Home once again :)

Well, my adventures in Argentina have come to an end (for now!) and therefore so does this blog (for now!) Thank you for todo, for reading, and I hope to be able to see you all very soon :)

Homeward Bound

Wow, I can't believe I am saying this, but I will be coming home officially in Four Days! I will be back in the U.S. of A. on Saturday morning. My phone will be turned on at roughly 6:00am Houston time, and I will be aterrizado in MI at about 11:15am. I love you guys so much - this semester has been a blast and I can't wait to see you all :)

Besos and Abrazos.

October...November...

Wow, its November - que loco! No puedo creerlo todavia! The weather is beautiful, the sun is shining, the day is warm :) and I'm writing a paper....but thats ok! My family is wonderful, classes are winding down, Christmas is not a bit in the air yet - and Thanksgiving either for that matter! (aw, sad!) but Bs. As. has been treating me well, I have learned to use the Colectivos (the buses) and I love them. There was a huge rain storm yesterday that I got caught in and got completely soaked - it was fabulous :)

perdon perdon...

I am SO sorry that it has taken me over a month to get back on to the good 'ol blog. There has been SO much going on, so much to see, so much to do. Classes are in full swing now and more traveling to boot! I went to Cordoba (the second largest city in Argentina) and Villa de Merlo where we went trekking and repelling and sun-burning ;) It was wonderful! Spending time in the gorgeous countryside and Sierras de Cordoba.

It was recently my mother's bday to boot - it was weird missing it! I miss her! But as for things coming up, this weekend our program is taking us to Tilcara, in the Northern Province of Jujuy (pronounced: who who eee) until Sunday and then the following week I am taking an excursion to the marvelous Iguazu Falls and despues, KEGAN IS VISITING ME!! No big deal that I have mid terms amidst all that happenings... ;) The weather here is warming up every day, Spring is in the air and summer is around the corner. The trees are budding and flowers are blossoming. The sky is blue and I'm ready for a tan, and maybe one more alfajore...

I need an Alfajore....NOW

It is official, I´m an addict. Alfajores and wine, thats all an Argentine needs to live off. These dulce de leche filled sweets are sold on every street corner in this great big city. Definitely not good for my cholesterol. But hey, thats what the red wine is for, is it not?

I´m trying to cut back - I haven´t had either tempting treats today...yet. Perhaps that is because the weather here in Buenos Aires has heated up! Today it is 75 degrees and sunny, and is only supposed to get warmer into the weekend. Perhaps we will hit up the beach...? Speaking of beaches, my dear Dani is in transit to the Mediterranen Coast right now - Alicante here she comes! She left yesterday from the Chicago airport, flew into Heathrowe this morning, and then from there to Madrid and finally her new city of residence. So excited to see pictures :)

As for life here in South America, things are going well! I have become a legal resident now, obtaining my Visa as of yesterday morning (bright and early mind you) at the Department of Immigration. Classes are underway and the city is definitely starting to feel more like home. I spend a lot of my down time in cafes and exploring the city, as well as planning trips to other various locations throughout Latin America. This past weekend was quite eventful actually! On Friday night Rolando (Corinne O´Grady´s Dad´s friend, who is about 72 years old) and his wife took me to see el Fantasma de la Opera. Perhaps the most amazing theatrical experience I have ever had. We sat front row center in the balcony, perfect seats. And then went out to a delicious dinner at an authentic Itailian restaurant. It was wonderful. On Sunday he also took me (and a friend, Jessie Zomermaand) to his Yacht Club, Club de San Fernando, where he keeps his 40ft. wooden sail boat. It was a beautiful day with fun people and great food.

I will continue to keep you posted on my excursions! Toto (my 21 year old brother) comes home on September 3rd = next big adventure! But in the mean time, I´m going to enjoy not having classes Mondays or Fridays, and do my best to speak Spanish as much as I can. Besos.

