May

May began with the North Trip, upon my return to Catamarca began the post-exchange student trip depression. Which I guess was worse this time round seeing that we knew it was the end and the last trip we would be spending all together.

Above are just some pictures of some of the highlights from the Trip. Then it was back to the grind and back to school. AS soon as I unpacked I was yet again packing to go to Antofogasta de la Sierra, a place in the province of Catamarca. The county has over 220 volcanoes and the world´s longest salt flat. I went with my geography classmates so that was an interesting experience. We went for a long four day weekend. It´s an extremely isolated place. with a small population. So another purpose of our visit was to help kids at the school there. It was a really cool trip. But it was so cold there, like actually cold and living in the Catamarca sun for the past year I´ve turned into a lazy cat and I can´t handle the cold anymore. The girls who I traveled with took a lot of pictures, which usually doesnñt bug me because it´s like on the North or South Trip everyone takes pictures and whatever, however they took too many pictures. They would take pictures of everyone eating, or just over pose for things, or just always beg for me to be in the picture because i was foreign or beg me to say things in English so that they can record a video, or just record videos of people saying hi to the camera. Which I handled for the first two days but by the end it drove me insane. I had to tell them, don´t take anymore suprise photos of me, or photos of me sleeping on the bus, please don´t. It may have been a little saucy to say it, but I explained I don´t like being IN pictures. Saturday we went to the museum and walked around, which didnt take long considering its size haha. We also did a four by four expedition to the Campo de Piedra Poman which are these rock formations form Volcanic rock, but these rocks are white. There were rocks of all colors in Antofogasta. The next day we went to The Volcanoe called Antofogasta and we climbed it. I was so proud of myself because usually I have huge problems hiking in high altitudes, but I actually felt rather comfortable during this one and we reached a height of about 3,800m above sea level. Then later we went to go check out some indigenous drrawings and artifacts. The next morning we went to visit the school and donate clothes to the children and just talk to the kids. It was really nice to give back, and these kids are so happy with so little. Antofogasta literally has no luxuries, they just have the soccer field. Once we got back to Catamarca Capital we went to work on Folklore. We were preparing a presentation for the Rotary District Conference as a group and we had to dance Folklore. We learned how to dance two dances and have the traditional costumes. It went rather well but of course I wish we had better planning because we had to learn everything in 6 classes and I missed one because of Antofogasta. So after preparing we left for Cordoba on Friday. We were invited to the house of our teacher where her dad prepared us some delicious traditional italian food. And that was also when I got to meet Sarah´s Family (from New Mexico) It turns out that her mom was actually born an Ohio girl, raised in Centerville. Then we went together to the bus to go to Cordoba and then our journey was so typical Argentina. We left the main plaza relatively on time, then all of a sudden we were going off in a weird direction, that wasn´t the way to Cordoba. So we ended up in the city dump (city owned the bus we were using) and we waited an hour for them to change the spare tire. Then we start heading back to the main plaza again, to pick up the insurance papers of the van, we were tired of waiting so we ran to go get ice cream at the corner. Then we finally get on the highway to go to Cordoba, only to turn around and for the driver to announce there was no fuel. So we went back adn filled up before ACTUALLY leaving for Bel Ville in Cordoba. So we had a crazy bus ride since it was so uncomfortable in there and i was sitting next to tall people so there was no extra space. Then we arrived in Bel Ville and met up with the exchange Student living in La Rioja, and settled into the Hotel. The next morning we were prepared with blazers and practicing our dance, and saying hi to all the exchange students. Then we did our Folklore Presentation which actually went fairly well. Then after some more presentations and lots of pictures we were preparing to leave. Then we had to say goodbye and go back to Catmarca. We were all a wreck. I was crying and saying goodbye to everyone. Everyone was saying "I´ll visit you" "I Can´t believe it´s over". Then someone said "I´ll see you off at the airport in Cordoba" and I said " but I´m leaving from Catamarca" and I cried even more! It was the definate end. It hit me like a wall. I couldn´t believe it, the year was ending, I had 7 weeks left in Argentina. After all of the Sadness and coming back to Catamarca, I watched the Boca game with friends (soccer tournament is going on here, and Boca´s my team) We won 2-0 against Racing. Which was good, then Monday and Tuesday I spent more time with Sarah and her Family going to cafes, and just chilling (what we´re best at here in Argentina). Then It´s the last week now of two of my closest exchange friends so we are doing a list of last things. Like last time going out to dance, last time going to this nice restaurant. I´m going to be a wreck when they leave. It´s hard to think about. I also changed families again this weekend since my other family went to Europe. I ended up changing to a completely different family than they had told me origionally, which is so Argentina, but They are really nice people and I hope I can stay at their house for the remainder of my exchange. :)

