Santa Fe, Argentina

On our second full day in Buenos Aires we got on the bus to head 6 hours north to Santa Fe. The bus ride itself was long and the bus wasn´t exactly clean either... We obviously chose the wrong bus company.
The landscape was incredibly flat and unexciting but being tired, I managed to sleep a bit.

Santa Fe was hot! Since our bus was a tad early, Guille wasn´t there yet, but even at 10.30pm at night the air was still warm.

We weren´t waiting for long and soon we had a happy reunion and were heading back to her house, where she told us her mum had cooked us a delicious meal.

And delicious it was. I got to meet her parents finally, after meeting her 1st in NZ on the other side of the world. They were very nice and the food her mum cooked us was exquisite. We ate meat and potatoes, but the meat was the most delicious, melt in your mouth meat I´d ever had in my life! After eating and talking, a meal outside in a leafy garden with a perfect climate, we went to bed.

The next day, Guille and her mum took Genna and I on a tour of the two cities, Parana and Santa Fe. They´re both close together and connected by a 3km long underwater tunnel, below the Parana river.

Parana was a gorgeous city, with flowers and cobbled streets and a new shopping mall (quite small though). We stopped at a park up high with a view over the city and the river, and also at a stone auditorium.

On the way back to Santa Fe, her mum stopped and bought us materos.
Mate is a type of tea they drink in Argentina and Uruguay. It´s a very strong leafy tea.
To drink it, you simply pour heaps of the leafs into the cup and then some hot water on top. There´s a special straw you use to drink it out of which has a filter at the end.
Terere is mate, but with cold water or even juice.
Basically every Argentinean takes with them wherever they go, a thermos with cold water and the special cup and straw to driink mate. The flavour takes a bit of getting used to but I´ve found it´s actually quite nice. Cold. With juice.

We crossed the river again and arrived back in Santa Fe, to Guille´s home where her and a couple of friends came over to drink terere (it´s quite a tradition).

After that, we went into downtown Santa Fe and visited the most amazing building I have ever seen. It was the city council, old and colonial and massive. We also visited the cathedral where people were praying with rosary beads, and a colonial house that had turned into a museum. A stroll along the river took us to an incredibly huge outdoor swimming pool filled with water from the river.

The downtown part of Santa Fe was the cleanest downtown I had ever seen and vacant of street vendors. The council had prohibited it. The shops were really cool and it was bustling and lively at 7pm at night.

The stay at Guille´s was definitely a highlight of our trip - staying with Argentineans, eating Argentinean food and being shown around a city by a local, plus being able to catch up witha good friend!

Then all of a sudden it was a rush to return back to Guille´s, shower, drive to the bus station and take our bus to Puerto Iguazu, where we would arrive after 16 hours in a bus!

Back in South America (Buenos Aires)

Well, it's been a while.
So here's the good news... I'm currently sitting in my friend Melissa's apartment in Santiago, Chile, just over 2 years since I left this amazing country.

The other good news is that I haven't just arrived ... I've been travelling around Argentina and Uruguay for 8 days as well. I thought I'd have more time to blog during that part of the trip, but lines for computer access in backpackers hostels plus only 20 minutes per user has pushed blog entries low on the priority list, below hostel bookings and transport bookings.

But the trip so far has been amazing.

It started off with 2 nights in Buenos Aires, a steamy, hot, bustling city with delicious smells, gorgeous people and a continuous beat of cumbia, reggaeton and of course, tango. Love.

We arrived there (I'm travelling with a friend, Genna), put our bags in our rooms up a tiny twisting staircase in the funky and friendly Hostel Ostinatto - definitely recommended for it's extraordinarily friendly staff and cool atmosphere - and went straight into the tiny hostel bar for a tango lesson. Can't exactly say I'm up for a 'milonga' quite yet. It was a Saturday night but after arriving at Auckland airport at 7am and waiting until 10pm for our flight to depart, sleep was required. (After eating some yummy empanadas from the take-away place down the road).

The next day we made friends with a Brazilian family over the breakfast table and ended up bussing it to La Boca, the colourful, postcard friendly district of BA to have a wander.

