Empanadas with Olga!
On Tuesday night, Elizabeth and I went over to Emily and Olga’s (her host mom) apartment. She was going to teach us how to make empanadas (a very popular/AMAZING Argentine gift!!! We arrived around 7 pm, and hung out with Olga and her friend Leo in the living room for a while, listening to George Straight. Olga is ADORABLE! She is a feisty, opinionated 60ish year old woman that only speaks Spanish….oh my gosh she is so funny! She couldn’t believe I wasn’t wearing a jacket in her house, so she pulls up her shirt and reveals her “can cans” (aka panty hose underneath her pants)!! It was soooooo weird but hilarious! We finally get started on the empanada process. All 5 of us are in her precious tiny kitchen, and we begin to make empanadas. Here is the process for empanadas:
o Saute 2 onions (1 onion per kilo of ground beef)
o Brown the beef with the onions
o Add 1 kilo of butter per kilo of beef (WHAT?! No wonder I am a little chunk!)
o Let all the flavors soak together (its better to prepare this early so there is more time to let the flavors sit)
o Next you get yer empanada dough squares so that you can stuff them with goodness
o You put the meat mixture in there along with some boiled eggs and olives, and you fold the square over the mixture (coat the edges with water so they will stay pretty)
o Now make an egg wash (with only the yolks) and paint it on top of the empanadas on the baking sheet (Olga used a makeup brush, but next time I will prolly use a cooking brush to paint the wash on top! Haha)
o Lastly you put them in the oven for 8 minutes or so (til golden brown) and enjoy!
We ate empanadas with Olga, Leo, and Susannah until we couldn’t eat another bite! We sat at the table and talked about life for about 2 hours. We talked about politics, boys, and Elizabeth made me sing a song for them (I coulda killed her!) Then we all sang “Aint no mountain high enough” for them, they loved it! Before we knew it, it was 11 pm and we had to get home. This was definitely one of my favorite Argentina experiences, its amazing how we were able to carry on conversations with native speakers for 4 whole hours without any English! WOW…
El último fin de semana
After tango on Friday, we went to a bodega (winery) just south of Mendoza. We had a really good time, it was really neat to see the process of making wine! We got to taste a couple different types, so that was neat too! Next we went to an art museum, interesting but nothing too special. Afterwards we went to an Artesan shop where all the locals make things by hand. That was super cool, and I got a few souvenirs from here. It was time to go home, so a group of us went to my house and we made tacos, guacamole and refried beans (my body cannot get enough Mexican food!) We were miserably full, but it was oh so good! We didn’t finish eating til late, so we went to bed around 3 am and had to wake up at 7:30 for our hike to Cerro Arco.
Cerro Arco
We hiked around the mountain and went to a beautiful river type thing and sat there a meditated on the lovely view of the city. It was very chill and pleasant. After the hike, we went to this restaurant in the mountains and ate empanadas of every flavor imaginable! Haha, they were scrumptious and we were all full and happy before we headed to the SPA!
The Spa at Cacheuta
When we arrived at this heavenly place, it was around 4:30 pm on Saturday. I scheduled my massage for 6, so until then we all put on our swim suits and took mud baths and relaxed in the multiple thermal pools facing the beautiful mountains. It was quite therapeutic and was just the beginning. After my amazing massage, I went to my room and hung out with friends. Emalee did my eye makeup, Elizabeth massaged my feet, I was feelin super spoiled and pampered! Before we knew it, it was dinner time so we went downstairs and ate some wonderful HEALTHY food! I am not usually healthy by any means, but its amazing how much you crave it when yer not able to have it! My grilled chicken, salad and vegetables never tasted so good! Haha.. after dinner we showered and went to bed nice and early. We slept in on Sunday, then ate breakfast and hit the thermal pools once again. We ate an INCREDIBLE lunch filled the vegetables, some of the best steak I have ever eaten, and lots of great desserts. We went back out to the mud baths and pools (roughin it right?!) and stayed out there for another 3 hours. I got a little sun on my chest and was really excited about that! By 6 pm, it was time to head back to reality…Finals, presentations, and essays. My lack of productivity over the weekend was absolutely worth it and I enjoyed every second of it!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Pueblo del Rio--Heaven on earth
www.pueblodelrio.com.ar/home.php This is the website, its in Spanish but you can still see how lovely it is!
This is one of the nicest resort/cabañas (cabins) in Mendoza and me, Emily and Elizabeth are staying here for 3 days, 2 nights….it is absolutely PERFECT!!! We spent Saturday eating quesadillas, nutella, Pringles, and cookies (can you say, the “argentina 15?!”), taking siestas, and walking around the beautiful place…we got some homework done in our precious, spacious cabin and have relaxed sooo much (something we have NOT had time for in our 4 weeks here!) We watched The Parent Trap in Spanish, which turned out to be much better than we expected (prolly cuz we have seen it so many times), then we went to dinner. For dinner we had some wonderful salad, meat, vegetables, and a brownie in an orange cream sauce mmmmm! We came home and went to sleep in our nice warm bed shortly afterwards.
