It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.

Well, it's another rainy Sunday here in Buenos Aires, it's kind of nice though that it only has rained on Sundays so far because I woke up at 3 p.m. from being out the night before and I wouldn't want to waste a pretty day in the city. Last night, we ventured out onto Niceto street, a street about 15 blocks away lined up with bars and boliches. After surveying the crowds lined up at the different ones, seeing only old men at some, the boliche we chose was Wet. There was a giant disco ball outside the door so of course, I was sold. We walked inside only to hear none other than good old U.S. music....from the 80s. The place wasn't crowded when we got there at 2 a.m. but by 3 the place was full of mostly portenos (locals) and they crossed over to the popular reggaeton. The highlight of the night for me is when they started playing Y.M.C.A. and watching everyone attempt to do the hand motions, I was cracking up and it was great. 

It's been another great week here in Buenos Aires. The rainy weather from last weekend finally cleared up on Monday and the rest of the week has been sunny and high 50s. Perfect weather to explore the neighborhood and see the zoo, botanical gardens, and go to La Boca. I finally figured out how to use the colectivos (buses) here! They are great to use and with close to 200 routes, they really do go everywhere. I finished up my week at Expanish now my three week class is over and it is time to start orientation at UCA, tomorrow!! I cannot wait to start meeting other internationals and students at UCA. My PAL, which is my buddy that will help me with anything I need with UCA, Buenos Aires, Argentina in general, emailed me this week. His name is Matias, he sent me his email in English but I responded in Spanish so now that's how we are conversing...mucho mejor! He is from Patagonia but will be back in B.A. on August 5 and then we can meet up, I'm looking forward to that! 

So Tuesday was Dia del Amigo, Friend's Day. Doesn't it sound like a nice little hallmark holiday for friends to say thank you for being a friend? That's what we thought too, until we went to Siga La Vaca for dinner. A famous parilla libre in Puerto Madero, right next to UCA. After waiting two hours for a table, the five of us walked through the restaurant which felt like we were walking down the red carpet, tables and tables of guys whistling, saying things to us, and even clapping as we sat. We were all a little delusional from being so hungry, it was midnight at this point, and we just sat down and got up to get our meat. We had guys coming up to us talking to us, giving us their business cards. Dia del Amigo is clearly a day for single guys to go out and find women. Kind of like most of the nights here in B.A. but I digress. 

However, I ate a little too much because the next day I was in bed all day with a stomach bug. My apartment mates made sure I was well hydrated and I was as good as new on Wednesday. 

The six of us from Richmond were separated into two classes for our three weeks at Expanish. Last week, we had a highly competitive game of Pictionary en espanol. Unfortunately, I was on the losing  team so May, the other teacher told us to bring in facturas for the last day of class. What are facturas you ask? I was having horrible flashbacks of my math days thinking she wanted factorial numbers or fractions, but actually a factura is a cake or some type of sweet. Even though May is from Spain, she still has that Argentina sweet tooth. The last morning of class on our walk from the subte stop, we picked up some medialunas, Argentine croissants with honey flavor that are usually an afternoon snack with a cafe con leche. 

Friday, Helen and I ventured to the zoo and botanical gardens three blocks away from us. The botanical gardens was filled with palm trees and pretty plants and there were cats...everywhere! I have never seen so many cats, I guess that is where they all hang out in the city. The zoo was so much fun, it's a huge zoo right in the middle of the city. There are a ton of animals, my favorite were the llamas and the giraffe. Dinner that night we went to this great restaurant in Retiro for Sarah's birthday. It was another guys' birthday from Expanish so a bunch of us celebrated. Afterwards, we went to an Irish pub where the crowd was a bit older than us. They had a good band though and I got to talk to some internationals who had been here for a few months and gave some good advice about B.A. We ended up at a bariloche closer to our apartment in Palermo. I didn't stay out too late, 4 a.m. haha because I was still recovering from being sick that week. 

Saturday, we took a bus and finally got where we wanted to go! The buses are great, there are so many of them all around the city and they come every couple of minutes. Plaza Italia, which is our subte stop and one block away has almost all of the bus lines stop there which is great for when I want to get somewhere. We took it to La Boca which is on the other side of the city. It is where the famous Boca Juniors play at La Bombonero. I definitely want to get a jersey and get to a game while I'm here! We walked around El Caminito the famous section of La Boca that is filled with bright, multicolored apartment buildings. 

Street  performers line the street and there are tons of local artists selling their art. It was really unique and made an average photographer, such as myself, appear to be artsy and talented. On our way back to our apartment, we had an early dinner at a small cafe. I had pumpkin ravioli, they love pumpkin here! That night we went out to Niceto Vega which is a street lined with boliches. Today has been a relaxing day, doing some laundry, going to the grocery store, and watching a movie. Tonight, Dillon, who is one of the two boys from Richmond is coming over for dinner. He just got here two days ago because he broke his foot and was healing at home so he is finally here in B.A. right in time for orientation. I'll keep everyone updated on orientation and UCA! I can't wait :) Besos a todos!