Colourful houses from corrugated iron, street vendors of painting and handicrafts, tango restaurants were what was on offer. It was definitely picturesque but also alive with peddlers trying to charge pesos for photos, hustling for money... that was the bad side. OVerall we found it quite fake and touristy - not a genuine Buenos Aires experience, but definitely a must see for travellers.

We had lunch back on the same street as our hostel (which coincidentally, was called Chile st), and unfortunately another mildly disapointed naive-tourist experience, in which we reached the end of the restaurant filled street and upon finding nothing that looked that it would fit our budget (the restaurants there all looked quite pricy but as we later found out, weren't) a pushy waitress ended up seating us at the worst looking eatery on the st (with the same prices as the other place) and we ended up ordering from there. Luckily Genna and I shared a pizza and got the bargain, $6 each for half a pizza dripping with cheese and herbs, wasn't so bad after all. Note: due to their Italian roots, argnetinians are big fans of pizza and make it very well! Not italian style but defintiely delicious.

In the afternoon we wandered around the usual tourist hot spots of Buenos Aires - the obelisk, La Casa Rosada and the Docks.

The first two were in the centre of town and there were a smattering of people with cameras taking photos there, we managed to hustle some American tourists into taking a few photos of us in exchange for the same for them. Got a few 'jumping' photos in which the Argentineans sitting on the grass a few metres away were very interested.

Due to good luck or something, we arrived at the docks at dusk and were rewarded by the city of Buenos Aires reflecting in the water, it was a very polished, clean part of the city with smooth pavement - thank goodness! and lined with restaurants and wealthy looking people. The colours were gorgeous as well and it was thriving at 9pm at night.

Upon our return we checked up on bus fares and got some good travel advice from a BRazilian about airfares - a Urugayan airline, Pluna, offers specials every Tuesday (kind of like grabaseat, but all of South America) and you can get flights for $29 USD. Worth a look!

Day two:
Rather exhausted hot (after checking out of the hostel and storing our bags there), we headed to the botanic gardens in Palermo and a bit of the downtown area. The botanic gardens were shady and nice, surrounded by busy roads. In the later part of the afternoon we taxied to the bus station in a shiftier part of the city to take a 7 hour bus to Santa Fe to see a friend, Guillermina, who was an exchange student in NP last year.

Getting away from Buenos Aires seemed to take forever, it's a massive city. We seemed to have chosen not such a good bus line and it was quite dirty - at the same time, it also had a reasonable timetable for arriving in Santa Fe before midnight. It wasn't that uncomfortable apart from the dirt... But getting to Santa Fe was definitely worth it!

---> Video finally uploaded!

I have finally managed to upload the video of my exchange to YouTube. Check it out! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq1MPPvDQU0

Los 33

It's beenall over the news now, that a group of 33 miners frmo the mine San Jose are trapped in an underground shaft, 700m below surface. Funnily enough, this is where I lived last year. (Not in the mine, but in Copiapo.)
They have now been trapped for nearly three weeks, underground, without sunlight. Mining experts expect that they will be there until Christmas.
My host dad, who is a safety officer at an American-owned mine, was called in to be a temporary safety officer for two weeks, because the previous one left in disgrace.
As you can image, for this to happen the conditions would have had to have been pretty bad. It's true; I have visited Chilean owned mines and my host dad's mine and they are completely difference. My heart goes out to all the workers who spend a day underground in dangerous circumstances, day in, day out, get paid very little and stay in rickety lodgings. Most of all, often they are the only source of income for their family, and now that 33 miners are trapped, there will be 33 families going without, especially since the mining company is now going under.
Let's hope for a soon and safe rescue of 'Los 33', whose only way to communicate with those above ground is thruogh a 15cm tube.
Fuerza mineros!

Earthquake

As lots will probably know by know, there has been a massive 8.8 ricter scale earthquake in Chile, in the Bio Bio region. It shook almost all of Chile, the power and water in Copiapo was cut and they felt it strongly, almost 1000km north.

When it happened, the AFS Santiago Orientation was taking place, the one I attended a year ago. My hearts go out to all the worried families, but a recent message from AFS Chile says that all students are safe and well.

Several Chilean seaside towns have disapeard under the sea due to the surge of water. Friends have been affected.

