Emergency....

This post comes a little later than usual and for no really good reason but better late than never, right? This past week was pretty uneventful- classes and a week full of rain all thanks to Santa Rosa...the patron saint of the end of August and the presumed 'reason' for a week full of freezing cold, windy, icky rain. To say the least it was a wet week of walking around the city and made me appreciate having to only run across Richmond's tiny campus in the rain...not exactly the same as battling buses, subtes and crowded city streets but so I digress...

Friday we headed to a local bar for an UCA International students event and we got quite a chuckle out of listening to the locals talk about 'Penelope'. This word typically coincides with an individual's name and the pronunciation never seems to be a big problem in the States however locals here have a little difficulty with it referring to it as "Pen-el-ope-ay". Not that funny, but simple pleasures, right?

Saturday we made the trek (a mere 15 minute walk from our apartment) to the Eva Peron Museum. Housed in one of the Women and Children's Shelters that Eva Peron founded, this museum is dedicated to her life and work and kept up by members of her family who are still living. Perhaps one of my favorite museums I have been to so far, for 15 pesos we were able to travel through the entire shelter (actually a beautifully decorated mansion of sorts) traveling in time through Eva's childhood, acting years, time with General Juan D. Peron, her multiple service missions, and her struggles with cancer and death. There were displays filled with her gorgeous gowns, shoes and handbags, original pieces of furniture from her childhood home, an exact replica of rooms in the shelter, and multiple busts and artwork of her. Needless to say, after this trip I really do need to watch Evita...she was an amazing woman.

Saturday evening we decided to mix things up and head to a recommended Mediterranean restaurant about 10 blocks from our apartment. We met up with a few other UCA students and sat down to some hummus for what promised to be a good meal among many locals. If only things worked so smoothly...Unfortunately, one member of the party had a severe peanut allergy and after one bite of the hummus and a back and forth conversation with the waitress and manager we discovered this delectable hummus was made creamy and original with peanut butter paste.....uh oh. Without much hesitation we agreed it was time to leave and I accompanied him to the private hospital recommended for tourists and international students. By the time we arrived to Hospital Aleman's ER the poor student resembled Will Smith from Hitch....

Although the event wasn't beneficial for either of our nerves or anxieties, he was seen right away and treated well. I tried not to focus too much on the differences between this ER and their laid back nature and the frantic, fast-paced ERs at home. After he was treated and IV'd the male nurse (one of many...) told me I could now go back in to see my "esposo" (husband)...what a dysfunctional couple we must have looked like. All in all, it was a worthwhile trip, but now I can say I've seen the hospital and it wasn't enough to make me want to run back anytime soon...or at all....

Sunday we headed back to our beloved Barrio Chino to gather up some ingredients for a homemade Asian feast. After fighting our ways through some rather offensive smells and refueling with a quick bowl of hot and sour soup we were on our way to play Top Chef. A few hours and a hundred dirty dishes later we sat down to some homemade dumplings, thai peanut noodles and spring rolls. Not too bad for a bunch of very American girls....:)

Monday we all began our visa process....we are quickly approaching the 90 day mark, which means we need to obtain them ASAP. We headed to the Registro Nacional de Reincidencia where we entered the deli like scene. Get a ticket, go to one window, pay money for an unidentified reason, wait in another heard of people, get called into another room...you get the picture. This step involved getting fingerprints and our criminal records to ensure that we hadn't been hoodrats in our past two months here....We will finish the process later this week by submitting copies of every single page of our passport, 4x4 photos and 300 more pesos...I guess all things considered it's a pretty painless process...

As the week continues on Santa Rosa has said farewell and the rainclouds have given way to 70 degree weather and sun...as much as I love the nice weather, let's hope this is just a phase and the warm spell doesn't start too early considering I didn't pack for summer (or spring for that matter) and may have to begin to cut all my clothes or be a real international kid and wear the same thing every day.....

Off to plan a weekend trip to las Salinas and some vineyards in Salta, Argentina...let's hope next time I blog will be after a relaxing (20 hour away) trip!

Besos,

Per