Tiempo Libre

(This is a picture of me enjoying the march on the 24 de Marzo with a Skinny Vanilla Late from an Argentinian Starbucks! I was thrilled!)

Buenos Tardes! Finished another week of classes. I am definitely in a routine now and that is such a great feeling. Without a schedule, I always feel slightly lost, so it's nice to feel in the right place. I have been working out 5 days a week now for the past month. It is such a luxury to have time like that for myself again. I literally have to find things to fill my time because I have so much free time. It's foreign territory for me to have actual free time. For those of you that know me well, you will be shocked to hear I have so much free time that I have been reading real books for pleasure! This week I have planned my schedule for next semester with 18 hours in the class room, 13 hours working, and hours set aside for extra curricular, volunteering, and hopefully some fun. I am realizing that when I return to Nebraska, I will be living the opposite of the lifestyle I am currently living in Cordoba. It was a challenge for someone like me to adjust to an environment that is so unconcerned by deadlines, schedules, and rules. I am amazed by how little stress I have felt during my time here though. I didn't think that it was possible to be this stress-free. The only stressors I've really had have been the Internet problems, which I found a solution to, and scheduling my classes and life for next semester, which I'm finished with. Now, I have nothing to do but look forward to my trip to the ANDES this week, eat tasty food, and plan more trips!!
Muchos besos,
Alex

THS: Espero que todo bien con todos. Me encanta mi vida en Argentina.

La Perla

Hola todos! It's a beautiful day in Argentina, although it is technically fall here. It has been very cold the last couple of days. The wind in Cordoba blows from the South so even a warm day can feel cold if there is wind. On Tuesday, the international students took a trip with our history professors to La Perla which is one of the concentration camps from the Guerra Sucia that I've been writing about recently. The 24 de Marzo is the day of remembrance for those who disappeared during the Guerra Sucia (dirty war) of Argentina from 1976-1983. During the dirty war, over 30,000 Argentinians disappeared. It was later found that many of them were held hostage in concentration camps during those years. La Perla is located a half an hour outside of the city in Cordoba and housed hundreds of these disappeared persons. While their families desperately searched for them, they were merely 30 minutes from home locked away in La Perla. It was very eerie being in the concentration camp. Although the inside has been re-done to house military personnel, the actual bunk rooms, torture rooms, and facilities where still there with photographs of what the rooms looked like during the war. Hundreds of hostages were held all in one room tied to bunk beds that where 3 bunks high. In the testimonials we have been reading in class written by people who survived, they were handcuffed to their beds, blindfolded day and night, and were not allowed to communicate. One thing that was unique to La Perla is that it allowed the hostages to shower occasionally and to sing on birthdays. The last two weeks of classes and activities have been devoted to learning about the Guerra Sucia, los desaparecidos, and the action of citizens following the war. It has been very eye opening and I have become passionate about it. On a lighter note, my host sister Gabriela had her baby last night! His name is Santiago. I haven't had a chance to meet him yet, but I look forward to it.
Chao,
Alex

Here is a link to my photos from La Perla.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.322311207822849.79124.100001319180089&type=3&l=4b5cc3b1ad

Headaches and cravings

Buenos dias. It was a month yesterday since I left home to make the journey to Cordoba, Argentina. It has gone fast in terms of it's been 1 month already, but slow in the fact that 3 months still seems like a lifetime. Along the way there have been some headaches and cravings. I haven't had Internet connection at my house for the past week, so it's made completing my homework and staying in touch difficult. Not only with the people at home, but since I do not have an Argentinian cell phone, I am without communication with my friends here when I don't have Internet connection. Not to mention my Skype just quit working and I ran out of Itunes credit. I did find a bar 3 blocks away from my house that has wifi, so I will go and get a coffee and check my emails there. It makes me realize just how good I have it at home and how plugged in Americans constantly are to our phones and computers. I would also give anything right now to be driving my yellow slugbug as relying on buses that run on Latin time for transportation is a headache. One of the most depressing parts about this week is that I finished all of the candy that I received from the package that my mom sent me last week. It was good to see my old friends Hot Tamales and Tootsie Pops, but they left Cordoba way too soon. If anyone is feeling generous and wants to fund a return visit for the two of them, I would not oppose. I have been having so many American food cravings it's ridiculous. On the top of the list are: Hot Tamales, Mom's spaghetti,chocolate chip cookies (preferably ones made by Grandma Joan or Grandma Sue), Ming's Chinese food, Livesavers mints, Krisi's roast, and donuts. I am dreading spending the day tomorrow beginning at 8:00 a.m. in the Immigrations office to obtain my Student Visa. I think I am also stressed right now by trying to figure out my NWU schedule for next semester through emails. It is a very frustrating task to complete from a distance. And of course, I am missing some very important people from home. Studying abroad definitely has its challenges, but the fact that I will be in the Andes Mountains a week from tomorrow is making even the hardest days more than worth it.
Besos,
Alex

Fotografias

HOLA! I'm sure that not everyone reading this has a facebook, so I would like to share the link my photoalbum from the festivities on  el 24 de Marzo yesterday. Enjoy!

