Thursday, September 27, 2012

Another Medical Mishap

I think I am having an allergic reaction to the Dove soap that I bought here in BA. I told the insurance company that I wanted to make an appointment with a dermatologist. Their response was to email me at 5pm today to let me know that I had an appointment but I had to get there before 8pm. This would not have been a problem other than the fact that I didn't get out of class until 7:30pm. I wrote down the address and I hopped on the #152 and made my way down Santa Fe to the 2400 block. The address is Santa Fe 2472 (they put the street name before the numbers). I hop off the bus and I cross the street to the even side to see the numbers. I see 2470 and I walk further up to find 2472, but all I saw was a corner. It seemed to me that the building did not exist. It was almost 8pm and I was looking for this non-existant building and I was fed up and I just started to walk home.

I have a SUBE card which enables me to pay a lower rate ($1.20 AR) for the bus, but it only had $.70 AR left on it and not shockingly, when I went to reload it, the machine at the Post Office was broken, so I had to pay $2 AR for the bus ride. However, I didn't have enough change for fare back home, so I was gonna stop at a kiosko and get change, but I  didn't feel like it,so I just walked the 15 blocks back home and saved by 2 pesos and got a little exercise. On the way home I bought some Johnson and Johnson baby soap and if that doesn't work....well, we will have to cross that bridge when we get to it.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Avocado, Egg, and Lemon Juice Hair Mask

My favorite snack here is Doritos and avocados, but I overdid it on the avocados. I bought too many and they are ripening too fast for me to eat them all, so I scoured Pintrest for other uses. 

I came across this recipe for a hair mask made of avocado, a raw egg and lemon juice. I must say I was reluctant, but I needed to use the avocados and I had everything I needed, so I went for it. I was expecting it to smell bad, but I think the combination of lemon juice and avocado together smelled like kiwi to me. It worked out great!








You probably cannot tell from the photos, but my hair has a natural sheen and gloss after I used the mask. I havent added any other products to it in these photos after shampooing and conditioning normally. My hair is also softer and it has somehow helped my curls be less frizzy than normal.  My hair is undoubtedly softer and more lustrous. I plan on doing this mask more often, but I think I will add some olive oil next time to see what that adds.



Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Fire at the Dentist's Office

I went to the dentist today and it was an experience. As I was getting ready I picked up my keys, which were next to my camera and for a second I almost brought my camera, but I thought to myself "Why would I need a camera at the dentist office?" so I left it at home. First, I couldn't find the bus stop to get there and in my haste to leave and be on time I forgot all of my identification. I didn't have anything, no state id, no passport, insurance card, nothing. So, when I got there I told them my name and that I had an appointment and they couldn't find my name. I told them again and I saw my last name on the paper next to the first name "Destiny". I tell them that my last name is right, but that is not my first name. I am sure someone was dictating the names of the patients for the day and when my name came up they were in such disbelief that my name could be Darci that they knew they misheard and changed it to a more sensible name, like Destiny.

The woman at the desk was so rude. I speak Castellano fine, not awesome or out of this world porteña style, but fine. However, she was talking so fast that I could not understand a word she was saying and then when she realized I couldn't understand her, so spoke to me like I was deaf. I was so outdone. I ignored her and started talking to someone more polite and gave her my info. One hurdle down.

Then, I go in to see the doctor. While I am waiting, I look around the room for a diploma. I spot it, and it is a photocopy. She seems nice enough and asks me what the problem is. I told her I think I have a cavity and that it hurts when I eat sweet things. She goes in with the tools and picks around and says she doesn't see anything irregular. I am then expecting her to do an exam of my whole mouth and tell me if there are any other problems, or cavities, which she does not do. She asks me again what kind of pain I have and I describe it again and she decided to take an x-ray. I waited for her to come back with the results and she began to explain that there is nothing irregular in the x-ray and that I should use sensitivity toothpaste, which I already do.

She then calls the nurse in to give her this metal thing which looks like a little round jewlery box very similar to the picture above, only without the flame and the nurse leaves. The dentist tells me that she wants to check for sensitivity to hot and cold. I already told her I didn't have problems with hot and cold, but I figured I would humor her. I hear her say something about "fuego" to the nurse and I sat straight up in the chair. She then attempts to comfort me by saying that I wasn't going to die, but I was not worried about dying, I was worried about why she needed fire in a dentists office. I imagined she would give me some hot water, or tea to see if I was sensitive to heat, but no, that would be way to easy. She takes a lighter from the nurse and lights what i thought was a jewelry box and it turns into a burning flame. I am not having it now. I was freaking out. She then put one of her metal pokeys into the fire and tried to put it into my mouth. I tried to imagine this happening the the United States, and then I realized, oh, this would never happen, because this is crazy. She pokes my tooth and when I have no problem she attempts to keep heating the metal probe until it gets hotter and hotter. She knew I was not about to let her do it again and she backed off.

