Contraband and Canoes

This is where I live! The window on the corner is my room!

Cenashow:
One of our activities last week was a cenashow, where people go to eat dinner and watch a Tango Show. It was a very classy event and I felt like a princess. I ate salmon, and saw the coolest (quite sexual) tango show. One lady danced a whole number with a blindfold on! I was like whoa!!!

Iguazu:
The Iguazu Waterfalls are beautiful. We walked along a trail to view them and at every corner there were more waterfalls. There was a huge storm the night before we arrived so the Falls were bursting! The parks are well-crafted because they give you opportunities to see the falls from above, below and the sides. So awesome. Unfortunately, I had hastily packed for the trip and forgot to bring pants. So, I wore the same sweatpants for the whole weekend, even though it was gorgeous 70 degree weather. But no worries, that didn't stop me from having tons of fun with Niha and Mateo and Aditya!

Contraband:
On our way to the waterfalls, I saw two mud-covered bread vans that popped up out of nowhere. I asked the taxi driver about them, thinking maybe it was a jungle-trekking adventure that we could go on, but he nonchalantly informed me that they were filled with onions and potatoes to be sold illegally in Argentina.

Canoeing:
Last Wednesday, the temperature was about 6 degrees Celsius. It was the coldest day we've had so far, and it also happened to be the day that the program decided to take us canoeing. Half the students opted out of the activity because of the chilly weather, but I joined the adventurous half who trekked out to Tigre to row along the Delta river (it's either called the Delta river or we rowed in the delta of the river, hehe.). It turned out to be really fun! There were some intense waves and it was def freezing, but luckily my friend Jordan had kindly lent me some warm clothes (because she lives right next to school), and I did have my REI down mittens with me! It also didn't hurt that the tour guides were extremely good looking and friendly locals of the Tigre area. : ) We went around some islands and saw the houses there too. When the tide is too high, the houses flood, and when it's too low, nobody can leave because the boats get stuck in the mud. We were also able to the see the roots of some huge trees because the tide was low and that was really cool because it's like a huge labyrinth of giant roots. We also stopped for tea and cake which was delicious, so delicious that the cats wanted some, but then the guides kicked them away.

End of the program:
I have finished my Spanish program at UDESA! There were a lot of presentations and exam-stuff to do, but now I am so happy to have free time for 2 weeks! We celebrated Thursday night by going to a Bar and then this guy got us into a boliche called Kika for free! I didn't stay long because the music was super loud, but a few friends and I chilled at a bar nearby.

The next night, I went out to Jack Flash, a bar in San Isidro. Allie's host siblings and I enjoyed some good drinks (one had chai tea and orange juice!) and dancing! We were out til 5am both nights, which is the norm here - when do people sleep??

Puerto de Frutos:
Tigre is also home to a huge market called Puerto de Frutos. They have everything from chairs to clothes to food. I got a shirt and some dance pants. I also met a man named Fer who wanted to sell me a very expensive boatride, and I didn't want to take the boatride but then he talked to me in Castellano (Spanish, here) for a long time anyway.

JFlo and LeRenzo
And I went out to Chinese food today! The food wasn't that great, but the conversation was! I also went out to Chinese food with my Argentine granny, but that food wasn't great either. I did make scallion pancakes for the fam though with harina integral - whole wheat flour!