Week 3-- Sushi Club!

So the Fulbrighters in Buenos Aires are slowly but surely settling down. I thought it would be nice to get everyone together for a dinner at my new favorite restaurant, Sushi Club. We spent most of the night griping about Argentine bureaucracy and the ridiculous antics of the Argentina Fulbright Commission. Unfortunately, we couldn't get the entire gang together, but here are a few pictures of the Fulbrighters who could make it.

Here we have Christina and Matt.



And this is me with Robert, another Fulbright currently writing a book comparing the American and Argentine frontiers.

On another completely unrelated note, the weather here is absolutely insane. It has been raining for a week straight, but not light rain like we have in California. This is torrential downpours. I literally got out of someone's car last week and stepped into a small river that was running in the gutter in front of my apartment building. Every night we have thunder and lightning. The weather here is just nuts! Hope you are all well and that the weather back home is better than it is here.

Week 2-- First Asado!

A time honored tradition in Argentina is the weekend asado. Asado in Spanish can be loosely translated into barbeque, but the Argentines definitely take grilling to a whole new level. You can generally find ribs, steaks, chicken, sausage, and many other parts of the cow that I choose not to eat at a tipical asado. Last Sunday, Virginia's aunt, Graciela, invited me over for an asado, and she didn't have to ask twice.

Here are some photos of the lovely family and our first (hopefully of many!) asado:

Behold the delicious plate of meat from the asado-- not for the faint of heart. I think it would be very difficult to be a vegetarian in this country.

Here we have David, Me, Carmen, and Marianna, Carmen's best friend :)



And finally, the master chef, Graciela :)

Week 2-- The Apartment Search fails, but I do have a home!

First and foremost, let me just say. Just because someone tells you something, even if that person theoretically should be an authority on the topic, does not mean that that person is giving you accurate and useful information. Case in point, the Fulbright Commission told us that we should wait to find housing until we got down to Argentina. BIG MISTAKE. They failed to tell us that we were arriving two weeks before the biggest vacation week of the year, Holy Week, and they have also failed to realize that our current stipend does not reflect rises in inflation rates here in Argentina nor does it reflect an incredibly competitive rental market. But enough griping, two weeks of living out of a suitcase has left me bitter!

Instead of finding an apartment, I caved and moved into la Casa Aliaga, a beautiful apartment in the heart of Recoleta that offers shared rooms to students. Needless to say, this is not what I had in mind. A shared room? Feels more like college.... Ah well, you can have everything you want and at least this solution is economical and immediate. I will include photos of la Casa Aliaga soon, but I just got settled in yesterday so it's been a whirlwind 24 hours. I am happy to report that I finally have my own bed, I've been able to unpack my suitcases, and I've had a chance to update this blog. I will definitely need to devote a whole blog post to describing everyone in this house, because they are all great!

I hope everyone back in the U.S. is well, and I miss you all!

First Group Dinner at Sushi Club

After a rather grueling couple of days, the Argentina Fulbright contingent decided it was time to treat ourselves to a nice meal out. We headed down to Puerto Madero, a hip "neighborhood" down by the water which has tons of great restaurants. Our friends who have been here for a while took us to Sushi Club, an amazing sushi restaurant where we stuffed our faces. Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of the gigantic plate of sushi that the girls ordered, but do have pictures of the gang!

Here we have Alex, Christian and Matt


This is the whole gang--me, Rachel, Argenta, Nicole, Alex, Christian and Matt


And here's me (looking very tired and gross) with Abhay, another Fulbrighter.

The apartment search continues...

Still homeless, we are trying to find a place as quickly as possible. We've got a few good prospects which are definitely keeping our spirits up. Hopefully I will be able to post pictures of our new home very very soon.
Hope all is well!

Week 1-- Search for an Apartment

I arrived safely in Buenos Aires on Tuesday and was whisked away to orientation. I met other Fulbrighters, spent time at the US Embassy, and met the US ambassador. On Thursday, we started searching for an apartment, which is proving to be a more difficult task than I had hoped. We've been looking for three days now, and are hoping to find something we like soon.

I'm looking forward to getting settled and starting my research. Hopefully I'll have some pictures to post tomorrow as tonight is St. Patrick's Day. Don't forget to wear something green!