Sunday
Woke up around 9 feeling SUPER rested…I actually got HOT last night, which has not happened in a very long time! it felt so good to sleep in a bed without gloves! Haha…We ate breakfast which was super yummy: homemade hot chocolate, croissants, dulce de leche, and many other pastries…not healthy, but oh so good! At 11 we met up with out “trekking” guide, who drove us and about 7 other people to a trail off the highway. We took our 2 hour hike, it was so laid back and beautiful. Although our guide (Ana) spoke SUPER fast, we were able to understand her so we were happy about that! We hiked to a lovely waterfall and were able to take a picture behind it, it was quite magical. It was a really good time and a pretty nice workout. We got back to the cabaña (cabin) in time for lunch, and made quesadillas, sliced avacado, kiwi, and apples, and had refried black beans….it was just oh so good! We also made some mimosas so that was classy and fun! After lunch was SPA TIME!! ahhhhhh…..so we went to the spa at the resort, and they gave us bathrobes. We had our bathing suits on underneath…the ladies were so nice. We soaked in the Jacuzzi, sweated out our mimosas in the sauna, then took these really awesome rain showers with spouts everywhere! Then we relaxed in this room full of windows that viewed the river and mountains and sipped on delicious hot tea, ate fruit, and read magazines in Spanish. Next was time for the steam room, SO so refreshing! We stayed in there for 30 minutes, and my skin has never felt so good. We went back to the resting room and chilled out for a bit longer…We finished our spa day with a “wine facial” which is full of antioxidants and smelled SO good! Today was the most relaxing day of my life so far, and I enjoyed every second of it! For dinner we had a potato soup, AMAZING DELICIOUS creamy lasagna, and crepes (panqueques) with dulce de leche EASILY my favorite meal so far! We watched the movie The Pianist, then went to sleep. This morning we slept in and now we are just gonna get homework done until our driver gets here at 5 to take us back home! This has been my favorite weekend so far, but I WILL be runnin this week to burn off SOME of what we ate….It was all worth it though!! Chau for now! xoxo
This is one of the nicest resort/cabañas (cabins) in Mendoza and me, Emily and Elizabeth are staying here for 3 days, 2 nights….it is absolutely PERFECT!!! We spent Saturday eating quesadillas, nutella, Pringles, and cookies (can you say, the “argentina 15?!”), taking siestas, and walking around the beautiful place…we got some homework done in our precious, spacious cabin and have relaxed sooo much (something we have NOT had time for in our 4 weeks here!) We watched The Parent Trap in Spanish, which turned out to be much better than we expected (prolly cuz we have seen it so many times), then we went to dinner. For dinner we had some wonderful salad, meat, vegetables, and a brownie in an orange cream sauce mmmmm! We came home and went to sleep in our nice warm bed shortly afterwards.
Sunday
Woke up around 9 feeling SUPER rested…I actually got HOT last night, which has not happened in a very long time! it felt so good to sleep in a bed without gloves! Haha…We ate breakfast which was super yummy: homemade hot chocolate, croissants, dulce de leche, and many other pastries…not healthy, but oh so good! At 11 we met up with out “trekking” guide, who drove us and about 7 other people to a trail off the highway. We took our 2 hour hike, it was so laid back and beautiful. Although our guide (Ana) spoke SUPER fast, we were able to understand her so we were happy about that! We hiked to a lovely waterfall and were able to take a picture behind it, it was quite magical. It was a really good time and a pretty nice workout. We got back to the cabaña (cabin) in time for lunch, and made quesadillas, sliced avacado, kiwi, and apples, and had refried black beans….it was just oh so good! We also made some mimosas so that was classy and fun! After lunch was SPA TIME!! ahhhhhh…..so we went to the spa at the resort, and they gave us bathrobes. We had our bathing suits on underneath…the ladies were so nice. We soaked in the Jacuzzi, sweated out our mimosas in the sauna, then took these really awesome rain showers with spouts everywhere! Then we relaxed in this room full of windows that viewed the river and mountains and sipped on delicious hot tea, ate fruit, and read magazines in Spanish. Next was time for the steam room, SO so refreshing! We stayed in there for 30 minutes, and my skin has never felt so good. We went back to the resting room and chilled out for a bit longer…We finished our spa day with a “wine facial” which is full of antioxidants and smelled SO good! Today was the most relaxing day of my life so far, and I enjoyed every second of it! For dinner we had a potato soup, AMAZING DELICIOUS creamy lasagna, and crepes (panqueques) with dulce de leche EASILY my favorite meal so far! We watched the movie The Pianist, then went to sleep. This morning we slept in and now we are just gonna get homework done until our driver gets here at 5 to take us back home! This has been my favorite weekend so far, but I WILL be runnin this week to burn off SOME of what we ate….It was all worth it though!! Chau for now! xoxo
This and That
Weekdays…
This past week was super busy academically, lots and lots of papers in Spanish…I just had to remind myself that I am here for class credit, it cant just be one huge vacay! Haha, it was worth the hard work cuz Thursday night we went to the Hyatt (the nicest 5 star hotel in Mendoza) for tapas a wine tasting. I discovered that I really love red wine (Malbec from Mendoza), so it was nice to try some different ones and eat some incredible food: empanadas, cannelloni, and baby sandwiches!
The weekend has begun!
