Good Australian Woman

I haven’t had the chance to post about my new amazing roommate Dali in the last month! Brad is leaving on August 9 so we thought it would be wise to start looking for a roommate. I mentioned in passing to my friend Amanda that I would have a spare room in my apartment and the very next day she sent her Australian friend Dali over to meet us.

I should preface that it is HARD to find apartments here because you don’t have residency, Argentine bank account, etc. but most difficult is that most leases are for TWO YEARS MINIMUM.

Anyhow, I mentioned it on a Wednesday night to Amanda, we met Dali at 3:30 on Thursday and by 6:00 she had moved in. A very nice surprise!!

She’s a little bit older than Brad and I and has traveled the whole world practically. Originally from Croatia, her family was displaced in the Serbian-Croatian conflict and moved to Australia when she was 19. So far she’s taught us how to make preschka (a bread without yeast) and hummus, taken us Latin Dancing, made us ginger tea, organized a trip to the thermal baths…the list really goes on forever.

^^^On our night out to Latin Dance… 

Unfortunately, I think she’s probably going to move on about the same time Brad is for her next adventure. However, it’s only been about a month since she moved in and we’ve all done so much together already…we will definitely all make the most of July!

TOP 10 THINGS I LIKED ABOUT URUGUAY

I’m having a hard time being concise and organized with my blogging these days so I’m going to fall back on listing.

10. Interesting Fact: One Laptop Per Child. Every child between 6-12 receives a free laptop from the government.

9. Amazing Seafood 

8. Punta  del Este: It’s been quite some time since I’ve seen the beach, so it was just bonus when we got to see one of Uruguay’s top tourist attractions: the giant hand coming out of the sand.

 

7. Estancias: we went on a field trip to a “ranch,” with beautiful landscapes and best of all, llamas!!

6. Karaoke in Ciudad Vieja in Montevideo: we made it out to a karaoke bar one night and discovered that several Fulbrighters are very good singers (not being sarcastic here). Additionally, all of the Uruguayans who got up to sing sounded professional. Not your typical karaoke experience…

5. Asado (translate: grilling out!! Terrific meat (see steak and blood sausage below) in Uruguay, just as in Argentina

4. Tannat wine: red grape considered the national grape of Uruguay. The Tannat vine was introduced to Uruguay by Basque settlers, especially Pascual Harriague, in the 19th century. Today it is often blended with Pinot noir and Merlot and is made in a variety of styles including those reminiscent of Port and Beaujolais. The Tannat wines produced here are characterized by more elegant and softer tannins and blackberry fruit notes. The newer vines tend to produce more powerful wines with higher alcohol levels but less acidity and complex fruit characteristics. (wikipedia)

 

3. Gnocchis, which are traditionally eaten on the 29th of every month.

2. Soccer! Uruguay is moving on to the next level in the Copa America and did pretty well in the World Cup last year for such a small country—only ~3 million people live in Uruguay.

 

1. Chivitos: This is Uruguay’s national sandwich: steak, ham, cheese, bacon plus every other condiment and topping you can think of on a bun. Amazing. Of course, I had to experience the culture and go for it. I don’t understand how the U.S. is the fattest country with sandwiches that exist like this…           

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Montevideo, Uruguay!

So in addition to being incredibly blessed to be here in Mendoza, the Fulbright staff organized a mid-year conference for all of the English Teaching Assistants in Argentina, Uruguay, Costa Rica and Panama in Montevideo. We arrived on Sunday and on Monday and Tuesday we each spent ~15 minutes presenting on each of our placements, how we’ve become involved in the community, teaching strategies, struggles and successes, etc. It may sound incredibly boring, but to all of us (or at least me), it was so helpful and encouraging to hear how other people have struggled through similar situations as me and also to hear how creative and resourceful they’ve been in handling certain predicaments (i.e. try discussing Osama bin Laden, U.S. politics, etc. to someone outside of the U.S.) We also learned a lot of good teaching techniques from an ESL teacher….for anyone who is teaching ESL, check out her website:

Then came Wednesday and Thursday, the highlights of the week. Wednesday we went to a local middle school (to be honest, middle schoolers scare me so I wasn’t really looking forward to this) and it was incredibly fun. The exchange organizers gave so much energy for all the activities, it was impossible not to be excited and have fun. The students taught us how to make gnocchi (which they always eat on the 29th of every month) and we taught them how to make chocolate chip cookies (which turned out pretty bad…). We also did a “20 Aspects of American Culture” presentation and they did a “20 Aspects of Uruguay Culture.”