April! and North Trip

April started out with me going to the University to study Geography. I like it alot becuase unlike the normal student at the University since I have a limited time to study here they let me choose my classes. This means I am mixing the years and the levels so I´m becoming everyone´s classmate and learning all kinds of things. I´m taking Geography of Argentina, of Catamarca, or NOrth and South America, Climatology, Geomorphology, and Philosophy. I like all of my classmates, they´re very kind and helpful when I need something. I also like the University atmosphere because it´s a true representation of the real catamarca. I say this because I feel somethimes that when one goes to a private school here in Argentina you really only get to know one group of people, or one class, whereas in the University they have all types. I also like that generally the students are more serious about their work, because in the high schools here EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE cheats. But at the same time there is something a little strange about starting the school year at University here, there are constant strikes to raise wages but these strikes are not for consecutive days. Its like Classes carry on as usual and then maybe Tuesday there is strike but then you wont have another strike day until the next week. Its very sparatic and weird. Another plus about being a university student is that I go to classes after lunch, which means I can sleep in! This in effect means a happy Laura. The only down side is this means I dont really have time to hang out with friends day to day for very long, but on most days I finish by 7 so sometimes I meet friends in the center for a coffee or just to hang for a few hours until I have to be home for dinner. In other news I spent the early part of this month organizing myself for the North Trip, and helping others do so. So the first 20 days in April was all hype about the north trip, me Packing and preparing, and double checking. Then finally the day came when we actually departed Catamarca for Cordoba to start the trip. We arrived in Cordoba at 6am, and needless to say the 6 hours on the bus I couldn´t sleep properly. In fact at one point I fell asleep with my face in the headrest and my bum in the air. Needless to say I woke up with several pains. We then had a nice breakfast in the terminal and met up with the other students who came from other Areas of Argentina. We then were preparing to leave and then it became apparent that this trip would be a lot more different than the one to the south. We would be taking two buses. 70 exchange students, much more than the 55 on the previous trip. The buses were divided by district so the Patagonia sitrict was on the small bus (about 22 students), while our district was on the large double-decker bus. Once we left Cordoba the craziness began. We all had so much energy and were so excited to be all together again that we didn´t get much sleep on the bus. We spent the night on the bus and woke up in the province of Misiones. Misiones is a subtropical climate and the first thing we got off to see was a mine. The Minas de Wanda, Apparently this family bought a piece of land and then they found an old mine there and they just decided to open it up and let tourists go in and see all of the crystals. going inside the mine was pretty cool, and they even had a formation that you could stick your hand in and stick your camera in a different part and it would take a picture of your hand touching all of the amatheyst crystals. We were all fascinated and jumping around with out bob the builder hard hats. But the real cool part was the gift shop. The amazing part was how many different colored semi precious stones there were. There were all kinds of things that were there, rocks cut in certain ways to show off the different layers in the stone, rocks joined with several other rocks to make a rock tree, windchimes that were so colorful, keychains, necklaces, and then just the rocks. It was cool and I bought some stuff and then the tour guide gave us each a tiny piece of quartz which was a nice little token. I also liked the fact that because of the geography classes I am taking at the University I followed his little talk about the formations quite well. Our next stop was what I had been waiting to see for many years, the city of Puerto Iguazu. Well I hadnt exactly been waiting to see the city for many years, but I knew the next day we would see the world famous Iguazu falls! Iguazu falls is on the border of Argentina and Brazil and in recent years has been declared one of the new Seven Natural Wonders of the World. So needless to say I was quite excited to get near the falls, and then our group coordinator told us there was an optional excursion: take a boat ride under the falls, and