On Friday, me, Emily, Elizabeth, Emalee, and Lizzie went shopping at “The Shopping” (said with a very strong Spanish accent! Haha, real funny) It was really fun…then Emily, Elizabeth and I went to Jumbo (an HEB equivalent) and bought groceries for tacos for my sweet Argentine family. It was really fun to be at an American-like grocery store…we also bought food for our girls weekend! We brought the stuff for tacos home and found the table was already set for 11 people! Haha, they were really excited. We made the tacos in our itty bitty baby kitchen, and had chips and guac to go along with it….Not only did my family love our tacos, but my body was SOOOOOO thankful for a taste of comida Mexicana! Haha, it was really tasty!! After dinner we chilled out in mine and Selene’s room, talking to her and Naranza (its amazing how much Spanish we have learned!) I discovered my sister has a marijuana plant growing in our room! Haha, I had no idea, I was telling ppl she loves gardening cuz we have plants in our room and Emily and Elizabeth were like, Kendra that’s a marijuana plant! We asked Sele and sure enough it is! Haha, don’t judge her, she is wonderful but its just funny how oblivious I can be sometimes! We went out with her and her friends Popo, Chachi, and Diego to a super sketch bar (by then it was nearly 3 am so we decided we should go to bed) ! it was all quite an experience and was the perfect end to a super fun day with friends, family, and locals!
This past week was super busy academically, lots and lots of papers in Spanish…I just had to remind myself that I am here for class credit, it cant just be one huge vacay! Haha, it was worth the hard work cuz Thursday night we went to the Hyatt (the nicest 5 star hotel in Mendoza) for tapas a wine tasting. I discovered that I really love red wine (Malbec from Mendoza), so it was nice to try some different ones and eat some incredible food: empanadas, cannelloni, and baby sandwiches!
The weekend has begun!
On Friday, me, Emily, Elizabeth, Emalee, and Lizzie went shopping at “The Shopping” (said with a very strong Spanish accent! Haha, real funny) It was really fun…then Emily, Elizabeth and I went to Jumbo (an HEB equivalent) and bought groceries for tacos for my sweet Argentine family. It was really fun to be at an American-like grocery store…we also bought food for our girls weekend! We brought the stuff for tacos home and found the table was already set for 11 people! Haha, they were really excited. We made the tacos in our itty bitty baby kitchen, and had chips and guac to go along with it….Not only did my family love our tacos, but my body was SOOOOOO thankful for a taste of comida Mexicana! Haha, it was really tasty!! After dinner we chilled out in mine and Selene’s room, talking to her and Naranza (its amazing how much Spanish we have learned!) I discovered my sister has a marijuana plant growing in our room! Haha, I had no idea, I was telling ppl she loves gardening cuz we have plants in our room and Emily and Elizabeth were like, Kendra that’s a marijuana plant! We asked Sele and sure enough it is! Haha, don’t judge her, she is wonderful but its just funny how oblivious I can be sometimes! We went out with her and her friends Popo, Chachi, and Diego to a super sketch bar (by then it was nearly 3 am so we decided we should go to bed) ! it was all quite an experience and was the perfect end to a super fun day with friends, family, and locals!
Paragliding and Rafting
Wow!
Long time no blog…So sorry to let my followers down, I have just been crazy busy living the Argentina dream!
Well I will start with last weekend: rafting and paragliding…WOW!! Soooooo much fun!! PARAGLIDING: this was definitely one of the coolest things I have ever experienced…First of all, it prolly wasn’t super safe but we will look past that because I am alive and it was so much fun! Pancho (this super creepy guy that seemed to have some sort of a crush on me, requesting me to call him “hot dog” because that is what pancho means in Spanish…don’t worry I called him Pancho!) picks us up at the plaza and loads 12 of us in a 6 person car…boy did we look silly! So we ride on outside of town and get to the parapente (paragliding) site. Then we pile into the back of a truck and drive up the mountain, which turned out to be the scariest part of the whole experience. It was not safe because there really wasn’t a road on this mountain but whatever….so it takes us AN HOUR to get up there but we finally make it and then we get our partners (the professionals that fly off the mountain with us, its kinda like skydiving)…of COURSE, creepy Pancho aka “hot dog” insists on being my partner, but I don’t let this get to me, I still enjoyed the flight. So we get all harnessed up, and then just start sprinting off the side of the mountain (the whole time I am just praying that our parachute is functioning)…thank the Lord it worked and for the next 30 minutes, we were floating around the Andes…it was absolutely majestic and I am so happy I did it!
RAFTING: 2 days later, we went rafting in the Mendoza river…boy was this an adventure!!! They put us all in wet suits (because we will be rafting in glacier water), and put us on a bus to take us to our starting spot. So we get a very brief lesson about rafting through the Andes, I was so nervous about falling out of the raft, I didn’t though thank goodness! Our guide (‘crusty’) was his name, WEIRD….his English was very broken, and he would said the “F” word before just about every word…haha, it was kinda funny cuz he had a very thick accent! There are 6 of us total in our raft (including Crusty), Austin and Kyle in the front, Emily and Elizabeth in the middle, and Crusty and I in the back. We start off small (class I and II rapids), then as we progress down the river they get bigger… The total route was like 12 km (mas o menos), so after 6 km or so, the rapids start getting bigger and we start getting splashed with glacier water…oh baby it was piercingly cold! We were at the class III and IV rapids so it was super fun and we didn’t care! it was fine until the last 10 minutes (the ride was about an hour long), the last 10 minutes we were just numb and couldn’t move, but it was SOOOO worth it! It was a beautiful experience and one of the guys from the rafting company took pix (they are on facebook and are really pretty)! We ate lunch at the little lodge out there and then went home!
Long time no blog…So sorry to let my followers down, I have just been crazy busy living the Argentina dream!
