La vida porteña: Me quedó mi corazón en Mendoza

¡Saludos!

It's been forever since I've written, but I'll get you caught up as best I can! My last post was on Wednesday the 16th, the day before St. Patrick's Day. In Argentina, St. Patrick's Day really isn't a big deal but there are some Irish pubs and American bars that cater to us tourists wanting to celebrate leprechauns and Irish luck. After visiting one such place, we went to a hip hop dance club that played mostly remixes of popular American beats which were really fun to dance to... that is, until my wallet was stolen. I had promised myself I would do everything in my power not to become a victim of theft, but before I knew it, my cross-body purse had been unzipped and raided while I was dancing. Thankfully my cell phone, keys, and camera remained in a separate pocket, but gone with my wallet was about $75 USD, my license, debit card, and numerous IDs for class and such. I was lucky I was with friends who helped to pay for me to get home, and I had to learn my lesson the hard way along with many other doe-eyed foreigners.

The next day, I decided to relax after what happened and take a break from the city to visit my friend Trini. I met Trini my senior year of high school when she was a foreign exchange student studying in the United States and staying with one of my good friends, Anne. Trini is from Argentina, right outside of the city in a suburb of Buenos Aires called Pacheco. I took a half-an-hour long train ride and she picked me up from the station, then took me to her house where I stayed for the weekend! She lives in a gated community (which is different than in the United States—it includes hundreds of houses and multiple neighborhoods) surrounding lakes so it reminded me of Tonka! I had a blast getting to know her family and seeing everything around where she lived, and it was such a fun “life swap” where I now got to play the foreign student. The weekend flew by, but that definitely won’t be the last I see of Trini and her friends!

The following Wednesday marked the anniversary of the start of the last Argentine dictatorship in 1976, which is regarded as the “Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice.” We had Thursday and Friday off of school, so I left for Mendoza with two friends from my program. We took a bus that left Wednesday night at 9pm and arrived the next day at 11:30! The bus company fed us dinner, showed movies, and even facilitated a game of Bingo (which my friend Liz won- and got a bottle of wine!). The only bad part was suffering a casualty from accidentally dropping my phone into the on-board toilet. Ewwww! After arriving at Hotel Empedrado, aka “the wine hostel,” we went on a bus tour of 2 wineries and one olive oil factory. It was interesting to see how the wine was made, and we even got to taste the famous Malbec of Mendoza. That night, we enjoyed our daily glass of wine (included in the room cost) and even got to try some other types such as Torrontés (a white fruity wine native to Mendoza) and classics such as Chardonnay and Merlot.

The next day, we slept in and meandered around the area which was full of little shops and restaurants, but not in the least bit as busy as living in Buenos Aires. At 4, we got ready to leave for our horseback riding excursion! Our group took a van out of the town and into the Andes Mountains—literally some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve ever seen. We drove past a large, crystal blue lake surrounded by the mountains and ended up at a small ranch. After being assigned horses (mine’s name was Gringo), we crossed a road and almost literally started going vertically up a path of rocks. It was a scary experience at first, but I definitely learned how to trust the horse! We rode through streams, up mountainous paths, and galloped on stretches of land surrounded by the giant backdrop of the Andes; absolutely every turn held a breathtaking view. After returning to the ranch, we watched the sunset and prepared to feast on asado for the night. Asado is literally a “roast” or “barbecue” where they pile a bunch of different meats and veggies on a fire and grill them to perfection. After gorging ourselves on delicious Argentine steak and emptying glasses of Malbec, we listened to our guide sing Argentine folk songs with his guitar and accompanied him on some more modern tunes we knew. All in all, it was a perfect night enjoying nature, the company of friends, and some traditional customs of Mendoza.

The next morning, we woke up early so we could return to the mountains for some extreme adventures: whitewater rafting and ziplining! We went ziplining first, over multiple valleys in the rock and finishing with a finale which spanned the river right by the main camp. One of the things I was thankful for is being able to understand the safety directions in Spanish, because even though some of the guides spoke English, I don’t think they could have taught me much (one of them told me that when braking with my hand on the zipline, I “needed more oppression.” Definitely not helpful!). Next we braved the freezing water for rafting, and bundled up in wetsuits, windbreakers, helmets and lifejackets for the journey down the Río Mendoza. It was rough paddling around the rocks, but no one fell out and only my friend Fay got drenched with splashes! We were exhausted afterwards, and went almost directly to the bus station so we could sleep the whole way back to Buenos Aires.

The next week, I started my internship with W3 Communications. They are a technology consulting and internet marketing company based in Buenos Aires with clients from all over South America as well as some from the United States. I will be working here 16 hours a week helping mostly the heads of social media and web for Argentine and American accounts. I already love the challenge of the work, the introduction to international brands, and my colleagues, so I’m excited to have this experience as an intern (“pasante” in Spanish, literally from the verb pasar, or “to pass through”). I also received a new debit card in the mail, so I felt whole again and was able to buy things such as a new phone!!

And lastly, in order to bring this back to the present, I just got back from spending the weekend in Tigre with a group from the IES program. We drove to the city where Trini had picked me up from the train station, and we got to explore a large outdoor crafts fair with delicious food and creative things for sale. Next, we took a boat down the river Paraná to reach the island we were staying on. Everyone had a little “luxury cabin” that they stayed in, and we enjoyed spending time on our private island kayaking, feasting and relaxing inside during a thunderstorm.

Now I’m back to the daily grind of the city, but there will be more exciting trips and events to come! Until then, ciao!

**Translation of this post's title: I left my heart in Mendoza ♥

Fotos de mis aventuras: