The last week- La Despedida

So much to update! This last week has been so busy, with packing and an incredible trip! Where to begin?

On Sunday night, the entire program, students and host families, met at a restaurant for a goodbye dinner. Elvira and I sat with Jamila's family (mom Lidia, sister Paola and Vicky, and Vicky's boyfriend Diego). The food was quite yummy and a nice twist on typical Argentinian fare. It was fun to be with the whole group and kind of overwhelming. The fact that I won't see a lot of these people ever again or for a while hadn't (and still hasn't) set in.

Here are some pictures from the event!

Happy Holidays from Emily and Rocío!!

Jamila's Purse!!! (And other Palermo Pictures)

It's super chic!

Pictures of the Flor, Facultad de Derecho, Palermo

These are some pictures from our day in Recoleta and Palermo.

The Flor is a large metallic sculpture in water that opens and closes with the sun. It is really breathtaking on a summer day, the way it reflects sunlight! The second picture I doctored a bit on iPhoto! The Facultad de Derecho is a beautiful traditional building, and many of the beautiful streets in the area are lined with trees!

When Jamila and I went shopping in Palermo, we encountered some cool boutiques, some with awesome facades! Jamila was looking for a leather purse, a birthday gift to herself from BA. She found the perfect bag!

All finished.... almost!

I was the first of 23 presentations today-- and it is really nice to have it over with. I think it went will, but I was pretty nervous to present all of my 4 weeks of work in 20-30 minutes.... and make sense. In the end I wrote a paper titled "The right to say "I do": Marriage as strategy in the gay movement of Buenos Aires".

I was lucky enough to talk and interact with people who are really important in the movement, and when to what was supposed to be the wedding. On December 1st, two men were to be the first gay couple married in all of Latin America and the Caribbean. However, at the last minute, a judge appealed the decision of the lower court-- and the supreme court against gay marriage was upheld. It was a huge disappointment that we were all waiting there for a few hours to learn the news. The couple held back tears as they left the civil registry... empty-handed in a way.

Emily also presented today on her final project related to the Sephardic Jewish community in Buenos Aires. This community, as compared to its cultural counterpart Ashkenazi Jews who speak Yiddish, speak Ladino. Ladino is very similar to Spanish... there are many versions of this song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2ji0oHhA7I. Open your closed doors.

This weekend Emily and I will be attending a Ladino concert... she was invited by one of her interviewees.... so in a way she is obligated to go. But why not? When in in Rome (or Buenos Aires) as I always say!

Yesterday was a holiday here... Day of La virgen something something, which is culturally the day to decorate with lights or put up christmas trees. Most people don't have natural trees, at least I have never heard of any, which is a little different from the states. Emily and I helped her host mom, Elvira put on some decorations on the tree. The cat also helped by pulling of one of the fake branches and playing with it.

CEDES, the building where are program is headquartered was close for the holiday, and since Emily and I had finished most of our work, we decided to take advantage of a beautiful day and check out more of the city. We went to the Facultad de Derecho (University of Buenos Aires Law School) and then to the famous Flor (Flower) metallic sculpture literally next door. After that we went to the Recoleta fair which we had been to before, but we walked away with a few more gifts for friends and ourselves.

That night we were invited to a surprise party of Luis, Michele's boyfriend in Belgrano. Belgrano is very nice neighborhood, and it was interesting to see a more wealthy part of the city. We hopped on the 93 bus to get to his house... and missed the stop by a lot, so we got into a taxi to take us. After a few minutes, the taxi just stopped, I guess something was wrong with the car. The taxi driver gave us a discount, and then we hailed another one off the street, which is not the most ideal situation-- it was already pretty dark. Luckily enough it was a safe taxi, and we made it to the party.

Luis was surprised, so I think the party was a success! Overall the day was pretty successful as well. Any day where I don't feel like I have been ripped off is a good day. Also, recently many students in our program have been pick-pocketed or robbed. I hope not to join this club of such a terrifying encounter.

PICTURES TO COME!

More Photos from This Past Week with Schorr Lesnicks

Outside Las Violetas
Francesca, Ariel, Michelle, Denise, Jamila, Luis, Ellen, Emily
Birthday champagne!
Rosedal
Botanical Gardens

Updates- Lesnicks have come and gone

It has been so long since we last updated....sorry! Things were very busy when my parents came to visit, and we are in the final days of our Independent Study Project. We definitely have some restuarant reviews!!

