My last week

As promised, here's a summary of my last week in Argentina. It's a little late, but better late than never right? 

Sunday:
        The group got back from Iguazu Falls early Sunday afternoon (a little bit later than expected, but who knew that the bus would break down?). Enrique helped Kassidy and I find our way back from Retiro to Palermo. We came home, showered, and decided to go to the feria of San Telmo. San Telmo is one of the oldest barrios in Buenos Aires. It's known for its Tango scene and cafes. Unlike the other ferias which sell modern souvenirs and things like mate cups, the feria of San Telmo is known for its large collection of antiques. Kassidy and I met up with Megan, Shelby and Krista to take the subte to Florida Street, a very touristy part of Buenos Aires that is known for its shopping. We met up with Austin and Lee to find a place to exchange money and then we headed to San Telmo. 
        I was really excited to go to San Telmo because we had to walk through the Plaza de Mayo (the area where La Casa Rosada, Argentina's White House, is located). The only time that I had been able to visit this area was when we took the city tour at the beginning of our trip, so it was nice to see the area again. Before you get to the actual feria de San Telmo there is a large feria that runs down Calle Defensa, the street that leads up to the plaza where the feria de San Telmo is located. Calle Defensa was lined with vendors and it seemed as if the feria ran for almost a mile. I immediately fell in love with the feria. There was such a large variety of gifts: mate cups, jerseys, t-shirts, art, and indigenous crafts. In addition, everything was a lot cheaper than the feria of Recoleta. 
       San Telmo was also a lot different from Recoleta because it was much more touristy than Recoleta. There were a lot of English speakers, Brazilians, Europeans, Blacks and Asians. This was probably the most diversity that I've seen since I've been in Argentina. I absolutely loved it! As Kassidy and I were walking along the strip, a group of kids who looked a little younger than us came up to us and asked us if we were speaking in English. They told us that they were students who were studying English and asked us if they could ask us some questions and film us for a project. They asked us how long we had been in Argentina, how we liked it here etc. Then they asked us if we had ever tried dulce de leche. Kassidy busted out laughing and pulled out a little cup of dulce de leche that she had brought back from the hostel. LOL! They told us that they also had some and asked us if we wanted to try it. I'm not gonna lie, I was a little nervous about that but we took our chances. They wanted to see our reactions to trying an Argentina treat. Then they asked us to read a tongue twister in Spanish. They seemed to be surprised at how easily we read it. I guess they were used to interviewing English speakers who weren't that good at Spanish. haha! There was a vendor who was watching us in our interview and she was cracking up! Afterwards they took a picture with us and we were on our way.
        It seemed as if the feria de Calle Defensa stretched out for almost a mile before we reached the actual feria de San Telmo. It was closing as we got there but we still had enough time to see some of the stands. It was really interesting to see what some of the vendors were selling. There were vendors selling old albums filled with photographs from the 1920s, old coins from Argentina, Italy and Spain, family heirlooms, hand sewn clothing, and collectibles that had come from various countries around the world. There was a little cleared square where people had gathered to watched dancers dancing the tango. 
          The part of Defensa that was closest to the feria de San Telmo was lined with lots of small Cafes. There were also little alleyways that had more vendors. We walked up one of the alleys. There was a tango band playing live music and a large Catholic church that had a small museum that you could walk through. There were also a lot of vendors walking up and down the alleyway selling food. I bought a slice of pizza from one man. The vendor was trying to hit on me, but his accent was very thick so I couldn't understand half of what he was saying...awkward. Even though it was awkward, that slice of pizza may possibly have been the best pizza that I've had in my entire life. 
          We stayed at San Telmo much longer than we had expected, but it was so worth it. Krista, Megan, Shelby and I all bought way too many souvenirs. But everything was cheap and cute (: We took the subte back and Kassidy stopped at a little bakery to get jamon y queso and empanadas for dinner. There is a cute middle aged couple that owns the bakery. The husband is always trying to speak English with me. He says, "thank you very much!" and "bye-bye" when we leave. The bakery isn't even a block away from my apartment so I walk past it all the time. The owner always waves whenever I walk by. I definitely miss seeing them. 

Monday:
        Monday was my last official day with the speech pathologist. There was a full house today in the speech clinic. There were at least 5 slps working so I was able to see lots of patients. One little girl came in who was four years old. She had no comprehensive or expressive skills. She literally didn't understand a word that the slp was saying to her and could only formulate small words, like her name and mom. It was really sad to see. I really hope that after her evaluation her mother takes her to receive further therapy.