Cooking with Teresita

Quentin finally came to town and I finally found a cooking class out here, so add that together and it means...Quentin and I took a cooking class.

There are not many one day cooking classes in Buenos Aires so Teresita has quite the monopoly on this activity. Even with competition, Cooking with Teresita would rank among the best of them. Great food, great vino and great company means for a GREAT evening.

Our evening started with a shuttle ride to Adrogue, a suburb of Buenos Aires. The ride was a lot longer than I had expected, 1hr and 30mins due to rush hour traffic. Good thing we got to the shuttle stop early. (Sidenote: I never realize how busy and crowded BA is until I have a chance to get beyond the noise and the hustle. Adrogue is quaint and quiet. Quentin and I had a short walk from the shuttle stop to the house where the class would be and though the dark cobble stones streets and fallen leaf covered sidewalks gave us the slight feel that we were in a scene from a scary movie, the neighborhoods were nice and its houses were large and fairly elaborate.) Upon arriving to the Bed&Breakfast/home of Teresita and her husband, Quentin (yep we found another Quentin out here people) we were warmly welcomed by Teresita herself.

We were supposed to have class with a few other people but they were running late. Nevertheless, we started preparing the ingredients. Lucky for us, we got the job of cutting all the onion!! We couldn't help but to "cry for Argentina."

The other "students" arrived about 5 minutes after we started (just late enough to miss the mincing of the tear provoking vegetable...I think it was planned this way (jk)). The additional guests added a lively vibe to the class. By time we had cut up the rest of the vegetables and sauted the onions we were quite acquainted.

Next, we made the dough. Quentin got the job of measuring the flour in this antique scale that he quite liked.

As we prepared the dough and rolled it into sections in to small circles we enjoyed a glass (or two) or good ole' Argentinian vino. Quentin was surprisingly very good at rolling his dough into neat circles. He also caught on quick to how to twist the dough (either he has secretly done this before or he has hidden cooking abilities that have yet to be elicited).

We made meat (with raisins...yum), humid (corn filling, my favorite), and eggplant empanadas. Fried and baked.

They cooked quickly and soon we were enjoying hot and fresh homemade empanadas. Our empanadas were so good that we felt the need to DANCE!!

By the end of the night we had all made new friends and now knew how to make a traditional Argentinian dish. Cooking with Teresita = FUN TIMES!! (Check out the link below.)

http://try2cook.com/Cooking-classes-in-Buenos-Aires.html

Search for the Afros - Part 3

I forgot to mention how ironic it was that when Mom came to visit me I saw a bunch of Black people. I don't know why they all came out of hiding for her. I even spoke to one!! But he was from the US so still no progress on my "Search for the Afros." Usually I only see men but yesterday in the bus I saw two Black ladies. But as usual, I was too far away to interact with them without being creepy. They definitely noticed me though.

I can't remember if I wrote about the realization I had in terms of my "Search." I realized a month or so ago that most of the Black people would be on the outskirts of the city, meaning I would have to go to less affluent areas to find them and I don't think mother, father...or Quentin would approve. Apparently, the government tried to depopulate itself of its African population but pushing them away from city centers or sending them back to Africa. So folks. It seems that my "Search" is coming to an end with no avail...But hey I have 2 more weeks so who knows.

Where is LOVE?

I was just listening to the daily cacophony of annoyed drivers sitting on their horns and it made me think, how is there such a lack of Love in a country where the majority of its people practice Catholicism? Sure there is a lack of Love in the states but I feel like the cooperative aspect of religion isn't as prevalent. In addition, it seems that more Catholic followers subscribe to the traditions of their faith whereas most people in the States argue about traditions and beliefs.

Here, and probably in many other majority Catholic countries, during Easter there was a communal procession to commemorate Good Friday and two weeks ago there was a national mass for Mary. Not to mention, every time I am on the bus and we pass a catholic facility I always see people make the sign of the cross. I would just like to hope that if one puts so much emphasis on traditions that one would also practice the values. Nevertheless, I have noticed a habit of cheating, greed, lust and anger that I would have expected to be lesser if there were a greater presence of Love. I mean, shouldn't there be power in numbers?

