land of the free, home of the che

okok so i know it was more than two weeks ago at this point but i have to write about my trip to rosario. rosario is a city about four hours away from buenos aires (see left), and we went there because we had a three-day weekend but didnt want to travel too far. i went with three girls from the program (read: american), and we booked our bus tickets and hostel only a day or two before we left. the thing was that there was only one hostel in the city with room left because of the fact that it was a three-day weekend. anyways, after an uneventful bus ride we get to the hostel only to discover that old reliable hostelworld.com was down and they had not recieved any of the reservations from the past week. as a result, they were already overbooked by six people because of the same situation, and had dug up mattresses for them to sleep on the floor. the people at the hostel were extremely apologetic and called every hostel and cheap hotel in the city to try to find somewhere, but everything was completely full with the exception of a four-star hotel. they gave us the option of sleeping on the floor for three dollars the first night and said that we would have beds the second night because people were leaving. so we had a quick huddle and decided we were young and adventurous enough to sleep on the floor of a hostel for one night, BUT before we make any decisions the hostel people told us that there were 31 boys staying in the hostel and three girls. they were like look, we feel really bad and youre more than welcome to stay here but there are all these boys that are smelly and loud and will bother and annoy you like you wouldnt believe so its up to you. at that point we had decided to just make the best of it and resist breathing in the odor for as long as we could. we split up and me and my friend dena went for a walk through the city and to the small art museum while the other two girls hung out at the hostel. by the time we got back, the other girls had already gone out so dena and i went to dinner and back to the hostel and spent some quality time with our 6781627641786 new roommates.the plan was to drink a little and go out at like 2:30 (which believe me isnt that late here) but dena and i had a leetle too much cheap wine and were in "bed" ie on the floor with army blankets by like 3. the boys were all loud and drunk and annoying though so we moved to the living room to sleep and i had the pleasure of spending the night on a wicker couch with cushions. not exactly the lap of luxury but for three dollars it was a roof over my head.
the next day we walked around some more--rosario is home to argentina's first flag and there is like a shrine built for it with this huge tower and plaza. i forgot to mention that joining the four of us was this crazy tall venezuelan guy named carlo who had all kinds of shells and knicknacks in his dreadlocks and made a living by selling these tiny whistles made out of straws. so random. anywho we saw the view from the tower and the other two girls went on a boat tour in the river that runs along the city, but it was raining so dena and i passed and went to lunch where we ate the most delicious paella in the history of the world. not exaggerating. it was amazing. we walked around and went to this cultural center and then went to the planetarium which was so relaxing and fun. the reason for this entry's title is that che guevara was born in rosario and they dont let you forget it for a second. there are pictures of him evvvvvverywhere and it was all the guy could talk about at the cultural center. what's funny is that che guevara lived in so many places throughout argentina and south america that every town or city has that pride, but as the cultural center guy said, he was only born in one place. haha or jaja as they say here.
after the planetarium we bought food to make pasta and salad back at the hostel and then cooked for ourselves and by ourselves i mean the four of us and every male inhabitant of the hostel that smelled food and came to reap the fruits of our labor. i mean really, what could we have expected. we went out that night but not till too late and then the next day went for a long walk to the river, which was beautiful because it was the first sunny day there. there was a really cool flea market where i bought earrings for four pesos (like $1.30). because it was a holiday the whole park along the river was full of families and people playing soccer and kites flying and fishermen catching trout in the river. so great. after that we just got ourselves to the bus station and went home. it was very nice--a lot like buenos aires but mini and not so intense, perfect for a weekend away. what was also cool is that we met so many people from BA and also other foreigners studying here that we had a whole new group of people to hang out with when we got back which was so fun, expecially because they were from europe as opposed to the us. i was glad to come back to BA though--there is nothing like being packed on that subway like sardines in a can with the whole day ahead of you.

also, here is the link to my photos!! the album is both bariloche and rosario...and some miscellaneous stuff thrown in as well, just to keep you on your toes.
click this sentence to view my photos!