Day
110- Monday June 18th
I had
my normal class this morning and then I stayed in the café to work on my online
homework and the other projects that are due this week. I got nearly everything
done for my online class, so the next time I work on that, I will probably be
back in the US. I went home and had stuffed zucchini for dinner with my host
parents and just kept working on my final photo project and studied for my two
tests in Spanish and history tomorrow.
Tuesday
June 19th- Day 111
I took
my finals for Spanish and history and I think they both went alright. After the
history test, Susan, Nathan, Maddie, and I went to Cono Pizza for lunch to test
out the pizza cones. They were interesting, pretty good, but they had a lot
more cheese than regular pizza. After that I headed back home and got to see
Eleonora for a few minutes and my host dad gave me a bad time because I haven’t
made the second cake that my mom sent me yet. They all left for a while and I
kept working away on my photo project that I needed to get done. After my
empanada dinner with my host parents, Susan, Nathan, and I went out to a bar
that is owned by some guys from California who moved here about 7 years ago and
they brew their own beer. Tomorrow is a holiday, so we stayed there for a while
and we got a chance to talk to one of the owners very briefly.
Wednesday
June 20th- Day 112
Feliz
Dia de la Bandera! It’s flag day in Argentina! They are celebrating the 200th
anniversary of the flag here this year. The Argentinean flag was raised for the
first time in Rosario, so the big festivities are right down the street from
me! I met with Susan down at the Monument and we watched the military parade.
Argentina is also home to the longest flag in the world so we got to see that
(and even touch it!). It is pretty ridiculously long- blocks, and blocks, and
blocks! After that we walked to the opposite side of the central district to a
park that was supposed to have a bunch of stuff to do. We didn’t really find
the stuff, but we got some food and just sat and enjoyed the nice weather. I
came home late in the afternoon and worked a little bit on my project, almost
done! My host mom made polenta for dinner since I had never tried it and it was
pretty good. She put some cheese in the middle and sauce on top. After dinner I
finally made the cake for my host dad and let Eleonora know that she needed to
come over soon if she wanted to get any of it again!
Thursday
June 21st- Day 113
I got
up and started working on editing my photo project since I had all but one of
the 15 themes done. I got most of the way through them and then Eleo came over
for lunch so I ate with her and my host mom quick before class and I was asking
them about the different gestures Argentineans use for the last theme of the
photo project and Eleo got to be my photo model. We dug into the cake a little
while my host dad was out and about, but he got his share later! I finally made
it to class and then I stayed for a short while after to turn in the last of my
things for my online class and Spanish things and then I headed home. My host
mom and I ate chicken milanesas and French fries for dinner and then I went out
for a while with a few of the others from Simpson, one girl from the group
that’s here from Pennsylvania right now and a couple ambassadors. We had fun
and didn’t get enough sleep, but we’re trying to enjoy the last little bit of
time in Rosario!
Friday
June 22nd- Day 114
All of
our group had to get up and have early class this morning and we talked about
the last movie we had to watch for project class and then we presented some of
our favorite pictures from our semester here to all of the 3 Spanish
professors. After that we had a little “graduation” ceremony and my host mom
made it even though she thought she wasn’t going to because they had a
grandparent’s day at Ramiro’s preschool. We had a goodbye lunch after that at
PasoSport where we had out welcome lunch back at the beginning of March. After
that I headed back and started getting my things packed for Salta. I took a bus
to the bus station and then our bus to Salta left around 8pm and I spent the
majority of the time sleeping.
Day
115- Saturday June 23rd
We
arrived in Salta around 12:30pm and checked into our hostel and put our things
away. I was rooming with Kelsey and Nicole and we hung out and ate some snacks
for a lunch for a little while and then we headed out for the afternoon. We
went to an archeological museum first that is affectionately known as “museo de
las momias” in Salta or to us “the mummy museum” as it was built to house 3
mummies of Incan youth that were found near the top of a volcano in 1999. They
only have one of the mummies on display at any given time and we saw the boy
who was about 6 and a half or 7. There is also a 6 year old girl and a 15 year
old girl who were sacrificed as gifts to the Incan Gods a few hundred years
ago. It was pretty interesting to see and read about. After the museum we
walked around the town and looked in different shops and things and got some
ice cream before we went back to the hostel. Nicole, Kelsey, Susan, Maddie,
Caitlyn, and I went to a folklore show and dinner later at night and it was
pretty good. We heard a couple different groups and saw some dancing.
Sunday
June 24th- Day 116
We had
a free day today so we didn’t wake up too early. Nicole, Kelsey, and I ate
breakfast in the hostel and then we went to ride up the teleferico (ski-lift,
gondola type thing) that took us to the top of a large hill/small mountain
where there are some great views of the city and a couple artisans. It was a
really nice day and warmer than I expected it to be. We spent the rest of the
morning looking around the many artisan stands that were at the bottom of the
mountain and then we went back to the hostel to eat something for lunch. After
that, we accepted Susan’s offer to go climb a mountain with her and Nathan. We
got there around 3 and came back down around 6. It was a lot of fun and it was
definitely not an easy hike, I think we all got a good workout for the day. We
headed home and got cleaned up and got some meat, cheese, crackers, and some
vegetables to have a little picada for dinner.
