The desert, the best chicken I may have ever had, and everything in between

And the brief hiatus is broken! Here are the important things happening in my life right now:

1) Classes are so close to being over. I finished one final yesterday, but I have four more to go. I feel chill about it and I'm confident I'll get everything done despite the confusing Argentine rules and systems that I never seem to have a complete grasp of.

2) I've been missing theatre and performing so much here. I was being lazy about finding a way to get involved (which I normally wouldn't recommend), but a friend led me to a theatre-dance class and it's physically demanding and dramatic and I love it.

3) My search for what to do for three months of Argentine summer continues. I'm using WWOOF to find farms in the south of Argentina. I picked the south because it'll be cooler. I've gotten replies from a blackberry and raspberry farm and I'm still in negotiation with them to find out how long I can stay/wondering if I should do multiple farms or just stay at one.

4) I went to San Rafael last weekend (a small town three hours south of Mendoza, still in the province) and had such a great time. We did a challenging hike through the mountains, rafted in the rain and lightning, and ate raw pasta with a much too garlicky pesto (the food wasn't spectacular, except for the last day when we had a mini-asado and I could fulfill my chori-pan craving).

5) I've decided to change host families for next semester. I'm still not sure what type of family I'm looking for, maybe one with siblings. I have a lot of feelings about this and at the same time feel indifferent.

Picture time!

Took a trip to the desert in Lavalle. We rolled down the sand hills, went on a tour of the small town, and had lunch together.

Mate with a friend from Bolivia.

Cooking the chicken, pollo al disco.

Ok, for real, this was one of the best meals I've had in Argentina. Pollo al disco is chicken with rice and veggies which is really simple, but it was so flavorful and cooked perfectly.

I forget what this is called in Spanish so I'm just going to call it: Mendocinian Shepherd's Pie. It's got the mashed potatoes, beef, and veggies, but on top is sprinkled cinnamon and sugar. 

Onion and cheese pizza. It's pretty popular to buy pre-made crust and design your own pizza.

My host mom went on a trip to Brazil, so she left me a bunch of frozen food including this fish and pumpkin puree. This was the first time I've had fish here (aside from canned tuna) and it was delicious. The seafood in Mendoza is expensive because we're nowhere near the water.

My family has discovered Skype.

Tuna, rice, peas, carrots, and bread. 

And a sunset view of the city and mountains for good measure.

Favorite Things

A random sampling of the food/drink I've been enjoying for the past few weeks.

Pork chops and potatoes. (photo not taken by me).

We have a thing called "Cafecitos" in my study abroad program. About once a month we all get together at the program director's giant apartment and eat desserts and drink tea. Ricotta cheese cake, strawberry cheese cake, an oreo, an alfajore, and peanut butter ( a rarity here (!!!)).

I'm seriously craving gooey, soft, melty, chocolatey chocolate chip cookies right now. I don't know if they exist here. but these are my new favorite brand of packaged cookies. Super useful when travelling/hiking.

I came home from class to a pan of green beans, slices of ham, and an egg. I ate the entire pan.

I bought all of the mate necessities!! You have to make mate portable as it's a social thing to be taken in the park or during class. Thermos, container for yerba (herbs), yerba (Taragui Citrus flavor even though my host mom told me to buy the "red flavor." I rebelled.), and of course the actual mate, which is like a gourd on the inside and on the outside leather, with a straw to filter the herbs.

Hot drinks and a night out

Met up with some friends in the beautiful Parque Central and drank mate. Mate is a central part of the culture in Argentina. One person prepares the mate. The cup and straw are shared and passed around in a circle. A little strong/bitter the first try, but you can always add sugar :)

The wind was strong, so we decided to move inside to a cafe. I ordered a cafe dolce which is coffee and condensed milk at the bottom. Super sweet and yummy.

For the first time since arriving, my host family and I went out to dinner. The bread came with spreadable cheese instead of butter. Definitely prefer the cheese.

Water is not free. Most people drink agua con gas o "soda," but I'm sticking to my roots with this agua sin gas.

Bife con papas fritas. Very popular meal here. Everything was soooo good.

For dessert back at home: canned peaches (duranos) with dulce de leche. I'm really starting to become a dulce de leche fiend...