Traveling Twins

Today we were back to our normal routine for one last time. We woke up, ate breakfast, and were off to school. We stopped and got our weekly "Monday Starbucks" even though today is Wednesdsy because we missed Monday! I had to print an article in the library and then one last 5 hour long day of class. I was in charge of issuing, collecting, and delivering the end of the semester teacher evaluations and I got to use the "professors elevator". Super exciting. After class Taylor and I bought some wine for my dad for Father's Day and then went straight to the cafe we always go to that is close to Marité's apartment! We stayed there for a couple of hours while we studied and shared a bottle of wine and empanadas! Then we came home and took a quick nap before we ate chicken with mashed potatoes for dinner! Crazy crazy that we only have one more night here in Buenos Aires. Madison

Our last day in Brazil :( ... We woke up, ate breakfast, and packed up. We went to a local cafe that was recommended in a local magazine. We got a matcha latte, irish coffee, and a acai bowl! After that we headed to the airport and arrived home super late. We finished watching USA get destroyed by Argentina and then went to sleep to prepare for our last day of class! Although, it took us forever to fall asleep because it was freezing and we kept waking up to put on more layers! Taylor

Another early morning for us! Our alarm went off at 7:15 and we went downstairs to eat at our incredible hotel breakfast buffet! Our tour guide met us in the lobby and we were off to Sugar Loaf Mountain. We took a cable car to the first platform and saw some incredible yet slightly hazy views of Copacabana and the bay! Then we took one more cable car up to the very top of SugarLoaf, but unfortunately from here we could see next to nothing. It is very foggy here in Rio during the winter! We explored the top, and then journeyed back down. On our way back down we saw a helicopter land just yards away, which was very cool to see! After we returned to the bus we proceeded on a short city tour! We stopped at a Cathedral (pictures below) built in the 70s which was like nothing we had ever seen! Our tour guide dropped us at the hotel and we had the afternoon free! We ordered food to the room (one of our favorite things to do in Rio) and took a little nap! We looked up great places to go i...

We set our alarms for an early wake up this morning so we could explore! We ate our delicious included buffet breakfast complete with DELICIOUS FRESH sliced mangos! Next, we headed to the hippy markets, because Mariano had suggested we go! On Sundays they shut down one way of the road on Copacabana beach for pedestrians only, so we walked on the road 2 miles to the markets.We got some bathing suits, shorts, and some other trinkets! We ended up walking home and there were multiple sandcastles on the side of the beach, so we snapped a couple pics! We then put on our new suits and headed to lay out at the beach for a little before our tour. We had a quick lunch at our hotel and hopped on the bus to go to the Corcovado Mountain to see Christ the Redeemer. On our ride there we had headsets that told us little tidbits about Rio. We got to the bottom of the mountain and took the train up. The statue was magnificent! Way better than I was expecting. You could see great views of the city from a...

Buenos! Today we slept in a bit, packed up and headed to the domestic airport in Buenos Aires. We got to the airport super early as we did not know what to expect! We sat in a cafe for two hours and did some homework, drank tea, and ate a delicious vegetable "tarta". Our plane was delayed, but after three hours in the air we landed in Rio de Janeiro! Immediately after customs, we walked through the duty free shop which was FILLED with Rio 2016 Olympics memorabilia. Very very cool. Mariano greeted us in baggage claim, guided us to an ATM to get REAL (Brazilian currency), and then showed us to our private car (thanks mom)! He gave us some insight to all things Rio on our way to the Hotel Excelsior. Once we arrived at the hotel Mariano set us up with two tours for our couple of days in Rio! We cannot wait to see what this city has to offer! We arrived late, so we just ordered some food to the room, and are waking up early tomorrow to EXPLORE! Madison

Today we woke up at 6am! We ate breakfast and took an uber to the port and hopped on a ferry after about 2 hours of lines. The ferry had 2 floors of airplane seats in rows! It had 2 duty free shops, a little cafe, a currency exchange booth, and a VIP lounge. We slept the whole way, only an hour and a half, since we were up so early! We hopped off the ferry and our group was greeted by our guide! She gave us a little history lesson about Uruguay and we walked by some of the main tourist attractions. The little town is a UNESCO site! So one more we can check off the list! We got on a bus and they showed us a little more of the city. We saw the bull stadium, that they used for bull fights back in the day. We also stopped at a beach for a little walk and a few pics. The bus also took us by some beautiful modern homes over looking the beach. The bus dropped us off back in the old town and we had some free time! We broke off with some of our friends and shopped around a little bit and found ...

