Carnival Holiday in Rosario

¡Hola a todos!

Leaving BA
On Friday, I joined the rest of Buenos Aires as they escaped the city for a long Carnival holiday weekend.  When I arrived at the bus station, it seemed to be packed with all 13 million porteños (people of BA).  The crowds were ridiculous!  I have been booking hostels as I go and when I arrive in a city, but the holiday made me think better, so I found two hostels, located an internet/phone cafe and called the first one on my list.  Talking on the phone in Spanish is much more difficult than talking in person because you can´t see a person´s facial expressions or lips, but I managed to secure one night with no guarantee for another.

When I finally managed to find my bus (everyone was confused as it was complete chaos!), it was about three minutes after it was scheduled to leave.  I had to return to the ticket counter and basically beg them to tell me the terminal number.  Luckily, the bus was still trying to park.

In Transit - Bus, Taxi, Hostel
The bus ride was a short four hours, 90% of which I slept.  I arrived at midnight and was forced to take a taxi; however being a little apprehensive, I made sure to check with a store clerk to know the route the taxi would take me and how much it should cost.  Everything worked out and I arrived at a colorful, bohemian hostel.

The receptionist´s name was Rafa.  He asked the obligatory, “Where are you from?”, “Are you on vacation?”, “Do you want me to speak in Spanish or English?”  Then, he asked me if I was traveling with friends.  I told him no.  He seemed disappointed and told me it would be better if I were a man and proceeded to tell me how hard it would be being a woman.  I took it all in, but last time I checked, I can´t really do anything about that.  Tell me something helpful.  It will be hard, yeah, no shit.

In Rosario, Birthplace of Che Gueverra
Rosario was calm and refreshing compared to BA.  With a little over one million people, I was able to breathe.  It was lovely.  I also had breakfast (most hostels serve at least bread and jam with tea or “coffee”) with a philosophical musician and learned about his views on Argentina´s imminent political ascent.  After breakfast, I checked in with the hostel receptionist - it was now Gabi from Panama City - to see the status on my room.  Gabi was a wonderful chica who spoke flawless English and who was dating a guy from California.  She seemed doubtful that I would be able to stay, but said she would call around to secure me a space, if possible.  She did; she secured me a three-night package deal with a ticket to a carnival party.  The party was promised to start early, at 1 a.m., ending around 5 or 6 a.m., the time I used to get up for work.  Welcome to Latin America.

New Hostel
So, with a new hostel in sight, I packed my bag and trekked six blocks.  The new hostel was heaven - a seven-person room with a balcony and wifi.  There was also a nice bar and kitchen.  My room included three Israeli guys who spoke neither English nor Spanish.  Okay, they could say “fiesta”, “alcohol”, and “bien”.  I learned that they had just gotten out of the army and were doing a stint in Latin America, a tradition that many Israelis do.  They invited me to eat dinner at the hostel so I accepted and we had ravioli, salad, and Coca Cola. Yum.  Later that evening, I met two more porteños, two chicas from BA, Fernanda and Celeste.  One works at a bank and the other is a high school teacher, focusing on law.  I ended up having beer and staying up until 3 a.m. talking with them.  We also traipsed around the town the next day looking at different monuments, learning about Argentinan history, and hanging out.  We tried to go to he beach, but failed miserably as it started pouring.

Mate and Conversation
We returned to hostel and I had my first experience with mate.  In Argentina, it´s a very social drink, like tea or coffee.  Fernanda brought her mate container and yerba mate leaves with her, so we sat down for a drink.  The inside of the mate container is made of calabaza (pumpkin), madera (wood), vidrio (glass), or bamboo and each type of material gives a unique flavor.  We drank from calabaza.  The ritual is thus:  You pour in the leaves about an inch from the top, bring water to a temperature just before a boil, you insert the bombilla (metal straw), and pour in the water.  You then proceed to pass the mate around drinking it, filling it up and “lavando”or washing the leaves.  The flavor goes from very strong and bitter to very smooth.  I may join the hype and buy one when I retun to BA.  

The chicas and I also talked about education, health, politics, and food.  I learned the differences and similarities between the basis of the US and Argetina´s government.  Additionally, we discussed free education for all up to college (Argentina doesn´t make their university students pay for their education) and Occupy Rosario.  It seems the movement has expanded to Argentina as I saw three tents in their main square, which claimed the movement.

Carnival Fiesta - Not a Party Girl
I´m either too old, too boring, or didn´t have enough alcohol, but the party was just okay.  As I noted before, it started at 1 a.m. and I left at 5 a.m., before many others.  It was your regular dance club vibe with reggaeton music.  Between dancing with some other hostel members and the chicas from BA, my main task was warding off unwanted “suitors”.  If you´re not dancing, you´re talking, and after talking for about 10 minutes, you better want more.  To the disappointment of a few macho men, I decided not to play the game.  However, on the bright side, I tried a traditional Argentinian drink, fernet.  Fernet is a strong, herbal liquor that is generally mixed with Coca Cola.  It bitter, but nice.

Cordoba!
After staying up until 3 a.m. enjoying conversation and empanadas (savory pastries filled with various meats), today, I leave for Cordoba. The city is known for its expansive culture (including another Che Gueverra House and museum) and for the Jesuit missions.  The Jesuits came with the original European colonialists.  The city is the second largest in Argentina, about 1.5 million.  It´s a 6-hour bus ride and I´m excited for my next adventure.

Ciao,
Ashley