Well I will start with last weekend: rafting and paragliding…WOW!! Soooooo much fun!! PARAGLIDING: this was definitely one of the coolest things I have ever experienced…First of all, it prolly wasn’t super safe but we will look past that because I am alive and it was so much fun! Pancho (this super creepy guy that seemed to have some sort of a crush on me, requesting me to call him “hot dog” because that is what pancho means in Spanish…don’t worry I called him Pancho!) picks us up at the plaza and loads 12 of us in a 6 person car…boy did we look silly! So we ride on outside of town and get to the parapente (paragliding) site. Then we pile into the back of a truck and drive up the mountain, which turned out to be the scariest part of the whole experience. It was not safe because there really wasn’t a road on this mountain but whatever….so it takes us AN HOUR to get up there but we finally make it and then we get our partners (the professionals that fly off the mountain with us, its kinda like skydiving)…of COURSE, creepy Pancho aka “hot dog” insists on being my partner, but I don’t let this get to me, I still enjoyed the flight. So we get all harnessed up, and then just start sprinting off the side of the mountain (the whole time I am just praying that our parachute is functioning)…thank the Lord it worked and for the next 30 minutes, we were floating around the Andes…it was absolutely majestic and I am so happy I did it!
RAFTING: 2 days later, we went rafting in the Mendoza river…boy was this an adventure!!! They put us all in wet suits (because we will be rafting in glacier water), and put us on a bus to take us to our starting spot. So we get a very brief lesson about rafting through the Andes, I was so nervous about falling out of the raft, I didn’t though thank goodness! Our guide (‘crusty’) was his name, WEIRD….his English was very broken, and he would said the “F” word before just about every word…haha, it was kinda funny cuz he had a very thick accent! There are 6 of us total in our raft (including Crusty), Austin and Kyle in the front, Emily and Elizabeth in the middle, and Crusty and I in the back. We start off small (class I and II rapids), then as we progress down the river they get bigger… The total route was like 12 km (mas o menos), so after 6 km or so, the rapids start getting bigger and we start getting splashed with glacier water…oh baby it was piercingly cold! We were at the class III and IV rapids so it was super fun and we didn’t care! it was fine until the last 10 minutes (the ride was about an hour long), the last 10 minutes we were just numb and couldn’t move, but it was SOOOO worth it! It was a beautiful experience and one of the guys from the rafting company took pix (they are on facebook and are really pretty)! We ate lunch at the little lodge out there and then went home!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Our 2nd Excursion
Uspallata…
What a majestic weekend spent in the Andes Mountains with my dear friends. Wow! The pictures of these beautiful views do not even give this place justice… We saw Sex and the City 2 on Thursday night, and it made us all a tiny bit homesick for American comforts. Simple things like easily accessible WiFi, food that we’re used to, a language that we speak very well, and just the USA and family/friends in general. Well our weekend in the mountains was certainly the perfect medicine for our little bit of homesickness… It was absolutely incredible to be able to spend 2 perfect days in one of God’s most beautiful places.
We left very early on Saturday morning, and arrived around 11 am. They fed us a “snack-aka MEAL” on our awesome 2-story bus (that was verrrrry luxurious, not even kidding). Dr. Supplee (the Baylor director lady) warned us to drink a TON of water to avoid altitude sickness (because we were 10,000 feet up). Of course, I didn’t want a migraine or to puke my guts up, so I prolly drank 2 gallons of water and literally had to pee 10 times during our 3 hour ride. Thank goodness our bus had a bathroom! That was the day of our hike through the mountains to the beautiful view of Mt. Agoncagua (one of the largest peaks outside of the Himalayas and the 3rd toughest to climb in the world). I was very comfortable in my tennis shoes, and super warm in Aarika’s North Face get up, so that made it all the more pleasant. When we got there (it only took about an hour or so), they gave us our real lunch of sandwiches, fruit, and cookies. (I have GOT to start running this week, seriously, I can tell I am swelling up a little in my mid-section!) We ate, and then just walked around and took pictures of course. We hiked back to bus where they took us to our hostel (which actually turned out to be pretty nice to our surprise).
We showered and ate dinner at the restaurant in the hostel. It was really fun, we watched the guys play bowling in the good ol-fashioned bowling alley in the lobby (the pins were “automatic”, set up by Pablo behind the scenes!! Haha, soooo funny!) We were pretty exhausted and went to bed around 11.
Sunday: We woke up around 7:30, ate breakfast (warm milk and cereal…mmm my favorite!), then got on the bus with our various groups (we picked which activities we wanted to do—mine was a 2 hour hike, repelling, rock climbing, and zip lining!)
The hike…
Had I known this 2 hour hike was so advanced, I definitely would not have signed up for it. However, I am SO glad I did because once we made it to the top, it was worth every drop of sweat……SOOOO pretty! There was a cross at the top of our mountain and it was just lovely. (I had a video interview with our guide Jesus, I will hafta show it to you later, it’s pretty cool)
What a majestic weekend spent in the Andes Mountains with my dear friends. Wow! The pictures of these beautiful views do not even give this place justice… We saw Sex and the City 2 on Thursday night, and it made us all a tiny bit homesick for American comforts. Simple things like easily accessible WiFi, food that we’re used to, a language that we speak very well, and just the USA and family/friends in general. Well our weekend in the mountains was certainly the perfect medicine for our little bit of homesickness… It was absolutely incredible to be able to spend 2 perfect days in one of God’s most beautiful places.
