Settling into Mendoza & Patagonian Travels

It seems like so long since I last wrote, yet I cannot believe that I have already been in Argentina for almost two months! I have finally chosen my classes for the semester and am trying to settle into a weekly schedule here. I am taking two classes offered by our program: a Spanish language class and a class about Argentine development, one class at la Universidad de Cuyo about problems in public health and an introduction to guitar class at an art and music institute. Classes here meet fewer days a week for longer blocks of time and either meet in the morning before siesta or in the evening, so the earliest I start any day is 1 p.m. and sometimes I get done as late as 8:30. I am glad to finally know what I will be taking and now can hopefully get to know my classmates in the classes I have chosen! I also recently joined a choir that rehearses twice a week and will perform around Mendoza for gigs and festivals to raise money for their trip to Europe. I find it really hard to make time for choir at Carolina, so I am really excited to have an opportunity to sing and meet other people here my age.

I just returned from a 10-day traveling stint in the north of the Patagonia in Bariloche and El Bolson with three girls from my program: Caitlyn and Alli from UNC and Sally who goes to Cornell. We had a few days off of classes for Semana Santa (Easter week), so most of the people in our program took advantage of the time to travel south before the weather gets too cold. Bariloche is considered the "gateway into the Andean Lake District" and is definitely one of the most naturally beautiful places I have ever been. It is a popular skiing destination, so the town itself is quite touristy with lots of little shops and restaurants, but it faces a gorgeous lake, Lake Nahuel Huapi. We were originally planning on traveling farther south, but we fell in love with Bariloche and realized it wasn't worth it to spend the majority of our precious vacation time in buses. We happened to meet some professional fly fisherman who lead fly fishing tours in Iceland and the Patagonia, and they volunteered to take us fly fishing and camping. We dressed in the official garb but didn't end up doing too much fly fishing ourselves because none of us had any fly fishing experience. My only fishing experience is fishing in the Coralville Recreation Center pond with my 8th grade P.E. class ... needless to say I was quite the amateur.

After following the tournament games by quick and sporadic glimpses at the NCAA webpage, we happened to meet a group of people at our hostel who found a "bar" that was playing the national championship game! With wooden toys and gadgets hanging from the ceilings, it was much more like Geppetto's workshop where he made Pinocchio than it was like a cafe/restaurant, and it made for quite the hilarious watching environment. Alli and Caitlyn and I forced the entire cafe to celebrate with us, and it was definitely a great night (although we were all quite depressed that we weren't celebrating on Franklin). Aside from celebrating, we went on a long day hike to a refuge in the mountains and spent the night at the top enjoying the beautiful view. We spent a weekend in El Bolson, known as "hippie-ville" Patagonia for its small artisan market, handicrafts and number of organic farms. We stayed in an adorable hostel outside of the town which served us homemade jam in the morning and had apples from the apple trees surrounding the hostel.
With all of the leaves beginning to change color, snow capped mountains in the background and the reflection of the mountains and the trees in the lake, all of the sights in and around Bariloche were breathtaking.

One day after returning from the Patagonia, Priyanka visited me for the end of her semana santa vacations. In between attempting to catch up from being gone I showed her around Mendoza and enjoyed picnicking with her and my host sister, cooking Indian food with her for my host family and doing a "bike and wine" excursion with her and friends from my program. She is now on her way back to Ecuador to take final exams and wrap up her year before she heads back to Iowa for the summer and then starts med school in the fall.

As I am getting re-adjusted to life in Mendoza after being gone it has been interesting to reflect on my past four months abroad and this study abroad experience in general. It is really hard to move from a busy, fast-paced academic life at Carolina to a school system here that seems much more laid-back and disorganized. The students have up to two years after finishing a class to take their final exams, and it is quite common to fail a subject and retake it, so that creates for a very different academic environment. The social environment is also quite different here because the majority of people live with their family until they are married and stay close to home for college and university, so most of their closest friends are their friends from elementary, middle and high school, not friends they meet in their classes at the university. Also, because they only spend time on campus to go to their classes, there is not a campus community feel like there is at a lot of universities in the US.

We don't have any longer breaks so from now on I will be spending the majority of my time in Mendoza and probably only traveling two or three weekends from now until when I leave in July, which will be good to help me continue to settle into life here. It feels strange to think that I'm still settling in after being here for almost two months, but everything moves at such a slower pace and I often feel like I am in a completely different time universe down here with the temperature cooling down for fall and the summer-vibe ending as everyone at UNC is getting ready for final exams and starting their summer vacations!