After class today, Taylor and I scurried to the Japanese Gardens (Jardín Japónes) here in Buenos Aires! After a bit of trouble finding it, we each paid $7 to enter! Inside we saw traditional Japanese plants, typical Japanese bridges and huts (pictures below), Japanese statues, and GIANT coy fish! It was very quaint and a hot spot for a nice afternoon date in Buenos Aires! After we explored a bit, we were so excited to eat in the best Japanese restaurant in Argentina. (we miss sushi a lot). Unfortunately, the kitchen was closed, and the restaurant was only open for pastries and tea. Their eating schedule is so odd here. We ended up leaving and headed to the famous ice cream chain here called Freddo. I ordered dark chocolate (chocolate a margo) and dulce de leche, while Tay ordered creme brûlée and dulce de leche flavors! Both were very very good (picture below). After our ice cream we decided to walk an hour home! We are getting sick of the crowded subway! On our way home we stopped t...

After class we headed to ISA for a little briefing on our Friday trip to Colonia and a Maté workshop! We are super excited for Colonia and we found out it's a UNESCO site!!! WOOPWOOP. The Maté workshop was super informative, and would have been super helpful about a week ago before we embarrassed ourselves drinking it wrong at a restaurant. Sebastian and Analia told us all the tips and tricks of Maté! They also showed us how you could drink it with orange juice and it was DELICIOUS! Sabastian also quietly mentioned you could add some rum for an extra flair! After the workshop we finished up our homework and headed home! Marite had to go to meditation tonight so dinner was on our own and DELISH! We were supposed to meet up with friends after dinner, but we were exhausted so we went to sleep! TAYLOR

Today after school we all went to the Evita Museum. Evita Perón was arguably the most famous First Lady in Argentine History. Evita was a famous actress and model before marrying her husband Juan Perón who eventually became president. Evita's story is controversial, and people here either hate her or love her. From what I know, I love her. At the Museum we learned of her strength, work ethic, and true caring for the people of Argentina. We were able to see her extravagant clothing, her incredible kitchen, and many other of her things. When Evita died at the age of 33 to cervical cancer, the people of Argentina had an incredible funeral. Her funeral celebrations and ceremonies lasted for 14 days. On the final day millions of people gathered to the flower filled streets (INCREDIBLE picture below). Her story is amazing, and I cannot wait to learn more about Evita! After the museum we came home and ate some delicious stir fry with chicken and went to sleep! Mádison

Today after class we went to THE 5TH BEST ICE CREAM SHOP in the world! ...according to National Geographic at least... It's called Helados Scannapieco. According to National Geographic Magazine, "This tiny, no-frills shop seems little changed from 1938, when Italian immigrants Andres and Josefina Scannapieco first opened the doors. Members of the Scannapieco clan still make ice cream the way the family have for 70 years. The menu runs 50 flavors deep, from chocolate and vanilla to other delights, such as  durazno  (peach),  canela  (cinnamon), lemon champagne, and  caipirinha  (a Brazilian cocktail made with cachaça and lime)." Mads got vanilla and Dulce de Leche Brownie. I got Oreo Crema and Dulce de Leche Brownie. It was super good and definitely worth the 30 minute walk. We started walking home on the search for Latisse for my Mom! 2 ATM trips later is was a SUCCESS! Then we walked to a bathing suit store that Marite's daughter suggested, since we'...

Taylor and I woke up and showered off before we walked and met our ISA group at Cafe Martinez, about a 45 minute commute from Marité's house. From there we hopped on a city bus and arrived at the Feria de Matadores an hour later! Today was the 30th anniversary of the Matador Fair. The fair was filled with "gouchos" the native argentinian cowboys. There was a lot of singing, dancing, leather, and horses! The fair was similar to those we have in the states...there were hundreds of booths of people selling local crafts and goods, and several booths of delicious food and beer! We enjoyed our couple of hours at the fair on a beautiful sunny Sunday! We got back on the hour long bus ride (standing room only PACKED with people) and came straight home and took a much needed nap! We woke up and finished up some homework, had dinner and went to sleep again! Hasta Luego, Mádison

6:30am wake up call this morning! We showered and ate breakfast in the dark because the power was out in half the apartment.. seems to be a common thing here. We then headed to our meeting spot near our school to meet up with our program to head to our excursion to Tigre! We took a 45 minute train ride and hopped on a boat to get a tour of the village. Tigre is the Venice of Argentina... well kinda... not really. Tigre is a village surrounded by water, they don't have cars... they boat everywhere. Its like a little countryside with little houses with piers. The grocery store boat comes around daily on a schedule and if you need something you just jump out on your pier and wave them down and get your weekly groceries. Also, the doctor boat comes around once a week with a dentist, pediatrician, ect. The kids take a "school boat" to school! How CRAZY! After about an hour circle around Tigre the boat dropped us off and we headed to the markets. They had some really cool, uniq...

