THE CHARACTERS OF MY LIFE

Ladies and gentlemen, readers who never comment, I have only a matter of hours left in this wonderful country. I am currently running on 4 hours of sleep and I'm about to get about that amount tonight. It has DEFINITELY been an epic last week. So, currently I would like to do a run through of all the wonderful characters in my life her in Argentina. Some have photos, others do not. Enjoy.

INES HERCOVICH
My host mother. Nationally renowned sociologist who wrote the first academic work on how Argentine society perceives rape victims. Lover of opera, classical music, and cute clothes. Classiest woman I have ever met. The lady just radiates class, like it is in her aura. She is a widow and has been for 15 years, speaks fluent English and has more of a social life than I do! Wonderful woman, really. I got SO lucky with my host family.

NATALIE ASHBRIDGE

20 years old. Junior at Pennsylvania University in Philadelphia. Natalie enjoys studying as much as I do, has the same love of buying school supplies every year, and is pretty much as big of a nerd as I am. We both enjoy Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, and lots of chick flick movies. She is one Penn's Division 1 Crew Team, and between my Spanish and her sense of direction we have taken this city by storm!! I met her because she was sitting next to me on the flight from Miami to Buenos Aires and we have been pretty much inseparable ever since. She's definitely someone who I will be staying in touch with and I am so glad to have met her.

THE REST OF MY HOST FAMILY

Mariano and Natalia Bilinkis, Ines' two youngest children. Mariano is an electronic engineer who just finished mastering an album for one of the more famous bands in Argentina. He also plays in an electronica band, but I am not sure what he plays. Natalia is a pastry chef by trade, but I think she last worked in a travel agency. Both are great people, so much fun to talk to and with hearts of gold. Santiago Bilinkis, whom I mentioned in previous posts is 40 years old and is the coordinator of Staples for all of Latin America. He created the first business in Argentina that sold office supplies and guaranteed 24-hour delivery anywhere in Argentina. Ines did a GREAT job with her kids and they are nothing but points of pride for the family. Great people.

DARIO VACARRINI AND GABRIELA BONTEMPI

These two are the reason that my work with Argentinos Juniors went so incredibly well. I met Dario by coincidence, and when he heard that I was an American interested in Argentinos Juniors he made up his mind to make my experience with the team the best it could be. I came to Argentina not knowing anyone from the team, and I left feeling like I was leaving a family, and these two are the reason for it. They introduced me to so many people and provided me with so much useful information. I also left with a free centenial book (normally 80 pesos) and a free jersey as gifts from them. Their generosity and hospitality is absolutely incredible and I literally could not have pictured my 5 months in Argentina without them.

MARIO TREJO

Mario Trejo. What can I say about this man?? 83 years old and the biggest character you'll ever meet. I met him at Nestor Astarita's jazz concert, and he invited me and Natalie over for coffee. I kept in contact with him all 5 months I was in Argentina and even did a poetry reading in English for him at a prestigious poetry presentation at one of the premier book stores in the city. He's a renowned poet, and one of the deepest minds I met while in Argentina. He's failing mentally and physically but still has the wit of a 20 year old, but ask him to remember a name and he'll be thinking for 5 minutes before forgetting what you asked him to remember and then continue talking. He's "married", I put that in quotation marks b/c Natalie and I still don't know what kind of relationship they have, to a woman in her late 30s early 40s. And they're both just GREAT people. Sooo hospitable.

UNIVERSITY TORQUATO DI TELLA SOCCER TEAM

These ladies are soo funny. It's a small picture from a game that wasn't the best, but they were just such a group that we found reason to celebrate anyway!!! We got knocked out of the championships at the semis, but most still left smiling!! From left to right, me, Elizabeth, Dani, Jess, Giselle, Agustina on the top row, from right to left on the bottom, Karla, Maria, Paula, Vicky, Alejandra, and Flor. Luli and Karolina weren't there. I'll miss Tuesday and Thursday practices, but we had some GREAT times.

THE REST OF MY ARGENTINOS JUNIORS FAMILY

This is from the Museum Inauguration. The president, Luis Segura, is top row third from the right. All of these people spent nights putting the museum together, and some even agreed to be interviewed for my paper! It was a great experience, and I am so glad that I met every one of them.

My Vacation from My Vacation: Mar Del Plata

So for those of you who thought that studying abroad was one fiesta/siesta after another...when one chooses to "study" abroad (as oppposed to "party" abroad) it can get kind of hectic!! So, after having submitted my thesis on Argentinos Juniors for a grade, I took a couple of days and went to the beach to relax!! Mar del Plata is located in the province of Buenos Aires along the coast line but much farther south. In all it was a 5-6 hour trip to get there.

