El Boliche experience

Phew. It is sunday at 4:45 pm and I am still recovering from last night! the porteños sure know how to party. While i was enjoying ladies’ night, Cassidy was out with some new friends who go to Denver, including Elena. Lucky for the two of us, Elena (not my mom and not my big - a third relevant Elena in my life) lives in Belgrano, so the three of us took the metro to Palermo, which is the cool trendy area that us youngsters are likely to frequent. After a taxing day of brunching, buying jewelry and exploring, we were ready. We met up with more of Elena’s Denver friends, plus our dear Tulane friend Jordan.

After a gourmet meal of some tomatoes, cheese and vodka con Speed (Argentina’s red bull), we bar hopped in Palermo for a while then cabbed to Terrazas del Este, the infamous boliche everyone has recommended to us. Boliche = the porteño word for nightclub, basically. Keep in mind that at this point it is at LEAST 2am - if you go any earlier you are a total square. I sat shotgun and befriended the cab driver, of course. I’ve learned to take advantage of every possible chance to converse with the locals - they’re such a great resource not only for improving your Spanish, but also to learn more about the cool places to go/see/do/try in this crazy city. 

When we arrived, we thought the driver had taken a wrong turn. It’s super far away from everything else and is in a big warehouse looking place. To get in, you must pay 100 pesos, which is $8.33 USD if you exchange your benjamins at the right place. This fee includes a ticket for one free beer, but I’m about 62% sure that the beer they served would not be approved by the FDA.. que feo. It’s really nice that we don’t have to worry about getting carded here. One less thing to worry about (not that I have anything to worry about whatsoever). The place is absolutely enormous. There are several different bars and dance floors with separate DJs. The largest one features strobe lights (to my dismay)… for a portion of the night I considered putting on my sunglasses.. jajaja. However, it is safe to say we all killed it on the dance floor and had an amazing time!

One of the main things people warned me about the BA nightlife is how aggressive the boys can be. In my experience, they were all pretty friendly, but one did approach me with rather intense sentiments. This was when Elena’s friend Griff came in the clutch and pretended to be my devoted novio. Thank you Griff. I owe ya one.

Elena and I were two of the last of our friends still standing. I finally threw in the towel and cabbed home to Belgrano decently early. Oh, and when I say early, I mean early in the morning. When I say early in the morning, I mean 7am. Of course, when I walked through the door, sweet mama Elena greeted me with a giant glass of water and a smile. God bless that woman. I’m starting to think she never sleeps! I on the other hand have hardly moved, except to shower and eat the leftover empanadas Elena reheated for me. I’m going to have to join a gym before I have to buy a second seat on the plane ride home! But for now, I shall savor this down time.

 Until my next adventure, ciao for now besos xoxoxoxo

nelly

"Ladies Night"

Last night, Friday, we explored the other side of the city, walking all the way to the river, with a group of Tulane kids. It’s pretty cold out here, I mean it is winter, but I’m enjoying the brisk climate and it’s only going to get warmer from here. I felt like we were walking through several different cities because each area is different - we walked though a small and quiet neighborhood with cobblestone sidewalks and canopied trees, then it was as if we jumped on the other side of a map. Big city streets with a crosswalk almost as long as a football field, cars honking, enormous old buildings towering over us. The variety kept the long walk interesting and exciting. However, I hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in a week, so after taking the 20 minute metro ride back to Belgrano, I was ready for a serious siesta.

It was only 6pm, so dinner wasn’t for another 3-4 hours. Elena was hard at work on her famous empanadas - let me tell you, these things are dangerously good. I offered to help but in reality I know less than nothing about the art of the empanada, so I did the the important job of supervising. Elena made empanadas de carne, which had meat, eggs, raisins, herbs and spices, etc. It was an interesting combo, in a good way of course. A very good way. She also prepared empanadas de choclo, which looks like mashed potatoes but is made with corn and is kind of sweet. The entire time, Elena had rollers in her hair which cracked me up. She’s as tall as my shoulders, and I’m only 5’4’’ so pretty much everything she does is just the cutest.

While Felice and Elena folded the empanadas, we drank malbec (the big red wine of Argentina) and told tales of boyfriends past. Lol. Later, Claudia, one of Elena’s daughters, arrived and the party started. Because it was a special occasion, (occasion: Felice is leaving in two weeks/ I arrived/ who doesn’t love ladies’ night?) we set the table and ate in the dining room. We expected two more guests, Elena’s friend and her 25 year old daughter, but they arrived later, so the four of us enjoyed lots of empanadas and lots of wine. Elena likes to put granulated sugar on her empanadas de carne… I don’t get it but do yo thang girl. We talked and laughed for hours, and when the other two ladies arrived we repeated the process, this time with limoncello - ay Dios. I tried my best to keep up with the conversations flying around at a rapid pace - it was so enjoyable that I didn’t realize we were still seated at 3 in the morning!!! I retired to my room around 3:30, face planted and remained in such position for about 9 hours.

