An Inspirational Travel Post (Haha!)

Looking back on my 3 month trip to Argentina, I could not have asked for a better experience.  I know I may have complained about the different challenges/discomforts that I faced along the way (sorry mom!), but the trip was all more than worth it.  Through this program, I was able to meet people from all over the world and experience life from a completely different lens.  I met a group of people that changed my life and taught me so much about the world and about their own cultures than I could have ever imagined.  I found that it is so easy to get lost in the monotony of your daily routine, but stepping out of your comfort zone is the most rewarding risk you can ever take.  I am hoping to continue traveling throughout the coming years and exploring places that I have never been before.  I know that I have learned more in the short months that I have spent studying, volunteering, and traveling abroad than any book or any person could ever teach me.  And even though I just got back a little over a month ago from my trip to Argentina, I'm already busy planning my next adventure.  Some ideas include hiking Machu Picchu, visiting my friends in Colombia and Brazil, taking a tour of China and Thailand, or getting away from the 8-5 work-week with a relaxing beach vacay in Costa Rica. 

And since I started my blog with some inspirational travel quotes that I found on Pinterest, it is more than fitting that I end will a little more of the same...  :)

Where will Livin' La Vida Lauren go next?  Stay tuned and ¡qué disfrutes de la vida!

Rosario- Barcos y Monumentos

My second to last weekend in Argentina was spent in the 3rd biggest city in Argentina- Rosario.  The main tourist attraction in the city is the "Monumento histórico nacional a la bandera," or, the "National Flag Memorial" in English.  It is absolutely massive and the columns actually reminded me a lot of Europe!  We took an elevator ride to the top of the monument and were able to get a 360 degree view of the city.  Here are a few pictures from the trip...

View from the top of el monumento histórico

Such a massive statue!

A little bit like Rome... maybe?

Also in Rosario, we took a boat ride on the Río Paraná and where able to watch the sunset over the city.  It got pretty cold once the sun went down but it was definitely worth it!

Our barco!

Panoramica view of the city

Sunset on Río Paraná

Overall it was a great weekend in Rosario.  It is always exciting to have the opportunity to see a new city and Rosario definitely did not disappoint!

Return to Córdoba

This past weekend I was able to return to Córdoba for a quick trip to my old home of six weeks.  I missed everyone so much, I just had to come back!  Three main events were happening this weekend- my friend Gonzalo's birthday, my AIESEC buddy Irupe's thesis defense, and la despedida (going away party) of my friend Jess (the other trainee from the United States).  These three events served as the perfect weekend for me to come back to visit.

My trip began with a 10-hour bus ride through the campo (farmland) of Argentina.  It was quite the trip as I was sitting next to a really big man who snored the entire 10 hours.  I never have very good luck when it comes to public transportation!  The next day I met up with my friend Charlie and we bought decorations for Gonzalo's birthday (what good friends we are! haha).  Gonzalo was pleasantly surprised when he arrived home from work to see what we had done!

Gonzalo with his birthday decorations

The next day was Irupe's thesis defense.  For an undergraduate degree in Argentina, the last semester is spent writing a thesis and then presenting it in front of your professors.  Irupe is also a marketing major so it was interesting to see how the university system varies between the United States and Argentina.  Her presentation reminded me of the many times that I had to give marketing presentations when I studied in Spain (but obviously hers was a lot more well-developed)!  After the presentation, the professors discuss whether or not you deserve to pass while you nervously outside for the final verdict.  So stressful!  Irupe passed with a great review and we were able to celebrate her accomplishments after.

In Argentina, it is a tradition to throw eggs, flour, yerba, cereal, and anything else gross you could possibly think of on the graduate when their thesis is approved.  They also cut your hair (if you are a guy) and your clothes (girls and guys).  Kind of an interesting (but hilarious) way of congratulating someone for all the hard work that they have done!  Jess and I were able to take part in this wonderful tradition by throwing eggs and pouring flour on our friend.  As you can tell in the photo below, no one showed Irupe any mercy...

