VAMOSSSSS

hello again! its been go-go-go for me these last two days and im so tired but i had to fill you in briefly because i leave for iguazu falls tomorrow night and i will not be able to blog until monday most likely. its 1:32am here and i know thats early for argentines but its still a little late for me so here is my quick synopsis of the past two days...

tuesday--- medialunas (sweet croissants) and cafe con leche have officially become my breakfast on this day, first real day of class, great teacher and fun conversational class, shopping and touring the congress and san telmo district, dinner with my new group of friends at puerto madera (the argentinean version of the wharf in san Francisco... so beautiful) dinner was a fancy, fancy traditional argentinean steak dinner, lots of vino, and dessert (yum flan), then to a bar on the waters edge with great company of my new friends... im slowly learning how to stay out, very slowly.

wednesday--- late wake up time due to the late night before, official breakfast at a local chain cafe that i loveeee and have been to three times now, class with my other teacher and she was so nice and patient, general volunteer orientation meeting- i will be volunteering with homeless, abused, and neglected children at an after school program in "la boca" the low income, impoverished district in town teaching english and art starting next monday, then wine tasting class focusing on white wines this week (reds, sparkling, oaks to follow), then to placio alsina for "after work"=happy hour in the states, for drinks dancing and some true argentinian culture (quite the beautiful, fancy, and incredible place with very "friendly" argentines)

all in all, i am having a fabulous time so far and have settled in well, now im working on blending in, experiencing more of the culture, exploring the city, and practicing my spanish!

i wish i cold go on but im exhausted. buenos noches mis amigos!

dia tres

today was the first day of my "real" program with the company and school in BA (thats the cool way to say buenos aires). i started my language school and had orientation to the program as a whole with all of the activities and trips laid out to some extent. i admit i am getting quite tired and so for that reason im going to get right to the good stuff (which you should know usually includes lots of food)...

- woke up and grabbed delicious dulce de leche pastrys for two pesos at the mercado... yum and again im gonna be huge. don't worry tho, the second i get back to "the states"(thats my new word that i use as often as possible now that i have canadian and english friends... i love it!) i have to start training for the nike womens half marathon so ill shake all of this cheese, pizza, pastries, coffee, wine, and beef right off of me....maybe?

- attended orientation and am looking forward to volunteer work with children, mate dinner date with a group of friends, wine tasting on wednesday, first "real" day of school tomorrow, and iguazu this weekend!

- i have friends:) such nice friends from all over the world! sound like a good reason to travel more now!

- i have taken up a new slogan for the month- "i am eating my way across argentina". literally, it gonna happen and i love the idea.

-attended a fabulous and inspiring talk today from the madres del plaza del mayo. they are a group of mothers and grandmothers whose children and grandchildren (30,000 in total) were taken away form them 33 year ago during the government regime. the children were tortures and taken to concentration camps never to be seen again. these madres have been protesting and asking for change every thursday in a 30 minute march for 1,700 thursdays now in hopes of instilling a new democracy that will make right, politically, socially, and educationally, the laws of argentina so that their children will never be forgotten. the main women that spoke to us today was 97!!! and she was a spitfire... if only i can have that much passion for something at 97! the madres block the roads and march though the plaza every thursday in addition to building schools, memorials, libraries, and supportive homes for argentinean children. how cool is that? (im going to join the march this thursday or next... so exciting)

-marienda is the meal between lunch and dinner. america, i know your fat but we should bring this tradition back to "the states" its the best ha! a little pizza or empanada... or in our case all of the above and ice cream. woops.

-(shh i visited volta helado again tonight with friends and we had a great girl chat for two hours all getting to know eachother:)

- i had a spanish oral placement test today and i am in the intermediate class i believe so that should be great and quite funny hearing my terrible accent... that will change tho, hopefully!

ffffsssshhhuuuu... well so much for bed early. goodnight my friends! talk to you tomorrow!

dia dos

hola! today was so fun! my roommate and i did a walking tour of the recoleta district with our main destination being a huge artisan outdoor market in the grass plazas of the district. recoleta is known as the artsy, hippy, museum type location of buenos aires with a very creative aura... this was very much true. we walked around the market for sometime and then followed the "death, art, and shopping" tour, as lonely planet calles it, to take a walking tour around the district. it was all beautiful, but as every good traveler does once or twice, i forgot my camera battery in the charger! so annoying but i was still able to snap a few on my trusty iphone.

here are the highlights from the day:

- seeing evita's and all of the others famous graves and architecture. its a photographers dream and i think ill have to go back to snap a few with my camera.

- cafe con leche (sooo good) and napolitano style pizza pastry on a cute buenos aires street as a late afternoon lunch

- viewing van gogh, monet, manet, marisot, and rodin's paintings two feet away at the museo national de bellas artes!!! we were not expecting this at all. we randomly walked in it was so exciting, especially after finishing up my spring quarter with an art history class where i learned about them!

