Step 2.5

Thanks to the incredible generosity of my parents, the step between 2 and 3 is complete, and I am registered for a TEFL certification program:

Dear Vanessa Cooper,

Thank you for registering with Oxford Seminars. We are pleased to confirm that you have successfully enrolled in the TESOL/TEFL certification course #9556, being held on Sept. 19, 20, 26, 27, Oct. 3, 4 in Houston (University of St. Thomas).

Hooray! It seems far away but I'm sure it'll be here before I know it.

Euro Trip 09

In an effort to confine a three week trip across Europe within the boundaries of a blog entry, I'll stick to two pictures per city.

Big Ben (London)

At Stamford Bridge (London)

The Cathedral (Cádiz)

My new tattoo! ...se hace camino al andar. (Cádiz)

Templo de Debod (Madrid)

Valle de los Caídos (Madrid)

Eiffel Tower (Paris)

Arc de Triomphe (Paris)

Manneken Pis (Brussels)

Around the corner from our hotel (Brussles)

Paddle boating on the canals (Amsterdam)

I amsterdam sign.

"Enjoying" our free pint of Guinness at the storehouse (Dublin)

On top of the world (Wicklow/Dublin)

In other news, step one of my Steps Toward Argentina is complete, and I'll be returning to Tea for Two this fall in order to save up to move. Hooray! The rest of my planned steps are as follows:

2. Move home to Houston
3. Take TEFL course
4. Find/get hired for job in Buenos Aires
5. Moooove

Graduation

I am officially an alum of the University of Texas at Austin.

In other news, I am leaving for Europe in 2 days. Will try to keep blog updated with current shenanigans.

Having a bad day?

Here's a pick-me-up:

So close, yet so far.

Woohoo, teh blog is revamped with new layout. And now,

THINGS STANDING IN THE WAY OF GRADUATION:

1. Thesis
-Introduction
-Conclusion
-Edits (WHERE ARE MY ADVISERS?!)
-Formatting
-Bio
-Table of Contents
-Binding
-Signatures (AGAIN, WHERE ARE MY ADVISERS?!)

2. Cine paper

3. Corridos project

4. Human Sexuality exam

5. Cine final

6. Corridos final

In that order. That's it. Six things. We are on the home stretch, people.

Update on progress soon.

Rio de Janeiro Recap

Again, if you've seen my pictures on Facebook, these will be repeats. Favorites from Rio!

We saw a samba show on our first night. So many colorful costumes and a lot of beautiful dancing, though the snotty Argentinian women on our tour detracted a bit from dinner. Haha.

Cristo Redentor: One of the "new" wonders of the world and one of the most impressive and awe-inspiring works of art I've seen.

We rode cable cars to the top of Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf).

This is the view of Cristo Redentor from the top of Pão de Açúcar.

Some of the many public telephones - OI!

Stopping for a snack at one of the numerous juice bars. They had every kind of juice you could think of! I think we annoyed them by asking for the names of all the different kinds of fruit on display.

In front of the Estádio do Maracanã, the 2nd largest stadium in South America and where the Brazilian national team plays.

Rio was beautiful! Everything was so green. We had a great time relaxing and managed to navigate a country that speaks neither English nor Spanish, even occasionally understanding some Portuguese (which I am pretty proud of). All in all, a great trip. I am very much looking forward to returning to South America.

Buenos Aires Recap

First I would like to comment that posting this was a pain. Aside from all the formatting issues, this entire post has been erased and redone three times. Thanks, Blogger. Anyway.

Ideally, in the future I'll be posting pictures as they happen. On a trip, however, it's nearly impossible to do this, so apologies for the delay. If you've seen pictures on Facebook, you'll have seen these already. Apologies for that too. BUT, here are favorites from Buenos Aires!

This is the Obelisco, seen up there in the top right of my blog. It was built in May 1936 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first founding of the city. Also worth mentioning is the fact that it wears a giant red condom on World AIDS Day. Attaboy, Obelisco.

This is the Flor, given by the architect to all the women of Buenos Aires. It closes at sunset and opens with the sunrise.