Monday
June 25th- Day 117
Today
we had to get up early and leave for a group tour to Humahuaca in the province
of Jujuy. Our first stop along the way was a view of “Cerro del siete colores”
or seven color hill and it was very pretty. After the view from along the
highway we went into the little town of Purmamarca where there were a bunch
artisans and things to look at in the square and a popular view of the seven
color hill from up a street in the town. After that we headed to Tilcara where
there is an old, partially restored village that I believe some indigenous
people used to live in. It was really pretty and the views from atop there were
also gorgeous. Salta has a lot of mountains like some other parts of Argentina
and it is around the pre-Andes range. After Tilcara we headed into Humahuaca
and had lunch and walked around the city for a while and checked out some more
artisans and then we headed onto the next tiny town of Uquia that has a famous
little cathedral that has an altar made of gold and a few more artisans and
then we headed home and went through the capital of Jujuy province. Susan,
Nicole, Kelsey, and I went to a restaurant on the square and shared a delicious
pizza for dinner and then headed back to the hostel. My room went to bed early
because the tour the next morning was extra-early.
Tuesday
June 26th- Day 118
Our
tour to Cafayate today left at 7:30am and we headed south. We made different
stops with nice views of the mountains along the way and looked at different
natural rock formations that look like things such as a sinking Titanic, a
frog, and a Franciscan monk. When we got into Cafayate we got to visit two
bodegas and go on short tours with a little wine tasting after. Many of the
wine tours there are free, so they weren’t quite as thorough as the ones I went
on in Mendoza, but they were still good. After that we ate lunch in the square
and I had the locro. It was good, but I still think the locro I had in Mendoza
wins. We had a little bit of time to look around at the artisans and try a
little sample of tuna ice cream. Thankfully, in this case tuna does not mean
the fish, but a kind of sweet alcohol that comes from a fruit from a cactus. I
just tried a tiny bite of someone else’s, but it was good! On the way back
towards Salta we made a couple more stops to see different things. We saw some
rock formations that look like little castles and then we stopped at the
amphitheatre which is a part of a mountain where there used to be a waterfall
and you walk in and it looks like an amphitheatre. Next we stopped at La
Garganta del Diablo (devil’s throat) which bears the same name as the biggest
waterfall in Iguazu. This was formed the same way as the amphitheatre, but
looks different inside. You could climb around a ways and a few of us climbed
to the furthest part back that you can and it was fun and a nice break for our
legs after being on the bus so much the last couple days. After devil’s throat
we headed back to Salta and Kelsey, Nicole, and I decided we really like the
pizza from last night and went back and split the exact same thing we’d gotten
the night before and this time we gave in to the dessert fridge and got some
chocolate cake we’d be eyeing since last night since we hadn’t had ice cream or
anything for a while.
Wednesday
June 27th- Day 119
We got
to sleep in a little later today and ate the breakfast at the hostel and then
checkout out. It was the first day that was dreary and not sunny, which was
unfortunate because we had a free morning and were walking around. Nicole,
Kelsey and I went to the big artisan fair first and looked around for
souvenirs, but didn’t have much luck so we headed towards the square and looked
in some of the shops and finally found some things. I finally bought a mate
that I liked and we tried to waste our time looking around a lot. We finally decided
we were cold and wanted to go sit in a café or eat lunch so we found a
restaurant and got the lunch special since we wouldn’t be eating dinner on the
bus. We had the best cheese empanadas I have had on this entire trip there and
the sorrentinos were really good too. That pretty much used up the rest of our
time and we went back to the hostel, changed into comfortable clothes, walked
to the bus station, and off we went back to Rosario at 4pm. On the bus I
finally finished knitting the scarf I’d been working on and we watched a couple
movies before I finally took some Dramamine and went to sleep.
Day
120- Thursday June 28th
We
rolled into Rosario right around 8am and I took the bus home. I wasn’t too
tired, so I checked some emails after being computer-less for the last 6 days
and then got ready for the day. I spent some time packing my suitcases and
being sad. I can’t believe I leave the day after tomorrow to return to the US.
It doesn’t feel like I’ve been here for four months! I met Nathan in the park
later to eat ice cream. He was trying out the kilo challenge (eat an entire
kilogram of ice cream in one sitting) and I just stuck with the ¼ kilo. Nathan
failed, but it was a good try! I had dinner with my host parents and then we
went out to O’Connell’s to say goodbye to some of our other friends from the US
because it was their last night in Rosario.