- volta ice cream shop- quite possibly the best "helado" i have tasted since italy. i think it may become my lunch on a daily basis (dulce de leche... yum, yum, yum)

- seeing the "floralis generica"- a gigantic metal flower in one of the cities beautiful parks that opens at sunrise and closes at dusk. were talking gigantic people... like 40ft or so with pistols and stamen lights (i think thats what the middle things are called- thanks montessori)

- having my new roommate move in this afternoon. were about on the same level spanish wise and well probably be in the same class. so fun! plus she has a great UK accent that i love!

as for the next few days- school starts tomorrow, possibly a tango show and dinner tuesday, and wednesday a dinner date with a few friends, mass at the catholic church, and watching the flower close and do its light show thing at dusk. thursday i leave for the fabulous iguazu falls! more to come on all of these things in the coming days!

goodnight and take a look at my gallery.mac.com/epalm25 if you get a chance... ill start posting asap!

dia uno

bienvenidos a argentina! i successfully made it here after a 3.5 hour car ride, 2 hour flight delay due to weather on the runway, 15 hours of plane rides, and one taxi to my residence!

i live in the heart of the congreso district of buenos aires, within 5 blocks from my school, program office, and several large plaza squares. the city is old, bustling, and rich with culture. my apartment is beautiful, cozy, and fancy with a great roommate and one more moving in tomorrow (i think). most of the students living in the six stories of the apartments are argentinean, speaking little or no english (woo for learning spanish fast!) and the others are from my program or on independent study. we have kitchens, study rooms, sitting rooms, and bathrooms on all floors. fancy, right?

so far its been a catch up day... moving in, lunch, phone cards, grocery store trip, and a few naps. from what i understand thus far, these people can p-a-r-t-y south american style. i arrived here at the residence to find most people still asleep and as of tonight i have heard of about two hundred different plans for the time between 12am and 7am. as for me tonight, im thinking a movie with the roommate, baguette (2 pesos from the grocery store across the street... im gonna be hugeeee), and some zzzz's.

i promise to post pictures of my place and the local area around me tomorrow. i hear that the "usaians" are gathering for a 4th of july celebration tomorrow in some fashion. until then... have a great night/day/morning!

buenos noches from argentina!

MANANA!!!

I LEAVE TOMORROW!

for all of you that want to follow me throughout my travels in argentina,

here are the places that you'll be able to contact/find me!

blog: embitions.blogspot.com

email: epalm25@mac.com

photo website: gallery.mac.com/epalm25

skype: epalmer25

facebook: emily palmer:)

i will not have access to my phone regularly, so please contact me via one of the above methods!

ADIOS AMIGOS!!!

happy dads day!

happy dads day to the best dad in the world!

daddys girl all the wayyyyy! always will be:)

i love you so much!

oh and by the way, fathers day was the best excuse to make carrot cake (a bill palmer favorite)!

ohhh baby girl!!!

junie b.

hello june, you sure have come and gone by so fast. what have you been up to this month?

well, funny you should ask. its been quite a busy month. a little of this a little of that and a lot of fun! heres a few things that have excited me or consumed my time this month...

::: spring quarter completion: i successfully tore up the dance floor on the weekends downtown, became a poolside tanner, drank equal amounts of coffee, long island, and water (dont worry im still responsible:), and received an A- in neuroanatomy... 3.8gpa woohoooo!

::: babysitting: chapters of junie b. jones, diaper changes, swim lessons, every type of craft, pb and j's, and picnic lunches by the creek have defined my summer thus far. ive been getting all of the child care hours in that i can before i head off to argentina. gotta love under the table cash when you're a college student looking to make some bank before you head out of the country to spend it all!

:::new obsessions: 1) i realize that im about ten years behind the world but i have a new found passion... sudoku! its going to be my best friend on my double digit bus rides around argentina. 2) another little pleasure- taking a day trip down south to azusa pacific university with brandon to check out their DPT (physical therapy) program. it was fabulous and were praying he gets accepted! 3) lastly, i made a trip to the avila valley barn to get some "u-pick" peaches that were consumed within two days. gonna need more. oh how i love u-pick! (p.s. on the plan for this week in the kitchen- homemade cheese and olallieberry jam)

::: gardening: the other day i got to spend the day weeding, planing, and watering. growing up this was a weekend norm but since my little years i haven't done much, beside eat the fruits and veggies. i loved gardening! it was so great to bring back the mud between my toes and i cant wait to eat the things that i planted now! beside that, the greenhouse is close to completion and i will have to update you more on that because it is b-e-a-utiful! as for now, i am looking forward to butter lettuce, sweet peppers, cilantro, italian basil, and eggplant!

::: packing, planning, and preparing for ARGENTINA!!! two weeks from today i arrive!!!

(much more to come in the following weeks i promise! argentina updates as i travel!)

october 17th

sorry about being MIA for a week or so!

just thought id update you on the newest of things...

nike women's half marathon.

san francisco.

october 17th.

13.1 miles.

run, run, run!!!

woowoo!

my roomie abby and i (the sane roommates) will be running the half marathon and my roomies rachel and mia will be running the full marathon (kookoo). well see how this goes, seeing that im the only one that has not run a marathon or half marathon. kill me.

ill keep you posted on the training!

p.s. cute boys hand out tiffany and co. necklaces at the finish line! ahhhh!