A Cadillacs Despedida

I can't believe I am writing this right now, but Josh and I went to our first despedida (going away party). I mean, we've been to tons of despedidas. There have been despedidas since we got here. But the time has finally come for our despedida, and it began with a Cadillacs send off at Diego's house on Friday night. Sadly, many people who have played with us have left, but the core of the team and the most important people were all present. Felipe, Antonio, Diego, Paola, Milagros, Big Boy (Nick), Gabriel, and some newer Cadillacs were all there to celebrate our time spent sweating, drinking, eating, and of course playing with the Cadillacs.
We started playing with the Cadillacs our second week in Argentina, so some of the people at the party were our very first friends here. They taught me Spanish, they taught me how to throw a disc, how to cut, and how to drink Quilmes. They taught me how to live like an Argentine, give like an Argentine, and how to play like a Cadillac which involves a mixture of amazing spirit, drunken practices and bellies that end up full of choripan. They helped me to put down roots in a way that made me feel like I was entering the new world of Narnia. They took me in without questions, made me a part of them, and helped me to grow into this Spanish speaking, frisbee throwing, Argentine loving person I am today.
The party was great. Diego made choripan, lomito, bondiola, and all the sauces that go with them. There was wine and beer from Argentina and rum that Antonio brought from Venezuela and I finally figured out how to strike a balance between beverages and food that left my stomach feeling comfortably full and me head mostly clear but happy.
After the food was mostly gone the speeches began. Diego started, and he spoke about the footprint we leave behind and how it will never be erased. How he had a dream with Felipe about starting a new team that would change Ultimate and how we helped him realize that dream. Nick made me cry with his words. The three of us don't know Argentina without each other, and I can't help but feel a sense of guilt as we leave Nick behind. However, as he said he is our best friend here and regardless of where we go he will always be one of the best people we know. With out him we might have had nothing. Gabi started to cry when he talked about us leaving, and Felipe thanked us for helping him not only realize the dream of the Cadillacs but for being his family in a place where we all were foreigners. Antonio's speech was short, but for me it said what I've been feeling in the most simple way. He said that we are his friends, always have been and always will be, and that he just can't imagine next Thursday without us. And that's exactly what I'm feeling. I just can't imagine next Thursday anywhere but at Cadillacs practice with the Cadillacs. And when I try to imagine it I shudder and feel like my heart is beginning the painful process of slowly tearing off a piece of itself that I will be forced to leave behind.
So by this point I was in tears, and The boys presented us with two photo collages that have photos of our whole time here. They are amazing, and if anyone wanted to see it all summed up they'll have to check them out one day. And then Josh and I said a few words. Josh started and said that Frisbee could chupar sus huevos. Another words, Frisbee as a sport can go to hell, he did it for the people. It was crude but touching. Maybe if he ever decided to post again he could tell you about it in more detail.
I talked about how fitting it was to have one of our last asados here seeing as our first asado was at Diegos house a little more than a year ago. I told everyone that while I thanked them for telling us how special we were it was important that they understand how special they all are. How special it is that they took us in with no questions because not everyone would be willing to do that. Not everyone would take the time to teach some gringa how to speak a language and play a sport, and not everyone would invite almost strangers into their home three weeks after meeting them. I told everyone that I have a debt to them all that I hope I am one day able to repay it (and I used the subjunctive!!!). It was really emotional, and guess I'm putting it on the blog because I think it shows what people who haven't come to visit might not be able to understand. The Cadillacs in one way represents how we've made a life here and that we are not just leaving behind a few friends. We are leaving behind everything. I anticipate many more tears.
(the following is unedited by Josh and probably has mistakes)
Por ahora, un brindis a los Cadillacs por todo que me dia y porque yo tambien te dia todo que tenia. No puedo esperar para siguir mi carera de Ultimate, pero nuca va a ser egual y nuca voy a tener otro equipo como ustedes.
Until then, a toast to the Cadillacs for everything you've all given to me and because I gave all I had to you guys. I can't wait to keep playing Ultimate in the States, but it will never be the same and I'll never have another team like you guys.