Day
121- Friday June 29th
Looking
back on my Twitter account I wrote: “Woke up with a sick, sinking feeling in my
stomach and I don’t think it’s going to go away today.” Eventually that feeling
went away, but I was all too aware all day that it was the last full day in
Rosario. I met Nathan at the UCEL café for coffee and factures one last time
and we ended up sitting with Hannah and Melissa who were doing the same. I packed
the rest of the morning and had things pretty good for a while, but somehow
ended up with a giant mess of the things I was waiting to pack later on. After
a light lunch with my host parents I met up with Nathan to have a couple beers
and enjoy the nice weather and Susan joined us before class too. We were
meeting for one last time for our reflection class and we were talking about
going home and it was a big ‘ol cry fest. Absolutely terrible (and I am NOT one
to cry very often). After that we went
across the street for one last Yomo and we had invited our professors and the
UCEL ambassadors as a thank you for all their help during our time in Rosario
and then Hannah helped me finish my scarf real quick so I could actually give
it to my host mom. After that little fiesta broke up I stopped off to get cards
for my host parents and Eleonora and a gift for Eleo and then walked home. Eleo
and Rodrigo were coming over for dinner that night so I had to write her card
really fast and get myself ready for dinner and everything. I thought I was
going to be quite a mess saying goodbye to her, but I think I got all that out
in class earlier. When Eleonora got to the apartment she said I looked very
melancholic and I suppose there probably wasn’t a better word for it. I was not
ready to leave yet. We had a meat and potato pie (basically shepherd’s pie)
which was actually the first dinner I had in Rosario as well and we sat around
talking until really late. Mariela called to say goodbye from Ricky’s family so
I had a brief phone conversation (that is one thing I’m still not very
comfortable with in Spanish). I gave Eleo her card and gift and she gave me two
little chocolate bar things with dulce de leche inside each piece and told me
to eat one every time I was about to cry the next day when we were leaving. She
and Rodrigo dropped me off at O’Connell’s to meet up with the rest of the group
at about 1am and I we said our last “see you later’s” J We got to see most of our friends one last time and had fun
talking and we went to a boliche as well since it was the last night. We said
see you later to Pau and Belu when we left there and that was a mini-cry fest
too, except for Belu- girl is a ROCK! I headed home and got a couple hours of
sleep.
The
Final Day-Day 122- Friday June 30th
I woke
up, showered, and finished packing my things. I had a really light breakfast,
but didn’t feel like eating much at all. I ran to the grocery store to buy more
alfajores to bring home and share and then I came home and it just sort of felt
like a waiting game until the bus company was supposed to pick me up at 12:30.
Maricel called to say goodbye from Cesar’s family and then Eleonora called to
say bye again too and I was doing really good until then, but that one started
the waterworks that would pretty much last the rest of the day. I set out my
last gifts and card for my host parents and my host dad saw them first and he
read the card and teared up which I was not expecting at all… so of course I
teared up again too. My host mom was so surprised that I’d been making the scarf
for her and she had no idea that it was a gift! She wore it downstairs later
when we went down to meet the bus and I left them with a bottle of wine from
Cafayate to enjoy. At that point it was about time to go and we went downstairs
to wait for the bus to pick me up. Saying goodbye was really sad, and hard when
there were other people already on the bus, but we made it, and then we drove
away from Av Mendoza 123 for the last time (at least on this trip). We had to
pick up a few more people so pretty much the whole van would tear up every time
we watched another one say goodbye (did I mention our group is 14 girls and one
boy haha?) We stopped at a corner to pick up the last person on our half of the
list and all of a sudden I started yelling at Addi to let me out of the van,
because I got one last Argentinean coincidence on that van ride. We were parked
near Cesar’s apartment, and I saw Cesar and Valentina walk down the stairs onto
the sidewalk, so I got out and had a chance to say goodbye to them in person.
Some stuff, you just can make up! We met up with the other half of the group on
the actual bus we were taking to the airport in Buenos Aires and switched over
and then we left Rosario. We made it to the airport and got through all the
check in/customs type things for international flights and made our way to the
gate. We didn’t have too long of a wait and our plane left on time at 9:30pm
Argentina time. Getting on the plane was sort of reality hitting, and between
the bus ride and getting on the plane, I ate one of the chocolate bars Eleo
gave me the day before. As the plane was taking off down the runway I think
about half of us just burst into tears and the rest of the plane probably
thought we were nuts, but we just knew that the next time we were on the
ground, we’d be in the US and not in Argentina.
Sunday
July 1st
We touched down in Houston a little early around
5:45am Iowa time and collected our bags, said goodbye to Kim who was leaving us
there to go stay with her boyfriend in Houston, got through customs, and found
our terminal without any major issues. A few of us got breakfast and then
shared some mate in the cafeteria area before we went to go find our specific
gate to use up some time, because it was maybe 8am and our flight wasn’t
boarding until 2:30pm. Eventually we made our way towards our gate and started
the waiting game. I used my time texting and used the 45 minutes of free wifi
on my iPod and then my laptop to make the most of it. Susan, Nicole, Kelsey,
Caitlyn, and I visited one of the airport bars so Susan and I could buy our
first legal drinks in the US and wasted some more time up there and then we
found out our flight was delayed. We ended up leaving around 4:15pm I think and
got into Des Moines about 6:45pm where my parents and Lottie were waiting to
welcome me home. I suppose this journey ended there, but I know I will go back
someday, hopefully soon. Writing this over a week later, I still feel like a
little part of me is missing not speaking Spanish and running around the city
every day, but I’ll eventually find my new sense of normal here, though it won’t
be the same as it was before
