I Have A Secret.

I have a secret. I like to travel. I guess that isn't exactly a secret, but you might not realize that I travel low budget. I will start out with my most recent trip which was 3 days/ 4 nights to Mendoza, Argentina.  

There is not just one secret magical trip to traveling cheap but I will share a couple of the ways I have traveled cheaply in the past. 

For my trip to Mendoza March 21st-March 25th I went with a group which can sometimes be the cheapest way to travel. I went with a travel agency from my city in Argentina called Intercambio Cordoba which was created by a german about 5 years ago to provide cost affordable trips for exchange students living in Cordoba. It is run and organized by young adults who understand where to cut costs and what is important to students in their early 20s. Basically, they didn't have us spending the entire weekend looking at art displays and discussing the history of the region in great depth. 

Some of the activities included: rafting, an afternoon at a pool, big asado dinner, optional night out, visiting an Inca carved/natural land formation "el puente del Inca", hiking next to Aconcagua (6956 meters above sea level), a visit to a statue of saint martin crossing the andes (which required hiking up a hill to get to), and a bike tour to different wineries/vineyards. 

The trip included transportation, the cost of all the activities, all the food and drink except for 1 lunch,  and the hostel. The trip cost me about $230 USD. I would say that is a win. The only additional things I paid were my one lunch, snacks, taxi to get to and from the place the bus left from, and souvenirs. Without souvenirs, the trip cost me around $250 USD. Two of the nights were spent on the bus in transport, the other two at hostels. We ate burgers, sandwiches, a big asado, typical breakfast foods, had snacks periodically provided and were completely taken care of. It was a great way to see a place that is about an eight hour drive from where I am living and in a cost effective manner. 

For me, the two most important ways to save money on a trip is housing and transportation. The cheaper the hostel/hotel/bus/flight/taxi/walk/bike ride/ whatever, the better. As long as it is safe, obviously. 

For spring break freshman year I spent $227.63 for 2 weekends+ 1 week by sleeping in homes of people I know, buying groceries for some meals, and traveling by car (splitting cost of gas), and taking advantage of free activities (AKA beach and window shopping). In Brazil I took a bus (about $50 round trip) to a different part of the country to visit a city I had not been to. I stayed at a French girl's house that I had met while previously traveling, traveled around the city on the public bus system, and took advantage of some of the local tourist opportunities that were very cost efficient (museums, tourist bus system, overlook of the city, public parks, etc). I have learned that often times city governments offer some great tourist attractions or interesting places to visit for almost no cost as a way to encourage tourism. It doesn't require deep pockets, 5 star hotels, and 3 weeks of entry to disney theme parks to have some really cool experiences. 

Gauchos and Carne

This past Saturday I spent the day with my classmates on an estancia (farm) about an hour and a half from my university. In the morning we ate breakfast there, watched the farm hands try to lasso cows and then rode some of the horses they had. That afternoon we ate asado which is where someone cooks tons of carne (meat) on a large outdoor grill. After our huge lunch we learned about the gaucho (cowboy) lifestyle from the owner of the farm, learned some traditional music and learned a little bit about traditional dances. The gaucho culture has a complex history and a unique lifestyle that makes Argentina's farming unique from other countries.

Breakfast with homemade jellies, coffee, yerba mate, coffee, etc 

Someone didn't like the idea of lassos

Asado 

Disaster Relief

Once again I have had an eventful and exciting weekend. Friday afternoon I got together with some other exchange students and Argentine tutors to help out in Mendiolaza, an area about 25 minutes from where I live.

For those who haven't heard, Cordoba and the surrounding region received an abnormal amount of rain this month. There was so much rain within a short period of time that some areas were placed under a "state of emergency" and troops were deployed to assist with relief. There was tons of flooding, at least 1,500 houses were effected and around 10 people died (the number hasn't been finalized yet).

People in my area had told me that the rain had been pretty bad but didn't prepare me for what I saw when I got there. With two bridges completely taken out, roads and homes flooded, and many places completely destroyed, there was a desperate need that hasn't been met.

This woman's house was right next to the river, flooding her house and leaving about one foot of mud on top of her front and back yards.

Every house we visited did not have working electricity, they were working to get the water back and running, and everything in the houses had been completely submerged under water. 

Every house had removed everything from inside and placed anything salvageable out in the yards to dry. The rest went into huge trash mounds in front of the houses. 

The families told stories of water reaching chest high, trying to salvage anything, damage to cars, lack of beds, having no clothes, or their children being without basic necessities, and no toys left. 

We found a teddy bear near the river that had been destroyed by the flooding.

One of the saddest parts was that there were very few people around to help. Our large group was able to help but there was still so much to do and some of the only other people were police. At least they were nice and working hard to help. 

The following pictures are from the time we spent in Mendiolaza. We are hoping to go back again this week. There is so much need and so much to be done. 

We worked hard but managed to have fun doing it! 

One of the saddest things I saw. Two young girls carrying donated clothes home. One was shoeless. 

Carrying donated goods 

This woman lost pretty much everything except her dogs, her family, a few plates and some chairs but had a wonderful attitude. She was extremely thankful for the help and when we asked her if there was anything she needed her only response was "We are doing really good. The only thing we could use is shoes but other than that, I think we are fine!" She said that as she was standing in torn clothing in front of her empty, water damaged house that still had standing water in the destroyed kitchen. 

This 2 1/2 year old wanted to be held but would not smile and was not interested in playing. She was scared to be away from me or her mother for any amount of time. 