After a normal morning we got out of class an hour early to join ISA in today's Graffiti Tour! A tour guide met us and took us to a nearby town where street art is very popular and prevalent. There is a big difference between Graffiti and Street Art, and we learned all about that this afternoon! Graffiti is usually gang related quick signatures or sketches where as street art are planned and approved murals that the owner of the building either asks for or accepts! So our tour was all about the Street Art in Buenos Aires! It is becoming very popular here as buildings would rather have an incredible mural rather than several gang signatures. The law against graffiti is not enforced here and so it is everywhere! But usually graffiti artists will not spray a wall that has a mural, so business and homeowners are using these street artists and murals as a way to deter the graffiti! After our tour we grabbed a beer and a bite to eat. On our commute home we realized our SUBTE charge we...

Got out my book to study last night... but didn't open it. WHOOPS! Commuted to class and took our test! We had 2 hours to take it and it took us a quick 45 minutes! So we headed to COSME to grab tea with some friends. We got yogurt with granola, honey, and pears and it was SO GOOD. We went back to class for 2 more hours and then we went to find Madison a soccer jersey. We headed home and took another "siesta". For dinner we had gnocchi and some sort of quiche-like thing. Marite's daughter has been staying here for the past week and she ate dinner with us tonight. She has pretty good english so we all chatted the night away. Marite is super upset that we are planning to go to Rio and not the famous Iguazu. A quick FaceTime sesh with Mom, Ali, and Lori... and the good news is home hasn't changed much!  Tata, Taylor

After a big night at the theatre we woke up early and commuted to class! After class we hit el cosme our "cafe of the week" and had tea with friends! We were super tired so we hit two pharmacies on the way home to buy advil and laxatives (10 days without a bowel movement) and walked home! We took a little "siesta" or afternoon nap before dinner! Dinner tonight was a potato lasagna type dish. Very tasty! We are going to try to study a bit now as we have our midterm tomorrow morning! Mádison

Tonight we made plans to go to the Teatro Colón to see an Opera! We left Marite a note, letting her know we wouldn't be home for dinner. After class, we headed to the ISA office to do some homework. We then had our "mini meeting," the small meeting that ISA puts on in small groups to let us know some tips and tricks of the area. Sebastian, one our younger coordinators, told us of all the cool night clubs, the best places to get a cheap beer, places to dance with locals, and other local events happening that are less touristy and super cheap! We rushed out off our meeting to get on the SUBE to meet some friends for Mexican food before the Opera! It was so delicious and surprisingly similar to our Mexican at home. We were the only people in there, considering it was 6 and they don't eat till 9 around here. After we finished, we jumped back on the SUBE a few more stops and headed to the theater! It was beautiful and all lit up! As we got closer we realized we were very ...

Buenos, Through our ISA program, our host families provide living space, breakfast and dinner daily, and laundry once a week. Today's topic is the laundry. This past Thursday Maritê told us she would do our laundry on Saturday. We left early in the morning Saturday and put our laundry in a bag in case she came to do it. Saturday came and went and our laundry was still in our room. It was raining all day and she hangs up the clothes outside to dry so we thought that might be way. However Sunday came and went and she still did not take our laundry, and we were running out of clothes! So we woke up this morning and took our clothes to our very first laundromat! The "lavanderias" here however wash, dry, and fold your clothes and you pick them up the same day! Quite nice if you ask me! Two full loads for 5 US Dollars. High in sight, it is probably much easier to just have the lavanderia do it as Marité's 3 kids come here to do her laundry and there are clothes hanging ...

Hola! Today we volunteered to do some service work with some fellow ISA students. We met at the University at 9:45 am and headed to the bus stop. The bus system here is CRAZY! Theres a million different bus lines, they only stop if you hail them like a taxi, they don't always go where they say they go, sometimes they just don't stop, and sometimes they just don't come. All 20 of us and our director tried to get the right bus for an hour! Finally one stopped and was going where we wanted to go. It was then about a 30 minute bus ride to Vincent de Lopez. It is a beautiful green park, with walking trails and biking roads, along side the ocean. We met up with some Argentine Hippies, Vamos a hacerlo Argentina. They gave us each a cool orange vest, a trash bag, some instructions, and off we went! We all lined along the bay and picked up bottles and trash. We were told to take the bottle caps off the bottles and put them in a separate place because they give them to a local woman...