Jess and me with the graduate!

Iru getting egged

The next day we went to Alta Gracia, a small town outside of Córdoba.  We were able to visit the house of Che Guevara, where I learned a lot about the Argentinian view of Che.  A very educational day trip!

Me in Che's house

Che's house

My final day in Córdoba was filled with a trip to Villa General Belgrano and la Cumbrecita. Villa General Belgrano is a German town outside of the city characterized by its typically Bavarian style architecture.  We only had about 20 minutes in the city before our bus to La Cumbrecita, so we just walked down the main street and admired the uniquely-styled buildings.  

At la Cumbrecita, we ate lunch and then hiked to la Cascada Grande (the big waterfall).  I actually found out about this town on Pinterest- such a great resource haha!  I was not disappointed as the hike was beautiful and the waterfall did not disappoint.  We kept joking that we were going to find Frodo because the scenery looked exactly like in the movie the Lord of the Rings.

Cumbrecita Candid

It was such a great weekend in Córdoba.  I was so happy to be able to see my friends again and it was even harder leaving this time because I do not know when the next time I will see them will be.  I'm hoping that one day they will all come visit me in the United States.  A lot of them made promises that they will so I'm going to hold them to it! :)

Day trip to Uruguay!

A couple of weekends ago, my friend Sandra and I decided to take a day trip to the coast of Uruguay to a small town called Colonia.   This was my first and only time out of the country since I arrived in Argentina!  Colonia is only about a one hour ferry ride from Buenos Aires, so it is a pretty popular place for tourists to travel.  Although the trip was short, we did have to wait a long time to get through immigration.  Definitely worth the wait though!

Our trip was very "tranquilo" as the Argentinians would say.  We went out the night before with the other trainees and slept less than two hours (I swear I will never adjust to the nightlife here!).  This meant that we were pretty much walking zombies all day long!  Throughout the day we did a walking tour around the city, ate lunch, went shopping, watched the sunset, and then headed back to Buenos Aires.  A short trip but definitely sweet! :)

La Boca

This Sunday, me, Sandra (from Colombia), Amana (from the U.S.), Dafne (from Mexico), Paulo (from Brazil) went to La Boca.  La Boca is a neighborhood in Buenos Aires filled with colorful houses, tango dancers, and live music.  It is absolutely beautiful!  While in La Boca, we walked around, shopped, ate Choripán, and watched a tango show.  Definitely my favorite place in Buenos Aires so far!

Me "tango dancing" with a rando

Trainees in la Boca

Cool tree 

La Ciudad Mágica- BUENOS AIRES

I'm finally in BUENOS AIRES- la ciudad mágica! The city is absolutely incredible and there is so much to do/see but let me tell you, it was a little bit of a rough start.  Here is the story...

I was first put in a hostel in a neighborhood called San Telmo with seven other trainees.  There was one shower and two toilets for a million people and I slept in a room of eight people.  Sort of like dorm life but to the extreme- and much dirtier.  The second night we were there I thought that the trainees were going to start a riot because everyone was so upset about the hostel situation!  There were no cooking utensils, pots/pans, etc in the kitchen and we were supposed to be living there for 6 weeks.  When we had cake for someone's birthday, we ate it with our hands and the one plate, one fork, and one knife that they had in the kitchen (see photo below).  Luckily, there was an opening at the other hostel that trainees were staying in Palermo and since the other girl who works at Circo Social del Sur (the NGO that I'm working at) lives in Palermo, I was able to move there.  The others were sent to a different hostels as well.  Even though I spent only 2 nights in that hostel with that group of people I already miss them!  Here is a picture of the birthday party that we had in the hostel...

