Don't cry for me Argentina… the truth is

After being in Argentina for two weeks I have had the opportunity to see various forms of dance including tango and salsa. So I decided to take a few classes, I mean there’s no better place right?

First of all let me state that I am not a dancer. AT ALL. However I took the chance and went to a salsa class. It was actually a lot of fun. The instructor made it easy to follow, but it did take a few minutes to understand the steps. We basically had to relearn how to move our bodies. The steps we learned consisted of a basic 5-step routine, with some spins and some other crazy moves that I don’t know the names of. I have come to the conclusion that it salsa is definitely harder for the man. He has to lead the entire time, and know which way his feet move as well as which way he has to move the woman. Let’s just say there were a lot of missteps, but we laughed it off. Salsa is definitely a great work out, and like it a lot! You get to move your whole body with the music; it’s a lot of fun.

Next I took my chances at a tango class. I was quite intimidated after seeing the passion and beauty of various tango shows. In my opinion tango is a lot harder than salsa. You have to maintain perfect body posture throughout the whole dance. Our instructor told us that the man and woman’s bodies must be perfectly aligned with each other at all times. Tango is quite spontaneous, but it is definitely harder for the woman. The man leads and he decides which way to go and when. In fact he decides when the dance starts. Throughout our class it was hard to know which way the man was going to move, therefore making it hard for us women to follow along. However we each had a turn to dance with the instructor. It was so much easier when dancing with the instructor. For some reason you just know which way he is going to move, I guess you can feel it. He guides you with his hand and his eyes in a very subtle way that only you and him know. When dancing tango it is very tempting to keep your eyes on the ground to see which way the man’s feet are going to move. However this just makes it HARDER! If you don’t look down, it so much easier to follow along. I must admit it was awkward staring the instructor in the eye but it works! We literally had to “learn how to walk again”. We had to walk fluidly, you cannot move two times in a row with the same foot. It almost looks as if you are floating on the ground, if you do it correctly.

Let’s just say it took a while for a bunch of 20 something year olds to learn how to walk again. But it was definitely worth it, being able to learn one of the cultural dances of Argentina is something I will never forget.

Okay so I haven’t written a blog post in so long! SORRY. I’ve just been caught up in trying to experience everything Argentina has to offer. Plus school has started, its not difficult but its still work.
I thought I’d share some fun facts, or bits of information that I have learned about Argentina.
First of all there are NO stop signs and barley any traffic lights. It terrifies me! The cars literally drive straight through without even slowing down, and if they see a car about to hit them they just speed up. I have a hard time keeping my eyes open while sitting in a taxi. However I have not seen an accident yet so I guess there is some methodology that seems to be working for these drivers?
There are no napkins in restaurants. Instead they have these pieces of plastic, which really serve no purpose. I miss napkins, a lot. On the rare occasion that we find napkins in any restaurant we hoard them like thieves.
Argentines love their meat. After two weeks here I am craving vegetables. It has actually been a quest to find vegetables here. From steak, to chorizo to veal, I can’t escape it. I do feel bad for my vegetarian friend; she has a hard time finding something to eat.
Argentines love their naps. They call it “siesta”. It varies in duration, anything from 2 to 6pm. Stores literally shut down, they don’t care if they lose business, and they take their naps seriously. There have been countless times where we have been in search of food, but failed because the stores literally close their shutters.
Argentines do not sleep at night. They eat dinner at 10 or 11pm. Then they are up till at least 2; and this is on a normal schedule. The streets are full of both young and old at night. They are so lively it’s refreshing.
Argentines are very friendly. They are very welcoming and love to meet new people. There’s the argentine kiss, which is the customary kiss on the cheek. It takes a little getting used to. Even men kiss each other on the cheek. But after a while, it makes you feel part of the culture and becomes a natural gesture.
Adios Amigos, more fun facts to come!

Yesterday was our first full day in Mar del Plata, so what do we do first? Go to the beach of course! The beach is just a short walk away from our hotel room. The quaint little beach town reminds me a lot of the Hamptons, with little shops and cafes. At first it was so weird to even try comprehending that we were on a beach in December! The sand felt so warm and at times even burned our feet; the water was cool and refreshing.

