Buenos Aires, Week Seven

Last week was a short work week because Thursday the ninth was Argentina's Independence Day. Many businesses, including my office, also closed on Friday. The Swine Flu outbreak was the official reason that everything was shut down, but I really think that most people used it as an excuse to go to the Mar de la Plata for a nice long weekend (just my opinion).

My shortened work week went pretty well, but I didn't have a huge amount of work to do. I spent most of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday researching various funding opportunities. My work has mostly consisted of this kind of research since I submitted our last funding proposal, and I'm kind of getting tired of it. I briefly met with my boss this Tuesday to discuss the pros and cons of each of the opportunities. Hopefully we will be able to work together more frequently in the coming days to start narrowing down our options. As of now, it looks like we might be applying for aid from several of the following organizations: The Finnish, New Zealand, Italian, and Canadian embassies and the Soros Foundation. I enjoyed formatting and translating the applications which I dealt with in previous weeks, so I hope to be doing more of that next week.

I also began to take additional Spanish lessons last week at a hostel in the middle of town. So far, I have found them very helpful (and affordable). The lessons are one on one, and I get to do a lot of talking. My teacher usually chooses an interesting historical topic or current event and lets me give her my opinion on what happened/is happening. I really don't get many good opportunities to have more in-depth conversations with my coworkers, so I really appreciate the opportunity to speak with someone else for a solid two hours in Spanish. In all, I can notice that my Spanish is improving, but I know that I've still got a ways to go as far as speaking goes.

After taking it easy in Buenos Aires on Thursday and Friday, I went to Uruguay for the weekend with a bunch of people from my residence. First, we went to Colonia--a picturesque little town about an hour away from Buenos Aires--by boat. After spending the day strolling around the town, we took a two hour bus ride to the capital, Montevideo. We mostly did sightseeing during our short trip, but I really enjoyed the place. Colonia was a great change of pace, and Montevideo reminded me of a smaller, quieter Buenos Aires. This weekend, I've got plans to travel to the wine region of Mendoza with a few friends. I had to take a day off of work because the bus ride is between 13-15 hours, but I've heard that it's really worth it. We'll see!