Siga La Vaca

After more than a week in my new home...it's pretty good. I live in a quirky barrio, this time its filled with mannequin stores, its quite a competitive area if you are trying to sell mannequins (if you want one let me know). There are kosher stores and restaurants scattered throughout and a local grocery store named 'Bambi' with the beloved deer as the mascot. My roommates are really great...Analia, from Ecuador, is bilingual so she helps me when I'm struggling to talk to Toña, from Colombia. I really lucked out with my roommates to be in an environment where I can get help with the language but also speak almost only Spanish.

Classes have basically started, by the end of this week, I will have tried them all and chosen which ones I want to take for the semester. My two foreigner classes 'Myths and Legends' and 'Literature of Argentina' are both small and seem interesting. This morning in my 'Internet and Advertising' class, I had quite a shocker ... we had to watch a video for homework that was made by a K-State professor (Professor Michael Wesch) so there were images and references to KSU...what a small world. So far the classes are not too bad.

There was a long weekend so I started to hit up some touristy spots in Buenos Aires: the Zoo, the Evita Museum and the Participatory Science Museum. At the zoo, there were plenty of animals I had never seen before in my life and the zoo regulars. Like I have said before, things are just more relaxed here, the fences are quite low for some of the cages: tigers, elephants, etc. There are deer rabbit, muskrats, roosters and other animals just wandering around the zoo with you. We bought some food to feed the animals, just stick your hand right up to the cage and hope the animal won't freak out too badly. The Evita Museum was interesting; a good Argentine history lesson. In the Participatory Science Museum, there were signs everywhere saying it was 'prohibited not to touch'; it was more for kids (they were everywhere) but it was still really fun because I still have a childlike vocabulary so it took me a while to read the instructions for each activity.

I had an adventure mishap...on my days off I like to pick a green spot on the map (a park or plaza) and just go to it. I've gotten good with the collectivos and subtes...so it's not as intimidating. And I have gone to all the close ones so it forces me to go farther away. I chose a green spot...took the new subway line that is still being built. The new H line only has about 5 stops. Each of the stops is quite clean and sparkling new. The train is like a ghost train; since there aren't many stops, no one is on the train ... that should have been the first sign. I show up at the park ... one of the ugliest things I have ever seen. It shouldn't even be marked green on the map. It was filled with construction and dirt piles and nothing of the color green...bum out.

The last herd of people from the Intensive language course left today. It will be an adjustment to not have some of my closer friends that I have met so far with me to continue on this adventure. I lost my protectors that would go out of their way walk me home every night and make sure I wasn't creepily hit on by random Argentines when we went out. I really appreciated and loved it all. Its the beautiful cycle of life though ... you live and share life with people for a certain amount of time and part ways to continue on your own track. Because of the big departure, last night we ate at 'Siga la Vaca' (follow the cow) which is a all you can eat parilla (grill) and salad bar and a bottle of wine, water and dessert are included in the price per person. I ... ate ... meat. I probably had at least a portion if not more between all of the sampling of the different cuts of chicken, pork, beef and other random animal parts. I tried some fried intestine and blood sausage ... nasty. The texture is still not my favorite of anything; you have to chew it for sooooo long. I doused every meat I ate with a delicious red and green pepper sauce and gobbled up tastes of everything from the salad bar. It was worth it ... a final supper. I still prefer the veg. But I can get over the thought enough to try and actually eat a fair amount of meat ... for the culture of course. Looks like someone in my barrio agrees.

Other food notes: I tried a tofu whole wheat empanada, a mushroom empanada (a rarity) and a peach and cheese miga sandwich (peaches are no longer off limits as sandwich makings). I keep ordering this thing called a 'tortilla' (its like a trick to make me think of real Mexican food) but it is supposed to be like a quiche with potatoes and whatever other topping...but both times it has been just like an omelet ... with no potatoes...I don't get it.

Love.