You Are What You Eat

Wow! lots to catch up on! where to start?!....guess where i left off: with the canadian meet up!

my canadian friend, morgan, invited me out last wed. with her friends. we went to a club that was having a famous band, los bombos (? pretty sure that’s the name! they’re a brazilian style of band!), play and a really famous singer, juana somethin-or-other, was performing with them! super cool and fun to see! plus i was able to bring brian and cassie along with me! it was my first time meeting morgan in-person and she super rad! gotta love how the canadians stickin together!

on thursday, we moved into the new pad in san telmo! lots of onda (character) but a few minor problems that are still waiting to be fixed. our landlord has done a few things since, so i think she will actually get to doing all of them. san telmo is so quaint and cute! unfortunately, there aren’t as many trees. but everything is so close by and lots of cobblestone streets! in palermo (where we were before), everything was more spread out and it didn’t feel so homey.

this past weekend i got invited to joaquin’s (the argentine that took me and the joes out our 2nd night here) ranch/blueberry farm/weekend home with the joes! his dad throws bbqs come spring and summer time just for fun, and saturday was one of them! it was absolutely gorgeous and fun and fattening! but oh soooo good to get out of the city! i didn’t even realize it! and don’t even get me started on how tasty the meat is! i’ve heard for almost a year now how amazing it is, but all this talk sure as heck doesn’t do it justice, and if you know me, you know i’m not huge on meat! so for me to say this, holy cow! awesome!

break it down now:

saturday: the joes and i meet up at joaquin’s apt in belgrano to get a ride with him to baradero, located north of the city. we get there and find ribs stacked with meat on this huge pit/grill thing and a butterflied pig, head and all, grilling! crazy! this ranch had a pool, horses, pigs (minus one, and tasty one at that!), rabbits, chickens, and sheep! once their family friends came, hors d’oeuvres were served: homemade empanadas and choripan. note: empanadas can be a meal in themselves, think hot pocket sized. choripon, also a meal. it is chorizo cut down the middle and stuck in a fatty bun. and no, they were not cut into bite sizes for the typical appetizer portion! so we pretty much had two full meals -not to mention that within the hour, the actual meal was served!! aye dios mio!! but the ribs were to die for! just oozed off the bone with love! and don't get me started on how tasty it was! the ham was awesome too, and i don’t even like ham! i only eat pig in form of sausage! side dishes? not so much! this was a meat extravaganza here! they had buns, but nobody ate them, maybe a bite or two. salad, but again, barely touched! they just had heaps and heaps of meat!! lots of delicious argentinian wine was served as well! which i’m no connoisseur but ooo baby good stuff! and i don’t think it was bcuz i just came from awful wineville, aka turkey! super good! next: champagne and some kinda weird pastry thing was served for desert, along with their delicious coffee! food coma?! mmmm, is there something between food comma and food death? a food haze?!...fog?! ridiculous amount but really really ridiculously good!

then they had this band play, no not during the meal, but after. they played argentinian folklore music and were crazy good! these guys and the way they can work that guitar!! this one dude was a prodigy or something! at the end he started using a wine bottle to play the guitar! holy moly!

afterwards, everyone pretty much upped and left including the host, santiago! they barely sat around and chilled like after an american style bbq, weird. so once everyone was gone, it was just me, the joes, and joqua! at that point, the sun was setting and it was so beautiful. the joes and i wanted to go horseback riding but they weren’t set up to do so. But! there was a horse with an antique carriage conveniently attached, so the joes each took me for a ride! joey was convinced he had found his calling, but then the horse just stopped to eat and wouldn’t budge! haha! spoke to soon! then we hit up the atv! they taught me how to drive manual! awesome! and joey raced around in a classic motorcycle! sa-weet!

