You know you are in Rosario when...

Its been so long since I have written! I have been very busy this week, as well as extremely sick for the past few days! Yay. Everyone and their dog has been generously been sharing a wonderful cold...un gran resfriado. Thank goodness, I am feeling much better now, and ready to take on an adventurous excursion this weekend, to the province of Cordoba!! In the meantime, here are some of Rosario’s most distinguishing features..at least from the perspective of an American exchange student...haha.

You know you are in Rosario when...

1) There are stray dogs eveeerrrrywhere. And we’re not just talking famished, mangy, mutt-like dogs...I have even seen some beautiful, healthy golden retrievers roaming freely! Que interesante.

2) You eat unbelievable amounts of bread on a daily basis. Pastries and toast for breakfast, several small loaves with lunch, more pastries with coffee in the afternoon, several more small loaves or toast with dinner, and often, some form of sweet bread for dessert. Not to mention that the actual meal that is lunch or dinner itself, is often made of bread as well -- pizza, empanadas, breaded chicken, etc. I think I am going to turn into a huge media luna before I get out of this place.   :)

3) Speaking of food...you know you are in Rosario when you can order delivery ice cream! Yes, please!! One huge carton, 4 flavors, at your doorstep in about 25 minutes. And only about 16 pesos..tip not necessary. That was about $1 per person, for the 4 of us. What a way to live. 

4) You are reading Twilight, and singing “Mmm-aaat went the little green frog one day...” all in Castellano, por supuesto.

5) “Che” is a household name, thrown out in everyday conversation, sort of like “Pre” in Eugene.

6) The only way to adequately classify the local city-scape is to mention both the beautiful, intricate, classy, European design structure, as well as the familiar sight of broken windows, endless graffiti, and litter, litter, litter...

7) Depending on what part of town you are in, a small adorable child rips your freakin heart out at least once a day, asking if you have any money or if you want to buy one of their little handmade cosas. I feel heartless pretty much everyday...I have to say “no, gracias” all too often.

8) Most people that “go out” at night, don’t return until around 7 in the morning. NO JOKE. These people are nuts. And it’s not just like the teenagers, or young people, we’re talking 40 year-old mothers out all night at the bars and dance clubs. It is so wild. Even my ancient host mother, usually hits the hay around 1 or 2. This city does not sleep...ever.

This is all I got right now, but I’m sure I will think of more at a later date! Ciao! More updates to come...

Quick updates...

This week has gone by insanely fast! I feel like I could write a novel on each day, each moment...but unfortunately, days pass by very quickly, and easy access to the internet is never certain...so here’s some condensed highlights of the last 5ish days...

- One of my proudest moments so far was getting mistaken for a Brazilian at the local Saturday Market.  :-)  One of the vendors asked me a question in Spanish, and after I stared back her with a blank look (as I often do around here..haha), she turned to her friend, and asked: “Como se dice esto en Portuges?” (How do you say this in Portuguese?) Haha, next time I don’t understand something, I’ll just go ahead and ask someone to translate it to Portugese..that will make it sooo much easier.

- A few days ago, we went to a local sports bar type restaurant to watch the much anticipated futbol game between Argentina and the current first place holder, Brazil. It was an awesome picture of South American culture at its finest..most Argentines have no problem explaining to you that futbol (like mate) is not just a hobby, or a pastime, it is a way of life. These people live and breathe futbol. It was also a good night to be a second language speaker, because really the only words we needed to know were “ooooo”, “ahhhh”, “dios mio”, and “gooooooooooaaaaaaal!”  :-) 

-The past few days have offered us many interesting things in terms of weather. Earlier in the week, we had two huge thunderstorms..I was literally quite afraid that our building was going to collapse as I laid in bed listening to the LOUDEST thunder, and the most powerful wind I have ever heard in my life. The only thing that maaaaybe compares, is that crazy storm we experienced in Oklahoma about ten years ago..(mom, you know what I’m talkin about! ha) Today, I finally had to cave, and buy another jacket. Even though they keep telling us that we only have about two more weeks of cold weather...I simply cannot handle the freezing temps that Rosario keeps insisting on giving us...the stone buildings of the university plus the lack of a heater...ay ay ay.