As typical as Argentina gets, every house had Mate (similar to tea) to offer, even though they didn't have anything else. Everyone that helped was offered Mate. Mate was originally used by the indigenous people in Argentina as a way to help get through a long day of work. The tradition still stands today 

This was the owner of one of the houses she worked on. She was extremely thankful for all the help. She told us that a 4 year old and an 8 month old baby normally live in her house and that they were there when the flooding occurred. 

A Silent March for Justice

Yesterday I went to the downtown portion of my city, also known as the "centro" to walk around with a friend and look at some shops. You can buy just about anything in the centro and chances are, it's cheaper than other places in the city. I have discovered that if someone doesn't know where you can find or buy something, they will happily tell you that it is in the centro.

I had been told that there was going to be a march downtown and that I might get to see it. I had also been told that it would be a big deal in Buenos Aires but that the one in Cordoba wouldn't be as big. Needless to say, I was a little curious..

Around 7pm my friend, Carly, and I had finished looking at shops and started looking for our bus stop. As we were walking, we noticed several streets had been blocked off by police and lots of people were headed in the same direction. Being the curious exchange students we are, we happily followed along and found ourselves in the middle of a scene that can only be described in pictures.

It was a "silent march" which basically meant that rather than lots of shouting and chanting the crowd was calm. Every few minutes they would begin to clap in a synchronized rhythm and then it would die down. At one point the crowd began to sing the national anthem softly, letting it slowly grow louder.

Only afterwards did I find out what the demonstration was actually about. Yesterday was the one month anniversary of the mysterious death of a man who had been investigating some questionable occurrences in the argentine government. The man, Alberto Nisman had been scheduled to present his investigation on the government events just days after his death. Because of his death, many carried signs with "justice" written on them, and others carried argentine flags. 

Saturday School and Kitchen Table Church

Saturday School

Estancia Jesuítica de Jesús María

This weekend has been full of new experiences and getting the most out of my time here in Argentina. Saturday the 14th (Valentines Day) was spent with my classmates and culture professor. We met up early at my university and took a bus to a Jesuit estancia about an hour outside the city. A lot of the tutors (Argentine students) came as well. We spent the morning touring the estancia, looking at artifacts and learning more about the Jesuits. This week we have had multiple classes, watched two documentaries and visited multiple historical sites to learn about the Jesuits arrival and expulsion in Cordoba. We have to turn in a paper about the Jesuits in Cordoba this upcoming Wednesday, in Spanish of course! I think I have had enough history about the Jesuits to last me a very long time. At least I can say I have learned a lot in my first full week of class!

Inside the courtyard of the Estancia 

Saturday afternoon we went to a "country club" nearby that had a pool, an area to play sports, and a large room where we were served lunch. It was fun to be able to have free time all together and a chance to hang out with some of the Argentine students. Now that we have been here for a week and a half everyone's Spanish has improved and it's easier to hang out and chat with the Argentines.

Exchange students form US, Japan and Canada with some of the Argentine tutors 

Kitchen Table Church

Late Saturday night it started raining heavily and has continued throughout Sunday. It was raining so hard Sunday morning that the roads were flooded and it was unsafe to drive. With my host family's church only having 15-20 people, they made a few calls and cancelled service. Instead of going to church my host parents, host aunt, a neighbor and I had church around the kitchen table. They sang several songs, picked a passage and prayed together. If I thought last week at church was different from what I am accustomed to, I was clearly not prepared for this week. Their expression of faith is completely different from what I have grown up around but I can benefit by learning about their dedication to what they believe.

Two Days and Counting...

Exciting news!! I got my Brazilian tourist visa!!

Tears of joy shed for this arriving before my flight on Friday. 

It is hard to believe it but two days from now I will be standing in the Orlando airport getting ready to fly to Brazil where I will spend about a week and a half before embarking on my Argentine adventure. All of the prep work for this to happen still does not feel like enough but that is just the usual jitters. Knowing that in a couple weeks I will be a new city learning a new language and making new friends is exciting rather than nerve-wracking. Having done this once before makes it easier in some ways. I don't have to spend so much time asking people how to pack or what to expect. In many ways, I am more prepared for this exchange than I was for my year in Brazil. Taking classes in Spanish, a language I barely speak is the largest obstacle that I foresee but just as I managed to learn Portuguese, I believe that I can learn Spanish. 

Disney Boardwalk

I have spent some of my last days home touring around the city with my Brazilian friend, tying up lots of loose ends (such as getting CPR certified) and beginning the process of packing (which is always an adventure). Here are some pictures of what the last week has looked like.

Another Shot of Disney's Boardwalk

Isabelle and me spending some time together 

St. Paul and the Broken Bones Concert

Giving Back

*Photo property of RYE FL

This weekend I had the opportunity to give back to Rotary Youth Exchange, the program that made my year in Brazil possible. I got to meet the 65 students from Florida who will be spending the 2015-2016 school year in countries all over the world. It feels like yesterday that I was in their shoes but instead I am now the one who supposedly has all the advice and answers. I spent the weekend volunteering at these students' first orientation and seeing how excited and nervous they were about the year ahead of them. Knowing what that year did for me, I can not even begin to explain to them how wonderfully I was impacted, or how much change they will undergo. The experiences they will have will last a lifetime and I was so thankful to have had the chance to meet them and impart some small nuggets of advice on them.

Seven lucky students will be going to Brazil this upcoming year. I met each of them and when it was time to sit down and help decide where in the country each would go, all of the students I met, places I went and experiences I had rushed through my head. I hope that each will find that the place they are located it the absolute best place that they could be. My hope for each of them is that they come out of their experiences with as much love for their city and for the country as I did.

Brazilian flag flying from my boat on the Amazon River