No real news.

Hey guys,

El Rio

Nothing interesting has really happened.  I just went to class, and was sick.  I can finally say, thankfully, that I am recovering.  I suppose I can think of some things to say...

Getting fixed up was a pretty enjoyable experience.  My health insurance here is pretty amazing, and it's free for me to call the doctor and have him show up at my apartment, so I took full advantage of that.  He arrived about an hour after I called, and he gave me antibiotics and some other prescription for sinusitis.  And told me not to leave bed until Monday.  Good times.

Another note on health insurance... I learned something of interest today.  Many of you may not know this, but Buenos Aires is one of the big cosmetic surgery capitals of the world.  My host-cousin Ailin just got a new job, and with the health insurance comes one free cosmetic surgery every three years.  How outrageous is that?  She's getting new boobs next August. 

Kites (edited photo)

It's also much more affordable here.  There's a lot of information on "Health Tourism" to Argentina, it's quite common for Americans and Europeans to come here for a little nip/tuck action.  Maybe I'll have a new nose when I come home for Christmas ;)

Not much else.  I went to "el rio" (the river) today with Ailin and one of her friends, we just drank mate (basically the national drink, herbal tea that's shared between everybody) and watched people.  The river is apparently far too polluted for any non-homeless person to swim in, and it did smell kind of like human waste, but it was great to just hang out for the day and soak up a little sun.  It's getting warmer which makes my life much, much better.  It was around a 40 minute bus ride to get there, and everybody on the bus was singing soccer songs and taunting other fans on the street, so it seemed longer.  I've attached pictures of the rio.  The river is suuuper wide, but you can see Uruguay through the smog if you focus long enough.  It was a nice day, and it was nice to be out of bed (against doctor's orders, oh man!)  I've attached some photos of this. 

Carla, Ailin (my cousin is the blonde)

Other than that, I don't think I have any news... I'll leave you with this random fact: many people do the sign of the cross every time they pass a church.  Cab drivers and all.  They won't set foot in the church though, haha.

Peace amigos.

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Carla y mate

mate

mate macro

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I think I was discovered.

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Kites al Rio

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