It's ironic to me and I am eager to gain a greater understanding on this phenomena. This is just an example of how many of us are just following religion and not seeking a relationship with God.

He is alive

No I am not talking about Jesus (though He is , hallelujah). I am talking about that stupid mosquito. Dru Hill said it best, "Someone is sleeping in my bed, messing with my head." I barely slept last night because of the buzzing in my ear. I even slept with the covers over my head even though I could barely breath (which is probably another reason I couldn't sleep).

In the middle of the night I shot up and failed my arms about ripping off all my covers at the sound of the buzz. I was so angry and frustrated. I just want to sleep without being molested...is that too much to ask!! I hoped I had slapped the life out of that mosquito but alas, that jerk was still there, taunting me.

Now I am at the point of delirium. This morning I thought I saw the little bugger on my pillow so I quickly attacked it and wrapped it up in my sheets. I laid back, cold without my sheets but feeling triumphant. Then I got up and turned on the light and guess who was sitting on the wall? You guessed it.

Do you have a starin’ problem? Cuz I have a problem with you starin’!

New pet peeve…STARING. People stare a lot out here, and with no shame. I am getting a bit tired of people staring at me like I have a third eye. At first I accepted it because, hey, I am foreign but it happens so often that now it is just plain annoying. Now I know what super tall and super small people feel like when people blatantly stare at them.

I know we stare in the States but one, it is deemed rude, and two, most people try to hide the fact that they are staring, I know I do. Maybe here it is not considered rude to stare. I have tried to ignore the staring but people are just so obvious. Today this guy stopped walking right in front of me and stared at me. He almost broke his neck staring to stare at me until the last possible second. I’m thinking, Don’t you have somewhere you were going…isn’t your staring break going to make you late? Ladies will stare straight in my eyeballs and when I smile to reduce some of the awkwardness they keep their straight countenance and keep staring.

Yesterday, there was this tall Black guy on the street. Of course I wanted to catch a glance of him because I am still on my “Search for the Afros” but I noticed this other lady staring at him hard and I didn’t want to act like her. The lady almost ran into a pole, she was staring so hard. Granted there are not a lot of Black people in Buenos Aires but it just amazes me how much of an attraction we seem to be to so many people. It is as if the majority of the people here have never seen a dark “skinneded” person before. This could very well be the case and if so, that is amazing.

After being somewhere for a while you want to start feeling comfortable, like you belong to some extent, and it is hard to get that feeling when people look at you like you are so dynamically different. Hey my blood is red too guys!

Why do mosquitoes buzz in people's ears again?

When I was in elementary school I read a book titled "Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears." I don't remember why at all but I am real close to Googling the story so I can find out. The past few weeks I have been awoken and bothered by the sound of a mosquito buzzing in my ear. The pitch that the buzzing is at makes the buzz quite alarming and annoying. I try to swat it away and hid under the covers, only to find a fresh new bite on myself the next morning.

My poor roommate has it even worse. Just the other night he was awoken out of his sleep and was so annoyed that he made the effort to come down stairs to light a mosquito repellent. He even said he rested in the living room for 5 minutes just to get a moment of peace.

As for me, I think I am only being attacked by one ( but who knows). If it is one, he is quite resilient. I have tried spraying him, smashing him and swatting him and in the middle of the night he reminds me how worthy of a competitor he is. This little bugger used to be a lot smaller so if it is the same one then he is getting fat off my blood. This morning I was actually really offended by the fact that he was using and abusing me every night, as if he were a person or something. I mean, this flying bully is bold. He actually rests on the wall right near my bed...yes, right where I can see him and I still can't get him...then he waits for me to turn off the light and that is when he attacks.

Well this morning I saw him chillin' on my wall (probably sneering at me) so I went and got the big guns, heavy duty bug spray. Even though the spray exiled me from my room for 3 hours he disappeared and I m hoping he fell to his death or something. Ha ha ha. Who is the winner now!!

Mosquito 327

Aundrea 1

(Yeah, he may have won a bunch of battles but I have won the war and that is all that matters!!)

Polución

Hay mucho polución aqui en Argentina. Más que en Los Angeles. En serio!! Tengo un toz ahorra por la. A veces, no puedo respirar. Los coches y colectivos dan humo, la reconstrucción de el asfalto da humo y los muchos fumadores dan humo. Ay!! No me gusta.

