When I first arrived my madre, Maria Elide, picked me up at the airport with her nephew and niece that actually live next door with their parents. It's been fun to have little ones around. One night Faco, the five-year-old nephew, came over looking for Maria because he had just won his Fútbol game. Maria wasn't home at the time so he told me instead! I live really close the Universidad Nacaional de Cuyo (where I attended class) and El Parque de San Martín, a beautiful park with lots of beautiful trees, club, and tennis courts !
.The first couple of days were quite interesting trying to figure out the public transportation system. The driving laws here are more like guidelines and pedestrians definitely don't have the right of way! The "micros" or buses drive so fast and they run on their own time schedule along with the rest of the city. I love it and I feel like I fit in quite well ? My sister, Agustina, was so nice and accompanied me to school the first day or two to show me all the little tricks. My other sister Antonella is so great too! I really enjoy talking with them and they are really patient with my awful Spanish!
Last week I also spent a lot of time at "El Centro" the center of the city! I really love the area. The main street "Peatonal" is filled with shops, cafes, and all sorts of things. There are also five main Plaza's in the center. The main one is called Plaza Independencia and Artisians always have booths set up to sell their art. There are some really neat things and I can't wait to explore more.
Class is great too. My teachers are fabulous and I feel like I am learning a lot. I am so anxious to be able to speak well, but I know it takes time and I have to be patient with my self.The weather the first week was beautiful. The weather was chilly in the morning and very nice in the afternoons. All the tree's leaves around town and in the park were so beautiful. The wind changed directions though and it is now coming from the south. It is sooo cold and the houses usually just have heaters in the common area's and not in the bed rooms.
Two weekends ago we went to a fabulous ranch outside of Mendoza, called El Puesto. We got to ride horses through the Andes mountains and had the most amazing lunch. The empenadas here are made with beet and onions and they are soooo good. Mendocinos also eat a lot of dulce de leche! After the fabulous lunch we were entertained by some traditional folklore music and dancing.
This past weekend we made a trip to Uspallata for two days, a small town in the mountains that attracts many mountain climbers destined to climb the tallest mountain in the westerm hemishere (I think), Aconcagua. On Saturday we hiked in a meter of snow for about 4 hours near the foothill of Aconcagua. I took some great pictures!!! I cant wait for you all to see them. We were all pretty tired but we had to stay up for another great dinner. Some girls that lived in my dorm freshman have been in Mendoza studying for 5 months and they went on the trip with the summer program. So during and after dinner I was able to catch up with them and ask them all about their adventures in Mendoza this far. It only made me even more excited for the fall semester. The second day was even better than the first. We took another hike to and this time not in the snow to a face of a mountain where we were able to climb, repel, and ride a zip line. I think I have found a new hobbie! I climbed for the first time and I was the only girl to make it to the top of the tallest and most difficult climb!!! The guy at the bottom of the hill that guided my rope called me his little conejito (little rabbit) because when I got to the top my legs were shaking so bad. LOL. It was such a great experience !
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