Córdoba: It's like going back to camp... with beer

Although this wonderful trip was precisely two months ago, I think it's still worth retelling the "Tale of TEFL Goes to Germantown."

Thanks to the 9 de julio holiday, we had a three-day weekend— plenty of time to travel to Córdoba, which is just a short 10-hour bus ride away.  Often referred to as the "culture capital," Argentina's second largest city is home to several universities, fancy Jesuit architecture and some impressive museums, or so I hear.  While most of you would expect to find me on a culture tour de force, you must remember that I was traveling with a group and was happy to relinquish my plans to the collective will.

We spent just a single hour touring the actually city of Córdoba and instead sought greener pastures in the surrounding sierras.  And I must say, it couldn't have been a better vacation.

Whether we were motorboating in Villa Carlos Paz...

Riding in boats with boys

Enjoying a family dinner at the hostel...

With wine, of course

Hiking in La Cumbrecita...

Let's hope I don't fall off any mountains

Admiring the Sierras of Córdoba

We found the cemetery from Zelda— or so Wade claimed

Pretending we're in Alemania at Villa General Belgrano...

Finally some quality cerveza

If it weren't for the flags, I would have started saying Guten tag

Did I mention that we were there during the chocolate festival?

Taking a one-hour stroll through the city of Córdoba...

Converted church, lovely

Walking triumphantly off into the sunset— er, sunrise

Café & Mate goes Stateside

Dear devoted blog readers (yes, I mean you, Kiersten, Aunt Roz and sometimes Dad),

I'm back in Los Estados Unidos!  Two weeks ago today I returned to the motherland dressed in my knit dress, leggings, boots and peacoat.  Obviously, I nearly passed out while exiting the airplane in Raleigh-Durham.  It was only about 95 degrees, which from what I hear, is nothing compared to the dog days of July (think triple digits).

Although I'm no longer in the faraway (and far-more-interesting-than-Cary) land of Argentina, I still have a few posts in queue that I feel should be posted at some point.  After that, I'm not quite sure what will become of the blog— at the very least, the "Café and Mate" title will have to go.

In the meantime, let me share some of my more shocking reverse-culture shock sentiments thus far:

1. The weather (duh).  I started telling people in Buenos Aires, that I'm like a migratory bird: the weather gets cold, and I switch hemispheres.
2. Cooking. Microwave?!  Oven with actual temperature-gauge?  I don't need matches to cook?
3. Communication.  You understand me?  And I don't even have to think about what I'm saying (please note: this could lead to problems)
4. Ethnic variety, woo!  Although the porteños consider themselves to be a heterogeneous bunch, that variety only pertains to the European continent.
5. Size variety, uh... After living in a country that has the second highest rate of anorexia in the world, it's a bit of a jolt to return to the land of Supersize Me.
6. Appreciation (looks).  This ties in with #5.  When you're 5'8", not model-thin and have short hair, the sidewalk appreciation in Argentina is usually limited to lewd remarks and catcalls from Quosimodo-like men.
7. Appreciation (employment). Unfortunately this change isn't in my favor.  Suddenly I'm just another kid with a bachelors degree— no one cares that I know what a countable noun is, and no one wants me to teach them English!
8. Transportation.  I have to drive to get everywhere?  No confiteria or chino mercado just across the street?
9. Specialty food.  I've returned to the land of specialty salads, soy substitutions and international cuisine.  Hallelujah!
10. Climate control.  This might be the last item on my list, but it deserves to be #1 in terms of importance.  Air-conditioning is better than sliced bread.