Day 2 was very eventful to say the least. It started fairly early (for BA standards), around 8:00 am. I had the opportunity to wait for my tour guide, an Argentinan Rotarian named Margarita, in a school with full wi-fi connection (something that has posed to be at least somewhat of a challenge to get easily). I took advantage of this time to e-mail friends and family and to catch up on Facebook. I will also admit that I had to go on the ABC website to see who the cheater was on the Bachelorette...I can't believe it was Justin!!! What a bad thing to do. At least it wasn't Frank, b/c he is my favorite up until now (remember I haven't seen last Monday's episode, so if he did something bad also, I don't know it yet...I only know that Justin was the cheater from the message boards).
Margarita met me at the school, and then we began our walking tour of Buenos Aires. I love big cities where people walk everywhere they go. Buenos Aires is definitely one of these cities. Everywhere I looked I could see people, buildings, things to buy, things to eat, busses, and so much more. We headed to McDonald's because we had a little time to spare, and so I had coffee and a raspberry muffin...The coffee here is small and strong, more like an espresso. I do like coffee, and I do like it strong, but it was still a little much for me. I still enjoyed it, because it is something that is obviously authentic to Argentina and Buenos Aires...and even to McDonald's...at least here.
After McDonald's, we continued our walk along the city streets. There was so much excitement in the air, and a ton of Argentinan flags and soccer jerseys and other trinkets of light blue and white in honor of the team's continued winning streak in the World Cup, and also because July 9th is Independence Day here...Who would have thought that even though I will miss fireworks in the USA, I will still be celebrating the same type of day as 4th of July but a few days later...and in another country. I have no idea how we will celebrate this day, but I will write all about it in the blog.
Margarita and I had lunch at Uno's Pizza. I don't think it was the same Uno's we have in the USA, and the pizza was really different...ours had eggs, ham and mushrooms on it, and all the toppings were on top of the cheese instead of under it, like I'm used to seeing. Still, it was very good!!!
After lunch (which by the way, took place around 3:00 pm) we went walking some more and saw a lot of important buildings and other monuments in the city center. Later, we went to meet Gabriel, who is the teacher in the university. He took us to meet his class. He explained that these classes are free to any adults who want to take them, but that sometimes there is a waiting list if a lot of people want to enroll. The students were so great!!! They had been learning English for a while, and I was able to communicate with them very well. I showed them pictures of my family and of Texas and everything that represents my life there. They were very interested to learn all about me, and then they wanted to ask questions and they did a great job of using their English to talk with me and learn more about me and my life in Texas.
The class lasted around 80 minutes, and then another class came which also lasted about 80 minutes. These students were a little more advanced, and it was also a great experience for all of us. I also was able to show them football trading cards, magazines about Frisco, and at the end of the class I gave each student some "Pixie Sticks" to take with them.
We finished classes around 9:30 pm and then said goodbye to Gabriel...I was getting very hungry at that point, and Margarita said that we would meet her husband for dinner. I thought it was a little strange that we were headed to eat at such a late hour, but when we got to the cafe (around 10:15 pm) it was packed!!! Apparently, this is when most of the people go out and have dinner. The place was very cute, and I had a Spanish tortilla, made with potatoes and egg. I had eaten this before when I studied in Spain, so I knew it was going to be good...and it was!
We left the restaurant around 11:20, and there was still a wait to get a table for dinner! We headed in a taxi to meet Mercedes, the rotarian I am staying with. We met her at her son and daughter-in-law's apartment (around 11:45 pm) and then they served us all coffee at the table, while we sat and talked...It was really nice to see that families get together often and are very close here...but it was funny to be getting served coffee at 12:15 am, and that no one seemed ready for bed...except me.
Anyway, it was well worth me being a little tired to take part in all of these activities...because I was really able to experience a day in Buenos Aires the way the local people do. I have been so lucky so far to have wonderful people helping and taking care of me. They are all so kind and lovely!!! I am really enjoying my visit.
Finally, I was able to go to sleep around 1:30 am or so...What a great day it was!!!
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