us 35 hours (or more) to get to Penang, Malaysia which is way further.  We had a 6-hour layover at JFK in New York last night....why we flew to New York instead of Miami or Atlanta or even LA, I don't know.  I hate to say it, but I have to say it- JFK is a complete dump- it's even dumpier than LAX.  Below is a picture taken at Aeroparque Jorge Newberry in Buenos Aires...it clearly is not a dump!  We thought we'd be able to get a "New York hotdog" or "New York pizza"- something unique to New York, but no, it was all junk you could get at the Provo Town Center Mall.

The security guard immediately came over and told us no pictures after the shot above was taken. Maybe they thought we were staking the place out for a heist or something?

So we backed up a bit to sneak another picture.

Our flight from Buenos Aires to Cordoba was delayed an hour... I took this shot while we were waiting to board- turns out we never did board this plane because our flight was cancelled right as we should have been boarding.  We mad-dashed to the information desk, had new boarding passes issued, and then took a little bus out onto the jetway to board a different plane (from the rear end of the plane which is a first for me).

I haven't snapped any photos of the city yet because it was dark when we arrived;  I was also having a "What The Hell Did I Just Get Myself Into?" moment.  For those who have traveled: is there really a better way to phrase it?  

The professor we are working with in Cordoba- Alicia Sersic- was nice and picked us up from the airport.  She had us over for dinner and we met her husband Andrea, and her two kids (I can't remember their names).  They had made three different types of Empanadas- one was a carne or beef, one was cheese and onion, and the other was another type of spiced beef- they were all really good. They had a type of "salsa" they put on it...it was good but not spicy like my Mexican mamma has taught me to appreciate.  I have to admit that I was freaked out a bit- Amanda has been practicing Spanish and I have not (I have no excuses).  She was able to ask questions and reply while I kind of just sat there and listened.  I could understand just about everything that was talked about which I guess is a good sign- they didn't speak Spanish the whole time so I wasn't left out. I should take a crash-course or hire a tutor or something.  

Where We Are Staying:

Dr. Sersic and Dr. Andrea have converted the top floor of their home into a Hostel- there are two entrances so we can come and go as we please without bothering them.  We are the first guests and have the whole place to ourselves!

Here is the living room/common room.  There is a TV/DVD player and a really beautiful fireplace we'll never use.  

The bathroom... the best part is that we have a bidet (I figured no one really wants to see that though).

Our Room: it's already a mess.  I don't stand a chance.

Dining room/entrance

Kitchen: fully equipped with a gas stove, oven, microwave, fridge, pots/pans, and dishes.

There is a really beautiful terrace as well... Dr. Sersic's daughter is an artist and painted some murials.  (Don't mind Amanda, she's loopy from the jet lag).

It cooled off nicely and wasn't too humid. This is going to be a perfect spot to play my new guitar- as soon as I buy it.  

It's 3:30 in the morning but my body is still on Utah time.  We're going to make ourselves get up early tomorrow- we are going to figure out the bus system and do some shopping.  

Lunch with Grandma, Grandpa, and Isaiah

My Grandma and Grandpa came down from Bountiful to say goodbye to me before my trip.

They brought along my cousin's son Isaiah.  He has the cutest personality and is so fun to be around.

My grandma is one of the most loving and affectionate people that I know, I love her very much.

I love my grandpa too... he always takes care of us and has a song to sing about any subject that may come up during a conversation.

Yes, I had to post a photo of my fat cat.

Jordan is my best friend- she always has been; I'm going to be lonely without her.

Christina has a bubbly personality and can always cheer me up or make me laugh, I'm going to miss her a lot.

My parents didn't come with us to lunch; I am going to miss them a lot, they are good to me and I love them.