It's definitely a city that just happens to have beaches (think Miami or Los Angeles) and has loads of other life other than the beach. That had its good side and its bad side. The good side was that the city was still very much alive even though it's not yet prime beach season here in Argentina, and the bad side is that it wasn't exactly the serene beach get-away that I had anticipated.

I stayed in a hostel called the "Hostel Urbano", and for 85 pesos a night (a little more than US$20) I had my own room plus a private terrace! Granted I didn't have any parties on that terrace or anything, but it's still something cool to say. Hahaha. So basically for three days I did what I wanted when I wanted and just relaxed. I got there Monday and walked along the coast a little before taking an EPIC nap. I got tickets to a ballet at the Colon Theater (and no, Mom not like colon your intestine... :-P) which was good! Let's just say it's one of the few ballets that have kept me completely interested the whole time. I'm not qualified to judge the dancing but it did peak my interest.

After, I met up with this guy that drove the taxi that took me from the bus station to the hostel and he invited me out for dinner. He was a nice guy and overall he made me feel pretty comfortable, considering I had never met him, until he suggested we go back up to his place. He had originally wanted to eat at his place, but since I would never ever do that I convinced him to eat on the beach. We had pizza on the beach the first night and he kept saying like "Why don't you come up for a while?" and then I knew it was time to leave. Interesting conversation but like I'll only take certain risks when traveling alone.

Tuesday I roasted out on the beach for a while. It was soo nice but REALLY windy. To the point where I left covered in sand like I'd been buried but all I had been doing was just sitting. Got a little bit of a tan though. Then I read a lot of my book "The Death of Artemio Cruz", and wrote some of my novel. At night I walked along the coast and found a good place to eat. I met this Argentine-American family, the daughter, the mother, and the grandmother were dining there too. yeah...they sent the gnocchi back TWICE because it wasn't how they wanted it and spent the rest of the time complaining in Span-glish about how horrible the food was. I personally had a GREAT meal. EPIC, I would say. Appetizer, wine, fresh squeezed orange juice, a plate piled high with sea food, and a delicious dessert. On the way back I REALLY had to use the bathroom, so I stopped in the casino thats right along the coast. The guy wouldn't let me past even to use the bathroom w/o ID! Luckily I brought my military ID with me. When I showed it to him he was like "Oh my god you're american!? I spent 3 years in NY where are you from? What are you doing here? How do you speak spanish so well?" I was like, sir, nice thought, HOLD IT TIL I USE THE BATHROOM. Ha. I did talk to him afterwards though.

Wednesday it poured so I slept til kingdom come. It was glorious. Then when it cleared up I walked around and saw some of the city!! Went to a museum and inside 2 churches. Then sat on the beach a while and read some more. I'm on page 98 of a book completely in Spanish. Yay!

Thursday I slept, did all my souveneir shopping, and walked along the beach some more. I love the beach. The waves are just soooo peaceful. And my bus left at 2:30PM. Didn't get back to Buenos Aires til 8:30...AND...I was almost robbed going from the bus station to the train station. Horrible neighborhood to be in at night, but I didn't have change for a 100 peso bill and Argentines are VERY touchy about breaking hundreds. So I risked it. They didn't get anything, it was something they try on tourists where they spill something on you (in this case a CRAPLOAD of mosquito repelent in lotion form) and while you're disoriented trying to figure out what happens they either approach you offering to help clean it or just pick pocket you in the process. Luckily I realized what it was right after I turned around and just started walking as fast as I could. They didn't get anything, but managed to cover the back of Natalie's vest in mosquito repelent. Needless to say Igot some very interesting looks on the train ride home.

And...what more do I have. Due to the decrees of the head of the Latin American Studies/Spanish department I will not be able to use the 31 pages I wrote on Argentinos Juniors for my thesis. This woman is, to put it lightly, difficult. Rather than fight her (because she was going to be my thesis advisor for this work) the whole semester, I moved to chose my topic so I could work with someone else. I am now researching whether or not the Union Patriotica in Colombia could be considered a legitemate political party or if it was just another branch of the FARC, Colombia's most powerful terrorist organization.

Fascinatingly deep topic. Will require another semester's work. Ugh. Oh well. Can't win them all, and at least I don't have to work with this lady.

The Buenos Aires Jazz Festival began last night and I'm off to hear some great jazz tonight! 7 more days, so look out for some fun-packed entries!