Sun Soaked Sundays

Finally we have found a friend with a pool. Or rather, he's been our friend all along and he's always had a pool but it was his best kept secret until his parents went out of town. We all headed to Alex's place early afternoonish on Sunday to soak our selves in his building's tiny roof top pool and to catch a few sun blocked (in my case) rays before the football game started. The boys drank beer while Camilla and I slowly sipped our white wine and I tried to do laps that were about four breast strokes long.
This was what Sundays were truly made for. When the boys went downstairs Camilla, in her black strapless top and snake skin bottom, filled up our wine glasses and I left the protection of the shade for some afternoon sun now unashamed of how small my new Argentine bathing suit bottom is (they get a lot small but they get a lot bigger too). We chatted about everything and anything and eventually moved to the balcony in Alex's place as the sun disappeared behind a building. I was set to meet people back at the house around 7:30, so I cracked open a beer and took it for the road as Camilla and I fled the air conditioned football crazed apartment into the simmering summer heat. As we rounded the corner I spotted the 10 bus waiting at the light, left a quick smooch on Camilla's cheek and ran for it. I hadn't taken the 10 in ages and as I settled into my solo seat I leaned my elbow on the wide open window and let the breeze cool me as I sipped the rest of my beer. The round about route brought me past old places I hadn't visited in a while and with them came memories from a year ago. A smoothie with friends over there, a sunset walk over there. Everything was sun soaked and I was filled with an overwhelming happiness as I breathed in the Buenos Aires air that has probably taken years off my life but in that moment it smelled as sweat as the countryside.
Adrenaline pumping, I hopped off the bus and all the way home where I found Santi and friends on the roof. We headed to the amphitheater in Puerto Madero with snacks and beer and found it full of people and an Argentine swing band that played their own songs sprinkled with covers translated into Spanish. I danced my pants off, and although no one else in the crowd was really dancing everyone in my group joined me and we danced the night away.
Eventually we made our way to meet up with Santi's New Yorker friend David at a place with Karaoke where our new housemate Leo and I did an amazing rendition of "Dancing Queen" by Abba and Stef did "I Will Survive" with me as back up dancer. To say the least we had done so much dancing I can't believe we walked all the way home and neither could Santi. He tried to convince us to cab it until we were about two blocks away but we made it and arrived exhausted but happy with how amazing the day had been.

Tango Aereo

Tango Aereo is advertised all over the city as the main event of Aires Buenos Aires on Thursdays in January. "A free tango show!" I thought, "how could anyone pass that up?" It didn't matter that it was really far away and during Frisbee practice. I was going to make it happen. So I dragged all those who would come with me (Josh and Felipe) to Parque Centenario for this free whatever it was called. I got their early and asked at the gate what time we should arrive and the guy told me to get a coke and hurry back because they always have to turn people away. Well there was no way I was being turned away so when Felipe and Josh got there I hurried them into a Chino for provisions and then into the already forming line outside of the outdoor amphitheater that is nestled into a hill in the park.
As we waited for an hour we made sandwiches and watched as crowds streamed in slowly at first and then in droves towards all empty seats available. We debated what aereo meant and Felipe insisted it meant they were going to be in the air. "Um, maybe," I though, "but that would be crazy!" And then it began. The lights went down and the stage went black.
Then, all of a sudden, a light was shined in the middle on a couple hanging upside down in mid-air who then began to dance the tango!! They danced slowly because dancing tango while weightless and upside down is hella hard, but their slow, and always graceful movements were amazing.
Then, the lights came up, the couple had disapeared and a full Tango band was revealed:

A persistent smoke machine kept them veiled in a mysterious cloud and different colored lights reflected off the smoke and reflected the mood of the piece. The band played a number with no dancers, and then, out of nowhere, two pairs of legs were dangling from above the stage. The legs began to dance the tango and were soon joined by another pair of playful legs. The dancers would flip so it was just upside down torso, sometimes in unison and sometimes as opposites.
The next dance took our breaths away and it was my favorite. It was a couple dancing tango on the ground, but it was as if they were dancing tango on the moon. At times they were grounded and in an instant they were weightless together while doing a jump, or the man stayed grounded while he swung his partner and she soared well above the usual limits of gravity. It was the most graceful and beautiful dance I've ever seen. It was sensual, passionate and limitless in expression.