My family arrived on Wednesday and I met them on Wednesday night for dinner. We walked around Puerto Madero, a newer area, full of tourists, businesspeople, and lots of new building developments. We ate at Cabaña de las Lilas, a steak restaurant and according to my Buenos Aires guidebook, home to the best steak in all of Argentina. http://www.laslilas.com/restaurant.php It was very delicious, with juicy steaks, but a little too fancy and minimalist in its platters to be a parrilla. Also, it was a little out of my personal price range. I´m lucky my parents were able to treat me! We wrapped up the night with my family´s first helado experience. Some of the yummiest food. I recommended flavors: Dulce de Leche granizado, chocolate amargo, and tramontana.


On Thursday, I gave my family a tour of Plaza de Mayo and Avenida de Mayo. We ended up stopping for a snack in the famous Café Tortoni (Jorge Luis Borges, Alfonsina Storni, and Carlos Gardel have all eaten there). It was quite pretty and traditional. http://www.cafetortoni.com.ar/ Igot delicious fresh squeezed Orange Juice. We ate lunch at Pizzeria Gurrin, a delicious old place with amazing pizza and empanadas (especially the meat ones9. It was Thanksgiving, but we did not eat any traditional Thanksgiving food. That evening, we got ice cream at one of my favorite places, Cadore, saw Joven Frankenstein (Young Frankenstein) and ate dinner at el Palacio Español. http://www.palacioespanol.com.ar/historia_en.asp Paella in Buenos Aires on Thanksgiving? Now THAT is globalization! Ari, Jamila and I went out to hip-hop night at Club Araoz, and called it an early night at around 4:30
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On Friday, we went to see a Tango show at Café Tortoni. The dancers were very good, but they were a little more broadway-esque than the melancholy tango dancers I had seen before. Nevertheless, it was a good show. We had a delicious dinner at Bella Italia Cafe. I had amazing penne with pesto. Although the waiter warned me it was heavy on the garlic, it was perfect for me. Oh, Porteños and their delicate palates. We wrapped up the evening with some more ice cream, this time at Volta, which is so rich and incredible.

Saturday was a day in Palermo, and we visited the Japanese Gardens, the Botanical Gardens, and the Rosedal. I loved the Japanese Gardens and the Rosedal, which was free! We went to a crafts fair at Plaza Serrano, where I bought a cute silver leather purse. My family bought 16 mates for friends/families. Saturday night we met my friends Luis and Michelle for dinner at an Armenian restuarant, called Sarki´s. It was delicious the food was plenty. Falafel, lamb kebobs, Morroccan rice, Persian rice, and of course, Baklava. It was super.

Sunday I slept in while my parents did some sightseeing. We had a lovely merienda at my host mother, Elvirás house, with alfajores, tea, cheesecake, and scones. I ate a dinner at Jamila´s host family´s house in honor of her birthday. It was the 29th, so we ate delicious gnocchi. So fluffy!! I bought some fizzy wine, called espumante, which was delicious. Jamila´s birthday is on the 30th, and it was bad luck to wish a happy birthday before midnight, but once the clock struck 12, we celebrated Jamila in style!!

For Jamila´s birthday, we got together with kids from the program, my family, Michelle, Denise and Luis at Las Violetas, a beautiful old café. We ate all sorts of treats, tea and deliciousness. http://www.lasvioletas.com/ For dinner, we got dressed up and went out just the two of us to Osaka, a Peruvian-Japanese fusion restaurant. I tried my first ceviche, which was amazing! http://www.osaka.com.pe/osaka_sp.htm We also ate some salmon rolls and I tried sake. All of it was delicious and very classy.

Tuesday, my family and I went to Tigre, delta town about an hour from the city. It was very pretty. We took a lancha colectiva, a boat down the delta, and walked to the Puerto de los Frutos, a large market. We took the scenic train back to BA, and before we knew it, they were on a plane to NY.

Our program is rapidly coming to an end, and I am a bit broke. But, I have had an amazing time, been able to experience so much, and will keep exploring in El Calafate and Mendoza!! I´m excited to go back to the US, but also sad about leaving this incredible experience.