BARIOLOCHE!!!!!!!

Last Wednesday 5 of my friends and I boarded a bus bound for Barioloche, Patagonia...26 hours later we arrived! Yes, 26 hours...on a bus. It was supposed to be shorter, but for whatever reason our bus stopped at least every 2 hours, sometimes for over half an hour. We had a "semicama" bus, which means the seats recline halfway, which doesn't seem bad...but with all the stops (and the resulting burst of freezing air that would rush into the bus) it was impossible to sleep for any real length of time. Anyway--I will not do a semicama for such a long trip again.

It was defnitely worth it though!! We stayed in a small hostel that reminded me of a winter cabin. Really fun and lively with people coming and going all the time. We just had dinner and went to sleep the first night we were there, and skiied the next day. Didn't get in much skiing the first day because we were trying to teach our friend Juan how to ski...unsucessfully. The skiing we (my friend Ben and I) did get in was a little terrifying but it was nice that we were both on the same page so I didn't feel silly going slowly. The snow was horrible--very icy and there was so little snow that most of the easier (read, green) runs were closed. The second day I took a lesson with my roommate Ashley, which was SO FUN!!! After our 2 hours I felt sooo much more confident and by the end of the day was zooming down the mountain, even the runs that had been terrifying to me the day before. (The attendees of the Miller girl Sugarbowl ski trip 2008 would be SO IMPRESSED by my progress. I was skiing like a pro. I think I just needed 2 days to work on my skills!!) Lots of narrow, curvy and icy trails that I felt resembled a bobsled track more than a ski run. Oh--and the scary runs were often a cliff on one side with lots of trees and absolutely zero safety nets.

The scenery was by far the most amazing thing about the entire trip. Just driving around the town you can pretty much always see the mountains and the huge lake...it was kind of like Tahoe, but like 1000 times larger and 1000 times more amazing. (So I guess it was nothing like Tahoe besides the lake+mountain combination) Then once you go up a ski lift, you are basically on the top of a snowy mountain, and everywhere you look are more beautiful peaks and you ski down facing an enormous lake. I can't even describe it, but it was just mesmerizing. I only have a few photos, but will try and post them soon. It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen...and the view, combined with my awesome skiing the second day just filled me with so much gratitude and happiness and joy. Saying it was awesome, or beautiful or amazing doesn't even do it justice...I just had the best time!!!! ( :

I'm hoping to get back to Patagonia before I leave, possibly to ski again or if not, at least in the summertime to do some backpacking further south. If anyone wants to visit...get ready for me to pressure you to go there with me!!!!


I had my first day of school today! Comparative history of Argentina and South America or something like that. I think I will like it a lot! I have class Monday-Thursday and am taking 4 classes total. My other 3 are: Spanish, comparative literature and some kind of Argentina/South American economy class. Besides Spanish (obviously) I am taking all classes in English.

Tonight I'm going to a drum show called "La Bomba" which everyone says is amazing, so I'm excited about that!

Overall, I am very happy and good and loving Buenos Aires and just everything about life!!!! ( : ( :