Next came something even more creative. The band started to play and a male singer joined them. After he had finished one song, the girl pictured above swung out from stage left towards him only to be pulled back by a string attached to her foot. In this way her direction and swing could be controlled as she was kept in the air by the cable attached around her waste and pulled like a pendulum as she flipped, reached, twirled, leaped and just moved towards and away from the man singing to her about being alone. It was incredible. In her ethereal skirt she looked like a captured nymph trying to get back her Argentine mortal.
Then there was one piece where the dancers used the back wall as if it was the floor and that was pretty cool, and some various pieces where only one partner was hooked into a harness which made for all kinds of amazing combinations. The best combo began with a man without a harness and woman on a cable. The dance was as beautiful as all the rest, but when it ended the man broke their pose and flung his partner into the air. She flew in an upward arc until she landed in the arms of another man who appeared from the other side of the stage! They began to dance and a battle ensued as they flung her between themselves or grabbed her away. In between one last fling the two men bumped into each other and began to circle each other aggressively until the next thing I knew they were tango dancing!!! The deserted woman was left alone and annoyed as the men ended the dance with the pose and she a pout.
There was one with no cables that was awkward and resembled children imitating tango dancing parents, but it made me laugh, and then a finale with three couples. The men were grounded and the women afloat and it combined all the elements of the previous dances. It was perfect. Every breath that left our mouths was an Ooh! or an Ah! It was the most fantastic show I've seen in Buenos Aires and I sill can not believe it was free!




For a taste of the action here is the promotional video and a website where you can watch more:

Aires Buenos Aires - cultura para respirar

Many of you might have noticed the amazing amount of festivals held here in Buenos Aires. Well here we go again! One last festival full of free frolics as far as the eye can see. Its the summer festival aptly named Aires Buenos Aires - cultura para respirar. My best translation guess is Airy Buenos Aires - culture for breathing. I can't make any promises though. But as the name promises all the events are outdoors and they occur all over the city. So far I've only been able to go to one, but it was amazing and I have to share.
I've described Puerto Madero several times, but for new readers or the skimmers its the newest neighborhood in Buenos Aires celebrating twenty years as we speak. As I jogged down to the outdoor amphitheater I passed the warehouses turned swanky restaurants, the dikes filled with oily water, the new skyscrapers, and the buildings that are so new they have yet to be protected by walls and roofs. The pedestrian walkway that leads to the Costanera Sur is lined with funny bloated trees with spikes and water fountains until it turns into a grassy hill on the right and a wide concrete walk lined with mouth watering parillas to the left. The grassy hill gives way to a large oudoor stage with a grassy field and concrete stadium seating which were filling up with people as the sun slipped behind the skyline.
There were two acts and I unfortunately stayed for one of them. Her name is Mavi Diaz. She sings Argentine folklore with her own flair and she is the daughter of two very famous Argentine performers. She kicked butt. She sang accompanied by the piano, guitar, ukulele, percussion, and other singers with angelic soaring voices.

