My Goals in Review

So my 10 goals....let's see how we did shall we....

1. Speak Spanish better.

2.Survive on my Own in a Foreign Country

3.Understand the Fundamental Differences between the Argentine and American Health Care Systems

4. Be able to Prepare a Traditional Argentine Meal

5.Visit Someplace outside of Buenos Aires

6. Get and Work at a Second Internship

7.Swim in the Rio de la Plata

8. Take at least 100 pictures of my Trip

9.Watch/Participate in some form of Tango Dancing

10.Have an Evita Moment

Let's take a look at them one by one now.....

1. I definitely speak Spanish better than I did when I first arrived. More than being able to speak Spanish thought my understanding has improved exponentially. I read a book and half completely in Spanish while I was here. I can understand medical interviews, presentations, and television. My true test came when I had to call the cab company on the phone and speak Spanish. I didn't even blink and was able to get my point across and understand what they told me. That to me is the true sign of knowing the language better. Being able to speak on the phone in the foreign language means you are relying completely on your language skills, no hand gestures or facial expressions allowed. So yes I would say I accomplished this goal.

2. Did I survive on my own in a foreign country? I would say so. I really began acting like I lived in Buenos Aires and like I was going to be there for a long time. People would stop me to ask for directions, would speak to me in Castellano and get aggravated when I didn't get everything they said the first time until they realized I was a foreigner, and I even became a regular at the café by my house. Not to mention the fact that I had amazing experiences in the city working and traveling. I would call this one accomplished.

3. Well I certainly hope I accomplished this goal. I mean I gave a presentation on it on behalf of the US Embassy so I would say that is a pretty good sign that I had a firm grasp on the differences. But in all honesty, my time here not only highlighted the differences (both positive and negative) but gave me a greater appreciation for the healthcare system that we have in the United States.

4. I would say I can definitely prepare a traditional Argentine meal. I mean the trick really is to make sure that you have absolutely no vegetables except for potatoes, a huge hunk of meat, a delicious glass of wine from Mendoza, and a small dessert (flan or ice cream) with either a coffee or some maté. Yea  I think I got that one down.....I won't be cooking this for anyone any time soon, but I could if I wanted to!

5. Did I ever visit someplace outside of Buenos Aires....I went first to Mar del Plata and had tons of fun at the beach. Then I had my Patagonian Peregrination....I won't recap all of that for you, but suffice it to say I made it to the end of the world and back in only 5 days. Oddly enough I didn't go to either of the two places I planned, but I think the trade off was definitely more my style and worth it!

6. So as I have said in the past I definitely did this. I got a second internship, again at some place completely not in my plans, and took advantage of every opportunity possible. I went to an immigration conference, a meeting with the US Embassy, and even other meetings with NGOs in Buenos Aires. Whoever says a co-op is like a normal internship has never met a husky....that't all I'm saying!

7. Okay....this is the one goal I did not accomplish. Quite honestly I am okay with it. I realize that by looking at some of my goals and seeing that they weren't realistic that it is okay to not accomplish everything. I mean I think if I had accomplished this goal then maybe my goal to survive in a foreign country wouldn't have been accomplished because I would have contracted some strange disease from the dirty water of the Rio de la Plata.

8. Yes I have taken far more than 100 pictures while here in Buenos Aires and on my trip. One day I actually took a grand total of 123 pictures.....that is ridiculous! I have never been a picture taker, but I definitely attempted to be better at documenting this trip and I think I succeeded.

9. I did this several times and even got to see an AMAZING tango show. I think just by the virtue of being in Buenos Aires it would have been impossible not to accomplish this goal.

10. What did I do my last full night in Buenos Aires?? I spent it at home cleaning and listening to the Evita soundtrack. I may have ventured onto my balcony once or twice maté in hand....This goal was accomplished time and time again, I assure you!

There you have it a brief overview of the goals I had and my level of achievement on each one. I think its funny that I always tend to have goals in my life or plans for how things are going to work and they always get shot completely to hell. I don't mean I don't accomplish them I just mean it is never in a very orthodox way. Life thinks its mighty funny to see how I'll react in different weird situations and its good to know that even though my experiences might be out of the ordinary they don't necessarily hinder my ultimate goals in anyway at all. 

