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| Singing happy birthday with one giant candle in an apple cake. |
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| All of us together. Surprisingly, we're not drinking wine, but Coke. Coke seems to be the only/most popular soda to drink here. |
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| Me and the birthday girl. |
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| Before everyone had arrived. We had various sandwiches and tea cookies. My host mom really decorated the table beautifully. |
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| My host mom's son lives in Brazil, so she gave me this lime and honey tea from Brazil to try. Very strong and soothing for a sore throat. |
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| I stayed home from school so I had time to Skype with a friend. School in the U.S. is about to start up again. I'm not missing it, but I am missing my friends and how comfortable I feel around them. |
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| As I was lying in bed trying to recover, my host mom brought me cookies with dulce de leche. That's my kinda medicine. |
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| The next day, I also didn't go to school because there was a nation wide strike. Very few micros (buses) are running, flights are cancelled, and my university is closed. From my understanding, various types of employees including bus drivers, professors, and medical professionals are demanding higher pay. Apparently bus drivers are paid extremely well, even more than professors, but that's not saying much because professors are not paid well. For lunch I had spinach filled ravioli with a chunky meat sauce and mozzarella cheese. Slowly starting to feel better. Seems my host mom can cure a cold with her cooking. |
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| With a significantly reduced work load (perhaps even pre-IB level ) and my host mom packing my lunch on certain days, I feel like I'm back in high school. |
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| Although, my real mom never gave me chorizo sandwiches for lunch in high school. My host mom packs me so much food, but it is so necessary. On Tuesdays my day starts at 9:30 AM and goes until 9:30 PM. I have to snack throughout the day or I will be in a very bad mood. |
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| Unlike high school, I navigated my way through the city to have a meeting at a new cafe, BROD. The cafe has a huge, sunny patio, a fully stocked bakery, and friendly service that seems welcoming to tourists. I was sad when I was greeted with a "Hi!" instead of an "Hola!," but some may find this comforting. In fact, many people in Mendoza try to speak English to me, especially if I look confused, which is often. The problem is, said person usually tries to say only one word of the sentence in English. My problem is not with knowing the meaning of individual words (although sometimes it is), but understanding the complete thought. It's easier if said person just speaks in Spanish slower and more clearly. With many repetitions. |
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| I ordered Sweet Mint tea at BROD and it was presented to me on this lovely wooden board. I've never had tea served to me this way, with loose leaf and a strainer, so I was confused. I'm not classy enough for this, but I'm learning. At least I knew not to dump the loose leaf tea into the cup. |
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| Turns out it's super easy and I didn't need to put much thought into it. I will definitely be back to try their bakery goodies. |
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| Tea in a Texas mug and a lady finger or "Riki sima" for a quick breakfast before I headed out for the bus to take me to Potrerillos, a small mountain town about 1.5 hours away from Mendoza. |
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| I've been to Potrerillos once before, but this time we took the bus even further to "Alto Potrerillos." |
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| The entrance to the cabins. The name of the town and the name of our cabin rental place were the same, Alto Potrerillos, which proved to be only a little confusing. |
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| Two pools and a breathtaking view. |
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| Our cabin's name was Jupiter. |
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| That's ours! |
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| Hey, friends. |
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| There was also a playground. |
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| With a zip-line... |
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| Naturally, we had to utilize the equipment. |
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| Went for a short hike to look around the town and climb a hill. |
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| Dinner for the first night was pasta with a ton of veggies. |
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| Discovered a new favorite tea: Rosa Mosqueta y Manzanilla. Not sure about the translation. Something with chamomile. |
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| Day 2: Oatmeal and raisins for breakfast before our long hike. |
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| After searching for a path and ending up having to crawl through a fence, we were met by a herd of cows blocking our way... |
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| Finally made it to the top! |
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| Banana in the Andes. |
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| Salami sandwich in the Andes. |
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| Got a little lost on the way back from the hike. Ended up on someone's private farm after crawling under/through two fences. Post hike ice cream helped with the stress. Dulce de leche (OMG THIS WAS SO GOOD) and chocolate. |
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| Dinner Day 2: Rice, beans, veggies. Beans are not popular in Argentina. We looked in the grocery store for awhile to find some, but I'm pretty sure these are actually lentils. |
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| Blurry picture of some amazing bread I had on the bus back to Mendoza. |
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| 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 :) |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| Water is not free. Most people drink agua con gas o "soda," but I'm sticking to my roots with this agua sin gas. |
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| Bife con papas fritas. Very popular meal here. Everything was soooo good. |
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| For dessert back at home: canned peaches (duranos) with dulce de leche. I'm really starting to become a dulce de leche fiend... |
