I met these amazing charismatic and fun Ukrainian Canadian sisters that are from Edmonton at my hostel. They were returning from Uruguay and I heard much of them in counting down to their arrival back. The one girl, Olenka, was supposed to just go on a holiday with her sister, Larissa, which turned into her phoning her mom saying that she is going to not go to school and use her tuishion to travel until Christmas. The other sister is recently done school I think, but also going home for the holidays. I felt better about going home too because it will be a nice little break from on-the-go backpacking. Larissa and I have talked about doing Central America after Ukrainian Christmas and going south to where we left off (Peru-ish).
That same night I met up with a guy named Tony to confirm some plans… the plan to travel together and our route north. He’s a pretty rad guy. Australian and greek and tall and could probably kick some ass if need be, which could be useful.
The original plan was to go to Uraguay for a couple days, comer back to Argentina. Do Iguazu Falls for a few days, then north to Salta. Do the salt flats and be in Bolivia for a bit; La Paz etc...Then off to Chile, go to the capital, Santiago, see what else, and then north to Peru. Obviously Machu Pichu in Peru, maybe Lima for a day (heard not so good things), but Cuzsco. From there Tony will be continuing North, but I will be flying back to Argentina to do Patagonia (aparently it is better to do in the summer). Then home for me and reasses everything.
So obviously I got super pumped…. And realized I should probably do some spanish classes, which meant switch my hostel in order to focus better. The Brazilian girls were leaving the Sunday too, so another reason to move forward.
I ended up looking at some hostels for relocating and found this really beautiful one, which actually wasn’t too far from the one I was at and the SCHOOL I decided to choose to start taking intensive one week lessons for. I got a little weird vibe at the place though, like people were a bit older and really kept to themselves, which is okay, but it was borderline unfriendly (a couple of the staff members too, or maybe this one in peticular). It was quiet, which is what I needed, so I booked it.
I decided to go to this crazy club for my lastnight. It was called ClubOne. I got a wristband, so free entry and we had a room on the second floor with free champagne and SPEED (energy drink there) haha. It was pretty wild and in a big old mansion... and by big, I mean it fit 2,000 people in it. I don’t know if it’s every Sunday, but I think it was this SPEED energy drink promotion party, so whatever drink you ordered, it had to be with SPEED haha. Kinda sucked, but pretty hilarious when you thought about everyone being on this stuff.
I woke up, packed the rest of my bag and put it in storage. I loaded up on the complimentary breakfast and went to the school to try and register and start classes... that morning. It’s called Expanish and is very legit. They gave me a notebook and a free empanada lunch! So saying that you now know I sweet talked my way in. I looked so keen and ready to start, they couldn’t of turned me down. It was a very long day because they also had to arrange a private tutor for me, which was a little later the first day, since I registered so last minute. Class from 9-1, 3 hour break, which allowed me to get my bags and sign in to the other hostel, eat, and come back. Then 2 hours of private lessons. Phew!
It was kinda weird because I wanted alone time, I got it, and didn’t know what to do with it. I didn’t have access to the internet really, because the computers were down at my hostel.
Paula was the name of my teacher, who was pretty cool along with being an adorable ginger girl. We get two coffee breaks during our class and there were 5 students in total. One was my girlie friend name Holly, who used to work in Real Estate in England, super nice chica. We had a New Yorker named Moses, who is just starting his career in law and actually travelled in India before this. I thought he was going to be a dick, but he’s actually pretty nice and funny. Lesson: not all lawyers are assholes, but generally they all dress well. There was a German guy, who lived in Ethiopia for a while and now is driving through South America. A malaysian guy, who barely speaks English. An “actor” from L.A., who gets mexican or latin roles, but doesn’t know spanish, so that’s why he wants to learn it... and me. Pretty diverse class, but we all fit together pretty well and told jokes a bunch still. I actually cry-laughed in class one time. I’ll sum it up, but numbers are difficult in spanish (for me anyway) and we had to play this number game, while passing a ball. But it got pretty hard when we had to add and subtract and then say the correct number in Spanish in the hundreds. People couldn’t catch or say the numbers, so it was just rediculous.
The next day I checked out and trekked with my backpack to the new hostel where Tony was staying at to store it (so it would already be there when I was done class). I ate the free breakfast and left for my lessons.
