Iguazu Falls

It has been far too long since I have posted on my blog. But, that must mean that I have been doing wonderful things. Allow me to catch you up.

This week started out a sloppy mess of stress and ended with a smooth, relaxing vacation. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday classes were long, packed with information, and unforgiving in the homework region, but let’s not focus on that. Monday night I had the pleasure of having a Passover seder with Yael and her family. Having a seder in Argentina was an amazing experience. It was really nice to see all the different customs of the ritual dinner down in Argentina and even more interesting to see what was the same. It was one of the fastest tellings of the story I have seen and rightfully so. Cutting to the dinner part is far more necessary in South America than it is in North America. I’ll explain as best as I can while trying not to ramble. That was the best meal I have ever had. Ever. Yes, ever. There was plenty of food, but by far the highlight was the meat (obviously.) Abuela (grandmother) made the moset delectable and tastiest piece of any kind of meat I have ever had the pleasure to enjoy with my salivating palate. In fact, I took it upon myself to eat for my entire family. 30 minutes after everyone had stuffed themselves with the kilos of incredible meat, I was still putting slabs of it on my plate. The jokes from the family, meat sweats, and embarrassment from the eating rampage were not enough to stop me. In my broken Spanish I attempted to tell abuela that her meat was marinated in so much love and possibly also marinated in rainbows, unicorns, sugar, spice, and everything nice. After eating for my entire family (and possibly extended family as well,) we finished the sader. It had great company, customary gifts (I got deodorant and a Spanish-dubbed Pierce Brosnan movie,) and yes, they gave me a doggy bag. Or rather, a doggy box. Best Passover ever.

Tuesday and Wednesday were not as eventful. It was really just a rush to get a lot of school work done, pack for my trip, trying to find the special Tango shoes that I need for my class, discovering the giant Tango class project we have due (we need to put on some sort of diologue-less show with costumes and scenery?) leaving class early to make it to the Hillel Seder, trying to get some sleep, reading impossibly long Spanish articles, and leaving class early to make it to the bus station for our bus to Iguazu. Let me take a minute to mention what it is like to travel, by bus, on the busiest travel weekend of the year (Pascua.) We arrived at 7:30 for our 8:00 bus. On the platform where the busses are announced, docked, and loaded, there were probably around 1,200 people. No more than 600 could fit comfortably. People were shoulder to shoulder trying to go from platform to platform looking for their bus. It was hot, sweaty, and filled with smoke from the nervous and frustrated passengers who needed a cig (and Max.) Our 8:00 bus arrived at 9:25 and we were finally on our way.

Arriving in Iguazu after an 18 hour bus ride was just perfect. We got to our (resort-like) hostel and everyone immediately got into the pool. Seriosuly, this hostel had a restaraunt, a bar, a dance floor, a huge common room, billiards, ping pong, wi-fi, a swimming pool, and company from all over the world. We even hung out with an Australian guy who at one point actually said, “That’s not a knife. This is a knife.” I kid you not. There were a ton of Israelis there too who figured me out as I lugged around a box of Matzah and ate Matzah pizza for two nights straight. We spent a lot of time drinking, playing games, swimming and sippin’ on Mate, who could ask for more?

Well, there’s more. On Friday we went to the national park at Iguazu. They really made it seem like a huge place, and charge you enough for entrance but it just doesn’t matter. Seeing pictures of the falls simply do not do justice to just how large, beautiful a perfect of a paradise Iguazu falls really is. A bunch of us could not stop singing the theme song for Jurassic Park (I know, I know, it was filmed in Costa Rica, but still.) Seeing that amount of water move from one plot of land down to the next (in a falling motion) was breathtaking. There are even some platforms that are so close to the falls that you get soaked by the falling mist. In fact, the mist from  the waterfalls mixes with the shining sun creating a permanent rainbow over the falls and throughout the park. My imagination could not even have drawn up such a beautiful landscape. After seeing the main falls, we took the mile(ish) long hike to the most exciting part: The Devil’s Throat. We get to look off platforms and take pictures as we looked down the second largest waterfall on the planet. Amidst all the people cramming in to see the phenomena and trying to get pictures of themselves by the seemingly bottomless falls, it was really easy to introspectively think about the world. This planet is so full of the most incredible sights, and traveling is truly a blessing I could not be more thankful for. I want to see more.

After a fun night and little sleep, Joellen and I, who had not gone on the boat trip that many did, decided we wanted to go back. We woke up at 7 in the morning and signed up for the earliest trip offered so we could make our 4:00 bus back to B.A. Seeing the park so early in the morning, quiet and calm, was almost a new experience. The shock from the massive sight was gone which only heightened my appreciation for my surroundings. We got to stroll through the park, seeing a few new sights and getting ready for our “Nautical Adventure.” And that is exactly what is was. For 15 minutes we were on a boat driving right up to the falls, getting close enough to get soaked by the splashing waters.  This opened up an entirely new perspective of the falls; the perspective of being under them, instead of on top of them. Igazu was an experience unlike any other and I highly recommend it.

I know what you are thinking, “I thought this was STUDY abroad.” Well, it is. We got on our much less exciting 18 hour bus back to Buenos Aires (that got stopped by police twice who wanted to check our passports, which many of us did not have) and arrived Sunday at noon with the realization that our vacation has left us with little time to do a lot of homework. So I should get to it.

Feliz Pascua.