Host families of some of my exchange friends have had their homes destroyed. As well as over 1.5 milllion other people. It was in one the most populated region of Chile.

I've spoken to other exchange students, we all feel so helpless. My heart go out to everyone affected. I want to do something. It's awful. Think of them, pray for them, do whatever you can.

---> Adios

Well now I've been back from Chile for just over two weeks. It's strange coming back . . .

My last few days (well weeks, or I could say months) were by far was the time of my life. When you've mastered the language, the culture and the customs, living as an exchange student in another country is simply brilliant. I can't describe it. Not a day passed when I didn't do anything. Basically the days of December and January passed like this: wake up (late...), have something to eat, help out in the house (clean up etc), have lunch, clean up, go out, arrive back to have supper (or not arrive back, it depends what it is that I'm doing), go out again, arrive back home late. Being back in NZ and not being able to go out like I did in Chile is hard. But then again, it's a cultural thing. While in NZ dinner is the main meal of the day, in Chile it's lunch, so after the main family meal everyone is pretty much free to do what they like (as long as it's ok with my family, of course. But going out was never a problem if I advised where I was going to go, who with and what times.) The convenience of having taxis and buses pass outside my home made going out easy.

The hardest thing about being back is definitely missing the life you had in your host country. I miss like crazy my host family, who welcomed me into Chile with open arms (I still remember clearly my first day - as soon as we arrived home, we started to look for my host sister's missing pet turtle). I miss my friends, I miss the other exchangers, I miss Copiapó, I miss speaking spanish, I miss Chilean school.

So in January we had an AFS farewell for the 4 exchangers leaving Copiapó. They gave us a special present. Hoodies with the Chilean national flower and the names of our host family members embroidered on it. Which was kind of funny, since us AFSers had also ordered hoodies with our nicknames and the emblem of Chile on it to be done.

Our Hoodies

I had a farewell party. Some of my best friends (the ones who could make it and had permission) came to my beach house, along with all of my host siblings, and my host brother's girlfriend and her cousin. Then suddenly we were more - friends from school, friend's of a friends - we went to the actual beach to party, to be with Giulia and her friends, but it seemed like a lot more people had heard about a party, and it could get dangerous, so we returned back to my beach house.

Best friends

On my last night my family did a special supper for me. My other host sister made a powerpoint about my year in Chile, which was nice and sad. On my last day, we all woke up after little sleep to go to the bus station to say goodbye to the German. After, Krista and Giulia came back to my house, to have breakfast with my host family and me. My younger host sister gave me a present, a necklace of a one peso coin from Chile. My host mum gave me my Christmas present, a book with the song lyrics of songs from Latin America, which she had compiled herself, and three CDs with all the songs on. Lots of memories.

Terminal Tur-Bus Copiapó is a place of many memories. Arriving to Copiapó and getting off the bus, there were a million posibilites ahead of me. How my school would be, how my family would be, how my friends would be, how my year and my life would be. I was a bundle of nerves. As the year passed I returned to the bus terminal to go to an AFS orientation, the AFS north Chile tour and a short term exchange to Punta Arenas. Each time there was posibility and adventure. Arriving back was like arriving back home. But the last time I was at the bus terminal I hated it. When would be the next time I'd get back? Who knows. In the car going to the bus terminal I recieved a phone call from the Brazilian. 'Anita, I'm not going' she said. 'What? You have to go' I replied. 'I can't go, I don't want to leave.' She said. All through my last few days in Copiapó I had managed to only shed a few tears. At her words, the reality of what was about to happen hit me. My eyes watered up, but I was unable to cry. We arrived at the bus terminal, and my friends were there to see me off. Hugs, giving of presents and taking photos. Suddenly my host mum said, 'Anita, the bus is leaving!' That was when the tears started flowly, as if they were going to flood the dry river Copiapó has. The bus that I had to go on was pulling out. I had to get on, yes or yes. The Brazilian and the Italian weren't on either. We were all unprepared to do the inevitable, which was actually leave for good. My host family went to the door of the bus and I hugged everyone - or did I? My memory is hazy. We borded the bus.... climbed upstairs. Me, Ananda and Giulia. Dumped our bags on the seats and stood there, hugging and crying. We couldn't believe it was over for good. Then it was to the airport. The other exchangers were arriving all through the day, and when the other NZer arrived, it was funny to see we were both wearing Chilean football tees, and stripy pants. The first group to leave were the Italians, which means Adios to Giulia. (At the airport with us was another AFS from Copiapó, Krista from Finland, who is in Chile for another semester. She also was in Santiago on holiday, and her and her host sister came to see us off.) We cryed when Giulia left. Then Ananda left... then much later, it was my turn to leave. I rang all members of my host family to say goodbye. Tears came. Then saying goodbye to Krista and her host sister...... it was the hardest goodbye I had ever said. She was the last person who I was close with in Chile who I had to say goodbye to. Saying goodbye is horrible.... I don't like airports or bus terminals.