Hostel Obelisco.
After a pretty good class, I My last full night in Buenos Aires, we went to this famous restaurant named La Cabrera, which was recommended by all the travel books. I ate some delicious and luscious meat; I pretty much could cut it with a butter knife! Steak serloin and this other steak. They came with salad and all these sides. In Canada, maybe another reason for being vegetarian was that the meat just sucked too. Nothing compares to this meat. It’s just so good! We went to this pretty awesome Irish-like pub in San Telmo. It had 3 areas. The first pub part, then WALK through the kitchen into the second was a pool area, and the third one was outside in a atrium like place. It was really neat and felt like a bar in Toronto on Queen West.
La Cabrera (forgot my camera, so this is an example of the meal I had, not the actual one)
Before the restaurant, Tony suggested why not instead of Uraguay we got to Cordoba for Oktoberfest! This meant we could continue west to Mendoza, where all the vineyards are, and then into Chile from there.
Woke up for my last day of classes. It was a long day, but I definitely got to know everyone and enjoyed their company. Holly was my ultimate gal pal, and Moses the lawyer added some comedy and a cute smile. We ended up going to a recommended vegetarian lunch buffet at this amazing place called Granix. It was SO good to have some vegetables and fruit in my diet. I do have them with meals, but it’s definitely not in the amounts of proportions I would prefer. I was extremely full and had to hurry back to make it in time for my last private lesson. Rodrigo was a hilarious guy and great tutor. Thank you for helping me and making it fun! I will make sure it sticks!
I graduated and got a certificate.
Afterwards I walked with Holly to meet up with Moses at a bookstore named Walrus. It was mostly filled with English classics and contemporary works. I picked up the Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges and the Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. Thank you Moses for your suggestions, gift, good laughs and nonsense. I’m glad we have the same sense of humor about number games with no point to them. Maybe a New York visit will be in the works.
Later that night, Tony and I went to the bus station and tried to buy a ticket to Cordoba. It was pretty intimidating, since the bus station was pretty much the size of a mini airport. We got one pretty alright and got a semi casa.
It was pretty pimp. We got the first seat on the second floor of the bus and it felt like an amusement park ride! We got champagne on our arrival and dinner and breakfast included. Greyhound buses should look into this. I slept most of the way, so our overnight, save on accomodation method, worked! We will definitely do this again.
We show up to Cordoba and get to our hostel to check in.
Cordoba backpackers.
After getting settled, we went to the town of Oktoberfest. It was another pretty much 2 hours bus ride, but it was worth it because the mountains and lakes and landscapes were really beautiful. We arrived, we got steins and hats, met up with others and we drank. And we drank. And then I ate Troy Pan sausage. It was delicious, but super salty; therefore, I drank more. It was super awesome because it was located IN a forest! Wood chips on the ground and surrounded by trees. Very beautiful. Oh, and there was other cultural shows going on too. There was a Palestinian dance and ALSO a Ukrainian one!!! I definitely began to shout and let everyone know I was Ukrainian. Aparently at this Oktoberfest it is a known performance too! The girls and the guys did a dance and then separate and then together again. Everyone was cheering, someone wanted a picture of me with them, and I also got a married propsal. All in 20 minutes. Not too bad eh?
Tony and I caught the bus back, slept the entire way, I got a popsicle, and then went back to the hostel to sleep in. I finally got full amounts of sleep! Yaaayy!
We walked around town and noticed it was too quiet. On Sundays, even in Buenos Aires, stores and places are mostly closed. There was a modern art gallery that rediculously cheap and was gorgeous architecture. I definitley had a happy and appreciative moment in the translucent staircase with all natural light coming in.
From there we went to this sweet park and that was where people were hiding! Live music and people renting paddle boats that were a little old. It was pretty hilarious to see all these people really enthusiatic about these old paddle boats.
We went to some markets and enjoyed a quieter night here in Cordoba. Next: off to Mendoza on an overnight bus again.
I ran into a pane of glass lastweek and thought I broke my nose. It was swollen and I got a bruise, but today everything finally looked okay (still a little bruise though). Phew!
I am really enjoying my travels so far and can’t wait to see the Mendoza vineyards!!!
Hope all is well with everyone xox
Nos Vemos!
No comments:
Post a Comment