la bomba de tiempo

Once again, Konex completely blows my expectations out of the water.
Last night was La Bomba de Tiempo, a huge outdoor drum show. The place was absolutely packed, which speaks volumes as to how cool La Bomba actually is; people crowded in from wall to wall on a Monday? That definitely means you're in for a treat.

The line outside the venue stretched down the calle and around the corner, but we were inside in no time (just one more thing Argentines are more efficient at than us). And there were street vendors in every direction, walking through the crowds selling empanadas, sandwiches, cervezas, vino y mucho, mucho más. They were even people selling edibles, which was totally not something I was used to seeing. Who knew you could buy pot brownies so easily here? oh, argentina.
The drum ensemble was already going at it when we got inside and it was such a sight to behold. 15 or 20 guys and girls on stage, creating the most amazing sounds with a huge mix of different drums. There was even a guy with a trombone and a woman who sang. It was just the most amazing jam session I've ever seen.
And the crowd was nothing like the crowds I'm used to from concerts back home. Mosh pits? Don't think so. Everyone was moving to beat of the drums; their hips, their arms, their heads, their feet. It was so easy to just close my eyes and let the beat guide me. It was such a genuine argentine experience, feeling the argentine beat, becoming a part of the crowd, not just being someone in the crowd.

I saw so many familiar faces from ISA; and we met up with our new English friends!
The only damper on the evening was Ali getting her camera and debit card stolen out of here purse. And what sucked so much was we saw the women who stole them. They were being super sketchy, bumping into us and just giving off a shady vibe. But that's just the thing about Buenos Aires, or even big cities for that matter. You constantly have to be on your guard here, there are pickpockets everywhere and they're definitely well-trained.
Our porteños friends also made it out last night :)
They missed the show, but they met up with us outside after La Bomba (which was crazy, btw. everyone just moved from inside the venue to the street. it was like a mob. and someone set a huge tree on fire in the middle of the street which was hilarious and I still have no idea what was going on with that.) But we all went to Brujas, one of the nice cafe/bars in Plaza Serrano and shared some pizza, some vino and some beers. And we got to practice our spanish! always a plus. It's so much more amazing to just sit and chat with native speakers than it is trying to stumble our way through a conversation with each other.
It's one of the guy's birthday this friday so we're planning something for this weekend, and knowing the porteño way of life, I'm sure it will be out of control. And so far I'm having no luck adjusting to going out at 1:30, staying out til 7 a.m., having class at 10 and then napping around 5 p.m. I think the latest I've made it to was 2:30, and that was last night. And I've already had 2 cups of coffee today (yay!).

Oh well, I have 6 months to get the hang out this :)

Besos, mis cariños

Mar Del Plata

Mar Del Plata: 5 hrs. 30 min. from Buenos Aires
forecast: moderately overcast, slight breeze
lodging: Hostel Del Mar :)

This weekend was our first non-ISA excursion; Nicole, Lauren, Molly, Kirsten, Camille and I booked round-trip bus tickets to Mar Del Plata, one of the closer beaches to Buenos Aires and a huge weekend spot for porteños and other argentines alike. The plan was to leave from Buenos Aires at 1:30 Saturday morning, arrive at 7 a.m., spend the rest of the day on the beach, go out Saturday night, lay on the beach all day Sunday, and return by bus at 6 p.m. Sunday evening.
Naturally though, there was a wreck Friday night, which delayed our bus. We waited at the station til 3 a.m., which was when all the creepers started to show their faces--totally sketchy situation.
The good thing about traveling really late/super early is that it's the perfect time to sleep and you don't feel like you're dragging the whole next day. And buses totally have planes beat when it comes to sleeping; the chairs actually recline and they were super cushy. I literally slept the entire 5 and a half hours to Mar Del Plata. There were a couple times I randomly woke up though and couldn't move my neck--I think I was in the middle of a deep sleep and my body didn't know how to respond properly. Trust me, not a good sensation.
We grabbed taxis at the station and went straight to the hostel, which was this adorable little bed and breakfast type hostel. I think it had actually been a house at one time; our room definitely resembled a garage.
We dropped off our bags with the desk clerks (after removing all our money and valuable stuff; the thing about argentina is you can't leave things anywhere) and walked across the street to a cafe for breakfast.
Breakfast = cafe con leche (con azucar también) and tres medialunas.
I'm actually getting into the whole drinking-coffee-thing; I still have to add sugar to drink it but it's a start.  And don't get me started on the medialunas--sweet glazed mini-croissants? I'm gonna gain like 20 lbs just thinking about them. I know, it was totally the perfect breakfast before slipping into a bikini.
Hostel Del Mar is literally a block from the beach, but we decided to check out Playa Grande first, which was maybe ten blocks away. Totally worth it; the water was too cold for my liking, but me and Lauren agreed we've just been spoiled by the beaches of North Carolina :)

Our meal at the Hostel was probably the best meal I've had since being in Argentina. Camille made the best salad with tomatoes, avocado, carrots, cucumbers, tuna and fresh squeezed lemon juice and Molly made an amazing pasta dish with sauteed red bell peppers, onions, garlic and zucchini.