So much more to say, so little time...!!!

I survived my first weekend in Rosario...whew.

Wow! Que loco, nuestro fin de semana! I am so glad that we arrived when we did, because this would have been a crazy weekend to miss out on. We kicked it off on Friday by taking a “walking tour” of the city that our program leaders scheduled for us. While I am very glad that we did it, and thankful that it has helped me grasp the layout of our area a bit better...it was also not my favorite way to introduce myself to the locals. We constantly discuss how we are trying our very best to fit in and not stand out as foreigners...well lets just say that a group of 45 young people trailing behind someone uttering broken English into a headset, isn’t exactly our quickest route to quietly blending in. However, the final stop of the tour made the whole two-hour trek worth it. We stopped at a little hole-in-the-wall house that ended up being one the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. Inside the “museo”, there were probably about 7 rooms...each one filled with incredible European architecture, and immaculate Victorian age furniture and decor...a little European treasure indiscriminately hidden away in South America. (And of course, we weren’t allowed to take pictures..so you will just have to come see it for yourself! :) ) Oh, almost forgot -- during the tour, there were a few middle school aged girls that kept following our group and giggling...so, I finally decided to just go talk to them! It seems they were just genuinely interested in who we were and what the heck we were during. They told me that they have lived in Rosario their whole lives, and that there are NEVER tourists in Rosario, only in Buenos Aires. I cleared the air, and let them know that we aren’t technically tourists...we are students! (clearly.) I had a great time with my new 14 year-old friends that day...they followed us for awhile, and they enjoyed sharing with me the few English phrases they had learned in school.  :)

After our formal introduction to the city, we “ran some errands” on Cordoba street. Some of the girls I was with still needed some school supplies, hairdryers, cell phones, etc. This ended up being a good way to continue our little tour of the city...we discovered that Cordoba is very action-packed, and always filled with people..muchisima gente! The closer we were to the river, the more I realized that this was a part of town very different from that where the university (and my apartment) are located. We decided to eat dinner in a semi-fancy cafe/bar/restaurant that was nearby, and had our first experiences with the Argentine definition of a “tortilla” -- something more like a quiche, and of “un cafe” -- a straight up espresso shot, with nothing added. While we enjoyed our meals, and choked down our beverages, several little boys and girls periodically entered the restaurant and dispersed little hand carved trinkets on tables throughout the room. After allowing their potential customers about 30 seconds to take a look, they systematically returned to the tables and asked: “Quieres comprar esto?” (Do you want to buy this?) Gazing upon the torn clothes and mangy hair of these poor little children, selling wooden owls for less than one U.S. dollar in a PUBLIC (and semi-fancy!) restaurant reminded me how far I was from home...

After dinner, we walked back down the the Flag Monument, directly next to the Rio Parana to try and grab seats for a concert we had heard about earlier that day. Turned out, the whole population of Rosario, and about half of the rest of the world, had also heard about the concert! :) Even though we were almost an hour early, even standing room was pretty much non-existent...so, joining a group of local teenage girls, and a few other young kids, we decided to climb up onto one of the huge monument statues. Luckily, our last-minute seats ended up being some of the best seats in house..we had a beautiful view of the river, part of the city, the whole crowd, and the entire stage. The classical concert was awesome -- complete with a full orchestra, “Mission Impossible” and “Indiana Jones” theme songs, huge fireworks, and a VERY excited crowd of Rosarinos. Thank goodness, we made the decision to take off early, or else we might still be trying to make our way through the masses of people to leave...