We left very early on Saturday morning, and arrived around 11 am. They fed us a “snack-aka MEAL” on our awesome 2-story bus (that was verrrrry luxurious, not even kidding). Dr. Supplee (the Baylor director lady) warned us to drink a TON of water to avoid altitude sickness (because we were 10,000 feet up). Of course, I didn’t want a migraine or to puke my guts up, so I prolly drank 2 gallons of water and literally had to pee 10 times during our 3 hour ride. Thank goodness our bus had a bathroom! That was the day of our hike through the mountains to the beautiful view of Mt. Agoncagua (one of the largest peaks outside of the Himalayas and the 3rd toughest to climb in the world). I was very comfortable in my tennis shoes, and super warm in Aarika’s North Face get up, so that made it all the more pleasant. When we got there (it only took about an hour or so), they gave us our real lunch of sandwiches, fruit, and cookies. (I have GOT to start running this week, seriously, I can tell I am swelling up a little in my mid-section!) We ate, and then just walked around and took pictures of course. We hiked back to bus where they took us to our hostel (which actually turned out to be pretty nice to our surprise).
We showered and ate dinner at the restaurant in the hostel. It was really fun, we watched the guys play bowling in the good ol-fashioned bowling alley in the lobby (the pins were “automatic”, set up by Pablo behind the scenes!! Haha, soooo funny!) We were pretty exhausted and went to bed around 11.
Sunday: We woke up around 7:30, ate breakfast (warm milk and cereal…mmm my favorite!), then got on the bus with our various groups (we picked which activities we wanted to do—mine was a 2 hour hike, repelling, rock climbing, and zip lining!)
The hike…
Had I known this 2 hour hike was so advanced, I definitely would not have signed up for it. However, I am SO glad I did because once we made it to the top, it was worth every drop of sweat……SOOOO pretty! There was a cross at the top of our mountain and it was just lovely. (I had a video interview with our guide Jesus, I will hafta show it to you later, it’s pretty cool)
Sunday, May 30, 2010
El Dia del Gaucho
So today was our first official excursion and it was SOOOOO much fun!!! We left La Plaza de Independencia (dowtown) at 8:30 this morning and left for the camp. We stopped by a beaaauuutiful vineyard and winery on the way down and got to look around and take pictures of the breath-taking views of the Andes Mountains.
We drove from the vineyard to the gaucho which was in the foothills of the Andes. We drove down a suuuper bumpy road (puts Del Rio to shame) for about 45 minutes...Oh my gosh, you know I was like freakin out that someone was gonna get carsick and puke but praise the Lord that didnt happen!!!
Once we finally arrived to the camp it was just absolutely gorgeous...Words cannot even describe the views; it was seriously like Disney movie or somethin! of course we were walking around and taking pictures and just exploring the site.
We went horseback riding through the trails which was totally awesome. Dont worry, took any pictures of that event! One downer is the horseback riding made me miss my little Adam because the last time I rode a horse it was in Missouri with him on the saddle with me for their family reunion. :(
When we got back they had a WONDERFUL lunch that was served to us (it was quite fancy I must say). Lunch consisted of various types of delicious meat, potato salad, vegetables, and a lovely fruit dessert.
After lunch we took a hike up the small mountain... 5 words: BOY AM I OUTTA SHAPE!!! Oh my gosh I was absolutely dying, my friend Drew practically carried me up the mountain. It was quite sad but once we made it to the top it was absolutely worth it. From the top we were able to see more of the snow-capped Andes Mountains.
After that we were just hangin out in lawn chairs and having a good old time. It was a very fun time! Oh my gosh, can I just say how impressed I am that we did not have to plan any of our wonderful day today... go Baylor study abroad program (or Dr. Supp-dawg)!
Well, ta-ta for now! I have a long day of Spanish film classes, history, and TANGO!!! woohoo!!
We drove from the vineyard to the gaucho which was in the foothills of the Andes. We drove down a suuuper bumpy road (puts Del Rio to shame) for about 45 minutes...Oh my gosh, you know I was like freakin out that someone was gonna get carsick and puke but praise the Lord that didnt happen!!!
Once we finally arrived to the camp it was just absolutely gorgeous...Words cannot even describe the views; it was seriously like Disney movie or somethin! of course we were walking around and taking pictures and just exploring the site.
We went horseback riding through the trails which was totally awesome. Dont worry, took any pictures of that event! One downer is the horseback riding made me miss my little Adam because the last time I rode a horse it was in Missouri with him on the saddle with me for their family reunion. :(
When we got back they had a WONDERFUL lunch that was served to us (it was quite fancy I must say). Lunch consisted of various types of delicious meat, potato salad, vegetables, and a lovely fruit dessert.
After lunch we took a hike up the small mountain... 5 words: BOY AM I OUTTA SHAPE!!! Oh my gosh I was absolutely dying, my friend Drew practically carried me up the mountain. It was quite sad but once we made it to the top it was absolutely worth it. From the top we were able to see more of the snow-capped Andes Mountains.
After that we were just hangin out in lawn chairs and having a good old time. It was a very fun time! Oh my gosh, can I just say how impressed I am that we did not have to plan any of our wonderful day today... go Baylor study abroad program (or Dr. Supp-dawg)!
Well, ta-ta for now! I have a long day of Spanish film classes, history, and TANGO!!! woohoo!!
Friday, May 28, 2010
First few days of class
Hola!
The first 3 days of class were good, but slightly overwhelming (for some reason Im in the advanced class, I dont even know what thats all about!) but anyway, its summer school so its supposed to be a little intense! My profs are all super sweet so hopefully that will help things.