24 DE MARZO

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.319982268055743.78666.100001319180089&type=3&l=1b8f751848

24 de Marzo, 1976

This day will be remembered as one of the darkest days in Argentina's history. On March 24, 1976, the democratically elected government of Argentina was overthrown by a military junta called el Golpe Militar de 1976. In a process called the National Reorganization Process, a dictatorship was installed and chaos overtook the country. During the next 8 years following the overthrow, 30,000 Argentinian people were "disappeared". Meaning that everyone from priests to factory workers to house wives who had extreme leftist ideals and opposed the new dictatorship were taken from their homes in the middle of the night, never to be found again. Only 2,000 dead bodies were found and the other 30,000 are still missing today on the 36h anniversary. These missing people and bodies are called the DESAPARECIDOS. Many of the desaparecidos were women who were pregnant at the time, taken to prison camps, and whose babies were given to government officials and their wives to raise as their own. After the births, the mothers were killed. Shortly after 1976, a group of mothers and grandmothers of the desaparecidos was formed, Madres de Plaza de Mayo and Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo came together to fight for justice, remember those they lost, and work to find the missing. Every week, the Madres and Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo march in front of the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, each wearing a white scarf tied around their heads and holding a sign with a picture of their missing children and/or grandchildren. These two groups of unstoppable women have become internationally known and are an example of how together, the people of Argentina are stronger than the horrible crisis that their country faced 36 years ago today and that the desaparecidos are not forgotten. Argentina was returned to a democracy in the late 1980s and there since have been many efforts to both reunite the missing with their families and to find traces of the desaparecidos as well as explanations for their disappearence and/or deaths.

I feel lucky to be in Argentina on this day and will be going to Al Centro to participate in a march, watch a parade, and try to take in as much culture  as possible. 24 de Marzo is both a day of remembrance for the desaparecidos and a day of celebration that the dictatorship is no longer and that the nation of Argentina is still strong.

Have a great weekend everybody and thanks for reading!

Alex

Escuela y tarea

(above is a picture of the entrance to Universidad Blas Pascal)

Hola everybody! I haven't had wifi for the last few days, so here is my update for the school week as tomorrow (Thursday) is my last day of school for this week. It has been the usual, wake up, eat breakfast, off to three hours of classes at UBP, and to the gym afterward. I am loving going to the gym four days a week after class for a few hours. It makes the days go so quickly and makes me feel a little better about always having seconds or thirds of Graciela's cooking and for sneaking late night spoonfuls of Dulce de Leche. Dulce de Leche is one of the best tasting things in Argentina. It is a milk caramel sauce that Argentinians put on just about everything you can imagine: bananas, apples, crackers, cake, merengues, and my personal favorite, mini pancakes. Enough about Dulce de Leche because I could go on for days and back to my school week. I am definitely getting into a routine and like I said, it's making the time go so quickly. It's already nearing a month here and I can't believe it! I no longer feel nervous in the streets, confused on the buses, or dumbfounded by how fast the natives speak, which are tremendous victories in themselves. Two weeks from today I leave for Mendoza wine country. I am beyond excited for Mendoza because we will be spending time in the Andes Mountains (my reason for coming to Argentina, besides the beef excess). I am also roughly planning a trip to Buenos Aires for the end of April and a trip to Iguazu Falls in the beginning of May. My ankles are still sore from my hike on St. Patrick's Day, but it was totally worth it. My dance class on Tuesday went awesome! We are currently learning the Merengue and a little bit of Salsa, as well as dipping into the hip-hop video moves for fun. All is well in Cordoba. Thanks for reading. I now have over 1,040 views on this blog which is amazing.
Chao,
Alex
THS: Todos emocionadas para el fin de semana? En tu clase, ellos necisitan buscar para informacion sobre la 24 de Marzo 1976  porque es un dia muy famoso de la historia de Argentina y en el mundo. El dia es este sabado.

Hola and Happy Saint Patrick's Day! St. Patty's day has always been a special day for me (Happy Adoption Day Dad, Love you!) so this year, I celebrated it by spending the day trekking in Los Sierras de Argentina. It was a beautiful day and a great experience. I caught the bus at 8:30 a.m. and went to Al Centro to meet with the Intercambio group who organized the excursion. We left Al Centro at 10:00 a.m. and began our two hour drive to our destination. At about 12:00, after a scary info talk about deadly snakes, stray animals, and thorny plants, we began our way up Los Sierras. It was a very rocky, difficult hike across creeks and through tree lines. After a two hours or so, we reached our first destination for the day. We set up camp and quickly changed into our swimming suits to jump into the beautiful mountain stream nearby complete with it's own waterfall. It was FREEZING, but awesome! I spent the next few hours in good conversation and soaking up the sun. Intercambio prepared a hamburger lunch for us all (there were about 40 international students in total from all different universities in Cordoba). As we were eating, a huge vaca (cow) founds it's way into our campus. I was pretty impressed by the fact that the cow could make the trek up that far. The vaca was way too comfortable around people and was digging through all of our stuff, trying to eat the food, and being a nuisance. After we finished lunch, we hiked further upward where the two pictures above we taken. Many photos were taken and there were also many moments of silence as we were all enjoying the view. The silence was promptly interrupted by an idiotic Argentinian guy who thought it would be smart to jump into the spring from hundreds of feet above it. I thought it to be suicidal and started singing Jumper thinking I could channel my knowledge from "Yes Man" and save this person's life. I was positive I was about to watch this guy die, but he lived. Doesn't mean I don't think he's still a lucky idiot. After 6 hours in the mountains, we made our way cautiously back down and drove back to Cordoba. When I got home, it was dinner time and we had awesome steak sandwiches and FRENCH FRIES. It's been a long, great day. Hope everyone had a great Saint Patricks Day. Sorry to say, I won't be missing corn beef and cabbage this year although I did still wear green today. 
Adios!
Alex

THS: Yo fui a Los Sierras hoy para trekking. Los montanas aqui son muy lindo y me gustan esos mucho. Hace un poco calor, pero la agua en los montanas fue muy, muy frio.  Comi' carne de vaca, papas fritas, y bebi' Coka. Espero que todo bien en Nebraska.