We (everyone except Patrick who got stopped by the bus driver for not having his tourist visa paper thingy) left Tuesday night, so we didn't get to see much of the mountains on the ride into Argentina, but the stars that we saw through the window were amazing. We arrived early Wednesday morning just as the sun was coming up. (Side note: I think I know why Americans sometimes get a rep for being rude: they don't expect anyone to understand English around them. Behind Taylor and me there was a loud baby and outside a bunch of people taking pictures. Without thinking, we were complaining a bit before we left the station, and were surprised when she responded in English: [they're taking so many pictures] because they're family. Oops! Haha) Somewhere in the middle of the ride we were stopped at the border to get our bags and passports checked. Everything went pretty smoothly, but it was really cold. (And the bathrooms were gross.)When we arrived in Mendoza, we looked around the bus station thingy a bit and got some breakfast while waiting to check into the hostel which was only about 5 minutes away. We finally checked in and got our rooms. Veronica and I had our first room upstairs with a separate, but thankfully private, bathroom (though it was no dream bathroom either). There were two computers there that people could use on the rare occasion that they were available. Ron checked his email and Pat was able to find his paper and was going to leave that morning meaning he would arrive in the afternoon.After we got settled in, we talked a bit as to what we wanted to do and walked around the city a bit, and exchanged some money. We set some things up with an excursion agency--four of us would got horseback riding in the sunset/night, all of us would go on a winery/olive oil/chocolate tour, and the guys went to a tango and dinner thing.
The horseback riding thing was something I never thought I would do, which is one of the reasons why I decided to do it. I mean how often do you get the opportunity to go horseback riding in Mendoza, Argentina at night? At first it was scary and I kind of thought I was going to fall, but eventually got into the rhythm and trusted my horse not to kill me (not on purpose at least). I would have taken more pictures if I wasn't holding on for dear life, but the stars, the city lights on the horizon, and the flashes of lightning in the distance were amazing. There were some points on the train when the guides made us go a bit faster, which was also pretty exciting. After we got back we had authentic barbequed meat sandwiches. I guess the cowboys would often cook the meat and then for easy transportation turn it into a sandwich. It was pretty good, but kind of boring once the food was gone and everyone else was talking. Carlos, Patrick, and I were just kind of bored and waiting to go home. Ron even fell asleep in the van afterward while we were waiting. We all decided to go on the tour because wine is a big thing in Mendoza, Argentina and we thought it would be fun, informative, and a good cultural experience. As you may know, language depends a lot on where you are. Eskimos have a lot of words for snow, Seattle-ites have a bunch of words for rain, and people from Mendoza have a lot of words for their grapes/wine. I didn't buy any wine, but I did buy CHOCOLATE! Yum... :)
Veronica and I ended up switching rooms to right across the hall from the guys room, but at least this one had a nicer bathroom. If you don't know, hostels are a great place to meet...interesting people.
On the way back we had a really good view of the mountains (including Aconcagua-pictured above- the highest mountain in the Western hemisphere!) It was freezing when we were at the top waiting to go through customs. It seems kind of the Mexico/US border-going into Mexico is a lot easier than coming into the states. Likewise, coming into Argentina is a lot easier than coming back into Chile. We did get our tourist visas renewed, which was one of the main goals of the trip because they only last 90 days.
This sign was comforting: Danger 300 meters.
So, I am more thankful for Santiago/Las Condes now because it's a lot nicer, cleaner, safer than Mendoza even though things in Mendoza are cheaper.The job I got? I applied for a few school jobs and I got hired to be an RA-Resident Assistant. Yey! Still have to iron a few things out which are a lot harder from 6,000 miles away, but we'll make it work. We had to have the interview via Skype which was interesting. I'm really excited for it though. :D
Any questions? Did I forget anything?
Oh yes! While we were in Mendoza there were some more fairly big earthquakes which I was glad to miss. I guess some people called my mom to see if I was ok, but because I was in Argentina I didn't feel anything. Oh and some other things that happened while we were gone: my mom left for the US and they inaugurated the new Chilean president. My sister Pili has kind of taken over the motherly roles, thanks Sis! She doesn't like being alone though because the aftershocks still really scare her. :(
Random things that I meant to post before leaving for Argentina but never actually got around to:
The other day one of my sisters had a friend over and he had been to America for a year studying in Illinois, so he spoke pretty good English. When I was talking to him about his experience in the States he said that he really missed it. I said, "Yeah, when I go home I'll probably miss Chile too." To that he replied, "Naah you won't." He wasn't joking either. Strange... lol
Also, my cousin (who reads this sometimes so: Hi!) went down to the south of Chile as a firefighter (or firefighter in training) to help out. When he got back he said it was terrible. Keep praying for them down there!
I went to volunteer at the Montessori school Tuesday morning before school. The schools were all supposed to start on March 1st, but that was postponed because of the earthquake and most started today (Monday). My ears were plugged up so I couldn't really hear people, but they just assumed I couldn't understand and laughed.
Happy Women's Day! (Feliz Dia de la Mujer!) (March 8th)People keep making fun of me for going to bed shortly after the excitement of the big earthquake. Mostly my cousin and sometimes Taylor/Patrick.