Goooooooooooooooooooal...well not really.

So I made it too my first futbol game...and barely made it out. LOL...jk.It was the final game for the Huracan's of Parque Patricio against the number one ranking Argentinos. We were on Huracan's side.

I am not much of a soccer...I mean, futbol fan but I enjoyed the experience just the same. The crowd cheered in unison as their team came out. When the opposing team came out they began to whistle (which in the US is another form of cheering but in Argentina it is their version of a "booo" it seemed). The crowds were quite enthusiastic. The whole time during the game each side had their series of songs that they sang loud and proud in unison. They even had music and percussion accompaniment. I would write some of the lyrics but most of them were quite vulgar.

Futbol seems kind of slow to me. It was almost 45 minutes before the first goal was made. It happened so fast too. I was watching but I must have blinked and then next thing I new the opposing crowd begin to roar and the player that made the goal scaled the fence in all his excitement.

This reminds me, I was staring over at the opposite crowd. The crowd it swayed and grumbled as if it were a huge monster. It is amazing how sports brings people together the way it does. Most people don't get this passionate about their faith or stand together this tight for a common value but when it comes to sports...it's another deal. Which goes to show us that we do have the great ability to unite and to be passionate.

As the game was coming to an end their was, all of a sudden, a shift in the air. I looked below me and saw men trying to scale the gate to get over onto the field. Apparently, our team was losing and the fans were getting angry. Next, some other men turned over an empty Coca Cola kiosk, using it's metal frame to tear through the gate. I was not alarmed by what I was seeing because I knew that the futbol games got a bit rowdy. I was so distracted with all that that I din't even notice when the game ended. The thing that clued me in was the mad rush towards the gate that lead to the opposing side. This gate was quickly shut by masked and armed police. We were trapped!! (this is where I became a bit alarmed). Next thing I know I see a fire burning on the ground and the seats of the stadium being torn out of the concrete and thrown at the police. The fire department came in and put the fire out and then they started to hose the defiant fans on the ground floor. We began to make our way out of the stadium. As we were walking down the street I saw a stream of people running. My first instinct was to run out of their way but as I began to charge up I was instructed to stay put. The mass ran passed us and when I looked, there was nothing chasing them. The rest of our walk was tanquilo. All in all this was a great...once in a life time...experience.

(pictures to come)

A Day Trip to Another Country

(That one was for you siblings)

My mom and I both were so relaxed after coming from Mendoza that the Buenos Aires noise and rush was too much for us. So, we decided to take a day trip to Colonia , Uruguay. This quaint and serene old city is just on the other side of the Rio de la Plata (apparently the widest river in the world). We had a bit of drama getting to the boat dock. I am beginning to learn that people here are accustomed to being absolutely certain about the directions they are giving even if they are absolutely wrong. Nevertheless, we made it to the Buquebus station just in time for our ferry to Colonia. The ferry ride over is about 1 hour. The ride isn't very eventful...at least it wasn't for us since we were not able to sit by a window. (Sidenote: if you want to get a window seat, be sure to arrive at the dock 1 hr before it leaves).

Upon docking in Uruguay, I received another stamp in my passport and my mom and I headed off to see when our city tour would start. We purchased a package with Buquebus that included a lunch and a city tour. First was our lunch. Lunch was not very good and I would suggest people not to the package with the lunches because the restaurant they send you to is not worth it. The restaurant smelled a bit and the salad bar (which was to be our first course) had nothing but left overs. The main entrée of steak was dry and the postre (dessert) was nasty...It would be better to scope out a restaurant on your own. There are plenty of restaurants all around and I am sure that they would be 10 times better.

When we began our tour (the one for English speakers) we found that we were the only ones on the tour. We could not object to that. The tour started with a bus ride through the centro historico.

We saw an old Spanish bull fighting ring. I love the Moorish architecture. Don't worry animal lovers bull fighting has been outlawed for decades.

We drove up the coast and got a chance to stop and enjoy the river. Sure it make look like the beach but this is a riverbank. It was water none the less and I loved it.