I’m up, I’ve had my cornflakes and fruit, and I’m ready to conquer the new world I’m living in! It’s definitely time to get some exercise, phew. Ciao for now!

Besos, Nelly

first post!!

Hi y'all! (or hi Mom because you might be the only one reading...lol)

This is my first EVER blog post, and I'm pretty pumped, to understate.

I'm also a blog-noob, so approach with caution...

Last week, my dear friend Missy and I decided to title my blog "la vidorra." This is a Spanish word that means "the easy life," or "the life you're meant to live." This perfectly describes the excitement and anticipation I have for the 5-month long adventure I have FINALLY begun!!!

I'm especially looking forward to my trip because of the way I have spent my summer. For those of you who haven't heard about my summer in New Orleans, I have completed Tulane's Business Summer Minor Institute (BSMI). To summarize, you earn your entire business minor in ten weeks. In short, the struggle was real. Super thankful for this vast upgrade.

Anyway, I honestly am having a really hard time putting my ridiculous level of happiness into words. I have so many people to thank for this wonderful, special opportunity. You know who you are. I have been counting down the days til my arrival for a super long time and it is such an incredible feeling to finally be living this dream!

Today is Friday. Let's rewind a bit. On Monday I took two finals in accounting and legal studies. My mom came to help me pack up and celebrate my departure, then saw me off on Tuesday afternoon. After a long, sleepless flight (WAY too excited to sleep), I arrived in Buenos Aires on Wednesday morning. I was greeted by a man holding a sign with my name on it which obviously made me feel super important. I actually arrived a day late, so the driver dropped my luggage off at my new home and took me straight to orientation.. talk about hitting the ground running!

Orientation is located at "El Círculo Italiano" which is located in Recoleta, one of BA's largest neighborhoods. It's a really beautiful old building where we learn about the classes we can take, safety and many other exhilarating topics! It's really not so bad though because we have ample time in between sessions to explore BsAs. Even in a few short days, my friends and I have walked about, tasted the delicious coffee, mastered the subway/metro, improved our spanish skills, and most importantly, fallen in love head-over-heels with this place.

Buenos Aires is enormous. And gorgeous. And magical. And perfect. Did I mention I love it here? I was a little apprehensive about the people here, but as it turns out everyone has been extremely welcoming and warm to all of us Americans, or Estadounidenses en Español. The city itself looks rather European. There are lots of busy streets with little alleyways, shops and treasures tucked away. 

There's something about this place... even here at day three I am immediately reminded of my literary boyfriend (Ernest) who said, "If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast." I think that's exactly why they call Buenos Aires "the Paris of South America."

Now I want to brag a little bit on my home stay mom, Elena. She is the most wonderful, selfless, fun-loving, adorable woman I have met in a long time. Rebecca, my friend from Tulane, came to BA last year and lived with Elena, then set the two of us up. I don’t know how I got so lucky! Rebecca, can’t thank you enough for your constant support and help! Elena fixes me cornflakes and half a banana with some coffee each morning. (the coffee here is, for lack of a better word, dank bomb). I get dressed, she makes sure my outfit will keep me warm enough, and she sends me on my merry way. When I return, we sit together with Felice, another American (actually the smartest girl I’ve ever met) living with Elena. The two of them have been so lovely and patient with my slower-paced Spanish skills. Felice has lived in Argentina for 4 years; if she hadn’t told me she’s American, I would have assumed she was born here, aka a porteña. 

Elena and I are getting along famously. When I went out with my friends on Thursday night, I got home at 3:30am. Apparently that’s pretty early here! When I walked in, Elena was in the kitchen excitedly exclaiming, “COMO FUEEEE??” (or, HOW WAS ITTTT????) I feel very much at home already. Oh, and did I mention I befriended her cat, Mimí? For those of you who know me well enough, me thinks hell has frozen over… luckily I’m only allergic to orange cats, so Mimí likes to cozy up and sleep on my chest. Ain’t that the darndest thing?

I'm thrilled to be taking a stab at this blog so I can share my experience - el éxito, el miedo, la felicidad, todo. I'll do my best to add updates whenever I can! In the meantime, Cassidy and I are going to explore our adorable neighborhood, Belgrano.  CIAO!

Besos, Nelly (my inevitable Latin American name)