Lovely weekend in NY

Niall came to visit this weekend! We had a great time exploring the city. Saturday morning we had a brunch with all my friends! It was lovely.

Reunion with Argentina friends, Niall and Kara!

See my kitchenette below!!!

I have so much homework, I'm so sleep deprived that this is gonna stay short! Rehearsal starts next week...so I guess this means that I'm gonna have to be come close friends with caffeine.

New Shoes

On Saturday Rachel (my best friend and next-door neighbor) and I went to an awesome park called the High Line, that used to be a freight train track. Look at the awesome New Yorky view...

Then we decided that it would be a good step towards becoming adults and being healthy people to buy some work out shoes. So we bought matching ones at Payless.

I am happy to say that I have used them twice since Saturday and went to the gym for the first time on my own terms without anyone forcing me to with threats of failing a PE class. It felt great, I exceeded my expectations for how long I could stay on the eliptical and this is gonna become a regular thing. Wahoo for new shoes.

I promise more posting soon!

Reunions

This past week has been a whirlwind unlike any other. I've reconnected with many friends from my NY life, and some from Argentina! I took my grandma to 3 doctors appointments, packed for my new apartment in NY, visited Boston and Amherst, Massachusetts, moved into my apartment, went to my first day of class and had some drinks for the first time (legally) in New York.

First highlight of this crazy week was when Sylvie, one of my closest friends from Argentina, came over for dinner. She goes to Scripps College (only 45 minutes away from my house!), so it was easy to get together. We got empanadas and Quilmes, the food and beer we consumed most in Argentina!

Then literally the next day I flew to Boston to visit Amanda, my best friend from South Pasadena. She had an internship in New York all summer, so I hadn't seen her since December 2009!!! We had a great day spent in lovely Bostonian parks, and at the Samuel Adams Brewery!

Here we are trying some delicious summer ale...

After Boston, I took a 3 hour bus ride to Amherst, MA to see Niall. It was great to see his school and see how different life in more of a rural setting is. I found it much calmer and more spread out. The little college towns were so cute and full of hippies that they reminded me of little beach towns! It was great to see him, but as all of these visits were, it was too short!

Now I'm in NY, in my own own own apartment (see below!), with my NY family and with many lists of things to do and to buy. Moving in is such a process! Rachel is sitting on my bed, and Jackie and Seth (famous from our Youtube collaborations) are sitting at my desk area.

I'm really happy to start getting more settled, because the first 2 days of being here at school have been completely overwhelming. I felt a little disconnected with my school and these people since I haven't seen and in some cases talked to them in a very long time. Slowly but surely I'll feel more at home again, and I can't wait to continue studying theatre and learning about new fields within the theatre world.

I'll post more pictures of my ADORABLE apartment when its all decorated! We're going to Target and some thrift stores to find some cool decor this weekend. Come visit!

Good Exhaustion

Being home has been a complete whirlwind! I've worked 30+ hours in a week and a half (I know its not much but getting up early and having responsibilities even after just a short break is hard!) I've gone to the beach with my grandparents and Fortner cousins for 2 days, gone to the So Pas Farmer's Market, seen 2 plays, reunited with friends and more family and made my first summer pie! It was tart because I made it with fresh berries, but it was still yummy! And...the top crust was inspired by the Martha Stewart Valentine's Day issue last year!

Today I also hung out with Becca, Niko and a surprise appearance by our old friend Ryan! It was a truly ideal summer day and I loved every minute of it.

It ended with Stitch and Pitch (the Dodger game where we knit!). This is my little panda friend that I'm making for my friend Amanda's birthday 3 days after mine...in one week!!!!!!

Even though I have not been this exhausted in at least 5-6 months, it feels so good to know that I have people to love (and therefore spend time with) and people who love me enough to spend time with me. I think this is the worthwhile exhaustion.

