Attempting the Tango: ¡Qué rápido!

Ten days left. woah. This afternoon I said goodbye to the women at the place that I’ve been volunteering and it was strange. Among the normal things they wished me, like luck, I was also wished a novio (boyfriend). Thanks for rubbing it in, beautiful Argentine women. Anyway, it was a bittersweet experience in itself and I just realized it was the first official goodbye that I’ve said here. In addition, there are innumerable places and people that I know I’ve visited for the last time, or at least for a while. I decided to write now because I’m avoiding writing final papers (damn studying part of studying abroad…), and I know that once I return to the states no one will be interested in my life as an unemployed college student at home (as opposed to my life as an unemployed college student in a foreign country…). I plan on going full out in the coming week and a half, ideally without updating time, so if you’re interested, the following will be a brief description of my trip to Iguazu.

Had a cold but uneventful ride up to Puerto Iguazu, arriving at 7 in the morning. That’s when people are heading home from the night in Buenos Aires, but I wanted to take advantage of my whole day. After dropping off my bag at the hostel, took another short bus over to the falls. I had greatly underestimated the weather and was sort of freezing for the first half of the day, but it was sunny and beautiful in the national park, and after plenty of walking around and taking in the spectacular views, it was the last thing on my mind.

As people had warned, there is a bit less water during the winter months, but the Garganta del Diablo (Devil’s Throat) fall did not disappoint. As its name implies, this fall is basically comprised by a mass of water that seems to flow from one cliff straight down into the next as if the Devil opened up it’s mouth to howl. From far away, the mist it gives off looks like a giant, low cloud, and up close, it’s impossible not to get soaked. Since I was by myself, I was able to move quickly through the park, seeing some sights like la Garganta more than once. At one point, I walked along the railway instead of taking the train and basically had a jungle to myself. It was spectacular. Also discovered Paradise, an “alfajor” concoction composed of Oreo cookie and Milka chocolate. I ate in the Iguazu paradise and felt utterly content.

After an excellent night’s sleep at the hostel, I woke up early again and decided to go see the Tres Fronteras, where you see the three frontiers of Argentina, Paraguay, and Brasil. I had debated for a while trying to actually get into Brasil to see their side of the falls because I have a friend who said she did it with no problem without a visa. However, after being warned that I might spend some time with the police and have to pay $800, I decided it wasn’t worth the risk. Oh well. It was much sunnier and warm the second day, which was nice for doing a little homework and napping in the sun later on in the day. While the Iguazu falls were nice, the state of the town is more disturbing. The visible poverty is sad, to say the least, especially among the Guaraní. I had one artisan essentially tell me that he could not eat if I didn’t stop to buy a pair of earrings from him. I like the earrings, but it was an uncomfortable situation that I didn’t quite know what to make of.

On my bus ride home, I was the only passenger for the first several hours. Luckily, one of the drivers was friendly and kept me company for a while. In addition, Argentina did not let me down with their music selection. It was inappropriate as ever - a selection of pop songs from the eighties, most of which I’d never heard before. It made for interesting accompaniment to the sun setting over the northern highway landscape.

Now back in chilly Buenos Aires, I’m busy with presentations, including one for tango. My group, composed of half Argentines and half exchange student, selected the theme of the Matrix and we will be performing on Tuesday for an audience or peers and friends. I still haven’t seen the movie and my group still has yet to finish the piece. It all seems about right.

See you soon ☺
Sarah