Luckily on the flight to NZ I slept a lot. I was so tired, in the last 3 days I think I had slept about 8 hours. It was shock arriving to Auckland airport. I was home . . . did I want to be? After waiting a few hours at the airport to wait for the flight to NP, I boarded my plane. During the flight I shed a few tears. Now I was really home and I wanted to be in Chile. But when I could see a group of people standing in th airport, and it was a big group, it wasn't so bad. My family and friends were all there. It was an emotional moment and more tears were shed. My exchange year was over.

It feels strange to be back. Things have changed, and at the same time they haven't. It's like waking up from a dream and everyone is a year older. I feel older and . . . more confident. Living in a different country and not knowing how to speak the language, the culture and customs, then mastering that, makes one feel like there's nothing they can't do. It's like a self confidence boost, and also a new way of looking at the world. An understanding of why things are the way they are, and not looking at how they should change. I've never felt more open minded. Also, to be an exchange student, it's important to be open minded, perseverant, accepting and adaptable. I can't express that more. But doing an exchange extends and enriches those qualities. Being back you can see that - even if you'd rather stay in your host country. Chileans are extremely patriotic, but when they asked me if I liked Copiapó, and I replied with a yes, why looked at me strangely and asked why. My answer was always, because it's Chile. Although they may not like where they live, they love their country. I was lucky; I loved both.

---> Don't dream it's over

My room is a mess, my head is a mess, my thoughts are a mess and I leave tomorrow.

This is the part of my life that overtakes anything hard that I have had to pass through in my life. Today I farewelled two of my closest friends here, maybe forever. I couldn't cry, the reality of what will happen tomorrow at 9.20 at night still hasn't sunk in fully.

Do you know what it's like to sit with your two absolute best friends, and think that maybe you'll see them again soon, maybe not. The friends that have gone through the same experience as you, that you have bonded with in the 6 months you have known them, to a point that you're unseperable. I really can't write, the tears are falling steadily now.

It's life.

I have been blessed to have had a wonderful host family, that always supported me and loved me, sisters who were like my best friends and an older brother who told me off if I wore a top that showed too much chest. The stupid things we did together, like when Ade and I were awake on a bus at 2am holding our breath until the bus reached more than 100kmph and the beeper went off. All the good memories, but now they're in the past. And the two suitcases sitting on the floor of my room are the future.

The antics of me and my friends. Bunking class to sit and talk, and hiding when the inspector came. (Sorry AFS, I promise it didn't happen often). Drawing on my legs in class, taking stupid funny photos and eating pizza at friend's houses. Looking after my tipsy friends, who were very economic drinkers. Nearly having our money robbed by gypsies.

The exchange students, the best friends I've ever had. Singing reggaeton in every place we go. The mall, the plaza, department stores, living rooms, taxis, AFS meetings, parties. Teasing each other about who we kissed at parties. Drinking tea. Drinking tequila and pisco, vodka and rum, beer and cherry liqueur. Pushing each other into pools. It's so hard to say goodbye to that. I can't accept that it WILL be gone. 

It's like that whole side of my life has died. 

I'm a different person now. I want with all my heart to be able to stay here, but there's something special about being an exchange student and there is a kind of magic in knowing you have a year and only a year in a certain place. It gives one a new perspecive on life. The hard times are extremely hard, yes, but the good  times and SO AMAZINGLY GOOD.

With that, I'll get back to packing my life in two suitcases.