afterwards we chilled/tried to recover from the massive feast in joqua’s beautiful home and played card games. later, we ate some left over meat cuz you know, we hadn’t eaten enough already! this cow and pig just kept on giving! and then we all slipped back into a coma! so we beached whaled it in the living around the fire. we didn't have the lights on bcuz two of the walls are windows and the moonlight was super bright. i remembered mike telling me a bit about their magical/scary stories they have here, so i questioned joqua and it totally back fired! haha! (thanks a lot mike!!) he didn’t know any, but he scared the crap out of me (which i’m not usually such a wuss...must have been the meat!) and of course, the joes played along! since we got to the house, joqua had wanted to take us into the tiny town for dancing. at this point, we were all exhausted from all the food and could have easily passed out, but since i got too freaked out to go to bed; i got them back and made them go dancing -well ok, wasn’t too hard since they all like dancing, but it was more of a push to get them on their feet! so at about 2:30 (yes that’s when it’s good to go out here! yowch!) we left for the club. and oh my god! this town is like a mexican hovel and nothing but 14 year olds!! oh and i’m pretty sure those black censor bars would have covered more than what these girls were wearing!! meanwhile, i’m in a wool sweater (hey! i planned on being in the country the whole weekend; going out didn’t even cross my mind!)! lol! god, and the smoke! i’ve gotten used to the smoke in clubs from traveling, but this was a whole new level! at that ripe teeny bopper age, when it’s the cool thing to do, they light one up after the other. at one point i was gasping for air, i’m pretty sure i inhaled cancer that night! i was beside myself with the scene! i felt like i should have been chaperoning and going around scolding them as i rapidly whip the cigs outta their mouthes and find some piece of clothing to cover their hoohas! i mean, am i insane here?! how is this the thing to do...for the entire town to do?!! aye dios mio!!

anyways, sunday:

woke up to joqua cutting up the leftover meat from the pig and cow that really does keep on giving as he is singing some brazilian club song in a very high-pitched voice! haha! this guy is so funny! so breakfast: lol! chorizo! i had cut it up to serve as aps for when his friends arrived (which he invited over that day for another bbq), but i mean it’s bite sized and just sitting there! needless to say joe and i went to town on it! haha! ate a very hefty portion of it! woopsy!....breakfast of champs baby!

next, joqua’s friends arrived, and man, dude is a pimp or somethin! like 20 of them came, only 3 others were boys!! immediately i told joey to take notes! haha! all of them spoke english (phew!) and were super nice and fun! we hung out pool side, it’s spring here and was nice and warm. it’s that time of year when everyone’s excited to soak up any bit of warmth they can get. then we feasted, again. choripan and empanadas for hors d’oeuvres. then pig and ribs. no salad this time around. and only 2 people had a bun. and how many rounds of meat went around? nobody will ever know. they are seriously serious about their meat here! sooo tasty though! then we went back to hang out by the pool. everyone here loves to dance (YES!), so we busted a move or two! haha! all the girls were impressed bcuz my gringa ass has rhythm! haha! 

best part: i got to go horseback riding!! and there was no saddle and i was barefoot!! so amazing!!!!! i mean let me go horseback riding and i’m already bouncing off the walls with joy and now an experience like this, wicked!!!

later that night we all went back to the city as everyone has work on a monday! the weekend was much too short! i hope we get invited back! so relaxing and fun!

this past wed night morgan invited me to a cocktail party. they have after office parties here. people just go straight from work to a club, there are drink deals and blah blah blah. so i met up with her and her friends. it was quite interesting! lol! i heard lots of creepy crawlers go to these things to hit on women, but it’s hit or miss with the severity of them. now there was a fair share of them at this particular event, but we were in a big group so we could ward them off pretty well! haha! though i should warn you: that the world has ended, apparently bcuz this one guy is not tall enough for me -or so that's what he told his friend and the friend then relayed to me. oh, and i have the “buenos aires batman” at my beck and call. so i'm completely safe here guys, no worries! haha! i just scream or yell, whatever i want, and he’ll be there in a blink of an eye! haha! at least there were no marriage proposals like in turkey! lol! i mean where do these guys come up with this crap?! so hilarious! anyways, these group of girls were a lot of fun and i hope to get to hang out with them lots more! 