tour a little bit of the river. At first I was like no I dont really want to do that because it´ll just be like the boat in Niagra and you get a little wet and then turn around. Then he puts on the video of the kids who did it last year (yes these double decker buses have flat screen tvs) and the boat was more like a glorified high speed raft and the kids were all in their bathing suits, and they got really wet by multiple water falls and then went down the river. After seeing that and quickly contemplating the extra 260 pesos. I said Yes, I did what every exchange student does the "well you only live once" or the "I´m only here once" YOLO for short. It was so worth it, especially since the people from the US, Canada, Mexico, and Australia we couldnt go to the Brazilian side the next day (without paying a ridiculous amoount of money) so I knew this was my one chance to see the falls up close. So the next morning we all got on the bus ready to go to Iguazu National Park, cameras ready, swimsuits ready, and sunglasses ready. We divide into groups with tour guides and we get tags that say which group we are- blue or green. Then it became a joke between me and my Aussie friend to act like the badge was an FBI badge and use the sunglasses and say "Step aside, I´m with the Bureau". Then we were going down the pathway and as we kept going we could start to hear water. What is special about Iguazu is that it is really several different waterfalls, whereas in Niagra there are actually only three waterfalls. In Iguazu the amount of land that is protected (in both Brazil and Argentina) is about the size of Holland to give you a picture of exactly how large this park is. As we approached the main falls we passed several small waterfalls. After passing each one I got more excited. Then finally the momoent came that we actually reached a viewing point to see a huge section of the falls. It was perfect, a clear day, rainbows everywhere, and the georgeous palms by the waterfall. Everyone on facebook has said "wow! what great pictures!" but the truth is that Argentina is such a beautiful place that it´s not hard to take beautiful pictures, the picture saves a moment, a memory but it´s nothing compared to being right there next to such an incredible thing of nature. Iguazu is truly one of the wonders of the world. I could just stay there and watch the falls forever. Later on we got to do the boat ride which was really fun. Later on we went on the park´s train to get to the waterfall which is called "the devil´s throat", that waterfall has an impressive amount of water, its not one of the skinny little falls, its a big one, its the one right on the border with Brazil. The next day, Us people from North America, plus the Aussie couldn´t go accross the border to Brazil so we went to an animal park instead. We saw native birds, monkeys, and other wildlife. Misiones is so different because it is subtropical but also the color of the earth is like a red-orange which is why they call it Tierra Colorada or Colored Earth. I really liked being in such a different place and the hotel we were in even had a pool so needless to say it was nice to get some sun, in contrast to the South trip when no one would even think about going swimming in one of those cold lakes. So when we left Iguazu we spent another night aboard the bus and we woke up in Pumamarca, Jujuy. If you google "Sierra de siete colores" Or the "cliff of seven colors" you´ll see what we went to see there. It was so cool. Jujuy was more like Catamarca climate wise, very dry with cacti and cold in the higher mountains. However the culture was more prominately indigenous. When we talked about Jujuy in Catamarca everyone says that oh it´s full of cuyos (indigenous people) and that it used to belong to Bolivia (Argentinians typically don´t show a positive sentiment to Chileans, Bolivians, Peruvians, or Paraguayans... I´ve been told it´s because Argentina´s population is mostly European so it´s just how they are) Pumamarca was really pretty and then we hit the market in the main square. We all went crazy because it was cheap, and I was still in warm clothes from Iguazu and I had to buy some llama or alpaca fur wintery clothes to warm me on the trip. So I bought the llama poncho/pullover, a scarf, A matching hat, and a CRAZY rainbow colored blanket (which I plan on keeping with me in my dorm in the future haha). So the whole shopping thing was fun especially since in the South I did practically no shopping since it was SO expensive, It was more expensive than the US for many things. And of course since we were with the Patagonia district everyone was like OMG look at the price of this, it´s so CHEAP! And I was like, um yeah that´s like the same price that would be in Catamarca... Then we made our way to Tilcara which was where we would be staying for two days. We settled in and later we went to go check out some Incan ruins and the nice mountains with lots of cacti. Our excursion the next day was to the big salt flats, or las salinas grandes in Jujuy. Which was super cool because of the altitude it was very high but when I heard we were going here I got very excited for a very specific reason. One of my favorite spanish bands is called Calle 13, and to their song Pa´l Norte (which talks about going to the North) they shot it in Jujuy and in the places we