Hostel in San Telmo  

Everything is a little bit better at the hostel in Palermo.  I still have to share a bathroom with a million people, but at least I'm used to it now!  Right now I share a room with 3 other girls from AIESEC, an arabic dance instructor from México, and two people who work at the hostel, including KENDRA.  Now let me tell you about KENDRA... she is about 50 years old and sleeps in the bed above mine.  She told me that I could call her "Ma" as in "Mama" because she is like the mother of the hostel.  During the day she is super nice and calls everyone "mi amor" (my love), "mi corazón" (my heart), "mi reina" (my queen), etc etc and you think she is the nicest lady ever, but then at night, she turns into a completely different person.  She gets super angry if we make even the slightest sound after she has gone to bed.  I have never tried to be so quiet in my life!  I have this feeling that one day she is going to turn on everyone and murder me.  Haha I will let you guys now how that works out for me!

I have definitely learned to deal with the hostel situation and it is what it is.  I came to Argentina knowing that some things were going to be a challenge and I now appreciate so much more what I have in the United States.  Things that I take for granted on a daily basis in the United States are the things that are the most difficult here!

Improvising a meal in the kitchen of our hostel in Palermo

CIRCO SOCIAL DEL SUR (the NGO that I work at)- interesting to say the least.  I have only seen the people doing circus acts once because they come at night and work during the day.  Right now I'm working on a marketing plan for them and hopefully they will be able to use what I suggest for them! :)

Hanging out at the Circus

I have been able to do a lot of different things in the city so far.  I went to the Malba (Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires), La Casa Rosada (which is the equivalent of the White House here), Cementerio de la Recoleta (a cemetery with the most elaborate tombs I have ever seen), el Jardín Japonés (Japenese Gardens), Puente de la Mujer (a famous bridge in Buenos Aires), and many other places.  Here are some photos...

Malba

Cementerio de la Recoleta

El Jardín Japonés

La Casa Rosada

Puente de la Mujer

Reserva Ecológica

There is so much to see in do in this beautiful city- I can't wait to see what the rest of this trip has in store for me!  I'm going to end this post with a link to a song that we always listen to here that is about Buenos Aires.  Enjoy!!...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCPACcVgJ3U

Los últimos días en Córdoba

My last few days in Córdoba were spent hanging out with friends and doing all of my favorite things in the city, along with a another trip to Carlos Paz.  In Carlos Paz, we took a chairlift to the top of the Sierras and then rode on what is called an "Aerotren" which, translated directly, means "air train"(if that wasn't too obvious).  So it was basically just a little train that goes around the top of the mountain.  After that we took the chairlift down and then hiked up another side of the mountain.  Pretty great views all day long!

Jess and me at the top of the Sierras

In Carlos Paz with Fernando and Irupe

Aerotren

My last days at Banco de Alimentos- Córdoba were bittersweet.  Everyone was so nice there and it was such a great experience!  Here are some pictures of my last day at the banco....

Working hard

Ariel

Alejandro

I already miss everyone from Córdoba so much and I'm probably going back one weekend to visit before I go back to the United States!

Mendoza- Vino, Caballos, Montañas, y más vino!

I can without a doubt say that this trip has been my favorite part of Argentina so far!  Mendoza is a city at the foothills of the Andes mountains about 10 hours away from Córdoba by bus.  I went with my friends Jess (also from the U.S.) and Sabina (from Slovenia) and left Thursday night and arrived Friday morning.  Immediately after arriving, we met with a travel agent in our hostel and she was able to set us up with winery tours, a sunset horseback riding trip, and a bus tour of the Andes mountains for the weekend.  We started with the winery tour on Friday because we only had a half day.  We first went to Bodega López, which is one of the larger, more famous vineyards in Mendoza.  Next we went to an olive oil factory and then on a tour of a smaller bodega called Don Arturo.  Our tour guide told us that Mendoza has so many wineries that if you wanted to see every single one of them you would have to go to 3-4 of them per day for a YEAR.  Isn't that insane?!!  I guess I better stay in Argentina for a while longer in order to hit all of them!  Good wine is also extremely cheap here so I had to buy a couple of bottles to bring back with me :)

The next day we walked around the city a little bit and climbed to the top of Cerro de la Gloria, where we were able to see some beautiful views of the city as well as the Andes mountains.  It took us about a million years to walk there but we finally made it!

