So I’ve been very negligent of this blog (sorry Dad!) but I’ve had a lot going on—this might be a long post… and I'll add more pictures later today...
CLANCY INVASION OF 
ARGENTINA! On Satruday April 16th my mom and four aunts arrived in Argentina and I met them at their hotel in Retiro, Buenos Aires. We had a full week of sightseeing and its was so incredible to see people from home. On Saturday, we did a tour of the city by bus to kind of get an overview of the city. Sunday morning we checked out the Plaza de Mayo and took a tour of the Casa Rosada (Pink House which is the equivalent to the white house), shopped at a street market in San Telmo, and went to a Tango Show. Monday we ventured to La Plata where I showed everyone La Comisión where I take classes, the University, the Cathedral in La Plata 
and a lot of the city. We then went to dinner at my host mom’s house. She made delicious chicken with potatoes and told us stories about herself and her family during the dictatorship here. It was definitely a little crazy but everyone enjoyed meeting Eli, the kids, and David.
They returned to Buenos Aires in the morning (saw Recoleta Cemetery and an art museum) and I met up with them later that day after classes. Wednesday we went to EL Tigre, a river region and took a boat tour through all the rivers. We then walked across Buenos Aires and went to the Evita Museum. Thursday we saw Teatro Colon, the state of the art opera house in the center of Buenos Aires. Then we did some leather shopping back in Palermo (we definitely contributed to the Argentine economy during our time down here…). Friday we walke
d to Palermo and went to the Japanese gardens and MALBA (Museum of Latin American Art in Buneos Aires). We then walked back toward the hotel and had lunch before everyone had to head to the airport to go home. Plus, throughout the week add in lots of delicious food and wine.
I loved seeing the city some more and showing everyone my life here but most importantly I loved spending so much time with my family. I learned lots of new things about my mom’s family and I feel very lucky to have so many wonderful women to look up to in my life.
Needless to say, I was a little bummed when everyone left. Plus all the other William & Mary students were away on a trip to Mendoza so I felt super lonely for the rest of the Easter weekend. But Eli had lots of family over and we ate delicious food all weekend so it was nice to be with a loving, caring family (even if it wasn’t my own).
The next couple days were super boring. I had to finish a final project for one of our Comisión classes and I could not focus to save my life. The class was about mass media and the construction of collective memory and while the material was interesting, it was all a little repetitive and theoretical for me. It was definitely a Hispanic Studies class. I’m coming to realize more and more here that I am definitely a science person. I miss taking Kinesiology classes and I’m looking forward to next year at W&M.
Anyways, the class finished up on Tuesday and it’s been a very relaxing week since then. Maya and I made a cake for Bettina’s birthday (one of our program directors at the Comisión), I went into Buenos Aires on Friday with Maya, Leksa, and Ruth Ann and we went to Chinatown and Palermo for some shopping and dinner. Then Saturday, Maya and I decided to cook an American dinner for everyone—we made chili and cornbread. The food here, while delicious, lacks any sort of spice so making chili was a little taste of home. We had about 20 people at the house between the W&M students, my host family, Eli’s sister Yamila’s family plus some friends. The Argentines all enjoyed the chili and It was definitely a success we had a great night talking politics and just hanging out together. Sunday, Eli’s mom made delicious lasagna and we had everyone over again to make tortas fritas (a very typical argentine dessert). Tortas fritas are basically pieces of fried dough like funnel cakes. Juan taught me how to make them (I’m trying to learn lots of Argentine cooking so I can make things when I go home. They were DELICIOUS and it was once again great to have everyone over at our house for the day.
This week, we are starting a new class at the Comisión on indigenous rights so I’m excited to switch subjects and start something new. I’ve narrowed it down to two classes for the University classes—one on Latin American culture and one on the U.S. and it’s foreign policy during the 19th century. I’m also getting going on my internship down here with the police Archive at the Comisión. That’s kind of a lot to explain so I’ll leave it to another post.
This weekend, one of my best friends from gymnastics, Shannon, is coming to visit. She was studying in Ecuador this semester and is finishing up this week then coming to Argentina with a few friends before heading home. I’m super excited to see her and can only imagine the adventures I’m sure we’ll have together (Shannon is one of those people whose life is always exciting so when you are around her you never really know exactly what’s going to happen but I can assure you it will be entertaining).
Wow—this one was long. But life here is still good and I’m definitely enjoying meeting new people and learning new things. I hope you all had a very happy Easter! I miss you!
Love, Caroline
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