One of the great things about going back to grad school this year is that I've not only been on the same continent as my family, but close enough to actually spend time with them-- I'm talking consecutive holidays. And anyone who knows me knows that family means lots and lots of cousins! My cousins on both sides are my surrogate siblings and I miss them all like crazy whenever I'm abroad.
But every once and awhile, I can talk one into embarking on international misadventures with me...
Yup. Straight up shenanigans.
A few weeks before I left Argentina to start said grad school, my cousin Jen visited Buenos Aires. We had planned the trip for months and I couldn't wait to show her the city I'd been calling home for half a year.
We jumped right into exploring--
Over the next week, we did end up doing a thorough job experiencing Buenos Aires. There were plenty of things I had never had the chance to check out while working a teacher's schedule and others I couldn't wait to see again. We spent our days:
Strolling through the Recoleta cemetery and visiting Evita's grave
Braving the crossing of the impossibly wide Nuevo de Julio street to pose with the Obelisk
Yes, we felt wonderfully cultured and adult. But lest I give the wrong impression-- we mostly did this:
And bubble tea in Chinatown
(and also at this club where there was this weird zombie burlesque thing happening...)
We munched on pastries that Elsa brought home for breakfast--
Oven-fresh empanadas
And most importantly, Argentine asado.
And more asado.
Yeah, I'm not going to admit exactly how many times we had asado...
We also spent time with some of the wonderful people I had met in Buenos Aires. Jen was the "guest English speaker" as I finished up my private classes:
Last class with Octavio (and Carebear)
Final lesson with Johana, after which her family made us a huge dinner at their Korean restaurant
Squished in a cab with Javi and Ay on the way home from a goodbye shindig in Palermo
During all of the exploring and meeting and translating and eating, Jen and I had the chance to simply hang out and log some cousin time. Growing up, I'd spent nearly every Thanksgiving, Christmas, and birthday at her house-- yet, this was the longest solid chunk of time we'd had together in years.
And it wasn't over just yet.
Up next: misadventures in Mendoza, Argentina with buses, wine, and, yes-- horses.
Love from,
Kerk