Last night a big group of us were gonna go to a wine tasting thing downtown but decided to go to a restaurant/winery instead. It was very fun, I have never really liked wine but the wine down here is much better than what I have had back in TX(aka Arbor Mist!) hahaha...The food at this place (El 23 was the name) was incredible!!! I had ravioli with deer meat and a cream sauce (yummy!) but my friend Elizabeth gotta steak and it was the BEST steak I had ever put in my mouth (sorry dad but I think you would agree, I wish I could bring one back for you!) Argentina does have muchas vacas (cows) so I guess its expected that their steak is scrumptious!
On Sunday were going out to the country (el gaucho) and were gonna do some fun things like ride horses and eat asado, I am very excited about that adventure...I will take lots of pix although I prolly wont be able to post them until I come back at the beginning of July!
The next chance I get I will definitely let yall know how the gaucho went!
PS Aarika thanks so much for the warm clothes, they have been sooooo nice to have! I owe you big time!!
The first 3 days of class were good, but slightly overwhelming (for some reason Im in the advanced class, I dont even know what thats all about!) but anyway, its summer school so its supposed to be a little intense! My profs are all super sweet so hopefully that will help things.
Last night a big group of us were gonna go to a wine tasting thing downtown but decided to go to a restaurant/winery instead. It was very fun, I have never really liked wine but the wine down here is much better than what I have had back in TX(aka Arbor Mist!) hahaha...The food at this place (El 23 was the name) was incredible!!! I had ravioli with deer meat and a cream sauce (yummy!) but my friend Elizabeth gotta steak and it was the BEST steak I had ever put in my mouth (sorry dad but I think you would agree, I wish I could bring one back for you!) Argentina does have muchas vacas (cows) so I guess its expected that their steak is scrumptious!
On Sunday were going out to the country (el gaucho) and were gonna do some fun things like ride horses and eat asado, I am very excited about that adventure...I will take lots of pix although I prolly wont be able to post them until I come back at the beginning of July!
The next chance I get I will definitely let yall know how the gaucho went!
PS Aarika thanks so much for the warm clothes, they have been sooooo nice to have! I owe you big time!!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
My first experiences in Argentina
The flight...
Our flight was delayed 3 hours out of Dallas but it ended up being very fun because I made some good friends that were going to Argentina too. Talking to them helped calm my nerves because they were all as nervous as I was! haha... We finally get on the plane at 12:30 am, and it takes off at 1 am TX time. Despite the length of the 11hour flight, it was fairly smooth and I slept off and on for about 5 hours (which is good on a plane for me!) We landed in Santiago, Chile at 11 am their time, thank goodness the time change isnt too significant! The snow capped Andes Mountains were GORRRRGEOUS!!! I got a couple of pix that I will post when I can, but they were easily the most beautiful I have ever seen from a plane if not in my entire life. For lunch we ate at the airport: a sandwich with beef and plastic like cheese (it wasnt so bad if you just didnt think about it! haha) Our last flight was to Mendoza and it was a shoooorrttt, only about 45 minutes.
Meeting my family...
Well, as soon as we landed we were all kinda freakin out because we knew that our families were eagerly waiting around the corner after we picked up our luggage. Everyone was nervous because we were aware that our families know little to no English, and that is just kind of terrifying!!! Well, sure enough Claudia (mi mama) and her friend Flavia were just SO excited to see my nametag as I turned the corner from baggage claim. It was really quite precious and eased my nerves quite a bit. Even though my Spanish is not perfect, I knew that they would love me anyway because Claudia is the cutest thing Ive ever seen (sorry Christian! haha). We loaded up my stuff in Flavias TINY car, and I feared for my life as we drove home for the 1st time (dont worry mom, everyone drives terribly in Argentina so its actually quite safe!) We pull up to their lovely, quaint, CLEAN house and I am feeling even more relieved. Its in a very safe barrio (neighborhood) and its super cute! I meet my sisters, Selene and Julieta, and Julietas friend Pilar, they are all SOOO sweet. We all talk for a while in the living room, they were able to understand what I said most of the time so that was good! I unpack my stuff in my room and then Mallorys mom Susannah offers to take me to the outdoor shopping mall called Palimares.
Palimares...
They pick me up in their car and I meet Susannahs daughters Milagros (12 yrs old) and Valentina (9). They are super adorable and I squeeze in the back and hold on for dear life as we drive to the mall. We arrive and it is SO nice, it looks like its straight out of Malibu, CA! We walk around, speaking Spanish and eating palomitos de maiz (popcorn that tasted like Kettle corn only BETTER!) After walking around SUsannah drives us around some really cool places in town, then takes me home.
1st night home...
I finish unpacking and take a shower, aka drizzle. The water pressure is pretty horrible, but you know, I got clean and thats all that matters! haha, after my shower my mom and I had a miscommunication and she thought I needed food at that very moment (dinner is very late all over Arg), but I really could have waited. Dont worry about it, she brought me a slice of pizza and crackers with ham to my room for a snack! haha, sooo cute but Im thinking, oh my gosh Im gonna gain so much weight here because I had to eat DINNER like 30 min later!! For dinner we had delicious empanadas, salad, and of course red wine (it is a huge part of their culture)! Dessert was dulce de leche... AMAZING! I went to bed shortly after dinner because I was verrrrry tired from traveling and I slept very well in my new bed!
Orientation at the university...
NEVER had I ever been so excited to go to school! haha, after speaking only Spanish for 12 hours, hearing my friends speak English was like music to my ears! haha, we had orientation from 9am til 1 pm, then I came home for lunch. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day here, so we had fideos (noodles) con broccoli with ajo (garlic...mmmm!) It was really good! I promise mom, I offer to help with the dishes but my mom Claudia NEVER lets me, she tells me to just relax and that it is her job to clean! haha, daaaang! Monday and Tuesday were national holidays in Argentina, so my mom took me and Mallory (our moms are really good friends) downtown to experience the events of the day! SOOOOOO neat, pictures to come I promise! Many students from Baylor havent left their houses yet, so Mallory and I decided that our moms are just AWESOME and they really want us to experience the Argentine culture.
