Amazing!

I had no idea what to title this post so I just went with the one adjective I could think of to describe the past 6 days. Amazing. I wish I could count how many times I have simply stopped what I was doing and just thought, "I can't believe how lucky I am to be doing all of these incredible things." Everyday I wonder how Buenos Aires could get any better--but then it always does! I guess I will start with Friday...

On Friday everybody in the IES program went to an Estancia about and hour outside the city. It was gorgeous! The second we pulled up to the estate there were horses pulling carriages that we all got on which took us towards the main building. There were drinks and appetizers waiting for us in this grassy area. We all had a few empanadas (because we had no idea the amazing meal that was to come!) and lounged on some chairs and chatted it up with new friends. Soon they called us into the actual dinning room and there was HUGE salad bar with every kind of veggie you could ever want! I even tried some rabbit--I didn't like it a lot but its just another thing that I can say I have tried courtesy of this semester. Finally the meat came out which was rediculously tasty. It was my favorite meal here by far! Not only because the food was so good but the 8 people sitting at my table had the funniest conversations. We were talking about differences in how everybody talks which proved to be a hilarious topic. Our Penn State friends think that Jack and Punky have really bad southern accents! Haha

After the meal our table jumped up and went over to where the horses were and attempted to "montar un caballo." I ended up getting the really tiny horse which ended up being really funny cause I would not do anything I told it to, so I was just sitting on my horse in the middle of a field. After horses, we went into a little Zoo area that was full of all these cool animals. I saw a cute pair of armadillos! My friend Paige and I found this tandem bike thing--but it was a lot harder to ride than we expected. Paige broke her shoe which I thought was the funniest thing ever.

After all the activities we ended up getting a few beers and hanging out by the pool and catching some rays. Once it got later in the day they put out some desserts and Mate (which I really enjoy!). The key lime pie was TO DIE FOR. Great food, great company--an Amazing day.

That night we got a big group and went to Plaza Serrano--a really cool plaza that is surrounded by fun bars. I went to a club finally! My first time ever! It was alot of what I expected it to be, but we ended up having a really good time. By the time I got home in the morning it was light outside. I left the club at 6 and it was still PACKED.

On Saturday we had to go on (another) tour of the city. When we got there we found out that it was 4 hours long in a tiny bus, so my friends Ryan, Matthew, Ben, Amanda and I decided to leave and do our own tour! We walked about 2 miles to the National Art Museum which was verrrry close to my house. Afterward, we saw a cool park that had a huge flea market set up along with people playing live music. We found out that the flea market and performers are there every Saturday and Sunday--so I am definitely going to be there every weekend! I didn't end up going out on Saturday night was good since I had been seriously lacking in sleep.

On Sunday Ryan and I went back to the park to watch this really talented guitar player/singer. We ran into a couple guys (Pat, Sam and Matthew) from IES there and all went to dinner at a nice restaurant. We thought it would be cool to go to Alemo and watch the academy awards--there were tons of Americans there! One of my "golden moments" of the entire time I have been here was when the Argentine movie "El Secreto de tus Ojos" won the Oscar for best foreign film.. the bar went CRAZY. Everybody started chanting, "Argentina, Argentina"-- It was one of those moments when I looked around and thought, Is this really my life right now? How am I so lucky to be here?

On Monday we had a walking tour of a different part of the city but me and the Wofford crew kind of dipped out early and grabbed some empanadas and pizza. We were all wishing we could be in Charlotte for the big Southern Conference championship game to cheer on the Terriers. We thought we would call Alemo and see if they got ESPN2-- and they did! We all donned on our Wofford T-shirts and went to the bar way early to get some good seats. All night I could not stop smiling. I had the best of both worlds--I was in South American but I was watching My good ol Wofford Terriers play on TV. Other people in the bar started a friendly rivalry with us and started cheering for App State. By the end of the game the entire bar was on their feet chanting "WOFFORD, WOFFORD" and "APP STATE SUCKS!!!" I couldn't believe I could see all my friends on TV from so far away. The next day we were all in agreement that it was one of the coolest experiences of our lives. It was a top five favorite night of my entire life. The ultimate "Golden Moment".

As if I could top the night before, on Tuesday I went to Rio de la Plata with my friends Lily and Hilary from GW. We walked down this board walk and it happened to be the same day all of the Navy was heading out to sea. I must say, I got a little bit teary eyed when I saw mothers saying goodbye to their sons, couples crying and hugging, and fathers playing with their kids. It was very cool to see all the huge ships and sailors in uniform. We got a huge lunch and some Margaritas/Bloody Marys. We ended up meeting up with Ryan and going back to Lily and Hilary's apartment. Another friends Max met up with us there and we sat around and played card games and drank a little bit. After taking the Subte (subway) back to my house, I took a little cat nap and then met up with Megan, Abigail, and Daniella. We went to a bar called, "Jobs" that was HUGE. There were tons of pool tables and even Archery! It was our friend Amanda's 21st birthday at midnight, so we all bought her some shots and birthday cake! She started crying because she felt so special and loved..... or maybe because of the alcohol... haha She even took a turn at Archery, which was probably extremely unsafe but funny nonetheless. I even met a guy who went to St. Pius at the bar! Small world, right?

Then today I woke up early in the morning and went over to the IES center and hopped on some buses to La Bombonera--The Boca Juniors soccer stadium! We took a tour of the stadium and even went into the locker room and stood on the field. Another major highlight of my trip so far! I have to go to a match there! It was Amazing!

Like I said, this entire time has been incredible and I know there is just more to come!