After the concert, we made our way over to Nikki’s apartment. Spending about five minutes at the hallway door, laughing loudly as we tried to figure out the keys, we ended up waking her host mom, Stella. :-/  What started as a slightly awkward introduction, turned into one of my favorite moments of the my time here so far. In true Argentine fashion, we all sat down to have tea and just talk away our lives together...Stella told me her opinions on just about everything she has an opinion on.  :-)  We talked about issues within Argentina’s education system, the laziness of the younger generation in Argentina, the importance of fully adapting to a culture when attempting to gain fluency in their language, the lack of global teaching we apparently receive in the U.S. (I of course set her straight, telling her about my experience in IHS...), and much more. As an extremely opinionated, but also gentle and caring woman, Stella was very fun to chat with...she offered an interesting perspective on her home country, and also allowed me plenty of language practice! We have learned over and over in Argentina that eating or drinking something, especially if it’s coffee, tea, or mate, is not solely for nutrition or for a quick caffeine kick, but rather an opportunity to discuss the world, to get to know someone better, to relax, and enjoy one’s surroundings. I have yet to see a to-go cup or a drive-thru in the entire city...

It’s not ALL negative...

I realized I have been doing a good job describing my mess-ups, mistakes, and seemingly negative relations with the locals...but haven’t taken much time (or any) to share my positive experiences and impressions of this wonderful place. First off, my apartment where I am living with mi mami, Vilma, es increible. The doorways, elevators, and stairs are like nothing I have personally encountered in the U.S. ...in fact, they don’t even seem to belong in this era. Complete with marble floors, manually sliding elevator doors, and wall-size mirrors, walking into the apartment everyday makes me feel like I am walking onto a 1920’s movie set. Que lindo! Tambien, much of the city is made up of very OLD-looking buildings of gray concrete, decorated with thick black steel gates/spiral staircases, and even some elaborate stained glass. There are a few awesome parks in our area that have beautiful stone statues and monuments, and some of the busier city-like shopping areas contain wide cobblestone streets, just for pedestrians...and boy, do the pedestrians fill them up -- Rosario is a busy place! :)

The food situation here...has been an interesting one...haha. There is a large variety of delicious foods that are popular among Rosario residents. I have tasted absolutely delectable empanadas, fantastic ice cream (about 4 times already), perfectly cooked steak, nicely fried french fries, wonderful pasta, A LOT of dulce de leche, A LOT of coffee, some traditional yerba mate, a bit of flan (eh..), awesome pesto ravioli, a yummy toasted sandwich mixto, some scrumptious chicken, a delightful pizza with pineapple and “salsa golf”, and last but not least, some delish/sort of frightening “paella de mariscos” that came complete with mussels, and small, in-tact tentacles that derived from some sort of sea creature. Mmmmhmmmm. 

Faux pas numero dos...oh, and numero tres!

Just two quick moments to share that definitely turned my face bright red...After we spent two days together (two days that felt more like three weeks), with other students from the program, we got very used to speaking English all the time. Even on the university campus, the whole orientation was presented to us in English, and all the professors seemingly had no problem answering all of our questions in a thickly-accented version of English...even when we made the effort to ask them in Spanish. So later that day, when I decided to ask about internet access, I didn’t think twice about saying to a woman close-by: “Excuse me, does this building have internet access?” Instantly, I felt horribly culturally insensitive, as this professor whom I had yet to meet, quietly responded: “Lo siento, no entiendo ingles, solamente espanol.” Wow. What an awful thing to assume...as if I wasn’t in her country, trying to learn her language, and apparently assuming that she would obviously know mine. Ugh. 

Later, a small group of us decided to walk to a nearby store that we had heard sold school/office supplies, because some of the students had decided to wait to buy stuff for class until they got here. After walking several blocks, we started to wonder if we were even heading to right direction anymore...”Tomy” (toe-me) was nowhere in sight. After much deliberation, I was elected the one to stop someone random (and of course, extremely friendly-looking) and ask them if they knew where the store was. I let more and more people pass, getting unnecessarily nervous to ask the question that I had already fully planned out in my head. Finally, I reached out and tapped a woman’s shoulder and muttered: “Disculpa...” but before I could get past “Excuse me”, she responded with a shaking head and a frown: “No, no gracias.” What had I done wrong?! It took me a few minutes to understand that she was not actually denying me, or my potential question, but simply the stack of papers I was holding in my hand. When walking down streets in Rosario, you are often handed paper after paper advertising events taking place throughout the city...because I am curious to see what they all have to say, I have not been doing a very good job refusing these sorts of papers..and coincidentally, the woman instantly assumed that I  was the one offering the papers. Ha. Hey, at least I can say that I was mistaken for a local resident of Rosario, right?  :)

Lots of fun, and lots of confusion...