Mavi
we are totally on a first name basis

I sat on the hill and listened and watched the pan relleno, soda and bug spray venders and then was tickled when a young couple began to do the chacarera or Agrentine folk dancing. If you remember we stayed up very late learning this dance in some plaza in Cordoba with our favorite folk singer Vicki and its my favorite and most Argy dance ever. Forget about tango. I'm trying to Chacarera. So you can see it for yourself here is a video that uses my favorite folk song!:



It was all this old couple sitting next to me needed to see and they hopped out of their seats like kids at a high school dance when they hear Lady Gaga comes on. They ran to the empty space in the middle of the small field and chacarera-ed it up. They even had scarves with them to do it proper. They were joined by another couple and everyone dancing looked so happy! And it made me happy because I finally realized why Argentines are always wearing silky scarves no matter what the weather. You never know when some spontaneous Chacarera is going to begin!
I left after Mavi finished her encore and vowed to come back to this venue with friends and a picnic as I jogged back into what had become night.

I leave you with this amazing video I found in my searchings on Youtube. It seems to be some type of high school performance that resembles a Mexican standoff more than dancing. I love Argentina.

Divididos - Shirts and Shoes Optional

A quick note about adventures in Rock and Roll here in Buenos Aires. Last Friday after work I met up with Senior Rolf and we spend 110 of Josh's hard earned pesos on two tickets to see Divididos. We couldn't affard it (not that we can really afford anything right now) but we didn't care. It was our last chance to see Nick's favorite Argentine rock band and now that we are leaving in a month it feels like we have to do as much as possible and we need to through caution to the wind.
Because the lying weather.com told us it was supposed to thunderstorm all afternoon we spend a few sunny hours indoors at Sherlock Holmes with Nick and then headed to his casita for some drinks and some random Argentine trivia game before the show. Also in attendance were two newbies who are fresh off the boat and doing Nick's program and a welcome addition to our rocking out.
The rest occurred in a Fernet and Coke a Cola induced haze but we hopped right on the 92 and headed for what was still for me the unvisited neighborhood of Flores. We stopped for meat sandwiches and then arrived only a little bit late for the show.
And. It. Rocked. My. Socks. Off.
Ok, that's not true because I wasn't wearing socks, but after the first half hour or so Josh and I headed into the mosh area and my shoe was sucked into the vortex of dancing feet and rocking porteños. I decided I was not going to care and spent the rest of the time dancing half barefoot and happy that people were drinking out of plastic cups and not bottles. As far as music goes, it was amazing. Their songs were amazing, their covers were amazing. I had the best time. Until I realized that Nick's shirt had come loose and was no longer tied around my bag (the boys had given me their shirts about 2.34 seconds after we walked in) and I was a little more than preoccupied that I had not only lost a shoe but my friend's shirt. We were going to make an interesting group on the way home.
When the concert was over I waited for the crowd to clear, the girl that came with us found my shoe, but Nick's shirt was no where to be found!!! Nick's shirt all have some type of significance, and this one he had picked up at a Nicaragua coffee conference with his dad. I was determined to do something.
When I emerged from the theater I was in two shoes and had an extra shirt. I held it out with a hopeful smile. It was white and it had three words stenciled on. The first was red, the second green, and the third yellow. It said Jamaica No Problem. It was also soaked with sweat. In the end it was ok and we were all soaked in sweat regardless of whose shirt we were wearing. I totally love this band now. If any of you, dear readers, are in BA for a Divididos show, it is unmissable.

Shaking the Booty For Joe Booty

Joe Booty, we will miss you, but in our memories we hold dearly your last show in Argentina and your last few days in Casa Cochobamba. And so I give to you all a tribute - to Joe Booty.

Joe Booty entered my lives through the help of Ms. Stefanie DeAngelo. Algy and Stefanie met long ago in the Birkshires when they dated in high school. Algy met James at Dartmouth and it seems they've been inseparable every since. Their musical duo, Joe Booty, has produced a series of inspired tracks with James on vocals and Algy mixing the tunes. They compliment each other perfectly and also happen to be very cool guys to hang around with. Thanks to their instant friendship with Stef they have hung around enough (and lived with us enough) for me to get to know them and I can't wait to see them again in the States. They have recently arrived in Bolivia after a 60 hour bus ride and begin their adventures across South America. Joe Booty, you'll be missed.
I leave you with some photos from their last show in BA. It took place in a recording studio far far away from San Telmo with carpets on the walls and a big old disco ball spinning and refracting colored light all over the small room. It was a small party with big amounts of fun. One of the more random and awesome nights of my time here.