Patagonia Peregrination Part 9

Well I guess its that time again where I reflect on my time here and what I think of el Calafate and add some of the random pictures I didn't put in before.....

Let me start by saying I am at a real loss at how to describe this place. Its like some sort of weird cross between what I imagine Nebraska would be like and the Arizona deserts. Just strange.....like no place I have ever been before in my life. Now let me start with a little music since I am not really sure how long I may ramble for in this post......

Do you know how hard it is to find songs about Nebraska or Arizona....it was either that or that country song about there is no Arizona....I think I went with the better one.

Now where do I begin. Hmmmmm. I am sitting here in my hotel room looking out of my window and thinking how weird this whole part of the trip has actually been. Not bad....just so very different from Ushuaia which I wasn't expecting at all. This place is not nearly as cold and doesn't have the same small town feel to it. When I was in Ushuaia I felt like I could have been in some cold town in Northern Maine a lot of the time, but here I don't get that feeling at all. Even though climate wise it is not very different, the terrain and the people just change everything. Some pictures to describe the difference in the scenery....

It looks green but trust me looks can be deceiving. 

The bridge looks like it could be one of those nice New England home made rickety bridges but its just not the same when its desert-like on the other side of the bridge. 

The main street....

Enough about the town itself....I want to talk about some revelations that I had while here in el Calafate....First let me say that my Spanish is exponentially better than it was when I first got here....My time in this small little town has definitely proved that.

Besides the fact that I am able to communicate with the local people that run the hotel without any real nerves speaking or expressing myself makes me so very very happy. Then the best part is when people assume I am a local. Now its always a very touristy person who does this but it still makes me happy. I think its a combination of the fact that I am alone and dressed as if this temperature is normal. The perfect example of this confusion came when I was waiting in line at the ATM. Behind me were two sets of tourists, an Indian couple who looked as though they had been married for quite some time and a young couple who was probably on their honeymoon. The people in front of me were definitely locals, maté in hand, and the person in front of them was an Argentine but not a local. The person who was Argentine but not local had trouble getting money out of the machine....And when I say she had trouble she couldn't get any. She then asked if anyone was from Argentina, I did NOT raise my hand but the people who did assured here the amount she wanted to withdraw was below the maximum so she got fairly aggravated. Then the woman in front of me was able to withdraw with no problem. So I offered that it must be her card because the machine was working fine. Another older woman and I then proceeded to speak briefly about how the woman must have a problem with her card as the machine had worked for everyone else and to withdraw more money then she was trying. It was at this point that the Indian couple behind me asked the other clearly English speaking couple if they knew what was going on. It was at this point that the young woman said, "yea they were just discussing whether it was a problem with the machine or her card but decided it must be her card". 

I couldn't believe it. I had just been talked about as if I was someone who didn't understand the English speaker.....It was both funny and a little aggravating. I now understand what it must feel like to be talked about in a foreign language and completely understand it. It didn't matter so much that they didn't say anything bad it just felt rude that they were talking about me as if I wasn't there simply because I couldn't speak the language. 

The next moment came while I was eating lunch in a café. The fútbol game was on and a keeper made an absolutely terrible attempt to block a shot and the other team scored. At this point this old Argentine man hit me in the arm and began talking about how horrible the keeper was. And then the weirdest thing happened, I responded in Spanish and in agreement with the old man. Who knew I even knew some of those words??

I think the most important thing that I am going to take away from el Calafate is honestly the comfort of knowing that I am much more comfortable with my Spanish then I EVER have been before.

What else about el Calafate??? Well one thing is that I think I might like to have a house like the hotel I am staying in.....I know that sounds ridiculous, but one day when I am filthy rich I will. Only it won't be in the desert in will be in New England. I mean the place is just really cool. I want to put up some more pictures of the hotel with some of the scenery in the daylight so here they are...

The best part about the whole place is probably these two dogs....they are amazing and my favorite and if I could steal one I would.....

Well I guess for now that is all I have to reflect on....so I will get to packing so that I can get my flight back to Buenos Aires.....