The second half of our trip was of Real de San Carlos, the town center. The main emphasis of this portion was the influence of both the Spanish and the Portuguese in this city. The Spanish and Portuguese fraught against each other 7 times in pursuit of this land and during their different periods of inhabitance they made their mark.

You can't really see the details very well but the Portuguese houses are smaller and colorful and the Spanish houses are taller and more ornate in its structure.

They even made their streets differently. The Portuguese made their streets slant into a "V" shape so that water on the road would collect in one stream. While the Spanish slightly beveled their streets to run the water off the middle of the roads. This pictures is attempting to show that...

This church had been destroyed during the 7 different wars over this land and it too has signs of both culture. The outside door is Spanish while the inside door is Portuguese.

After our tour I went up in the lighthouse. Climbing 157 stairs to its top.

This was the view.

It was beginning to get darker and cooler so my and I ended out trip with a mate (tea that is). Mate is a popular tea in many South American countries. It is slightly similar to green tea. You place the loose herbs in a gourd or wooden cup called a mate. You pour hot water into the cup and extract the water using a special straw with a strainer on the end called a bombilla.

Mom didn't like the tea that much. She said it was too strong.

I, on the other hand, loved this particular brand of Uruguayan Mate (Canarias).

All in all this day trip was perfect and we had just enough time to the area to our liking. If you plan to make a day trip here, planning to stay from lunch time till the last ferry back at 8:00pm was a perfect amount of time.

Commercial Break 2

I have been on an "I Love Lucy" binge for the past few days and you know what...I am actually understanding what Ricky is saying in his moments of anger. Before it was just gibberish but now it is all making sense to me. This is a good sign folks.

Commercial Break 1

Yesterday I began to think about the elderly in Argentina. You see they can either be a blessing or a curse to someone like me (young and able bodied).

The curse, when you get on the bus to head home after a long day and you manage to nab a seat...only to have to get up at the next stop because an elderly person has just got on. Here they really subscribe to the custom of giving up your seat to an elderly person (and pregnant woman too). In fact you are liable to get dirty looks if you don't hop up. Male or female, it doesn't matter, it is who ever is the closest.

The blessing, when you are trying to decide whether to cross the street it is great to have an elderly person by your side. It is usually quite dangerous for an able bodied person to cross the streets. One because drivers don't respect pedestrians and two. because they drive up on you quickly since they expect you will be able to get out of their way pretty quickly. Nevertheless, if you have an older person my your side you can cross safely and at your own pace. All you have to do is walk when they walk. No one would dare hit an old lady.

Mendoza: Land of Malbec

Sergio Sanchi to me

Apr 26

See you in the land of Malbec,
Sergio.

mendozawinebiketour.com

The above was the confirming email I got for our bike wine tour. The tour was great and I definitely recommend Mendoza Wine Bike Tours. But I am getting ahead of myself. We didn't do this tour till our second day there.

Upon arriving in Mendoza we grabbed a cab and headed to a suburb called Chacras de Coria. I am so glad we didn't decide to stay in town because here, only 15 minutes of of Mendoza City, we found peace and serenity. We arrived out our lodge style hotel and found out that we had the entire premises to ourselves that day. We were actually glad of this because this mean that the hotel staff would only have our many needs to focus on...and we had a lot.

After a late breakfast we set off to visit a small winery about a mile away called Clos de Chacras. The walk was easy and relaxing. It wasn't hard to find the winery...all we had to do was follow the smell of ripe grapes (not to mention the building was a bold pink so we couldn't miss it). We wandered up the dirt road to the on-site restaurant. And I can not neglect to say that it was at this little winery that I had the best steak of my life. It was tender, juicy and seasoned o so well!! OMG.

That evening we just relaxed...since our cooking classes (that were to be offered by the hotel) had been canceled...ugh!! (sidenote, if you are interested in learning how to cook asado and other traditional dishes, just know that many wineries offer cooking classes. Most classes start at 11am and take a few hours to prepare and afterwards you get to eat it all...of course. A cooking class at a winery is a great way to kill two birds with one stone.)

Anywayz, the next day we went on our bike tour. Our tourguide Sergio was muy amable. You drove us to our starting point and followed us 20km to our first winery. The weather was great and the ride was quite tranquil...

