Will Cook

One of the first things that comes to mind when I think about what ways I’ve changed since coming to Buenos Aires has got to do with the FOOD – I officially love to cook now!

If I had to point the finger at someone we could call responsible for this new interest of mine, I’d definitely say it came from Juan and his love for preparing food. Looking back over the semester, some of the earliest bonding experiences we had were in the kitchen; he taught me about maté, we cooked pasta, chicken, omelets and laughed all the while. We even had a few fights with spatulas. I started off by trying to reproduce the simpler things that he made on my own. My increasing bravery (or foolish audacity) in the kitchen reached its peak on Thanksgiving when Brendan and I went to the grocery store to buy ingredients to make the holiday meal for my host family… Enjoy the photos!

Our first collaboration: chocolate chip cookies.

The incredible edible egg - another favorite dish to make with eggs: toast criollo. Cut a circle in a slice of bread, butter put on skillet. Crack egg and put in the 'hole' in bread. Add sugar, cook and serve. REALLY healthy.

Guacamole is a FAVORITE. I like making it from scratch here and ironically going to the Chinese neighborhood in town to buy tortilla chips for the dip...

Juan is crazy about guac.

Brendan making a waldorf salad for our Thanksgiving meal; she made a dressing from milk and dulce de leche (a sweet carmel-like spread used with bread and cookies here)

I like to cook.

According to Anahí (host mother), her sister, Juan and Angie – the sausage stuffing, mashed sweet potatoes and salad Brendan and I made were very good. Whether or not they were just being polite – it was extremely rewarding to make. I suppose this means that I’ll be expected to prepare a dish for future Thanksgivings back in the States!

Mendoza, Argentina

November has come and gone and I have been very out of touch with the outside world in terms of this blog! My classes have come to a close, three of my four exams are over and I’ve celebrated Thanksgiving with Anahí, Juan and Brendan.

Turning back the days on the calendar to the first week of November, I was riding a bus to Retiro on the northeast side of the city to buy a bus ticket. I had decided that morning while volunteering at CODESEDH that I was going to go take a bus with three friends to Mendoza that night. This was the best spontaneous decision I made all semester…

Western Argentina. November 5-7

The fifteen hour bus ride carried Tom, Sarah, Tiffany and I to Argentina’s wine country in the shadow of the tallest mountain in the hemisphere: Aconcagua. The city is ringed on one side by the Andes that straddle the border with Chile. Everywhere one goes the red and dusty earth is kicked up with the backdrop of some of the bluest skies I’ve ever seen and green grape vines flowing around the hills of the countryside.

Wine casks that are about 11 feet high!

The photos speak for themselves, but there are two parts of this trip that would be lost without me writing about them. The first was undoubtedly the incredible dynamic the four of us had as travelers together. Tiffany and I are very social and animated, but Tom and Sarah take those adjectives to ANOTHER level. I seriously doubt 9 minutes ever passed without one of them making us all burst out in laughter! Tom would crack his ridiculous jokes and Sarah would tell stories with her hands and laughter as much with her words. Imagine riding horseback with this crew in the foothills of the Andes or bike riding around the town of Maipu to see the vineyards (bodegas) of Mendoza and taste wine, chocolates and spirits together. Sounds like a dream, right? It truly was. Some of the best company one could ever hope for.

Sarah, Tiffany and Tom in our last stop on our wine tour day: a chocolates and spirits specialty shop.

The second beautiful part of this trip that wouldn’t come across merely through photos is a description of our Sunday outing to Upallata (pronounced ou-pah-sha-ta). We certainly didn’t have the time, gear or stamina to conquer Aconcagua together (altitude 6,962 meters), but we did find a dusty and rocky trail into the foothills of some of the ‘smaller’ mountains of the Andes just outside of this small town.

The incline on the trail increased and the four of us gained ground step by step on this sunny and windy afternoon hike. After a short 20-minute climb we’d reached about 1,200 feet about the valley and we all settled down on enormous boulders on our small plateau. Given how gregarious and spunky our group is, what followed shocked me. We all sat there on that side of the mountain for almost a half-hour without speaking a word. Not one. Just quiet and the most impressive view of snowcapped Andes I’ve seen on this continent. The clouds cast and odd shadow on part of the scene below us and the sun was so powerful it made us all squint. 

Before long, I was looking up over my shoulder at the steepest part of the climb that lay ahead and I decided to go for it. This part of the trek was really fun because the terrain forced me to get creative with how I reached the next peak on my path. After another ten minutes I was as high as one could climb on this particular set of hills with an impressive view. A moment later Tom scurried up beside me and as Sarah continued climbing below I burst out in the Georgetown fight song: “Hey Sarah: How long’s it been????!” And then with an echo ringing we bellowed the fight song at the top of our lungs. Quite a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon. I really love the Andes and my friends Tom, Sarah and Tiffany.

Will in Argentina, an Outsider's Prospective

            I’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity to observe Will in his new habitat for the past week and a half, and I’ve noticed a few things about his interactions with the city, the language, and the people that his blog doesn’t do justice.  While he’s busy making some delicious guacamole, I’ve decided to share a few of my observations.

            Will has conquered Buenos Aires.  He knows dozens of bus routes and subte lines like the back of his hand.  Just tell him a destination and he’ll know how to get there.  And if he doesn’t, he’ll pull out his well-worn out guide and be able to tell you within twenty seconds.  He also knows a ton about the history of the country, as well as current politics.  Only a few of my hundreds of questions have left him stumped.  Will, after only six months, can give a better tour of this Southern American city than he can of Washington, DC.  

Augustín, Brian, myself, and Will at the frisbee party

            Will has mastered Spanish.  Not that I am the ideal person to judge this- my Spanish was mediocre at its prime, and after not using it for the past year and a half, I am far from ‘proficient’.  That aside, not only has Will become fluent in the language, but he also has made a strong effort to speak in the native dialect and has picked up quite a bit of local slang.  I definitely have a harder time understanding him than I do other Americans when they’re speaking in their second language.

         
         Everyone loves Will.  Obviously he’s done a decent job of explaining how important the people he’s met are to him, but not the other way around.  From the guards of the apartment to fellow Americans to his host family, Will has made an effort to be even more warm and friendly then he is in the US.  I had the opportunity to go to a Sapukay Frisbee party on Wednesday night, where Will’s teammates raved about/imitated/mocked (lovingly) him, and obviously appreciated his presence on the team. 

Moral of the story, Argentina has left as great a mark on Will as he has left on Argentina.

-Brendan, the girlfriend