La dulce vida (y muerto)

Sorry for the lack of updates lately, we've been pretty busy soaking up the sites and sounds of Buenos Aires, and trying to register for classes. Not so sweet.

I registered for my first classes the other day at the Universidad Trocuato di Tella, which is a pretty good school for economics majors. I signed up for two classes, one of which had a 2 student limit from our program. I only got into one (a class on economic thought) but next week I'll be able to register for classes at the other universities. The program I'm in is called COPA (Cooperating Programs of the Americas) and is a coop. effort of UT, UNC, Butler University and the University of Indiana. Through the program I'm able to choose any combination of classes at any of four universities in Buenos Aires, those being Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Universidad Catolica de Argentina (UCA), Universidad de San Salvador (USAL) and Universidad Torcuato di Tella (di Tella). I'll most likely be taking a class at di Tella and a couple at either UCA or USAL, I think I might try to avoid UBA just because of its sheer size. It boasts a student population of over 250,000 people. INSANE. Anyway, in terms of registering for classes, we have a trial period for classes until mid March at which point I'll have to finalize my courses and schedule, so I still have a little bit of time.

Anyway, I'll move on; I'm not really here for school anyway, just personal enjoyment (just kidding, Mom and Dad).

I'm starting to become a little more accustomed to living with a stranger, and the whole schedule of Argentina. I've been trying to get out as much as I can lately and just walk around soak it all up. I had to do laundry for the first time the other day and by do laundry I mean take my clothes to the lavanderia and pay 28 pesos (approx. US$9) to have my clothes washed, dried and folded. Quite a luxury.

My friend Esteban and I went to the infamous Recoleta cemetery this last Sunday to take pictures for a project we had for the Castellano class through the program. The cemetery is absolutely beautiful, but pretty weird too. All of the mausoleums are very ornate and made of presumably imported marble and other stones, some complete with busts, even statues, of those whose corpses now reside within their depths. Some of the tombs even have windows through which you can see the coffins. One window was broken out and if desired, you could touch the coffin. Creepy. We, of course, saw the famous Duarte family tomb, where Evita Peron is buried. Another creepy aspect of the cemetery is the sheer amount of feral cats that roam throughout. I think they even have women who take care of the cats and leave food for them near (if not in) the tombs. The cats are free to do as they please, entering through the gates without windows into the tombs. Anyway, definitely a very good experience overall. There's also a huge shopping center and movie theater right across the street from the theater. Interesting to see how the city has just built up around the area.























I finally figured out how to get pictures on here, professionalism in placement coming soon.

Today I had a free day and woke up to a torrential downpour. It only lasted for a few hours but definitely managed to flood a few parts of the city (as seen on the tele). I went with my friend to a little restaurant called el Caurtito that Dr. Ross (my Spanish professor from last year) recommended and had some really really good empanadas with meat and olives. We then went to el Museo de Armas in the Military Circle, and saw a ton of guns and weapons and knives and cannons. Pretty impressive, but a little boring after a while. After that we walked around and went to a huge shopping strip and to a shopping mall called the Galeria Pacifico, it was pretty much an American looking mall with huge paintings by famous Argentine painters on the arcing ceilings. After that we walked over to the Puerto Madero area of the city and looked at the hotel my parents will be staying at near the dikes. It's a really nice area with lots of shops and restaurants and a boardwalk, pretty cool but I haven't seen as many English speakers where I live as I did over in that area.

I've seen a lot lately and haven't had a camera, but I think I'll just try to steal my friends pictures at some point or another. The camera I had retails for about 300% more than it does in the US, but my dad just bought me a new camera and will bring it in a couple of weeks. Thanks dad! Tomorrow morning the COPA group is going to Bariloche which is a mountain resort in Argentina. The website for the hotel is www.amancayhotel.com.ar if you're curious.

Thanks for the comments/e-mails/facebook messages, its nice that we can still communicate so easily!