Patagonian Peregrination Part 8

The next part of my day yesterday was actually walking through the Los Glacieres Parque Nacional. It was so nice. It was raining but there was something about walking around the paths and woods alone hearing the cracking of the glacier that was just really cool. The flowers that were blooming because it is spring/summer here after all, were just pretty and the whole thing seemed like it was a scene out of some National Geographic movie or something.

While the park is mainly to protect the major glaciers in the area it also protects the surrounding woodlands which is pretty awesome. There is a station sort of like in the states where you can stop and get lunch, so of course I did. And guess what I had.....Calafate flavored ice cream. As I was eating I think I heard "look at that" and "he's crazy" in at least 5 or 6 different languages. I mean it was cold and windy and raining a little bit but I was not going to pass up a chance to try the local ice cream.....I mean c'mon..... It was really good actually.

It was fairly reminiscent of what I imagine blueberry ice cream would taste like. Delicious...

What else can I say about this part of my trip...not much that the pictures I post won't say so I guess I am just going to post them and let you see for yourself....I'll post the flowers first and then the landscape ones....

This is a picture of the El Calafate berry, doesn't it even sort of look like a blueberry!

This is some glacial ice falling into the water!

Just a beach shot because I couldn't resist!

I realized in re-reading both of my last two posts that it appears I am on some sort of a vacation to the Glacier National Park in Argentina. Let me assure you this is not the case. I actually had a lovely meeting over breakfast at my hotel with a nurse from Great Britain who was expounding upon her perceived differences between the Argentine and UK health systems. Additionally, while trekking through the park I had an on the trail discussion with two nurses from New Zealand to understand their view of their healthcare system and make comparisons between Argentina and the US. So I repeat this was NOT a vacation, but rather a trip to have some meetings and discuss healthcare systems with different nurses abroad.

Patagonian Peregrination Part 7

El Calafate is all about the GLACIERS!! That and the things that you can make from the el calafate fruit....but mostly the GLACIERS!! What did I do yesterday then?? Looked at Glaciers obviously! Well not Glaciers so much as one Glacier called Perrito Moreno. 


My first expedition was on a  boat to see the South face of the glacier. I will admit this was a little touristy, think the boat at Niagra Falls, but I got some great pictures and it was the first time I have ever seen a glacier so who cares. For those of you who have never seen a glacier and are unsure of what it actually looks like in real life let me assure you that it really is just a huge chunk of ice. I mean an ENORMOUS hunk of ice. Like think the size of a mountain, but made of ice. It's crazy!


The boat ride was actually really nice it was only about an hour or an hour and half but I got to see the whole south face. I even got to see some of the glacier splitting off and falling into the sea. 


For a little background on the Perito Moreno glacier. It is one of several glaciers found in Los Glacieres Parque Nacional....(for my non-Spanish speakers that would be Glacier National Park, but if you could figure that one out you probably can't speak English either). The glacier received its name after the explorer Francisco Moreno who actually helped explore Patagonia and then lay claim to the region and protect it from Chilean hands. Quite literally if you translate the name Perito Moreno it means like Expert Moreno. The Perito Moreno glacier is actually, if I am recalling correctly, the 3rd largest reserve of fresh water and is only one of 3 glaciers that is not retreating in Patagonia....yes that's right it is beating the Global Warming odds and simply staying stagnant in a process known as glacial balance, which basically means it grows and equal amount to what it ruptures....okay enough with the boring glacier information that I learned here are some pictures:

The company that took me on my boat trip.

The mountain leading up to the glacier.

I love this picture because it looks so fake the way the water transitions colors.

Yes that is ice just floating in the water....it was pretty weird seeing it.

Me in front of a glacier.

Patagonian Peregrination Part 6

So another plane, which was delayed...surprise surprise...I literally haven't taken a plane this whole trip that wasn't delayed, and I am here in el Calafate....so named after the berry bush seen here...

The whole place is very different from Ushuaia I am still unsure about how I feel about it. I think it seems to be much less touristy which is cool. My hotel is called Los Canelos and is very....let's go with rustic. I am still so unsure about how I feel about it. I think it is because I got here so late but it is very cool. Very different than the last one that's for sure. Well here are some pictures of the hotel, but I am off to bed because I am exhausted.

Christmas in el Calafate! 

Let's end with some of the weird pictures in my hallway!