 

More on our trip to an Estancia later!

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Visitors to Mendoza!

I need to play a little catch-up….so three weeks ago, several Fulbrighters came to visit Gillian and I here in Mendoza. In all, there are approximately 20 Fulbright English Teaching Assistants throughout Argentina. Below from left to right: Grant Berry who is from Kansas City, Missouri and teaches in Rio Cuarto; Anna Gitterman who is from Rockville, Maryland and teaches in San Luis; me…from Raleigh, North Carolyn and teaching in Mendoza; Alex Gibson who is from Chicago and teaches in Bahia Blanca and of course, Gillian Goodrich who is from Bozeman, Montana and teaches in San Martin (just outside Mendoza)

Luckily, Gillian is a perfect hostess and planned a fun filled weekend for our friends, including a visit to a olive oil factory! She’s made friends with some entrepreneurs in San Martin who are trying to start up an olive oil factory/hotel/restaurant. Very exciting for the small town…we actually posed for a photo shoot for them. We were happy to oblige as the photo shoot included drinking wine and eating gourmet cheeses and meats.

Hoping to have many more visitors as the weather starts to warm up again!

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Wineries in Lujan de Cuyo: Robino, Bonfanti, Norton

Lujan de Cuyo is another wine region right outside Mendoza.

Travel in Bike

I loved pairing bike riding and wine drinking so much in Maipu (the other wine region outside Mendoza city) that I decided to do it again, but this time, with Travel in Bike. Travel in Bike is owned by a very friendly, young couple. When we came, the wife had taken their newborn son to a check-up, but her husband Marcos was very helpful—he even drove to the the first winery to make sure we made it okay! I highly recommend them—$40 pesos ($10 dollars) to rent a bike all day. Marcos will also reserve all the wineries for you, but I recommend calling ahead if you have a preference on where to go.

Dante Robino Bodega (winery)

Personalized tour (tour guides speak English perfectly, although we asked for Spanish)

• Widest variety of wines
• Most aesthetically pleasing
• Best tasting
• Medium-sized winery

Wine Labels: Dante Robino & Novecento

 

Wine Types: Malbec, Bonarda, Merlot, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Extra Brut, Demi Sec, Rosado

Roberto Bonfanti Bodega Familiar

• Very quaint
• Family bodega

Wine Labels: Roberto Bonfanti, Familia Bonfanti, Bonfanti Malbec Rose

Wine Types: Malbec, Malbec Rose, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec Alfa

Norton bodega

• Biggest winery
• Interesting tour: tastings from start to finish of the wine
• Elegant interior

Wine Labels:

Becoming Domesticated

Somewhere in between all of our Argentine adventures, Brad and I have become domesticated.

Our rose plant :)

We baked medialunas (sweet croissants served with coffee at cafes). Of course, they didn’t have the same lightness as the ones here, but we came close!

Happy Revolution Day! Revolucion de Mayo

25 de mayo, or Revolucion de Mayo, is a public holiday celebrating the beginning of the revolution against Spain for Argentine Independence. One of my friends at the university, Wanda, kindly invited Brad and I to her house to try locro. Locro is a stew usually eaten on independence days (both May 25 & July 9), similar to our hamburgers and hot dogs on Fourth of July.

“Locro is a traditional South American food popular in the countries that lie along the Cordillera (mtn range) of the Andes Mountains. Locro can be compared to a thick stew or chili. The name comes from the Incan language, Quecha. Locro is a particularly popular dish in Ecuador and Argentina. In these countries, locro is not only a food, but also a custom. Locro was eaten by native peoples of South America previous to the time of Spanish colonization, and continues to be a popular customary dish as of the 21st century.”

-http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-locro.htm

Our particular stew had potatoes, beans, corn, chorizo and an assortment of other vegetables. It takes a few days to prepare so although I doubt Wanda’s mom will probably never read this, many thanks to her for toiling in the kitchen on our behalf. The seasons are opposite in the Southern Hemisphere so a stew is perfect for the end of May!

Finally, we ended with arroz con leche (rice with milk). Brad is a fanatic for this dessert. It’s quite sweet! See second picture down on the left.

Wanda’s family was very kind and welcoming, and I can understand why 20-something adults don’t want to leave home here. Her home and yard was beautiful and her mom was a great cook (we have something in common! *wink, mom*)