Great vibes, through it all.

My girl Becca with me at Ferias!

The band at Ferias!

I'm realizing that because I'm also keeping a journal while I'm here, that I signed up for a lot of writing. Because of this, I keep forgetting that I haven't updated the blog in a while! Anyways, I shall give you a brief overview of the last few days. Wednesday night I was with my roommate waiting for a bus not too far away around 11:30pm (in a sketchy location, which we later found out was unsafe at night- I hate finding out these things after the fact!) and these two men approached us. Luckily I didn't have a purse on me, but one guy checked my waist and pockets for anything and then they both asked Julia for her cell phone & bag- I pushed one guy off and said 'parate' (pronounced pah-rah-tay) and they ran away! First, that's hilarious that they ran away because even though I thought I said stop, I guess 'parate' also translates into "stand up!"... My guess is that it was their first attempted robbery because let's be honest, I'm not an intimidating girl.. and someone telling you to stand up shouldn't be what stops you from completing the attempt! Anyways, I'm extremely happy that Julia didn't lose anything and that it ended up the way that it is. Unfortunately on Friday morning around 9:30am when I was returning from a pretty ghetto side of town (I was getting my Visa all straightened out with the kids in my program), my wallet was pickpocketed out of my purse in the subway. It stinks, because I really thought that I was being aware of my belongings! It was rush hour though, so we were surrounded by a TON of people. This city can be pretty sheisty sometimes I tell ya.. I lost $500 pesos, my credit/debit card, my license, insurance card... the list goes on. Luckily I still have my Visa & passport though-- which is ESSENTIAL!! So, it could have been much much worse. Not to mention, I'm alive!

So many to choose from!

Smiles with Julia and Bryan :)

That night though, my friends were so great to me! We all went out to this bar across town called, creatively, "Le Bar." It was a really cool atmosphere- there was some pretty unique seating that was carved out into the floor, and the walls were painted in deep hues. Upstairs on the roof there was some seating but also a lot of area to stand and socialize- on the walls there was some beautiful art too! It seemed like a pretty residential area too, and as I was looking around and up at the sky it was definitely one of those surreal... Argentina-is-smacking-you-across-the-face-so-you-better-pay-attention-to-it kind of moments. Anyways, I met a lot of natives and people traveling from Brazil and elsewhere, which was great to practice my Spanish. My crew was buying me drinks all night because of my loss, and let me tell you- I'm so blessed to be surrounded by these guys! I love them all of these weirdos to death and wouldn't have it any other way.

How fun it would be to live in this apartment!

Meat on meat on meat at the Ferias! Talk about salivating!

Hangin' at the park

Last night, after recovering from returning home after sunrise (woops), about 15 of us went to a festival about an hour away called Feria de Mataderos. There was a ton of food-- GREAT meat and empanadas-- local bands playing on a stage in the street, and a ton of vendors! It was an incredible atmosphere and there were such good vibes- once the band started playing, everyone started dancing in synchrony in the street! It felt like I was witnessing a scene in a movie. Everyone was moving so elegantly to the beat of the music, and it seemed so natural to them. I guess for us Americans it's sortof like how we all know how to do the chicken dance without any second thoughts? Although I'd much rather know these dances instead... The people looked like they were having such a great time, and they looked beautiful! I managed to get some souvenir shopping done, and get some great local food. Dad, you would have LOVED the music! I might have whipped out 'The Maggot' at one point... reppin' the Kelly family! After the festival we all went home because we were still pretty pooped from the night before.. which was great because that gave us all more energy for today! I went to a park about 40 minutes away with a couple of the girls, and after getting ourselves lost for an hour or two, we made it and enjoyed the warmth of the sun for a few hours. Conveniently enough, other kids in the ISA program were there on a tour this afternoon, so we hitched a ride back on an air conditioned coach bus around 7:30 (instead of paying for a train and taxi and catching it at rush hour)! Best case scenario if I've ever had one! Overall, it was a great weekend.. surprise surprise!