My penultimate week in Mendoza was a busy one – I had another new housemate, a British girl called Cristina arrived on Monday. She lives in Australia and has just finished her finals. She speaks perfect Spanish as her mum is from Spain, which has been very useful! We tried lots of new restaurants in the city for lunches and dinners, and bonded over an extensive wine tasting session

Fabulous views of Cordon del Plata

On Saturday we all went for lunch in Lujan with Jose. It was nice to catch up with her as she had stopped working for Work the World due to upcoming exams. After, I went to get a haircut and managed to correctly ask for the style I wanted. I was worried that I would end up with one of the mullets that seem to be so beloved by the Mendocino men!

(more…)

The big news of this week is that I finally have a companion in the house! Her name is Christine and she’s a dentist from Germany. She’s a genuinely lovely person and she speaks amazing English, and we even have sporadic attempts at German.

Christine did an intensive Spanish course this week, also with Work the World, which meant that after morning Spanish lessons she had various activities in the afternoon.

Making empanadas

On Wednesday afternoon she had a cooking lesson with Jesi, making empanadas and alfajores. I have to admit that her empanadas were not the most attractive of the batch, but the filling was very tasty.

(more…)

As I may have mentioned previously, the house I’m staying at is opposite a massive park, called Parque General San Martín. San Martín was an important figure in Latin American independence, who formed an army in Mendoza in 1814, which crossed the Andes and helped liberate Chile. Although I’d been in the park before, I hadn’t really explored it properly, so yesterday I decided to venture deeper inside.

The zoo

In the morning I went into the centre of Mendoza to catch a bus that does a tour of the park. It takes you to the top a hill called Cerro de la Gloria on the far side of the park, giving you a commentary as you go around. On the summit of the hill is an impressive monument to San Martín and his army. There were also excellent views of the surrounding area and of the city. On the way down, we passed the Frank Romero Day Amphitheatre, where the climax of the annual Fiesta Nacional de la Vendimia, or National Grape Harvest Festival is held in March. It’s a big celebration of wine making, and includes a grape blessing ceremony, a big parade, and the election of a festival Queen, chosen from women nominated from the local departments of the province.

(more…)