This is the Casa Rosada, the Pink House. Like the White House, but pink. Really. Worth noting: Argentina has a female president.

This is me tangoing spontaneously in the neighborhood of La Boca, known for its colorful buildings. Also home of Boca Juniors, a very well-supported and successful soccer team and the favorite of Diego Maradona.

This is Lexie and me posing with the traditional Argentinian asado, sort of a barbecue with a bunch of different kinds of meat. This particular asado was at Soledad's house (she's an acquaintance of Andrew's) and was the best meal we had the whole trip!

This is Soledad and her family! They were very kind and fed us all kinds of Peruvian and Argentinian food - we were stuffed to the gills!

This is the tango show we went to at La Ventana. Lots of great music and singing, plus a great dinner that we had to try to stuff down after eating way too much at Soledad's house.

I took this picture while walking around the market in San Telmo. Most of the tourist-y streets in Buenos Aires feature some type of musician or band playing music for the passers by.

This is Sarah and me at La Bombonera after watching Boca Juniors win! It was great to see Riquelme play. The stadium is called La Bombomera (chocolate box) because it looks like one from the air.

This was our gaucho day. We spent the morning and afternoon riding horses and taking in the countryside on la Estancia de Dos Hermanos. The white mane and ears in this picture is my buddy Comanche. Up ahead are Mataco, Gallego, and Luna. We also got to eat another delicious asado at the estancia. Note to self: Do not gallop on horse with camera in pocket.

This is Sarah and me on the BA pub crawl, funnily (or predictably) enough started by Americans.

This guy is one of the Ositos de Paz. They are a collection of painted bears from countries around the world, hanging out in a circle in the Plaza San Martín. They all want world peace. This is Miss (Mr.?) Argentina!

All in all, a great city! I had a blast, and I have never met so many nice people in my life. Even the taxi drivers were amazing. I actually began to miss it as soon as we left...I've definitely decided that Buenos Aires is my destination. Now begins the process of job hunting (assuming I get my thesis together and actually graduate from college). Wish me luck!

Rio recap coming soon.

Home.

Have been back for 1 week. Still sick. Should go to doctor.

Pictures/recap soon!

Brasil

Ah Rio. So hot. And green. But mostly hot.

Tummy is grumpy. Cheer up, tummy!

Saw Jeebus and Pão de Açúcar. Brasil not cheap like Argentina, and taxi drivers not as nice. Wallet is sad. About to get sadder when I spend all my money on souvenirs at market tonight. Rio still pretty, and I sometimes understand Portuguese a little. This makes me happy.

I like juice. Ate açaí on Ipanema beach. Felt pretty touristy.

Don´t make me leeeaaaveeeeeee. :(

Adiós, Buenos Aires!

Lunch with Peruvian/Argentinian family was best meal of trip. Good Spanish practice.

Tango show was fun. Ate too much again. Eat too much every day. Food too cheap. All that working out for Brazil wasted.

Bought lots of things. Probably too many. Hard to resist though. Everything so cheap, including taxis. I like being driven around. Have been told that my Spanish is good. Each time has been followed by me messing up next verb. Maybe these are just attempts to get me to buy more things. It´s working.

Fútbol was intense. Took picture with Maradona look-alike, though only part that looked alike was hair. Lost sister at one point and was forced to spend 1st half thinking of best way to tell Mom and Dad that I lost their daughter at South American soccer match. Found her at half time. Boca won 3-0.

Gaucho day was fun, though the four of us were only ones there. Was hoping to meet people. Managed to lose camera in the yerba, but our guide searched and found it. Thanks, Alex. Never galloped on a horse before. Have video. V. sore.

Pub crawl after gaucho day probably not best idea, but fun anyway. Slept in sort of. Lunch at burrito place that was suspiciously like Chipotle. Tasty.

Last meal at Los Inmortales. Best thing about most meals is dessert. Why is ice cream so good here?

Love BA. :D Everyone so nice.

Rio tomorrow. Why am I awake? Must sleep.