Home Sweet Home

Hello from the USofA!

So, both my suitcases were overweight by about 15-20 pounds each. Oh dear. There is a US$150 fee per overweight bag. Luckily, the customer service agent asisting me in Buenos Aires took pity on me. As I went to sign the recipt, instead of US$300 it only read US$150, he winked at me and told me to have a nice flight home, PHEW! The flight home was easy; there were no delays, no swine flue scares, no screaming children on the flight, and the cheese ravioli dinner was even good. I landed in Boston at Logan Airport without a hitch where I was greeted by my boyfriend Jason holding 2 dozen pink roses just for me :)

I've been home for almost 3 weeks now and the time really seems to be flying by. In the last 3 weeks I have been quite busy and very active. My first 2 weeks (July 8-20) were spent in Boston. My first few days were spent unpacking in my old apartment, saying hi to old friends and getting settled in Boston. Sunday, Jason and I took the ferry accross the Charles River to Charltown and toured the Tall Ships which were at anchor in ports around Boston taking a week long break from their Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge. Monday, I was excused from jury duty and attended game night with Jason and his boys at Jillians were we bowled and played pool. Tuesday, I went to Jason's New Hampshire property to play in the woods and on the lake. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday I worked at Grace Lutheran Church and Needham Massachusetts Public Library doing community service work. I did, however, take a break from community service work to see the new Harry Potter movie which was great, although, as always not as wonderful as the books. Saturday and Sunday, Jason and I attended a fantastically fun graduation party for one of my sorority sisters in Newport, Rhode Island. Monday I finished up my community service and again attended game night, I bowled a 93 (a vast improvement from last weeks showing), yahoo! Since I'm 21, I had a couple drinks at Jillians, I'm officially a fan of the dirty martini.

Tuesday I almost missed my flight to DC but in a strange stroke of luck made it to Logan Ariport in 15 minutes via cab and arrived early in DC. I saw my dad for the first time since May and we took a flight together to West Palm Beach to stay with Grandma Hannah and Grandpa Milton for a week (July 21-27). We played tennis every day, my serve is coming along quite nicely and I was even able to play sets with Grandma Hannah and all her tennis gals which was a total blast. My Aunt Janet made the 2 hour treck from Melbourne, FL to West Palm Beach, FL twice to hang out with all of us which was also lovely.

Yesterday evening, I arrived HOME in Washington, DC. My mom picked us up at the airport with my puppy Lilly (who is actually not a puppy at all and is actually 13 years old). It is so nice to be home, I've missed this house and my room and of course my Mommy Carmen! I'll be spending a week here in DC (July 27-August 5) and then heading back to Boston.

I have had a wonderful study abroad experience, I loved Argentina and all the people I met there. I want to return someday soon to visit the wine country of Mendoza and the UNESCO Jesuit site in Cordoba. I know I will find my way back to the land of bife, malbec and tango it is just a matter of time. But now, for a little while, I am going to savor being home in the United States of America beacuse I really love it here too.

This concludes my semester abroad and this blog, thank you for reading!

Abrazos y besos,

Raquel

Twas the night before departure

Twas the night before departure and Raquel was packing packing packing! I can't believe I'm leaving Argentina in 25 hours. I've never been so excited in my life to return to the United States of America or so sad to leave a foreign country.

I was talking with my 3 close girl friends over a "goodbye lunch" this afternoon at one of our favorite cafés, Natural Deli. Natural Deli is an all organic restaurant and organic foods store in my neighborhood, an anomaly in Argentina. They have the most delicious scrambled eggs I've ever eaten that are served over a large slice of baguette toast and drizzled with basil pesto, yum. The girls and I were talking about the opinions that locals hold of "Americans". Opinions are mostly positive but a huge problem many people in South America have with citizens of the United States is that we refer to ourselves as Americans. I had never thought of this as wrong or offensive until arriving in Argentina, talking with locals and taking classes I've learned to watch my language.

My Geography of the Americas class here in Argentina showed me that the term America refers to North, Central, and South America; the term extends to 35 different countries, 35! America occupies the space from Canada to Belize, through Panama, islands off the shores of Florida and Guyana, in to Colombia and ends at the most southern tip of Argentina. With America being so vast, for citizens of the United States to refer to ourselves as American is perhaps globally patriotic in that we are referring to the entire land mass known as America but more just obnoxious. The television network TNT is broadcasting a new TV series called "Real American Cowboys" which will also be airing in Argentina. In the subway, I watched as someone scribbled over an advertisement for the show, he wrote in "North" making the advertisement read "Real North American Cowboys", he was offended and didn't want to be associated with the United States. When I think about it, I can see how people would perceive this as rude, we don't speak for all of the Americans in America, just the United States.

I realize this is nit-picky and that the United States of America is the only country in America that has "America" in its title, logically we are Americans, it is the name of our country. People in Argentina are called Argentines, what are people in the United States supposed to be called, United Statesians? No, we are Americans. Unfortunately, the rest of America hates this. Food for thought.

I'm gonna get back to stuffing suitcases. Homeward bound tomorrow, so excited. Cross your fingers that I don't have to pay overweight baggage fees. God Bless America (for clarification, I do mean the United States of America)!!

Love,

Raquel

Maybe not all men are dogs

Location: The neighborhood of San Telmo, the 500 block of Perú Street

Setting: Museum, a 4 story night club with neon lights and disco balls

Time: Wednesday's "after office" party around 1am, "early" because the club modestly closes at 3am

Music: Jump by Madonna off the "Confessions on a Dance Floor" album

Plot Line: Girls night out dancing!!!

The Story: I am dancing away to Madonna screaming at the very top of my lungs with my girls when a drunken idiot falls in to me and shoves me against the circle of my friends. I spin around and give him my very best death stare as if to say, "How dare you shove me when I'm dancing to the goddess!" Before I even get the chance, a well groomed older guy, late 20s early 30s steps in, takes the drunken idiot's arm, and says in beautiful Argentine Spanish, "Excuse me, you just bumped in to this girl. Please be careful, I think you owe her an apology." Of course this didn't go over well with the drunken idiot and he tried to start a fight. My protector hands my roommate Stef his drink and the two boys start arguing. After a few minutes and lots of hand gestures, the drunken idiot sincerely apologizes and the two men do the traditional Argentina face cheek bump hello/goodbye kiss. We hand the older man back his drink and I thank him in Spanish for dealing with the drunken idiot. He continues in Spanish and says to me, "I would really like to dance with you but you do have the liberty to say no." To which I responded, "You should know that I have a boyfriend in the United States." He responds, "No problem, I understand. Enjoy the rest of your time in Buenos Aires." We do the traditional Argentine face cheek bump and say goodbye.

Wow.

I didn't dance with a single boy all night and spent a wonderful evening dancing with the girls, we had so much fun. I've never had a man act such a gentleman in the club before! Tío Mikey, maybe not all men are dogs. Or, these two guys were working an angle and planned the shoving and ensuing argument as a ploy to get girls to dance with them, dear me I'm a suspicious being.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Love,

Raquel