More posts to come, prob not this detailled because class starts tomorrow so Im sure I will have homework and my blogs will suffer because of it!
Kendra
Our flight was delayed 3 hours out of Dallas but it ended up being very fun because I made some good friends that were going to Argentina too. Talking to them helped calm my nerves because they were all as nervous as I was! haha... We finally get on the plane at 12:30 am, and it takes off at 1 am TX time. Despite the length of the 11hour flight, it was fairly smooth and I slept off and on for about 5 hours (which is good on a plane for me!) We landed in Santiago, Chile at 11 am their time, thank goodness the time change isnt too significant! The snow capped Andes Mountains were GORRRRGEOUS!!! I got a couple of pix that I will post when I can, but they were easily the most beautiful I have ever seen from a plane if not in my entire life. For lunch we ate at the airport: a sandwich with beef and plastic like cheese (it wasnt so bad if you just didnt think about it! haha) Our last flight was to Mendoza and it was a shoooorrttt, only about 45 minutes.
Meeting my family...
Well, as soon as we landed we were all kinda freakin out because we knew that our families were eagerly waiting around the corner after we picked up our luggage. Everyone was nervous because we were aware that our families know little to no English, and that is just kind of terrifying!!! Well, sure enough Claudia (mi mama) and her friend Flavia were just SO excited to see my nametag as I turned the corner from baggage claim. It was really quite precious and eased my nerves quite a bit. Even though my Spanish is not perfect, I knew that they would love me anyway because Claudia is the cutest thing Ive ever seen (sorry Christian! haha). We loaded up my stuff in Flavias TINY car, and I feared for my life as we drove home for the 1st time (dont worry mom, everyone drives terribly in Argentina so its actually quite safe!) We pull up to their lovely, quaint, CLEAN house and I am feeling even more relieved. Its in a very safe barrio (neighborhood) and its super cute! I meet my sisters, Selene and Julieta, and Julietas friend Pilar, they are all SOOO sweet. We all talk for a while in the living room, they were able to understand what I said most of the time so that was good! I unpack my stuff in my room and then Mallorys mom Susannah offers to take me to the outdoor shopping mall called Palimares.
Palimares...
They pick me up in their car and I meet Susannahs daughters Milagros (12 yrs old) and Valentina (9). They are super adorable and I squeeze in the back and hold on for dear life as we drive to the mall. We arrive and it is SO nice, it looks like its straight out of Malibu, CA! We walk around, speaking Spanish and eating palomitos de maiz (popcorn that tasted like Kettle corn only BETTER!) After walking around SUsannah drives us around some really cool places in town, then takes me home.
1st night home...
I finish unpacking and take a shower, aka drizzle. The water pressure is pretty horrible, but you know, I got clean and thats all that matters! haha, after my shower my mom and I had a miscommunication and she thought I needed food at that very moment (dinner is very late all over Arg), but I really could have waited. Dont worry about it, she brought me a slice of pizza and crackers with ham to my room for a snack! haha, sooo cute but Im thinking, oh my gosh Im gonna gain so much weight here because I had to eat DINNER like 30 min later!! For dinner we had delicious empanadas, salad, and of course red wine (it is a huge part of their culture)! Dessert was dulce de leche... AMAZING! I went to bed shortly after dinner because I was verrrrry tired from traveling and I slept very well in my new bed!
Orientation at the university...
NEVER had I ever been so excited to go to school! haha, after speaking only Spanish for 12 hours, hearing my friends speak English was like music to my ears! haha, we had orientation from 9am til 1 pm, then I came home for lunch. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day here, so we had fideos (noodles) con broccoli with ajo (garlic...mmmm!) It was really good! I promise mom, I offer to help with the dishes but my mom Claudia NEVER lets me, she tells me to just relax and that it is her job to clean! haha, daaaang! Monday and Tuesday were national holidays in Argentina, so my mom took me and Mallory (our moms are really good friends) downtown to experience the events of the day! SOOOOOO neat, pictures to come I promise! Many students from Baylor havent left their houses yet, so Mallory and I decided that our moms are just AWESOME and they really want us to experience the Argentine culture.
More posts to come, prob not this detailled because class starts tomorrow so Im sure I will have homework and my blogs will suffer because of it!
Kendra
Monday, May 24, 2010
Mis primeras dias de Argentina
Hello followers (sounds a little creeepy but whatever!)
I am typing this post on my family´s computer in Mendoza Argentine. The keyboard is a little different, so if I have some crazy symbols please forgive me!
Well, first of all the trip down to South America was delayed and LOOONG with little sleep but it¨s already worth it. I abosolutely LOVE my familia: Claudia is my mom, and Selene and Julieta are my sisters and they are absolutely WONDERFUL!!!! Despite our language barrier we have hit it off and I seriuosly can already see an improvement in my Spanish which is just awesome! I actually found myself thinking in Spanish when I woke up this morning.
Class doesnt start until Wednesday because today and tomorrow are national holidays in Argentina. Today Im going downtown with my family to participate in all the fun activites. I will give more details when I have more time on my next post but I just wanted to let yall know that I am happy and safe.
