Aventura en Tigre

And again I have another awesome reason to be so glad I chose the study abroad program I chose. Last week we were told that there were 14 spots for an "Urban biking" day in Tigre (the natural Venice of Argentina!). I don't have class on Fridays (or Thursdays :) so Niall and I decided to go!

This is the train station Retiro:

This is a park we stopped at to drink mate (the Argentine social drink, their version of tea), eat alphajores (these layered cookie things people are obsessed with) and learn a little about the city we've lived in for 2.5 months now. It was beautiful and absolutely pleasant.

When I complain or realize how dirty BA is with dog poop and trash on the streets, I need to remember all the beautiful places in Argentina I have been to, and really what a beautiful país it is.

We seriously could not have been luckier with the weather today! It was crazy beautiful! This paseo reminded me of South Pas a bit...

Me and my best friend in Argentina with the city in the background!

We also kayaked through the water city of Tigre which was majestically beautiful. I wish I was at the point in my life to retire and just buy a house on the river and kayak myself to town whenever I choose. We are definitely going to come back to Tigre to walk around more and chill there for more time.

Interesting note on Machismo:

When we were mounting our kayaks, the directors of the group we were with told us that we should have at least one varón (man) in each kayak. That was impossible because there was a vast majority of women. Then I got to thinking, why is that a rule? I asked and the director said "Es mejor" (its better.) And then I continued asking and he just laughed and said that they are a machista society. Punto. The end. He did chuckle at my continued questioning, but just stated the fact as it is.

Yesterday in my UBA class my teacher used the verb "femenizar" (i guess it means to feminize) as a verb meaning "to lessen in social status" or "to become inferior". This professor usually is very respectful and awesome--so this usage surprised me!

Argentina may have its down falls, but its sure beautiful!