visited so I was like very happy in a very nerdy way. our next stop was Salta, the city, and it´s nickname is "la linda" or the "pretty". It was areally nice city, a little smaller than the population of Columbus and what was cool about it was that their buildings and architecture is very well preserved by law, our hotel was right in the center and the main square was so nice and filled with history. Like the Cathedral was actually visited by Pope JP2. The day after we did an excursion to Cafayate which was really cool because on the road there there were so many different rock formations and cool things to see. Once we actually got to Cafayate we went to a winery where we had a tour, tasting, and then we had free time to poruse the markets and the center in which I tried Wine Ice cream which was actually quite refreshing. Then after just chilling we woke up early the next day to make our way to Tucuman. Tucuman is like the closest Large city to Catamarca, and it was really nice. We really only went to the center and then to the Casa Historica or the equivalent of Independence Hall. I really enjoyed that part because I learned alot about their revolution against Spain and I was the last exchange student out of the museum haha everyone else rushed through but I was so fascinated I read almost everything in there. The center of Tucuman is also very nice and they have the BEST ICE CREAM I´ve had in Argentina directly off the main plaza, so naturally we got a lot of it. Then we headed to La Rioja which was a long drive so we stopped for Dinner at a cool place in Santiago del Estero, and then we slept on the bus overnight again but we actually drove through Catamarca while everyone was asleep. We woke up in the Valle de la Luna which is located at the border of the provinced of San Juan and La Rioja. Valle de la Luna means Valley of the Moon, and it´s rightfully named so. I´d never seen a landscape like that on Earth. It was so strange, but cool. There were all kinds of rock formations, a Sphinx, a bunch of perfect spheres. It was almost like a dreamscape. Later on we stopped at one of the park´s buildings and apparently the world´s oldest dinosaur was found there. There were a bunch of fossils that were found there. Then we were chilling and checking into our hotel which was the nicest one that we had on the whole trip so it was a pity we only stayed there one night. It even had a pool and got hot enough during siesta for us to use it, although the water was too cold so we just stuck to sun bathing. The next morning we went to the National Park of Talampaya. It´s like the Grand Canyon but smaller, and it had cave drawings. It was really cool. I mean in the whole North there are all kinds of colorful rocks and rock formations that you´re never see in good ol´ohio. So naturally I took hundreds of pictures. Our final stop on the trip was Mendoza. Mendoza was so different from most Argentina cities. I really really enjoyed it, it was a much bigger city with lots of things to do and it was surrounded by the Andes and vineyards. It had a huge earthquake back in the beginning of the 20th century so a Frenchman redesigned the city. So it has the same romantic lamp lights as a French street corner, and shopping is much more a part of the culture. Then we went to a famous monument the "mountain of glory" which is really just a place for a sculpture to tell the story of the victory of San Martin and how he crossed the Andes and he helped the people be free from Spain and their opression. This monument is depicted on the 5 peso mark. So we did the city tour, and some shopping. Then we were chilling back at the Hotel and then Some exchange Students surprised me at midnight with a birthday cake and little gifts! I was so surprised and then it became a thing to write Happy Birthday in their native language on my arms. I had so much handwriting all over me. Then we also have the tradition of on the last day of the trip for people to write eachtother messages in a little book. And I got some really nice ones. It made me feel really appreciated and that my exchange was a great decision because I really did make friends for life here. Then we woke up in the morning to travel to the high mountains. We went to a pass to go to Chile and it was where the movie "Seven years in Tibet" was filmed because of course they couldn´t actually film it in Tibet. Then we had a little snowball fight. Which was loads of fun since it´s practically been a year of Summer for me, so I´ll never forget that but it was still a little weird to think that I was doing that on my birthday which has always been in Spring for me, never in Fall/Winter. After lunch and being sung Happy Birthday in like 6 languages we went to a winery where we had yeat another tour and wine tasting except this time they actually taught us how to properly taste wine. So we of course were enjoying it and making several "true story" and "like a sir" jokes. Later we went to the Mendoza mall as our last stop before the long drive to Cordoba. When I heard they had a McDonalds I went running. I was so stoked, It was my first bacon cheeseburger with bbq sauce in forever. I didnt even care that it was mcd´s because if you know me in the US I only eat mcd´s when it is the absolute last option. Needless to say it was an incredible birthday and I´ll never forget it :)