Today we woke up early and hit the streets. We met up with Chandler and Michael at the University and then headed to MALBA (picture below) an Argentinian modern art museum. Very creative, unique, and avant-garde art! The Yoko Ono exhibit is coming the day we leave, so sorry to miss out on that! After a couple hours staring at wall art we walked a very indirect route to Palermo for lunch. We all ordered pasta (picture below) and it was our most expensive meal yet, around 80 for 4 people! We really splurged on that one. By this point we had walked almost 7 miles and were worn out, so our "museum filled day" ended with only one museum visit. After lunch we went to another restaurant that serves "mate". Mate (picture below) is a local drink that Argentines typically only drink at home. There are very few restaurants that serve it. When they brought us the mate we had no idea how to clean, brew, or pour it. We made a huge fool out of ourselves and had everyone in th...

It's FRIDAYYY!!! Woke up, took the subway, and went to class. I got some coffee before class and Madison forgot her school books... WHOOPS! After class we headed to Central cook with some friends, which we seem to be regulars at. We learned our friend Sheldon, from Texas, had taken his first taxi ride ever today! He also had never flown before this trip and he didn't know what a pre game was... so interesting! We then had our last orientation at ISA. It was a psychologist helping us with culture shock, we all shared funny stories, he gave us his info in case we need it, and then we made some plans for tomorrow! Mads and I attempted to walk home and passed a giant grocery so we went in. I found baby powder for my hair!!! HALLELUJAH. We then proceeded to wait in line for over 30 minutes to check out! They seem to be on "Argentinian time" here. We continued walking home but it was getting dark so we hopped on the SUBE where we were serenaded by a guy singing and playing...

After a long day of class, Taylor and I rushed home to do homework and shower to prepare for a big night out! We walked to Palermo, a very hip and sheik neighborhood, where we took a tango class! There was a big group of students from the United States and a big group of students from Argentina all learning to tango! The teachers made us pair up with Argentine partners! So we definitely got a little local flavor. A 70 year old man gave me his number, and that basically sums up our tango experience! The locals stay at la Viruta dancing until 6am! Tango is a "street dance" and apparently gets pretty steamy later in the night. After tango we went to the best "parilla" in the area. A parilla is a type of grill in which most of the food they serve is cooked on/ The restaurant "La Hormiga" served incredible food! (picture below) Taylor and I shared a GIANT PLATE and a $4 bottle of Malbec red wine. After dinner several of us hit a bar in Palermo (the bowie) and...

Hola! Our host mom came home last night at midnight with guests! We had people coughing, yelling, and chatting in our apartment until 2am and then they started up again at 6am! Mads and I ate breakfast at 830 and headed out the door, as Marite apologized for the rowdy morning. WE jumped on the SUBE as we're pros now... I even invented this technique of putting my winter coat on over my backpack so I don't have to worry about pick-pocketers. Class from 10-3! I have the same teacher Monday through Friday and for 5 hours! Lucky for me, she is super entertaining! Today we, as a class, had an hour conversation about the Kardashians in Spanish.  She is super interested in American cultures and ways of life to rid of the stereotypes she may have of us "North Americans." After class we headed to their "China Town" with some friends. It was about a mile walk and it's like a mini New York china town. We stopped at a café... seems to be the thing to do here... ate...

HOLA - This morning we woke up ate some cereal, took the SUBE to school and went to class! We are becoming pros at this, its starting to seem normal! I have a different teacher on Tuesdays and Thursdays than I do on MWF, so it was a nice change today! People are still moving around classes in order to find the right level so today was pretty hectic! We just ate a granola bar for lunch during our break because thats pretty much all there is time for! Crazy crazy schedule and crazy crazy eating and sleeping habits here in Argentina. After class we grabbed a coffee/wine with Sebastián, Michael, and Madeline and went to yet another "orientation" at ISA. This one was focused on living with a host family. The most interesting thing during this long, drawn out meeting was that living rooms are not used in Argentina like we use them at home. They are for special occasions and special guests only! Considering these apartments/houses are very small, taking away the living room really...

DING! DING! DING! Primero dia de clase! Today we woke up with our nice little breakfast layed out! Madison has the SUBE wired so we hopped on and were at the Universidad Belgrano in no time! We met up with our friends and headed up to orientation! The elevators only stop on floors 6, 12, and 17… so walking it was, up to the 3 rd floor! We had our quick orientation at the school, received another safety lecture, were placed in our language levels, and were off to class. Mads and I are in different levels, so different classes. My class is about 10 people, all from different parts the United States, 5 of my classmates are part of the ISA program that Mads and I are here with so it was nice to have some familiar faces and meet some new ones too! We found out were going to be in class from 10am TO 3pm!!!!!!!!!! Sooooooo LONG compared to our 50 minute Spanish classes at USC. After class we went to lunch with some friends from ISA. We started with a large group and realized in order to n...