Adventures in Buenos Aires—Everywhere I traveled

While in Buenos Aires, I have explored much inside and outside of the city. I am going to touch on a few of my favorite adventures.

The first two trips were ones with IES Abroad. One of the first weekends that we were in Argentina, we traveled to the countryside and visited an estancia (a ranch/farm). While we were there, we got to pet farm animals, watch folk dances, and enjoy a feast of typical Argentinian barbeque. I even got to eat cow gland! This was a very nice weekend to sit back and relax with new friends. We played games and shared mate. Also with IES Abroad, one of the bigger trips was to Colonia, Uruguay. The ferry trip there was across the widest river in the world, the Rio Plata. While in Colonia, we learned about its history and explored the colonial-era town.

One of my favorite past-times in Buenos Aires is exploring the ferias (fairs). I mainly attended the one in Recoleta, since it is near where I live. There was also a small feria in La Boca, but it was really a precursor to attending the San Telmo feria. I went to the feria in San Telmo twice; it is multiple blocks long and packed with vendors. I also went to a feria while in Tigre. There was a food and crafts festival that I went to, which was a little different than a feria, but I still found many interesting things. I have bought many things at the ferias, including but not limited to: scarfs, mate cups, books, etc.

By taking a class at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), I had the opportunity to travel outside of the city of Buenos Aires to do fieldwork. While I am not that interested in territorial and rural development (the topic of the class and thus the fieldwork), I enjoyed exploring rural Argentina. We visited La Matanza, Marcos Paz, and Vedia. Through these trips, I got to interact with locals as well as graduate students and professors. The trip to Vedia contained added adventure because it was an overnight trip. We got to experience authentic barbeque and bonded throughout the night. The friendships I made on this trip opened doors to more adventures once we returned to the city.

Some of my favorite adventures were with the friends I made in Buenos Aires, through IES Abroad and through the UBA class. My two favorite trips were to Tigre and to a Tango restaurant. After an hour-long train ride to Tigre, we took a boat to the island of Tres Bocas. While we were there, we ate homemade pizza (picnic style), visited a bee farm, and explored the island. After the island, we went to a feria, until it began to rain. The most exciting part of this trip was the mad dash to the train station; splashing through puddles and getting soaked to the bone. The adventure to the Tango restaurant was more low key. Through our Argentinian friend, we found this hole-in-the-wall restaurant. Although we missed the Tango lesson, I stood near the dance floor and people asked me to dance. The food was amazing, and I got to experience culture through dance like I have been wanting to the whole program.