thurs night i met up with tiffany who used to work at effins, my watering hole back at state (thanks frank and jason for settin it up!). oh! and i brought cassie along cuz when i was telling her about my dinner plans, she was like wait! i know her! i took spanish with her back at state! (again greg, it is a very small world after all! mwhaha!) and to top that off, she brought along her roomie and this girl alyson, who also happens to know jason (and it gets smaller!)! anyways, tiff took us to a peruvian place. soooo sooo good, who’d a thunk?! but i have to say, their dishes either tasted like indian or chinese. regardless, super good! and *drum roll please!* tried the ceviche. as you all know, not a fan of the fish, but this didn’t even taste fishy! kelli, seriously you would have keeled over and died.

last night i got to see dustin, a childhood family friend!! he’s here on his honeymoon (cough! cough! katie and greg! cough! cough!). it was great to reunite with him (it’s like once in a blue moon our fams get to see each other) and meet his wife-y! she's super cool! i took them to a great parilla (grill house) along with the joes and the roomies. lots of good feasting of the meat and drinking of the wine! afterwards we went back to our area (which dustin and sara happen to be staying in) and wound up at a flamenco bar. we caught the tail end of the performance! awesome stuff!


tonight is the arg vs. peru game. gonna meet up with tiffany and some others at a bar to catch the game. afterwards, i plan to meet up with one of morgan's friends, mary, to go salsa dancing! olay!

Pics to Go with the Words Below:

cassie beautifully communicating and me bored and not knowing what the heck the dude is saying to us, but apparently it's a great place: cassie and brian playing romeo and juliet in our new and humble abode!!

                                                              

the hood yo (san telmo)!!!

Hit the Ground Running

The roomies arrived on wed am from a 24 hour bus ride from chile (can’t wait for that experience with these 4.5 feet o’legs!), woke my ass up, and immediately started the hunt for places to live. this hunt turned into an entire week of avidly searching and getting thrown into seeing random places. thank god brian and cass speak fluent spanish cuz that helped out loads; meanwhile i was like in my own world cuz i had no idea what was going on! at one viewing this one woman wouldn’t shut up about who knows what and brian looks at me and goes “what’s your fave movie? think about it and get back to me on that one” haha! So needless to say, I want to learn spanish that much more, and i magically have rosetta stone now so that will help loads!! so stoked! so it was a tiring week of hunting and playing the game of frog and dodge the garbage bags getting chucked into the garbage truck as we run through the line of fire racing to be on time to see the next flat in a country where it’s better to be late (hah, i know, we’re smart). but we did land a cool brick spot, with essentially no roof (it’s very luminous), in san telmo -the tango capital. the area has a very homey and bohemian vibe and a gigante sunday market -just blocks away! ooo and a plaza where people just chill. plus!! our landlord happens to be a tango instructor, and renting from her just happens to come with free instructions every monday night!! holla!! except it will be in spanish, so i might be a bit off on the beat as i’ll be looking at the others wondering what the heck she said and what moves comes next! haha! anyways, we get the place on thursday, so we’ll slowly make the hull over. brian is super cool, we've been jokin around lots and going on crazy adventures -he's def becoming my little bro fast! And of course, it’s great to see cassie again (the last time i saw her was before turkey -over a year ago!!).

i’ve been meeting more expats; not sure how i do it. i’ve been invited to loads of things and cassie and brian are like how and where do you meet these people?! this weekend should be fun but i’ll be missing out on hanging out with some new peeps. yet, i think it’s gonna be soooo worth it. joaquin invited the team (me and the joes) to his blueberry farm this weekend for bbq, horseback riding, motorcycling,...soooo freakin stoked!! 

this week has been big for the job hunt....”no i don’t wanna work in a building downtown” (thank you arcade fire). And seeing more of this magical city, and finding a blanket for my bed as my current is pink and satin -sexay kinda. i’ve been to a few volunteer things so far and really hoping to make this dream of working for nonprofits happen. i might be helping out the go-to guy for expats, he works for a volunteer org and the american democrat party that concerns themselves with all the expats and their well being down here *fingers crossed! plus this would actually concern my degree, so mom, dad: i might finally be using my advertising knowledge!

welp! gotta go meet an aussie and then off to meet a fellow canadian! and tomorrow is the big move to san telmo!!

