¡Carnaval!

Friday night, 5 marzo, it was Callie's birthday, so we went to a bar and then to a boliche (dance club!) We had a great time but didn't get back until far into the night. The next day my friends were pressuring me to go to Carnaval with them, and I gave in. I spent Saturday morning running around town trying to pick up all the tickets I needed in order to go!

We finally made it all work out and got on the bus around 3:30pm, so we arrived in Gualeguaychú at around 6:30. We chilled at the "beach" by the river for a while, and then ate a really yummy dinner. Carnaval was a huge parade that lasted from about 11pm-4am. In summary, it was 1/2 naked people dancing their butts off in amazingly ornate costumes/accessories.

Niall and I! We've become super good friends...he's a vital part of our group! He's from Boston and goes to U. Mass.
Erika and I get mistaken for each other by the program directors. Can you see why? She's so sweet and awesome. She's from NY and goes to Cornell!
The whole town is simply consumed by Carnaval, and this was at the nice restaurant we ate at. Its obvious that the city shuts down and thrives at the time of Carnaval, so it would be interesting to see what its like when its off season. Its a city of 100,000 people and the biggest one in the province of Paraná, Argentina. Many people say that this Carnaval rivals that of Río de Jainero, maybe someday I'll be able to compare them!

After the parade, we wandered around, ate, and then tried to sleep on the beach. The Argentines were going strong until after we left at 8am! I can't believe they have that much stamina and endurance to stay strong for so long. Maybe I would've been game if I had slept more the night before, but still I felt like the Argentines one-upped me big time. I'm so glad I went, even though the planning and lack of sleep was stressful, because it truly was a unique and once in a lifetime experience!

Here are some of my other close friends at our favorite bar, Acabar, last week.

They have board games and we played Jenga with those giant blocks in front of us! From left: Niall, Grace, Sylvie, Me, Callie, Kara. I'm so happy and proud of myself for being able to be confident enough in myself to put myself out there, and I'm so happy that I have the opportunity to meet all of these sweet, silly and awesome people!