My first week in Mendoza has flown by! Here is a taste of my routine:
Between 7:30 and 10 am - Wake up to the pleasant sounds of the construction project down the street, including a blaring radio station that plays songs ranging from Reggaeton and 80's hits to regional folk tunes. Have a pleasant breakfast of cafe con leche, fruit, and toast with dulce de leche. (I could dedicate an entire post to dulce de leche; but, to be concise, it is caramel, and it is delicious.)
Between 10 and noon - take the trolley to the Universidad de Congreso, where our group has been holding orientation sessions regarding everything from academics to visas. (Mendoza's trolley system includes hand-me-down trolleys from Canada, so they are rather old and reminiscent of theme park rides).
Between noon and 2 pm - Return to my house for lunch, where tartas are very popular. (A tarta is basically a savory mix between a pizza and a pie with various vegetables, meat, and cheese.) Then, my favorite part of the day - SIESTA.
Between 2pm and 7pm - Take the Micro (bus) to a place called Eureka, which, as far as I can tell, is a fully-functioning, though run-down, interactive science museum with no visitors, where we have Spanish class. So far, our class has been a lot of vocabulary and local slang, as well as the proper use of the "voseo" - the informal singular "you" form of Argentine Castellano. Voseo is basically exclusive to Argentina, so it has been absent from our Spanish education in the past. For those of you who are familiar with Spanish, instead of asking "¿Y tú?," people ask "¿Y vos?" in Argentina. Also, every "tú" verb changes to "voseo" in present indicative, subjunctive, and imperative. It has been a bit tricky, but I think we are getting used to it. During breaks, we hang out with the local stray kitty and enjoy the sun. After class, I walk back home, perhaps stopping at an heladería for some delicious ice cream.
Between 7 and 11:30 pm - Take another siesta or do some homework at my house. We usually eat dinner between 10 and 11, which is completely normal here! After dinner, we usually have wine and chat about whatever.
Evening to early morning - Sometimes I go to bed, but because we are celebrating Vendimia at the moment, there is constant activity in el centro - live music, food stands, parades. Vendimia is a celebration of the grape harvest in Mendoza. There are queens from every department in the Mendoza province. There is a song that you hear at least three times a day. There are grapes. There is wine. As my host mom says, it is a constant party. Also, a fun fact about parades here - there is no candy-throwing. Instead, they throw fruit - grapes, pears, apples, melons...olives...bottles of wine. Dangerous? Yes.
Mendoza is known as "La Tierra del Sol y del Buen Vino" - "The Land of Sun and Good Wine." Two very wonderful things.