Cerro de la Gloria

Later that day we went on the Sunset horseback riding tour.  Definitely one of the coolest things I have ever done in my life!  It was only my second time riding a horse but the horses were all pretty tranquil so we didn't have any problems.  It is kind of hilarious to think that we rode horses in the foothills of the Andes mountains and then galloped off into the sunset at the end.  Kind of like something you would see in the movies, right?!  We were joking that we should try and sell this photo to Mendoza tourism because it looks so unreal...

Our cowboy!

Horseback riding was then followed by an Asado (barbecue).  It was so delicious!  We spent the night talking to people from all around the world who were on the tour with us and drinking free wine.  Definitely the best day in the Argentina so far!

The next day we took a bus tour of the Andes mountains from 7 AM to 8 PM!  It was quite the day but we were able to see Potrerillos (a large dam forming a lake in the mountains), Uspallata (a small town in the Andes between Mendoza and Santiago de Chile), Penitentes (a famous ski resort), Aconcagua (the HIGHEST PEAK in the America's), and el Puente del Inca (a natural arch that forms a bridge over the Vacas river).  Also, no one told us that we were going to be outside for so long/we did not realize we would be out in the snow so we were not dressed very warm.  Good thing I have Wisconsin blood in me or I would not have made it! (it also helped that we rented boots hahaha)

Panorama of the Andes!

At Penitentes with our new friends from Belgium

Parque Provincial de Aconcagua

Puente del Inca

Mendoza is definitely one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been to and we didn't have enough time to do everything that the city has to offer.  I guess that gives me an excuse to go back someday!

La vida en Córdoba

I'm just going to give you all a quick update of my life in Córdoba!  So basically my life here consists of working at Banco de Alimentos from about 10-4 every Monday-Friday and then spending time with my friends at night.  Usually we get together to eat dinner, to explore the city, or just to hang out.  Here are some pictures of me from the time we went to Parque Sarmiento- the largest park in Córdoba...

One weekend, me, Carlos (from Colombia), Stefano (from Italy), and Gonzalo (from Argentina) took a day trip to Carlos Paz- a town about an hour outside of Córdoba.  Apparently a lot of famous people have homes there and the town is packed in the summer, but during the winter there is not too much to do.  We just took a walk around the lake, ate some gelato, and went back to Córdoba. It was good to get out of the city for awhile and it was a nice and relaxing Sunday!

In Córdoba, more and more trainees are arriving from around the world.  There are supposed to be about 60 of us throughout the entire summer! I was the second person to arrive out of all 60 because I'm doing two internships and staying 12 weeks in Argentina (in 2 different cities) whereas the others are only staying six weeks and not moving cities.  Here is a picture of a lot of the trainees and some of the members of AIESEC when we went out together...

That same night someone from AIESEC taught me how to dance Cumbia.  In the meantime my friend Gonzalo is teaching me how to dance Bachata- which I find is much harder than Cumbia.  I'm thinking about starting dance lessons when I get to Buenos Aires (or even when I get back to Wisconsin)!

An update on the food- so far my favorite foods are choripan (basically like a brat but with more bread and condiments) as well as empanadas.  Jamón y queso empanadas are my absolute favorite!  Another food typical to Argentina are cookies called alfajores.  Usually alfajores have dulce de leche in the center or some sort of fruit/jam.  I am bringing a box of alfajores back to the U.S. for all of you to try! :)  Get excited!

Choripan with Irupé

Empanadas from Mendoza

Alfajores

Banco de Alimentos- The past couple weeks I have just been working on marketing/dministrative tasks for my job in the office.  Unfortunately, I stopped doing audits because of the whole "almost-being-robbed" incident.  At least it means that I get to spend more time with the people that I work with!  I am going to miss them so much when I leave!

Sabrina (volunteer from France), Ariel, and Alejandro

Time has passed so fast here, I can't believe I have already been here for 5 weeks and only have one week left! I leave for Buenos Aires on Saturday.  I'm going to miss it here so much but I'm really excited to see what Buenos Aires has in store for me!