I've been super busy here in Buenos Aires lately. Classes are ending, and with that comes end of the semester papers and exams, which have been keeping me busy. However, I will be all done with classes a week from this coming Tuesday! And I go home 5 weeks from today - it's crazy how fast time flies!
Other than studying, I've been doing a lot. One day I went to Tecnopolis, a giant, outdoor science center thing (that's the best I can describe it) with some friends for a food festival. After a trip of about an hour and a half to get there, we wandered around all day trying all sorts of food. I also met a guy dressed up in a turtle suit named Raphael, who is a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, loves pizza, and asked me what a fanny pack is. I never thought I would end up describing fanny packs to a turtle in Buenos Aires, but it happened!
I've also spent my time going to various plays, movies, and even an opera here! IFSA (my program) a lot of times takes us to see plays and whatnot (for free!) so I've taken advantage of that and gone. Definitely a fun time! One of the theater-related things I went to was "La Bomba del Tiempo" (the time bomb). It's a bunch of guys on drums, improv-ing. There's a leader, and he gives out hand signals which all of the drummers understand and follow to create their music. It's spectacular! We also ran into a YouTube star while we were there, so we creepily took pictures of him from afar. Don't judge. This weekend I'm going to go see a ballet in the Teatro Colón with some friends, and I'm super excited! It's a beautiful, huge, super fancy theater and going there has been on my bucket list since I've gotten here.
The weather here has gotten really nice (it's spring!) so I took advantage of that one day and went to a park with some friends to rent bikes and enjoy the day. After biking, we explored the rose garden, which was beautiful. I'm so glad the weather is so nice here - it's going to be such a shock to return home to winter.
Last weekend I took a short trip up to Rosario to visit a family friend: a woman who studied in the US and lived with my uncle years ago. She showed me around the city, which is right on the river and very beautiful! We say the monument of the flag (where the Argentine flag was created), lots of the university buildings, some churches, a play, and even went to Oktoberfest! It was a packed, busy weekend but I really enjoyed it, and it was very nice of her to host me!
I've also found a milonga that I like to go to to tango! I really miss dancing all the time, like I do at home. It's such a great way to be active and to make friends with people, and it makes me happy! I'm planning on going back there this weekend.
The other day for a class I went to see a documentary about a woman who's parents were kidnapped and killed during the military dictatorship in Argentina during 1976-1983. I've been learning a lot about it in one of my classes, so it was really interesting to be able to hear a story first hand like this. The documentary was about the woman's search for what happened to her parents and her search for justice, and it was very moving. Afterwards, she talked to us more about it and we got to ask questions. I was so amazed at the strength she had to talk about all the tragedy in her life, and the strength to face it and share it with the world. It was one of the most meaningful experiences I've had here in Buenos Aires.
This isn't nearly all that I've been up to, but it's a good summary! My plans for the coming weeks are to finish classes, travel, travel more, and hang out with friends before we leave. I know time is going to fly by, so I'm going to make the most of it!
Here's a few pictures (sorry I've been slacking and keep forgetting to bring my camera with me):
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