Wednesday was very exciting and very packed with lots of important things for us to see and do. We started off by taking the bus to the university, receiving a orientation-like lecture, listening to descriptions of all the classes offered to us, taking a short tour, and then taking the much-anticipated language placement test. Every student in the program has to take at least two classes -- a Spanish conversation test, and a Spanish grammar class. After taking the placement test, the professors place you in either level 1, 2, 3, or 4. I was very excited for the level four professors to call me down later that day to tell me in person that they recommend that I take the level four classes. However, my excitement was short-lived...haha. After another long day of constantly having to be extremely social, as well as often being quite nervous and anxious, it was time to meet our host parents. Ay ay ay. It took me just a few sentences of dialogue with the sweet Vilma, to realize that I was definitely NOT in Mexico! When she asked if I had eaten lunch, and what I had eaten, I answered quickly: “Si, pollo y papas fritas.” Vilma just looked at me like I was loca. I thought about what I had just said for a moment...I know that I just said that correctly, I thought...”pollo” and “papas fritas” are words from like Spanish 1!! As I have now learned, and re-learned several times, the “ll” sound in Argentina is very very different than in Mexico, or truly, any Spanish classroom I have ever set foot in. “Pollo” is not “poy-yo”, but “poi-sho”. I was thrown for yet another curveball, learning how to say “you”...yet another Spanish 1 skill! Haha. In Argentina, “tu” is replaced with “vos”, and phrases like “De donde eres?” become “De donde sois?” Suddenly, the language that I was completely surrounded by, was not one that I had been studying for 7 years, but one that was completely foreign to my ears. And to top that off, I was still utterly exhausted. Needless to say, Vilma and I did not learn much about each other that first night... ;)

A rough start...

So far, each day here has been very long, and very socially tiring. After the four hour bus ride to Rosario on Tuesday, we had just a few hours of chill time before a wonderful, but slightly overwhelming dinner “fiesta”, where we mingled with the 45+ students in the program, the site director and coordinators, and several of our new professors. By 9pm (only 5pm Oregon time!), I was MORE than ready for my hotel bed. My two temporary roommates and I discussed morning plans, and decided that Nikki would be in charge of waking everybody...what we overlooked considering was that Nikki was the one who was complaining earlier about not being able to figure out how to correctly change the time on her watch. Long story short, rather than having the whole hour that we had planned on giving ourselves the next morning, we rolled--no, jumped--out of bed at 8:20 am, giving us approximately 10 MINUTES to pack up our stuff, change, get ready for the dia, eat breakfast, check-out of our room, carry our luggage to the luggage room, cross the street, and board the bus. Whew. What a start to the day that was! And as one might guess, it turned out we weren’t the only ones who made this mistake...several groups were quite tardy that morning. 

Our first faux pas...

What a crazy thing traveling is...I know that I am here, but at the same time, I cannot convince myself that I am indeed nearly 7,000 miles away from home. The good news is, we have already culturally made fools of ourselves on more than one occasion.  :)  On our very first walk outside of the hotel, we decided to check out the local grocery store. After going through the outside doors, we couldn’t really decide where we were supposed to enter to get passed the checkout aisles...so I decided to simply squeeze my way through an aisle, behind fellow shoppers, as I have done numerous times at home. One stern look, a few harsh words, and a couple nervous giggles later, we came to the conclusion that the proper entrance was on the other side of the store, where the security gates were located. Oops, our bad.