Bariloche, Skiing 101

Hey hey! So I have recently arrived back at home from a wonderful trip to beautiful Bariloche.

Who would have thought that I could ever say this, but yes, Niki Tyner has officially skied in the Andes Mountains. And how majestic it was! However much falling may or may not have occurred on my way down, I have made it back to Buenos Aires in one piece with artisan chocolates to boot! A group of friends left on last Tuesday from the Retiro Bus Station here in the city (very close to my house) and we boarded a bus for a 20 hour ride across the flat Argentine countryside to the towering mountains. However horrible that may sound, it was sooo much fun. The food provided was better than airline food (well in my opinion) and we even had authentic Argentine Malbec red wine to boot. When we finally arrived into town, we were greeted with a down pour of rain and sideways-sleet. Cozy, I know! ;) But we taxi-ed it to the hostel, Patanuk Hostel, which was picturescly located on perhaps one of the most gorgeous lakes I have ever seen.

We proceeded to carpe diem, the twelve of us CIEE students skiing/snowboarding the first day at Catedral and dancing the night away that evening. No, I didn't make it to bed before 5 a.m. any night that we were there. The sun shone, the wind blew, and the snow fell :) But the weekend continued on, with good food, good friends, and good card games (check out pics on facebook sometime soon). We left Sunday afternoon and I have just finished lunch here at home. It is balmy here in BA - you can smell spring and the impending promise of summertime weather. Yes, if there was any question, spring smells like spring no matter where you are. It is a wonderful smell.

So, you may be wondering, when do you start classes Niki? Yes. That is happening. As we have entered our fourth week here in Argentina, classes have also commenced, well more or less. Tomorrow is the first official week so today I will be unpacking and preparing :) Very excited. Oh man. Here we go! Wish me luck, hope to talk to you all soon, and I'll keep you posted on the details of my life. Ciao bellas.

Two Full Weeks!

So sorry for the delay between posts! Things have been crazy here - crazy busy, crazy fun :) Time does weird things when you are abroad - I feel like I've done OH so much, that I have been here for ages and ages, but at the same time, each morning that I wake up here feels like the very first day of this great adventure. How cool. What a blessing. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that it gets pretty intense sometimes - living in a country where you can't bank on English has been really cool. Its neat to experience the life here in South America, not only observing from afar but really delving into the reality of their existence. Will I ever feel like I am one of them? I'll just have to keep you posted ;) As for now, I def stick out - Ms. Niki Tyner walkin around in her bright blue North Face and boat shoes. Oh man, what was I thinkin? No no, lovin it. People here are wonderful, and, I hope you're proud - I have even been asked (by B.A. inhabitants!) for directions. Yes, twice now! So I must at least kind of look like I know what I'm doin... ;) And besides, I like to wear my sunglasses while I'm in the subte, since having blue eyes is kind of an anomaly here. I must say, I look pretty glam. And of course, the sun never sets on a Bad Ass ;) (yes, I think that every time I leave them on when I'm inside).

But ok, I digress. Continuing on! Tomorrow morning, bright and early the group (aka the 100+ students studying here) is leaving on a mini-viaje to San Antonio de Areco to ride horses and eat bbq!! We will be gone til Saturday night, our first trip outside of the city since we got here - real outdoors, home-grown gaucho experience, first rate I'm sure ;)

But as for what I've been up to: Touring Buenos Aires 101. And loving it. The city is so full of things to see, places to go, food to eat. History: plenty of it. Arcitecture: amazing. Trees: everywhere. Museums: top notch. Weather: sunny and clear blue sky everyday since we've arrived. What more could I ask for? Well, there is one thing (as sappy as it might sound), but living abroad def makes you miss and appreciate your friends and family at home a ton. Not that I didn't before, but being miles and miles and miles away from the people you love gives you a definite opportunity to observe and appreciate the wonderfullness of the blessings of home :) Love you guys. Thank you for reading, I'll try to write more consistently, there is so much to tell!

Besos y abrazos.