July 21st

So it’s been awhile since I last updated my blog. I wish I could say that was because I was out doing some wild and crazy adventures, but in all reality it’s because nothing too exciting has been going on lately.
All of the kids from my program left for home on Tuesday the 17th. It was definitely sad saying bye to everyone, but hopefully I will see some of the good ones in the future. The last few days and nights, for them, in Buenos Aires were pretty casual. We went to a few clubs, we had some nice dinners, and we spent some quality time reflecting on our experiences (you have to remember that I am tightly affiliated with the YMCA. Self reflection is practically my middle name). There were a few low points from the trip for some; items being stolen, some didn’t have the best host family experience, the first night when everything seemed so overwhelming, but all in all, everyone had a very positive experience. Our program, COPA, was great, the directors of our program did a fabulous job planning everything, and the kids were very easy to get along with for the most part. We came to the consensus that we would all recommend this program to other students looking to study abroad in Argentina.
Since everyone has left I have had a lot more free time, although I have also been spending a significant amount of time with Oscar and Maria Pia. I get along with both of them extremely well and can actually say that I consider them friends, not just a host family. A few nights ago I went out with Pia to meet some of her friends for happy hour. I brought along my German buddy, Philipp, in case it was too overwhelming being with a bunch of Porteana women. We went to this small bar where the women drink for free and the men drink 2 for 1s. It was a great time. One might think that since the women drink for free they would drink heavily, but that just isn’t the case. Argentines like to go out for a couple drinks and just chat, and chat we did. It was very beneficial because I got to practice my language for a few hours in a group setting. We only spoke Spanish and there were women asking me and Philipp numerous different questions. Of course there were a few things I needed repeated and a couple questions I just didn’t understand at all (you have to remember that we are at a bar with music in the background and other people talking loudly), but for the most part I was able to understand everything that was being said. I really am pleased with the progression of my language skills. I feel that the hard work I am putting in to learning the grammatical fundamentals and expanding my vocab are starting to pay dividends. I am even starting to watch movies in Spanish. But back to my story, happy hour was so much fun that we decided to all have dinner together. Maria Pia had cooked earlier, thinking there was a chance we would eat at home, so she invited the whole group over for dinner. It was an absolute riot. Of course the food was great, being that Pia is a great cook, but more than that, the conversations were so funny. We were telling jokes (I told the famous Bill Ford joke about Nosmo King), other funny stories, and just enjoying the company of each other. We were having so much fun that we decided to play a game after dinner. It was the Argentina equivalent of our Scategories (8 different categories i.e. brand names, geographic locations, boys name, etc. and each team fills out each category with a different random letter each round). We alternated between English and Spanish each round to give every team an equal chance. It was so much fun and a great way to practice vocab. I unintentionally learned a bunch of new words. It’s funny how something so fun can be so educational at the same time.
On a quick, random note, I had the best steak of my life on Tuesday night. 2 guys who were leaving back to the states the next day wanted to go out with a bang, so a few of us went to a very overpriced, fancy restaurant on the river called Cabana Las Lilas. It is supposed to be the best steak joint in town, and I believe the speculations are correct. The meat was so tender that we didn’t even get a steak knife to cut through it. A simple butter knife was sufficient. For those of you who know the saying “Never a bad cut of meat from Nelsons”, we will see if that theory holds true after you come to Argentina. The meat here puts the meat everywhere else to shame. I savored every last bite of my steak. It will be very difficult to appreciate the steak in the states when I come home.
This past week I have also spent a lot of time finalizing all the details for when my mom comes to visit. She leaves Monday but doesn’t get here until Tuesday morning. We have a full week that is packed pretty tightly with things to do. We are going to Mendoza (the wine capital of Argentina) for a few days which will also give mom a chance to see the impressive Andes Mountain range. In addition, Maria Pia is very excited about mom coming so she has planned some activities for us. She is going to cook for us some authentic Argentine food, take us to a tango show and show us part of the city that I haven’t even seen yet. It should be a very fun time.
OK, I am signing out. The amount of emails I am receiving has gone done considerably since the first month, so let’s try to pick that up again.

Hasta la proxima vez,

Chris