Algy

Dancing and getting all crazy for Joe Booty

James and Algy

The opening act was a rapper named Hernan who got into it

Everyone joins in!

James pretends the mic is one of the girls he sings about

For real, check out their myspace page (the link is at the top). Their music is really awesome!!!!

Roberto of Parque Lazama

I thought Roberto had stopped to leer at two women drinking mate and sitting on a bench. How especially creepy, even for an Argentine man, I thought. I laughed under my breath when I realized he had really stopped to try and get their dog's attention! So maybe the guy wasn't so creepy, and I wasn't worried as he advanced in my direction and caught sight of Manzi. He stopped to make a comment about how loyal she was and had to repeat it a few times until I understood. As they always do, he took an interest in my foreign accent and my story and he stopped to chat with me and the woman I was sharing bench with.
He wore grey pants that were stretched to the limit and roughly sown at a few of the seams. His leather laced shoes had been repaired with the same thread and to top off the outfit he wore an orange Via Bariloche t-shirt that barely fit over his over-sized stomach. He was balding and his hair was in need of a cut even though it was nicely slicked back in an attempt to keep the grey and white hair as neat as possible.
He spoke to us of his poetry, and how a woman is not something a man can be owned. To prove to us how much he believed in this montra he informed us that in 36 years of marriage he had not once told his wife te quiero (for true love the Spanish say I want you), and not even once te amo. Instead he would say, "Vivo para vos," or I live for you, which really is more romantic. He recited some of his poetry, which had a nice rhythm, but most of the words were lost on me. When the woman sharing my bench left he sat down next to me after I assured him it wouldn't bother me, and continued to tell me about all the foreign friends he had made in that park and how he has lived his life there for two years. He told me of how his mother, wife and son all died in the same year, and how an Israeli girl he spent a lot of time with wanted to give him money even though he refused, so she slipped 200 pesos to him in a goodbye card when she left.
I didn't get much reading done, but it was such a lovely castellano conversation that I regretted having to leave for my Frisbee practice. When I left we kissed goodbye and he told me the next time he saw me he'd have a poem written out for me. I told him I'd bring him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Rosario

Melissa, Rob, and I headed to Rosario last Monday afternoon and arrived in time to meet Esteban (our gracious host) and then head out to do some exploring. Esteban is a friend of Santi's who has stayed at our house a few times with the rest of his band and he has always said that if I wanted to come to Rosario I should tell him and stay with him. Well I took him up on it and brought two friends and in return he gave us a room with two bunk beds and an air conditioner!!

Rosario's location on the map - it is Argenina's third largest city and located in the Santa Fe Province

Our first walk around Rosario was a nice evening stroll that covered the downtown, the main strip of the old city, part of the coast, and a few important monuments. We noticed a few things. Everyone was shopping in the downtown area that resembled Calle Florida here in BA. There were lots and lots of shopping bags, the cafes were full and everyone was walking around with friends. On the main street in the old neighborhood everyone was strolling in their finest and it felt like people got a tiny bit more dressed up there than in BA. And something even stranger was that everyone who was not wearing their finery was in their jogging clothes! It felt like half the city was out running, biking, or doing crunches by the river. There is a beautiful boardwalk just like in Montevideo and as the sunset it was put to good use by joggers and drink goers alike. The restaurants that bordered the river looked a little pricey for us, but beautiful and relaxing.
We then headed to the main monuments of Rosario and were were not disappointed. These monuments gave DC a serious run for its money but then again you can just see for yourself with these photos I've taken from Google:

After we had fit in all the sightseeing we could it was dark and we were hungry. We headed for a large Avenue Esteban had recommended where we could search for a place to eat, and with the advice of two nice ladies we found a parilla that made a pretty good lomo and served up some nice mollejas. Top that all off with a bottle of wine and some inexplicably free glasses of champagne and I was ready for that top bunk and some AC.
The next day was maybe the hottest and most humid day of my life. No exaggeration. Ok, maybe just the hottest, most humid day that I had to spend sightseeing. But it was almost unbearable. Nonetheless we soldiered on and traipsed around dripping and drooping and looking for places with cold air within which we could find some relief. We began at El Cairo, an important bar where intellectuals supposedly gather, for breakfast. We then started walking, and walking and walking. But enough complaining. Here's what we did:
One of the highlights for me was the Villa Hortensia, a old mansion that was rescued by the city after it had been abandoned for 10 years. Located in Barrio Alberdi (swankiest of the swank) and built in 1890, the house was owned by various aristocrats and eventually abandoned. Its the kind of place that you just can't even imagine living in because finding enough furniture for a place that big would be unimaginable. But you can kind of imagine living there, and you can kind of imagine what it would be like to have servants and painted ceilings. You imagine it for a moment and then shake it off cause it ain't never gonna happen. Sigh. A girl can dream....

painted ceilings and a light fixture in Villa Hortensia

Villa Hortensia from the outside

Before seeing my dream Villa we spent an hour or so on the beach that borders part of the Rio Parana. It was not my ideal location after spending Christmas at the white sandy beaches of Pinamar, but Melissa and Rob were excited about the prospects of wearing bathing suits in January so we went. The air was oppressively hot but the people watching was classic (best sighting - very large woman wearing a shirt that said something like "money over bitches" or something equally ridiculous). The river was almost refreshing.

I like the way the city runs along the curve of the river (reminds me of Chicago...I think)

Last but not least we headed to the Contemporary Art Museum located in this here building I've got located below. The silos are empty and the whole exhibit is located in the building on the right. It was a strange museum with very small rooms and very hot stairways. The best parts were these small wooden statues with exaggerated extremities and a dark room lined with black felt that had different colored sewing pins arranged to create pictures of rooms in a house. The kitchen was amazing and had a real looking oven. What will they think of next?

We happily headed to the bus station as the heat began to break, and almost didn't make it as we were two feet away from t-boning the side of an ambulance at an intersection where we didn't have the right of way. But we were ready to get back and to put an end to our incessant cab rides (we didn't have the time or monedas to figure out the bus system). We got lucky and got seats in the first row on the second level of the bus. For those of you unfamiliar with the buses here, the second level of the bus has a giant windshield just like the driver below and the view is amazing. Argentina is very flat and full of plains, so when a storm started brewing we had an awesome view of one of the craziest electrical storms I've ever seen. There was lightening darting across the sky every time I looked. It was amazing until the torrential downpour began and our bus seemed to speed up and I had to move to the back because I couldn't stop picturing my horrific death every time we passed a truck that was for sure about to skid and crash into my corner of the bus. After an hour I was able to move back to the front of the bus, but the awesome power of nature was humbling in its power.
My overall impression of Rosario was that I liked it. Its got most of what BA has on as smaller scale, and the people seem a little more relaxed, a little healthier, and for the most part they are better dressers. I could see how living there would be very nice, but 24 hours was enough for me at this stage in my life. However, I recommend it if you have the time or if you can time a visit with some sort of event.