Besos
Kendra
(I am trying to get used to kissing ones cheek when greeting them! haha, its weird but EVERYONE does it here)
I am typing this post on my family´s computer in Mendoza Argentine. The keyboard is a little different, so if I have some crazy symbols please forgive me!
Well, first of all the trip down to South America was delayed and LOOONG with little sleep but it¨s already worth it. I abosolutely LOVE my familia: Claudia is my mom, and Selene and Julieta are my sisters and they are absolutely WONDERFUL!!!! Despite our language barrier we have hit it off and I seriuosly can already see an improvement in my Spanish which is just awesome! I actually found myself thinking in Spanish when I woke up this morning.
Class doesnt start until Wednesday because today and tomorrow are national holidays in Argentina. Today Im going downtown with my family to participate in all the fun activites. I will give more details when I have more time on my next post but I just wanted to let yall know that I am happy and safe.
Besos
Kendra
(I am trying to get used to kissing ones cheek when greeting them! haha, its weird but EVERYONE does it here)
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Bye bye America, helloooooo Argentina
Well, here are some of my thoughts/happenings as of lately... Sorry ahead of time that my blog is so scattered!
BIG NEWS first and foremost: MADDIE SAGE AND KYLE NIEMAN ARE ENGAGED!!! I am just SO stoked for both of them and so excited to be a part of Maddie's bridal party! The next few months of planning are going to be so much fun and I just can't stop thinking about how wonderful their life is going to be together! It's so crazy that it happened this week because not only will I be out of the country for the next 6 weeks, but before I left for CO, Maddie and I had a nice long talk about marriage and engagements and I had NO CLUE Kyle would be proposing today! So cool :)
So I will be staying with Christian's wonderful family in Colorado until Saturday... I will be very sad to leave them (especially my sweet bf Chris), but 6 weeks is not long and I will be in ARGENTINA for goodness sakes! We have had a very good time here in CO relaxing, eating lots of good food, doin some good ol fashioned shopping, and of course getting manicures! I have enjoyed my stay here very much (as I always do) and am so thankful that I genuinely enjoy spending time with Christian's family!
I will arrive in Argentina on Sunday morning and am just beside myself with many emotions: sad to leave family and friends en los Estados Unidos, scared of the language barrier in Argentina/having to write many essays in Spanish for a GRADE (my grammar isn't the greatest), but oh so very excited for the many new relationships that will develop!! My Argentine family has contacted me via email and Facebook, and seem SOOO nice. Their English is not very proficient, but I am glad because it will force me to use my ever so proficient Spanish skills (yeah right!) while I'm living with them. I already miss my parents and sis, so I hope my Argentine family will be warm and welcoming to help me get through any homesickness I may have.
Well, good night all! Un abrazo y besos (hugs and kisses en espanol)
Kendra
BIG NEWS first and foremost: MADDIE SAGE AND KYLE NIEMAN ARE ENGAGED!!! I am just SO stoked for both of them and so excited to be a part of Maddie's bridal party! The next few months of planning are going to be so much fun and I just can't stop thinking about how wonderful their life is going to be together! It's so crazy that it happened this week because not only will I be out of the country for the next 6 weeks, but before I left for CO, Maddie and I had a nice long talk about marriage and engagements and I had NO CLUE Kyle would be proposing today! So cool :)
So I will be staying with Christian's wonderful family in Colorado until Saturday... I will be very sad to leave them (especially my sweet bf Chris), but 6 weeks is not long and I will be in ARGENTINA for goodness sakes! We have had a very good time here in CO relaxing, eating lots of good food, doin some good ol fashioned shopping, and of course getting manicures! I have enjoyed my stay here very much (as I always do) and am so thankful that I genuinely enjoy spending time with Christian's family!
I will arrive in Argentina on Sunday morning and am just beside myself with many emotions: sad to leave family and friends en los Estados Unidos, scared of the language barrier in Argentina/having to write many essays in Spanish for a GRADE (my grammar isn't the greatest), but oh so very excited for the many new relationships that will develop!! My Argentine family has contacted me via email and Facebook, and seem SOOO nice. Their English is not very proficient, but I am glad because it will force me to use my ever so proficient Spanish skills (yeah right!) while I'm living with them. I already miss my parents and sis, so I hope my Argentine family will be warm and welcoming to help me get through any homesickness I may have.
Well, good night all! Un abrazo y besos (hugs and kisses en espanol)
Kendra
Sunday, May 9, 2010
choosing a blog name
After LOTS of brainstorming with family and friends (Molly Bland), I finally decided on a name for this darn blog! (You'd think I was tryin to name a 1st born child!) I will be studying Spanish in Argentina this summer so I thought a blog was the next big step. I hope yall enjoy reading it and checking out all of our adventures in South America!
I will be leaving for Ft. Worth on Saturday to stay with Maddie, then on Sunday afternoon to spend the week with Christian's family in Colorado. I'm lookin forward to that, but for now am thrilled to be home! Today was Mother's Day and we the best weekend with the coolest mom everrrrrr. I am just so thankful for all the sacrifices she makes for us, she truly is a remarkable woman of God. We went to the nursery in Midland and bought some things to pot in our front yard. I've decided I want to have a green thumb and that I really enjoy gardening and such. (I really am quite domestic I must say--except Aarika could teach me a few things bout cookin!) This week Andra and I will be working out with mom at 5 AM!! whoaaaa, that's gonna be rough but we just have to, we've pretty much let ourselves go! haha
Welp, time to continue watchin Sweet Home Alabama with Ange (I just love her!)
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