mendoza

we´re in mendoza now, for a couple weeks total, til nancy foo´s parents arrive. we left la stala on sunday, we got dropped off at the bus station and we took an hour long bus ride to mendoza. we were thinking we would stay in a nice hotel for two or three nights to relax. so we found this hotel called balbi. relatively expensive. it was supposedly a three star hotel. for 240 pesos, which is about $75 or $80. i was thinking that for $80 in argentina we´d be in the lap of luxury. not so. there were two twin beds in the room, one painting on the wall, a little desk, a night stand. and a bathroom. i guess that is a bit vague for a description of quality. but basically, you´d get way better quality in the US for $80 a night. there was a bidet in the bathroom though. this is only the second bidet i´ve ever seen. and i didn´t know how to work it, so i decided to figure it out. there are three knobs on a bidet for those of you that don´t know...i didn´t. and i turned the one closest to me (i was on the side of the bidet, this was just a test run) and the water came out with some force. and it sprayed all over the bathroom and the ceiling. dang. and i was like ´nance, uhhh what do i do? i just got water all over the ceiling. should i wipe it off?´and she just said ýou got bidet water on my towel´. oops.
anyway, we decided the quality of balbi wasn´t high enough to spend $80 again, so we went to look for hostels and such. and we had this flyer that a girl on the street handed us the day before. on our way to balbi. so we went to check out the place on the flyer. 100 pesos per night for two people. we get shown to the room, which is an apartment that you can rent daily, weekly, or monthly. the room has a double bed and two twin beds and a fridge and a kitchen with dishes. amazing. we can cook. yessss. so we decided to stay there while looking for a longer term option. like two weeks or a month.
so for two or three days we stayed there and frantically searched for an apartment with furniture. the lady that works at the place we were staying knew somebody with an apt. we looked at it. 1800 pesos per month. which, by the way, is ridiculous. i think that may have been the tourist price. but we were desperate because the oven didn´t work and we were paying 100 pesos per day and the apt would be cheaper. so we decided to stay at the expensive apt but only til the end of november. so its not as bad.
anyway, now we have another crappy apartment in mendoza. i am learning that any accomodation that we rent here is going to be of relatively poor quality. i´m sure there are some really nice places for like $1000 per month. or more. but it seems like everyplace looks nice, but has several appliances that dont work. or leak. or do something else wrong. but i´m not used to closely inspecting a place before moving in. like checking to make sure the air conditioner works, the fridge works, all the lights work, the toilet doesn´t leak water all over the floor. i think that where i´m from, that´s a little rude. but apparently it´s necessary here. dang.
sooo, we´re wandering around mendoza for a couple weeks. its a nice city. we found a little market, like a farmers market. there are 4 or 5 produce stands there. but get this: you aren´t allowed to touch the merchandise. you get a number and tell them how many kilos you want of whatever and they go get it for you. but the food is all sitting out and looks like you would pick it up yourself. but no. you don´t.
so today we´re trying to plan the next 6 months or so, and also do laundry. that´s it. oh also, i want to eat popcorn. so three goals for the day...
the next 6 months: foo is trying to stay out of the US for a full year so her work visa can be renewed for another 6 years. if that is what we´re doing, then i think we´ll work our way up through south and central america, wwoofing along the way for three weeks at a farm, til april 23, when foo can fly to canada and stay for 3 months, and i might go there, or might go to MO to hang out with the family for a bit. then foo can re-enter the US after july 23. so we have to plan what countries we want to wwoof in along the way.
what else about mendoza? the ice cream is really really good. folks are generally really friendly. we´ve been so busy finding a place to stay we haven´t gotten to explore too much. so i guess we´ll start that today.
when we were looking for a place, we had to call a lot of people to ask if they had stuff to rent. by we, i mean i had to call. and understanding spanish over the phone is much harder than in person. but after the second or third call i realized it isn´t so hard. and it was much better from then on.

foo seems a little happier, i think. being super independent, i think it´s hard for her to live completely by someone else´s schedule. like on the farm. and i don´t think all farms are so consuming of time. just this one. it was like 50 or 60 hours per week, and free time was always with the family inside because it was dark outside by then. and we didn´t get to choose what or when to eat, or when to shower, or what to do in free time even. so having this apartment i think works better for her.
i also like the freedom aspect. but i think i´d get bored if we stayed here for a month, which was the first plan. bored because i don´t have a life here, or friends, or a job. but it´s good for now.
so we´ll head to santiago on the 28th and pick up nancy foo´s parents. then i guess stay in santiago for a couple days before heading back to argentina.
much love,
katie