P.S.-I'm reading Sula by Toni Morrison, which is beautifully written, as always. Next up: An Abundance of Katherines by John Green and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (7) by J. K. Rowling. I am so excited to get to read soon...after all the newness of being home wears off! These are easily my 3 favorite authors of all time!

Los últimos abrazos

The last three days have been jam packed with tourist sites, hugs, goodbyes, and lots of reminiscing. Niall, Kara and Mel left today to go home, back to our "real lives", which means that this porteña life is officially coming to an end!

Above is my favorite picture I took at El Caminito en La Boca. Its a really dangerous area, but we heard that we HAD to see that street with the colored houses, so we took a cab there and back--just to be safe. It turned out to be sort of a let down--just like most hyped-up tourist attractions. It was fun to wander and see a different part of the city that we have lived in for so long.

After La Boca, we went to Plaza de Mayo to see Las Madres de los desaparecidos (Mothers of the disappeared). They are the mothers, and some grandmothers, of the citizens who were unrightfully captured and obviously killed during the dictatorship that ruled between 1976-1983. In many ways Argentina is still in a post-dictadura phase, and the country is still very much hurt by this terribly violent and oppressive rule. These mothers' faces are so sad, and many of them hold the picture of their lost child. Some people (like Niall's host mother) HATES them, even though they were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for all their lobbying. Its mainly because many of their sons/daughters could have been criminals and so many people don't see why everyone feels so sorry for them. I'll tell you why--there is NO REASON ever to kill another human being!

The day after was 9 de julio which is Argentina's Independence Day! We went to Tigre for our last hurrah. Above is a beautiful Van Gogh-y pic of the river!

Here is us (minus Sylvie the amazing group photographer) on our last night out. We were toasting all of our favorite, and many of our not-so-favorite memories, being silly, and expressing our love for each other. Mel said it well when she said "I'm really surprised that I like you as much as I like you." We really did get super lucky that we found such beautiful people to spend this adventure with, and I feel so blessed to have all these contacts and life-long relationships!!! This experience would've been so different without them!

And now back to reading and writing...

Senior Housing

The most beautiful thing happened today. Rachel and I became neighbors for the entirety of our Senior Years. Its like sleepovers everynight with boundaries and lots of closet space. What more could anyone ask for? I have my own bathroom and own mini kitchen. This is the building I lived in sophomore year that's only 6 blocks away from school, one block away from the best super market I've ever been in, and literally on top of a Chipotle and a Subway stop. Perfection. If you wanna come visit me, you should come and just stay in MY apartment with me!

¡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!

Home, GAGA and Christmas Prep!

I've been home for 1.5 days and been so insanely busy. Rachel the Amazing helped me pack all of my New York junk up, and I finally turned in my last final paper yesterday after I got home!

Above is the goblin from Labyrinth that I drew for Rachel. Merry Christmas! Love, The Goblins!

Making tamales with my Grandma and Aunt Mary! Some got a little burnt this year, but they're still as good as always. Grandma's house is so different now, and it was a bit surreal to be there after so long!

The Lady Gaga Concert was completely stunning. Her costumes, performance, music, sets, dancers, relationship with her audience, etc. were all unbelievable. Me, Melissa, Michelle and Maureen are all "Little Monsters" now! I love her because she is making fun of the idea of Fame, while conquering it at the same time. She also continuously shows how women are treated as objects, the best examples are in her Bad Romance video! Her biggest message is that people can be a little weird and still be awesome and accepted! She is revolutionizing popular culture, whether you like it or not! I can't wait to see her continue to shock the world and reinvent her image! See the video of Dance in the Dark below with her amazing costume of lights!

Christmas Eve morning! We are watching the Muppet's Christmas Carol and decorating cookies. My mother is always the famous holiday cookie decorator!

This movie is classic! I can't wait for tonight at my Nina's house, tomorrow and my Grandmas and then tomorrow night with my Dad's family. I'm feeling a little sick and tired, so hopefully i make it through all the festivities! Merry Christmas!