Despite one really bumpy road and a highway we had to cross...LOL.

No but seriously, it was so nice to ride among the vineyards, smelling the grapes and feeling the breeze. I can't begin to describe it but trust me wine bike tours are a great idea.

We got to our first winery called Ruce Malen, which is literally translated "the house of a young girl, borrows its name from a local indigenous legend about an Araucan woman who fell in love with a god. We began our time here with a wine tasting. As I sat and listened to the other wine tasters talk about the "spiciness" or the "oak undertones" of certain wines, I realized that my tongue needed a lot more training. They all seemed the same to me. I did learn that I don't like Cabernet Sauvignon very much because it is too "spicy " for me and I liked the Ruca Malen Merlot. After our tour we had a 5 course lunch with wine pairings (a must do). My mom and I agreed that we were able to appreciate the wine much more with the food...I even enjoyed the cabernet sauvignon with the spicy sweet and sour pork empanada (so I have not totally wiped this wine off my list).

I have included this picture just for mom's amusement. I will not speak of what is going on. You will have to ask mom...she made me reenact the incident for a pic.

After all the food...and the wine...we did not feel like riding any where else...which worked out since we were running late to our next winery tour and needed to drive there...darn ;-p. Our next winery was Cantena Zapata. The tour was nothing really different than the others we had been on but it was nice to see one of the bigger wineries and compare it to Ruca (mid size) and Clos (small). The tour started in the Inca style building that housed tasting rooms and wine cellars. It was hear that I saw one of the best views I had seen of Mendoza thus far.

When we got back to the hotel we were quite sleepy...from the riding of course :-p. We relaxed and prepared to leave the next day. (Sidenote: we came to Mendoza at the perfect time. it was the end of April which means it is fall so it is not too hot but also it was right at the end of the harvest season so you still have the opportunity to see the winery staff harvesting the grapes and preparing the wine.)

It's been a long time time...

Well I know it's been rough without any new blog updates but I am back!! See what had happened was...my mom came in to town for 10 days and then I had went on a 20 hr bus ride to South Argentina and didn't have any internet access. Yeah I know...EXCUSES.

So much to update you on and so much to show you that I don't know where to start. My mom had a great time. The first day we went to San Telmo. We were starving...well at least I was, so we went to this random restaurant in la Plaza Dorrego. The food was ok but what made the experience great was the jazz band that just happened to be playing there that night.

The next day we went to Recoleta. There were a bunch of restaurants in the area we were in who all were offering great 3 course lunch deals, complete with vino and cafe (gotta love it). We at at Lola's, which has a "Menu para Mujers," a Lady's Special that was the best deal I found out of all the restaurants, not to mention the food was pretty good.

Despues...I mean after, we went to the Recoleta Cemetery. I didn't have a great desire to see tombstone but it was one those "must-do" things so I saw it as my duty to at least check it out. Some tombs were quite elaborate while others were dilapidated and just plain creepy. I took a picture of a really scary one. The old rusty iron doors of the tomb were slightly ajar, exposing it's neglected insides. There were cob webs on the ceiling and weeds growing thru the ground and the coffin...was covered in dust... Unfortunately I don't have the picture of this tomb because as we were leaving we saw a sign that warned us not to take pictures of the tombs and I didn't want to take any chance of the warning being enforced by some angry soul waking me up in the middle of the night...LOL.

The next day we went to Palermo and went to this restaurant that was recommended to me called Don Julio. I had an amazing plate of lamb. It was tender and was sopped in a date gravy...yummy!! Mom didn't have such a spectacular meal but it was decent. If you come out here and seek good food, we have found that is best to stay away from the chicken and tomate sauces. They are just not very tasty.

On Wednesday we visited the MALBA (Museum de Arte Latinamerica, Buenos Aires). I am realizing more and more that I am not a museum person but we enjoyed our walk thru the museum nonetheless, after sharing a really good jamon y queso croissant (as sustenance was needed after our Zumba class just an hour before). If you ever come here, remember that there is reduced admission on Wednesday.

All in all we had a great beginning to our week and we were just getting started. (Sidenote: I know there are a lot of pictures of us at restaurants but we didn't stuff our faces the whole time