I’ve literally spent this entire weekend shopping. It’s probs not a good thing. I had a freakout yesterday when I checked how much money I’d spent because I’d forgotten pesos aren’t equivalent to dollars. Whew! I’ve been buying souvenirs for the sibs and my parents, but it’s hard. I don’t know what to bring back, and when I see cute stuff, I want to keep it for myself!

Mate

So people in Argentina drink mate a lot. As in, EVERYONE drinks mate ALL THE TIME. They carry around thermoses full of hot water (although a ton of places advertise “agua caliente”), the cup and the bombilla, or straw. You pack the bottom third of the cup with yerba mate, put your finger over the top of the bombilla to keep out air and stick it in the yerba, then pour water and drink.

Wanna hear a secret? Mate’s kinda gross. You might even say it’s not my cup of tea (ha! It’s funny because mate IS tea). I’m going to give it another shot, though. Maybe it’s an acquired taste.

Yesterday I went to Peatonal San Martin with Shekeima, Arielle, and Arthur. We had the best ice cream I’ve ever had, went with Arielle to buy a shirt, got sunglasses, wandered around a bit more, cracked some truly groan-worthy jokes, and then got Arielle shoes after hers broke. The guy at the store laughed at us. Dinner was fun; we met up with Aaron, headed to the beach for a bit (the water was FREEZING), and then across the street to grab food. I’m on the fence about this place. The food isn’t all that bad (except for the burgers, which aren’t worth it), but the service is so slow, except, of course, when you’re paying. Then the staff tend to hover. But seriously. Last night, I swear the waitress must’ve hand-stuffed each of my mini-ravioli. It was driving me crazyyyy.

Today, Shekeima and I fuimos de compras otra ves en San Martin, although we got a little lost along the way and found a cute little store where I bought some stuff for my sisters. For whatever reason, we tend to get lost when we go someplace together. It’s cool, though, because we also wind up finding pretty cool places (that we can never find again). I got the cutest bag ever. Totes pleased with my compra. Now I’m on the hunt for leather. Wallets, belts, shoes, purses, I want todo de cuero!