Gone Rabbit

So i’ve been eating loads of empanadas (which are essentially a pita/hot pocket), pizza (ohhh the variety of food), ice cream (did i mention it tastes like gelatto?!?!?), and coffee (dude they grow it like around the corner and it's just that amazing) mainly just cuz it’s so dang cheap (k not so much the ice cream), and we’re not settled in quite yet to really cook and all that jazz. However, i decided at lunch today that i’m gonna surpass the craving for the tasty empandas to keep me from getting weighed down with that heavy carb feeling and have a salad. you know: get some veggies in me. not such a good plan! the salad consisted of bits of chicken, pineapple, and apples with the bases of no, not lettuce, but shredded carrots!! oh, and no dressing, though i added olive oil, salt, and vinegar (which i’m not sure that really did anything to the situation)....Think I will stick with the empanadas and hope the tomatoes inside the capresse one i typically get or the onions in the beef one will suffice for my veggie intake for now!

More to come on the haps soon! Just thought i would give ya's somethin to chew on for now...must be all the carrots i had...

Muy Muy Buenos Aires!

ok ok, i know i never came close to keeping up with the turkish blog and i wasn't going to start a new one without finishing it up, but wow! buenos aires! i'll finish the other one soon...ish?! sorry!!


so b-e-a-u-ti-ful buenos aires!! where to start?! it all really began on my 26 hour flight to ba! on my flight from lax to mex city, i was seated next to 2 guys my age. I heard them talking about their connecting flight and it sounded a lot like mine. so i decided to ask and sure enough, they were on my flight to ba hoping to become teachers, have no place to stay, barely know spanish -uhhhh hello -am i talking to a mirror here?!! haha! minus the no place to stay bit only because my amazing mom freaked out last minute and rented me a place for a short bit (thanks mom!)! so we hung out for the rest of the day (super long lay over in mex city) and sure enough, we were seated one seat away from ea other on our trip to argentina! weird?! after spending the day with them, i decided that these guys were chill, super nice, and trustworthy; so i told them they could stay with me. i was arriving on thurs and my 2 friends weren’t going to get in until the following wed, so i had 2 beds to spare! perfecto.

when we arrived in ba, our bags even came out one after the other! now that tops the crazy coincidence cherry on top! oh no wait: they’re best friends named: joe and joey! now i know what it’s like for people to hang out with “the katies”!

we’ve been having so much fun and it’s only monday! we went out with some argentinians on friday -joe knows of this argentine guy through a friend. he had us over for dinner and then took us out to a club. eating late here is weird but then you go dance your ass off all night, so i could very well get used to this lifestyle! haha! saturday night we went to a bar of this guy i know of through a friend (thx willie!). another dancing extravaganza, only not so hard core as the night before! ha!

the 3 of us have become fast friends and an awesome team. as we wander around this beautiful city, where i seriously feel like i’m constantly going through all the cities of europe, we’ve decided that one of us tries to get us lost, another puts us back on track, and the other just spaces out. the roles are constantly changing and somehow we have still managed to make it where ever we were headed each time!

this city is gorgeous; especially with all of the trees aligning every street. there are beautiful buildings adding to the character. stella is brewed here, so huge bottles for stinkin cheap! the people are nice. gelato-esque ice cream on every corner. i mean it’s europe on cheap: all rolled into one and a great price! what more could you want?! and oh the soccer -can't wait to get settled and into it! fastly falling in love? i think so!!!!


man i can't wait for cassie and brian to get here -ya know, the 2 i've been planning on living with! it's gonna be so much fun!