2017 has already started out great! We (USC) won the Rose Bowl (sorry Penn State fans, it was a hard fought game), traveled to a new country, and everything else about this upcoming year is looking brilliant. 

*Wifi at my new hostel in Buenos Aires isn't fast enough for me to post pictures so for now it will be just blogging, which I know isn't as great :/

Off to Buenos Aires, Argentina!

The night of January 1st, my friend Mel and I flew to Buenos Aires from Santiago, had to say goodbye to everyone I was with for the last 3 weeks. It was a bit bittersweet but I knew we had to part ways eventually. We got to the hostel around 1am so we just went straight to bed.

After being in Europe and other places for so long, I'm pretty much city-ed out. As in, I don't really care for touring in cities and seeing the same thing in every place. I came to South America to do activities and be in nature, not visit another city. Don't get me wrong, BA is an awesome place! It's the most modern and European like city in South America and I could totally see why people love living here. There are really bougie areas (Palermo) that reminded me of walking in LA, NY or SF. They had cute hipster coffeeshops, white marble and exposed bricks in restaurants, modern architecture, pressed juice, healthy restaurants, and so much more. Were in the city for a total of 6 days and to be honest, there isn’t much to do that fill all 6 days so we’ve been taking it easy. 

Highlights

• Watched USC win the 2017 Rose Bowl against Penn State
  • We found an American bar (The Alamo) that’s known to play all American sports so it was a piece of home. We met another family whose daughter is currently a freshmen and another guy who graduated in the 80s. It was so surprising to meet these USC supporters in Buenos Aires but it might watching the game 10 times better.
  • We had pitchers of beers and bar food floating around so everyone got really friendly and cheered extremely loud for every USC touch down. Made me be okay with missing the tailgate and game back at home. When the final touchdown, interception, and field goal were played, we erupted! You could have probably heard the 6 of us cheering from the other side of town. It was amazing!!
  • It just shows that the USC family is real and it will create an instant bond anywhere you go.
  • The family we met were super cool! The mom sat at our table and she was definitely drunk but she was so cool and hilarious. She talked to us all night and making fun of this other family we were cheering against us. She flipped them off behind their backs and when she found out they were from Cincinnati she goes “ugh those fat fucks” ahaha maybe not appropriate but it was hilarious! 
• Visiting La Boca
  • This is a cool, quirky area in Buenos Aires. It’s home to more of the lower income families but it’s really colorful and many of the stores looked like it came straight out of a circus. 
  • I did a tour with the hostel so here are a few things I learned:
    • The river that runs through the area is the 3rd dirtiest river in the world
    • The La Boca soccer team’s colors are Blue and Yellow because they were forced to change colors since a river team had the same colors and they lost in a match. So the mayor at the time decided to change the team colors to the first ship he saw in coming into the harbor, which was a ship was Sweden. 
    • La Boca was always meant to be a port area and never actually turn into a neighborhood that people wanted to live and visit
• Watched a Tango Show
  • Tango is a specialty dance in Argentina so we had to go watch a show. They included lessons in our ticket but we came too late to actually take advantage of it. Whoops!
  • It amazes me how they are able to move like that! The footwork and movements are really quick and precise. Maybe it was good I didn’t take lessons… I would’ve made a fool of myself. However, I think I’m more of a fan of Salsa. The dance looks more fun and sexy. I might look into taking some lessons when I move back to the states. 
  • The drinks there were overpriced so we snuck in our own bottle of wine. You gotta do what you gotta do when you’re poor backpackers.
• Visit the Modern Art Museum (MALBA)
  • We lucked out to be visiting on Wednesdays because tickets were half off. For only 50 pesos, about $3, we saw some really cool artwork and exhibits. I don’t really know how to appreciate art so I personally really like modern art since they’re different and entertaining. I definitely think this museum is worth checking out! 
• Eating STEAK & MEAT
  • You can’t come to Argentina and not eat steak here. This is what they are known for (sorry vegetarians)! Mel’s friend gave us 3 recommendations and we are going to try them all. We are basically increasing in price each nice so that means our last night in BA will be the best steak of them all. I’ll hold off on talking about them until I’ve tried all three.
• Wandering through the Cemetery
  • This is the most extravagant graveyards I have ever seen. I normally stay clear of them because they give me the creeps but this place is beyond words. Every tomb or area have statues and giant centerpieces. They are home to famous celebrities, presidents, and other important figures in the BA history. It's insane how magnificent this area is. It's a must visit!