Hola,
This past week went by so fast!! Last Thursday, I went to an intercambio at a mate bar. My program organizes the intercambios where Americans and Argentines sit down together and practice English and Spanish. It is a great way to learn and also really fun. We drank a lot of mate, which is the traditional tea that they drink here (some people all day long). Mate is drank from a gourd that you put loose tea leaves in and then pour hot water into. You typically drink an entire cup of mate and then pass it to the next person. Its really strong and high in caffeine. I like it but it kind of gives me a headache. Last weekend I went to La Boca on Sunday which is a really cool neighborhood in BA. Usually when you see pictures of BA on a website there are usually pictures of La Boca. All the houses are really colorful and there is tango dancing in the streets. Its a pretty relaxing day. Also,the soccer stadium is in La Boca and there was a big game on Sunday so it was pretty crowded. The soccer season has actually just begun here and it is a huge deal!! They had not played for awhile because some ordeal with the government not supporting the media to televise the games. My host family is also in an uproar about the government giving $600 million pesos ($1.5 million USD) to support the soccer teams in Argentina. Its kind of crazy that there are people starving all over Argentina that the government cannot seem to help but they can give millions of pesos to support soccer. Last night, I went to a bar where there were tango singers. It was a really cool place with mainly locals. It was a relaxing atmosphere and a nice way to spend the night after a long day of class. This weekend I am going to Bariloche to ski. I leave tonight for my 20 hour bus ride.
Chau!