Today is our last day in Córdoba, and our last day in
Argentina. Last night was rough, so I’m very tired and I don’t have a lot of
energy. Kristi and I spent the morning in a café while the rest of the group
went on a walking tour. I decided to stay back because I wouldn’t be able to
keep up all day. Kristi stayed behind with me, what a pal. Ana gave me some
medicine to help with the drainage and congestion. It was a pill that dissolves
pretty quickly. Ana said to either take it or put it in some lemon tea and
drink that once it dissolves. I tried to just take the pill then almost choked
on it because it started dissolving so quickly, so I went for the tea route.
The tea didn’t taste the best, but the hot liquid felt good on my throat.
As Kristi and I were leaving the café to go meet up with the
group, we heard loud banging. There was a bus full of people holding Argentina
flags out of the windows chanting, and others on the bus were banging on drums.
The bus was stopped in the street, and in front of it people were setting off
firework bangs into the air. They must have been doing some find of protest. It
was very loud. We wanted to stop and watch but at the same time we didn’t want
to get ourselves into any trouble, so we kept walking.
We met up with the rest of the group at the downtown
building for the college we visited yesterday. The dean of the school gave us a
lecture on his most recent residential project. Today was also his birthday, so
we sang to him!
After we placed our orders Ana was telling us a funny story
about Judy from last night. Ana, Judy, Ege, and Spodek went out for dinner and
Judy was telling them how in China (she is Chinese) they eat really big
breakfasts, and the small hostel breakfast was not going to be enough for her,
so she wanted to order an additional cheeseburger for dinner to eat in the
morning. Spodek was trying to convince her otherwise and she told him “I am
Chinese. I am hungry.” Ana got a kick out of that and was cracking up telling
us the story.
The grumpy waiter came back to ask Ally what side she wanted
with her meal. Ana translated for her and told Ally to keep changing her mind,
just to mess with the waiter. He ended up walking away and coming back a minute
or so later.
Once we finished eating we added up our meal total for the
bill. They don’t do taxes here so what is on the menu is the total. All of us
combined total was $379 pesos. After having to wave him down about 4 times, the
grumpy waiter told us an amount for our bill ($430 pesos). He didn’t actually
give us a check that had this total. So Ana asked him for a printed copy to
compare our totals with his. He had overcharged us. So Ana argued with him
until she got her way and we paid the amount we had totaled up, not the grumpy
waiter’s total. She sure knows how to take of us down here!
After lunch we got some ice cream and picked up our laundry.
I feel so fresh and so clean now! I rerolled all of my clothes and shoved them
into my packing cubes in my backpack suitcase. Surprisingly everything still
fits, even with the small souvenirs I’ve gotten. I’ve just been putting them in
my shoes when I pack.
Afterwards Paige and Ally took me and Kristi on the same
walking tour they went on this morning, just a more accelerated version. We saw
Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón, Museo de Bellas Artes Evita, and best of all Centro
Cultural Córdoba. The building is set into the ground so people can walk all
over the sloping roof. We raced up the big slope to the top. Kristi won.
Once at the bus station Ana got us all some little chocolate
treats, which were delicious. We had about an hour to kill at the bus station,
so Kristi and I went to a restaurant that was similar to Steak n Shake. I
ordered a ham and cheese sandwich and a tea with lemon again. This time the
waiter brought out squeezed lemon juice in a little shot glass sized cup. Once
I got my tea made I just went for it and dumped all of the lemon juice in the
tea. I instantly regretted my decision. I took a sip and it was on a higher
level than a sour patch kid. There was no going back though, so I put 3 packets
of sugar in it. That made it more bearable.
After that we went to the bus. We got in line to put our
bags under the bus, and I heard some commotion towards the front of the line.
By the time I got towards the front, I learned that people were upset because
we had to tip the bus bag loader. A couple people tried to load their bags
themselves, but the guy wouldn’t let them and took their bags from them. Kristi
was in line in front of me and the guy took her bag and loaded it. She wasn’t
going to tip him but he refused to give her her bag ticket until she gave him
money. Ana was not having any of that. She gave him a piece of her mind. She
was not upset about tipping the guy, but that he expected and demanded a tip.
So after that incident, I boarded the bus. Bus is an
understatement. This thing is like the Taj Mahal on wheels. Our seats were like
first class airplane seats. They leaned back super far and we had little feet
props. I am pretty pleased as I sit here now typing from this luxurious spot.
Since I have some time now I thought I would reflect on the
trip thus far. Today is officially the half way point in the trip, day 13 of
25. I have to say if it weren’t for Kristi I for sure would have lost my shit
before now. She has held me together. Of the many moments I have had to vent or
almost wanted to break down, she held my fragile little pieces together. She
has made me drink coffee, and I kind of like it. I am sad when she is far away.
Right now on this bus we are not sitting next to each other, and it is weird.
We have discussed what we will do the day after we get back from South America
if she isn’t sick of me. We will sleep in a big comfy bed, go eat pancakes and
coffee for breakfast, float in a pool, then watch modern family and do nothing.
It will be glorious.
I have compiled a list of things I am looking forward to
when I return home:
My mom and dad’s voices
My full size not bunk bed with warm fleece blanket
Temperature and humidity controlled living space
Clean laundry
Talking to Mimi on the phone
Television, Netflix, and Harry Potter on DVD
Having wifi
My own room and shower
Hugging Brian
Fresh fruit and lettuce that is safe to eat
Water that is just water, not “agua con gas” in a bottle
English speaking
Cheap McDonald’s
Consistency in my schedule
American money
Burying my nose in a clean towel
My non flea infested dogs on leashes
Pancakes
Sleeping in
I have also compiled a list of things I will miss about
South America after we leave:
The culture
People always out and about
Attempting to speak Spanish
Looking forward to new places
Hanging out with Kristi 24/7
Meeting and getting to know the students I am traveling with
Going out to dinner and coffee with the professors
Dogs everywhere
Platform shoes
Being humbled by living out of a bag
Being unplugged from the world
Café con leche y medialunas
Taking pictures of new exciting things
Trying to sketch
Mate
Blogging
Testing my comfort zone
Souvenir shopping
Empanadas
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