Tango Tango Tango

This is the tango festival that was held in Plaza Huíncul. There were about 300 people there and I got to DANCE in it!!! I went to a tango class and the professor invited me to dance with him in the festival. There was a tango orchestra, a singer from Buenos Aires, and a guest pair of dancers from Mar del Plata. We danced during one of the songs by the singer. It was so exciting!





Here is the whole crew from the tango school. They did a couple choreographed dances that were amazing. There was also a dance by the two little kids in front. They are eight years old and already have very impressive moves!










A fuzzy picture of us practicing beforehand.


















This is me with the guest couple from Mar del Plata. They also gave us a three day tango course before the festival. They were amazing and I learned so much!

I was fortunate enough to be fully outfitted by friends. Lauren told me that if I was going to do this I had to do two things. 1. Video tape it (they taped it, butI still haven't gotten a copy) and 2. Wear red. I asked around and found a friend who had the perfect dress for me!

I LOVE TANGO!!!

Mountain Excursions

This is the Pehuen Arraucaria tree, found only in Argentina and Chile. This is what the branches of the tree look like, and it is aptly named the "monkey puzzle" tree in English. The leafy looking parts are extremely sharp and prickly- impossible to swing from!








I headed with Mónica and her family (my host family) to Chenque Pehuen and on a hike through the arraucaria forest.
















This area is about an hour from where I was living in Plaza Huíncul.















We also went for a weekend to their cabin in Villa La Angostura, in El Parque Nacionál de Nahuel Huapi. This is Lake Nahuel Huapi in the background. This place is AMAZING!!!!!










This is the national arrayanes forest. It is in the myrtle family. It has an amazing cinnamon colored bark. Very Bambi-esque. I am here with Joaquin, my host brother.










A little piece of heaven on Earth!

Plaza Huincul

We did some Halloween celebrations with the students. Here they are carving pumpkins (they loved it!!). We also made carmel apples and sang some Halloween songs. They were all in disbelief that the streets are actually filled with kids walking around getting free candy!






This was one of the immersion programs I worked. The theme was "Thanksgiving" and all of the kids had to dress up as either pilgrims or indians. It was a bit strange for me because of the whole controversial part of the Thanksgiving story, but we had a good discussion about the treatment of native americans. They have a very similar history here with the indigenous people! Their costumes were impressive and we ate a lot of cornbread and pumpkin pie:)






We thought this could definitely make it onto Jay Leno... yummy "Barfy" burgers- the special "flow pack". I don´t see this brand going far in the states:)











Have I already mentioned that it would be hard to be a vegetarian in Argentina?












This was one of the end of the year parties I went to for YPF, one of the big petroleum companies here. I went with my host mom´s brother, and we joined two of my co-teachers and their husbands. One of my favorite parts of the parties is while everyone is dancing they pass out a whole slew of cotillon-or party favors. Everyone is suddenly wearing crazy hats, waving objects around, and blowing obnoxious horns... just like your childhood parties- good times!





Here on an evening walk with Mónica, my host mom (or host friend:), and friends Veronica and Lidia, all with whom I grew very close.











Here is the crew I cooked a Thanksgiving feast for... complete with pumpkin pie from scratch (my first time)! When everyone was seated and ready to eat we brought the stuffed chickens to the table (couldn´t find turkeys here) and they still weren´t completely cooked... good thing I still don't have in-laws to impress :)
Otherwise I think it all turned out well. I continued with the Jost tradition of crying at the table when talking about all I am thankful for. They all told me they want to start this tradition in Argentina now!



Close to my home in Plaza Huíncul- with the petroleum plant in the background. The wind is often blowing, as is evident with my windblown hair- it almost gives it the look of a model shoot, right? ;)