But my favorite thing about this weekend was all the great people we met.
The most eclectic mix of people were staying at our hostel; we made friends with Ali, Mike and Henri, these three students from England who are taking 5 months to travel around South America. They're actually gonna spend a couple days in Buenos Aires so we're gonna take 'em out and show them around. We met some girls from Denmark and some guys from Germany (both named Sebastian, apparently it's very common in their small town). We met a guy from Brazil and some porteños, who we hung out with and got to speak spanish with. We met a woman from Paraguay, Mariela, who hung out and laid out at the beach with us. Camille met a guy from France and they were off in their own world speaking french. There was even a guy from China. It was just amazing to have so many different cultures in one place, so many different languages and accents.

So we came back Sunday with new friends, new experiences under our belt, and even a little bit of color (but not too much, I learned my lesson at Tigre).

Besos :)

Experiencia Konex

All nights should be like tonight.

Stephanie found out about this venue, Konex, from her home-stay brother and we all decided to go check it out; we'd heard there was a movie playing and we thought, if nothing else, it'll give us a chance to all hang out.

Konex was nothing like I expected...it was so much better. It cost about AR$25 to get in (about $6 US) and as we walked through the gate the entire area opened up. It looked exactly like the kind of place you'd expect to hold summer music festivals and open-air movie nights, which is exactly what it does. 

There was amazing graffiti on all the walls and these great bean bags and leaning chairs set up all in front of the stage area, where a huge screen was set up. It was just the most laid-back vibe but there was this buzz of excitement, like we had made some great discovery that no one else knew about yet. 

The movie being shown was called Nacido y Criado, and we actually got to see Palo Pandolfo, the guy behind the soundtrack, perform. His music had this great soulful, mournful sound that completely made the movie. Sitting in the front row, it was like I could feel each strum of his guitar in my chest; that's my favorite thing about concerts...being able to actually feel the music. 

The movie itself was very different. Very sad and kind of somewhere out in left field. There wasn't a lot of action or dialogue, and I definitely didn't expect it to end when it did, but enjoyable nonetheless. 

Konex was one of those great finds that now that we know about it we're going to make it a regular hang-out spot. Later this week they're holding Improcrash! and La Bomba Acústica and I definitely plan on checking those out.

¡Besos, y buenos noches!

La primera semana!

Buenos Aires: Reflections from a porteño in training

Even though it's only been one week, I already feel as though I've been living here forever. Nicole (my home-stay roommate) and I have already fallen into our comfortable routines and made ourselves at home with the Sanchez family, Gabriela, Nacho and Abuela. But even with the feeling of comfort and familiarity, this week has been completely exciting and new.

We touched down at the Ezeiza Airport early saturday morning, and from there my Argentine experience began. Sunday, we took a tour bus around Buenos Aires, seeing San Telmo and la feria that's held every Sunday; Recoleta and el cemeterio, where Eva Peron is buried. We drove down la Avenida 9 de Julio, the widest avenue in the world and took pictures of la Casa Rosada, Teatro Colón, El Congreso and La Boca. Seeing the stark contrast between different parts of the city was like stepping into two different worlds; one full of european architecture and rose gardens, the other like something out of Slumdog Millionaire, but still beautiful in all it's madness. Pictures don't do it justice.

Thursday, I tried my hand at Tango. Or rather, my feet.
It was so beautiful and sensual, and I was so moved watching everyone else dance. That is one of my goals before I leave in six months: I WILL learn to Tango like a real porteño. My other goal is to fully master the castellano language of Argentina, but I'm already working on that :)

Saturday was our first ISA excursion; destination: El Tigre. We took the tren to Tigre and then a small boat to la Isla del Tigre. It was this amazing, hidden little beach where we got to lay in the sweltering Argentine sun for hours. My shoulders definitely regretted that, but it was so worth getting burnt to a crisp. We ended the day with a trip to Puerto de Frutos, a super crowded spot full of booths selling everything from earrings and purses to helado and empanadas, and a final stop near the Rio for tea time and photos. I'm loving tea time - eating lunch at 12:30 or 1 and then dinner at 8:30 or 9 leaves me starving around 4. It's the perfect time for  a café con leche and a couple medialunas.

It was the perfect first week. To cap it all off, me and a couple of the girls went to el Jardín Botanico and el Rosadel (Rose Garden) Sunday. Being surrounded by the green of nature and the fresh air was like stepping out of the craziness of Buenos Aires, the true city that never sleeps. And while the city may not sleep, i definitely hear my bed calling my name.

¡Besos, y Buenos Noches a todo!