This weekend I spent time in Mendoza, Argentina, a six-hour drive away from Santiago. The drive to Mendoza was half the journey, as you drive through tunnels and mountains and vineyards to get from one city to the other.
This weekend was slightly less adventure filled than the other trips I have taken in Chile, but nevertheless very much needed after mid-terms. My friend and I arrived on Friday morning around 5am, and sat down in a hot-dog shop until our hostel opened. Are hostel was way cool, decked out in super hero murals, a retro foose ball table and a swimming pool, which we definitely took advantage of. Everyone staying there was either Australian or Irish, and pretty much on an 8 month to year long tour of the world. We sat down with the Australians one night, and I tried some cow intestines from their barbecue. Not that bad. The inside part tasted like pâté and the outside like beef jerky.
Our first day in Mendoza consisted of shopping and eating. Argentina has so much better shopping than Chile. First of all, their peso is incredibly lower than the dollar. So basically, anything you would want to buy was somewhat affordable. Second of all, the Argentine style and quality is soooo much better than the confusingly grungy Chilean style. The conversion math was quite easy too. Say you wanted a meal combo of a steak, potatoes and a glass of wine. The total price was 9 pesos. Sounds good for 9 dollars right? Well divide 9 by three, and that’s the dollar amount. So basically we got a huge steak dinner with potatoes and a beverage for 3 dollars.
The Argentines praisin in the Park:
The second day, we had to give some Chilean goods (Chilean mariscos (shellfish) and Vino (wine)) to Cherise’s host mom’s friend who lives in Mendoza. Tito and Nany (the family that we delivered the goods to). Picked us up and decided to take us to lunch. They took us to a really fancy restaurant with a not so fancy name “Mr. Frogs”. We tried some good wine and walked around a very expensive mall. After that we wanted to see their house, so they took us too their house and fed us some Argentine Grapefruit soda and alfajores.
Their house was gorgeous. Tito and Nany are basically the coolest South Americans I have met. Nany is originally from Santiago and Tito is from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Both of them moved to Miami without any American connections, established themselves, found each other and got married and had a beautiful daughter, Nicole. Tito LOVES the US, he wouldn’t stop talking about how much he loved the US. It was incredibly interesting to see how passionately someone loves the opportunity the US offers. Most of the time, all you hear about are complaints of the US’s hegemony and monopolization of the weaker countries. I think Tito had tears in his eyes when he was telling us his story. Tito is also Italian, so he reminded me a lot of my Nono, with his white hair, blue eyes and large midsection haha.
Ok so their house was the most American house I have seen in South America, obviously. They designed a beautiful modern Florida style house with stainless steel everything, tile everywhere and dark wood furniture. For dinner, Nany fed us homemade spinach empanadas and cholgas (muscles). It was so amazing how welcoming and genuine they were. (Oh yeah, they moved back to Argentina 2 years ago, after 15 years in the US).
Another thing about Argentina is they speak so much more clearly and slowly than Chileans. I had absolutely no trouble understanding anything from any Argentine. Their food is better, their clothes are better, and I think I found them warmer than Chileans as well. I think I would have chosen Argentina to study abroad rather than Chile, because of the slow economy, language and Tango. But I’m still glad to be in Chile, especially because my university is more prestigious and organized than any in Argentina, Chile’s famous seafood, and the abundance of outdoor activities and the majestic sights out in the montañas.
Well in Santiago, not much has been going on. I study way too much here, according to my housemates, of which I have two new ones.
So basically in Chile, I’ve lived with a person from every Western European nation other than Ireland, Spain and Portugal.
Other than that, I’ve been choreographing a dance that I am going to get to perform at my church next week. It’s the Spanish version of the song, “No Greater Love” by Rachel Lampa. I’m very excited, especially because I kind of prayed for that opportunity about 4 months ago, forgot about it, and was all the sudden invited to perform. So that’s all for now…. You can look forward to emails coming about Buenos Aires and Colonia, Uruguay, and our 5 day hike in Patagonia!
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