She gave me a little tube of sensitivity toothpaste that I already have at home and she told me to come back in a week and if I still have the problem then she will have to look into some other method. I played along and I went to the front desk and scheduled the appointment, but those people must be crazy to think I am going back there. I will have to wait until I get back to the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Its Been a Long Week

So, I have changed home stays after deciding that I could not longer live with the first family and I am all moved into another home. I love my host mother. Her name is Cecilia and she is not overbearing, she is easy going and she is not a smother-mother. I have had many adventures since my last post, but unfortunately I do not have internet at my new home yet because I moved during the weekend and my host mother couldn't get it hooked up on the weekend, which seemed strange to me because I am used to being able to call any company around the clock and get service, but that is not how we are living over here. For now, I am buying overpriced coffee for internet, but it is delicious, so I can't really complain. 

I will start with the least recent adventures first. The grocery store. It is amazing. There are so many new and different things. First, everyone needs their bimbo bread right? 


Im not sure if you can tell what this is. It is a wall of Nesquik. Yes, a wall. They don't play when it comes to Nesquik. 


This is twisted chocolate, I didn't buy it, but I am planning to go back for it. Im not sure it will be good, but it will be interesting. 


Then there was the protest. So, basically all of the rich people in BA think that Cristina is a bad person and that her government is corrupt and they want her out. There was a protest. They walked down the streets in the rich parts of town and yelled and banged pots and pans. They think she charges them to much taxes and she recently raised the amount that poor people get on welfare to keep up with inflation. She also wants to change the constitution to be able to run for president again. Basically, these people don't have anything better to do, so they complain about how hard it is to be rich. They also had signs that said typical protest things. Unfortunately, my school is in the middle of where they were passing, so traffic was stopped and I had to walk against the crowd to get home. It was a struggle, but I made it. 

There were people of all ages there. I mean, people in wheelchairs that looked like they were about to fall apart any second, but they were out there standing up for what they believe in. 





This guy. He was a chatterbox. We went to get ice cream at a chain called Freddo and he just walked up to us and started talking. I assumed he had been to the protest and he proudly pulled his pot out of his bag to show us. He said he was a farmer from one of the interior provinces and that he came to BA for the march. He said that she is an awful person and that she needs to go. He then started trying to tell us he started up with the marriage proposals and we bounced. 


Friday, Danijela and I went on a an adventure to find outlets on Córdoba. We searched for 2 hours in the wrong direction, then we got it right and we shopped til we dropped. We saw this cool looking building along the way. I discovered that "shopping" is a word in Spanish, but it is not a verb or an action, it is a place, like a bunch of stores or a mall. 



This is the school of Economics. 


This is exactly what you think it is. 




Thursday, September 6, 2012

Museo de Bellas Artes, Tarta de Manzanas, y Más

I have started my awesome socks!


Apple Pie (Tarta de Mazanas)


Emmy helped. 


The oven has no numbers on the temperature dial. 


My host brother Mateo. 


My host mother, Poli. 


Figureheads from La Boca



Cool skateboard shop I passed on the way home. 





Sunday, September 2, 2012

Day #37

I woke up this morning afternoon and I decided to get a jump start on my homework for Monday (tomorrow). I started with a bit of lite reading on slums for my class on Drugs and Violence in Literature and Arts in Latin America. It turned out to be heavier than I anticipated and I decided to have a spot of tea in the kitchen while I read for a little motivation. I went into the kitchen and put on some water for my tea and I get an orange and a plate and set my books down on the table and I am all set to get to work when my host mother comes in and tells me that I should go in my room and study because she was about to have some tea. Of course I felt awful for not being able to read her mind and I grabbed my things and left the kitchen while she helped herself to the hot water I was going to have tea with. I put on my shoes and I got myself ready to go because I didn't want to let her know how I really felt. I packed up my books and some Oreos Bañadas and headed for the door. When she saw me on my way out the door she looked puzzled as to why I was leaving. I hope that in the 6 hours I was gone it dawned on her that I left because she was rude and dismissive. Ironically, I don't think it did.

So, my adventure began. I decided to go to a park about 3 blocks from my house. I checked the weather and it was about 69 degrees outside, so I wore long sleeves and pants, but I did not know that there were serious winds.







I sat in the park for about 10 minutes before I knew I had to abandon that plan. I could try to find a café (they were all closed because it is Sunday) or I could go home (not happening) or I could explore. I heard tell of a mall 2 blocks from my house and I decided to see if I could find it. It seemed like the most rational choice considering that my house was not an option and it was too cold to stay outside.  I found said mall and also saw some other interesting stuff along the way.










Inside the mall I found a bench near the entrance and I sat there for about 30 pages and then after that I decided to take a break and explore the mall. I window shopped until I saw this store full of gidgets and gadgets that were soo cute! I unfortunately my alarm clock was broken during my voyage to Argentina, so I have been in the market for a new one. I found a super cute one that was only $45 AR, which is about $9.50 USD. Isn't it the cutest little thing you have ever seen?




After that find, I went to the food floor and I went to the tried and true Starbucks and I became the proud owner of a Café Mocha Blanca, whatever that is. It tasted like coffee with sugar and cream.




I decided to head home about at about 8:10 and by that time my host mother had eaten dinner without me and I am having dinner alone, but I think today, I would prefer it that way. Over and out.



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