If I've learned anything about second-languages, it's that it's easier to explain things by giving an example. Last blog I used the example of momentarily forgetting where you are when you wake up. If you didn't like it I apologize, but my apology is essentially empty because the example this week is almost guaranteed to be worse. This week you savages* have to actually work a little bit to understand what I'm talking about, BUT you only have to do one tiny thing:
Nature nature nature nature nature nature nature nature nature nature nature nature nature nature
Read that out loud. Seriously, do it.
No really, do it.
Please?
I've always found it super weird that taking one word and repeating it several times or reading it several times can make it seem so strange. In this case, as you can tell from above, the word I want to focus on is pretty obvious.
Sike. It's culture…kind of.
I've heard so much about traveling to a country with a different culture that the whole concept seems strange. I almost expected to receive some sort of culture manual upon arrival (needless to say, I didn't). I think one thing that some people tend to emphasize about traveling to another country is that it's very different. I have two things to say to this:
1. It is
2. They're right
What ISN'T emphasized is the fact that the people in the country still have the desire to enjoy themselves (profound, I know).
So how do people in Argentina enjoy themselves??? GREAT QUESTION.
Trick question. It depends on the person.**
Luckily, there are people here who do some of the same things that I do in order to have fun.
THUS begins the part of my blog that actually has any content pertaining to what I've been doing down here. Over the weekend I went with some guys from Universidad Blas Pascal to some mountains that are about an hour and a half away called the Sierras. We went to a part called Los Gigantes (The Giants) and hiked to a place called La Cruz (The Cross). I'm going to just put a lot of pictures now, but one thing that was a cool/different is that there is essentially NO trail. People mark the way up to the interesting places by using a series of stacked rocks as landmarks. It's pretty cool. You'll see it sometimes in the US, but here it's the only way of knowing where to go in some parts.. which is NOT how it works in the US.
It was super cool to see a different type of mountains than I'm used to in the Smokies. I know that mountains aren't really something that people would use to describe the culture of Argentina (to you people), but it was still really cool to experience the same kind of thing that I do back home with some minor differences here and there.
Nature nature nature nature nature nature nature nature nature nature nature nature nature nature
Read that out loud. Seriously, do it.
No really, do it.
Please?
I've always found it super weird that taking one word and repeating it several times or reading it several times can make it seem so strange. In this case, as you can tell from above, the word I want to focus on is pretty obvious.
Sike. It's culture…kind of.
I've heard so much about traveling to a country with a different culture that the whole concept seems strange. I almost expected to receive some sort of culture manual upon arrival (needless to say, I didn't). I think one thing that some people tend to emphasize about traveling to another country is that it's very different. I have two things to say to this:
1. It is
2. They're right
What ISN'T emphasized is the fact that the people in the country still have the desire to enjoy themselves (profound, I know).
So how do people in Argentina enjoy themselves??? GREAT QUESTION.
Trick question. It depends on the person.**
Luckily, there are people here who do some of the same things that I do in order to have fun.
THUS begins the part of my blog that actually has any content pertaining to what I've been doing down here. Over the weekend I went with some guys from Universidad Blas Pascal to some mountains that are about an hour and a half away called the Sierras. We went to a part called Los Gigantes (The Giants) and hiked to a place called La Cruz (The Cross). I'm going to just put a lot of pictures now, but one thing that was a cool/different is that there is essentially NO trail. People mark the way up to the interesting places by using a series of stacked rocks as landmarks. It's pretty cool. You'll see it sometimes in the US, but here it's the only way of knowing where to go in some parts.. which is NOT how it works in the US.
 |
| This is the bottom of Los Gigantes. After we started hiking this house got very small very fast. I actually took the pictures this time!! That's why the left side is blurry… |
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| Los Gigantes are behind me in this photo, but this is how EVERYTHING looked. |
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| This is just past the house at the bottom.. It's also the most distinct the trail ever was. |
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| You can see the house on the left side of the picture just above the top of the rocks. Blurry, I KNOW!! |
 |
| Last photo with the house in it I promise but LOOK HOW SMALL IT IS!!!! |
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| This guy is a lagartija (lizard) and was super cool. No, I didn't catch him… I tried though. |
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| Just for a reference of the size of the rocks around, that's Tomas on the left. He returned shortly after realizing that the trail didn't go through that incline/cliff. Trails people…trails |
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| And I present (finally) La Cruz!! One of the coolest hikes I've ever done. |
Last week I made a promise (hesitantly, I reiterate) that not every post would be about nature. I still stand by that promise, I'm just not standing very close to it; I actually took pictures this time.. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM ME?! Next week I promise I'll give you savages* something that has to do with some generalities (not stereotypes**) of Argentina. I just want to make sure I'm in the groove of things before I started writing blogs that claim to have cultural items in them. You have to admit though, reading blogs about these mountains rocks***. I mean really, I'm not even to the peak*** of by blog writing yet.
*Seriously though, you guys aren't that bad
**Stereotyping is bad and everyone that does it is a horrible person. All of them. Each one. No exceptions. Ever.
***You're welcome
Suerte, chicos!
Benjamín