End of the Year Photos

WARNING: POST OUT OF CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

I finally got around to uploading the pictures from my camera. To my surprise they aren't so bad and there are a lot of them.
Let's start with Secret Santa comes to Casa Cochobamba:

Uli calls out people to come receive their gifts

little Barrio Chino Russian Doll style makeup bags from Uli

because Uli's glasses are always being broken Stef bought him the above glass that is not only pimp because of its shape and color - it also has YO etched on it
on the right we have Uli's gift to Josh and the version he bought from himself from the popular designer Ona Saez - the shirts are meant to bring awareness to coexistence - Josh debuted his this past weekend and it was awesome

the toungue Uli bought to make tongue salad - tasted better than it looked

2010? - Felipe and Josh

the spread that could have fed a small village

bringing in the New Year with Melissa

5-4-3-2-1 Happy New Year!! Uli lights Roman Candles and struts around the roof

bringing in the New Year with Sabina for the second time

bringing it in with Stef

Josh and Santi

the FABULOUS Camilla

Uli and Josh attempt to light a paper lantern

its lit! This one didn't actually work but we did get a few more to fly away - there were lit paper lanterns floating above the city for about half an hour after midnight - it was beautiful

Melissa and sparklers

Josh and his Manzi

there are no official fireworks so everyone and their mother sets them off at home - this year we did the same!

One More Time - Visitors

New Years Feast

Whoa, its been a while. Once more and for one last time we were visited by friends from the US, and for two weeks we gallivanted all over the city and spent more money than we had but also had a pretty kick-ass time with Melissa and Rob. I decided to take a break from picture taking since Melissa has a really great new camera, but this decision has backfired because her pictures are huge and my computer/Argentine internet totally can't handle uploading them. I'll see if I can figure out a way to get them up, and if not I'll try to get them on a different website with a link.
As I said they were here for two weeks and in that time they saw pretty much everything worth seeing here. We hit up museums, we brought in the New Year with fireworks and champagne, we walked around various neighborhoods, we ate shameful amounts of meat and made up for it with unimaginable amounts of maté, and we took a quick trip to Rosario to check out Argentina's third largest city (to be cont. in a separate post). There was little time to do anything let alone blog, and I can't remember it all, but it was kinda nice to be forced to see all of this amazing city one last time before we depart in one month's time.
Now that they are gone we are focusing on saving money, spending quality time with friends, and getting in shape for our upcoming adventures. Oh, and maybe we'll try to plan some of those adventures soon too.
Thanks Melissa and Rob for bringing awesome stuff from the States that we can't get here (bourbon and s'more materials were so key!!) and for being so fun to hang out with!
To everyone else, I'm back on the map and I'll be on Skype. I'd love to catch up with everyone else's live asap!

In Which Melissa and Rob Arrive and We Celebrate the New Year

Just a quick note to wish everyone a Happy New Year! and to catch you all up on the end of the year adventures here at Casa Cochobamba. We received two very important visitors on the 27th on a sunny Sunday. Melissa and Rob have the privilege of being our last guests here and we have being doing non-stop sightseeing and fun having since they got here. We went to Los Bosques de Palermo to have a picnic and play frisbee in the sun. We've made empanadas, tarta, asado and we've seen many of the neighborhoods and taken in their unique personalities. I love having Melissa here. She was one of my roommates in Perugia when we studied abroad, she's my only friend from Kentucky, and she kicks ass. Its the fourth country we've gotten to enjoy together and as usual we are eating our way through it with vigor. Rob, her boyfriend, is a good addition to our sightseeing and a welcome addition of Casa Cochobamba.
For New Year's Eve we had a little fiesta on our roof terrace. We put together a finger food feast and ate our way through maybe a quarter. At midnight we were surprised by the fireworks Stef had bought and ran around with sparklers, Roman Candles, and there was one crazy box of hardcore fireworks that had everyone ducking as they ooed and aahhed. Thanks Stef, best surprise ever.
I was too full to go out, but we spent a good amount of time dancing on a roof that wasn't ours and hanging around with the people that matter most. It was a good time. It was also our second year in a row bringing in the New Year in this house Felipe and Sabina.
I'll upload photos as soon as Ulises tells me where he has hidden my camera, and I'll also upload some of the hundreds of photos Melissa had taken since she got here.
Until then I hope you all enjoy a day of recovery!