Ha! Yeah, I got a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle at McDonald´s here. That was my happy purchase yesterday. The meal I split with three friends because none of us really wanted the food. It was much less greasy than in the States, but the fries were rubbery. I don´t think they use Idaho potatoes ;)
I have labeled this under ´culture´for the irony of it. I don´t think last night was culture, I think it was tourist crap. That´s where our travel agent recommended. Poop on that, I want the real thing! So it is very good that I am meeting up with Lucia today - I think I will much enjoy the local perspective on life here.
The streets are super super grubby. Makes my proud of New Orleans - at least they care about their city. Here people get off the bus and just throw their garbage on the sidewalk. AND I stepped in dog doo TWICE even before lunch today. Yuck.
(Yeah, these entries are going to be choppy - but I want to keep you all updated at least somewhat. I´ll try to edit them later...)
I´m hanging out with the South Dakota students and an Indiana student who is actually from Missouri. Good people. We went to a bar last night and played some pool. I actually had a couple really good shots (on the pool table, not drinks) - figured it was because I was drinking wine. I´ve never tried pool with wine before. Then we ended up at some Pirate bar with techno music. Oh, yeah, I loved it (note the sarcasm). We didn´t get into any dancing, which was disappointing. I think we just don´t know where to be yet, and Lucia will probably fill me in on that today... I have to do at least one Tango lesson before I leave!
There are security / cops all over this city. I don´t know if that´s a sign of safety or of crime, but I feel comfortable. They just seem a bit overwhelming in number. I guess it´s a good thing.
The study involvements continue to be awesome. We are meetings lots of people and making lots of connections. And the reading material is actually very interesting (though I don´t like carrying that big book around the city with me).
I am remembering more and more of the Spanish I sort of once learned. It is a lot of fun, and I hope that I keep picking it up quickly throughout the trip. (One of these blogs will eventually be in Spanish!) Anyway, I am going to go for now and see what I can see.
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Today we walked around the city more. The people out were more enjoyable than what we encountered last night. There was just more in general I guess (whatever I mean by that!). We visited the Casa Rosada (their version of the White House), saw other gov´nt buildings, and went into the cathedral - beautiful (Mom, I got pictures for you).
Then I took the subway. For some reason that always makes me happy in new places. I think it has to do with actually mingling with real locals. It´s refreshing. I am also my myself now. I think that helps me enjoy the sightseeing more, too. Otherwise it´s so much hurry up and wait, especially since I don´t know any of these people in my program. It´s more carefree when it´s just me;)
Now, I am near the zoo. Barney is everywhere - yeah, that big purple dinosaur can be a scary kind of `guy`. I meeting up with Lucia here in about 25 minutes - hopefully we can find each other the crowd... will be fun!
abrazos (hugs)