We explored the waters, and climbed over rocks to get the best view of Mar del Plata. The beach was full of tourists and Argentines on their summer vacation, yet it was still peaceful and turned out to be the perfect beach day.

Beach Beach Beach !

After the beach we stopped at a café on the dock, and enjoyed delicious hamburgers. Let’s just say Argentineans know how to do meat! A simple hamburger even tasted scrumptious. We returned our hotel completely satisfied with our beach day in December .

Beach side cafe

We had a day full of dance today, from tango to folk dance, it was quite a show. We attended Los Caminitos, Tango Show. All I can say is WOW. Tango is such a beautiful dance, they dancers move so elegantly as if they are floating on the stage. You can literally feel the passion between the dancers as they move from slow graceful steps, to fast dramatic moves. It was my first time at a tango show, and I could not have been more impressed. The show also had traditional Argentine folk dance, which was very light and had a happy mood to it. You can see how tango has developed from traditional folk dance, and how the two styles have their similarities and differences, from their moves to even the way they dress.

Los Caminitos Tango Show

Traditional Argentine Folk Dance

After the show, we walked around La Boca, a neighborhood in Buenos Aires, similar to the Canal Street of Manhattan. It was a beautiful day to walk around and shop, with a breeze from the water, and tango music floating from the many restaurants. That was when we stumbled upon an out-door café with another tango show. I enjoyed this one much more, it was a lot more intimate and there was a lot of crowd interaction. The dancers came up to us and talked us and showed us some moves, while quietly laughing at us as we tried our best to learn.

Tango at an outdoor cafe in La Boca , AMAZING!

Shopping in La Boca

It was an unforgettable day, from steak, to tango, to shopping, What more could anyone want?

We finally arrived in Buenos Aires, two days ago. Sorry this post is kind of late, but I’ve been so caught up in exploring the city and settling down that I haven’t had much time to blog, plus the internet in our hotel is really bad.

After a long flight ( almost 11 hours ) , I was so excited to get off the plane. As soon as I entered the airport, I felt it , HEAT!  It was warm, and a bit humid but after that Blizzard in New York, anything was better. I remember standing in the airport at customs and thinking to myself “wow, I can’t believe I’m actually here”. It still feels like a dream to me, but I’m doing my best to take it all in and really experience and remember it.

Buenos Aires is a beautiful, bustling city. In my opinion it is a combination of India and New York(just throw in some Spanish speakers). The city is crowded, in fact our hotel was located near 9 de Julio, the widest avenue in the world. Taxis, buses, and people everywhere.

On our first day, we wandered around and went to some street markets; we also tried some real Argentinean food. Let me just say these Argentineans know how to EAT!

From empanadas to Pizza, to Pasta everything just tastes better here. I can confidently say empanadas are probably my favorite food so far. They’re just so cute and yummy! 🙂  ( There will definitely be a post dedicated to food soon !)

Gnocchi Pasta with steak

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is definitely a unique city, the people are friendly and the sun is always shining, the food is great, and the coffee is even better 🙂

Let’s just say it was well worth the wait!

I never thought I would hate snow so much. I always enjoyed snow, until today. I woke up this morning to find out that my flight was cancelled! I’m so depressed 🙁 The next few hours were full of waiting and being put on hold for literally hours! Everything is snowed out and all flights are cancelled ( well except some, which i can’t really figure out nor do i want to talk about -_-)

So my adventure has been postponed till the 28th, hopefully the snow will be cleared up, and off we’ll go. But for now I have no choice but to try to enjoy my extra days in New York.

Snow, Snow go away come again another day ( except not the 28th !)

So it’s December 23rd, and I just got back from a full day of Christmas/ Argentina Shopping. Now that finals are over, its finally sinking in that I’m leaving the country in 3 days! AHHH I couldn’t be more excited , especially after this insane semester. Hopefully Argentina is everything I hope it is.

Warm weather, beaches, tango, steak…. hmm what more do you need? ( oh yea and classes too, can’t forget about those)

I haven’t even started packing yet, I’m quite confused as to what to take and what not to take. oh decisions, decisions, I hate making decisions!

I should probably start packing, but I think I’ll just sip some hot chocolate and watch Christmas movies.

Here’s too you Argentina! Our adventure soon begins.